another to Muhammed Khan Ghorbany. I also sent intelligent persons into Khurasan, to ascertain the disposition of the people towards me.

As I had no reliance on the people of Khurasan, I quitted the banks of the river, and marched into the (Jul) desert, and encamped near a well of brackish water, and I remained for two months in the desert; but as it abounded with wild animals, we caught a number of them, which served us for food. At the end of this time, the dromedaries that I had sent to the Prince of Herat and Muhammed Khan Ghorbany, returned, and brought me letters replete with professions of friendship; each of them sent me presents, also a number of arms, consisting of bows, swords, and quivers, of these I kept one bow and one sword, the remainder I gave to the officers and soldiers.

At this time, I received information that a caravan from Khurasan, carrying goods to Kārshy, was approaching,* I therefore marched towards them on the Herat road; when the people of the caravan saw my army, they were afraid; some of them however advanced to meet me, and presented me their offerings, whilst seated on my horse; I asked them a number of questions respecting the news of Herat, and what were the reports about me in Khurasan, they replied, "we heard that your highness was coming into Khurasan, at the invitation of the Prince of Herat, and that you had crossed the Amu; the people would not believe the report, but we are now convinced of its truth by our own eyes." I replied, as the tyranny of Amyr Hussyn has been excessive, and he has even led an army against me; I have been under the necessity of abandoning my country, and proceeding towards Khurasān.”

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The people of the caravan blessed me, and requested I would give them a guard to protect them against my followers, and to escort them through the dangerous places. I then made two more marches on the road to Khurasān; when the caravan arrived at Kārshy, Amyr Musa, the governor of the fortress, sent for the leaders of the caravan, and asked them about me, they replied, "we saw the Amyr Timur in the desert, with his whole army; he was going on to Herat, at the invitation of the Prince of that country, and he was making long marches in order to arrive there quickly." When the governor heard this intelligence, he immediately came out of the fort with seven thousand horse, pitched his tents in the plain of Bimragh, and commenced feasting and carousing; before leaving the fort, Amyr Musā appointed his son Muhammed Beg to the command of it, and strengthened the fortifications. He also sent off an express to Amyr Hussyn with the good news; previous to this time, the Amyr had sent a reinforcement to Karshy, of five thousand horse, but the commander of these troops being also off his guard, halted at the village of Ghashūn.

* See Institutes, page 95.

CHAPTER XXI.

As soon as I had obtained information of the state of Karshy, honour instigated me to draw the sword of revenge from its scabbard, and to go and subdue the fortress; at this time my spies informed me, that the garrison consisted of only two thousand men, but that the other ten thousand were encamped in two divisions in the vicinity. I therefore summoned all my chiefs, and asked their advice, whether we should proceed to Khurasan, or return and endeavour to take Kārshy; they replied, " if we go to Khurasan, we shall all be made prisoners, "if and our people will be dispersed; let us call on God to assist us, and return towards Kārshy, please God we shall be victorious:" as this advice appeared to me good, I determined to make the attempt.

But when my soldiers heard that there were twelve thousand of Amyr Hussyn's troops, in or near the fort, they were afraid: I therefore determined to select three hundred and forty warriors, whose courage I had often experienced,* and with them to make a forced march against the fortress, whether successful or not. On this subject I sought an omen in the Koran, and the following verse opened; " he assists whom he pleases, for he (God) is all powerful and all wise ;” from this verse I derived hopes of success; I therefore made the requisite arrangement of my troops, and at night, placing my trust in Providence, commenced my march with three hundred and forty warriors.

At this time, Amyr Muvyd Arlāt, who was married to one of my sisters, Tuvukkel Behader, Jakū Berlās, Surugtumush Aghlan, Dilavur Behader, who was married to another of my sisters, and the other officers came and made their salutations as Muvyd Arlāt was the first who bent the knee, I considered his name (the Strengthened) as auspicious, and as Tuvukkel (Hope) was the second, I also considered his name as a good omen.

I however again consulted the Korān, and this verse came forth; "whoever places his faith in God, shall obtain his wishes:" from this verse I felt confident, and continued my march.

I crossed the river Amũ (Jihūn) that same night, and halted at the village of Akhshēb, and before day, I sent off an advance party to shut up the road to Kārshy, by seizing and detaining all travellers and passengers; that day I halted at a spot that was far from any inhabited place: when night came on, we again mounted, and arrived at Berdalygh, and immediately seized and confined all Amyr Musa's people, who were in that place; we then went to rest, very early

* In the Institutes, only forty men are mentioned.

in the morning we were again on our horses, and when we stopt to rest, I sent on the (Keravulan) light troops to detain all passengers. When night arrived, we again mounted, and having reached Shyrkund, I wished to have gone further, but Amyr Jakū came and bent the knee, and represented to me, that in consequence of the length and rapidity of our march, many of our warriors were fallen behind; your Highness had better halt a little to give them time to come up ; what we have undertaken is of great importance, let us avoid any risk of failure by impatience."*

In consequence of this advice, I drew in my reins, and it then occurred to me, that while we were waiting for the men to come up, we might employ the time in making ladders and fascines from the trees which were growing on the side of the road; we therefore procured some cord and ropes, and began to make ladders.

During this time, it entered my mind that I would go myself and examine the state of the fortress; I therefore proceeded with only forty men, and in the course of the night, arrived near Kārshy; it happened that the night was extremely dark, but as soon as we could distinguish the walls, I ordered the men to halt, and taking only Abdallah, who was born in my house, with me, we came to the bank of the ditch; I found that the ditch was full of water, and having examined several places of it, at length I discovered a plank thrown across it; I therefore alighted from my horse, and gave him in charge to Abdallah; I then buckled on my sword, and crossed the plank, and reached the fause bray; I continued to walk round the walls till I came to the gate, I struck the knocker of the gate, but no one answered, I was therefore convinced that the guards were asleep. I then proceeded round the wall, and examined it attentively; after some time I perceived a breach in the wall, very favourable for applying ropes or ladders; I therefore returned very coolly by the way I had come, and having received my horse from Abdallah, I mounted. Soon after this time, my people, being well armed and carrying the ladders, arrived, I informed them of all the circumstances that has been related, and when they heard, that I had alone inspected the fortress, their courage became ten-fold; they were astonished at my courage and bravery, and bit their fingers with amazement; some of them found fault with my rashness, others devoted themselves for my safety; I then repeated the prayer for victory, and proceeded.

I left forty persons in charge of the horses, and with three hundred and thirteen dismounted men, with drawn swords, myself on horseback, advanced till we came to the ditch, here I also alighted, and we crossed the plank singly, and

* See Institutes, page 97.

reached the fause bray in safety; I then led my warriors to the low part of the wall, where they carefully fixed the ladders; I then commanded them to mount, and when forty of them had got up, I also mounted the ladder, and took possession of one of the bastions, after which all my people climbed up the wall; fortunately for us, not a sentinel awoke during all this time.

I then ordered a party to go and seize the gate-way, when they reached the gate, they found the guard fast asleep, and bound the most of them; but those who attempted resistance, were put to death, they then broke open the gate; when the inhabitants heard the uproar, they began to tremble, and lost the use of their hands and feet.

At this time, I ordered the trumpets to sound, and when the inhabitants heard the sound of the trumpets, they in great perturbation mounted the flat roofs of their houses. Muhammed Beg, the son of Amyr Musa, who was left as governor of the fort, mounted the roof of his house with a party of his followers, and began to fight; but when the day broke, and he saw my troops, he retreated to an upper roomed house, and barred the doors and windows; my troops surrounded the house, and threw fire into it, on which the family of Amyr Musă called out for quarter, and sought my protection.

When Muhammed Beg, who was then very young, was brought into my presence, I praised him for his courage, and I called him my son; then both the soldiers and citizens came and begged for quarter, I forgave them, and ordered them to keep every thing in order in the fort, to secure all the provisions, and to collect all the arms, whether arrows, bows, swords, or quivers, all these I divided among my troops.

I then made arrangements for the defence of the fort; I gave one of the gates in charge of Amyr Sarbugā, Syf Addeen, and Muvyd Arlāt, the other gate I gave over to Surugtumush Aghlān, Amyr Abās, and Hussyn Behader; I appointed the other chiefs to take care of the different bastions; I afterwards ordered Muvyd Arlāt to take post with forty troopers, outside of the walls: having made these arrangements, I treated kindly the family of Amyr Musā, and sent them to him.

When the intelligence of my having taken Karshy by surprise, was communicated to Amyr Musā, he in conjunction with Melk Behader, immediately mounted, and with their twelve thousand horse, surrounded the fortress, and laid siege to it; my men who were dispersed, on hearing the news, collected together, but were afraid to approach the fort.

Having taken post with my three hundred and thirteen men, within the walls, I gave orders that all the gates should be thrown open, and with such an inferior

force, contended with my twelve thousand adversaries; but during the latter part of the night, I sent out two detachments of forty troopers each, under the command of Muvyd Arlāt and Balkhy Bughā, to beat up the enemy's encampment; and these brave fellows having dashed on, about the dawn of day reached the tents of Amyr Musā, killed a number of his people, and took others prisoners; some of my soldiers were also killed and wounded.

Of the chiefs that were taken, the principal was Shādruān Behader; when brought into my presence, I treated him very kindly, and with much respect, and gave him the choice either of remaining with me, or of going back; as he was much affected by my condescension, he agreed to enter my service.

The next day, having recalled my detachments, I the following night sent out Ak Bughā and Shādruān Behader, with two hundred horse, and they returned with sixty horses taken from the enemy. That day, a party consisting of two hundred of the enemy's cavalry, got close under the walls of the fort, and blockaded the gates; for two days I did not molest them, but on the third day, I ordered the draw-bridge to be let down, and sent out Balkhy Bugha and Ak Timur Behader with sixty warriors, who having taken the enemy by surprise cut the greater part of them to pieces; but at this time, a large party of the troops of Amyr Hussyn came to their assistance, on which the flame of slaughter and combat again blazed: I then sent out a reinforcement of twenty other warriors ; a severe contest took place between the enemy's general, and Ak Timur Behader, in which the former was thrown down: during this scene of confusion, a young (Auzbek) Usbek in the service of Amyr Musa, who was celebrated for his strength and courage, advanced with a battle-axe in his hand; one of my bravest chiefs, named Ghuzān Bughā, opposed him, and when the Usbek raised his arm to fell my champion to the ground, the latter seized him by the two arms, and dragged him into the fort, where he was killed. When the enemy's soldiers saw this circumstance, they exclaimed, “this realizes the stories of Rustem and Isfundiar," and being terrified, they covered their heads with their shields, then fled, and took refuge in the ditch.

At this time, I sent out another reinforcement to my people, who having well beaten the enemy, drove them out of the ditch, and compelled them to seek for shelter in the lanes of the suburbs.

When Amyr Musā and his confederates saw this circumstance, they mounted their steeds, and having collected all their forces, advanced towards the fortress; they then sent troops to support those in the suburbs, who after a long and arduous struggle, compelled my people to retreat; I then rushed out of the fort, and ordered my trumpets to sound: when my soldiers who were dispersed,

* Two heroes of the Shah Nameh.