Page:History of India Vol 5.djvu/371

 JAHANGIE'S LOVE FOE NUE JAHAN 317 blessing of God. In the city .of Fathpur, he had the good fortune to be presented to the Emperor Akbar, and in a short time, owing to his devotion to the king's service and his intelligence, he was raised to the office of superintendent of the household. He was considered exceedingly clever and skilful, both in writing and in transacting business. He had studied the old poets and had a nice appreciation of the meaning of words, and he wrote sJiikastah (the Persian hand of Arabic script) in a bold and elegant style. His leisure moments were devoted to the study of poetry and style, and his gen- erosity to the poor was such that no one ever turned from his door disappointed. In taking bribes, how- ever, he was very bold and daring. ,When his Highness the Emperor Akbar was stay- ing at Lahore, Ali Kuli Beg Istajlu, who had been brought up under Shah Isma'il II, came from the kingdom of Irak and was included among the number of the royal servants. There, as Fate would have it, he married that daughter of Mirza Ghiyas Beg who had been born in Kandahar. Afterwards, in the reign of Jahangir, a suitable post and the title of Sher Afghan were conferred on him, and he later received a fief in the province of Bengal and departed thither to take possession. After the death of Kutb-ad-din at the hands of this same Ali Kuli Beg, the officials of Bengal, in obedience to the royal command, sent to court the daughter of Ghiyas Beg, and the king, who was greatly distressed at the murder of Kutb-ad-din, entrusted her to the