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of his wound, rode up to the gate of the fort, struck it with an axe, and returned exultingly; the warriors were all delighted with this proof of his courage, and devoted their lives to him.

The next morning I placed my foot in the stirrup, and having drawn out my army, made an attack on the walls of the town; Amyr Hussyn came to the top of the citadel, and displayed his standard, he then resolved to oppose me, and sent out a body of troops to engage me; a severe contest took place, and many brave men were killed on both sides; but Hussyn kept himself like the stone of a ring safe within his enclosure, and beheld from a distance, his defeat and disgrace; he however continued the battle till night, but as soon as it was dark, he sent me the following letter;" from the day that I bound round my loins the girdle of enmity to thee, I have never enjoyed a moment of happiness, and I ❝am convinced that all opposition to thee will only increase my misfortunes; "experience has proved that you are aided by Providence, and that good fortune and prosperity attend you, while calamity and misfortune have seized me by "the neck, and drag me towards you, forgive me, and let me quit this country, "to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca."

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I consented to his request, and wrote to him to send one of his sons, who might enable me to satisfy the minds of all the chiefs of the hordes and tribes that he had injured and disgusted, and that I might exact a promise from them not to injure or molest him. He did send out his eldest son, and I promised the young man, in the presence of all the chiefs, that if Hussyn would come out of the fort, and depart for the sacred territory, I would furnish him with every thing requisite for the journey, and protect him by a guard.

Hussyn would not listen to my advice or promise, but having tied his most valuable jewels in his girdle, he resolved to escape from the fortress in the dress of a (Kulender) pilgrim, and try to reach some place of safety. He therefore, without acquainting his family, changed his dress, and unknown to his servants, came out at this time the morning dawned, and being afraid of detection, he entered a mosque, and concealed himself in the cupola of the minaret; soon after the (Muazin) crier mounted the minaret, in order to call the people to the first prayers, and as soon as his eyes fell on the Prince, he recognized him; Hussyn offered the Muazin a string of pearls if he would not divulge his secret: the crier being afraid of scandal or suspicion, came to my tent and proclaimed the (Azin) hour of prayer; I ordered him to be brought before me, when he entered, he told me all the circumstances, and shewed me the string of pearls which had been offered to him as a bribe to keep the secret:* I desired the crier to return to *This differs from Sherif Addeen's History.

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Amyr Hussyn, and tell him to conceal himself in the best manner he could, till he might find an opportunity of going away wherever he chose. Hussyn fearing for his life, came down and hid himself in a room under the tower, but his enemies having heard of his retreat, surrounded the mosque, and having found him, brought him to the (Dyvan Khanē) council chamber; I then gave orders that they should deliver him over in charge to Aadil Tuajy,* until the chiefs of all the tribes and hordes should be assembled; that whoever had any complaints against him, might have the affair inquired into.

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Trial by (Berghuy) sound of trumpet on Amyr Hussyn.

When I delivered Amyr Hussyn to the charge of the gaoler, I sent him a message, saying," that as there is a solemn compact between us, and as we have placed our respective hands on the Koran, vowing never to attempt each other's lives, I will not now break my promise, but this calamity which is fallen on thy head, does not proceed from enmity to thee, it is the vengeance of the "Korān that has overtaken you; I have nothing to do with the business, but I "cannot liberate you from the hands of the chiefs, who are thirsty of your blood, "in retaliation for the injuries they have received."

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When he received my message, he began to entreat and supplicate for mercy, and I endeavoured to comfort him; I therefore ordered all the chiefs to be summoned, and when they were collected, we formed a council; I then sent for Amyr Hussyn, and when he arrived, I addressed him; "Hussyn, it has been the want of good faith, and disrespect to the word of God, which has brought thee into this deplorable situation, and such is ever the consequence of a breach of promise, and the guilt of falsehood." Syed Abū al Berkāt then quoted the proverb, "a strict regard of truth never injures a man, fidelity to his promise is better than faith."

I then said aloud in the presence of all the assembled chiefs, " I have given Amyr Hussyn my promise of safety;" but he with that pride and haughtiness, which was habitual to him, said in the Turky language, “ if I had been in your place, I would not have done so;" I replied, "I thank God that I am not like you, who cannot forgive, and can be guilty of perjury, and dare to offend both God and the Prophet."

At this moment, Ky Khuseru bent the knee, and demanded vengeance for the blood of his brother, who had been killed by Hussyn; I endeavoured to mitigate his anger, and sent for Shykh Muhammed and the other Cazies and Judges; before their entrance, Muhammed, the ruler of Badukhshān, said in a tremulous voice, "Amyr Hussyn has been the cause of the ruin of my family, and has

* I doubt whether this is a proper name, or signifies an officer of the court of justice.

embittered all the days of my life, by murdering several of the pious Princes of Badukhshan;" Muhammed, the son of Byan Selduz, also called out," thousands of the families of my tribe are wandering about the deserts in consequence of Hussyn's injustice, and he has plundered the greater part of our cattle and property: many others of the chiefs were also very clamorous that he should be put to death. But in consequence of my near connection with him, I found my blood begin to boil, and melancholy rushed on my heart, but I was helpless, because the clamour was universal, and the hearts of the people were turned from him. I then asked the judges, what do you say in respect of putting Amyr Hussyn to death; they replied, "if the heirs of the persons whom Hussyn has murdered, forgive him, it is well, otherwise, by the law of retaliation, he must suffer death." When the words of the judges had reached the ears of the complainants, one of them who had been in the service of Hussyn, said, “O Prince, this Hussyn has much injured and oppressed mankind, and has been guilty of great violence, and through covetousness, confined and imprisoned one thousand seven hundred men and women, who were liberated on the day you came here;” I said, " perhaps they were kept in confinement till then, that they might not complain against him." One of the learned body said, " I have read in the heavenly books, that it is more incumbent to destroy a wretch who oppresses or injures mankind, than it is to kill a snake or a scorpion, for the former plots mischief deliberately to the ruin of another, whilst the noxious reptile only stings, when he is afraid of personal injury, and to save himself." When these words were heard by all the persons in the Assembly, viz. that it was proper to put to death an oppressor or bad man, and the Amyr Aljaitu who had been (Sepah Salar,) Commander in Chief of the army of Hussyn, seeing my melancholy, and that I would not consent to the execution of the Prince, remonstrated with me; I replied, " Amyr Hussyn is my prisoner, he shall not be put to death;" I then rose to leave the Assembly.

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The Chiefs immediately called out, Amyr Hussyn has been found guilty by the law, and worthy of death, it is therefore improper that Timur should delay his punishment. I however requested that they would permit me to postpone it, in hopes that I might by some means save his life.

But as it did not please Providence to permit the continuance of Hussyn's existence, Amyr Ky Khuseru who sought retaliation for the murder of his brother, with Aljaitū and Muhammed Shāh assaulted the unfortunate Hussyn, and he, washing his hands of life, struck at them with his fists, got out of the Assembly and fled as far as the tomb of Khuaje Akāshā, there these three Chiefs overtook and put him to death, and having returned from thence, they murdered his two sons Khan Saiid and Nurūz Sultān, two other sons named Jehān Mulk and Khelyl Sultan made their escape and fled towards India. I was much

affected by this melancholy catastrophe, and went to see his body, repeated the funeral prayers over it and ordered it to be buried with all due respect.

Having then taken possession of all Amyr Hussyn's treasure, which he had accumulated by so much covetousness and avarice, I divided it among the Chiefs. The next day I called a general assembly, and gave orders for all his followers and attendants to be taken care of, and directed that his women and children should be sent to Samerkund.* It happened that one of the persons who attended the Assembly was cloathed in black. I asked him why he was so, he replied, "I have lost a friend, but it was I who killed him, and for grief have put on mourning." One of the learned said, "if it had not been his fate to have been killed, how could you kill him, therefore why do you grieve."

I then addressed the learned body and asked them, "what is the very worst thing in this world," some of them said one thing, some another. I then continued, "the best thing in this world is a good man, that is a person endued with excellent qualities, consequently the worst thing in this world, must be a bad man, imbued with every vice, who like Amyr Hussyn is a tyrant, miserly, covetous, and ignorant, and who fears not God." The whole Assembly praised my definition and offered up prayers for my prosperity.

* In Sherif Addeen's History, it is stated, that he took four of the ladies himself and divided the others among his Chiefs.

MEMOIRS OF TIMUR.

BOOK V.

CHAPTER I.

Account of my mounting the throne of the Sovereignty in the city of Balkh. WHEN I had thus cleansed the region of Turan from the evil machinations of Amyr Hussyn, there were three other claimants to the succession, each of whom being puffed up with pride in consequence of being the Chief of a great clan, and having numerous followers, was desirous of raising the standard of royalty. The first of these was Shah Muhammed, of Badukhshān, who considered himself as one of the Princes of that country. The second Amyr Ky Khuseru, who called himself son-in-law to the Khan of the Desht Kipchac and was governor of Khutelan. The third Muhammed the son of Byān Selduz, who was the chief of several thousand families of the horde of Selduz, when I heard of their various pretensions I clothed myself with patience.

When this news was brought to Syed Abū al Berkat (the father of blessings), he invited several of the (Khānē Zadehs) young syeds of Termuz, Abū al Mualy and Aly Akber to join him; he then summoned all the claimants to a general council, and when the Assembly was arranged in proper order, he addressed them, "Praise be to God that the whole land of Turan is now cleansed of all disturbers of its tranquillity. If you unite and elect one person as an elder brother, your union will insure prosperity, but if you divide and form different kingdoms, the infidel Jetes will very shortly overwhelm you; whatever is the opinion of each of you, be so good as to state it." Muhammed Shah who was the head of the Princes of Badukhshan said, "let us divide the country into four portions in a brotherly manner, each ruling his own province, but let us unite in opposing every enemy that dares to invade or oppose us." Abu al Berkāt replied, " a variety of rulers always occasions quarrels and dissentions, if it were intended by Providence, that there should have been two Monarchs in the same kingdom, there would have been two Gods, one to govern the Heavens, the other the earth; but as there is only one God who is the Lord of all, there must only be one Monarch in the same country, that the proof of unity may be evident and certain." Muhammed Selduz said, "it is contrary to our code of laws, that any of us should fill the throne of the Khan, or that the people should be sub

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