The Bābur-nāma in English (Memoirs of Bābur)
dismounted within a _kuroh_ of Kālpī. Bābā Sl. came to wait on me in
this camp; he is a son of Khalīl Sl. who is a younger brother of the
full-blood of Sl. Sa`īd Khān. Last [Sidenote: Fol. 332b.] year he fled
from his elder brother[2184] but, repenting himself, went back from the
Andar-āb border; when he neared Kāshghar, The Khān (Sa`īd) sent Ḥaidar
M. to meet him and take him back.
(_Jan. 2nd-Rabī` II. 9th_) Next day we dismounted at `Ālam Khān's house
in Kālpī where he set Hindūstānī food before us and made an offering.
(_Jan. 6th_) On Monday the 13th of the month we marched from Kālpī.
(_Jan. 10th-Rabī` II. 17th_) On Friday we dismounted at Īrij.[2185]
(_Jan. 11th_) On Saturday we dismounted at Bāndīr.[2186]
(_Jan. 12th_) On Sunday the 19th of the month Chīn-tīmūr Sl. was put at
the head of 6 or 7000 men and sent ahead against Chandīrī. With him went
the begs Bāqī _mīng-bāshī_ (head of a thousand), Qūj Beg's (brother)
Tardī Beg, `Āshiq the taster, Mullā Apāq, Muḥsin[2187] _Dūldāī_ and, of
the Hindūstānī begs, Shaikh Gūran.
(_Jan 17th_) On Friday the 24th of the month we dismounted near Kachwa.
After encouraging its people, it was bestowed on the son of
Badru'd-dīn.[2188]
Kachwa[2189] is a shut-in place, having lowish hills all round it. A
dam has been thrown across between hills on the south-east of it, and
thus a large lake made, perhaps 5 or 6 _kurohs_ (10-12 m.) round. This
lake encloses Kachwa on three sides; on the north-west a space of ground
is kept dry;[2190] here, therefore is its Gate. On the lake are a great
many very small boats, able to hold 3 or 4 persons; in these the
inhabitants go out on the lake, if they have to flee. There are two
other lakes before Kachwa is [Sidenote: Fol. 333.] reached, smaller than
its own and, like that, made by throwing a dam across between hills.
(_Jan. 18th_) We waited a day in Kachwa in order to appoint active
overseers and a mass of spadesmen to level the road and cut jungle down,
so that the carts and mortar[2191] might pass along it easily. Between
Kachwa and Chandīrī the country is jungly.
(_Jan. 19th-Rabī` II. 26th_) After leaving Kachwa we halted one night,
passed the Burhānpūr-water (Bhurānpūr)[2192] and dismounted within 3
_kurohs_ (6 m.) of Chandīrī.
(_i. Chandīrī and its capture._)
The citadel of Chandīrī stands on a hill; below it are the town
(_shahr_) and outer-fort (_tāsh-qūrghān_), and below these is the level
road along which carts pass.[2193] When we left Burhānpūr (_Jan. 10th_)
we marched for a _kuroh_ below Chandīrī for the convenience of the
carts.[2194]
(_Jan. 21st_) After one night's halt we dismounted beside Bahjat Khān's
tank[2195] on the top of its dam, on Tuesday the 28th of the month.
(_Jan. 22nd-Rabī` II. 29th_) Riding out at dawn, we assigned post after
post (_būljār_, _būljār_),[2196] round the walled town (_qūrghān_) to
centre, right, and left. Ustād `Alī-qulī chose, for his stone-discharge,
ground that had no fall[2197]; overseers and spadesmen were told off to
raise a place (_m:ljār_) for the mortar to rest on, and the whole army
was ordered to get ready appliances for taking a fort, mantelets,
ladders[2198] and ... -mantelets (_tūra_).[2199]
Formerly Chandīrī will have belonged to the Sulṯāns of Mandāū (Mandū).
When Sl. Nāṣiru'd-dīn passed away,[2200] one [Sidenote: Fol. 333b.] of
his sons Sl. Maḥmūd who is now holding Mandū, took possession of it and
its neighbouring parts, and another son called Muḥammad Shāh laid hands
on Chandīrī and put it under Sl. Sikandar _(Lūdī)'s_ protection, who, in
his turn, took Muḥammad Shāh's side and sent him large forces. Muḥammad
Shāh survived Sl. Sikandar and died in Sl. Ibrāhīm's time, leaving a
very young son called Aḥmad Shāh whom Sl. Ibrāhīm drove out and replaced
by a man of his own. At the time Rānā Sangā led out an army against Sl.
Ibrāhīm and Ibrāhīm's begs turned against him at Dūlpūr, Chandīrī fell
into the Rānā's hands and by him was given to Medinī [Mindnī] Rāo[2201]
the greatly-trusted pagan who was now in it with 4 or 5000 other pagans.
As it was understood there was friendship between Medinī Rāo and Ārāīsh
Khān, the latter was sent with Shaikh Gūran to speak to Medinī Rāo with
favour and kindness, and promise Shamsābād[2202] in exchange for
Chandīrī. One or two of his trusted men got out(?).[2203] No adjustment
of matters was reached, it is not known whether because Medinī Rāo did
not trust what was said, or whether because he was buoyed up by delusion
about the strength of the fort.
(_Jan. 28th_) At dawn on Tuesday the 6th of the first Jumāda we marched
from Bahjat Khān's tank intending to assault Chandīrī. We dismounted at
the side of the middle-tank near [Sidenote: Fol. 334.] the fort.
(_j. Bad news._)
On this same morning after reaching that ground, Khalīfa brought a
letter or two of which the purport was that the troops appointed for the
East[2204] had fought without consideration, been beaten, abandoned
Laknau, and gone to Qanūj. Seeing that Khalīfa was much perturbed and
alarmed by these news, I said,[2205] (_Persian_) "There is no ground for
perturbation or alarm; nothing comes to pass but what is predestined of
God. As this task (Chandīrī) is ahead of us, not a breath must be drawn
about what has been told us. Tomorrow we will assault the fort; that
done, we shall see what comes."
(_k. Siege of Chandīrī, resumed._)
The enemy must have strengthened just the citadel, and have posted men
by twos and threes in the outer-fort for prudence' sake. That night our
men went up from all round; those few in the outer-fort did not fight;
they fled into the citadel.
(_Jan. 29th_) At dawn on Wednesday the 7th of the first Jumāda, we
ordered our men to arm, go to their posts, provoke to fight, and attack
each from his place when I rode out with drum and standard.
I myself, dismissing drum and standard till the fighting should grow
hot, went to amuse myself by watching Ustād `Alī-qulī's
stone-discharge.[2206] Nothing was effected by it because his ground had
no fall (_yāghdā_) and because the fort-walls, being entirely [Sidenote:
Fol. 334b.] of stone, were extremely strong.
That the citadel of Chandīrī stands on a hill has been said already.
Down one side of this hill runs a double-walled road (_dū-tahī_) to
water.[2207] This is the one place for attack; it had been assigned as
the post of the right and left hands and royal corps of the
centre.[2208] Hurled though assault was from every side, the greatest
force was here brought to bear. Our braves did not turn back, however
much the pagans threw down stones and flung flaming fire upon them. At
length Shāhīm the centurion[2209] got up where the _dū-tahī_ wall
touches the wall of the outer fort; braves swarmed up in other places;
the _dū-tahī_ was taken.
Not even as much as this did the pagans fight in the citadel; when a
number of our men swarmed up, they fled in haste.[2210] In a little
while they came out again, quite naked, and renewed the fight; they put
many of our men to flight; they made them fly (_āuchūrdīlār_) over the
ramparts; some they cut down and killed. Why they had gone so suddenly
off the walls seems to have been that they had taken the resolve of
those who give up a place as lost; they put all their ladies and
beauties (_ṣūratīlār_) to death, then, looking themselves to die, came
naked out to fight. Our men attacking, each one from his post, drove
[Sidenote: Fol. 335.] them from the walls whereupon 2 or 300 of them
entered Medinī Rāo's house and there almost all killed one another in
this way:—one having taken stand with a sword, the rest eagerly
stretched out the neck for his blow.[2211] Thus went the greater number
to hell.
By God's grace this renowned fort was captured in 2 or 3 _garīs_[2212]
(_cir._ an hour), without drum and standard,[2213] with no hard fighting
done. A pillar of pagan-heads was ordered set up on a hill north-west of
Chandīrī. A chronogram of this victory having been found in the words
_Fatḥ-i-dāru'l-ḥarb_[2214] (Conquest of a hostile seat), I thus composed
them:—
Was for awhile the station Chandīrī
Pagan-full, the seat of hostile force;
By fighting, I vanquished its fort,
The date was _Fatḥ-i-dāru'l-ḥarb_.
(_l. Further description of Chandīrī._)
Chandīrī is situated (in) rather good country,[2215] having much
running-water round about it. Its citadel is on a hill and inside it
has a tank cut out of the solid rock. There is another large tank[2216]
at the end of the _dū-tahī_ by assaulting which the fort was taken. All
houses in Chandīrī, whether of high or low, are built of stone, those of
chiefs being laboriously carved;[2217] those of the lower classes are
also of stone but are not carved. They are covered in [Sidenote: Fol.
335b.] with stone-slabs instead of with earthen tiles. In front of the
fort are three large tanks made by former governors who threw dams
across and made tanks round about it; their ground lies high.[2218] It
has a small river (_daryācha_), Betwa[2219] by name, which may be some 3
_kurohs_ (6 m.) from Chandīrī itself; its water is noted in Hindūstān as
excellent and pleasant drinking. It is a perfect little river
(_daryā-ghīna_). In its bed lie piece after piece of sloping rock
(_qīālār_)[2220] fit for making houses.[2221] Chandīrī is 90 _kurohs_
(180 m.) by road to the south of Āgra. In Chandīrī the altitude of the
Pole-star (?) is 25 degrees.[2222]
(_m. Enforced change of campaign._)
(_Jan. 30th-Jumāda I. 8th_) At dawn on Thursday we went round the fort
and dismounted beside Mallū Khān's tank.[2223]
We had come to Chandīrī meaning, after taking it, to move against
Rāīsīng, Bhīlsān, and Sārangpūr, pagan lands dependent on the pagan
Ṣalāḥu'd-dīn, and, these taken, to move on Rānā Sangā in Chītūr. But as
that bad news had come, the begs were summoned, matters were discussed,
and decision made that the proper course was first to see to the
rebellion of those malignants. Chandīrī was given to the Aḥmad Shāh
already mentioned, a grandson of Sl. Nāṣiru'd-dīn; 50 _laks_ from it
were made _khalṣa_;[2224] Mullā Apāq was entrusted with its
military-collectorate, and left to reinforce Aḥmad Shāh with from 2 to
3000 Turks and Hindūstānīs.
[Sidenote: Fol. 336.] (_Feb. 2nd_) This work finished, we marched from
Mallū Khān's tank on Sunday the 11th of the first Jumāda, with the
intention of return (north), and dismounted on the bank of the
Burhānpūr-water.
(_Feb. 9th_) On Sunday again, Yakka Khwāja and Ja`far Khwāja were sent
from Bāndīr to fetch boats from Kālpī to the Kanār-passage.
(_Feb. 22nd_) On Saturday the 24th of the month we dismounted at the
Kanār-passage, and ordered the army to begin to cross.
(_n. News of the rebels._)
News came in these days that the expeditionary force[2225] had abandoned
Qanūj also and come to Rāprī, and that a strong body of the enemy had
assaulted and taken Shamsābād although Abū'l-muḥammad the lancer must
have strengthened it.[2226] There was delay of 3 or 4 days on one side
or other of the river before the army got across. Once over, we moved
march by march towards Qanūj, sending scouting braves (_qāzāq yīgītlār_)
ahead to get news of our opponents. Two or three marches from Qanūj,
news was brought that Ma`rūf's son had fled on seeing the dark mass of
the news-gatherers, and got away. Bīban, Bāyazīd and Ma`rūf, on hearing
news of us, crossed Gang (Ganges) and seated themselves on its eastern
bank opposite Qanūj, thinking to prevent our passage.
(_o. A bridge made over the Ganges._)
(_Feb. 27th_) On Thursday the 6th of the latter Jumāda we passed Qanūj
and dismounted on the western bank of Gang. Some of the braves went up
and down the river and took boats [Sidenote: Fol. 336b.] by force,[2227]