CHAPTER VIII. 152

CORRIGENDUM. 154

APPENDIX I. 155

APPENDIX II. 156

APPENDIX III. 157

APPENDIX IV. 158

APPENDIX V. 158

APPENDIX VI. 159

APPENDIX VII. 159

APPENDIX VIII. 159

APPENDIX IX. 160

APPENDIX X. 160

APPENDIX XI. 161

APPENDIX XII. 161

APPENDIX XIII. 162

ADDENDA. 163

THE PREFACE OF THE EDITOR TO THE MULFUZĀT TIMŪRY. 164

INTRODUCTION.

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THE extensive region, formerly called Scythia, and now generally denominated Tartary, has been inhabited from a very early period by Nomade nations, who wandered with their flocks and herds from one part of the continent to another, frequently migrating from the shores of the Eastern Ocean, to the midst of Europe, where they were known by the appellation of Goths or Getes, Vandals, Huns, Turks, Tartars, &c.[7] These nations were subdivided into various tribes and hordes, consisting of from five thousand to seventy thousand families, who took their names from some celebrated chieftain, and were subject to their respective leaders under the title of Khāns (Kings); but when a number of these nations were united under one leader, he assumed the title of Khākān, (Emperor).[8]

In the tenth century, a person named Tumenāh Khān, whose descent has been traced by the Oriental historians from Noah, commanded a horde of Moghuls then dwelling to the north-west of China, this person had twin sons, Kubel Khān and Kajuly Behader, whom he prevailed on to sign an agreement, that the dignity of _Khān_ should continue in the posterity of the former, and that of _Sepah Salar_, Commander-in-Chief, in the descendants of the latter.

From the first of these sons was descended, in the fourth degree, Zingis, called by the Persians, Jengyz Khān, born A. D. 1154, and from the second in the eighth degree, the hero of the following Memoirs, who was born in the district of Kesh, province of Maveralnaher, A. D. 1336.

Jengyz or Zingis died in A. D. 1227, having divided his vast dominions between his four sons, called Jūjy or Tūchy, Jagtay, Auktay, and Tūly; to the first of these was assigned the extensive kingdom of Kipchāk or Great Tartary; to the second, Tūrkestān and Maveralnaher, (Transoxiana); to the third, Mughulistān and Northern China; to the fourth, Persia, and that part of India, west of the river Indus. Their descendants reigned over these countries till the time of Timūr, who subdued them all; but as neither Jengyz or Timūr assumed the title of _Khākān_, (Emperor) there probably existed a more ancient and honourable family than either of them.[9] An ancestor of Timūr, named Kerachār Nuyān, was married to a daughter of Jagtay Khān, second son of Zingis, by which means the two families became doubly connected; in consequence of which, Timūr bore the title of _Gūrgān_, son-in-law of the Khān; it also signifies a great Prince. The continuation of the family history will be given by himself.

* * * * *

P. S. I fear that the number of proper names which occur in this work will tire my readers, but such is the style of Oriental history; the reason assigned for it is, that it may serve as a record of the actions of each chief, and should the author omit any persons, he might be called to account by the heirs. Mirza Abu Talib, who wrote his Travels through Europe, in 1803, apologized to his countrymen for the number of _barbarous_ names he was obliged to relate to them, so that the complaint is mutual.

Footnote 7:

An ample detail of all these nations will be found in Gibbon’s History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.

Footnote 8:

See printed copy of the Institutes of Timūr, pages 131 and 285: Gibbon following the French orthography, calls him Chagan.

Footnote 9:

Since writing the above, I have been informed by one of our best Chinese scholars, that the Mandarins of that country are called _Kwans_, but that the title of Jengyz was _Ching-sze Kho-han_.

MEMOIRS OF TIMŪR.

PREFACE

TO THE PERSIAN TRANSLATION.

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In the Name of the most merciful God,

Eternal praise is due to the Almighty, who, through his special favour, said to Adam, Verily we have made thee our vicegerent over the earth;—

He, who fixed the nest of the Phœnix (Ankay) with expanded wings of victory of the everlasting dominion of his Majesty (Timūr) on the pinnacle of the lofty mountain of _Kāf_, commanding the world;—

Boundless thanks be also to the Omnipotent, who has exalted above all the sovereigns of the world the dignity of the _Khelāfet_ and the family of the Prophet, in order to disseminate the glorious religion of Muhammed, and renovate the luminous law of _Mustafā_;—

Glory to the Creator, who, having formed the circumference of the heavens, with all the elements, around the axis of the earth, established the circle of supreme sovereignty in the blessed person of his Majesty, confirming the sacred verse of the Korān,

“A just monarch is the Shadow of God, and the guardian of his kingdoms.”

The unworthy and sinful Abū Talib al Hussyny represents to those who stand at the foot of the royal throne, that during my residence in the two sacred cities of Mecca and Medina, I saw in the library of Jāfer, Governor (Hākim) of Yemen, a book, in the _Tūrky_ language, dictated (mulfuzāt) by his Majesty, who now dwells in paradise, Timūr _Sahib Kerāny_, may God pardon him all his offences, in which are inserted all the occurrences of his life from seven to seventy-one years, and in which he narrates the means by which he had subdued so many countries, and had become the sovereign of so many dominions, in hopes that this book may become an exemplar for posterity, and the cause of promoting religion.

But as the work was written in the Tūrky language interspersed with Arabic, and therefore difficult to be understood, I have translated it from Tūrky into easy Persian, that it may be useful to Princes in administering their affairs and in preserving their authority. Ministers and Generals may also derive great benefit from the perusal of it in conducting the business of Government.

May the Almighty God preserve and protect his Imperial Majesty _Sahib Kerany Sany_[10] (Shāh Jehān) from all the vicissitudes and evils of life, and keep extended over the heads of mankind the Shadow of his Sovereignty and Justice through the (intercession) of the Arabian Prophet, his illustrious descendants, and his beneficent companions.—The Text will be found in Appendix No. I.

Footnote 10:

Sahib Kerān, signifies Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction; Sany, the second. Shāh Jehān mounted the throne of Hindūstan, A. H. 1037, A. D. 1628.

MEMOIRS OF TIMŪR.