Humáyún made the most solemn promises and oaths to the Sambhals; and the whole tribe, with their wives and families, came to him. When he saw that he had deceived the whole tribe of Sambhals, and that they had come in with their wives and families, he took measures to prevent their escape, and slew 900 persons. While he was putting them to death, the Níázís said to several of their friends among the Sambhals, “We will let you escape, fly!" But the Sambhals maintained the Afghán honour, and said:" It is better to die with our wives and families than to live dishonoured; for it is a well-known proverb, The death of a whole tribe is a solemn feast."" When 'Azam Humáyún had slain most of the Sambhals, he sent their wives and families to Sher Sháh. Sher Shah, who wished no man evil, disapproved of 'Azam Humáyún's cruelty, and said: "Never before has such a shameful thing been done among the race of Afgháns; but 'Azam Humáyún in fear of the King has slain so many of his own tribe. It is only from his affection for the King that he would thus uselessly shed so much blood of his own tribe." He had intended to remove 'Azam Humáyún from his government of the Panjáb, but had no time before he was glorified in martyrdom. After his death, 'Azam Humáyún displayed great loyalty, which shall be narrated in its proper place.

From the day that Sher Shah was established on the throne, no man dared to breathe in opposition to him; nor did any one raise the standard of contumacy or rebellion against him; nor was any heart-tormenting thorn produced in the garden of his kingdom; nor was there any of his nobles or soldiery, or a thief or a robber, who dared to direct the eye of dishonesty to the property of another; nor did any theft or robbery ever occur in his dominions. Travellers and wayfarers, during the time of Sher Shah's reign, were relieved from the trouble of keeping watch; nor did they fear to halt even in the midst of a desert. They encamped at night at every place, desert or inhabited, without fear; they placed their goods and property on the plain, and

turned out their mules to graze, and themselves slept with minds at ease and free from care, as if in their own house; and the zamindars, for fear any mischief should occur to the travellers, and that they should suffer or be arrested on account of it, kept watch over them. And in the time of Sher Shah's rule, a decrepit old woman might place a basket full of gold ornaments on her head and go on a journey, and no thief or robber would come near her, for fear of the punishments which Sher Shah inflicted. "Such a shadow spread over the world, that a decrepit person feared not a Rustam." During his time, all quarrelling, disputing, fighting, and turmoil, which is the nature of the Afgháns, was altogether quieted and put a stop to throughout the countries of Roh and of Hindustán. Sher Sháh, in wisdom and experience, was a second Haidar. In a very short period he gained the dominion of the country, and provided for the safety of the highways, the administration of the Government, and the happiness of the soldiery and people. God is a discerner of righteousness!

28

TOL. IV.

[THIS history bears no date, and the author says nothing about himself; but he incidentally calls himself 'Abdu-lla, and mentions the name of the Emperor Jahángír; so the book must have been written after the accession of that monarch, which took place in the year 1605 A.D. The author gives the following account of his work in the Preface:

"History is not simply information regarding the affairs of kings who have passed away; but it is a science which expands the intellect, and furnishes the wise with examples. Since this humble individual has spent a considerable portion of his life in studying historical works pregnant with instructive examples, and has examined the conditions of things under many sovereigns; and it appeared that the records of the reigns of the Afghán kings (of Hindustán), who were one of the dynasties of the times, existed only in a scattered form; I involuntarily conceived the design of collecting them, with the aid of the Almighty, in one volume. I therefore undertook the work, and in a very short time completed it. I commenced with the reign of Bahlol Lodí, who was the first king of the Afghán dynasty, and brought my history down to the (end of the) reign of Muhammad 'Adali Súr [and] Dáúd Sháh, who was the last ruler of this race, and I entitled it the Tárikh-i Dáúdi."1 Dáúd Sháh was beheaded by order of the Khán-khánán, and a chronogram at the end of this work gives the date as 983 H. (1575 a.d.).

1 Col. Lees, in Journal of Royal Asiatic Society, vol. iii. new series, p. 453.

Like all historians of this period, 'Abdu-lla is very deficient in dates, and is fond of recording stories and anecdotes, many of them not a little marvellous. All the writers attribute to the Sultán Sikandar Lodí great intelligence and justice, and a shrewd way of settling mysterious disputes. Anecdotes of his acumen are numerous, and many of them have been reproduced by later writers, and attributed to the monarchs of their own times. A few only of the stories recorded under the reign of Sikandar have been printed as specimens. The history of his reign, as given in this book, is very fragmentary and disjointed, and amounts to little. more than desultory memoirs : but this is the prevailing character of all the works upon the Afghán dynasty. They are valuable as affording materials from which a history might be compiled; but the dynasty has no special historian. The earlier and the later extracts were translated by Sir H. M. Elliot; but the narratives of the reigns of Sikandar and Islám Sháh were translated by Ensign Charles F. Mackenzie, and approved by Sir H. M. Elliot. The notes are the work of the latter.]

EXTRACTS.

Malik Bahlol invited to usurp the throne.

Hamid Khán escaped and fled to Dehlí, and pondered how he should elevate some one else to the throne in lieu of 'Aláu-d dín. He summoned two competitors for the crown-Kiyám Khán and Malik Bahlol. Both obeyed the summons with alacrity. Bahlol was at Sirhind, and hastened with the quickness of the wind towards Dehlí, accompanied by a countless army. Kiyám Khán, hearing that Bahlol had the start of him, abandoned the journey on which he had set out.

Malik Bahlol paid his respects to Hamíd Khán, who, on his very first interview, congratulated him upon obtaining the empire of Dehlí, expressing his own determination to retain the wazárat. Malik Bahlol replied:-"I am a mere soldier, and cannot manage even my own country. You should be king, and I will

be the commander of your troops, and obey any other injunctions you may have to issue." *

At last, after engagements had been entered into, he placed the keys of the fort before Bahlol, who acknowledged himself ready to undertake the service assigned to him. He professed to take charge of the city and its gates, leaving the government in the hands of Hamíd Khán, and although the latter retained all the shadow of power, yet in reality all the royal establishments were usurped by Bahlol. So long as Hamíd Khán retained any power, Sultán Bahlol thought it expedient to pay him extreme marks of deference, and went every day to pay his respects.

Character of Sultán Bahlol.

Sultán Bahlol was, indeed, a king who fostered religion, and evinced courage and generosity. His mercy and benevolence were habitual: he observed the rules of honesty, and had exceeding respect for the law, to the injunctions of which he strictly adhered in all his undertakings. He spent most of his time in the assemblies of the wise, and in the society of holy men; and made special inquiries respecting the poor and necessitous. He never turned away a suppliant; and he read his prayers in public five times every day. He devoted excessive care to the administration of justice; himself heard the petitions of his subjects, and left them not to be disposed of by his ministers. He was wise, experienced, considerate, kind, friendly, condescending, and just. Whatever came into his possession, in money, goods, or new parganas, he distributed it all among his troops, and reserved nothing whatever for himself. He accumulated no treasure, and executed his kingly functions without parade and ostentation. At the time of his meals, he satisfied himself with farinaceous food; but any one who entered might partake of other viands. In his social meetings he never sat on a throne, and would not allow his nobles to stand; and even during public audiences he did not occupy the throne, but seated himself upon