Page:Gazetteer of the province of Oudh ... (IA cu31924073057345).pdf/82

 HAK " This aggression brought down upon him the Foujdar of Baiswara, wliose letters record a victory over him. It is certain, however, that Cheepie Khan did not lose this acquisition during his lifetime, and after his death all the power he had acquired beyond the confines of the three Rawut Tuppehs fell from the hands of his disunited descendants. Cheepie Khan married twice, and had six sons by the first marriage and two by the second. He insisted on having his estate divided equally between the offspring of the two wives, half going to the six elder brothers and half to the younger two. This led to a bitter quarrel, and Kesrí, the eldest son, murdered him while engaged in devotion. This occurred about 1740. Abul Munsoor Khan, Suffdur Jung, the first Nawab of Oudh, took advantage of the confusion and disunion of the brothers to demand a great increase of re- venue from them. They refused to accede to this, and were besieged in Behtur by Mansoor for a long time, but without any success. At last Rao Murdan Singh, who was then in High Court favour, offered to mediate, and trusting the chivalrous generosity of a Rajpoot, entered the fort alone and unarmed. “ He induced the Rawuts to submit, on the understanding that no increase of taxation should be demanded, but the Nawab refused to ratify this agreement, and for forty years the Rawuts were out of possession of their estates, which were given to Achul Singh, Rao Murdan's son. On his death in 1780 they were restored, and since then their occupation has been undisturbed." It would perhaps be impossible under English rule to find an instance of a family, one of whose members had risen to high office, and which afterwards remained in utter obscurity for ten generations. Rája Harbans Káyath built, a very fine house, the walls of which are of limestone blocks to a height of about fifteen feet, then a brick turreted wall; over the gateway is an elaborate frieze of red stone in which appear alternately pairs of geese and pairs of elephants. A large hall of audience supported on carved pillars formerly stood here, but Asif-ud-daula took these away to help in building his Imámbára at Lucknow. One of the family was then an official in a small way at the Court of Ujjain ; he returned to remonstrate, but apparently without effect. This building is very picturesque and massive; from its strength of construction it would seem to defy the hand of time, which has only as yet chipped off the coigns and pinnacles, and here and there planted a pípal on the loftiest towers. Tour note.— In village Badarqa Harbans there exists a decayed family of Káyaths, which, however, counts ainong its ancestors during the last three hundred years only one man who attained a great or even a respect- able position in Government service. Rája Harbans was an official, not a Díwán, as alleged, at the Court of Shah Jahan in 1052 A,B. (1643 A.D.); 500 bighas were granted to him in pargana Harha, (the deed his descendant pow produces is evidently a later copy, not unlikely a fabrication; the seal bears the date 1025 A.H., when Shah Jahan was not on the throne.) This Raja Harbans was an adherent of Shah Murád's (vide documents in the keeping of the family), but Aurangzeb did not involve him in the ruin which overtook that prince, for his