HINDOOSTAN. 
18 
and Tome other public buildings, were conftrufted of 
wood ; and, fire being fet at once to its feveral quarters, 
the whole city was prefently in a blaze. The public edi¬ 
fices juft mentioned, being of brick, alone refilled the 
dreadful conflagration. So rapid were the flames, and fo 
fudden the deftruftion, that the fame fun, whofe morning 
beams had illumined with glory the gilded fpires and 
domes of one of the proudeft cities of Afia, diffufed its 
evening lplendours over its immenfe heap of ruins! 
Amidft this frightful fcene of devaftation, the heroes 
who had polfeffed themfelves of the caftle, ftill refolutely 
refufed to furrender. The ftrenuous efforts of the whole 
army, together with thofe of many of the inhabitants, 
compelled by Gengis to act againft their fellow-citizens, 
were now employed to deftroy the fort. Pots of burning 
naphtha, and other combuftibles, ufed in ancient warfare, 
(of the nature of Greek Fire, for which fee vol. viii. 
p. 972.) were, without intermiflion, thrown in upon them 
on every fide; till at length the gates, being in flames, 
feparated from their faftenings to admit the conqueror, 
who glutted his vengeance by the maffacre of all the offi¬ 
cers and foldiers in the fervice of the fultan ; but fpared 
thofe who had not entered into the army. And now, ir¬ 
ritated by the noble refiftance of the garrifon, and deter¬ 
mined to leave no ftrong hold in his rear, he ordered the 
fort to be demolillied, and razed its maffive walls to the 
ground. 
The next objefil of the mighty Gengis, was to befiege 
and plunder the magnificent city of Samarcand, where the 
fultan Mohammed had retired, with a hundred and twenty 
thoufand men. As the circuit of attack was of prodigious 
extent, it required the united co-operation of the whole 
Mogul army, in order completely to invert the place. 
The extent of the fortifications of this renowned city 
can fcarcely be imagined. The exterior wall, or outer 
inclqfure, had twelve iron gates, a league diftant from 
each other; and at every two leagues there was a ftrong 
fort, capable of containing a large body of troops: the 
walls were likewife fenced with battlements and towers, 
and furrounded with a deep and broad ditch ; at the bot¬ 
tom of which an aqueduft was laid, conveying thither 
the waters of the river Sogd, by which the forte could be 
filled, and the water carried thence into the city, by 
which means every great ftreet was furniffied with a canal, 
and every houfe, as well as garden, with a fountain. The 
inner inclofure had four gates, but the walls were defence- 
lefs; within it flood the great mol’que of the Mohamme¬ 
dan worfhip, a;}d the fuperb palace where the prince refi- 
ded. On the approach of Gengis, . he ordered the whole 
of the. external wall to be completely inverted by his ar¬ 
my ; but his hopes were defeated; the fultan Mohammed, 
fo refeeing the impoflibility of holding out againft the ac¬ 
cumulated numbers and flrength of the Mogul army, had 
fled acrofs the Oxus, or Jihon, and taken fheJter in Cho- 
rafan. Gengis, however, refolved to reduce the city; 
and, as the line of defence and attack was fo prodigious, 
numerous aflions at one and the fame time took place; 
which, from the number of perfons engaged, and the 
obftinacy with which both parties fought, might be deno¬ 
minated battles, rather than partial fkirmiihes. A fuccef- 
fion of thefe conflicts contributed to diminiffi the troops, 
without forwarding the hopes, of the befiegers. Infurrec- 
tion, however, effected for them even what Mogul valour 
would have found difficult, if not importable, to achieve. 
Among the multitude of various languages, nations, and 
fentiments, that had taken refuge within the walls of Sa- 
marcand, a large party, actuated by fear, declared their re- 
l’olution to furrender up its keys ‘to an enemy whom they 
deemed invincible. Another party, headed by Alab 
Khan, the governor, confiding in their loyalty and valour, 
determined to hold out to the -laft extremity. Thus divi¬ 
ded in rtntiment, each party prepared to confummate its 
own plans. Thofe who were bent on refiftance, fortified 
themfelves in the caftle, and feized on all the ports molt 
advantageous for defending themfelves, or annoying the 
enemy. Thofe inclined to capitulate, by a defperate ef¬ 
fort, feized one of the principal gates of the city, and 
thus obtained an avenue, through which, whenfoever they 
pleafed, they could open a communication with the be¬ 
fiegers. It was not long before they (determined to make 
thofe humble fubmiffions, which they knew could alone 
prevail with the haughty Mogul. They were received 
with benignity ; and orders were given that all thofe who 
were folicitous for peace and protefilion, ffiould march 
from the city into the adjoining plain, where, on being 
muftered, they were found to amount to fifty thoufand 
perlons. A ftrong detachment of Tartar troops was then 
lent to take poffeffion of the gate; and the moll vigorous 
affault, by the united army of Gengis, was immediately 
commenced againft the remaining garrifon. The brave 
and loyal Mohammedans were now driven from one ftrong 
hold to another, till, after a continued aflion of four fuc- 
ceflive days, the fifth morning beheld the brave governor, 
with the remnant of his faithful followers who fought by 
his fide, driven into their laft intrenchment; where, feeing 
themfelves furrounded on every fide, they unanimoully 
refolved to cut their way through the ranks of the Tartar 
army, which they fuccel'sfully accomplilhed, hewing down 
every Mogul who attempted to ftop their progrefs. About 
thirty thoufand of the garrifon, lefs refolute than them¬ 
felves, ftill remained in different parts of the extenfive 
lines; who, as the Moguls ruffied in like a torrent upon 
them, were inftantly put to the fword. Therivhole city 
was then given up to uncontrouled fpoliation ; the men, 
women, and children, were doomed to flavery, and divided 
among the viftors; while thofe even who had experienced 
the khan’s benignity, were compelled to pay a ranfom of 
two hundred thoufand gold dinars. It is computed, that 
in the fiege and ftorm of Samarcand, there could not have 
fallen lei’s than one hundred thoufand victims to Tartar 
fury; and a circumference of twelve leagues, full of 
fplendid temples and palaces, and rich in cultivated gar¬ 
dens, was on this occafion utterly deftroyed. 
But Samarcand, and the whole diftrifl of Tranfoxiana, 
however large and beautiful, was only a province of the 
vail empire of the fultan of Charazm; and, as the lultan 
had fled to that city, inllant meafures were taken to be¬ 
fiege it; and in this fervice Gengis difpatched his three 
elder Ions, at the head of half his army. The fiege was 
commenced with the molt altive vigour; but its fortifica¬ 
tions were immenfe, and the garrifon numerous and 
brave. The ftruggles on both fides were manly and ani¬ 
mated ; every foot of ground was obftinately difputed ; 
and, as the engines of attack fucceffively approached the 
walls, they were overthrown, or fet on fire; the flight of 
arrows from the ramparts was inceffant ;* and the atmo- 
fphere appeared in one continued blaze, from the number 
of fire-darts and combullible arrows which were hurled 
to and from the befiegers and befieged. It was not under 
feven months, in which prodigies of valour were perform¬ 
ed on both fides, that Charazm was taken, plundered, 
and burnt; and it is recorded, that the lack of this city 
was marked with every fpecies of favage brutality, and 
fcarcely a fpot could be found that was not ftained with hu¬ 
man blood. No lefs than two hundred thoufand perfons are 
fuppofed to have perilhed by the fword, or in the flames: 
yet Mohammed, with a chofen few, had found means to 
elude the threatened grafp of Gengis^ From the capital, 
the torrent of deftruftion overwhelmed the inferior cities 
and towns; Cath, Faraber, Dargan, and Corcange, places 
now fcarcely known, bowed their towering heads before 
the victorious fons of the Great Mogul. 
Still, however, in the fallen contemplation of the inflex¬ 
ible Gengis Khan, the manes of his murdered ambaffadors 
were but half appeafed. Their innocent blood, he con¬ 
tended, could never be expiated, but by that of him who 
had Wantonly caufed it to Ire fpilt. His determination was 
therefore to leize the bloody-minded Mohammed, even 
though he dialed him through the wilds of Perlia to the 
extremities of Derbend, or to the barrier at the foot of 
Mount 
