Swords From the East (71 page)

In the Afghan country Said Kasim and Dost Muhammad Bakir once had gone out of the camp, after drinking. Said Kasim was so drunk that two of his servants had to put him on a horse and hold him in the saddle until they got back to our lines.

But Dost Muhammad was so far gone that his companions were unable to get him on a horse. They poured a great quantity of water over him, without result. At this very moment a party of Afghans came in sight. Anim Terkhan, who was also very drunk, gravely gave it as his opinion that rather than leave Dost to fall into the hands of the enemy in that condition, it would be better to cut off his head and carry it away to safety.

Those who were more sober, however, contrived to cast Dost bodily over the horse, which they led along to camp.

In Hindustan I had formed the custom of going upon a boat to drink. Both the bow and stern of these boats were roofed over, giving a place for sitting. On one of these occasions, in a very pleasant spot I had some fourteen officers for companions, and we drank spirits until after noon prayers, and then we began eating majaun.*
Those who were at the other end of the vessel did not know we were taking majaun, and kept on drinking spirits. About night prayers we left the vessel and mounted our horses, returning late to camp.

Two of my officers, thinking I had been taking nothing but spirits and imagining that they were doing me an agreeable service, brought me a pitcher of liquor, carrying it by turns on their horses.

"Here it is," they said. "Dark as the night is, we have brought a pitcher. We carried it by turns."

They were told we had no use for the pitcher, although they were extremely drunk and jovial when they brought it in. The drug-eaters and spirit-drinkers are very apt to take offense with each other.

"Don't spoil the party," I told them. "Whoever wishes to drink spirits, let him drink spirits; and let him that prefers majaun take majaun."

Some sat down to one, some to the other. But the spirit-drinkers soon began to make provoking remarks on majaun and hemp-eaters. There was much uproar and wrangling.

We resumed drinking spirits in the boat until bedtime prayers, when, being completely drunk, we mounted our horses. Taking torches in our hands, we came at full gallop from the riverside back to the camp, falling sometimes on one side of the horse, sometimes on the other. I was miserably drunk, and next morning when they told me I had galloped into the camp waving a lighted torch, I had not the slightest recollection of it.

But it was not now a fitting season for intoxication. I passed the river Jhilam by the ford. After sending word to the ameers of my garrison in Lahore to join me, I camped on the river Chenab, halting one day to rest my horses.*

At that time the whole empire of Hindustan from the Jhilam to the Ganges was in the hands of the Afghan dynasty. Their prince was Sultan Ibrahim, the son of Sultan Iskander. In his hands was the throne of Delhi.

His army in the field was said to number a hundred thousand men, and his elephants-including those of his ameers-were nearly a thousand. More than once he had driven in my allies when his elephants trampled them. Even the eastern kings of Jaunpur, whose forefathers had been cupbearers to a great race of sultans, had fallen into the power of the Afghans-although at that time some of the eastern ameers were in rebellion. The resources of Hindustan could raise an army of five hundred thousand men.

The kingdoms that depended on me were the tribal holdings under the Hindu Kush, and the mountain dominions of Kabul and Kandahar, but these countries could not furnish me with adequate grain and resources for a campaign-indeed to some of them I was then obliged to send assistance. My men and their followers of all descriptions numbered twelve thousand.

Yet, placing my trust in God and leaving behind me my ancient foes, the Uzbeks of Turkestan, I advanced to meet Sultan Ibrahim, lord of great hosts and emperor of wide domains. During the beginning of our march we had been troubled by ice and cold; now it rained incessantly and was so cold that many of the starving country people died.

South of the Sutlej River tidings reached us that Sultan Ibrahim, who lay this side of Delhi, was advancing, and that two strong detachments of his army were moving toward us. I sent men toward Ibrahim's camp, and others toward his advance force commanded by Hamid Khan, to find out what they were doing.

The next day, Humayun, who led the right wing, with Kwajah Kilan, set out with his lighter force to take Hamid Khan by surprise if possible. Humayun detached a hundred or a hundred and fifty picked warriors to go before him. On Monday this advance detachment sighted the enemy and hung upon their flanks until Humayun came up with his troops. No sooner were these seen than the enemy took to flight. Our warriors cut down one or two hundred of the Hindustanis-cut off the heads of some and brought the others alive into camp with seven or eight elephants.

Mirak Mughul Beg brought word of this victory of Humayun's to my camp. On the spot I ordered a complete dress of honor, a horse from my own stable, with a reward in money to be given to the bearer of the good news.

When Humayun reached the camp with his prisoners and waited on me, I ordered Ustad Ali, the chief of cannons, and the matchlock men to shoot all the prisoners as an example. This was my son's first expedition and the first service he had seen. It was a very good omen. At this same place the razor was first applied to Humayun's beard.*

The sun had entered Aries, while we moved on until we sighted the low banks of the Jumna, and held down the river for two marches. I crossed the Jumna by a ford and rode on a bit to inspect the country. We came upon a fountain from which a small stream flows-rather a pretty place. As one of my Begs praised it highly, I said, "Yours be it!" Sometimes, raising an awning in a boat, we drifted down the broad stream of the river, exploring the creeks and inlets.

One day we had tidings that six or seven thousand of the enemy horse had encamped across the river on a road leading toward us. Chin Timur Sultan, the son of my uncle, the Little Khan, and one of the most experienced of the Moghul officers, and the whole of the left wing, crossed the river and pressed on, taking the Hindustanis by surprise. The enemy fled, and seventy or more prisoners and six or eight elephants were brought back to me.

Here I arranged the whole army in order of battle, and reviewed it. Following the custom of Roumi the Osmanli Turks ~, I ordered the wagons of the army to be linked up with twisted bulls' hides as well as chains. Between the guns were placed six or seven woven shields, and behind these the matchlock men stood. For five or six days we labored getting ready the breastwork and barriers. After every part was finished I called together all the ameers and men of experience and held a council.

We agreed that the city of Panipat would cover our right flank with its walls and houses; the wagons and cannon would protect our center, where the infantry would be placed. On the left and in various other places we dug ditches and threw up obstacles of tree-boughs. At the space of every bowshot an interval in the defenses was left, large enough for a hundred or more men to issue through.

The right wing was commanded by Humayun, with Kwajah Kilan. Many of our best officers were posted here. Chin Timur Sultan, the Moghul, had the right of the center. On the extremity of the two wings I had stationed picked Moghul mounted archers to form the tulughma, or swoop. As soon as the enemy approached near our lines, they were to fetch a wide circle and come upon the Hindustanis' rear.

At this council Dervis Muhammad Sarban said to me-"You have fortified our ground in such a way that the Sultan will not even think of attacking such a position."

"You judge him by the Khans and the Uzbeks," I answered. "It is true that when we fortified ourselves in Hissar the Uzbek Khans, who knew well the proper time to attack and saw that we meant to defend the place with our lives, retired and left us. But you must not judge the Hindu stanis by the Uzbeks. They do not know when to go forward and when to retire."

Sultan Ibrahim, indeed, seemed to be a man of no experience. He was slothful in his movements; he marched without order, halted without reason, and engaged in battle without foresight. He had in his hands the accumulated treasures of his father and grandfather, in current coin ready for use. It is a custom of Hindustan in cases like this to hire soldiery. Had he exerted himself and parted with some of his treasure he might have had a hundred thousand more followers. Still, he had a great host and nearly a thousand elephants.

Many of my men were in terror. Fear is always harmful. Whatsoever Almighty God has decreed from all eternity cannot be changed-though, at the same time, I could not greatly blame them.

They had come two or three months' journey from their own country; we were about to engage in arms a strange nation that did not understand our language.

It happened as I had foretold.

For seven days we fortified ourselves in Panipat, and during that time a very few of my riders galloped up to the enemy camp and discharged their arrows without being set upon. Some Hindustani ameers who were serving with me persuaded me to send four or five thousand men to a night attack. This did not turn out well.

The detachments did not get off properly. The day dawned, yet they lingered near the enemy camp until it was broad day. Then the Hindustanis beat their kettle-drums, started out their elephants, and marched forth. Although this great force hung close upon our men, no one was killed. I sent Humayun with his division to cover their retreat. The parties of the night raid fell in with Humayun and returned safely. None of the enemy came near us.

The next night we had a false alarm. For nearly half an hour the call to arms and uproar kept up. The inexperienced warriors were confused and dismayed, but the lines quieted down at last.

By early morning prayers, when the light was strong enough to distinguish one thing from another, word was brought from our advance patrols that the Hindustani host was coming on, drawn up in battle order.

We, too, braced on helmets and armor and mounted.

When the first groups of the enemy were visible through the mist, they seemed to be moving in strength against the right wing. I detached the Master of Horse from the reserve, to reinforce the right.

Sultan Ibrahim's army, from our first glimpse of it, moved forward at a rapid pace without halting. When they came near enough to see my troops drawn up in order, behind defenses, they halted as if pondering: "Shall we stop, or not? Shall we go on, or not?"

The masses behind them pressed them on, but without the same speed as before. I sent gallopers at once to the flanking divisions, with orders to wheel around the Hindustanis' flanks and to attack immediately at the rear. The tulughma riders accordingly wheeled to the rear of the enemy and began to loose flights of arrows. Mahdi Kwajah, a very brave man, rode ahead of the left flankers. A body of foemen with one elephant advanced to meet him. The Kwajah held his ground, and my men, coming up behind him, forced the Hindustanis to draw back.

Hearing of this, I dispatched four officers with their men from the center to assist this left wing. The battle began to grow obstinate on the right. Thereupon I ordered detachments to advance through the gaps left in the breastworks and engage the enemy in the center, which had remained passive.

By now Ustad Ali, the Master of Cannon, was firing his feringhi pieces to good purpose, and the other cannoneers to the left were making effective play with their thunderers.

Meanwhile, the tulughma flankers had gained the rear of the enemy in strength and were hotly engaged with their bows. The Hindustanis made one or two very poor charges on the ditches and abatis in front of our right and left. My men plied them with arrows and drove them back on their center. Their wings being thus broken up and huddled with the main body, the enemy was in confusion, unable to set his masses in motion, forward or back.

The sun, which had mounted spear-high when the onset began, now was near to its height. Seeing the enemy disordered, I led forward my fresh and unbroken main body, and by the grace of Almighty God this great host of foemen was laid in the dust in half a day.

Ibrahim, the king of Delhi, was found under a heap of the slain, and five or six thousand of his men lay near him in the center of the field. Once the enemy fled in all quarters, we pursued with the mounted divisions, slaughtering and making prisoners. Fifteen or sixteen thousand Hindu stanis had fallen that day. Ameers and Afghans began to come in, disarmed and prisoners. Elephants and their drivers streamed into my camp and were offered to me by their captors.

Having pursued them for some distance and supposing that Ibrahim had escaped with his life, I detached a strong party of my personal followers to pursue him as far as Agra. Then we passed through Ibrahim's camp, visiting his towering pavilions and quarters, and we pitched our camp on the river's side to rest our horses for a day before setting out for Delhi.

Being curious to see the beautiful buildings of which I had heard many times, I rode out to visit the tomb of a reverend kwajah nearby, the palace of Sultan Ala ed-din, and his minaret, and the royal tanks and gardens. After this I went back to the camp and entered a boat, where we drank spirits. I gave to two officers who were most deserving the governing of Delhi.

On Friday Moulana Mahmud made his way into Delhi to Friday prayers and read the khutbeh*
in my name, distributing handfuls of money amongst the fakirs and beggars and returning to the camp.

A week later I entered the suburbs of Agra, whither Humayun had preceded me. Of their own free will the Hindu clans and families which had been shut up in this city presented to my son a tribute-offering of many jewels and precious stones.

Among these was one famous diamond which had been acquired by Sultan Ala ed-din. It is so valuable that a judge of diamonds valued it at half the daily expense of the whole world.'
Its weight is about eight miskals. When I arrived Humayun presented it to me as a tribute-offering, and I gave it back to him as a gift.