1896.] W. Irvine— Later Mughals (1707-1803). "145 
but poverty, and their men must disperse or die from hunger. Moreover, 
he had an exalted opinion of his own abilities and an equally low 
one of his brothers’ capacities. Mu‘izzu-d-din had doubtless, shown 
himself a good soldier in his grandfather’s and father’s time, but now 
want of means rendered him quite helpless. As for Rafi‘u-sh-shan, he 
had the heart of a courtesan, devoting all his energy to the adornment 
of his person and the purchase of clothes and high-priced jewels, a 
man to whom the verse applied : 
Holding mirror and comb in hand, 
Like a pretty woman, he adores his own curls.! 
Then as for Jahan Shah, his conceit was such that he thought his very 
name enough to put an enemy to flight. For all these reasons he 
thought that the longer he delayed, the greater would be his advantage. 
Nor was he at all liberal in the distribution of money to his soldiers, 
his miserliness being proverbial. It wasa saying that the coldest 
place to be found was ‘Azimu-sh-shan’s kitchen. Toevery report that 
was made his only reply was the unchanging andak bashid, ‘ Wait a little 
longer.’ When they saw this state of things, his followers were much 
dejected and made sure that Heaven did not favour their cause.? 
On the 6th Safar (14th March 1712) the three princes were close 
to the entrenchment of ‘Azimu-sh-shan. On both sides, small groups 
of men came out and fought. In the course of two days, batteries 
for the guns were made ready through the exertions of ‘Abdu-s-samad 
Khan, and by these batteries three sides of ‘Azimu-sh-shan’s position 
were commanded. ‘Abdu-s-samad Khan wished, if he could, to blow up 
‘Azimu-sh-shan’s powder magazine. But Sulaiman Khan, Panni,? was 
teo much on the alert. One night, however, the besiegers found the 
sentinels asleep and entered the camp by climbing over one corner of 
the earthen wall. In the darkness they encountered the outposts of 
Shah Nawaz Khan, Safawi, and were forced to return with their purpose 
unexecuted. * 
The-next day (7th Safar 1124 H. = 15th March, 1712), the besieged 
began a cannon fire, which they kept up continuously for some time. 
Repeatedly Kokaltash Khan and Jani Khan, commanding on the side 
of the investors, were forced to abandon their batteries and seek shelter 
behind walls. But, from a battery on the north, ‘Abdu-s-samad Khan 
1 A‘inah 6 shdnah giriftah ba dast, Can zan-i-ra‘nd, shudah gést-parast. 
2 Nuru-d-din, 27; Dastaru-l-insh@, 17; Mhd. Qasim, Lahori, 47; Yahy§ Khan, 
117 b. 
8 Brother of Da‘id Khan, Panni, naib-subahdar of the Dakhin, 
4 Nuru-d-din, 28. 
eel 9 
