By the boundless favour of Allah, when one sidereal hour of Thursday, Jumādā-s̤-s̤ānī 20th, A.H. 1014 (October 24th, 1605), had passed, I ascended the royal throne in the capital of Agra, in the 38th year of my age.1

Till he was 28 years old, no child of my father had lived, and he was continually praying for the survival of a son to dervishes and recluses, by whom spiritual approach to the throne of Allah is obtained. As the great master, K͟hwāja Muʿīnu-d-dīn Chis͟htī, was the fountain-head of most of the saints of India, he considered that in order to obtain this object he should have recourse to his blessed threshold, and resolved within himself that if Almighty God should bestow a son on him he would, by way of complete humility, go on foot from Agra to his blessed mausoleum, a distance of 140 kos. In A.H. 977, on Wednesday, 17th Rabīʿu-l-awwal (August 31st, 1569), when seven g͟harī of the aforesaid day had passed, when Libra (Mīzān) had risen to the 24th degree, God Almighty brought me into existence from the hiding-place of nothingness. At the time when my venerated father was on the outlook for a son, a dervish of the name of S͟haik͟h Salīm, a man of ecstatic condition, who had traversed many of the stages of life, had his abode on a hill near Sīkrī, one of the villages of Agra, and the people of that neighbourhood had complete trust in him. As my father was very submissive to dervishes, he also visited him. One day, when waiting on him and in a state of distraction, he asked him how many sons he should have. The S͟haik͟h replied, “The Giver who gives without being asked will bestow three sons on you.” My father said, “I have made a vow that, casting my first son on the skirt of your favour, I will make your friendship and kindness his protector and preserver.” The S͟haik͟h accepted this idea, and said, “I congratulate you, and I will give him my own name.” When my mother came near the time of her delivery, he (Akbar) sent her to the S͟haik͟h’s house that I might be born there. After my birth they gave me the name of Sultan Salīm, but I never heard my father, whether in his cups or in his sober moments, call me Muḥammad Salīm or Sultan Salīm, but always S͟haik͟hū Bābā. My revered father, considering the village of Sīkrī, which was the place of my birth, lucky for him, made it his capital. In the course of fourteen or fifteen years that hill, full of wild beasts, became a city containing all kinds of gardens and buildings, and lofty, elegant edifices and pleasant places, attractive to the heart. After the conquest of Gujarāt this village was named Fatḥpūr. When I became king it occurred to me to change my name, because this resembled that of the Emperor of Rūm. An inspiration from the hidden world brought it into my mind that, inasmuch as the business of kings is the controlling of the world, I should give myself the name of Jahāngīr (World-seizer) and make my title of honour (laqab) Nūru-d-dīn, inasmuch as my sitting on the throne coincided with the rising and shining on the earth of the great light (the Sun). I had also heard, in the days when I was a prince, from Indian sages, that after the expiration of the reign and life of King Jalālu-d-dīn Akbar one named Nūru-d-dīn would be administrator of the affairs of the State. Therefore I gave myself the name and appellation of Nūru-d-dīn Jahāngīr Pāds͟hāh. As this great event took place in Agra, it is necessary that some account of that city should be given.

Agra is one of the grand old cities of Hindustan. It had formerly an old fort on the bank of the Jumna, but this my father threw down before my birth, and he founded a fort of cut red stone, the like of which those who have travelled over the world cannot point out. It was completed in the space of fifteen or sixteen years. It had four gates and two sally-ports, and its cost was 35 lakhs of rupees, equal to 115,000 tomān of current Persian coinage and to 10,500,000 k͟hānī according to the Tūrān reckoning. The habitable part of the city extends on both sides of the river. On its west side, which has the greater population, its circumference is seven kos and its breadth is one kos. The circumference of the inhabited part on the other side of the water, the side towards the east, is 2½ kos, its length being one kos and its breadth half a kos. But in the number of its buildings it is equal to several cities of ʿIrāq, K͟hurāsān, and Māwarāʾa-n-nahr (Transoxiana) put together. Many persons have erected buildings of three or four storeys in it. The mass of people is so great, that moving about in the lanes and bazars is difficult. It is on the boundary of the second climate. On its east is the province of Qanauj; on the west, Nāgor; on the north, Sambhal; and on the south, Chanderī.

It is written in the books of the Hindus that the source of the Jumna is in a hill of the name of Kalind,2 which men cannot reach because of the excessive cold. The apparent source is a hill near the pargana of K͟hiẓrābād.

The air of Agra is warm and dry; physicians say that it depresses the spirits (rūḥrā ba taḥlīl mībarad) and induces weakness. It is unsuited to most temperaments, except to the phlegmatic and melancholy, which are safe from its bad effects. For this reason animals of this constitution and temperament, such as the elephant, the buffalo, and others, thrive in its climate.

Before the rule of the Lodī Afghans, Agra was a great and populous place, and had a castle described by Masʿūd b. Saʿd b. Salmān in the ode (qaṣīda) which he wrote in praise of Maḥmūd, son of Sultan Ibrāhīm, son of Masʿūd, son of Sultan Maḥmūd of G͟haznī, on the capture of the castle—

When Sikandar Lodī designed to take Gwalior he came to Agra from Delhi, which was the capital of the Sultans of India, and settled down there. From that date the population and prosperity of Agra increased, and it became the capital of the Sultans of Delhi. When God Almighty bestowed the rule of India on this illustrious family, the late king, Bābar, after the defeat of Ibrāhīm, the son of Sikandar Lodī, and his being killed, and after his victory over Rānā Sāngā, who was the chief of the Rajas of Hindustan, established on the east side of the Jumna, on improved land, a garden (chārbāg͟h) which few places equal in beauty. He gave it the name of Gul-afs͟hān (Flower-scatterer), and erected in it a small building of cut red stone, and having completed a mosque on one side of it he intended to make a lofty building, but time failed him and his design was never carried into execution.

In these Memoirs, whenever Ṣāḥib qirānī is written it refers to Amīr Tīmūr Gūrgān; and whenever Firdūs-makānī is mentioned, to Bābar Pāds͟hāh; when Jannat-ās͟hyānī is used, to Humāyūn Pāds͟hāh; and when ʿArs͟h-ās͟hyānī is employed, to my revered father, Jalālu-d-dīn Muḥammad Akbar Pāds͟hāh G͟hāzī.

Melons, mangoes, and other fruits grow well in Agra and its neighbourhood. Of all fruits I am very fond of mangoes. In the reign of my father (ʿArs͟h-ās͟hyānī) many fruits of other countries, which till then were not to be had in India, were obtained there. Several sorts of grapes, such as the ṣāḥibī and the ḥabs͟hī4 and the kis͟hmis͟hī, became common in several towns; for instance, in the bazars of Lahore every kind and variety that may be desired can be had in the grape season. Among fruits, one which they call ananās (pineapple), which is grown in the Frank ports,5 is of excessive fragrance and fine flavour. Many thousands are produced every year now in the Gul-afs͟hān garden at Agra.

From the excellencies of its sweet-scented flowers one may prefer the fragrances of India to those of the flowers of the whole world. It has many such that nothing in the whole world can be compared to them. The first is the champa (Michelia champaca), which is a flower of exceedingly sweet fragrance; it has the shape of the saffron-flower, but is yellow inclining to white. The tree is very symmetrical and large, full of branches and leaves, and is shady. When in flower one tree will perfume a garden. Surpassing this is the keoṛā6 flower (Pandanus odoratissimus). Its shape and appearance are singular, and its scent is so strong and penetrating that it does not yield to the odour of musk. Another is the rāe bel,7 which in scent resembles white jessamine. Its flowers are double and treble (?). Another is the mūlsarī8 (Mimusops Elengi). This tree, too, is very graceful and symmetrical, and is shady. The scent of its flowers is very pleasant. Another is the ketakī9 (Pandanus ?), which is of the nature of the keoṛā, but the latter is thorny, whereas the ketkī has no thorns. Moreover, the ketkī is yellowish, whereas the keoṛā is white. From these two flowers and also from the chambelī10 (Jasminum grandiflorum), which is the white jessamine of wilāyat (Persia or Afghanistan), they extract sweet-scented oils. There are other flowers too numerous to mention. Of trees there are the cypress (sarw), the pine (sanūbar), the chanar (Platanus orientalis), the white poplar (safīdār, Populus alba), and the bīd mūllā (willow), which they had formerly never thought of in Hindustan, but are now plentiful. The sandal-tree, which once was peculiar to the islands (i.e., Java, Sumatra, etc.), also flourishes in the gardens.

The inhabitants of Agra exert themselves greatly in the acquirement of crafts and the search after learning. Various professors of every religion and creed have taken up their abode in the city.

After my accession, the first order that I gave was for the fastening up of the Chain of Justice, so that if those engaged in the administration of justice should delay or practise hypocrisy in the matter of those seeking justice, the oppressed might come to this chain and shake it so that its noise might attract attention. Its fashion was this: I ordered them to make a chain of pure gold,11 30 gaz in length and containing 60 bells. Its weight was 4 Indian maunds, equal to 42 ʿIrāqī maunds. One end of it they made fast to the battlements of the Shāh Burj of the fort at Agra and the other to a stone post fixed on the bank of the river. I also gave twelve orders to be observed as rules of conduct (dastūru-l-ʿamal) in all my dominions—

(1) Forbidding the levy of cesses under the names of tamghā and mīr baḥrī (river tolls), and other burdens which the jāgīrdārs of every province and district had imposed for their own profit.

(2) On roads where thefts and robberies took place, which roads might be at a little distance from habitations, the jāgīrdārs of the neighbourhood should build sarāʾīs (public rest-houses), mosques, and dig wells, which might stimulate population, and people might settle down in those sarāʾīs. If these should be near a k͟hāliṣa estate (under direct State management), the administrator (mutaṣaddī) of that place should execute the work.

12(3) The bales of merchants should not be opened on the roads without informing them and obtaining their leave.

(4) In my dominions if anyone, whether unbeliever or Musalman, should die, his property and effects should be left for his heirs, and no one should interfere with them. If he should have no heir, they should appoint inspectors and separate guardians to guard the property, so that its value might be expended in lawful expenditure, such as the building of mosques and sarāʾīs, the repair of broken bridges, and the digging of tanks and wells.

(5) They should not make wine or rice-spirit (darbahra)13 or any kind of intoxicating drug, or sell them; although I myself drink wine, and from the age of 18 years up till now, when I am 38, have persisted in it. When I first took a liking to drinking I sometimes took as much as twenty cups of double-distilled spirit; when by degrees it acquired a great influence over me I endeavoured to lessen the quantity, and in the period of seven years I have brought myself from fifteen cups to five or six. My times for drinking were varied; sometimes when three or four sidereal hours of the day remained I would begin to drink, and sometimes at night and partly by day. This went on till I was 30 years old. After that I took to drinking always at night. Now I drink only to digest my food.

14(6) They should not take possession of any person’s house.

(7) I forbade the cutting off the nose or ears of any person, and I myself made a vow by the throne of God that I would not blemish anyone by this punishment.

(8) I gave an order that the officials of the Crown lands and the jāgīrdārs should not forcibly take the ryots’ lands and cultivate them on their own account.

(9) A government collector or a jāgīrdār should not without permission intermarry with the people of the pargana in which he might be.

(10) They should found hospitals in the great cities, and appoint physicians for the healing of the sick; whatever the expenditure might be, should be given from the k͟hāliṣa establishment.

(11) In accordance with the regulations of my revered father, I ordered that each year from the 18th15 of Rabīʿu-l-awwal, which is my birthday, for a number of days corresponding to the years of my life, they should not slaughter animals (for food). Two days in each week were also forbidden, one of them Thursday, the day of my accession, and the other Sunday, the day of my father’s birth. He held this day in great esteem on this account, and because it was dedicated to the Sun, and also because it was the day on which the Creation began. Therefore it was one of the days on which there was no killing in his dominions.16

(12) I gave a general order that the offices and jāgīrs of my father’s servants should remain as they were. Later, the mansabs (ranks or offices) were increased according to each one’s circumstances by not less than 20 per cent. to 300 or 400 per cent. The subsistence money of the aḥadīs was increased by 50 per cent., and I raised the pay of all domestics by 20 per cent. I increased the allowances of all the veiled ladies of my father’s harem from 20 per cent. to 100 per cent., according to their condition and relationship. By one stroke of the pen I confirmed the subsistence lands17 of the holders of aimas (charity lands) within the dominions, who form the army of prayer, according to the deeds in their possession. I gave an order to Mīrān Ṣadr Jahān, who is one of the genuine Sayyids of India, and who for a long time held the high office of ṣadr (ecclesiastical officer) under my father, that he should every day produce before me deserving people (worthy of charity). 18I released all criminals who had been confined and imprisoned for a long time in the forts and prisons.19

At a propitious hour I ordered that they should coin gold and silver of different weights. To each coin I gave a separate name, viz., to the muhr of 100 tola, that of nūr-s͟hāhī; to that of 50 tola, that of nūr-sult̤ānī; to that of 20 tola, nūr-daulat; to that of 10 tola, nūr-karam; to that of 5 tola, nūr-mihr; and to that of 1 tola, nūr-jahānī. The half of this I called nūrānī, and the quarter, rawājī. With regard to the silver coins (sikkas). I gave to the coin of 100 tola the name of kaukab-i-t̤āliʿ (star of horoscope); to that of 50 tola, the name of kaukab-i-iqbāl (star of fortune); to that of 20 tola, the name of kaukab-i-murād (star of desire); to that of 10 tola, the name of kaukab-i-bak͟ht (star of good luck); to that of 5 tola, the name of kaukab-i-saʿd (star of auspiciousness); to that of 1 tola, the name of jahāngīrī. The half jahāngīrī I called sult̤ānī; the quarter, nisārī20 (showering money); the dime, k͟hair-i-qabūl (the acceptable). Copper, also, I coined in the same proportions, and gave each division a particular name. I ordered that on the gold muhr of 100, 50, 20, and 10 tola the following verse by Āṣaf K͟hān21 should be impressed—namely, on the obverse was this couplet:—

and between the lines of the verse the Creed (Kalima) was impressed. On the reverse was this couplet, in which the date of coinage was signified:—

Between the lines of the verse, the mint, the Hijra year, and the regnal year were impressed. On the nūr-jahānī, which is in the place of the ordinary gold muhr and exceeds it in weight by 20 per cent. (as 12 to 10), is impressed this couplet of the Amīru-l-umarā:—

Accordingly, a hemistich was impressed on each face, and also the mint, and the Hijra and regnal year. The jahāngīrī sikka, also, which is greater in weight by 20 per cent., was reckoned as equal to a rupee, its weight being fixed in the same manner as that of the nūr-jahānī (each was a tola in weight, but one was in gold and the other was in silver). The weight of a tola is 2½ mis̤qāls of Persia and Tūrān.23

It would not be good to give all the versified chronograms which were made for my accession. I therefore content myself with the one which Maktūb K͟hān, the superintendent of the library and picture gallery, and one of my old servants, composed—

To my son K͟husrau a lakh of rupees was presented that he might build up for himself the house of Munʿim K͟hān,25 the (former) K͟hānk͟hānān, outside the fort. The administration and government of the Panjab was bestowed on Saʿid K͟hān,26 who was one of the confidential nobles and connected with my father by marriage. His origin was from the Moghul tribe, and his ancestors were in the service of my forefathers. At the time of his taking leave, as it was said that his eunuchs oppressed and tyrannized over the weak and the poor, I sent a message to him that my justice would not put up with oppression from anyone, and that in the scales of equity neither smallness nor greatness was regarded. If after this any cruelty or harshness should be observed on the part of his people, he would receive punishment without favour.27

Again, having previously bestowed on S͟haik͟h Farīd Buk͟hārī, who had been Mīr Bak͟hs͟hī in my father’s service, a dress of honour, a jewelled sword, a jewelled inkstand and pen, I confirmed him in the same post, and in order to exalt him I said to him, “I regard thee as Ṣāḥibu-s-saif-wa-l-qalam” (“Captain Sword and Captain Pen”). Muqīm,28 to whom my father had given at the end of his reign the title of Wazīr K͟hān and the viziership of his dominions, I selected for the same title, rank, and service. I also gave K͟hwājagī Fatḥu-llah a dress of honour, and made him a bakhshi, as formerly ʿAbdu-r-Razzāq Maʿmūrī, although when I was prince he had left my service without cause or reason and had gone over to my father, I made bakhshi as formerly, and I gave him a dress of honour. To Amīnu-d-daula, who when I was prince had the post of bakhshi, and without my leave had run away and taken service with my revered father, not looking to his offences I gave the office of Ātis͟h-i-begī29 (Head of the Artillery), which he had held under my father. I left all those who were in possession of posts, both inside and outside, in the positions which they had with my father. S͟harīf K͟hān30 had lived with me from his early years. When I was prince I had given him the title of k͟hān, and when I left Allahabad to wait upon my honoured father I presented him with a drum and the tūmān-tog͟h (standard of yāk tails). I had also promoted him to the rank of 2,500 and given him the government of the province of Bihar. I gave him complete control over the province, and sent him off there. On the 4th of Rajab, being fifteen days after my accession, he waited upon me. I was exceedingly pleased at his coming, for his connection with me is such that I look upon him as a brother, a son, a friend, and a companion. As I had perfect confidence in his friendship, intelligence, learning, and acquaintance with affairs, having made him Grand Vizier, I promoted him to the rank of 5,000 with 5,000 horse and the lofty title of Amīru-l-umarā, to which no title of my servants is superior. Though his position might have warranted a higher rank, he himself represented to me that until some notable service on his part had become perceptible to me he would not accept a higher grade than that mentioned (5,000).

As the reality of the loyalty of my father’s servants had not yet become apparent, and certain faults and errors and unbecoming intentions which were not approved at the throne of the Creator or pleasing to His creatures had shown themselves, they of themselves became ashamed. Though on the day of my accession I had forgiven all offences and determined with myself that I would exact no retribution for past deeds, yet on account of the suspicion that had been aroused in my mind about them I considered the Amīru-l-umarā my guardian and protector; although God Almighty is the guardian of all His servants, and is especially so of kings, because their existence is the cause of the contentment of the world. His father, ʿAbdu-ṣ-Ṣamad, who in the art of painting had no equal in the age, had obtained from the late king (Jannat-ās͟hyānī) Humāyūn the title of S͟hīrīn-qalam (Sweet pen), and in his council had attained a great dignity and was on intimate terms with him (the king). He was one of the chief men of S͟hīrāz. My honoured father, on account of his former services, paid him great honour and reverence. I made Raja Mān Singh—who was one of the greatest and most trusted noblemen of my father, and had obtained alliances with this illustrious family, inasmuch as his aunt had been in my father’s house (i.e. was his wife),31 and I had married his sister, and K͟husrau and his sister Sult̤ānu-n-nisā Begam, the latter of whom is my eldest child, were born of her—as before, ruler of the province of Bengal. Though as in consequence of certain of his acts he had no expectation of this favour towards himself, I dignified him with a chārqab (vest without sleeves) as a robe of honour, a jewelled sword, and one of my own horses, and sent him off to his province, which is a place of (or can keep up) 50,000 horse. His father was Raja Bhagwān Dās. His grandfather, Raja Bihārī Mal, was the first of the Kachwāha Rājpūts to have the honour of entering my father’s service, and he excelled his tribe in truth and sincerity of friendship, and in the quality of valour. After my accession, when all the nobles with their retinues presented themselves at my palace, it came into my mind that I should send this body of retainers under my son, Sultan Parwīz, to make a holy war against the Rānā, who was one of evil deeds, and a foul infidel of the country of Hindustan, and in my father’s time had had troops sent constantly against him, but had not been driven off. In a fortunate hour I invested my said son with gorgeous robes of honour, a jewelled waist-sword, a jewelled waist-dagger, and a rosary of pearls intermixed with rubies of great price of the value of 72,000 rupees, ʿIrāq and Turkmān horses and famous elephants, and dismissed him. About 20,000 horsemen with nobles and chief leaders were appointed to this service. The first was Āṣaf K͟hān, who in my father’s time was one of his confidential servants, and for a long time had been confirmed in the post of bakhshi and afterwards became dīwān ba istiqlāl (Chancellor with full powers); him I advanced from the rank of an Amīr to that of Vizier, and promoting him from the command of 2,500 horse to that of 5,000 made him guardian to Parwīz. Having honoured him with a robe of honour, jewelled waist-sword, a horse and an elephant, I ordered that all the manṣabdārs (commanders), small and great, should not depart from such orders as he thought proper to give them. I made ʿAbdu-r-Razzāq Maʿmūrī his bakhshi and Muk͟htār Beg, Āṣaf K͟hān’s paternal uncle, diwan to Parwīz. I also presented to Raja Jagannāth, son of Raja Bihārī Mal, who had the rank of 5,000, a robe of honour and a jewelled waist-sword.

Again, I gave Rānā S͟hankar, cousin of the Rānā—to whom my father had given the title of Rānā, proposing to send him with K͟husrau against the Rānā, but at that time he (Akbar) became a s͟hanqar (a falcon, i.e. he died)—a robe of honour and a jewelled sword, and sent him with him.

I presented Mādho Singh, brother’s son of Raja Mān Singh, and Rāwal Sāl Darbārī with flags, from this consideration, that they were always present at Court and belonged to the Sekhāwaṭ32 Rājpūts, and were confidential servants of my father. Each received also the rank of 3,000.

I promoted S͟haik͟h Ruknu-d-dīn the Afghan, to whom when I was prince I had given the title of S͟hīr K͟hān, from the grade of 500 to that of 3,500 S͟hīr K͟hān is the head of his clan and a very valiant man. He lost his arm by the sword in service against the Uzbegs.33 ʿAbdu-r-Raḥmān, son of S͟haik͟h Abū-l-faẓl, Mahā Singh, grandson of Rāja Mān Singh, Zāhid K͟hān, son of Sādiq K͟hān, Wazīr Jamīl, and Qarā K͟hān Turkmān were exalted to the rank of 2,000; all these obtained robes of honour and horses, and were dismissed. Manohar also obtained leave to join the expedition. He is of the tribe of the Sekhāwaṭ Kachhwāhas, and on him in his young days my father bestowed many favours. He had learned the Persian language, and, although from him up to Adam the power of understanding cannot be attributed to any one of his tribe, he is not without intelligence. He makes Persian verses, and the following is one of his couplets:—

If the details were to be described of all the commanders and servants appointed by me, with the conditions and connections and rank of each, it would be a long business. Many of my immediate attendants and personal followers and nobles’ sons, house-born ones (k͟hānazādān) and zealous Rajputs, petitioned to accompany this expedition. A thousand ahadis, the meaning of which is single ones (Blochmann, p. 20), were also appointed. In short, a force was collected together such that if reliance on the Friend (God) were vouchsafed, it could have embarked on enmity and conflict with any one of the monarchs of power.

When I was prince I had entrusted, in consequence of my extreme confidence36 in him, my own ūzuk seal37 to the Amīru-l-umarā (S͟harīf), but when he was sent off to the province of Bihar I made it over to Parwīz. Now that Parwīz went off against the Rānā, I made it over, according to the former arrangement, to the Amīru-l-umarā.

Parwīz was born of Ṣāḥib-Jamāl (Mistress of Beauty), the cousin38 of Zain K͟hān Koka, who, in point of affinity, was on the same footing39 as Mirzā ʿAzīz Koka, in the 34th year of my father’s reign, in the city of Kabul, two years and two months after the birth of K͟husrau. After several other children had been born to me and had been received into God’s mercy, a daughter was born of Karamsī,40 who belonged to the Rāṭhor clan, and the child received the name of Bihār Bānū Begam. To Jagat Gosāʾīn,41 daughter of the Mota Raja (the fat raja), was born Sult̤ān K͟hurram, in the 36th year of my father’s reign, corresponding to A.H. 999,42 in the city of Lahore. His advent made the world joyous (k͟hurram),43 and gradually, as his years increased, so did his excellencies, and he was more attentive to my father than all (my) other children, who was exceedingly pleased with and grateful for his services, and always recommended him to me and frequently told me there was no comparison between him and my other children. He recognised him as his real child.

After that (K͟hurram’s birth) some other children were born who died in infancy, and then within one month two sons were borne by concubines. One of these I called Jahāndār and the other S͟hahryār.44

About this time there came a petition from Saʿid K͟hān with regard to granting leave to Mīrzā G͟hāzī, who was a son of the ruler of the province of Thathah (Tattah in Sind).45 I said that as my father had betrothed his sister to my son K͟husrau, please God, when this alliance came into force, I would give him leave to return to Sind.

A year before I became king I had determined that I would drink no wine on Friday eve, and I hope at the throne of God that He will keep me firm in this resolve as long as I live.

Twenty thousand rupees were given to Mīrzā Muḥammad Riẓā Sabzwārī to divide amongst the faqirs and the needy of Delhi. The viziership of my dominions I gave in the proportions of half and half to K͟hān Beg,46 to whom when I was prince I had given the title of Wazīru-l-mulk, and to Wazīr K͟hān47 (Muqīm), and I gave to S͟haik͟h Farīd Buk͟hārī, who held the rank of 4,000, that of 5,000. I promoted Rām Dās Kachhwāha, whom my father had favoured, and who held the rank of 2,000, to that of 3,000. I sent dresses of honour to Mīrzā Rustam, son of Mīrzā Sult̤ān Ḥusain and grandson of S͟hāh Ismāʿīl, the ruler of Qandahar, and to ʿAbdu-r-Raḥīm K͟hānk͟hānān, son of Bairām K͟hān, and to Īraj and Dārāb, his sons, and to other nobles attached to the Deccan (command). Bark͟hūrdār, son of ʿAbdu-r-Raḥmān, son of Muʾayyid Beg, as he had come to court without a summons, I ordered back to his jagir. 48It is not according to good manners to go to the king’s banquet without a summons, otherwise there would be no forbidding of the doors and walls to the foot of desire.

A month had elapsed after my auspicious accession when Lāla Beg, who while I was prince had obtained the title of Bāz Bahādur, obtained the blessing of waiting on me. His rank, which had been 1,500, was raised to 4,000. I promoted him to the Subah of Bihar and gave him 2,000 rupees. Bāz Bahādur is of the lineage of the special attendants of our family; his father’s name was Niz̤ām, and he was librarian to Humāyūn. Kesho Dās Mārū, who is a Rājpūt of the province of Mairtha and is greater in loyalty than his contemporaries, I promoted to the rank of 1,500. I directed the ʿulamā and the learned men of Islam to collect those of the distinctive appellations of God which were easy to remember, in order that I might make them into my rosary49 (ward). On Friday eves50 I associate with learned and pious men, and with dervishes and recluses. When Qilīj K͟hān, who was one of the old retainers of the State in my revered father’s reign, was appointed to the government of the province of Gujarat, I presented him with a lakh of rupees for his expenses. I raised Mīrān Ṣadr Jahān from the rank of 2,000 to that of 4,000. I knew him in my childhood when I read the “Forty Sayings” with S͟haik͟h ʿAbdu-n-Nabī,51 whose history is given in detail in the Akbarnāma. From these early days till now Mīrān Ṣadr Jahān has acted towards me with single-minded loyalty, and I regard him as my preceptor in religions matters (k͟halīfa). Whilst I was prince and before my revered father’s illness, and during that time, when the ministers (pillars of the State) and the high nobles had become agitated, and each had conceived some idea of gain for himself and wished to become the originator of some act which could only bring ruin on the State, he had not failed in the activity of his service and devotedness. Having made ʿInāyat Beg,52 who for a long period in the reign of my father had been Master of Works (Dīwān-i-buyūtāt) and held the rank of 700, half-vizier of my dominions in the place of Wazīr K͟hān, I gave him the high title of Iʿtimādu-d-daula with the rank of 1,500, and I appointed Wazīr K͟hān to the Dīwānī of the province of Bengal, and assigned to him the settlement of the revenues thereof. To Patr Dās, who in the time of my father had the title of Rāy Rāyān, I gave the title of Raja Bikramājīt. The latter was one of the great Rajas of India, and it was in his reign that astronomical observatories were established in India. I made Patr Dās Master of Ordnance, and ordered that he should always have light artillery53 in the arsenal, 50,000 light guns54 and 3,000 gun-carriages, ready and in efficient order. He was a khatrī by caste, and rose in my father’s service from being accountant of the elephants’ stables to be diwan and an amir. He is not wanting in military qualities and in administrative skill. I made K͟hurram, the son of K͟hān Aʿz̤am (ʿAzīz Koka), who had had the rank of 2,000, an officer of 2,500.

As it was my desire that many of the Akbarī and Jahāngīrī officers should obtain the fruition of their wishes, I informed the bakhshis that whoever wished to have his birthplace made into his jagir should make a representation to that effect, so that in accordance with the Chingīz canon (tūra) the estate might be conveyed to him by āl tamg͟hā and become his property, and he might be secured from apprehension of change. Our ancestors and forefathers were in the habit of granting jagirs to everyone under proprietary title, and adorned the farmans for these with the āl tamg͟hā seal, which is an impressed seal made in vermilion (i.e. red ink). I ordered that they should cover the place for the seal, with gold-leaf (t̤ilāpos͟h) and impress the seal thereon, and I called this the altūn55 tamg͟hā.

I had selected from the other sons of S͟hāhruk͟h, Mīrzā Sult̤ān,56 son of Mīrzā S͟hāhruk͟h the grandson of Mīrzā Sulaimān, who was a descendant (great-grandson) of Mīrzā Sult̤ān Abū Saʿīd and for a long time ruler of Badakhshan, and with consent of my57 revered father brought him into my service. I count him as a son, and have promoted him to the rank of 1,000. I also promoted Bhāo Singh, son of Raja Mān Singh and the most capable of his sons, from his original rank to that of 1,500. I raised Zamāna Beg,58 son of G͟hayūr Beg of Kabul, who has served me personally from his childhood, and who, when I was prince, rose from the grade of an ahadi to that of 500, giving him the title of Mahābat K͟hān and the rank of 1,500. He was confirmed as bakhshi of my private establishment (s͟hāgird-pīs͟ha).

I promoted Raja Bīr Singh Deo, a Bandela Rajput, who had obtained my favour, and who excels his equals and relatives in valour, personal goodness, and simple-heartedness, to the rank of 3,000. The reason for his advancement and for the regard shown to him was that near the end of my revered father’s time, S͟haik͟h Abū-l-faẓl, who excelled the S͟haik͟hzādas of Hindustan in wisdom and learning, had adorned himself outwardly with the jewel of sincerity, and sold it to my father at a heavy price. He had been summoned from the Deccan, and, since his feelings towards me were not honest, he both publicly and privately spoke against me. At this period when, through strife-exciting intriguers, the august feelings of my royal father were entirely embittered against me, it was certain that if he obtained the honour of waiting on him (Akbar) it would be the cause of more confusion, and would preclude me from the favour of union with him (my father). It became necessary to prevent him from coming to Court. As Bīr Singh Deo’s country was exactly on his route and he was then a rebel, I sent him a message that if he would stop that sedition-monger and kill him he would receive every kindness from me. By God’s grace, when S͟haik͟h Abū-l-faẓl was passing through Bīr Singh Deo’s country, the Raja blocked his road, and after a little contest scattered his men and killed him. He sent his head to me in Allahabad. Although this event was a cause of anger in the mind of the late king (Akbar), in the end it enabled me to proceed without disturbance of mind to kiss the threshold of my father’s palace, and by degrees the resentment of the king was cleared away.

I made Mīr Ẓiyāʾu-d-dīn of Qazwīn, who had done me service in the days of my princehood and had shown loyalty, commander of 1,000 and accountant of the stables. An order was given that every day thirty horses should be produced before me for the purpose of making presents. I honoured Mīrzā ʿAlī Akbars͟hāhī, who is one of the distinguished braves of this family,59 with the rank of 4,000, and gave him the sarkar of Sambhal as his jagir.

One day the Amīru-l-umarā (S͟harīf K͟hān) greatly pleased me by an incidental remark. It was this: “Honesty and dishonesty are not confined to matters of cash and goods; to represent qualities as existing in acquaintances which do not exist, and to conceal the meritorious qualities of strangers, is dishonesty. In truth, honesty of speech consists in making no distinction between intimates and strangers and in describing each man as he really is.”

When I sent off Parwīz I had said to him, “If the Rānā himself, and his eldest son who is called Karan, should come to wait upon you and proffer service and obedience, you should not do any injury to his territory.” My intention in this recommendation was of two kinds; one, that inasmuch as the conquest of Transoxiana was always in the pure mind of my revered father, though every time he determined on it things occurred to prevent it, if this business could be settled, and this danger dismissed from my mind, I would leave Parwīz in Hindustan, and in reliance on Allah, myself start for my hereditary territories, especially as at this time there was no permanent ruler in that region. Bāqī K͟hān, who, after ʿAbdu-llah K͟hān and ʿAbdu-l-Muʾmīn K͟hān, his son, had acquired complete independence, had died, and the affairs of Walī Muḥammad K͟hān, his brother, who is now the ruler of that region, had not as yet been brought into proper order. Secondly, to bring about the termination of the war in the Deccan, of which a part in the time of my revered father had been acquired, so that it might come into possession, and be incorporated with the Imperial dominions. My hope is that through the favour of Allah both these undertakings will be accomplished.