国立情報学研究所 - ディジタル・シルクロード・プロジェクト
『東洋文庫所蔵』貴重書デジタルアーカイブ

This Mír Walí now, through fear of his master's vengeance, held out for two T. R.
months at Yángi Hissár, and then, hearing of Abábakar's flight from the capital,
surrendered his trust to Sáíd who, placing his own governor with a garrison in the
fort, at once hurried on to Yárkand.

Here Abábakar, during the siege of Yangi Hissár, had been busy emptying his
armoury of its accumulated stores, and clearing the prisons of the crowed victims of
his wrath. He now distributed sixty thousand suits of armour, including twelve
thousand horse trappings, amongst the population who were enrolled en masse for
the defence of the capital. A timid peasantry, gardeners, handicraftsmen of all
trades, and other peaceable citizens, who had never handled a spear, nor shot an arrow,
far less wielded a sword, and who, during a generation of unexampled tyranny, had
grown up cowed by despotic condemnations to dungeons, prisoner gangs, tortures,
mutilations and executions, now had arms, of which they knew not the use, thrust
into their unwilling hands, and were driven out to fight.

With such a pressed rabble multitude Abábakar essayed from his capital to raise
the siege of Yángi Hissár. At the first stage out his disorderly mob, coming in
sight of an outpost picket of Sáíd's army, at once took fright, cast away the arms
forced upon them, and dispersed in all directions. Abábakar was now past further
explosions of wrath and torture. He returned to his palace, set his son, Jahángír, in
the charge of the city, and, packing up his treasures, retired with them to Khutan.
Six days later, Jahángír, on the fall of Yangi Hissár, collecting his valuables, gave
the city up to plunder, and in the confusion and strife that ensued effected his escape
to Sánjú.

Sáíd, on receiving intelligence of these events at Yárkand, immediately sent
forward Khoja Ali Bahádur to secure the place; and he took possession of the city at
the end of Rajab 920 H.=1513 A.D. Sáíd followed with the rest of his army largely
increased by new accessions, and mounting the throne gave the place up to plunder
for two months; during which his troops ransacked every corner, despoiled the citizens
and their previous plunder, and secured an immense booty in rich merchandize of
all sorts, together with the abandoned treasures amassed by Abábakar during a reign
of forty-eight years.

Immediately on arrival at the capital, Sáíd sent out parties in pursuit of the
fugitives. Abábakar fled before them from Khutan to Karánghótágh. Here at
Aktásh he burnt, and cast into the river what he could not carry away into the
mountains, and killing the spare horses and camels fled towards Tibet. On the road
his followers, scenting death ahead, plundered and deserted him.

The fugitive, after wandering hungry and demented some time over the bleak,
desolate, and inhospital tablelands of the Tibet plateau, on the approach of winter,
turned in search of shelter from the biting frosts of that elevated region into the
sheltered valleys towards Khutan. He was intercepted, seized, and killed by a
party of his many pursuers in the Karákásh valley, where a mean tomb on the river
bank, two stages from Shahídulla Khoja, now marks the site of his grave.

His pursuers, after taking possession of Khutan and its treasury, sent out
numerous parties on his track, and the roads leading to the mountains. One of
these, at Sarpúl, found his abandoned cattle and treasures, and fishing out the
sparkling gems from the clear stream, returned with a rich store of pearls, rubies,
emeralds and diamonds, with rare silks and other costly treasures.

Jahángír—he was married to Khadija Sultán Kháním, full sister of Sáíd and
fourth daughter of Alaja Khan who fell into the hands of Abábakar when he took
Aksú—was similarly pursued, and finally taken at Sánjú. He was sent prisoner to
Yángi Hissár, and ultimately executed there by order of Sáíd. Abábakar had many
children, of whom he killed several for trivial offences. Jahángír was his eldest son,
by Khánzada Begum, the sister of Mahmud.

During his long reign of forty-eight years, Abábakar subdued Tibet to the
borders of Kashmir. In 905 H.=1499 A.D. he defeated Alaja Khan, and drove
him from the country. He subjugated Bolor, and annexed most of the hazáraját=