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consideration and again left him in full possession
of the holy city. Shah Rukh, repenting his ingrati-
tude, promised to remain loyal to the Afghan
crown and to supply a contingent of troops to
serve the King. Besides, he gave his daughter in
marriage to Timur. Meanwhile, a detachment
of Afghan troops under Sardar Jahan Khan had
succeeded in taking Tabbus, held by Ali Mardan
Khan, an Arab chief.
The failing energy at last forced Ahmad
Shah to quit Persia. He returned to Kandahar
for a much needed rest. In the spring of 1773, he
retired to the milder climate of the Toba Hills,
in Achakzai country. But the malady grew worse,
and in the beginning of June, 1773, the great
conqueror and military genius passed away peace-
fully at Murgha, in the fiftieth year of his age and
after a glorious reign of twenty-six.
Ahmad Shah was first and foremost a brave
and intrepid general and a great military leader.
Always first in the battle-field, his personality
inspired respect among his friends and followers,
and struck awe and terror among his enemy.
Within a quarter of a century he was not only
Roughly two thirds of characters agree with a modern printed edition of the same text. Much of the disagreement is editorial, not misreading. Treat the transcription as a finding aid and read the page image before quoting. How this was measured.