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sons and the heads of the clans, at which he proclaimed his eldest
son Timour as his heir to the throne. After that he journeyed to-
wards Mahal Marouf. When, however, the illness of Ahmed Shah
took a dangerous turn, Prince Timour intended to come to see his
father at Kandahar, but when he arrived a place called Washair,
which lies on the way to Kandahar in the Helmand area, he received
instructions to return to Herat. The return of this Prince from so
close a proximity of Kandahar is a very delicate matter to judge,
for it is a fact which reflects upon the activities of Vazir Shah Wali
Khan and the raising to the throne of his son-in law Sulaiman, and
explains the motive behind the order not to proceed further than the
above mentioned point. As the king was very ill, it is conjectured
that the prohibitory order was issued by the Vazir on behalf of the
king. In any case the proclaiming of Prince Timour as the king
by Ahmed Shah was a fact which was enacted in the presence of
the heads of the clans. When Prince Timour, however, went back
to Herat and was still there, the death occurred of His Majesty
Ahmad Shah at Kandahar, and Prince Sulaiman was placed upon the
throne of his father. Prince Sulaiman was younger in years to his
elder brother Prince Timour, and his accession to the throne was
regarded as the action of Vazir Shah Wali Khan, who was the
father in law of the young prince Sulaiman.
There is little doubt that Vazir Shah Wali Khan was a man of
foresight and wisdom and his oratory was well known, for by the flow
of language he could keep his hearers spell bound, and his rivals
were always afraid of his mastery in that direction. The assump-
tion of kingship by prince Sulaiman at the time of absence of
his elder brother, who was at Herat, at considerations which
have provided contradictory observations in the history of Saduzais.
Some opinions have been expressed that the assumption of
rulership on the part of Prince Sulaiman was only a temporary
measure and a matter of policy of the time. So much so taht
the late Amir Habibullah Khan is also of the same opinion,
and that by this action Vazir Shah Wali Khan had no especial
plan Timour Shah. But any proof vindicating the Vazir for this
act is a difficult matter. His relationship with Prince Sulaiman,
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.