899 AH.— OCT. 12th. 1493 to OCT. 2nd. 1494 27
presence ; and in the fight at the Broad Ford (Yasi-kijit circa go4AH.-July, i499AD.) he hewed away with the rest. In the guerilla days he went to Khusrau Shah (907AH.) at the time I was planning to go from the Macha hill-country^ to SI. Mahmud Khan, but he came back to me in 910AH. (1504AD.) and I shewed him all my old favour and affection. When I attacked the Turkman Hazara raiders in Dara-i-khwush (911 AH.) he made better advance, spite of his age, than the younger men ; I gave him Bangash as a reward and later on, after returning to Kabul, made him Humayun's guardian. He went to God's mercy Fol.14b. about the time Zamin-dawar v/as taken {circa 928AH.-1522AD.). He was a pious, God-fearing Musalman, an abstainer from doubtful aliments ; excellent in judgment and counsel, very facetious and, though he could neither read nor write {uminiy), used to make entertaining jokes.
Baba Beg's Baba Quli ('Al') was another, a descendant of Shaikh *Ali Bahadur.^ They made him my guardian when Shaikh Mazid Beg died. He went over to SI. Ahmad Mirza when the Mirza led his army against Andijan (899AH.), and gave him Aura-tipa. After SI. Mahmud Mirza's death, he left Samarkand and was on his way to join me (900AH.) when Si. 'Ali Mirza, issuing out of Aura-tipa, fought, defeated and slew him. His management and equipment were excellent and he took good care of his men. He prayed not ; he kept no fasts ; he was like a heathen and he was a tyrant.
'Ali-dost Taghai^ was another, one of the Sagharichi tuman- begs and a relation of my mother's mother, Aisan-daulat Begim. I favoured him more than he had been favoured in 'Umar Shaikh Mirza's time. People said, " Work will come from his hand." But in the many years he was in my presence, no work to speak of ^ came to sight. He must have served SI. Foi. Abu-sa'Id Mirza. He claimed to have power to bring on rain with the jade- stone. He was the Falconer (qushchi), worthless
1 Cf. f . ggb.
2 One of Timur's begs.
3 i.e. uncle on the mother's side, of any degree, here a grandmother's brother. The title appears to have been given for life to men related to the ruling House. Parallel with it arc Madame Mere, Royal Uncle, Sultan Walida.
4 klm disa bulghai, perhaps meaning, " Nothing of service to me."
