The Bābur-nāma in English (Memoirs of Bābur)
(_Dec. 23rd_) On Saturday Muḥarram 1st Khwāja Sih-yārān was reached. A
wine-party was had on the bank of the conduit, where this comes out on
the hill.[1523]
(_Dec. 24th_) Riding on next morning (2nd), we visited the moving sands
(_reg-i-rawān_). A party was held in Sayyid Qāsim's _Bulbul's_
house.[1524]
(_Dec. 25th_) Riding on from there, we ate a confection (_ma'jūn_), went
further and dismounted at Bilkir (?).
(_Dec. 26th_) At dawn (4th) we made our morning [_ṣubāḥī ṣubūḥī
qīldūk_], although there might be drinking at night. We rode on at the
Mid-day Prayer, dismounted at Dūr-nāma[1525] and there had a wine party.
(_Dec. 27th_) We took our morning early. Ḥaq-dād, the headman of
Dūr-namā made me an offering (_pesh-kash_) of his garden.
(_Dec. 28th_) Riding thence on Thursday (6th), we dismounted at the
villages of the Tājiks in Nijr-aū.
(_Dec. 29th_) On Friday (7th) we hunted the hill between Forty-ploughs
(_Chihil-qulba_) and the water of Bārān; many deer fell. [Sidenote: Fol.
249.] I had not shot an arrow since my hand was hurt; now, with an
easy[1526] bow, I shot a deer in the shoulder, the arrow going in to
half up the feather. Returning from hunting, we went on at the Other
Prayer in Nijr-aū.
(_Dec. 30th_) Next day (Saturday 8th) the tribute of the Nijr-aū people
was fixed at 60 gold mis̤qāls.[1527]
(_Jan. 1st_) On Monday (10th) we rode on intending to visit
Lamghān.[1528] I had expected Humāyūn to go with us, but as he inclined
to stay behind, leave was given him from Kūra-pass. We went on and
dismounted in Badr-aū (Tag-aū).
(_b. Excursions in Lamghān._)
(_Jan. ..._) Riding on, we dismounted at Aūlūgh-nūr.[1529] The fishermen
there took fish at one draught[1530] from the water of Bārān. At the
Other Prayer (afternoon) there was drinking on the raft; and there was
drinking in a tent after we left the raft at the Evening Prayer.
Ḥaidar the standard-bearer had been sent from Dāwar[1531] to the Kāfirs;
several Kāfir headmen came now to the foot of Bād-i-pīch (pass), brought
a few goat-skins of wine, and did obeisance. In descending that pass a
surprising number of ...[1532] was seen.
(_Jan. ..._) Next day getting on a raft, we ate a confection, got off
below Būlān and went to camp. There were two rafts.
(_Jan. 5th_) Marching on Friday (14th), we dismounted below Mandrāwar on
the hill-skirt. There was a late wine-party.
(_Jan. 6th_) On Saturday (15th), we passed through the Darūta narrows by
raft, got off a little above Jahān-namā'ī (Jalālābād) and went to the
Bāgh-i-wafā in front of Adīnapūr. When we were leaving the raft the
governor of Nīngnahār Qayyām Aūrdū Shāh came and did obeisance. Langar
Khān _Nīā-zāī_,—he had [Sidenote: Fol. 249b.] been in Nīl-āb for a
time,—waited upon me on the road. We dismounted in the Bāgh-i-wafā; its
oranges had yellowed beautifully; its spring-bloom was well-advanced,
and it was very charming. We stayed in it five or six days.
As it was my wish and inclination (_jū dagh-dagha_)to return to
obedience (_tā'ib_) in my 40th year, I was drinking to excess now that
less than a year was left.
(_Jan. 7th_) On Sunday the 16th, having made my morning (_ṣubūḥī_) and
became sober. Mullā Yārak played an air he had composed in five-time and
in the five-line measure (_makhammas_), while I chose to eat a
confection (_ma'jūn_). He had composed an excellent air. I had not
occupied myself with such things for some time; a wish to compose came
over me now, so I composed an air in four-time, as will be mentioned in
time.[1533]
(_Jan. 10th_) On Wednesday (19th) it was said for fun, while we
were making our morning (_ṣubūḥī_), "Let whoever speaks like a
Sārt (_i.e._ in Persian) drink a cup." Through this many drank. At
_sunnat-waqt_[1534] again, when we were sitting under the willows in the
middle of the meadow, it was said, "Let whoever speaks like a Turk,
drink a cup!" Through this also numbers drank. After the sun got up, we
drank under the orange-trees on the reservoir-bank.
(_Jan. 11th_) Next day (20th) we got on a raft from Darūta; got off
again below Jūī-shāhī and went to Atar.
(_Jan...._) We rode from there to visit Nūr-valley, went as far as Sūsān
(lily)-village, then turned back and dismounted in Amla.
[Sidenote: Fol. 250.] (_Jan. 14th_) As Khwāja Kalān had brought Bajaur
into good order, and as he was a friend of mine, I had sent for him and
had made Bajaur over to Shāh Mīr Ḥusain's charge. On Saturday the 22nd
of the month (Muḥarram), Shāh Mīr Ḥusain was given leave to go. That day
in Amla we drank.
(_Jan. 15th_) It rained (_yāmghūr yāghdūrūb_) next day (23rd).
When we reached Kula-grām in Kūnār[1535] where Malik `Alī's house is,
we dismounted at his middle son's house, overlooking an orange-orchard.
We did not go into the orchard because of the rain but just drank where
we were. The rain was very heavy. I taught Mullā `Alī Khān a ṯalisman I
knew; he wrote it on four pieces of paper and hung them on four sides;
as he did it, the rain stopped and the air began to clear.
(_Jan. 16th_) At dawn (24th) we got on a raft; on another several braves
went. People in Bajaur, Sawād, Kūnār and thereabouts make a beer (_bīr
būza_)[1536] the ferment of which is a thing they call _kīm_.[1537] This
_kīm_ they make of the roots of herbs and several simples, shaped like a
loaf, dried and kept by them. Some sorts of beer are surprisingly
exhilarating, but bitter and distasteful. We had thought of drinking
beer but, because of its bitter taste, preferred a confection. `Asas,
Ḥasan _Aīkirik_,[1538] and Mastī, on the other raft, were ordered to
drink some; they did so and became quite drunk. Ḥasan _Aīkirik_ set up a
disgusting disturbance; `Asas, very drunk, did such [Sidenote: Fol.
250b.] unpleasant things that we were most uncomfortable (_ba tang_). I
thought of having them put off on the far side of the water, but some of
the others begged them off.
I had sent for Khwāja Kalān at this time and had bestowed Bajaur on Shāh
Mīr Ḥusain. For why? Khwāja Kalān was a friend; his stay in Bajaur had
been long; moreover the Bajaur appointment appeared an easy one.
At the ford of the Kūnār-water Shāh Mīr Ḥusain met me on his way to
Bajaur. I sent for him and said a few trenchant words, gave him some
special armour, and let him go.
Opposite Nūr-gal (Rock-village) an old man begged from those on the
rafts; every-one gave him something, coat (_tūn_), turban, bathing-cloth
and so on, so he took a good deal away.
At a bad place in mid-stream the raft struck with a great shock; there
was much alarm; it did not sink but Mīr Muḥammad the raftsman was thrown
into the water. We were near Atar that night.
(_Jan. 17th_) On Tuesday (25th) we reached Mandrāwar.[1539] Qūtlūq-qadam
and his father had arranged a party inside the fort; though the place
had no charm, a few cups were drunk there to please them. We went to
camp at the Other Prayer.
(_Jan. 18th_) On Wednesday (26th) an excursion was made to
Kind-kir[1540] spring. Kind-kir is a dependent village of the Mandrāwar
_tūmān_, the one and only village of the Lamghānāt [Sidenote: Fol. 251.]
where dates are grown. It lies rather high on the mountain-skirt, its
date lands on its east side. At one edge of the date lands is the
spring, in a place aside (_yān yīr_). Six or seven yards below the
spring-head people have heaped up stones to make a shelter[1541] for
bathing and by so-doing have raised the water in the reservoir high
enough for it to pour over the heads of the bathers. The water is very
soft; it is felt a little cold in wintry days but is pleasant if one
stays in it.
(_Jan. 19th_) On Thursday (27th) Sher Khān _Tarkalānī_ got us to
dismount at his house and there gave us a feast (_ẓiyāfat_). Having
ridden on at the Mid-day Prayer, fish were taken out of the fish-ponds
of which particulars have been given.[1542]
(_Jan. 20th_) On Friday (28th) we dismounted near Khwāja Mīr-i-mīrān's
village. A party was held there at the Evening Prayer.
(_Jan. 21st_) On Saturday (29th) we hunted the hill between `Alī-shang
and Alangār. One hunting-circle having been made on the `Alī-shang side,
another on the Alangār, the deer were driven down off the hill and many
were killed. Returning from hunting, we dismounted in a garden belonging
to the Maliks of Alangār and there had a party.
Half of one of my front-teeth had broken off, the other half remaining;
this half broke off today while I was eating food.
(_Jan. 22nd_) At dawn (Ṣafar 1st) we rode out and had a fishing-net
cast, at mid-day went into `Alī-shang and drank in a garden.
(_Jan. 23rd_) Next day (Ṣafar 2nd) Ḥamza Khān, Malik of `Alī-shang was
made over to the avengers-of-blood[1543] for his evil deeds in shedding
innocent blood, and retaliation was made.
(_Jan. 24th_) On Tuesday, after reading a chapter of the Qorān
[Sidenote: Fol. 251b.] (_wird_), we turned for Kābul by the Yān-būlāgh
road. At the Other Prayer, we passed the [Bārān]-water from Aūlūgh-nūr
(Great-rock); reached Qarā-tū by the Evening Prayer, there gave our
horses corn and had a hasty meal prepared, rode on again as soon as they
had finished their barley.[1544]
TRANSLATOR'S NOTE ON 926 TO 932 AH.-1520 TO 1525 AD.
Bābur's diary breaks off here for five years and ten months.[1545] His
activities during the unrecorded period may well have left no time in
which to keep one up, for in it he went thrice to Qandahār, thrice into
India, once to Badakhshān, once to Balkh; twice at least he punished
refractory tribesmen; he received embassies from Hindūstān, and must
have had much to oversee in muster and equipment for his numerous
expeditions. Over and above this, he produced the _Mubīn_, a Turkī poem
of 2000 lines.
That the gap in his autobiography is not intentional several passages in
his writings show;[1546] he meant to fill it; there is no evidence that
he ever did so; the reasonable explanation of his failure is that he
died before he had reached this part of his book.
The events of these unrecorded years are less interesting than those of
the preceding gap, inasmuch as their drama of human passion is simpler;
it is one mainly of cross-currents of ambition, nothing in it matching
the maelstrom of sectarian hate, tribal antipathy, and racial struggle
which engulphed Bābur's fortunes beyond the Oxus.
None-the-less the period has its distinctive mark, the biographical one
set by his personality as his long-sustained effort works out towards
rule in Hindūstān. He becomes felt; his surroundings bend to his
purpose; his composite following accepts his goal; he gains the southern
key of Kābul and Hindūstān and presses the Arghūns out from his rear; in
the Panj-āb he becomes a power; the Rājpūt Rānā of Chitor proffers him
alliance against Ibrāhīm; and his intervention is sought in those
warrings of the Afghāns which were the matrix of his own success.
_a. Dramatis personae._
The following men played principal parts in the events of the
unchronicled years:—
Bābur in Kābul, Badakhshān and Balkh,[1547] his earlier following purged
of Mughūl rebellion, and augmented by the various Mīrzās-in-exile in
whose need of employment Shāh Beg saw Bābur's need of wider
territory.[1548]
Sulṯān Ibrāhīm _Lūdī_ who had succeeded after his father Sikandar's
death (Sunday Ẕū'l-qa`da 7th 923 _AH._-Nov. 21st 1517 AD.)[1549], was
now embroiled in civil war, and hated for his tyranny and cruelty.
Shāh Ismā`īl _Ṣafawī_, ruling down to Rajab 19th 930 AH. (May 24th 1524
AD.) and then succeeded by his son T̤ahmāsp _aet._ 10.
Kūchūm (Kūchkūnjī) Khān, Khāqān of the Aūzbegs, Shaibānī's successor,
now in possession of Transoxiana.
Sulṯān Sa`īd Khān _Chaghatāī_, with head-quarters in Kāshghar, a ruler
amongst the Mughūls but not their Khāqān, the supreme Khānship being his