906 AH. JULY 28th. 1500 TO TTTLY 17th. 1501 AD. 133
to me. Those braves went, set their ladders up opposite the Lovers'-cave, got in without making anyone aware, went to the Gate, attacked Fazil Tarkhan, chopped at him and his few retainers, killed them, broke the lock with an axe and opened the Gate. At that moment I came up and went in.
(Author's note on Fazil Tarkhan.) He was not one of those (Samarkand) Tarkhans ; he was a merchant-tarkhan of Turkistan. He had served Shaibani Khan in Turkistan and had found favour with him.1
Abu'l-qasim Kohbur himself had not come with us but had sent 30 or 40 of his retainers under his younger brother, Ahmadi-qasim. No man of Ibrahim Tarkhan's was with us; his younger brother, Ahmad Tarkhan came with a few retainers after I had entered the town and taken post in the Monastery. -
The towns-people were still slumbering; a few traders peeped out of their shops, recognized me and put up prayers. When, a little later, the news spread through the town, there was rare delight and satisfaction for our men and the townsfolk. They killed the Auzbegs in the lanes and gullies with clubs and stones like mad dogs; four or five hundred were killed in this fashion. Jan-wafa, the then governor, was living in Khwaja Yahya's house; he fled and got away to Shaibaq Khan.2
On entering the Turquoise Gate I went straight' to the College and took post over the arch of the Monastery. There was a hubbub and shouting of ' Down! down !' till day-break. Some of the notables and traders, hearing what was happening, came joyfully to see me, bringing what food was ready and putting up prayers for me. At day-light we had news that the Auzbegs were fighting in the Iron Gate where they had made themselves fast between the (outer and inner) doors. With l0» 15 or 20 men, I at once set off for the Gate but before I came up, the town-rabble, busy ransacking every corner of the newly-taken town for loot, had driven the Auzbegs out through
* He was made a Tarkhan by diploma of Shaibani (II .S. ii, 306,1. 2).
Here the Hai. MS. begins to use the word Shaibaq in place of its previously
uniform Shaibani. As has been noted (f. 56 n. 2), the Elph. MS. writes
haibaq. It may be therefore that a scribe has changed the earlier part
the Hai. MS. and that Babur wrote Shaibaq. From this point my text
*"1 follow the double authority of the Elph. and Hai. MSS.
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