454 A Sketch of the Mahomedan History of Cashmere. [No. 5. 



Rajah of Eajoorie, (A. D. 1814,) had every disposition to do like- 

 wise, had not his country been already occupied by the enemy. As 

 it was, he beguiled them by false intelligence and treacherous 

 guides, and was thus perhaps more truly serviceable to the Cashmere 

 party, than if he had openly joined them. It was determined that 

 Eunjeet Singh in person should lead the principal army by the 

 Poonch road towards Toshee-maidan, whilst a diversion should be 

 made by Barumgulla. This last, under Earn Dyal, gained the post 

 at Barumgulla, but it was not till the midde of July that a general 

 advance was made. 



On the 13th of that month, however, Eunjeet marched from 

 Poonch, and reached Toshee-maidan on the 18th, where he found 

 Mahomed Azim Khan and the Cashmere army, ready to receive 

 him ; and his hesitation in attacking on this occasion led to the 

 disasters which followed. Meantime, Earn Dyal, having forced the 

 Pir Pinjal, and defeated the Cashmere force which attacked him at 

 Heerpore, advanced to Shupeyon ; the first town in the valley, but 

 was there surrounded, and only allowed to retire through the friend- 

 ship of Azim Khan for Mokim Chund, the grandfather of that 

 chief. 



Eunjeet Singh's army at the same time, being discouraged by the 

 delay in attacking the enemy, had lost ground, and eventually been 

 forced into a precipitate retreat to Poonch, with the loss of its bag- 

 gage ; Eunjeet Singh quitted the camp and hurried to Lahore. The 

 victorious Azim Khan now resumed the quiet discharge of his duties 

 as Naib of the province, and, having suspicions that the Dewan 

 Hurdoss had invited Eunjeet Singh to invade the country, he put 

 him to death. Eunjeet Singh, however, seems to have been merely 

 instigated by the wish of extorting the annual tribute of eight lakhs 

 of rupees ; which, after the first payment made to Mokim Chund, 

 had been withheld by Azim Khan. The year following this unsuc- 

 cessful invasion a severe famine occurred in Cashmere, and many 

 perished. There was also a very severe winter : the lakes and rivers 

 being all frozen over. 



A. D. 1814. — The governor Azim Khan began now to oppress 

 the Hindus, whom he suspected of a disposition favourable to the 

 Sikhs. At length, after being in power six years, during which pe- 



