Livro V - Commencement Of The History, Capítulo XI

At this time, a messenger came from Amyr Hussyn, who was at that period a wanderer in the mountains and deserts, stating that as we were then both emigrants, it would be advisable to unite our efforts; I wrote him a letter appointing to meet him at the well of Sajai (or Sajuch); thither I repaired, and in a few days was joined by him; we then entered into consultation respecting our affairs, and determined that we should go to Tukel Behader of Khyūk, and prevail on him to join us; when we reached Khyūk, that scoundrel pretended to forget our former acquaintance: according to the proverb, “mankind imitate their rulers,” and wished to seize us; when I discovered his views, I explained them to Amyr Hussyn, who at first would not believe me, but I gave him such proofs, that he was at length convinced, and we made preparations for going to Khuarizm, intending, when we should get possession of that country, to raise the standard of sovereignty, and endeavour to conquer Maveralnaher.

The plan we laid for invading Khuarizm, was this; finding that Tukel Behader had behaved in so ungrateful and treacherous a manner, we left Khyūk in the middle of the night, and proceeded with all expedition towards Khuarizm; when we reached Banat (or Bayab), we rested our horses, and resolved to attempt taking the fort of Aurkunj by surprize, which would then lead to the subjection of all Khuarizm: whilst we were deliberating on this matter, we observed a cloud of dust arise in the desert, and could soon discern an advance guard of cavalry coming towards us; we immediately mounted, and I sent off Tughy Berlās to reconnoitre; I then rode to the top of a hill in the desert, and waited there; after a short time, Tughy Berlās returned and informed me, that the foe was Tukel Behader, who had come in pursuit of us, having with him about one thousand cavalry; I immediately sent for Amyr Hussyn, and drew up our forces on the hill, in such a manner as to make them appear more numerous than they were. In fact we had but sixty well mounted troopers with us, these I formed into five sections; the first of these I placed under the command of Tughy Berlās, the second I gave under charge of Syf Addeen, the third to Bulkhy Behader, the fourth consisted of Amyr Hussyn and his followers, and the fifth were my own (Khanēzād) dependants, with whom I took possession of the top of the hill: when I had made this arrangement, I gave each of them a flag to distinguish them.

At this time, Tukel Behader having drawn out his thousand cavalry, charged us, but was vigorously opposed by Tughy Berlās and Syf Addeen, so that his leading divisions fell back in astonishment. These two officers pursued their advantage, and fought with such intrepidity, that both their horses were disabled; they however continued to fight on foot, till I sent them two of my own horses, on which they mounted. The horse of Bulkhy Behader, was also knocked down, so that I was obliged to remount him from my own stud. At this period, of the whole number of the enemy, only three hundred remained, the others had been either killed, wounded, or fled. In the mean time, Amyr Hussyn had also drawn the sword of courage, and having charged the centre of the enemy’s line approached close to Tukel Behader, but the soldiers of the latter surrounded him; seeing my brother-in-law in this situation, I rushed forward sword in hand, and liberated him.

When the hour of evening prayer arrived, the chiefs of the enemy drew in their reins; at this time they had only one hundred and fifty men remaining, while my strength was reduced to twelve.

After a short time, Tukel Behader again drew up his men, and charged us; Amyr Hussyn and our remaining companions, devoted ourselves to death, and when they attempted to seize us, I exerted myself in such a manner as to overthrow several of their champions; at this moment, the horse of Amyr Hussyn being wounded by an arrow, threw him; his wife Dil Shād Aghā, however immediately dismounted, and gave him her horse. I remounted Dil Shād Aghā upon the same horse with my wife, the sister of Amyr Hussyn; we then commenced shooting our arrows, not one of which missed its mark, till our quivers were emptied. There now remained of us but seven mounted persons; but the enemy being also very much reduced, they withdrew from the fight, and alighted in the plain: our small party took the opportunity of proceeding on our journey; we were soon followed by our adversaries, but they missed us, and lost their way in the desert. After we had travelled a long way in these extensive plains, we came to a well, and being very hungry and thirsty, we alighted; fortunately for us, the water of the well was delicious.

We remained at the well all night, and in the morning I reckoned our people, and found that they were seven mounted persons, and three foot soldiers of Balkh; we continued by the well all that day, and fortunately for us, a shepherd who was tending his flock in the desert, brought them to drink at the well; as our provisions were exhausted, we bought several goats, parts of them we roasted, and parts of them we dressed between stones, and enjoyed ourselves exceedingly: we remained there another night, during which time, the three footmen of Balkh, ungratefully stole three of our horses, and rode off with them: we were thus reduced to seven persons, with only four horses; but I did not then despond, and even comforted my companions; my respected wife Aljay Tūrkan Aghā, also kept up her spirits, and said, “surely our fortunes are now arrived at the lowest point, (and must rise) that we should be obliged to walk.”

What added to our distress was, that none of us knew the road; fortunately we discovered a shepherd, who pointed out a pathway to us, and said, “this path will lead you to the huts of some Tūrkumāns;” was delighted with this intelligence, and I set out on foot: when we arrived in the vicinity of the huts, we found that the inhabitants had apparently left them, and gone away; we therefore entered and took possession of one of them, but some of the Tūrkumāns who had remained behind, when they saw us, thought we were thieves, and made an attack on us. I placed my wife, the sister of Amyr Hussyn, in one of the huts, and with three or four of my men, we made an appearance of repelling them with bows and arrows, but we were without arrows, (having expended them in the battle); we then drew our swords, but when they came close to us, one of them named Syed Muhammed, who was an old acquaintance, recollected me, came and embraced me, and had compassion on my situation, and when informed of all the circumstances, he forbade the Tūrkumāns to injure us, and said to them, “this is Timūr the Governor of Maveralnaher;” the men being also ashamed of their conduct, came and bent the knee to me; Syed Muhammed took me to his own habitation, and paid me much respect and honour, and shewed us all the attention in his power.

At this time I had on two ruby armlets, one of these I gave to him; in return for which, he procured three horses for me, also some travelling equipage, armour, and arms; for three days he entertained us most hospitably, and gave us an escort of ten troopers, commanded by Fulanchy and Ajerchy.

Of the horses which he provided for me, I gave two to Amyr Hussyn, and being thus well equipped, I determined within myself, that I should go, and remain in the Mahmūdy desert, till my followers gaining intelligence of the circumstance, might come and join me.

I therefore made Fulanchy our guide, and we wandered in the desert for two days and two nights, without water or bread; till at length we reached the village of Mahmūdy, but which we found in a ruinous and deserted state, and void of inhabitants; we however alighted among the ruins, and as we could not find water, we were obliged to dig a well, and remained there for a month.

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Footnote 59:

Khuarizm is an extensive kingdom, situated on the eastern side of the Caspian Sea, and divided from Maveralnaher by the river Jihūn, which falls into the Aral lake.

Footnote 60:

See printed Institutes, page 35.