62 
W. Irvine — The Later Mughals . 
[Ho. 1, 
“ to resist t hem. It would be better to reduce their strength in time. For 
“ this purpose, two nobles of position should be brought to the front and 
“ placed on an equality with them.” If the Sayyads gave way, all 
would be well; the object sought would have been accomplished. But 
should they, with the rashness (jaheilat) for which the Barhah Sayyads 
were famous, resist the undermining of their power, then the two 
nobles could oppose force to force. But open fighting should be resorted 
to only in the last extremity. The two brothers should be caught 
when unattended and made prisoners, as had been done with 2u,ffiqar 
Khan, and if necessary, despatched as he had been. 1 
Farrukhsiyar, a man of no wisdom, accepted this advice as the 
perfection of right reasoning, the acme of loyalty to his person. The 
two men selected to confront the Sayyads were Khan Dauran and Mir 
Jumlah. They were both promoted to the rank of 7,000 horse: they 
were placed, the former at the head of 5,000 Wala shahi , and the 
latter of 5,000 Mu gh al troopers. Many of their relations were pushed 
forward into high rank, and counting these men’s troops, each of the 
two nobles had at his command over ten thousand men. Among the 
signs of this favouritism was the order passed on the 12th Sha’ban (2nd 
Sept., 1713), permitting Mir Jumlah to entertain 6,000 horsemen, who 
were to be specially paid from the imperial treasury. These were 
raised by Amanat Khan, his adopted son, from Mu gh als born in India, 
and some seventy lakhs of rupees for their pay were disbursed from 
the treasury, the rules as to descriptive rolls of the men and branding 
of the horses being set aside. Ho order was issued by Farrukhsiyar 
without the advice and approval of the above two men. In this exercise 
of authority Mir Jumlah assumed the lead, till at length Qutb-ul-Mulk 
was only the nominal, while he was the real wazir. The two Sayyads 
bowed for the time to the Emperor’s will, and made no opposition to 
these usurpations. At length, through the indiscretion of some palace 
servants, the Sayyads learnt of the plots against their life. 3 They 
ceased to appear in darbar and shut themselves up in their houses, 
1 Mirza Muhammad, 189. 
2 Or as some say, they were informed by a message from Farrukhsiyar’s mother, 
who considered herself bound by the promises made to the Sayyads at Patnah. 
(Khafi IDian II, 740). One authority (Ahwal-i-khawdqtn, 77b) makes Lutfullah 
Khan, Sadiq, the informant. He is described as “ unrivalled in deceit, professing 
“ devotion to the sovereign, and yet as thick as could be with the Sayyads.” He 
sent word to the latter privately that he had been present one night in Farrukhsiyar*a 
audience-chamber, when, at the instigation of Mir Jumlah and Khan Dauran, the 
Emperor had spoken harshly of them. There was no time for writing at length ; one 
word was as good as a volume. Let them refrain from attending Court; or if they 
did attend, let them be very cautious. 
