52 
HINDOOSTAN. 
in-law to renounce the fyHem of intrenchment, and 
ril'que every thing at once in a general engagement. Su- 
jah confented; and the prince, fondly expelling to be 
joined on the day of battle by the greater part of his fa¬ 
ther’s troops, -creeled his ftandard in the front of Sujah’s 
army, and inarched in the centre of the firft line. In this 
hope, however, he was deceived. A large column of liorfe 
bearing down upon him, by Jemla’s exprefs order, con¬ 
vinced him, by the vigour of their affault, how little, ex¬ 
cept his own valour, he had to depend upon. Nor did 
the invincible fortitude of Sujah avail in trying to keep 
together the battalions which he. perfonally commanded. 
They fled in every direction; and it was with the utmoft 
difficulty thole two princes efcaped being taken prifoners. 
They urged their-flight together to Dacca, the lalt town 
of confequence in Bengal; while Jemla entered Tanda in 
triumph, and remained there fome time to regulate the 
affairs of the province. 
Aurungzebe, though greatly enraged at the defection 
of his fon, concealed his refentment, and made ufe of Itra- 
tagem to induce him to return to his duty and allegiance. 
In this he fucceeded ; and Mohammed, arriving at Agra, 
full of contrition for his offence, was by his unrelenting 
Father immediately fent prifoner for life to Gwalior. The 
unfortunate father-in-law, in the mean time, perpetually 
harafted by Jemla, was compelled to fly, with a few faith¬ 
ful followers, over barren mountains and tracklefs deferts, 
into Arracan, where he was at firft iyell received by the 
prince of that country; but who at length, either intimi¬ 
dated by the menaces of Aurungzebe, or overcome by the 
lucre of a great reward, withdrew from his protection, 
and either effected, or connived at, the aflaffination of Su¬ 
jah and all his family ! 
Having nothing now to fear but from Soliman the fon 
of Dara, yet not thinking his throne fecure while that 
prince furvived,' Aurungzebe, firft by menaces, and then 
by bribes, prevailed on the rajah of Sirinagur to dilmils 
that unfortunate prince from his court; in confequence 
of which he was feized, and conveyed to Delhi in fetters 
of gold. An order was immediately ifl'ued for his impri- 
fonment for life; and he was in confequence conveyed 
under a ltrong guard to the other fugitives in Gwalior, 
where the whole of them are laid to have perifiied in turn 
by the effeft of flow, poil'on. 
Aurungzebe, after this long feries of rapine and mur¬ 
der, finding himfelf without a rival in the throne, or a 
competitor in the field, began, for the firft time, to in¬ 
dulge in the bleffings of peace. His Item and implacable 
character had put rebellion out of countenance; while 
his fame as a warrior bad l'pread far and wide through 
Alia; infomuch that ambaftadors from Tartary, Perlia, 
Arabia, and even from Ethiopia, arrived fucceffively at 
Delhi, bearing the richeft prefents to be laid at the feet of 
the Indian king. The empire thus remaining for home 
time undifturbed, afforded Aurungzebe a favourable op¬ 
portunity of developing his talent for legillation. Vigour 
and difpatcli marked all his meafures. The omrahs who 
held commiftions attended the prefence daily; and peti¬ 
tions were heard from the meaneft fubjeft, and caufes de¬ 
cided, by the emperor himfelf, fitting on his throne. The 
officers of ftate were conftantly employed in their refpec- 
tive departments ; and meffengers mounted on the fieeteft 
horfes were in readinefs, at every poft, to bear the impe¬ 
rial decrees to the remoteft comers of the empire. Plain 
in his manners, inflexible in his juftice, and with every 
paftion but that of ambition fubdued in his own breaft, 
Aurungzebe could make but few allowances for the frail¬ 
ties of others. The diftant viceroys trembled, at' his 
frown ; and the leaft deviation from their duty was pu- 
niihed with degradation or with death. / 
During this repofe of the empire, in February 1666, 
Shah Jelian, at the end of an imprisonment of feven years, 
expired in the caftle of Agra. On receiving intelligence 
ef his father’s death, Aurungzebe haftily proceeded to 
Agta, and was faluted by his lifter Jehanara as the real 
emperor; and on his entrance ft; presented him with a 
large golden bafin, which contained the moll valuable 
jewels of their deceafed father. The royal remains were 
l'olemnly interred in the famous marble maufbleum erect¬ 
ed by himfelf for liis beloved wife, as noticed in the early 
part of his reign. 
The following year Aurungzebe had the good fortune 
to learn, that his moft formidable, enemy, the famous Seva- 
jee, was taken off by death. This able founder of the 
Mahratta ftates had long bid defiance to every oppofi- 
tion ; anil, though various armies had been detached again!!: 
him, both from Guz,erat and the Deccan, they were ut¬ 
terly unfuccefsful in their attempts to fubiugate him ; and 
even Aurungzebe himfelf found.his military talents and 
political intrigues completely baffled by the more fubtle 
Sevajee. When death had releafed, him of this rival, he 
could not conceal his joy; but paid a tribute to his me¬ 
mory by exclaiming, “That man was indeed a great ge¬ 
neral, who has had the magnanimity to raife a new king¬ 
dom, while I have been endeavouring to deftroy the an¬ 
cient fcvereignties of India.. My armies have been em¬ 
ployed againft him for nineteen years, and neverthelefs 
his ftate has been always increasing.” 
And now, though Aurungzebe had taken fufficient 
care to have his three brothers, with fix of their foils, de¬ 
voted to deft ruff ion, yet was he alarmed by a report, va- 
rioully circulated, that his brother Sujah had made his ef- 
cape from his affaffins, and taken fheiter with his nu¬ 
merous adherents in the province of Bengal, with his 
friends among the Patans. And, the faff of his death be¬ 
ing very much difputed in Hindcoftan, the Patan chiefs 
took advantage of thefe doubts ; and, in 1673, produced, 
as a competitor for the imperial diadem, a moll princely 
perfon, in all refpefts refembiing Sujah, and who they de¬ 
clared was that identical fon of Shah Jehan, marching to¬ 
wards his native city, to alfert his rights, and to revenge 
the murder of his family. The Patan army, very confi- 
derable in its number, and with this nominal prince at its 
head, crofted the Indus, and marched unoppofed towards 
Delhi, publicly proclaiming their adopted champion Em¬ 
peror of Hindoojlan. Aurungzebe, affirmed at the rapid ad¬ 
vance of fo powerful an enemy, fupporting a pretender 
to his throne, marched out with‘all his forces to meet 
them, .and arrived on the banks of the Indus juft at the 
clc-fe of the year 1674. The vanguard of the imperial 
army, which firft eroded the river, was unable to witft- 
ftand the impetuous attack of the Patans, and was defeat¬ 
ed. But the next morning,-when the whole of Aurung- 
zebe’s forces had crofted, and formed for affion, a moft 
obftinate and bloody’ conflict took place, in which the 
Patans were entirely defeated, and fled in great diforder, 
with their fictitious prince, to their ltrong holds in the 
mountains, along the whole line of the Paropamifan 
range ; yet fo unbroken was their fpirit, that, iffuing in 
large bodies by night, they made frequent affaults on the' 
Mogul camp, plundering their baggage, and cutting off 
their iupplies; by which defultory mode of attack the 
war was protracted for fifteen months. To counteract 
thefe marauders, Aurungze'oe eftabliihed a chain of pofts, 
and left a fufficient for-ce to defend the coiyitry ; while 
he himfelf returned to Delhi, after an abfence of two years 
and three months. 
For fome time peace and harmony feemed again to be 
entertained as welcome guelts at the court of Aurung- 
zebe; until the reftlels ambition of that infatiable mo¬ 
narch determined him to plan a new expedition into the 
Deccan. In the fpring of the year 1683 the king of Vi- 
iiapour died ; and Aurungzebe dilpatched his fon Azem, 
with a great army,, to feize upon that kingdom; which, 
together with Golconda, and the whole peninfula, he now 
refolved to incorporate with the Mogul empire. Though 
greatly reduced by the former invaftons, the rajah of that 
country was Hill formidable; for both Myfore, and many 
other countries lying to the fouth and welt, were tribu¬ 
taries to that monarch, or to the king of Golconda; and, 
by 
