The Bābur-nāma in English (Memoirs of Bābur)Babur, Emperor of Hindustan
History
The Bābur-nāma in English (Memoirs of Bābur)
Babur, Emperor of Hindustan
Babur, Emperor of Hindustan, 1483-1530; Mogul Empire
I got to Muqīm's treasury first, that being in the outer-fort;
`Abdu'r-razzāq Mīrzā must have been quicker than I, for he was just
dismounting there when I arrived; I gave him a few things from it. I put
Dost-i-nāṣir Beg, Qul-i-bāyazīd the taster and, of pay-masters, Muḥammad
_bakhshī_ in charge of it, then passed on into the citadel and posted
Khwāja Muḥammad `Alī, Shāh Maḥmūd and, of the pay-masters, T̤aghāī Shāh
_bakhshī_ in charge of Shāh Beg's treasury.
Nāṣir's Mīrīm and Maqṣūd the sherbet-server were sent to keep the house
of Ẕū'n-nūn's _Dīwān_ Mīr Jān for Nāṣir Mīrzā; for Mīrzā Khān was kept
Shaikh Abū-sa`īd _Tarkhānī's_; for `Abdu'r-razzāq Mīrzā ... 's.[1303]
[Sidenote: Fol. 212.] Such masses of white money had never been seen in
those countries; no-one indeed was to be heard of who had seen so much.
That night, when we ourselves stayed in the citadel, Shāh Beg's slave
Saṃbhal was captured and brought in. Though he was then Shāh Beg's
intimate, he had not yet received his later favour.[1304] I had him
given into someone's charge but as good watch was not kept, he was
allowed to escape. Next day I went back to my camp in Farrukh-zād Beg's
Chār-bāgh.
I gave the Qandahār country to Nāṣir Mīrzā. After the treasure had been
got into order, loaded up and started off, he took the loads of white
_tankas_ off a string of camels (_i.e._ _7_ beasts) at the
citadel-treasury, and kept them. I did not demand them back; I just gave
them to him.
On leaving Qandahār, we dismounted in the Qūsh-khāna meadow. After
setting the army forward, I had gone for an excursion, so I got into
camp rather late. It was another camp! not to be recognized! Excellent
_tīpūchāqs_, strings and strings of he-camels, she-camels, and mules,
bearing saddle-bags (_khurzīn_) of silken stuffs and cloth,—tents of
scarlet (cloth) and velvet, all sorts of awnings, every kind of
work-shop, ass-load after ass-load of chests! The goods of the elder and
younger (Arghūn) brethren had been kept in separate treasuries; out of
each had come chest upon chest, bale upon bale of stuffs and
clothes-in-wear (_artmāq artmāq_), sack upon sack of white _tankas_. In
_aūtāgh_ and _chādar_ (lattice-tent and pole-tent) was much spoil for
every man soever; many sheep also had been taken but sheep were less
cared about!
I made over to Qāsim Beg Muqīm's retainers in Qalāt, under [Sidenote:
Fol. 212b.] Qūj _Arghūn_ and Tāju'd-dīn Maḥmūd, with their goods and
effects. Qāsim Beg was a knowing person; he saw it unadvisable for us to
stay long near Qandahār, so, by talking and talking, worrying and
worrying, he got us to march off. As has been said, I had bestowed
Qandahār on Nāṣir Mīrzā; he was given leave to go there; we started for
Kābul.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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