1879.] W. Irvine — The Bangash Naivdbs of FarruJchabad. 75 



on the neck, under the right jaw, from which he swooned and sank down 

 in the howdah. His howdah was made of strong metal plates, and it was 

 so high that when seated the head only appeared above the side, he was 

 thus protected from further wounds. The Pathans, thinking the howdah 

 empty and the elephant ownerless, passed on in pursuit of the Mughuls, who 

 had by this time taken to flight ; only Muhammad 'Ali Khan and Niir-ul- 

 Hasan retained their formation, and rejoining the Wazir they asked for orders. 

 He directed a triumphal march to be beaten by the drums, but except some 

 two hundred men, not a soul rallied to his support. Night now approaching, 

 Jagat Narayan, brother of Lachmi Narayan, took the place on the elephant 

 of the dead mahaut ; and the Wazir reluctantly withdrew from the field 

 towards Marahra. 



Soon after his withdrawal, Suraj Mall Jat, Isma'il Beg and Rajah 

 Himmat Singh, having completed the defeat and dispersion of Rustam 

 Khan Afridi's troops, were returning with exultation to rejoin the Wazir. 

 Nawab Ahmad Khan with only a few men was in occupation of the Wazir' s 

 camp. When he saw this large force advancing, he became very anxious 

 and turned his face to the Great Helper and prayed, saying, " O God ! pre- 

 " serve this sinful slave from calamity." It was not long before the three 

 leaders received reports of the repulse of the Wazir. Their joy being chang- 

 ed into fear and trembling, they turned and marched off towards Delhi, and 

 Nawab Ahmad Khan offered up thanks to heaven. Meanwhile those who 

 had pursued the Wazir 's retreating troops, had come up on the road with 

 Nawab Ishak Khan, who cried out boldly, " I am 'Abd-ul-Mansiir Khan.'* 

 Believing his words, the Pathans surrounded the elephant, and seizing the 

 Nawab, cut off his head. They brought it and threw it at the feet of Nawab 

 Ahmad Khan, saying, " Here is the head of the Wazir." Looking at it 

 the Nawab saw it was the head of Ishak Khan, not that of the Wazir. 



The night after the battle was spent by the Wazir at Marahra, twenty- 

 one miles west of the field, and there his wound was dressed. On the 29th 

 Shawal (20th September, 1750), he re-entered Delhi and repaired secretly to 

 his house. Through the intrigues of the Emperor's favourite, Jawed Khan, 

 it had been already proposed to confiscate Safdar Jang's estate and to ap- 

 point in his place Intizam-ud-daula, Khan Khanan, a son of the late Wazir, 

 Kamr-ud-din Khan 'Itimad-ud-daula. On hearing of the defeat and dis- 

 grace of Safdar Jang, the Emperor consulted Ghazi-ud-din Khan, Firuz 

 Jang, son of Nizam-ul-mulk, as to what should be done if Ahmad Khan 

 advanced to Delhi. After obtaining permission to speak his mind freely, 

 Firuz Jang stated the case at great length, dwelling on the good services 

 of the Bangash family and the treachery they had met with from the 



