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57
DURRANIS
Ahmad Khan Abdali and his 4,000 Afghans could not believe at first that Nadir Khan was dead. They hastened towards the royal quarters with a view to protect him. To their surprise, they found their way barred by a strong contingent of the Kizilbash. Though greatly outnumbered, the Afghans fought their way through their ranks and entered Nadir's tent, where they saw the headless trunk of the Shah in a pool of blood. After helping the members of the royal family, who were attacked by the insurgents, the Afghans decided to return to their native-land. They were forced to cut their way through the enemy for a greater part of their journey homeward. On reaching Kandahar a tribal Jirga was held (October, 1747) to consider the future of the country. The chief question was as to who should be elected king. Every one of the tribal chiefs put forth his claims. So heated did the discussion and the argument become between these rival claimants to the throne that recourse to arms seemed inevitable. Fortunately, there was a respectable divine, Sabar by name, who was present at this meeting. He was keenly
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.