Page:Babur-nama Vol 1.djvu/130

 6o FARGHANA

When Badi'u'z-zaman Mirza and whatever (ni klm) troops had been sent with him against Khusrau Shah, dismounted some i6 m. (3 to 4 ylghdch) below Qundiiz,^ Khusrau Shah arrayed whatever men {ni klm) he had, marched out, halted one night on the way, formed up to fight and came down upon the Mirza and his men. The Khurasanis may not have been twice as many as his men but what question is there they were half Fol. 35. as many more ? None the less did such Mirzas and such Commander-begs elect for prudence and remain in their en- trenchments ! Good and bad, small and great, Khusrau Shah's force may have been of 4 or 5,000 men !

This was the one exploit of his life, — of this man who for the sake of this fleeting and unstable world and for the sake of shifting and faithless followers, chose such evil and such ill- repute, practised such tyranny and injustice, seized such wide lands, kept such hosts of retainers and followers, — latterly he led out between 20 and 30,000 and his countries and his districts (pargandt) exceeded those of his own ruler and that ruler's sons,'^ — for an exploit such as this his name and the names of his adherents were noised abroad for generalship and for this they were counted brave, while those timorous laggards, in the trenches, won the resounding fame of cowards.

Badfu'z-zaman Mirza marched out from that camp and after a few stages reached the Alghii Mountain of Taliqan^ and there made halt. Khusrau Shah, in Qiindiiz, sent his brother. Wall, with serviceable men, to Ishkimish, Fuliil and the hill-skirts thereabouts to annoy and harass the Mirza from outside also. Muhibb-'ali, the armourer, (qurchl) for his part, came down Fol- 35^- (from Wall's Khutlan) to the bank of the Khutlan Water, met in with some of the Mirza's men there, unhorsed some, cut off a few heads and got away. In emulation of this, Sayyidim
 * Ali* the door-keeper, and his younger brother, Quli Beg and

^ Presumably lower down the Qunduz Water.

2 aiiz padishahi u mirzalaridin artib.

3 sic. Ilai. MS. ; Elph. MS. " near Taliqan ; some W.-i-B. MSS. " Great Garden." Gul-badan mentions a Taliqan Garden. Perhaps the Mirza went so far east because, Zu'n-nun being with him, he had Qandahar in mind. Cf. f. 426.

lies 14 m. below Taliqan on the TaiiqSn Water. (Erskine.)
 * i.e. Sayyid Muhammad 'Ali. See f. 15 n. to Sherim. Khwaja ChangSl