they had been informed that, although they themselves had before now reached to the very suburbs of Dehlí, and so many ravages had been committed by Nádir Sháh, yet the Emperor was still equally as negligent and indifferent as ever. With this idea they gladly crossed the Nerbadda. Malhárjí, Pílújí, and other chiefs of the enemy's army, which, according to some, was no less than 50,000 horse, came through Bundelkhand as far as the banks of the Jumna; but suddenly, on hearing that Bájí Ráo, having fallen into the claws of death, had gone to the deserts of hell, they returned, without accomplishing anything, towards Sattárá-garh to meet Rája Sáhú.

Raghú, nephew of Rája Sáhú, at the head of 80,000 horse, fought with Násir Jang, to avenge the defeat of Bájí Ráo. Násir Jang in this battle also gave a complete repulse to the infidel enemy.

One of the nobles, by name Shujá'u-d daula, who was a very good man, and governed the province of Bengal with the utmost justice, died a natural death. As he was a great protector of his subjects, and exceedingly just, the country, by virtue of these qualities, flourished greatly, and the revenue had so much increased that every year he sent two krors of rupees to the Emperor; besides which, thirty thousand horse and an immense body of infantry received their pay from him. He also sent thousands of presents to the saints in all parts of the country and cities. The Emperor Muhammad Sháh, and the ministers of the throne, having shut up the path of justice, and stretching out the hand of rapacity upon the subjects, devoted themselves to amassing wealth, which at last all fell to the lot of the enemy, and there was even a deficiency in the fixed revenue of the khálisa.

TWENTY-THIRD YEAR OF THE REIGN.

Zahíru-d daula 'Azímu-llah Khán, being appointed to the governorship of Málwá, went to the territory of Bhadáwar, and having taken five lacs of rupees as a contribution from Ráj Singh,

son of Rája Antrat Singh, raised him to the masnad of that principality. He then proceeded to Datiá, where he came to an understanding with its chief, and took seven lacs of rupees from him in return for the renewal of his jágírs. From that he went to Urchha, and spent some days in fighting and squabbling with the Rája. As he acted contrary to the rule of the former governors, who, after securing the satisfaction and alliances of all the Rájas who were the servants of the Emperor, applied themselves to the government of the province, he could not even enter the territory to which he was appointed, through fear of the enemy. He passed some time in quarrelling with these Rájas, and then returned.

Mirza Mannu, son of Itimádu-d daula Kamru-d dín Khán was appointed to the governorship of Ajmír, and he went to that place with two thousand horse. Although the Rájas had acquired great ascendency in that part of the country, so that in the city of Ajmír, where the sepulchre of the Great Khwaja stands, the slaughtering of cows and other practices of Islám were prohibited, yet he stayed there only for one day, and, according to the orders of his father, who had instructed him to act in subordination to Rája Jai Singh, he leased the governorship of the province to him, and returned to Dehlí.

When Nizámu-1 Mulk Asaf Jáh was informed that his son Násir Jang had by his firmness obtained great advantages and victories over the enemy, who fled from before his name like a crow before a bow; that Islám had obtained a new lustre; that the allowances of the many officers and soldiers under him were fixed according to each man's worth; and that he had introduced peace and tranquillity among his subjects,—the fire of ambition and of a desire to assist the wretched enemy, which he had always felt, was rekindled in him. Having obtained leave from the Emperor, he marched with great haste towards the Dakhin, and arrived in a very short space of time at the banks of the Nerbadda. As he had but a very little force with him, he received a reinforcement of one thousand horse from

Yár Muhammad Khán, who ruled over the greater part of the province of Málwá. Having crossed the river, he stopped for some time in the city of Burhánpúr, where a dispute arose between the father and son. At last, the latter, who, independent of being sensible and learned, was very dutiful, and a much better man than his father and ancestors, notwithstanding that he had possessed so much influence and power, voluntarily, out of respect to the rights of his father, resigned all concern in the affairs of government, and sat at the gate of the sacred shrine of saint Zainu-l Mulk, where also the remains of Sháh 'Alamgir (Aurangzeb) are interred. As he was a very wise man, had been disgusted with worldly pursuits, and had much regard for works of religion, he withdrew his hand from the pollutions of this world, and attended to the excellences of the next.

Nizámu-l Mulk, who had become old, was so much entangled in the allurements of this unprofitable world, that, although from the time of 'Alamgir to the present he had seen how faithless it had proved to a great number of its followers, yet, through his avarice and ambition, he discouraged his excellent son, and still seeks to injure him, notwithstanding that he must well know the world to be nothing and its votaries nothing.

XCII.

TARIKH-I NADIRU-Z ZAMANI

OF

KHUSHHAL CHAND.

THE author of this work was Khushhál Chand, a writer in the diwání office of Dehlí, in the time of Muhammad Sháh. His father, Jíwan Rám, held various employments in the time of Aurangzeb and Bahádur Sháh. He was at first in the service of Rúhu-llah Khán and Bahramand Khán, and when Shaikh 'Atáu-llah was appointed intelligencer and bakhshi of Láhore, Jíwan Rám was made his peshkár. After leaving Láhore, he was appointed deputy superintendent of the diwání office at Dehlí, and in the time of Bahádur Sháh was raised to the rank of 150. As he was a poet, he presented several copies of verses to the Emperor, for which he received a reward of two hundred rupees. He died in the year 1164 A.H.

The eldest son, Khúb Chand, succeeded to his father's office, and Khushhál Chand also obtained employment in the diwání office, with which he expresses himself well satisfied, "as it enabled him to fulfil the duties of both this world and the next." In compliment to the Emperor under whom he was employed, he calls his work Tarikh-i Muhammad-Shahi, to which he gives also the honorific title of Nádiru-z Zamání, "the wonder of the world," as it contains, in combination with another word, the date of composition-1152 A.H. (1739-40 A.D.); but the history is carried down a few years later.

The Nádiru-z Zamání is divided into two volumes, one called the Majma'u-l Akhbárát, the other Zubdatu-l Akhbárát, each

divided into two books. Independent of the historical matter, the work contains treatises on arithmetic, astrology, palmistry, versification and other irrelevant matters.

The second volume will form the subject of a future notice.1 The first, or Majma'u-l Akhbárát, is appropriated as below.

CONTENTS.

'Book I. Account of the wise and religious persons, from the Creation to the time of Muhammad Shah. Ancestors of Muhammad Shah up to 'Umar Shaikh Mirzá, father of the Emperor Bábar. A brief account of the governments of Arabia, Persia, Turkistán, Túrán, Rúm, Shám, and Irán, from the era of Kaiumárs to the time of Naushírwán. A brief account of the

Ghaznivides, Ghorians, Saljúkians, and other dynasties.

Book II. History of India from Rája Judishtar's reign to the time of Ibráhím Lodí. Account of some of the most celebrated saints of India, such as Mu'ínu-d dín Chishtí, Kutbu-l Aktáb, and others, and of the reformers of the Hindú religion, such as Rámánand, Kabír, Raidás, and Nának, with a notice of the Shástras and Vedántism.

SIZE. The first Book contains 331 large 8vo. pages of 19 lines each.

The first volume contains nothing of interest. The only useful part of the work is the history of Muhammad Sháh.

The Nadiru-z Zamání is very rare. The late Sadru-s Sudúr of Mainpúrí had a perfect copy, which his heirs have lost; and Nawab 'Alí Muhammad Khán of Jhajjar has a very imperfect copy, deficient in the second books of both volumes. The Nawab of Tonk has the first book. Wilken quotes an Indian History of this name in the Berlin Library, but I cannot trace the quoted passage in the portions of the work available to me.

1 [There is no such notice among the papers, nor any copy of the work in the library.]

2 Mirchondi Historia Gasnevidarum, p. 264.