1 Death of Sardar
2 Fatteh Singh, Ahlu-
3 walid, 1837.
4 Bal Bfr Singh
5 installed as Héj4 of
6 Mandi.
7 An insurrection in
8 Tank quelled.
9 Death of Shah Aydb
10 at Lahore, 1837.
11 Prince Kamrdn of
12 Herat involves himself
13 in a rupture with the
14 Shah of Persia, 1837,
15 484 HISTORY OF THE PANJAB,
16 together with Sa’adat Khan Mohmand. The Sikh forces « tar
17 this time amounted to nearly forty-thousand men. oe eres er epous
18 In October, 1837, Sardar Fatteh Singh Ahluwélid, the turban brother of
19 Ranjit Singh, died, and was succeeded in his estates by Nehal Singh, his
20 eldest son. About the same time, Dhari, the Wazir of the Raja of Mandi
21 arrived at Lahore and submitted a proposal for the succession of Bal Bir
22 Singh as the rdjd of that principality, in consequence of the lingering
23 illness of his uncle the réjd. A nazrdnd of Rs. 50,000 was demanded :
24 but the wazir agreed to pay only Rs, 20,000, and the last-mentioned
25 amount having been paid, the installation of Bal Bir Singh as rdj4 was
26 formally sanctioned, and a khilut was sent him. The Court was, at
27 this time, at Amritsar, and on the Ist of Farwardi the Mahardjd4
28 went to the Harmandar, accompanied by Sardar Lahnd Singh, Majithia,
29 and Fakir Im4m-ud-din, the killaddy of the fort of Govindgarh, and offered
30 Rs. 1,100 before the Granth and Rs, 500 at’ Akdl Bunga, while Rs. 11,000
31 was distributed among the Brahmins, together with a number of cows,
32 buffaloes, two horses and an elephant. Inthe meantime news arrived of an
33 insurrection raised in Tank by Payanda Khan, who had gathered around
34 him a large number of insurgents, chiefly from the hill country. Sardal
35 Singh Man and Chet Singh, Commandant of Prince Nau Nehal Singh’s
36 battalions, quelled the disturbance, assisted by Hafiz Mahomed Afzal Khan,
37 agent of the Ahluwdlidé chief. On the side of the insurgents one hundred
38 persons were killed, while the Sikh loss was about half that number. The
39 Kachi tract of country was farmed to Fatteh Khan Tiwdnd for Rs. 65,000,
40 eleven horses, 51 camels, and 21 greyhounds. The year 1837 closed with
41 the death of Shah Aydb, who had been forced to become an exile at Léhore,
42 and who had been supported by a pension from Ranjit Singh.
43 Tt has already been stated that one branch of the Royal Sadozdi
44 family of Afghanistén retained the government of Herat. Prince Kdmrdn,
45 who assumed the sceptre of that fertile province, had allowed himself to
46 become a vassal of the King of Persia; and the success of the Persian
47 Prince, Abbds Mirza, the son of Fatteh Ali Shah, had so much daunted
48 the Sadozdi ruler, that he consented to raze the strong fortress of Ghoridn
49 on the frontiers of Khorasén. The confusion which followed the death of
50 Abbds Mirzé, and, subsequently, of his father, Fatteh Ali Shah, encouraged
51 Shah Kaémrda to evade the fulfilment of his engagements with Persia:
52 . the payment of tribute was refused, as also the dismantling of the
53 The Persians besiege
54 Herat.
55 The mission of
56 Mr, Ellis to Teheran,
57 1837.
58 Russian influence at
59 the Court of Persia.
60 fort of Ghoridn, and permission for the return of the Persian families
61 in Herat to their homes. Nor did the ruler of Herat stop here. IKho-,
62 rasin was invaded by his wazir, and twelve thousand persons, sub-
63 jects of Persia, were carried away captive, with the object of being
64 sold as slaves in Central Asia. Muhammad Shah, the young king of
65 Persia, resolved to punish the perfidy of Kdmrén by attacking Herat.
66 The new king extended his claims to Ghazni and Kandahér, on the ground
67 that they had formed part of the Persian monarchy in the time of Nadir
68 Shah. Such was the aspect’ of affairs when Mr. Ellis, the British envoy,
69 visited the Court of Teheran, on a mission of condolence to the king of
70 Persia. He found Russian influence predominant in the councils of
71 Teheran, and the Shah’s claim to Herat as the ancient patrimony of his
72 crown was due mainly to the counsel of the Russian ambassador, Count’
73 Simonich. Throughout Central Asia the expedition was considered to
74 a the triumph of Russia, by whom it was instigated, over the influence of
75 ngland, by whom it was deprecated, for the Persians could only, be re-
76 Sri SAORI RARE San ee trEyaTd of the Rupsinenarbaprenyl’ éhieil eum brought
77 %