Page image — the source of record
Machine transcription
26
area except the capital, Shiraz, which made a bold stand. In an attack on that city he was mortally wounded. The death of this brave general at this critical time was a great loss to the Afghans. Mahmud mourned his death deeply and was struck with a severe grief.
The command of troops in Fars was then given to Zabardast Khan, an Afghan officer of renown, who had risen by his courage and conduct to this high post in the army. Soon after his arrival before Shiraz, a younger brother of Abdullah, the Wali of Arabia, endeavoured to defend the city. But in one of the battles he lost his life, and the garrison lost heart and, finding no further prospect of relief from any quarter, capitulated (13th April 1724).
Zabardast Khan then despatched a contingent to reduce Bandar Abbas. This expedition had some initial success but in the end he was forced to return on account of the inclemency of the weather. Fortunately, at this moment a long expected batch of recruits arrived from Kandahar, but the number was small. The mother of Mahmud also came with this caravan. The
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.