Khan and such of the court followers as he could from their ignominious inaction in the capital to encounter the dangers and risks of a field of battle. Both sides were eager for the encounter, which took place in the neighbourhood of Yangy Hissar. The tactical disposition made by Yakoob Beg of his forces was such as would command the approval of skilled officers, and, having done all that mortal man could do to insure the result, he commended himself and his cause to Allah. The battle was long and stoutly contested. During hours it was impossible to say to which side the balance of victory was inclining; at last the Kirghiz troops, half-hearted in their fighting, were driven from the field, and the Badakshi division, which had up to that moment stubbornly held its ground, immediately followed the shameful example thus set it. There now only remained the division under the immediate orders of Yakoob Beg to withstand the onset of a whole army victorious in two different quarters of the field. The situation, on which the fate of the whole enterprise depended, might have filled the boldest heart with momentary despair. Yakoob Beg had, however, so braced himself to the effort, that no more than ordinary emotion was permitted to betray the disturbed mind within, and with the exclamation that "Victory is the gift of God," he inspired his soldiery to continue the fight throughout the afternoon. The enemy, dismayed at the dauntless courage shown by this mere handful of men, and having incurred great loss in his effort to crush them, drew off his weakened forces towards evening; and Yakoob Beg, boldly seizing the opportunity for assuming the offensive, drove them from the field in disorder and with considerable loss. In addition to the loss in killed and wounded, more than 1,000 Tungan soldiers enlisted under the standard of Yakoob Beg, and that general found himself on the morrow of one of his greatest battles, with a greater force under his command than he had just before it commenced. This great triumph gave fresh lustre to the Khoja family, and redounded to the military renown of Yakoob Beg. Nor should it be forgotten that on this occasion he showed that he possessed, besides military genius of some merit, qualities of an estimable character. For the first time in the annals of these wars the prisoners were treated with some consideration. For some reason or other this victory was not followed up, and the defeated Kucha army retired on Maralbashi, which it continued to hold for some months longer. The indirect results of this victory were scarcely less important, however, than the immediate and direct consequences of it.