was during the battle a sword in my hand, nor have I shown my back in flight, and in the disaster an arrow penetrated my eye. Let all the infidels be asked if I did not serve the Sháh like other slaves. I sing thy praises like a nightingale; why then am I cooped up like a hawk in a hill fortress?

D.-MIR 'ALI SHER.

Mír 'Alí Sher, or 'Alí Sher Amír, the enlightened minister of Sultán Husain of Persia, was born about A.¤. 844 (a.d. 1440).

Mír 'Ali Sher was of an illustrious family of the Chaghatáí tribe. His father, Bahadur, who was a man of deep learning and science, and whose chief pride it was to give a finished education to his children, held one of the principal offices of government during the reign of Sultán Abú-1 Kásim Bábar, son of Tímúr, and 'Alí Sher was himself employed at Court, having ingratiated himself with this prince so much, as to obtain from him the title of son. He gained this favour by means of his literary accomplishments, and especially by the display of his talent as a composer of Turkish and Persian When this prince died, Mír 'Alí Sher retired to Meshhed, and subsequently to Samarkand, where he devoted himself to study. Some time afterwards, Sultán Husain Bahádur Khán, having made himself master of Khurásán, invited Mír 'Alí Sher, with whom he had been educated, and for whom he entertained a great affection, for the purpose of entrusting to him the administration of the Government.

verses.

After being employed in the capacity of díwán and minister for some time, love of study induced him to resign, but Husain prevailed upon him to accept the government of Astarábád, which also proving too busy an occupation for one of his literary tastes, he resigned it after a short period, and bidding a final adieu to public life, passed the remainder of his days in composing Turkish and Persian works, of which Sám Mirzá recounts the names of no less than twenty-one. Though himself an ambitious author, he was far from being jealous of the accomplishments of others, and proved himself one of the most eminent patrons of literature. Daulat Sháh the biographer, Mírkhond and Khondamír the historians, dedicated their works to him; and amongst other men of genius who were

cherished by his liberality may be mentioned the celebrated poet Jámí. He patronized also sculpture and architecture, and several edifices dedicated to religion and humanity were raised at his sole expense. He was also very partial to music, and himself composed several pieces of merit, which are said still to maintain their credit.

His collection of Odes in the Chaghatáí, or pure Turkish dialect, which he wrote under the poetical title of Nuáí, amounts to ten thousand couplets; and his parody of Nizámí's five poems, containing nearly thirty thousand couplets, is universally admired by the culti vators of Turkish poetry, in which he is considered to be without a rival.

In the Persian language also he wrote a collection of Odes under the poetical title of Fanáí, from which Hájí Lutf 'Ali, in his A'tishkadah, has selected the following as a beautiful specimen :

"O you who say, 'Don't curse Yazid, for possibly the Almighty may have had mercy on him.' I say, if the Lord pardoneth all the evil which Yazid did to the Prophet's descendants, He will also pardon you, who may have cursed him."

'Alí Sher died A.í. 906 (a.d. 1500), five years before his royal friend and master Sultán Husain Mirzá, and Khondamír has recorded the date in an affectionate chronogram:

"His highness, the Amír, the asylum of divine guidance, in whom all the marks of mercy were conspicuous, has quitted the thorny brake of the world, and fled to the rose-garden of pity. Since the light of mercy' has descended on his soul, those words represent the day of his departure."

E.-MASNAD 'ALI KHAWAS KHAN.

There is no connected account of this officer in any of these Afghán histories. Those who treat of him separately fill their statements

1 Compare S. de Sacy, Mém. sur div. antiq. de la Perse. M. Quatremère, Journ. des Savants, 1843, p. 387. Gesch. d. sch. Red. Pers., p. 310. Notices et Extraits des MSS., tom. iv. 246, 290, ix. 121. Biographical Dict. L. U. K., s. v. Journ. Asiatique, Jan. 1842, p. 70. Sir G. Ouseley, Notices of Persian Poets, pp. 50-53. Price's Retrospect of Mohammedan History, vol. iii., p. 656. Memoirs of Baber, p. 184. Erskine's Life of Baber, vol. i., p. 81. Zeitschrift Deutsch. M. Gesell., vol. ii., 242, 256. David's Turkish Grammar, p. xxxviii. Biog. Univ. vol. i., p. 655. Sprenger's Bibliog, p. 9. Tabakát-i Sháh-Jahání, fol. 153. Makhzanu-l Gharáíb.

H

!

with what to us are the most uninteresting events of his life. Thus, in the Tárikh-i Khán-Jahán (MS., pp. 187-190), there is a long eulogy upon his great Muhammadan virtues, and especially his lavish prodigality' in behalf of lazy fakírs. The Wáki'át-i Mushtákí (MS., pp. 112-17) gives these and other particulars; but, notwithstanding its prolixity, is not complete even in these five long pages, as an hiatus occurs before we come to the time of his death. The Táríkh-i Dáúdí (MS., pp. 291-7) also celebrates his indiscriminate liberality to these sanctimonious vagabonds, and gives as an illustration that he had no less than 2500 apartments in his palace, in each of which 100 of these obese vermin were pampered at the rate of two sírs of corn per diem, great and small. Doubtless, the exaggeration of numbers is enormous; but admitting even one hundredth part to be true, it again leads to the reflection which similar laudations have excitedWhat misery must have been entailed upon the wretched plundered people to supply the extravagances and establish the piety and benevolence of these ostentatious patrons of professed devotees.

With respect to his death, this work simply tells us that he was killed without having committed any fault. In short, all these authors dwell more upon the excellence and liberality of his cuisine, than upon his tragic end, and the deliberate perfidy and knavery of the base king at whose instigation he was murdered. There is no occasion to notice any of the political events of his life, for they will be found frequently mentioned in the reigns of Sher Shah and Islám Sháh; but it is curious to remark that, on his first introduction to public life, when he succeeded to the title of Khawás Khán, upon the occasion of his elder brother's being drowned in the ditch of the fort of Gaur, he came into slight collision with his future murderer Islám Sháh, then Prince Jalál Khán. Khawás Khán urged an immediate attack, to which Jalál Khán gave his reluctant consent; but generously attributed the victory, when gained, to the courage and energy of Khawás Khán.2

It has been remarked at p. 485, how confused is the record of his 1 This will be found translated in the annotations of Dr. Dorn's History of the Afgháns, part ii., pp. 106-8. In a little book entitled the Shajrat Afghánia (MS., p. 136), this profusion is attributed to Sher Shah, but he was too wise and practical a man for such follies.

2 Suprà, p. 360.

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career at the beginning of Islám Sháh's reign. It may, therefore, be necessary to mention that, after flying from Mewát with all his artillery, in which he was strong, he remained some time in Sirhind, whither 'Azam Humáyún advanced against him by Islám Shah's orders, with 40,000 men; but they had a secret understanding with each other, and Khawás Khán retired leisurely on his advance, and entered Rohilkhand, where, after for a long time desolating the royal parganas at the foot of the Kamáún hills, he joined the Níázís before the battle of Ambála, and on the day of action deserted them on the plea of their wishing to exclude any man of the Súr family from the succession to the empire. His movements here appear to have been very extraordinary, for instead of joining Islám Sháh, to whom he had communicated his intentions, and from whom he might have expected to receive the immediate reward of his perfidy, he again returned to his haunts under the hills, and finally sought the protection of the Rájá of Kamáún, who conducted himself with great magnanimity during the events we shall now have to record. He entered the Rájá's country by the pass of Dabar, and fixed his residence at Alhahí. Ahmad Yádgár is the author who gives by far the fullest and most consistent account of his death in a passage extending from pp. 336 to 342 of his history, which I here proceed to abstract.

After the Rájá of Rájaurí had presented a white elephant, and so ingratiated himself with the King that he was reinstated in his territories, Islám Sháh returned from those parts, and remained some time at Agra.

Here intelligence was brought him by his spies, that Khawas Khán had established himself upon a lofty mountain in the dominions of the Rájá of Kamáún, who had assigned him some villages for his support, as well as a daily allowance of cash. Upon this, Táj Khán Kirání, who held the Súba of Sambhal,' was directed to use every possible means to get the refugee into his power. "If his hand could not reach there, he was to do it by messages, promising royal benefactions-such as the imperial districts at the foot of the

1 This ungrateful scoundrel had owed his preferment to Khawás Khan. In the subsequent history of the Afgháns, we find him in rebellion against his liege-lord, and supporting his usurpations by the same means of lying and forgery which he found so successful on this occasion.

hills, which would be made over to him. By holding out hopes such as these, Táj Khán might be able to send him in chains to Court."

Several messages were despatched at the same time to the Rájá, who indignantly replied, "How can I throw into fetters a man who has sought my protection? As long as I have breath in my body, I never can be guilty of such baseness." Islám Sháh himself then wrote to Khawás Khán, to say that he forgave him, and wished that what had passed should all be forgotten between them; that the Ráná of Udipúr had again raised his head, and plundered several of the royal possessions, and carried off the wives and children of Musulmáns; that none of the nobles had succeeded in their measures against him; and that all their hopes were now centred in Khawás Khán. "All this is asserted with all the sincerity than can attach to an oath before God; and after that, an engagement and guarantee was engrossed on saffron-coloured cloth, and despatched. And Táj Khán was at the same time instructed to use every kind of cajolery and flattery, in order to lull that bird into security, and entice him into the net; for the wounds which his conduct had implanted in the King's breast could not be healed but by the salve of his murder."

On the receipt of these missives, Khawás Khán's immediate impulse was to obey them, but he was strongly dissuaded by his adherents and the Rájá, who represented that the King was perfidious, that he had destroyed most of his nobles, and how then could he allow Khawás Khán to escape, who had been ten times opposed to him in battle? These remonstrances were, however, of no avail.

When Táj Khán wrote to inform His Majesty that Khawás Khán had arrived within twenty kos of Sambhal, "The king, who entertained in his heart the most inveterate hatred, forgot his sacred promises and his oath before God, and wrote, saying, 'The moment he arrives slay him, and having stuffed his body with straw, despatch it to Dehlí.""

When Khawás Khán arrived at the town of Sirsí, Táj Khán advanced with his army to meet him, and at night sent his

1 The Makhzan-i Afghání represents that the Rájá said he was incapable of affording him protection any longer, and that Khawas Khán came himself to Dehlí and surrendered himself.