HINDOOSTAN. 
19 
Mount Caucasus. On this fervice he again fent*forth his 
fons, with numerous fquadrons of his fleeteft horfemen. 
“ Wherever he lies hid, (faid the implacable Mogul,) feize 
him, and bring him in chains to my camp; in your pro- 
grels, if any prince or people dare to protect him, or arm 
in his eaufe, root out their country, and give them no 
quarter in battle. Moleft not thofe who ffibmit, or court 
our alliance. Trample down every obftacle that may rile 
to impede your march, even to the Ihores of the Cafpian 
Sea; make the circuit of its unknown borders; conquer 
the favage tribes that inhabit them, and join my army on 
your return, at Kapfliak, in my Tartarian dominions.” 
See Mr. Maurice’s nervous defcription of thefe interefting 
events ; and Life of Gengis Khan, p. 230. 
Arduous and hazardous as this enterprise appears, it was 
neverthelefs purfued with aftonilhing vigour and perfeve- 
rance. Separating in three diftinft divifions, each prince at 
the head of ten thoufand men, they firft 1'pread themfelves 
over Chorafan, and the countries bordering on the Indus, 
in fearch of the fallen Mohammed; who, unable to make 
any effeftual Hand, continually fled before them ; and in 
that flight traverled the whole extent of the Perfian Irak, 
trailing that, finally, he might weary out or elude their 
purfuit. But his purifiers were neither to be wearied nor 
eluded; and in their rapid courfe they fometimes prelfed 
fo clofe upon his heels, that, while he was efcaping by 
one gate of a city, the van of the Mogul army was enter¬ 
ing it by another. The imperious orders of the khan were 
rigidiy executed on thofe who afforded him the leaft fuc- 
cour, or raifed an arm in his defence; and as Perfia con¬ 
tained many loyal princes and governors, afling according 
to the predominant fentiments of pity or valour, the 
greateft part of their route was marked with bloodfhed 
and defolation. 
The fugitive fultan, after efcaping from one ftrong 
hold to another, at length took refuge in a finall town on 
the coaft of the Cafpian Sea, where he palled l'ome time 
in difguife. His retreat, however, being difcovered, the 
town was furrounded by the Moguls, and the wretched 
monarch had juft time to elude their fury, by hurrying 
on-board a veflel, which tl * prudent caution of his friends 
had provided in cafe of fuch an emergency. Scarcely was 
it launched from the Ihore, when the Mogul cavalry 
reached the fpot; and in the impatience of rage, fome ef 
them plunged into the fea to Hop its courfe, while others 
as fruitlefsly ail'charged volleys of arrows at the receding- 
bark. Conceiving that the fultan’s intention was to take 
Ihelter in fome port of his own kingdom, the weftern 
boundary of which was walhed by the Cafpian, the pur- 
luers difpatched their fwifteft cavalry to line that Ihore, 
and Tearch every hiding-place in its vicinity. But a dif¬ 
ferent fate awaited the unhappy fultan; who, exhaufted 
equally by fatigue of body and dillrafilion of mind, 
was feized with a violent pleurily, which compelled him 
to land at Abifcon, a fmall uninhabited illand in the Caf¬ 
pian Sea ; where humbled grandeur felt thofe bitter pangs, 
which, it might be hoped, expiated the crime of inordi¬ 
nate ambition. “Alas!” exclaimed the dying fultan, 
“ of all my immenfe empire, are only a few cubits left, for 
the interment of my lifelefs body ? How uncertain an 
abode is this tranfient world; how fleeting is life; how 
darkened by misfortune are its brighteft profpefts!” In 
this afflicting fituation the diftrefled monarch lingered for 
fome days; during which his eldeft fon, the prince Gela- 
leddin, accompanied by two of his brothers, having ob¬ 
tained intelligence of the place of his retreat, came fe- 
cretly to clofe the eyes of their dying parent. In the year 
of thehegira 617, A.D. 1220, terminated the life andluf- 
ferings of Mohammed the Great; a prince unrivalled in 
military fame amongft all the fovereigns of Alia, Gengis 
Khan^alone excepted. On that fmall ifland his corpfe 
long continued to moulder, until, fome years after, his 
fon Gelaleddin caufed it to be taken up, and buried with 
great pomp in the fort of Ardahan. 
Immediately after the death of his father, his magnani¬ 
mous fon Gelaleddin haftened to Milhapour, the capital of 
Chorafan, where he aflumed the title of fultan, and put 
on the imperial regalia. He foon raifed a confide table 
army, and was fliortly after engaged in two aflions with 
the Moguls ; in the former of which he was victorious, 
but in the latter defeated, with the additional misfortune 
of having two of his brothers flain, and molt of h’is men 
cut to pieces. Undaunted amidft this new calamity, he 
repaired to Boll, a city of Sejeftan, where he fucceeded 
in railing a new army of 20,000 men. But Gengis, with 
full yoo,ooo, was hovering round to enfnareand trap him. 
Gelaleddin, therefore, fecretly withdrew to Gazna, 
where the inhabitants gladly enrolled themfelves under 
his banner. And, befides this important addition to his 
forces, he was joined by a Perfian nobleman, named 
Amin Malek, with ten thoufand Turkilh cavalry ; where¬ 
upon he took the field, and haftened to raile the fiege of 
Candahar, at that time invefted by an army of Moguls 
To effeft this meafure with the greater certainty, the two 
commanders refolved to fall upon the befiegers in the 
dead of the night. With fuccefsful filence and intrepi¬ 
dity the Charazmian troops arrived before the Tartar 
camp, and penetrated their lines undifcovered. They 
rulhed upon the enemy with refill!efs fury; and the gar- 
rifon, at the fame time, pouring down upon them from 
above, a terrible daughter enfued ; for the Moguls ftruck 
with dil'may, and taken by furprife, fcarcely lifted up a 
weapon in their own defence, but were cut down by 
whole battalions. Scarcely a man of them efcaped ; and 
the booty which they had accumulated in their march 
thither, now fell to the lot of the viftors, and rewarded 
their toil and their valour. The city and fortrefs of Can¬ 
dahar were ordered to be repaired by Gelaleddin ; and he re¬ 
turned with Amin Malek to Gazna, which.they entered in 
triumph; that nobleman engaging never tp feparate himfelf or 
his troops from the fortunes of the young and valiant fultan. 
Gengis receiving intelligence of this unexpected check, 
while carrying on the fiege of Bamian, a ftrong city of 
Sableftan, was extremely exafperated; and his fury was 
increafed by the obftinate refiltance of the city, by which 
fo many of his troops were retarded from more aflive 
operations. To add to his chagrin, he was informed that 
Gelaleddin had been reinforced by thirty thoufand frelh 
troops, fent by the Turkilh princes, who were becoming 
jealous of 'the infatiabie ambition and formidable ftrides 
of the Great Mogul. As it was deemed unfafe,on the fcore of 
fecuring the wealth of the place, for Gengis himfelf to quit 
the fiege of Bamian, he immediately difpatched Kutuku, one 
of his ableft generals, at the head of eighty thoufand men, 
to inveft the Mohammedan capital of Gazna. Gelaleddin, 
however, hearing that the Mogul army had reached Bir- 
wan, within one day’s march of Gazna, boldly refolved 
to intercept its progrefs, and give them battle. His army 
was eager for action, and glowed with the fame ardour as 
their general. The prudent Kutuku was by no means 
anxious to engage troops flulhed with recent viftory, but 
v/ilhed to allow time for their ardour to cool. He there¬ 
fore began to throw up intrenchments at Birwan, and 
hoped to delay the aftion till the arrival of the khan in 
perfon. But Gelaleddin was too politic not to penetrate 
his defigns ; and, marching up direrily to the enemy, pre¬ 
pared to force their intrenchments. The fpirit of the Tartar 
foldier luffered him not to brook the infult: he marched 
out of his intrenchments, and led his troops to battle. 
The van of the Charazmian army, led on by the Per¬ 
fian Amin Malek, rulhed to action with fuch refiftlefs 
fury as to overthrow the foremoft fquadrons of the Mogul 
cavalry which were oppofed to him; but, Kutuku fupport- 
ing them at this inftant with frelh troops, they renewed 
the attack, and, in their turn, routed that of the enemy. 
Gelaleddin now caufed his main body to advance; and, 
placing himfelf at its head, made an impetuous aflault on 
the enemy’s centre, in which Kutuku fought with the 
