Machine transcription
-164-
fore Azad Khan and was the object of much appreciation from the
governor of Kashmir. Impressed by the fighting qualities of this
man, it is related that the rebel governor enrolled one thousand
and five hundred of his Yusufzai clansmen in his army. When His
Majesty Timour Shah heard the news of defeat of his army, he
thereupon resolved to take an expedition himself to the east. With
a great army he arrived at Peshawar, giving the command of the army,
the military quarters and the arrangements of war to Sirdar Madad
Khan Isshaq Zai. Madad Khan took his men across the river Indus
near Attock to the confines of Kashmir. Azad Khan on his part
stood on the defensive. Whilst small engagements took place, Madad
Khan got a certain number of Azad Khan's men to withdraw their
allegiance towards him, and brought them to the king's fold by
promises and other devices. By the order of Azad Khan, Shadi Khan
made a night attack upon the king's forces, but as Madad Khan
was well informed of that plan, battles were fought out and as
Azad Khan heard of the plans of the king's commander and
found that he could not cope with it, took refuge in the house of
his father in law. The father in law of Azad Khan did not want to
implicate himself with his son in law's evil doings, therefore, with
the help and co-operation of the king's commander, he (the father
in law) by degrees reduced the number of Azad Khan's men and
when one day Azad Khan was sleep alone in a room, his father in law
locked the door of the room, and the rebel was Captured. His father
in law was rewarded by being installed as an officer of two thousand
horsemen in the service of the king.
Azad Khan finding that his opposition had no further meaning
wanted to blow up his brains with a revolver, but he himself took
out Azad's eyes and then cut his head and sent the rebel's head to
the king at Peshawar and continued to be in the king's service.
It is related that Timour Shah was really distressed about the
murder of Azad Khan, whom he regarded as a great fighter with a
manly character. The rebel was buried with due honours by the or-
der of the king, and his mother was summoned from Kandahar. When
she was asked to remarry, and take on one of the nobles of the court as
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.
