The Bābur-nāma in English (Memoirs of Bābur)
_m. Sl. Aḥmad Mīrzā's birth and descent._
He was born in 855 AH. (1451 AD.) the year in which his father took the
throne (_i.e._ Samarkand). He was Sl. Abū-sa`īd Mīrzā's eldest son; his
mother was a daughter of Aūrdū-būghā Tarkhān (_Arghūn_), the elder
sister of Darwesh Muḥammad Tarkhān, and the most honoured of the Mīrzā's
wives.
_n. His appearance and habits._
He was a tall, stout, brown-bearded and red-faced man. He had beard on
his chin but none on his cheeks. He had very [Sidenote: Fol. 18b.]
pleasing manners. As was the fashion in those days, he wound his turban
in four folds and brought the end forward over his brows.
_o. His characteristics and manners._
He was a True Believer, pure in the Faith; five times daily, without
fail, he recited the Prayers, not omitting them even on drinking-days.
He was a disciple of his Highness Khwāja `Ubaidu'l-lāh (_Aḥrārī_), his
instructor in religion and the strengthener of his Faith. He was very
ceremonious, particularly when sitting with the Khwāja. People say he
never drew one knee over the other[199] at any entertainment of the
Khwāja. On one occasion contrary to his custom, he sat with his feet
together. When he had risen, the Khwāja ordered the place he had sat in
to be searched; there they found, it may have been, a bone.[200] He had
read nothing whatever and was ignorant (_`amī_), and though town-bred,
unmannered and homely. Of genius he had no share. He was just and as his
Highness the Khwāja was there, accompanying him step by step,[201] most
of his affairs found lawful settlement. He was true and faithful to his
vow and word; nothing was ever seen to the contrary. He had courage, and
though he never happened to get in his own hand to work, gave sign of
it, they say, in some of his encounters. [Sidenote: Fol. 19.] He drew a
good bow, generally hitting the duck[202] both with his arrows (_aūq_)
and his forked-arrows (_tīr-giz_), and, as a rule, hit the gourd[203] in
riding across the lists (_maidān_). Latterly, when he had grown stout,
he used to take quail and pheasant with the goshawks,[204] rarely
failing. A sportsman he was, hawking mostly and hawking well; since
Aūlūgh Beg Mīrzā, such a sporting _pādshāh_ had not been seen. He was
extremely decorous; people say he used to hide his feet even in the
privacy of his family and amongst his intimates. Once settled down to
drink, he would drink for 20 or 30 days at a stretch; once risen, would
not drink again for another 20 or 30 days. He was a good drinker;[205]
on non-drinking days he ate without conviviality (_basīṯ_). Avarice was
dominant in his character. He was kindly, a man of few words whose will
was in the hands of his begs.
_p. His battles._
He fought four battles. The first was with Ni'mat _Arghūn_, Shaikh Jamāl
_Arghūn's_ younger brother, at Āqār-tūzī, near Zamīn. This he won. The
second was with `Umar Shaikh Mīrzā at Khwaṣ; this also he won. The third
affair was when he encountered Sl. Maḥmūd Khān on the Chīr, near
Tāshkīnt [Sidenote: Fol. 19b.](895 AH.-1469 AD.). There was no real
fighting, but some Mughūl plunderers coming up, by ones and twos, in his
rear and laying hands on his baggage, his great army, spite of its
numbers, broke up without a blow struck, without an effort made,
without a coming face to face, and its main body was drowned in the
Chīr.[206] His fourth affair was with Ḥaidar _Kūkūldāsh_ (_Mughūl_),
near Yār-yīlāq; here he won.
_q. His country._
Samarkand and Bukhārā his father gave him; Tāshkīnt and Sairām he took
and held for a time but gave them to his younger brother, `Umar Shaikh
Mīrzā, after `Abdu'l-qadūs (_Dūghlāt_) slew Shaikh Jamāl (_Arghūn_);
Khujand and Aūrātīpā were also for a time in his possession.
_r. His children._
His two sons did not live beyond infancy. He had five daughters, four by
Qātāq Begīm.[207]
Rābi`a-sulṯān Begīm, known as the Dark-eyed Begīm, was his eldest. The
Mīrzā himself made her go forth to Sl. Maḥmūd Khān;[208] she had one
child, a nice little boy, called Bābā Khān. The Aūzbegs killed him and
several others of age as unripe as his when they martyred (his father)
The Khān, in Khujand, (914 AH.-1508 AD.). At that time she fell to Jānī
Beg Sulṯān (_Aūzbeg_). [Sidenote: Fol. 20.]
Ṣāliḥa-sulṯān (Ṣalīqa) Begīm was his second daughter; people called her
the Fair Begīm. Sl. Maḥmūd Mīrzā, after her father's death, took her for
his eldest son, Sl. Mas`ūd Mīrzā and made the wedding feast (900 AH.).
Later on she fell to the Kāshgharī with Shāh Begīm and Mihr-nigār
Khānim.
`Āyisha-sulṯān Begīm was the third. When I was five and went to
Samarkand, they set her aside for me; in the guerilla times[209] she
came to Khujand and I took her (905 AH.); her one little daughter, born
after the second taking of Samarkand, went in a few days to God's mercy
and she herself left me at the instigation of an older sister.
Sulṯānīm Begīm was the fourth daughter; Sl. `Alī Mīrzā took her; then
Tīmūr Sulṯān (_Aūzbeg_) took her and after him, Mahdī Sulṯān (_Aūzbeg_).
Ma`sūma-sulṯān Begīm was the youngest of Sl. Aḥmad Mīrzā's daughters.
Her mother, Ḥabība-sulṯān Begīm, was of the Arghūns, a daughter of Sl.
Ḥusain _Arghūn's_ brother. I saw her when I went to Khurāsān (912
AH.-1506 AD.), liked her, asked for her, had her brought to Kābul and
took her (913 AH.-1507 AD.). She had one daughter and there and then,
went to God's mercy, through the pains of the birth. Her name was at
once given to her child.
_s. His ladies and mistresses._
Mihr-nigār Khānīm was his first wife, set aside for him by his father,
Sl. Abū-sa`īd Mīrzā. She was Yūnas Khān's eldest [Sidenote: Fol. 20b.]
daughter and my mother's full-sister.
Tarkhān Begīm of the Tarkhāns was another of his wives.
Qātāq Begīm was another, the foster-sister of the Tarkhān Begīm just
mentioned. Sl. Aḥmad Mīrzā took her _par amours_ (_`āshiqlār bīlā_): she
was loved with passion and was very dominant. She drank wine. During the
days of her ascendancy (_tīrīklīk_), he went to no other of his _ḥaram_;
at last he took up a proper position (_aūlnūrdī_) and freed himself from
his reproach.[210]
Khān-zāda Begīm, of the Tīrmīẕ Khāns, was another. He had just taken her
when I went, at five years old, to Samarkand; her face was still veiled
and, as is the Turkī custom, they told me to uncover it.[211]
Laṯīf Begīm was another, a daughter's child of Aḥmad Ḥājī Beg _Dūldāī_
(_Barlās_). After the Mīrzā's death, Ḥamza Sl. took her and she had
three sons by him. They with other sulṯāns' children, fell into my hands
when I took Ḥiṣār (916 AH.-1510 AD.) after defeating Ḥamza Sulṯān and
Tīmūr Sulṯān. I set all free.
Ḥabība-sulṯān Begīm was another, a daughter of the brother of Sl. Ḥusain
_Arghūn_.
_t. His amīrs._
Jānī Beg _Dūldāī_ (_Barlās_) was a younger brother of Sl. Malik
_Kāshgharī_. Sl. Abū-sa`īd Mīrzā gave him the Government of Samarkand
and Sl. Aḥmad Mīrzā gave him the control of his own Gate.[212] He must
have had singular habits and [Sidenote: Fol. 21.] manners;[213] many
strange stories are told about him. One is this:—While he was Governor
in Samarkand, an envoy came to him from the Aūzbegs renowned, as it
would seem, for his strength. An Aūzbeg, is said to call a strong man a
bull (_būkuh_). "Are you a _būkuh_?" said Jānī Beg to the envoy, "If you
are, come, let's have a friendly wrestle together (_kūrāshālīng_)."
Whatever objections the envoy raised, he refused to accept. They
wrestled and Jānī Beg gave the fall. He was a brave man.
Aḥmad Ḥājī (_Dūldāī Barlās_) was another, a son of Sl. Malik
_Kāshgharī_. Sl. Abū-sa`īd Mīrzā gave him the Government of Hīrī (Harāt)
for a time but sent him when his uncle, Jānī Beg died, to Samarkand
with his uncle's appointments. He was pleasant-natured and brave. Wafā'ī
was his pen-name and he put together a dīwān in verse not bad. This
couplet is his:
"I am drunk, Inspector, to-day keep your hand off me,
"Inspect me on the day you catch me sober."
Mīr `Alī-sher Nāwā'ī when he went from Hīrī to Samarkand, was with Aḥmad
Ḥājī Beg but he went back to Hīrī when Sl. Ḥusain Mīrzā (Bāī-qarā)
became supreme (873 AH.-1460 AD.) and he there received exceeding
favour.
[Sidenote: Fol. 21b.] Aḥmad Ḥājī Beg kept and rode excellent
_tīpūchāqs_,[214] mostly of his own breeding. Brave he was but his power
to command did not match his courage; he was careless and what was
necessary in his affairs, his retainers and followers put through. He
fell into Sl. `Alī Mīrzā's hands when the Mīrzā defeated Bāī-sunghar
Mīrzā in Bukhārā (901 AH.), and was then put to a dishonourable death on
the charge of the blood of Darwesh Muḥammad Tarkhān.[215]
Darwesh Muḥammad Tarkhān (_Arghūn_) was another, the son of Aūrdū-būghā
Tarkhān and full-brother of the mother of Sl. Aḥmad Mīrzā and Sl. Maḥmūd
Mīrzā.[216] Of all begs in Sl. Aḥmad Mīrzā's presence, he was the
greatest and most honoured. He was an orthodox Believer, kindly and
darwesh-like, and was a constant transcriber of the Qu'rān.[217] He
played chess often and well, thoroughly understood the science of
fowling and flew his birds admirably. He died in the height of his
greatness, with a bad name, during the troubles between Sl. `Alī Mīrzā
and Bāī-sunghar Mīrzā.[218]
`Abdu'l-`alī Tarkhān was another, a near relation of Darwesh Muḥammad
Tarkhān, possessor also of his younger sister,[219] that is to say, Bāqī
Tarkhān's mother. Though both by the Mughūl rule (_tūrā_) and by his
rank, Darwesh Muḥammad Tarkhān was the superior of `Abdu'l-`alī
Tarkhān, this Pharoah regarded him not at all. For some years he had the
Government of Bukhārā. His retainers were reckoned at [Sidenote: Fol.
22.] 3,000 and he kept them well and handsomely. His gifts
(_bakhshīsh_), his visits of enquiry (_purshīsh_), his public audience
(_dīwān_), his work-shops (_dast-gāh_), his open-table (_shīlān_) and
his assemblies (_majlis_) were all like a king's. He was a strict
disciplinarian, a tyrannical, vicious, self-infatuated person. Shaibānī
Khān, though not his retainer, was with him for a time; most of the
lesser (Shaibān) sulṯāns did themselves take service with him. This same
`Abdu'l-`alī Tarkhān was the cause of Shaibānī Khān's rise to such a
height and of the downfall of such ancient dynasties.[220]
Sayyid Yūsuf, the Grey Wolfer[221] was another; his grandfather will
have come from the Mughūl horde; his father was favoured by Aūlūgh Beg
Mīrzā (_Shāhrukhī_). His judgment and counsel were excellent; he had
courage too. He played well on the guitar (_qūbuz_). He was with me when
I first went to Kābul; I shewed him great favour and in truth he was
worthy of favour. I left him in Kābul the first year the army rode out
for Hindūstān; at that time he went to God's mercy.[222]
Darwesh Beg was another; he was of the line of Aīku-tīmūr Beg,[223] a
favourite of Tīmūr Beg. He was a disciple of his Highness Khwāja
`Ubaidu'l-lāh (_Aḥrārī_), had knowledge of the science of music, played
several instruments and was naturally [Sidenote: Fol. 22b.] disposed to
poetry. He was drowned in the Chīr at the time of Sl. Aḥmad Mīrzā's
discomfiture.
Muḥammad Mazīd Tarkhān was another, a younger full-brother of Darwesh
Muḥ. Tarkhān. He was Governor in Turkistān for some years till Shaibānī
Khān took it from him. His judgment and counsel were excellent; he was
an unscrupulous and vicious person. The second and third times I took
Samarkand, he came to my presence and each time I shewed him very great
favour. He died in the fight at Kūl-i-malik (918 AH.-1512 AD.).
Bāqī Tarkhān was another, the son of `Abdu'l-`alī Tarkhān and Sl. Aḥmad
Mīrzā's aunt. When his father died, they gave him Bukhārā. He grew in
greatness under Sl. `Alī Mīrzā, his retainers numbering 5 or 6,000. He