1 His female Tartar
2 guards.
3 The establishment of
4 the princesses.
5 The harem-a net-
6 work of intrigue.
7 Dangerous illness of
8 the emperor, 1657.
9 The conduct of his
10 sons.
11 The hypocrisy of
12 Aurangzeb.
13 The civil war,
14 1657-58.
15 Aurangzeb enters
16 gra,
17 And mikes Shah
18 Jahan a prisoner in his
19 palace, 1658,
20 Tiight of Dara
21 Shakeh to Lahore.
22 Defeat of Shuja.
23 Sri Satguh?Siye Sighaserderdyy Bhakkar,
24 172 HISTORY OF THE PANJAB,
25 opening into gardens and fountains. The king was guarded by a force of
26 Amazons, consisting of a hundred Tartar women. These fair guardians of
27 the royal person were commanded by a woman who received the pay of an
28 amir of the empire. Each queen and princess had an establishment of her
29 own, consisting of bands of damsels and female slaves, The damsels played
30 on musical instruments, sang and danced before the ladies of the harem and
31 the padshah. The harem consisted of two thousand women, and none knew any-
32 thing about them except the eunuchs, the lady visitors and the padshah. It
33 was a network of intrigue which brought to the ladies of the harem
34 presents from the nobles of the court and the viceroys Tavernier mentions
35 the case of the viceroy of Sindh, of whose tyranny and extortion there were
36 loud complaints. He was recalled to Agra, and people expected that he
37 would be strangled for his misconduct. He, however, paid the Begum
38 Sahib, as the elder daughter of the king was called, twenty thousand, and
39 the king fifty thousand, gold mohurs; and not only was his fault forgiven,
40 but he was made viceroy of Allahabdd, a richer province.
41 In August, 1657, the emperor, who was residing at Delhi, was seized with
42 a severe and sudden illness, He remained unconscious for several days, and
43 his recovery was deemed hopeless. Dara, as the regent of the state, took the
44 administration into his own hands, and thus became a cause of jealousy to
45 the other brothers. Shuja was the first to take the field. He marched from
46 Bengal at the head of a large army towards the capital. Mordd, viceroy
47 of Gujrat, seized the public treasure and proclaimed himself emperor.
48 Aurangzeb, a perfect master of the art of dissimulation, acted with caution.
49 He feigned to resign in favour of Mordd, telling him in his letters: “I have
50 not the slightest wish totake any part in the government of this deceitful
51 and unstable world; my only desire is that I may make the pilgrimage to
52 the temple of God.” These professions induced Mordd to join his forces to
53 those of the dissembler, and the confederate armies put Dara and Shuja to
54 flight. Aurangzeb, by a stratagem, thea made Mordd prisoner and removed
55 him to the fort of Gwalior, where he was executed. Shah Jahan recovered
56 sufficiently to resume the administration of the government, but the flame
57 of civil war had been kindled, and could not be suppressed now, even by the
58 king’s own efforts. The emperor wrote letters to Shuja with his own hands, ©
59 commanding him to return to his government; but that prince continued
60 his march on Agra until he was met by Suleman Shakoh, son of Dara, on the
61 banks of the Ganges. He was defeated and compelled to return to Bengal.
62 In the beginning of June 1658, Dara marched from Agra to oppose his
63 brothers, but was totally defeated at Chambal, and compelled to fly to
64 Delhi with a handful of followers. The old emperor adhered to the
65 cause of Dara; but Aurangzeb, after the flight of Dara to Delhi, took
66 immediate possession of the city of Agra and made Shah Jahdn a prisoner
67 in his palace. The governor of Delhi closed the fortress against Dara,
68 who then rapidly marched on Léhore. Here he seized the public treasury,
69 which contained a large sum of money. Shah Jahdn sent him ten camels
70 laden with silver and gold coins, and with these Dara began to collect
71 his shattered army and to raise new levies, but the vigilant Aurangzeb,
72 after settling the affairs of Delhi, advanced on Léhore, and Dara, on
73 hearing of his approach, fled from Léhore, with 3,000 or 4,000 horse, and
74 took the road to Multén on his way to Sindh. In the meanwhile Shuja
75 was advancing from Bengal to Benares at the head of 25,000 horse and
76 a numerous train of artillery. Aurangzeb gave him battle at Kajwa,
77 midway between Allahabad and Etawa, and completely routed him. Dara,
78 on Nam dhanBligrery@dpmaih.njrat in the