S4 HINDOOSTAN. 
affirmed the name of Secunde-r, and was appointed to the 
fuccefiion by his father’s will. While they were debating, 
the mother of Secunder entered the tent, and made a fpeech 
to the omrahs in favour of her fon. Upon which, after 
fome contention, Secunder was advanced to the throne. 
His firfe care was to reconcile the jarring interefts of his 
omrahs, and fecure a good underhanding with Barbee, 
his brother, king of the Eaft. The royal brothers at firft 
prepared for war, and each entered the field at the head 
of their refpeftive armies; when Secunder propofed an 
interview, and the two kings embraced each other with 
fraternal affection. They then proceeded in peace to Jion¬ 
pour; but Haffen, the expelled king of the Eaft, having 
become a powerful prince over the territory of Behar, 
thought (till to fow the feeds of difeord between Barbee 
and his brother, hoping, in the event, to recover his eaft- 
ern dominions. With this view Haffen railed a powerful 
army, and advanced towards Delhi. Secunder, in the mean 
while, hearing of his intentions, crofted the Ganges to meet 
him, which he did thirty-fix miles from Benares; when 
an obftinate battle was fought, in'which Haffen was de¬ 
feated, and fled to Battea. Secunder purfued the fugitives 
for three days ; and, hearing that Haffen was gone to Be¬ 
har, he marched with his whole army towards that place; 
but upon his approach, Haffen fled to Alla, king of Ben¬ 
gal, who protected him there during the remainder of his 
days ; and thus with Haffen the royal line of Jionpour 
was extinguifhed. 
Secunder, having refreshed his troops, marched towards 
Bengal; but when he had reached Cuttliffipour, Alla, 
king of Bengal, fent a formidable army to oppofe him. 
Secunder detached one of his generals to acquaint him 
that he had no intention to invade his country; but as, 
by the conqueft of Behar, their dominions now abutted 
upon each other, it became neceffary to know upon what 
footing he muff; confider Alla, before he quitted that 
country. The king of Bengal gladly acceded to a peace; 
wherein it was ftipulated, that neither monarch fliould 
permit any of their governors to invade each other’s 
rights ; and that neither of them fliould. give protection 
to the other’s enemies. 
Secunder, in the year of the hegira 907, recovered the 
revoked province of Biana; and marching to Agra, its 
capital, he then, for the firft time, made that city impe¬ 
rial, by fixing his refidence there, and abandoning the city 
of Delhi. Here he remained till the year of the hegira 910, 
when he marched towards Munderael, which he took, and 
deftroyed the Hindoo temples, ordering mofques to be 
built in their ftead. In this interval there happened a 
violent earthquake at Agra, fo that the mountains fliook, 
and every lofty building was levelled to the ground, fome 
thoufands of the inhabitants being buried in the ruins. 
Secunder, eyeing from-'his march, with a forrowful coun¬ 
tenance, the ruins of his favourite city of Agra, he turned 
from it, and bent his courfe towards Narvar, a ftrong fort 
and city in the diftrift of Malva, then in the pofieflion of 
the Hindoo rajahs. Here he continued for the fpace of 
fix months, breaking down the idol-temples, and building 
ftately mofques. He there alfo eftablilhed a kind of mo- 
naftery, which he filled with priefts and devotees of the 
Mohammedan, religion. 
Secunder now returned to Agra, where he conftructed 
many fiuperb edifices, adorned with i'pacious gardens, in¬ 
tending ftill to make it the future capital of the Indian 
empire. To this city he fummoned all the diftant om¬ 
rahs, ordering .them to collect a fufficient army for the 
purpofe of reducing Gwalior. But in the midft of thele 
preparations he was cut off by death, in the year of the 
hegira 9?.^, A. D. 1516, after having feigned, with repu¬ 
tation and ability, twenty-eight years and five months. 
It was during this reign that the Portuguele, then fo fa¬ 
mous for their commerce, firft eftablilhed themfelves in 
the Indian leas, where they feized the iHands of Diu, Goa, 
and Ceylon, and eftablilhed factories which fupplied Eu¬ 
rope with all the elegancies of the eaftern world. 
Secunder dying at Agra, his fon, Ibrahim II. immedi¬ 
ately fucceedeci to the throne. This prince, contrary to 
the maxims and policy of his father and grandfather, con¬ 
ducted himfelf with infupportable pride and arrogance to 
his friends and family. He was the promulgator of this 
arbitrary maxim, “ that kings had no relations; for all 
men ought to be the Haves of royalty.” The omrahs of 
the tribe of Lodi, who had been hitherto honoured with, 
a feat in the fultan’s prefence, were now to Hand by the 
throne, with their hands croffed before them. They were 
lb much difgufted with this infolence, that they raifed a 
confpiracy to place the prince Jellal, his brother, upon 
the throne of Jionpour. But Ibrahim found means to 
have jellal affaffinated; and he put his other brothers un¬ 
der ft rift confinement in the hill-forts. Nor was Ibrahim 
finished with the death of Jellal, but he imbrued his hands 
in the blood of feveral omrahs of great diftinftion. The 
fultan now fucceeded in the reduction of the ftrong cita¬ 
del of G'waliOr, which had been for a hundred years in the 
hands of the Hindoos. This acquifition flattered his va¬ 
nity, and heightened the rancour of his implacable dif- 
pofition; it gave him leifure to employ all his forces in 
quelling thole rebellions, to which his cruelty, revenge, 
and arrogance, had given birth. 
Ibrahim now giving full fcope to his refentment againft 
the omrahs of Secunder, many of them were barbaroufly 
put to death. Azim Humaioon Sirwani, Miah Boah, and 
others, who were in confinement, were privately affafli- 
nated; and miftruft and terror took pofieflion of every 
heart. Thefe cruelties and affaflinations gave rile to frelh 
rebellions, which diffracted his tyrannical reign, and were 
eventually the means of extirpating the dynafty. Dirai, 
of the tribe of Lodi, l'oubah of Berar, dying about this 
time, his fon, of the lame name, affirmed the title of em¬ 
peror, under the name of Mohammed ; and, being joined 
by the perfecuted omrahs, foon found himfelf at the head 
of a hundred thouland horfe, with which he took poflef- 
fion of all the countries as far as Simbol, defeating the 
fultan’s troops in repeated engagements. Ghazi haitened 
down with the imperial army from Lahore, by the fultan’s 
orders; but, having heard of his tyrannies by the way, he 
was apprehenfive of danger to himfelf, and returned to his 
father Dowlat, at Lahore. Dowlat, feeing no fafety but in 
extremity, revolted from the fultan, and lolicited the aid 
of Baber, the Mogul, a defeendant of Tamerlane, who 
then reigned in Cabul. Baber was the fon of Omar, fourth 
fon of Abufaid, grandfon of Miran Shah, third fon of Ti- 
raour ; and, on the death of Ahmed, had fucceeded to the 
Tartar throne of Samarcand. But that empire had for 
fome time been gradually drawing to its clofe. The de- 
feendants of Tamerlane had relaxed in their difeipline and 
magnanimity; and v.aft hordes of the Ulbeck tribes hav¬ 
ing inceflantly overpowered them, taken pofieflion of Sa¬ 
marcand, and driven out the unfortunate Baber, he firft 
took refuge in Gazna, and then in Cabul. Yet Baber, as 
he afterwards proved, wanted neither fpirit nor perfeve- 
rance in any caufe he undertook; but he foon lav/ that 
his paternal empire, from the weaknefs of. his predeceffor, 
was irretrievably ruined, and his return to Samarcand ut¬ 
terly impofiible. ' See the article Mogulstan. Inftead, 
therefore, of engaging in ineffeftual contefts for a throne 
now irrecoverably loft, he determined to plant his ftandard 
on a foil where no laurels had been lately reaped, and im¬ 
mortalize his name by becoming the founder of a new 
empire. He turned his eye eaftward, and feemed to be¬ 
hold the glory of the future fovereigns of Hindooftan, 
who were 10 defeend from his loins. 
The plan which he had thus boldly formed, he prepared 
with vigour to execute. With an army, ffiaall in number, 
but terrible in battle, and warmly attached to their .leader, 
he let out on this hazardous expedition. Having arrived 
within twoffagesof Shawabad, Baber received intelligence 
that Ibrahim had marched out of Delhi to oppofe him, 
with an army which confifted of one hundred thouland 
lrorfe, and a thouland elephants; while that of Baher 
amounted 
