78

THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.

[MARCH 1, 1872.

been in the service of the renowned Khán Jahān

to Patna, when he was called to Court.

Lodi, and was killed in the beginning of the re

his arrival, he was appointed, together with Mirzā Rajah Jai Singh, to take the field against Sivā Bhojislah. Aurangzib also rais

bellion of his master, in the fight near Dholpur. Dáild entered the service of Prince Dárá Shikoh, and distinguished himself in the field and in council. In the 30th year of Sháhjahán's reign, when the executive of the government was in Dárá's hands, Dáild was Faujdar of Mathurá, Mahāban, Jalesar, and several other districts.

On the death of Sa'dullah, he was put in charge of the Prince's tuyºl, and received orders to

guard, with two thousand horse, the roads be tween Agra and Shahjahānābād. In the same year, at the request of the Prince, the emperor made him a Khán ; hence he is best known in history as Dávid Khán. At the outbreak of the war between Dárá and Aurangzib, Dáild held

an important post and, together with Satr Sāl Hárá, commanded Dárá's vanguard. In the first battle, which was fought near Samogar, 9 miles east of Agra, (6th Ramazán 1068, or 28th May 1658, A.D.) Dáild's brother Shaikh Ján Muhammad was killed.

Dárá was defeat

ed and retreated to the Panjāb, and ordered Dátīd to guard the Guzar i Talwan, a well known ford of the Satlaj south of Jálindhar: but when Dárà fled from Láhor to Multān, Dáuid crossed the river, burned and sunk

the ships, and joined the Prince.

Seeing that

his cause was hopeless, he left him near Bhak kar, and went through Jaisalmir to Firüzah, his ancestral home. He had not been there long, when Aurangzib sent him a khil'at, in order to

win him over to his party.

Dáild accepted it,

and, on Aurangzib's return from Multán to

the capital, paid his respects at Court, when he was appointed to a command of Four Thou sand with 3000 horse. He served immediately afterwards in the war with Shujā’, and pursued that Prince under Mir Jumlah. When Shuja' had fled, Dáild was sent to occupy Patna, and during his stay there was appointed Gover nor of Bihár.

For some time he continued his

operations against Shujā’, who was forced to retreat from Tāndah, near Gaur, to Eastern

Bengal; but when the Prince had withdrawn beyond the frontiers of the empire, Daud re turned to Patna, and prepared to subject several refractory zamindårs of Bihár. He also received orders to invade Palámauñ, which he finally conquered in the end of December 1660.* Dáild had scarcely returned from Palámauń

ed him

to the

rank of

a

On

commander of

Five Thousand, with 4000 horse, 3000 duaspah and sihaspah troopers, and made him governor of Khándesh. He conquered Fort Rudramál, and marched with Jaisingh to

Fort Purandhar,

during the siege, devastating Sivā’s country with 7000 horse, especially the districts of Rāj garh and Kundanah. Returning from his ex cursions to Jai Singh, he took the command of

the right wing of the Imperial army, and attacked Adil Shah of Bijápur. In the 9th year of Aurangzib's reign, he was recalled from Khāndesh to Court, but was in the following year sent as Governor to Barár, and not long afterwards to Burhānpur. In the 14th year, he went again to Court, and was ap pointed Governor of Ilāhābād. ‘The date of his death is not recorded.”—Madsir.

His son Hamid Khán also distinguished him self as a brave soldier.

He died in the 25th

year of Aurangzib's reign (beginning of A. H. 1093, or A. D. 1682).

The Bibl. Indica edition

of the Madsir i 'A'lamgiri calls him (on p. 217, l. 8) H d mid Jam s h ed.

Khán, and in the last line,

A h 4 n.

Colonel E. D. Dalton lately favoured me with a short biography of Daud Khan, written by one of Daud’s descendants. According to that biography, Dáid is the son of Kabir Khān, son of Farid Khān, and the (younger) brother of Bhikan Khán.

The Madsir ul Umará makes

Bhikan Khán Dáild's father. The paper con tains no notice of the various services which

Dátid performed ; but it mentions that the town

of Dáudnagar in Bihár was founded by him in A. H. 1083, or 1672–73 A.D., and that he died at Rohtasgarh on the 19th Zil Hajjah 1084, or 17th March 1674.

It

concludes with a few

verses in the long hazaj metre, the last of which contains the Tárikh of Daud’s death. Chuján bispurd u imán burd dar rāh jarán mardi, Bat drikhash khirad gufta ba-imán raft mardinah. As he gave his life, but carried off his faith, on the road of valour.

The mind (of the poet) selected as firikh the words

‘Ba-imán raft mardinah (he left the world bravely and piously.) The values of the letters in the last three

words, when added up, will be found to give 1084.

• The details of the couquest are given in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal for 1871, p.

127.