kamaluddin abdul-razzaq samarqandi mission tocalicut and

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Kamaluddin Abdul-Razzaq Samarqandi Mission to Calicut and Vijayanagar In January 1442 Kamaluddin Abdul-Razzaq Samarqandi, a high court functionary, was sent as emissary by Shahrukh in response to a request for a representative from the king of Calicut (present-day Kozhikode in Kerala) on the Malibar coast of India. In his history, Matta's! sa'dayn (Rising point of the two lucky starsl), a chronicle covering the years up to 1470, he describes his experiences in Calicut and in the much larger neighboring kingdom of Vijay anagar and-his misadventures at sea on his return journey to Herat in January 1445. . God has said: "It is he who hath given you conveniences for traveling by land and by sea."? He whose eyes of insight are illuminated by the lights of reality, he the bird of whose soul flies in the air of knowledge realizes with certainty that both the revolution of the great bodies of the celestial spheres and the movement of the small particles of the earth proceed in accordance with the knowledge and will of the immaculate creator. He knows that the lights of all-encompassing power and the effects of perfect wisdom shine upon the atoms of the generations of the world and the movements of humankind, that the reins of earthlings are in the grasp of fate and the clutches of destiny, and that the necks of the obstinate of the world are subject to the command of God, who "doth that which he pleaseth.Y' -I A reference to Timur's title, Sahib-Qiran (see glossary of terms and titles). 2Koran 10:22. 3Koran 3:40. * If the determination of worldlings is not by fate, why then do things happen contrary to [our] pleasure. Yea, fate controls the reins of mankind for every good and ill for the reason that all machinations are erroneous. The terrors of a sea voyage-"and it is not a sea that hath end or shore"-are the most obvious of the effects of fate and lights of wisdom. Hence in the miracu- lous words of the Omniscient King are found pearls of the benefits of sea voy- ages, and crossing the great sea is inde- scribable except by the empowerment of the Ever-Living, who renders every im- possibility possible. Through the command of fate and the order of divine destiny, to contemplate which is beyond human machination, I was assigned to India, but how can I describe clearly how perplexed I was in that dark region? His Majesty the Felicitous Khaqan gen- erously provided money, drafts for fod- der and post horses, and I got my per- sonal belongings together and set out on 299

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Page 1: Kamaluddin Abdul-Razzaq Samarqandi Mission toCalicut and

Kamaluddin Abdul-Razzaq Samarqandi

Mission to Calicut and Vijayanagar

In January 1442 Kamaluddin Abdul-Razzaq Samarqandi, a high court functionary, wassent as emissary by Shahrukh in response to a request for a representative from the king ofCalicut (present-day Kozhikode in Kerala) on the Malibar coast of India. In his history,Matta's! sa'dayn (Rising point of the two lucky starsl), a chronicle covering the years up to1470, he describes his experiences in Calicut and in the much larger neighboring kingdomof Vijay anagar and-his misadventures at sea on his return journey to Herat in January 1445.

. God has said: "It is he who hath givenyou conveniences for traveling by landand by sea."? He whose eyes of insightare illuminated by the lights of reality, hethe bird of whose soul flies in the air ofknowledge realizes with certainty thatboth the revolution of the great bodies ofthe celestial spheres and the movement ofthe small particles of the earth proceed inaccordance with the knowledge and willof the immaculate creator. He knows thatthe lights of all-encompassing power andthe effects of perfect wisdom shine uponthe atoms of the generations of the worldand the movements of humankind, thatthe reins of earthlings are in the grasp offate and the clutches of destiny, and thatthe necks of the obstinate of the world aresubject to the command of God, who"doth that which he pleaseth.Y'

-I A reference to Timur's title, Sahib-Qiran (seeglossary of terms and titles).

2Koran 10:22.3Koran 3:40.

*If the determination of worldlings is not byfate, why then do things happen contrary to

[our] pleasure.Yea, fate controls the reins of mankind forevery good and ill for the reason that all

machinations are erroneous.

The terrors of a sea voyage-"and it isnot a sea that hath end or shore"-are themost obvious of the effects of fate andlights of wisdom. Hence in the miracu-lous words of the Omniscient King arefound pearls of the benefits of sea voy-ages, and crossing the great sea is inde-scribable except by the empowerment ofthe Ever-Living, who renders every im-possibility possible.

Through the command of fate and the order ofdivine destiny, to contemplate which is

beyond human machination,I was assigned to India, but how can I describe

clearly how perplexed I was in that darkregion?

His Majesty the Felicitous Khaqan gen-erously provided money, drafts for fod-der and post horses, and I got my per-sonal belongings together and set out on

299

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300 ABDUL-RAZZAQ SAMARQANDI

the first of Ramadan [845 = January 13,1442]. Proceeding on the Qohistan roadthrough the Kerman desert, I came upon acity with a citadel and what were clearlyfour bazaars, but no one was there.

I passed by their halting places on the plains,but I found only traces and remains.

That desert in all its breadth, from theborders of Kerman and Sistan to thevicinity of Damghan, holds nothing butcalamity and terror.

On the 18th of Ramadan [January 30] Ientered Kerman, "a good country," and"fair dwellings.t's a delightful city and re-freshing area. The darugha, Amir HajjiMuhammad Qanashirin, [767] was ab-sent. Necessarily we stopped until theholiday, and His Excellency Amir Bur-han uddin Sayyid-Khalilullah b. AmirNa'imuddin Sayyid-Ni'matullah, themost outstanding man of the city of Ker-man-nay, of the entire world-had justthen returned from India and extendedmuch kindness.

On the 5th of Shawwal [February 16]we set out from Kerman. Along the waywe encountered Amir Hajji Muhammad,who had returned from the farthestreaches of the province of Bampur.

. Headed toward Hormuz, we reached theshore and the port of Hormuz in the mid-dle of the month. The wali of Hormuz,Malik Fakhruddin Turanshah, ordered aship for us, and we disembarked safely inthe city of Hormuz. Accommodations andprovisions having been ordered, we wereable to meet the padishah. [768] Hormuz,which they call Jarun.> is a port in themidst of the sea, "with no equal on theface of the earth." Merchants from theseven climes-Egypt, Syria, Anatolia,Azerbaijan, Arabian and Persian Iraq,

4Koran.34:15,26:58.5Also known as Zarun. Abu'l-Fida (Taqwim

al-buldan, p. 339) explains that Old Hormuz hadbeen destroyed by the "Tatars," and the popula-tion had moved to the nearby island of Zarun.

Fars, Khurasan, Transoxiana, Turki~tan,the Qipchaq Steppe, the Qalmaq regions,and all the lands of the Orient, China, andKhan BalYq-all come to that port, andseafaring men, from Indo-China, Java,Bengal, Ceylon, the cities of Zi~bad[Malaysia], Tennaserim, Sumatra, Starn,and the Maldive Islands to the realm ofMalibar, Abyssinia and Zanzibar,. theports of Vijayanagar, Gulbarga, Gujaratand Cambay, the coast of the Arabianpeninsula to Aden, Jiddah and Yanbu'bring to that town precious. an~ rarecommodities which are made glittering bythe sun, moon and clouds and which canbe transported across the sea. Travelersfrom everywhere in the world come there,and everything they bring for exchangefor what they want can be found withoutmuch search in that town. They deal bothin cash and in barter, and the divanis takea tenth of everything except gold and sil-ver. Adherents of various religions, eveninfidels, are many in that city, but theydeal equitably with all. For this reason thetown is called Dar al-Aman (abode of se-curity), [769] and the people there havethe glibness of Iraqis and the mysterious-ness of Indians.

A stay of two months occurred there-rather, the rulers detained us on everypretext until the best time for sea ~oyage,which is the beginning and the middle ofthe monsoon, had passed. At the end ofthe monsoon, when the time of piracywas at hand, they gave us permission todepart. Claiming that our men and ani-mals were too many to fit into one ship,they divided us into two parties, boardedus on ships and set sail. When the smellof the ship reached my nostrils and I ex-perienced the terror of the sea, I lost con-sciousness to such an extent that for threedays I was dead to the world, save for therising and falling of my breath.

When I had partially come to, the mer-chants, who were loyal friends, togetherraised a ruckus, saying that the season fora sea voyage was past and anyone who

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MISSION TO CALICUT AND VUAY ANAGAR 301

made a voyage at this time was commit-ting suicide. Altogether they gave up forlost their nawl, that is, the fare for theship, canceled their plans and disem-barked after some difficulty at the port ofMuscat. From Muscat my comrades and Ireached a town called Qurayyat, wherewe stopped.

When seafaring merchants have em-barked upon a sea voyage and it provesimpossible and they are stranded some-where, [770] they called it tabahi (ruina-tion). From the influence of the revolutionof the hardhearted celestial sphere and thecontrary motion of treacherous fate, I toobecame tabahi, with a heart shattered likebroken crystal, a soul sick of life and sit-uation of extreme ruin. During thesedays, from the tyranny of the evil-movingsphere and the cruelty of inauspiciousdestiny, the mirror of my luminous mind,which had shone like the splendor of thesun, turned rusty from the catastropheshurled by blue heaven, and the brightlamp of my lighted mind, from which themoon borrowed light every night, wasblown out by the swift wind of untowardevents. My glowing nature, which creatednight-illuminating pearls of meanings,and my critical genius, which producedluminous pearls of words, was afflictedwith the catastrophe of extinction. Mymind turned dark and my brain was per-plexed.

Finally one day I met a merchant whowas coming from Hindustan. When Iasked him his destination, he said,

There is no destination other than Herat.

When I heard the name of that fair land,

There was fear that consciousness would leavemy head.

I begged the respected merchant to tarry amoment and I wrote down these verses-exudings of the water of life drippingthrough the courses of words and ex-pressions-with the ambergris-scented,

musky pen upon the camphory white faceof the page:

When the eve of the destitute falls and I beginto weep, I relate my tale after the manner of a

stranger. [771] In memory of friends andhomeland I weep so bitterly that I obliterate

from the world all tracks of my passage.I am from the region of the beloved, not froma foreign realm. 0 Ever-Vigilant, return me to

my comrades.

As I wrote in detail all that pertained tomy miserable condition, so many dropsof tears fell upon the sheets of my eye-lashes that from the murky waters of myeyes a cyclone was stirred up in the sea.

The group of men and animals that haddeparted from Hormuz in the other shipwere unaccounted for, but perhaps later

Their tale will be told by the tongue of thepen.

*A MENTION OF THE TIME SPENT

INVOLUNTARILY ON THE DARY ABARCOAST AND WHAT HAPPENED IN

QURA YYAT AND QALHAT

While I was stranded on Qurayyat onthe Daryabar coast, the new moon ofMuharram 846 [May 12, 1442] appeared.Although it was springtime and the timeof equal days and nights, the sun shoneso hot that rubies would have burned inmines and marrow in the bone, andswords would have melted in their scab-bards like wax.

The sun grew so hot from the air that a heartof stone would have burned in commiseration

with the sun.The horizons grew so hot from the sun that aheart of stone would have been softened like

wax.The bodies of fish in ponds burned like silk in

fire.Water and air were so hot that the fish took

refuge in fire.Hunting became easy in the desert, for thewilderness was filled with roasted gazelle.

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[776] The heat told of deepest hell and thehot leaping flames of Hamim. The gatesof the flames of Jahim were opened to theworld, and since the air of that region isby nature opposed to the constitution ofthe men of our realm, our elder brotherand learned master, Mawlana AfifuddinAbdul-Wahhab, our other companionsand myself took to the bed of infirmitydue to the severity of the heat and turnedover the reins of will to the hand of divinefavor.

Since the reins of will are not in our hands, wehave left it to His kindness to do as He wills.

All our constitutions deviated from thepath of equilibrium, and our indispositionand suffering increased. Agonizing feversand grief increased daily, and the fire offever raged within. For four monthswithout cease we suffered this debilitatingillness.

I became so weak that at any moment thezephyr could have carried me like the scent of

a rose to every land.I was convulsed as the revolution of the

celestial sphere turned me over like a bucketon a waterwheel.

No one ever saw pain separated from my body,so closely linked were disease and diseased.

[777] At this juncture I heard that in theQalhat region there was a place known asSur, which had a favorable climate. De-spite my weak constitution, I boarded aship for Qalhat. When I arrived there myillness got worse: by day I burned withfever and by night the lamp of tribulationwas lit by the sparks of outcries. Theabundance of infection cast this earthlyform into trembling, like the body of theearth convulsed by the domination ofsmoky vapors; and the hand of control offever brought down with the wind ofcalamity the tent of bodily health, whichwas held aloft by the four stakes of theelements. Wracked by the pain of exileand wounded with the pain of separation,I closed my lips to speech by day like a

bloodied rosebud with heart constrictedby cruel, faithless fate. By night my eyes,opened like newly blossomed flowers,told the tale of my grief to the waters ofthe green garden of heaven. The bird ofmy soul determined to separate itself fromthe nest of the body; and my body,weakened by the twin catastrophes of af-fliction and exile, submitted to bid fare-well to the soul. The soul [778] lost hopeof life and readied itself for death. Thereins of submission were given over tothe grasp of divine favor. My brother andmaster Mawlana Afifuddin Abdul-Wahhab-"blessed be they, and a happyresurrection "6-departed this life in ac-cordance with the Koranic verse, "Nosoul knoweth in what land it shall die."?In accordance with the verse, "Whereso-ever ye be, death will overtake you,"8 heentrusted his soul to the seizer of spiritsand was buried near a shrine of some ofthe great companions of the prophet. Inthe city of exile the poison of separationhad such an effect that it cannot be de-scribed.

Alas, were the ascendant of beauty and youthlife everlasting, it would be necessary to break

with kith and kin, for thus is the heavenlycommand:

Eventually everyone is abandoned by hisbrother, by the life of your father, except the

Farqadan.?

I too gave up all hope of life and deter-mined to set forth in any ship bound forHindustan. Several strong men lifted me[779] and put me in a ship, saying," 'Embark thereon, in the name of God;while it moveth forward, and while itstandeth still.' "10

6Koran 13:29.7Koran 31:34.8Koran 4:78.9Identified by the editor as by the Arab poet

'Amr b. Ma'dikarb. The Farqadan are two starsin Ursa Minor.

IOKomn 11:41.

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In this bloodthirsty sea of fate make a ship ofcontentment. Board that ship saying, "Embark

thereon, in the name of God."

And if my lords do not object, there issome resemblance between my situationand the story of Moses. When he wascast into the water in a chest, it was out-wardly annihilation; but inwardly it meanthis salvation. There is also a resemblanceto the story of Moses and Khizr, whenKhizr damaged the boat: outwardly itmeant drowning the men but inwardly itmeant escape from the expropriator. 11Anyway, the sea air became favorableand gave hope of recovery. The dawn ofhealth began to break on the horizon ofdesire, the wounds of agonizing arrowsof illness healed, and the murky vessel oflife once again became bright and clear. Afavorable wind blew, and the shipskimmed across the surface of the waterlike a breeze.

Made by the wisdom of the experienced, ahouse moving around the world. A rarity of

God's command, a moving house whoseinhabitants stay put.

A bird that flies without feather or wing,a traveler who races on the course of anarrow without the help of feet. A chargerthat prances in water up to its chest, a fishthat [780] crawls on its belly like a snakeacross the back of a wave, a crescentmoon that never in a thousand years be-comes full, an ingatherer of various soulsthat never becomes pregnant ... , a womancarrying many children but who is everbarren, itself in chains but a deliverer ofothers from the storm of calamity, itselfchained yet having placed chains of rip-ples on the sea as does the wind, likethose who have lost their hearts neitheron land nor in the sky, traveling on thesurface of the water like a worm, amountain in majesty before resurrectionin motion, a magnificent cloud like

IISee Koran 18:71 and 79.

waterfowl in flight, straight of mast butbowed like the ever-moving, spinningsphere, an arrow as stable as the pole.

Always stable in the midst of instability itself.

A bow facing the road like a traveler,with an arrow of a mast held firm andfixed. In height it rises as high as Sagitta,and in speed no arrow can match it. Inrising and falling it leaves the wind twostations behind, and it can outrun the ar-row of the mightiest bowman.

On windy days it goes before the wind, and itflies farther than an arrow fired.

For several days our companions tookdelight in the meaning of the words,"[Ships,] which sail with them, with afavourable wind."12 And the words,"Dost thou not see that the ships run inthe sea through the favour of God?"13opened the gates of enjoyment to theminds of our friends. After eighteen[781] days anchor was dropped in theport of Calicut, by the grace of God. Adescription of the wonders of that regionand my travels there now follows.

ARRIVAL IN HINDUST AN AND ADESCRIPTION OF ITS WONDERS AND

MARVELS

Calicut is a safe port, equal to Hormuzin its mercantile population from everyland and region and the availability ofrarities of all sorts from Daryabar, espe-cially the realm of Zirbad, Abyssinia andZanzibar. From time to time ships comefrom God's House and other towns ofthe Hejaz and stop for a while in this port.It is a city of infidels and therefore is inthe dar al-harb. However, there is aMuslim population resident, with twocongregational mosques, and on Fridaysthey pray with peace of mind. They have

12Koran 10:22.13Koran 31:31.

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304 ABDUL-RAZZAQ SAMARQANDI

a religiously observant cadi, and most ofthem are Shafi'i by sect. In that city secu-rity and justice are such that wealthymerchants who sail the seas bring manygoods there from Daryabar. They unloadthem from the ships and store them inlanes and the bazaar as long as they wishwithout having to worry about guardingthem. The divan watchmen keep guardand patrol them day and night. If theymake a sale, one-fortieth is taken in alms·otherwise no duties are imposed on them:It is the custom of other ports to seize as awindfall and plunder [782] any shipheaded for one port but driven by God'sdestiny to take refuge in another. How-ever, in Calicut, no matter where a ship isfrom and where it is headed, if it docksthere they treat it like any other ship andsubject it to no more or no less duty.

In short, His Majesty the FelicitousKhaqan had sent for the wali of Calicut ahorse, a pelisse, a gold-embroidereddiigiilii and a Jata nawrozi hat. The rea-son for this was as follows.

A group of His Majesty's emissariesreturning from the Bengal had beenstranded in Calicut with emissaries fromthe Bengal, and they had described thewealth, prosperity and power of HisMajesty's realm to the ruler. He had alsoheard from reliable people that the rulersof the inhabited quarter of the globe, eastand west, land and sea, had sent emis-saries and messages to [Shahrukh's]court, which they considered the solutionto their every need and refuge of theirevery hope. Soon thereafter the king ofthe Bengal complained of aggressionfrom Sultan Ibrahim of Jaunpur andsought assistance from the court at whichsultans take refuge. His Majesty issued adecree and sent it via His ExcellencyShaykh al-Islam Khwaja KarimuddinAbu'l-Makarim Jami to the wali of Jaun-pur with a message not to encroach uponthe realm of the Bengal. [783] Otherwise,whatever happened would be on his ownhead. When the king of Jaunpur was ap-

prised of the contents of this order, heceased his aggression against the Bengal.

Now, the wali of Calicut, having heardof this, gathered all sorts of gifts andtribute and sent a messenger to say that inhis port in the Friday prayer and the holi-day prayer the khutba of Islam was re-cited, and if His Majesty would allow it,they would recite the khutba in his royalname.

The world was so delighted by the sound ofhis khutba that the infidels were inclined to it.

The emissaries and attendants comingfrom the Bengal arrived at the royal court,and the amirs presented the petition andtribute to the royal presence. The mes-senger was a Muslim who spoke [Per-sian]. During his speech he representedthat if His Majesty favored [the wali ofCalicut] by sending him a special emis-sary to invite him to accept Islam in ac-cordance with the Koranic verse, "Invitemen unto the way of thy Lord, by wis-dom, and mild exhortation.t'H the lock ofdarkness and error would be loosed fromhis dark heart and the brightness of thelight of faith would enter through thewindow of his mind. This would cer-tainly be the correct thing to do andwould carry great heavenly reward. HisMajesty granted his plea and ordered theamirs to outfit an emissary, and the lot fellto me. Some plotted against me, thinkingthat I might not return from this voyage,but after three years I did return safe andsound from this dangerous trip [to find]that those intriguers had taken the road toextinction. [784]

In short, when I disembarked in Cali-cut, I saw a people the likes of whom Ihad never imagined.

A strange nation, neither men nor demons, atmeeting whom the mind would go mad.

Had I seen the likes of them in a dream, myheart would have been upset for years.

14Koran 16:125.

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I am comfortable with those whose faces arelike the moon, not with every ill-proportioned

black thing.

Naked blacks with loin cloths tied fromtheir navels to their knees, in one hand anIndian kattara [glistening] like a drop ofwater, and in the other a leather shield aslarge as a cloud. Both king and beggarlook like this, but the Muslims wear fineclothing in the Arab fashion and indulgein ceremony of all sorts.

Having met with a group of Muslimsand a horde of infidels, I was assignedsuitable quarters. After three days I wastaken to see the king, whom I found to beas naked as other Hindus. There they callthe king samuri. When he dies his sis-ter's son takes his place, and [the king-ship] is not given to son, brother or otherrelative. No one becomes king by force.The infidels are of many sorts, Brahmins,yogins, and others. Although they allshare the same polytheism and idolatry,every tribe has a different system. Thereis one tribe whose women have multiplehusbands, each of whom has a specifictask to perform. [785] They divide theday and night, and each one goes to the[wife's] quarters at a specified time. Solong as [one husband] is there, no othercan go in. The samuri is of this tribe.

When I met the samuri, his assemblywas adorned with two or three thousandHindus. The chief of the Muslims wasalso present at that assembly. I wasseated, His Majesty's document was readand the horse, pelisse, gold-embroidereddiigiilii and nawrozi hat were presented.The sam uri did not pay full respect, and Ireturned to my quarters from the assem-bly.

The other group the king of Hormuzhad put on the second ship with severalhorses had been seized at sea by piratesof Sangisar. All their possession weretaken, but they escaped with their lives.We rejoined each other in Calicut andwere happy to see our dear friends.

Thank God we did not die but saw our friendsagain and reached our destination.

From the end of Jumada II [November1442] until the beginning of Dhu'l-Hijja[April 1, 1443] we were afflicted byhaving to stay in that infelicitous place.During this time one night that was asblack as the condition of lovers and solong that it would undo the twisted locksof beauties, the victorious sultan of sleepordered the deposition of the agents of thesenses, [786] and the two gates to men'ssenses were as tightly closed as a rose-bud's mouth, in accordance with the Ko-ranic verse, "Have we not appointed yoursleep for rest?"15 I went to sleep on thecouch of rest after various tribulationsand saw His Majesty the FelicitousKhaqan walking in his kingly guise. Hereached me and patted me with hisblessed hand, saying, "Be not distressed."The next morning, after the dawn prayer,I remembered this dream and was happy.Although dreams are usually nothing butjumbles, and rarely do they come true inthe light of day, occasionally somethingshown in a dream occurs during wake-fulness, and these the great of the agehave considered as inspirations. Joseph'sdream and the dream of the ruler of Egyptare not unknown to the learned. I thoughtthus to myself, "Perhaps the dawn ofhappiness will break on the horizon offavor, and the night of sorrow and tribu-lation will come to an end." I told mydream to my companions and was askingfor an interpretation when suddenly aperson came bringing news that the kingof Vijayanagar, who held a vast kingdomand magnificent realm, had sent a mes-senger to the samuri to say that HisMajesty the Felicitous Khaqan's emis-sary should be dispatched thither thatvery day. Although the samuri was notunder his jurisdiction he was still in greatawe of him, since they said that the kingof Vijayanagar possessed three hundred

15Koran 78:9.

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ports, each as large as Calicut, and that ittook [787] two or three months to tra-verse his realm by land.

From Calicut and the several portsadjacent to it as far as Qayil, located op-posite Serendip, which is also calledCeylon, is all called Malibar. Ships fr?mCali cut go to Mecca, mostly carryingpepper. The people of Calicut are braveseafarers and are known as chinibach-chas.i» Pirates do not bother ships fromCalicut. Everything is to be found in theport, and the only crime is to kill cowsand eat beef. If anyone kills a cow and itis found out, that person is immediatelyput to death. They venerate cows to suchan extent that they rub the ashes of itsdung on their foreheads (God's cursesupon them).

I was permitted to depart and left Cali-cut. Passing by ship through the port ofPanderani, which is in Malibar, I reachedthe port of [788] Mangalore, the borderof the realm of Vijayanagar. After stop-ping there for two or three days, I set outby land. Within three leagues of Manga-lore I saw an idol temple the likes ofwhich is not to be found in all the world.It was a square, approximately ten yards(gaz) a side, five yards in height, all[covered] with cast bronze, with fourporticos. In the entrance portico w~s astatue in the likeness of a human being,full stature, made of gold. It had two redrubies for eyes, so cunningly made thatyou would say it could see. What craftand artisanship!

As we proceeded, we passed by flour-ishing towns and villages every day untilwe came to a mountain whose slopeswould cast a shadow over the sun andwhose towering peak could be a scabbardhung around Mars' neck. Its slopes werestudded with bezels of shooting stars

16Literally "China kids," if the reading is cor-rect. Elliot speculates that it may be "a compli-ment to Chinese navigation" (Elliot, History ofIndia. IV, 103, note 1).

from Gemini, and its head shone with theconstellation Corona as a crown.

The celestial sphere so rubbed against itsslopes that its body was all as black and blue

as a violet petal. .

The foot of the mountain was so crowdedwith dense foliage and thorny shrubs thatits blackness had never been lit by therays of the world-illuminating candle orits dust touched by the nourishing handofacloud.

Passing by this mountain and jungle,we reached the village of Pednur, thebuildings and beauties of which were likeunto the houris and palaces of paradise.There is an idol temple in Pednur so tallthat it can be seen from several leaguesaway. Without exaggeration it can be saidthat no description of that building coulddo it justice. [789] In summary, in themiddle of the village is an open space ofnearly ten jaribs. It is as pleasant as theGarden of Iram. Within the open spacewere flowers, as innumerable as theleaves on the trees; cypresses on the bankof a stream appearing as erect as the re-flection of the beloved's stature in thewater of a weeping lover's eyes; planetrees, their hands constantly held aloft insupplication so long as they enjoyed thebranch of youth; and the old sphere, itswhole body having turned to eyes in or-der to watch this spectacle, turningaround the heads of the fresh-cheekedones of the meadow: so perplexed was itby regarding the leaves of the herbs thatits head was spinning; the entire earth ofgreen and verdant, around it arches ofdressed stone most elaborate.

In the midst of the space was a platformas tall as a man, made of beautifullydressed stone, the blocks so expertly anddelicately set one on another that onemight think it was of a single block-or apiece of the blue firmament having ap-peared upon the carpet of the inhabitedquarter of the globe. In the middle of theplatform was a building whose head was

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raised to Capella, a conical dome of darkblue stone with various designs carved onthree tiers of stone.

What can I say of that dome? In delicacy itwas a copy of paradise sublime for the world.The curve of its high arc like a new moon, so

tall it rubbed its side against the celestialsphere.

There were so many designs and so muchdepiction made with sharp stylus in thatgranite [790] that it was beyond descrip-tion. From top to bottom of that structurethere was not the space of a hand free offirangi and khatai designs. In shape thestructure was a chaharsuffa hall, approx-imately thirty yards in length, twenty inwidth and fifty in height.

As it raised its head beyond the apex ofheaven, the stoneless dome took stones from

it.Its stones rubbed against the sun so much that

the gold of the sun appeared to be borrowedfrom it.

If the glass-blowing celestial sphere is not inhis dotage, why is he juggling glass on that

stone?

Aside from this structure, there were oth-ers, large and small, all decorated and fullof pictures of extreme delicacy. In thatplace morning and evening, after theirunacceptable worship, they play in-struments and dance. All the men of thevillage have duties to perform there, andvotive offerings are brought there fromdistant cities. In the belief of these infidelsit is the Ka'ba of the guebres.

We stayed there for two or three daysand then traversed the stages [791] untilwe reached the city of Vijayanagar at theend of Dhu'l-Hijja [April 30, 1443]. Theking sent a group out to meet us, and theyescorted us to good quarters.

*THE END OF THE JOURNEY TO

HINDUST AN AND A DESCRIPTION OF THE

CITY OF VIJA YANAGAR AND ITS SEVENCONCENlRIC FORTIFICA nON WALLS

From past narratives readers will havelearned that the travelogue reached thepoint at which the writer of these pages,Abdul-Razzaq b. Ishaq, arrived in Vija-yanagar. I saw that it was a city of enor-mous magnitude and population with aking of perfect rule and hegemony whosekingdom stretched from the borders ofSerendip to the province of Gulbarga andfrom the borders of the Bengal to the re-gion of Malibar, more than a thousandleagues. Most of his regions were flour-ishing, and he possessed around threehundred ports. He had more than a thou-sand elephants with bodies like moun-tains [797] and miens like demons, andeleven lacs of soldiers; and in all of Hin-dustan there was no ray (raja) more auto-cratic than he. The kings of those areasare called ray. In his presence the Brah-mins have great status. The stories of thebook Kalila u Dimna, than which nomore eloquently expressed book hascome into the Persian language, andwhich narrates of a ray and a Brahmin,are results of the wisdom of that king-dom's learned men)?

The city of Vijayanagar, whose inhabi-tants have no equals in the world, is situ-ated such that the seven fortification wallsand the city wall are concentric. Allaround the first wall, fifty yards inbreadth, are stones the size of a man, halfin the earth and half out, placed tightlynext to one another so that neither ridernor footsoldier can easily approach thewall.

17Kalila u Dimna, the Panchatantra tales,were translated from Ibn al-Muqaffa"s Arabicversion into Persian by Abu'I-Ma'ali Nasrullahca. A.D. 1140. Dedicated to the Ghaznavid Bah-ram Shah and known as Kalila u Dimna-i Bah-ramshahi, Nasrullah's translation remained thestandard Persian version until it was revampedby Husayn Wa'iz Kashifi as Anwar-i Suhayli atthe end of the fifteenth century.

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If anyone wants to imagine the shape ofthe seven walls and city wall in com-parison to the city of Herat, let him pic-ture it thus: the first wall would stretchfrom Mount Mukhtar and Dara-i DuBara[da]ran to the bank of the river andthe Malan Bridge, [798] with the villageof Ghizan the eastern side and the villageof Saynan the western side. It is a circularfortification on top of a mountain andmade of stone and mortar. It has stronggates, and the guards stand watch withthe eye of caution for the slightest thing.

The second wall would reach from theJuy-i Naw Bridge [in Herat] to the Dar-qarah Bridge, [and] from the RikinaBridge and Chakan Bridge in the east tothe Bagh-i Zubayda and the village ofHasan in the west.

The third wall would reach from theshrine of Imam Fakhruddin Razi to thedome of Muhammad Sultanshah. Thefourth would extent from the Injil Bridgeto the Kard Bridge; the fifth from the gateof the Bagh-i Zaghan to the Ab-i ChakanBridge; the sixth from the Malik Gate tothe Firozabad Gate; and the seventh, theinnermost, is ten times the size of thecharsu in Herat, and that is the king'scourt. [799] From the gate to the first wallon the northern side to the first gate onthe southern side is two statute leagues,and the same from east to west. Betweenthe first, second and third walls are or-chards, gardens and buildings. From thethird through the seventh is verycrowded, with shops and bazaars.

At the king's gate is [a structure]shaped like four bazaars situated oppositeone another. The one on the northern sideis the king's portico, that is, the ray'spalace. Atop each bazaar a tall, lofty archhas been raised, but the king's portico isthe tallest of all.

The bazaars are extremely broad andlong. Flower sellers have tall platforms infront of the stalls, and on both sides theysell flowers. In that city there are aromaticflowers continually in bloom, and as nee-

essary as they deem food to be, they can-not bear [to be] without flowers. Thepractitioners of every craft have stalls ad-jacent to one another. The jewelers sellpearls, diamonds, rubies and emeraldsopenly in the bazaar ....

[801] In that pleasant open space androyal court is much flowing water andnice streams made of evenly dressedstone.

To the right of the sultan's portico hasbeen built a huge diwankhana (ministry)shaped like a chihil sutun; in front of itthey have made a tall plinth, higher than aman, thirty yards long and six yardswide. The halls of records and scribes arethere.

They have two types of writing, one oncoconut fronds two yards long and twofingers wide on which they write with aniron stylus, without color (ink). This typeof writing is impermanent. In the secondtype they dye white stock black. Theyhave a soft stone they carve into a styluswith which they write. From this stone awhite color comes off onto the blackstock. It lasts a long time, and this type ofrecord is of importance.

In the middle of the chihil sutun a eu-nuch called the dhanntiyak sits on a plat-form in independent judgment. At thefoot of the platform staffholders stand inrows. Anyone who has business comesamong the staffholders, humbly presentsa gift, places his head on the ground,stands up again and pleads his case. Thedhanniiyak makes a judgment accordingto the rules that pass for justice in thatkingdom. No one else has an opportunityto speak. When the dhanndyak rises fromthe divan [802] they carry multicoloredparasols before him and cry out, while onboth sides eulogists utter benedictions.Before reaching the king there are gate-keepers stationed in seven places. As thedhanndyak processes one of the parasol-bearers stops at each gate, so the dhan-nayak enters the seventh gate by himselfand transacts his business. After a time he

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comes out. The dhanntiyak has quartersbehind the king's court, to the right.

To the left of the king's court is themint. They have three types of gold alloy.One is called varaha, nearly a mithqal, orten Kepeki dinars. The second is calledpartab, half of the former. The third iscalledjanam, a tenth of the [varaha]. Thecoin most current is the fanam. Theymake a sixth of ajanam from pure silverand call it a tar. It too is much in cur-rency. There is a third of a tar made ofbrass; it is called a chital. It is the customin that realm for all the provinces to bringgold to the mint at an established time,and anyone who has a [voucher] for goldfrom the divan redeems it at the mint. Thesoldiers receive their salaries every fourmonths, and no one writes them [drafts]against the provinces. As a consequencethe kingdom is so flourishing that anydescription would take too long. [803]The king's treasury consists of chamberslike ponds full of gold melted into a sin-gle block. All nobles and commoners ofthe region, even the craftsmen of thebazaar, wear pearls and jewels in theirears, around their necks and on theirarms, wrists and fingers.

Opposite the mint is the elephantorium.Although the king has many elephantsthroughout the kingdom, they keep hisgreat elephants at court. Within the firstand second walls, on the northwesternside, the elephants breed and producetheir young. The king has a huge, whiteelephant, with albino spots the size oflentils allover its body. This elephant istaken every morning into the ray's pres-ence, for the ray considers the sight of it afavorable omen. They give the court ele-phants kedgeree. As the kedgeree iscooked and dished out of the cauldron forthe elephants, they pour on salt, sprinkleon white sugar, mix it up and dip hunksof it, two maunds each, in oil and put it inthe elephant's mouth. If any of the [in-gredients] is left out, the elephant will at-tack its keeper and the king will be angry.

They feed the elephants this sort of foodtwice a day. Every elephant has a separatestall. [804] The walls are very strong andhigh and covered with strong timbers.The chains that are fastened around anelephant's neck and back are firmly at-tached to the roof. If they were attachedanywhere else, an elephant could easilybreak them. They also put chains aroundits legs.

Elephants are captured in the followingmanner. They dig a pit along a path lead-ing to water, and the pit is lightly covered.When an elephant falls in, no one ap-proaches it for two or three days. There-after someone comes and beats it severaltimes with a stick. Suddenly another per-son comes and pushes the beater away,seizes the stick and throws it away. Hethrows some fodder to the elephant andgoes away. For several days this is re-peated: the first person beats the elephantand the second stops him so that the ele-phant forms a bond with the second per-son. Slowly he approaches the elephant,offers some fruit elephants like andscratches and rubs the elephant. By thisregimen it is tamed and submits to cap-tivity.

It is said that once an elephant broke itsbonds and ran away into the wildernessand forest. The elephant keepers went af-ter it and dug a pit in its path.

The elephant's heart fears those tricks like agazelle escaped from a hunter's snare.

With the branch of a tree held in its trunklike a staff it proceeded cautiously andentered the water. The elephant keeperswere unable to capture it, but the kingwas desirous of having it caught. An ele-phant keeper hid in a tree beneath whichthe elephant was [805] going to pass, andas it passed the keeper jumped downfrom the tree onto the elephant's back.The rope around the elephant's back andchest was still there. The keeper grabbedit tightly, and no matter how the elephantshook and flayed its trunk, it was to no

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avail. It rolled on its side, but no matterwhich side it rolled on, the keeper leapt tothe other side. In the meantime he gotseveral grapples on the elephant's head sothat the poor elephant had to give in andreturn to captivity. They took the elephantbefore the ray, who rewarded the keeper.

The kings of Hindustan hunt elephants,spending a month or more in the wilder-ness and jungles, and they boast of theelephants they have captured. Sometimesthey cast criminals beneath an elephant'sfeet so they they can be crushed by theelephant's legs, trunk and tusks. Elephantmerchants take elephants from Ceylon toother regions. They measure them yardby yard and sell them.

Opposite the mint is the police station.They say twelve thousand patrolmen arestationed there. Their daily wage is twelvethousand fanams, which they receivefrom the revenue on brothels.

Any description of the elaborateness oftheir brothels or of the beauty, blandish-ments and attraction of their courtisans isbeyond my ability to express. In short,"brevity will take the place of long-windedness." Behind the mint is a placeshaped like a bazaar. Its length is morethan three hundred yards, and its width

.more than twenty yards. Along both sidesare chambers [806] and suffas. In front ofthe chambers, in place of plinths, areraised stone platforms, beautiful butsmall. Along both sides of the road arepictures of lions, leopards, tigers andother animals depicted with such move-ment and verisimilitude that one wouldthink they were alive. In the eveningchairs and seats are placed at the doors ofthe chambers, which are as clean as canbe, and there the prostitutes sit. Each isarrayed with costly pearls and jewels andfine clothing, they are quite young andextremely beautiful, and with each standone or two serving girls. Ready for plea-sure, revelry and enjoyment, they arewilling to dally with anyone who entersand anyone they wish. The brothel keep-

ers guard their customers' belongings,and if anything is lost they make it good.There are many similar brothels in theseseven walls, and from the taxation on allthe brothels, twelve thousand/anams, thewages of the patrolmen are paid.

It is the job of the patrolmen to look af-ter affairs within these seven walls. Ifanything is lost or stolen, they find it. Ifthey do not, they pay a compensation.Several slaves that my companions hadbought ran away. When it was reported tothe chief of police, he ordered the patrol-men of the quarter where the poor lived tofind them or else to pay compensation.When the patrolmen ascertained the price,they paid compensation. [807]

A DESCRIPTION OF THE CITY OFVUAY ANAGAR AND ITS KING

The writer of these pages, Abdul-Raz-zaq, arrived in the city of Vijayanagar atthe end of Dhu'l-Hijja [April 1443] andtook up residence as assigned in ex-tremely fine quarters, the equivalent ofwhich in Herat would be located over theMalik Gate, the main thoroughfare. Irested for several days from the weari-ness of the journey. The new moon ofMuharram appeared in that magnificentcity, abode of error.

One day messengers from the king'scourt came, and the next day I went tocourt, taking five fine horses and twotoquzes of damask silk and satin. Theking was seated in a splendid chihil su-tun. To his right and left he was sur-rounded by a throng. He wore a tunic ofZaytuni silk and a necklace of lustrouspearls, the worth of which the jeweler ofthe mind could scarcely appraise. He wasdark of complexion, slender, on the tallside and quite young. [808] He had tracesof down on his cheek but no beard. Hisface was pleasant. They brought me be-fore him. I bowed. He tumed his attentionto me, seated me beside himself, took myimperial letter of credentials and turned itover [to another]. To the interpreter he

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said, "We are pleased that the great padi-shah has sent us an emissary." Since Iwas perspiring profusely from the heatand all the clothes I was wearing, the kinggraciously gave me the Chinese fan hewas holding. A platter was brought witha bunch of betel-leaf, a package of fivehundred fanams and twenty mithqals ofcamphor balls. Having received permis-sion to withdraw, I returned to my quar-ters. My daily allotment consisted of twosheep, four pairs of fowl, five maunds ofrice, one maund of oil, one maund ofsugar, and two gold varahas. These werebrought to me every day. Twice a week atthe end of the day [the king] summoned[me] and asked about His Majesty[Shahrukh]. Each time they brought apackage ofjanams, a bunch of betel-leafand several mithqals of camphor. Hewould say to the interpreter, "Your kingsinvite emissaries to banquets, [but] sinceyou and I do not eat the same food, letthis package of gold be the emissary'sbanquet."

Betel is a leaf like orange leaf butlonger. In Hindustan, most of the Arabcountries and the kingdom of Hormuzthis leaf is highly valued, [809] and infact it is worthy of this esteem. It is takenin the following manner. A bit of betel-nut, which they also call supari, iscrushed and placed in the mouth, andquick-lime about the size of a grain ofmillet is wet and smeared on a betel-leaf,which is wrapped up and put in themouth. They do this with up to fourleaves and put them in their mouths andchew them. Sometimes camphor is added,and from time to time they spit the red-dened saliva from the mouth. The cheeksgrow red, and a pleasant sensation, likethat of wine, is produced. It assuageshunger and makes one who is already sa-tiated desirous of food. It eliminates un-pleasant odor of the mouth and makes theteeth strong. There is no need to describeits ability to strengthen and stimulate

health. The following lines confirm someof its mysteries:

A chew of betel-leaf bound into a hundredleaves came to hand like a hundred-petaled

flower.Rare leaf, like a flower in a garden, the most

beautiful blessing of Hindustan.Sharp like the ear of a swift-rearing stallion;

sharp in both shape and taste.Its sharpness an instrument for cutting roots:

the Prophet's words have gone ...Full of veins, and in the veins no trace of

blood, but from the veins its blood races out.Wondrous plant, when placed in the mouth,its blood comes out of its body like a living

thing.To chew it reduces the odor of the mouth and

strengthens weakness of teeth. [810]Redness of face comes from its two servants:quick-lime and betel-nut produce the color.

As marvelous as it is with these twocomrades, status and name belong to it aI.one.

Although it becomes pale from water, Itshonor is from its paleness.

See this amazing leaf that, broken from itsfruit, after six months becomes fresher.

What greater honor could there be than that itis honored by both beggar and king.

Take it in the mouth and experience goodhealth so that you may see its amazing work,

and good-bye.

By relying upon this leaf and the strengththis plant gives, the king has many wives.It is said that he has seven hundred ladiesand concubines. There is not a singlemale child older than ten who is intimatewith his wives, and no two women shareliving quarters. He keeps strict controlover the affairs of each one. Throughouthis realm wherever there is a beautifulgirl, he persuades the girl's mother andfather and has her brought with muchcelebration to his harem. Thereafter noone sees her, but she is kept in greathonor and veneration. [811]

AN ASSASSINATION ATrEMPT ON THEKING OF VIJA YANAGAR

The writer was still in Cali cut when astrange and remarkable thing happened inVijayanagar, as follows.

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The king's brother built new quartersand invited the king and his ministers. Itis customary among the infidels not to eatin each other's presence. The guests wereseated in a large divan, and [the brother]himself continually came in or sentsomeone else to announce to such-and-such a grandee to go partake of the ban-quet. While this was going on, all thedrums, tympani and trumpets that hadbeen gathered in the city were beingbeaten for all they were worth. As eachguest arrived and entered the chamber as-signed him, two treacherous murderersemerged from hiding behind them,stabbed them with kattaras and rippedthem to shreds. As the limbs of one weretaken away, another was summoned.Nothing more was heard of any who en-tered this place of massacre as travelersalong the path to the next world, and thetongue of fate cried out to the murderedmen, saying,

There is no return for you. When you havegone, you have gone.

Because of the racket made by the drumsand the commotion, only a very fewknew of this affair. Finally, all who heldany position of authority [812] had been

. eliminated, so [the king's brother] left theassembly heated as it was and proceededto the king's court. The guards stationedat the gates he charmed and invited topartake of the feast, dispatching them likethe others, thus emptying the court ofguards. Entering into the king's presencewith a plate of betel-leaf in his hand and akattara gleaming like lightning concealedbeneath, he said to the king, "The assem-bly is ready and waiting for the royal ad-vent." In accordance with the dictum,"Lords of state are inspired," the kingsaid, "I am not feeling well. You go enjoyyourself. I'm not coming."

The hawk said to the duck, "The desert ispleasant." [The duck] said, "And a pleasant

night to you. I like it where I am."

When the treacherous brother despairedof the king's coming, he drew the kattaraand struck, making several deep wounds.As the king fell behind the throne, thetraitor thought he was dead. Sending oneof his henchmen to sever the king's head,he left and went onto the balcony of theportico and cried out, "I have killed theking, his brothers, the general, the minis-ter and all the officers. Now I am king."When his henchman approached thethrone to cut off the king's head, the king,who had fallen behind the throne, pushedthe throne against the man's chest andknocked him off his feet. Then, with thehelp of a guard he found cowering in acomer, he put the miserable traitor todeath and came out through the harem.[813] The brother was still in the porticoexhorting the people to accept him asking, but the king cried out, "I am aliveand well. Seize this bastard!" The sub-jects gathered, immediately pulled himdown and put him to death. Then [theking] summoned his other brothers andall the officers, but they had all beenkilled-save the dhanntiyak, the vizierwho had gone to Ceylon before this hap-pened. The king sent a messenger tosummon him and acquaint him with thedisaster. All suspected of having a handin the affair were brought down. Manywere killed, their skins stripped, theirbodies burned, and their families reducedto desperation. Even the person who hadbrought the sour milk as invitation for thebanquet was executed.If The dhanndyakreturned and was astonished to learn ofthe affair. Prostrating himself before thethrone, he offered thanks for the king' shealth and well-being and gave moresignificance than ever to the rituals of themahanavami festival. [814]

A MENTION OF THE MAHANA VAMIFESTIVAL, WmCH IS OF GREATIMPORTANCE TO THE INFIDELS

18Apparently someone had been sent aroundwith sour milk as an invitation to the banquet.

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The irifidels of those areas and regions,in their pride and puissance, celebrateonce a year an imperial festival, a princelyfeast they call mahanavami. It was cele-brated as follows.

The king of Vijayanagar ordered thatfrom all his realms, which would takethree or four months to cross, the leadersand chieftains should come to court. Theybrought a thousand elephants roaring andraging like mountains and thunderclouds,adorned with weaponry and embellishedwith howdahs, with acrobats and pyro-technists, and on the elephants' heads,trunks and ears amazing pictures andstrange designs painted in cinnabar andother [colors].

Elephant like a mountain without pillars(besutun), four pillars beneath a Mount

Besutun.Its golden covering in splendor cast a shadow

over the mountains.The earth was trod flat under those awesome

feetIts cinnabar-stained head rubbed against theheavens: from it sunset derives its vermilion

hue.The twisting of its lasso-like trunk is a dragon

fallen from a high mountain.A serpent's place is in the heart of a cave, but

with [the elephant] a cave is located in theheart of the serpent. [815]

A ship of ivory in motion, you would say: itsears sails on either side.

When the ear plays with the eye, it is a fanbefore a lamp.

When it charges in vengeance, the earthbecomes pregnant with men.

It tosses them nimbly over its malevolent headwith its tusks.

When its bell cries out in motion, thespinning dome [of heaven] echoes.

Its loud trumpet sounds with the thunder ofthe drum; high clouds kiss its feet.

If it cries out in a loud voice, it deafensheaven's ears.

When the commanders of the army, theheroes of every land, the wise Brahminsand demonic elephants were thronged atthe appointed time, for three days con-tinually during the full moon of Rajab[November 1443] the gate of the ruler of

the earth was as crowded with people andelephants as the throng of resurrection.

The elephants' bodies bent the earth andengendered earthquakes throughout the world.With all that monstrous ivory the face of the

earth was like a chess board.So many retainers and elephants that bodily

resurrection and moving mountains werecertain.

In that pleasant space there were raisedpavilions (chahartaq) of three, four andfive stories, completely covered from topto bottom with pictures, every picture thatcould be imagined, of humans, beasts,birds and all other animals, even flies andmosquitoes-all executed with precisionand mastery. Some of the pavilions weremade so that they revolved and every sooften showed a different side, every mo-ment a different beauty revealing her facefrom the belvederes and chambers. In theforeground of the field was a chihil sutunwith nine arches decorated with perfectsubtlety, and the king's throne was placedin the fifth arch. My place was in theseventh arch. [817] Aside from my com-panions, everyone else was expelled fromthe arch.

Between the chihil sutun and the cha-hartaqs singers and reciters were per-forming. Most of the singers were girls.A group of girls with cheeks like themoon and pages more beautiful than earlyspring, with beautiful garments and en-chanting countenances like fresh roses,came behind a thin curtain up to the king.Suddenly they pulled aside the curtain,which they were holding on either end,and the girls began to dance in an aston-ishingly enchanting manner.

A hundred female singers, a crowd filled withmoons and Jupiters.

When they removed the veil from the sun,with one wink they destroyed the world.

With countenances shining like the sun, theyscorched people's souls with their fire.

When the veil was dropped from their faces,the moon went veiled into a pit.

When they danced, their statures were musky

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locks sweeping the ground.When they struck the ground with their

dancing feet, they kicked Venus from thecompetition.

The audience were all astonished by theirmotion and movement.

The entertainers perform marveloustricks. They place three boxes next toeach other, [818] each one a yard inlength, half a yard in width, three quarters[of a yard] high, and then they place twomore boxes, about the same size, on topof the first two boxes. Then they place asomewhat smaller box on top of the sec-ond row, which is on top of the first, sothat the first and second rows form stepsup to the third, which is the highest of all.They have trained a huge elephant to goup the first and second boxes and standon the third, the area on top of which isjust slightly larger than the bottom of oneof the elephant's feet. When the elephanthas balanced itself on top of the box, theyremove the other boxes and the elephantis left [perched] like a goat on top of thethree boxes. Every rhythm the musiciansplay the elephant imitates with its trunk,raising and lowering its trunk in time

Another trick is as follows. They erect apole about ten yards tall. Another long

. wooden piece like the balance rod on ascale is set through a hole in the first pole.To one end of the cross piece is attached astone as heavy as an elephant, and on theother end is a platform about a yard wide.The platform end is pulled down with arope, and an elephant goes onto it. Thetrainer slowly releases the rope [819] un-til both sides are ten yards in the air, like abalance rod, and the two sides, one withthe elephant and the other with the stone,describe semicircles before the king. Theelephant in that position,

So high that no sound can reach it,,

moves rhythmically with the entertainers.Every group that sings or performs be-

fore the king is rewarded with gold andgarments during the assembly. For three

days straight, from the time the peacockof the sun stands in the midst of heavenuntil the raven of evening spreads itswings, the regal celebration is conducted.It would take too long to describe all theacrobatics, fireworks and different typesof entertainment.

On the third day when the king arose,they took me to the throne. It was im-mense, of gold studded with preciousgems, and minutely embellished withartifice. There is no place on the face ofthe earth where they do gem-studdingbetter than there. In front of the thronewas a pillow of Zaytuni silk with threerows of lustrous pearls sewed around theborder. For three days the king had sat onthe throne reclining on this pillow. [820]

When the mahanavami festival wasconcluded. the king summoned me afterthe evening prayer. When I reached thecourt I was taken into a chaharsuffaabout ten yards square. The ceiling andwalls were entirely studded with sheets ofgold, each sheet as thick as the broad sideof a sword, and fastened with goldennails. In the facing recess was set theking's magnificent golden throne, onwhich the king sat in all splendor. Heasked about His Majesty the FelicitousKhaqan, the arnirs, the army, the numberof horses, and a description of the citiesof the realm like Samarqand, Herat andShiraz. He was extremely affable andsaid, "I am sending several elephants, twotoquzes of eunuchs and other gifts in thecompany of a wise emissary."

During the assembly one of his inti-mates inquired through the interpreterconcerning the delicacy of the gem-studded chaharsuffa, as if to say that inmy country there could not be such athing. I replied, "Perhaps in that countrytoo such a thing could be made, but it isnot our custom." The king applauded myanswer and rewarded me with severalsacks of fanams, betel-leaf and specialfruit.

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A group of Hormuzis who were in thatcountry were greatly upset when theyheard of the king's kindness and his in-tention to send an emissary to His Maj-esty's court. They plotted to underminethis plan and, in all vileness and wicked-ness, fabricated a rumor that I was notHis Majesty's emissary. They caused thisrumor to reach the hearing of amir andvizier-

What of amir and vizier? It reached the king!

[821] This will be dealt with later.During these days the dhanntiyak, the

vizier who paid kind attention to me, de-cided to go to Gulbarga. The reason forthis trip was as follows. The king ofGulbarga, Sultan Ala'uddin Ahmadshah,received news of the assassination at-tempt on Dev Ray and the murder of hisministers of state. He was delighted bythe news and sent a messenger to say,"Pay seven lacs of varahas or I will senda conquering army to your country toeradicate your infidel rule."

The king of Vijayanagar, Dev Ray,flared up in anger and said, "So long as Iam alive, what does it matter that a fewservants have been killed?"

If a thousand servants die, what does it mattertome?

In a day or two one can make a hundredof them.

When the sun is shining, there is no end todust motes.

And if he imagines that there is anyweakness or despondency, it is not so.

Ascendant is strong, the lucky stars are inconjunction and fate is smiling.

Whatever he can take of my kingdom hewill consider booty [822] and give to hissayyids and ulema, just as I will givewhatever I can seize of his kingdom tothe high castes and Brahmins."

The armies of the two sides were dis-patched and wrought much havoc in eachother's realms. The king left his countryin the care of the dhannayak'« deputy, ahigh-caste Hindu named Hamba Nurir.l?who considered himself equal to a vizier.But he was a short-statured, evil man, avile, penny-pinching wretch possessingall bad qualities and devoid of any re-deeming features. When this wretch pol-luted the chair of the divan, he unjus-tifiably stopped my daily allotment. TheHormuzis, realizing the opportunity forvileness, showed the mischief that wasingrained in their nature, connived withHamba Nurir and said that I was not theFelicitous Khaqan's emissary but a mer-chant who had gotten hold of HisMajesty's document and told lies to theinfidels and wormed my way into theking's confidence. For some time I wasreduced to misery in that abode of infi-dels. During my misery the king cameacross me several times on the street anddrew his reins to inquire after my con-dition. Truly he was of exceptionallygood character.

If he is all justice, it is enough.

The dhanndyak raided the borders ofGulbarga and returned with a few oldwomen taken captive. [823] He chidedHamba Nurir for neglecting me and or-dered a draft for seven thousand fanamswritten against the mint, and it was hon-ored that very day.

Khwaja Mas'ud and Khwaja Muham-mad, who were both of Khurasan andhappened to be in that country, were ap-pointed and sent as emissaries with a fewgifts and goods. Fath Khan, a descendantof Sultan Firozshah the king of Delhi,sent a messenger, Khwaja Jamaluddin,with a petition and gifts.

19Reading the name from Elliot, History ofIndia. IV, 122. The name is garbled in the textof Matla'-i sa'dayn.

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On the day I was given leave to depart,the king said to me, "They say you werenot sent by His Majesty Shahrukh. If wehave not favored you overly much, whenyou come again to this realm and weknow that you have really been sent byHis Majesty, perhaps that which is ap-propriate to our sovereign dignity may bemanifested." Appropriately he quoted:

I will go into exile no more in company of aking: from the wilderness of loving you I

come home.

In the letter he wrote to His Majesty heincluded the vileness of the Hormuzis,saying, "It was [our] desire to forward tothe caliphal court regal presents and gifts.However, some have claimed that Abdul-Razzaq is not among His Majesty's at-tendants. [824] It has been written to de-scribe His Majesty the Felicitous Khaqanthat kingly traits and imperial characteris-tics are mixed with the purity of theprophets and the character of saints."

A Noah as intimate with God as Abraham; aKhizr in station like Moses; an Ahmad asawesome as the divine throne; a Jesus in

spiritual demeanor.The inhabited quarter of the globe places a

third [of its wealth] at your gate, and then you. bring into your realm from this side of the

equator.

Since that realm is claimed to be an equa-torial land, the mention of the equator inthe letter was appropriate.

I gathered my belongings, and we setout toward the coast.

MY RETURN FROM HINDUST AN ANDADVENTURES IN THE STORMY SEA

The sun of favorability rose on thehorizon of felicity, and the luminescenceof good fortune rose in the orient ofhopes, and through the dark night thelights of joy appeared, in accordance withthe Koranic verse, "God is the patron ofthose who believe; he shall lead them out

of darkness into light."20 The nights oftribulation and discomfort in that terribleplace of infidelity and error approachedthe dawn of happiness and the splendorof the sun of fortune. The evening ofgrief was exchanged for the day of hap-piness and success. [825]

The length of night was greater than day, butthat has changed: an increase has been added to

the latter and a decrease to the former.21

If it were not enough that it was a city inthe farthest reaches of Hindustan, and theentire realm an abode of infidels, thetravel gear I possessed had been trampledby untoward events. "How can I describea situation that cannot be spoken of?"Nonetheless, despite my miserable situa-tion,

No hope from anywhere of provisions for theroad save the words, "Despair not of the mercy

of God."22

With strong heart and high hopes I setforth by God's grace and mercy. I beganmy journey on the 12th of Sha'ban[December 5, 1443] in the company ofthe emissaries from Vijayanagar. Foreighteen days we traveled until wereached the seashore and the port of Ba-canor on the first of Ramadan [December23]. There I was honored to meet AmirSayyid Ala'uddin Mashhadi. The sayyidwas more than a hundred and twentyyears old and had spent many yearsrevered by the Muslim people and the in-fidels of that region. His words in thatregion [826] were as weighty as holywrit, and no one deviated from his com-mand. One of the emissaries of Vijaya-nagar, Khwaja Mas'ud by name, poorthing, died there.

Who knows where in this spiteful monasterywe shall lay down our heads?

20Koran 2:257.21Line by Anwari, Diwan, p. 9, line 7.22Koran 39:53.

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We fasted [the month of Ramadan] inBacanor. For the last leg of the journey aship came to the port of Honavar, and Iarranged for provisions for twenty per-sons for forty days. During those days,when I was expecting to travel by ship,one day I opened the [book of] presagesby Imam Ja'far Sadiq, which is com-prised of Koranic verses, and receivedgood news. This verse came up: "Fearnot; thou hast escaped from unjust peo-ple. "23 I was astonished how well thepresage fitted my situation, and the fearand dread I had of the sea was completelydispelled. Suddenly I had every expecta-tion of deliverance and redemption.

On the 25th of Dhu'l-Qa'da [March 15,1444] Iboarded ship and set forth. I sawplainly manifestation of great power inthe verse, "His also are the ships, carry-ing their sails aloft in the sea, like moun-tains."24 From time to time I listened tostrange tales and marvelous stories fromthose with me, [827] and these gave restto my spirit.

The eye of untoward events and evils is asleep.Fate nods and all is well.

The ship, with thousands of shivers,reached the midst of the sea.

From the surface of the sea suddenly a windarose. From every direction arose cries and

shouts.Night, a ship, wind and churning sea: all the

elements ripe for calamity.

All of a sudden from adverse winds, likethose who quaff the boat of wine, achange took place in the ship, and theplanks, which had been joined togetherlike the letters in musalsal script, flewapart like cut-out letters. The purpose ofthe words, "[the deep sea,] covered bywaves riding on waves, above which areclouds,"25 became clear. The ship's

23Koran 28:25.24Koran 55:24.25Koran 24:40.

helmsman, who knew how to travelthrough water like a fish, wanted to sinkto the bottom of the sea like an anchor,and the captain, who had mastered theknowledge of traveling to the "confluenceof the two seas," washed clean the ledgerof his knowledge with the turbulent waterof his eyes. The sail ripped like the collarof a lover impassioned by his beloved,and the mast bent under the impact of thewind like the bow of a beauty's eyebrow.

The winds blow with what ships desire not.

[828] The passengers who were residentin that moving house cast away much oftheir belongings into the sea and disen-cumbered themselves of possessions likeSufis. What worth have goods and prop-erty when one's precious life is in dan-ger? Imyself, seeing the state the sea wasin, washed my hands of my life with thetears of my eyes and stood, dry of lip andwet of lash, transfixed in awe at the sea. Iinscribed the words, "We submit toGod's destiny," on the tablet of my mind.Sometimes the ship became like a water-wheel from the crashing mountain-likewaves, and sometimes from the clashingof the violent winds it sank to the bottomof the water like a diver.

Sometimes lifted up so high that the horse-shoe of the new moon rubs against the

mounts' legs.Sometimes sunk so low that the riches of

Corah rise above the steeds' stirrups.

The briny sea was so convulsed that thebody melted like salt in water. The vio-lence of the storm reduced to naught as-sisting patience and firm-footed intellectlike ice under the heat of the mid-summersun.

I have become distressed, my heart like a fishout of limpid water.

From the torrent of annihilation be thefoundations of the sphere destroyed, for the

water of catastrophe has been poured in wavesover my head. [829]

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I am no longer myself since the sphere has castinto the water the precious essence of patience,

which was my adornment.

Time and again I said to myself, repeatingthis line of poetry:

Dark night, fear of waves, and whirlpool sofrightening: how can those on the shore whose

burdens are light know of our condition?26

The clear water of pleasure was sullied bythe murkiness of the sea, and the brightmirror turned rusty from the wetness ofthe water and the turbidity of the air. Ev-ery moment the pupil of my eye gazedinto that salty water, there appeared fromextreme fright a glistening sword; and infear of the violent sea winds, the arrow ofthe cry that came from my soul was asoul-piercing shaft. Since there wasnothing I could do, and I saw the gate ofhope closed in every direction, with eyefull of tears and heart filled with fire Iturned in prayer to the divine presenceand recited the verse, "0 Lord, do notmake us to bear what we have notstrength to bear."2? From him who be-stows without obligation I requested thathe make green and verdant the sapling ofmy existence from the shoreless sea ofhis beneficence and that he wash cleanwith the water of favor the dust of un-pleasantness from the face of my condi-tion. During this I wondered what sort ofill luck this was that had happened to mefrom the revolution of the blue sphere andwhat sort of embarrassment this was thathad dishonored me through the adversityof treacherous fate and mean destiny.Neither was I to escape with my life fromthe waves of destruction nor was I toemerge from the water with the pearl ofmy endeavors to bring to completion thesmall state business [830] on which I wasengaged, for not for a second I wouldspare my.life to repay my benefactor, andto execute the affairs of my patron I

26Hafiz, Diwan, p. 3, line 5.2?Koran 2:286.

counted my life as negligible. If I, adevotee of the padishah, were cast intothe fire of untoward events, I shouldemerge like a ruby, not one iota of mynature changed but rather more purifiedthan the purest gold.

I was immersed in these thoughts andexhibiting traces of fright and terror whensuddenly-"who heareth the afflicted,when he calleth upon him, and taketh offthe evil which distresses him?"28_"des-pair not of the mercy of God"29-thezephyr of infinite divine grace began toblow, and the morning of joy broke overthe horizon of happiness, the bearer ofglad tidings of auspicious luck whisperedinto my ear, "We divided the sea for youand delivered you."30 The cold, adversewind changed into a favorable breeze, andthe tyranny of the storm ended. The seaturned as calm as the heart could havewished.

The people on the ship celebrated theFeast of the Sacrifice on board, and whenMount Qalhat was spotted at the end ofDhu'l-Hijja, they reached the mercy ofdry land through the trial of the sea. Dur-ing those days the new moon of Muhar-ram [84]8 [April 20, 1444] appeared overthe sea like a phantom of the beloved'seyebrow.

When the golden barque sank in the whirlpoolof the indigo sea, they saw a ripple from it on

the surface of the sea.

CONTINUATION OF THE STORY OF MYSEA VOYAGE AND MY ARRIVAL ATHORMUZ THROUGH DIVINE FAVOR

The story of my adventures at sea hadreached the point at which the new moonof Muharram showed itself across [843]the water, and the ship continued on thewater for several days more. Having ar-rived in Muscat we dropped anchor and

28Koran 27:62.29Koran 12:87.30Koran 2:50.

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repaired the ship, which had suffereddamage during the storm. Boarding theship again, we set forth.

Bound with long, wavy chains, the flowingsea became a chain-maker by it.

It flies away without budging; there is in itnothing to make it fly.

A bird that flies on wooden wing-an unusualwing, yet it does not fly so much.

Like a crane, head held aloft in the air, withpelican's wings spread on both sides.

From Muscat we sailed to the port ofKhurfughan, where we remained for aday or two. During that time it turned sohot one night that at dawn you wouldthink the sky had kindled fire in theworld. The air was so hot that birds fly-ing swiftly in the sky and fish at the bot-tom of the sea burned. It was so hot thatthe morning itself gasped for breath, andfire caught in the world from the sparksof the sun. From the heat of the sun theworld [844] could only dream of the coolof the evening, and the morning in fear ofthe heat of the day was searching fornight with a lamp. Whatever birds werenested in the trees, doves, ravens, spar-rows, etc., fell dead at the base of thetrees, and in this there is no exaggeration.

From the fire of the heat, from which fruitbecame luscious, the nightingale and sparrow's

brains were fried.From the heat birds on every branch were

cooked like soft hal va.

So many lifeless birds fell around thetrees that accountants were unable tonumber them.

From Khurfughan the ship set sail, andmidmorning on the 12th of Safar [May31, 1444] we reached Hormuz. From theport of Honavar to Hormuz it had takenseventy-five days.

On this very day a most amazing thinghappened in Herat. At midmorning onthat very Friday His Excellency ...Baha'uddin Shaykh Umar set out fromthe village of Jaghara, where he lived, forthe city to perform the congregational

prayer. Along the way he chanced uponmy brother Mawlana Sharifuddin Abdul-Qahhar and asked him [845] what newsthere was of the writer of these pages,Abdul-Razzaq, My brother stated that hehad had no news of me for three years.His Excellency the shaykh said, "Ap-parently he has reached Hormuz."

My brother wrote this down, and I hadkept a record of the day on which Ipassed through every city. When I metmy brother, we found that the two datescoincided exactly.

By the truth of the prophet's religion, by themajesty of God, I believe everything told of

the saints.

The various aids and assistances that Ireceived from that guiding [saint] duringmy dangerous voyage are beyond de-scription, and the details might possiblyincrease the incredulity of the incredu-lous. "Anyone who has not experiencedthis labor will remain incredulous."

In Hormuz news was received of HisMajesty's indisposition, and all aroundthe realms of Iraq, Fars and the Daryabarcoast there was trembling in fear of thiscatastrophe. The merchants from theclimes of the world who were great onesin that port necessarily ceased their activ-ity, and consequently I was stuck invol-untarily in the agonizing heat of Hormuzfor seventy days until the news of theroyal person's recovery was verifiedthrough the rulers of the province of Lar.I departed through the port of Awghanand reached the fortress of Tarzak withmuch difficulty because I was ill. [846]There I stayed until the messengers whohad been dispatched to the capital re-turned bringing edicts, as requested, tosay that the governors and taxcollectorsof the provinces should disburse from thetax revenues against my signature fodderfor the emissaries and the hire of ten packanimals and hand over fourteen posthorses, ten for my own personal retinueand four for the emissaries.

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From Tarzak I traveled through Mi-mand and Farghan in a litter because ofmy indisposition. Reaching the provinceof Sirjan, I was honored to visit [thegrave of] His Excellency Shah Shuja'Kirmani, one of the great shaykhs ofyore. I also toured the fortress at Sirjan,which has no equal in all the world. In thevillage of Mashiz I was honored to jointhe retinue of the great shaykh MawlanaShamsuddin Muhammad Isfakhi, whohad been in the Shaykh al-Islam Baha'-uddin Shaykh Umar's caravan to the He-jaz and gone from Mecca to Egypt andmade a visitation to the prophets andcome via the sea to Hormuz. In his com-pany I reached Herat. [847]

In short, I came to Kerman. Thedarugha there, Amir Hajji Muhammad,was ill-disposed toward me becausewhen I set out for Hindustan I had sent acomplaint of the conditions in Kermanand the amir's conduct, and [my com-plaint] had been influential upon HisMajesty's royal mind. He had summonedthe amir to Herat and subjected him tohumiliation and disgrace.

When I met him in Kerman, he askedone day in the divan, "Maw lana, howmuch has been spent on your and theemissaries' going and coming?"

"About fifty thousand dinars," I an-swered.

"How much is what you are carryingworth?" he asked.

"Ten thousand dinars," I said."A nice business," he said. "He gives

fifty thousand dinars, and you get tenthousand dinars."

"His Majesty is not a merchant," I said,"to reckon thus. Sometimes they bring ahawk, and His Majesty gives in returnmore than fifty thousand dinars. I ambringing coinage and khutba [in hisname], and gifts and emissaries from thefarthest reaches of Serendip, and this ismore valuable in His Majesty's opinionthan to have fifty thousand dinars in thetreasury. "

In short I returned to Qohistan throughthe Lut Desert, as I had gone. The middleof Ramadan [January 1445] I reachedHerat and pronounced the words, "Praisebe unto God, who hath taken away sor-row from us! verily our Lord is ready toforgive the sinners, and to reward theobedient, who hath caused us to take upour rest in a dwelling of stability throughhis bounty."31 I make no complaint ofseparation from my friends and lovedones. [848]

It is better not to complain of the night ofseparation. Be thankful to him who takes away

the veil on the day of union.

The next day I was honored to kiss thehand of the emperor at court. Although Istood with bent back in the presence ofthat majesty, I was asked to sit and toldhim of the rulers of those realms and myadventures on the sea and in the ship. Theemissaries, Khwaja Muhammad andKhwaja Jamaluddin were escorted to thefoot of the throne by the great amirs, andthey attained the felicity of kissing thehand, an honor desired by the rulers ofthe face of the earth. They presented thegifts they had brought, three ruby ringsand ten loads of Indian aromatics. Thisgreatly pleased the royal mind, for withinthe last two or three hundred years it wasnot recorded that any emissaries hadcome from that country to this. The emis-saries were summoned to court twice aweek and were allowed to sit in the royalassembly. His Majesty praised me severaltimes, both in my presence and in my ab-sence, and during times that he was notoccupied with weighty matters of state heasked me about those countries and thethe novelties of the infidels' realm. I nar-rated in conformity with actuality.

The emissaries stayed in Herat until theend of the month of Dhu'l-Hijja [April1445], [849] when they were graciouslygiven permission to return. Each one was

31Koran 35:34-35.

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given a horse, a pelisse, a nawrozi diigiiliiand three thousand Kepeki dinars. Theirten servants were each given a cloak andfour hundred dinars, and fodder and posthorses were arranged as far as the port ofHonnuz.

Fath Khan, the grandson of SultanFirozshah of Delhi, who had dispatchedKhwaja Jamaluddin, also sent a petitionwith the following contents: "When thevictorious train of His Highness theSahib-Qiran came to the land of Hindu-stan, there was none among our re-nowned sultans then alive to make obe-isance and render fealty to him. In theirignorance Mallu and Sarang32 created adisturbance and effaced the foundation ofthe dynasty. This humble one has suf-fered much misfortune in exile for a longtime now but hopes that the servants ofthe royal threshold will summon me tocourt so that perhaps through HisMajesty's good fortune I may be restoredto my native land."

The exile's wandering heart is with his nativecountry.

His Majesty then wrote to the king ofVijayanagar, saying, "It has reached ourhearing that Fath Khan, one of the sonsof Sultan Firozshah, has taken refuge atyour court. [850] Now, if you can, re-store him to the land of his fathers; oth-erwise, send him to our court that we mayequip him with soldiers of the world and,God's destiny willing, return him to theland of his fathers and forefathers andseat him on the throne of the sultanate."

Shahrukh is such a prince that his slave iskingly in the world.

Mawlana Nasrullah Junabidhi was ap-pointed as emissary, and he was outfittedwith the necessary money, orders, fodderand post horses, as well as gifts and pre-

32Mallu Khan and Sarang Khan were amirs ofSultan Firozshah Tughluq.

sents for the king of Vijayanagar. Themawlana set out as ordered.

Once His Majesty asked me about mystay in the province of Honnuz. I com-plained of the governors, and His Maj-esty was angered by the Honnuzis' vile-ness and ordered that the vizier of Hor-muz, Khwaja Muhammad Baghdadi, bebrought to court and that an investigationbe made into the cause for the delay I ex-perienced there. My messenger, HajjiYusuf, went to Honnuz and read the edictto them. In the Honnuz divan he seizedKhwaja Muhammad Baghdadi by the beltand said, "It is His Majesty's commandthat I bring you to court so that you maybe questioned in the Supreme Divan[851] about your shortcomings andcausing delay." The padishah and hisamirs intervened and made a request,saying finally, "Be gracious enough toallow us to petition the throne. We willsubmit to whatever is commanded." Togain my good will they sent five Abys-sinian slaves, seven bolts of murabba (and sitta'ashar wool and a hundred boltsof gulshan [cotton]. They gave the slaves,cloth and everything else to Hajji Yusufand his comrades, and they brought themunder seal to Herat. When Hajji Yusufreturned from Honnuz, I took him to HisMajesty, and it was resolved to the royalsatisfaction.

It is hoped that my noble readers willnot regard the story of my voyage toHindustan, long and tedious though itmay be, with an overly critical eye andthat they will give weight to the dictum,"He is excused who is carrying out or-ders," for the detail of my narrations andlengthy expressions.

It is not I who speak even if it is I who speak.

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