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the Afghans, who vainly hoped that this would be the end of civil wars, and that a bright future awaited them. But they were soon disillusioned when they saw that Mahmud was not interested in the welfare of his people and that the entire affairs of the State were entrusted to two of his ministers, Akram Khan and Fateh Khan, who were not on good terms with each other. The first was haughty and the other, though a man of great talents and courage, was very ambitious. The destinies of the country were henceforth in the hands of these two rival chiefs. Fateh Khan, who had helped Mahmud so much in the restoration of his kingdom, now did his best to keep him as a puppet on his tottering throne.
Fateh Khan first of all made up his mind to wrench Peshawar held by Shujaul Mulk, Zaman's full-brother. The Prince, though young (he was hardly twenty) was full of energy, and was highly esteemed for his courage and manliness. Fateh Khan at the head of three thousand men went out to meet Shuja, who had declared himself King on learning the sad plight of his brother. He had no less than ten thousand men at
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.