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
Another meadow is the Būdana Qūrūgh (Quail Reserve), lying between
Dil-kushā and the town. Another is the Kūl-i-maghāk (Meadow of the deep
pool) at some 4 miles from the town. This also is a round[393] meadow.
People call it Kul-i-maghāk meadow because there is a large pool on one
side of it. Sl. `Alī Mīrzā lay here during the siege, when I was in Khān
Yūrtī. Another and smaller meadow is Qulba (Plough); it has Qulba
Village and the Kohik Water on the north, the Bāgh-i-maidān and Darwesh
Muḥammad Tarkhān's Chār-bāgh on the south, and the Kohik upland on the
west.
Samarkand has good districts and _tūmāns_. Its largest district, and one
that is its equal, is Bukhārā, 25 _yīghāch_[394] to the west. Bukhārā in
its turn, has several _tūmāns_; it is a fine town; its fruits are many
and good, its melons excellent; none in Mā warā'u'n-nahr matching them
for quality and quantity. Although the Mīr Tīmūrī melon of Akhsī[395] is
sweeter and more delicate than any Bukhārā melon, still in Bukhārā many
kinds of melon are good and plentiful. The Bukhārā plum is famous; no
other equals it. They skin it,[396] dry it and [Sidenote: Fol. 49.]
carry it from land to land with rarities (_tabarrūklār bīla_); it is an
excellent laxative medicine. Fowls and geese are much looked after
(_parwārī_) in Bukhārā. Bukhārā wine is the strongest made in Mā
warā'u'n-nahr; it was what I drank when drinking in those countries at
Samarkand.[397]
Kesh is another district of Samarkand, 9 _yīghāch_[398] by road to the
south of the town. A range called the Aītmāk Pass (_Dābān_)[399] lies
between Samarkand and Kesh; from this are taken all the stones for
building. Kesh is called also Shahr-i-sabz (Green-town) because its
barren waste (_ṣahr_) and roofs and walls become beautifully green in
spring. As it was Tīmūr Beg's birth-place, he tried hard to make it his
capital. He erected noble buildings in it. To seat his own Court, he
built a great arched hall and in this seated his Commander-begs and his
Dīwān-begs, on his right and on his left. For those attending the Court,
he built two smaller halls, and to seat petitioners to his Court, built
quite small recesses on the four sides of the Court-house.[400] Few
arches so fine can be shown in the world. It is said to be higher than
the Kisrī Arch.[401] Tīmūr Beg also built in Kesh a college and a
mausoleum, in which are the tombs of Jahāngīr Mīrzā and others of his
descendants.[402] As Kesh did not offer the same facilities as
[Sidenote: Fol. 49b.] Samarkand for becoming a town and a capital, he
at last made clear choice of Samarkand.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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