108
HLST(;JiV OF INDIA.
[lirjoK I.
Tin. A.D. 1000.
Baber defeated hy the Uabeks.
Becomes master of Cabool and Kandahar.
afterwards round, they surjiriHed and over[)owor<id the guard in charge of on<; of the gates, opened it, and let in Baber with the 240 wlio were with hiin. They immediately i-ushed along the .streets, proclaiming Baber's name as they passed. It carried a charm with it to the ears of many of the inhabitants, who immediately rallied around him, while the Usbeks ran c^mfasedly from plH/;e to place, ignorant both of the position and numbers of their assailants. When the alarm reached the head-quarters, Sheebani Khan, who occupied the fort with 7000 men, set out with a small body to reconnoitre, and on finding that Babei' had gained some thousands of the inhabitants, who were rending the air with acclamations, was so frightened that he took the opposite gate, and fled towards Bokhara. Baber obtained quiet possession.
Baber was aware that the victory was only half won so long as the Usljeks maintained theii* footing in the country, and he laboured to unite the neighbour- ing chiefs in a general coalition for the pm'pose of expelling them. Owing to dissensions and jealousies, liis exertions were unavailing, and he was left to tight single-handed with his formidable foes. They proved more than a match for him ; and he sustained a defeat which obliged him to shut himself up within the walls. Here he defended himself till he suffered aU the horrors of famine, and saw no resource but to take advantage of the night, and escape with about 100 faithful attendants. This flight took place in the beginning of loOl, and he was once more a homeless wanderer. He foTind an asylum with his uncle. Sultan Mahmood Khan, who gave him the town of Aratiba for his residence. Here his relentless enemy, Sheebani Khan, found him out, and he removed to Tashkend, where he remained for some time in a state of despondency. At length an opening appeared in his hereditary kingdom, and by the aid of his two uncles he obtained possession of Akhsi, one of its strongest forts. It was only a gleam of sunshine before the coming storm. Sheebani Khan again appeared, and conquered as before. In addition to his own misfortune, Baber had the misery to see his imcles involved in his fate. They were both taken prisoners, and released only at the expense of their kingdoms. Sultan Mahmood Khan was unable to bear up imder the stroke, and his health began to decHne. One of his friends, hinting that Sheebani Khan had poisoned him, offered some tiriak of Khutta, a medicine which was then in high repute as an antidote. The sultan replied, "Yes! Sheebani Khan has poisoned me indeed! He has taken away my kingdom, which it is not in the power of yom- tiriak of Khutta to restore."
Baber had at one time some thoughts of trying liis fortune in China. HLs own country, at all events, seemed shut against him, and he qmtted it for ever. But he had no intention of closing his career. Though he had seen much of the world, and experienced many reverses, he had only attained the age when most men begin to make their appearance in the public stage of life. He was httle more than twenty, and was borne up by tlie behef, which conscious talent and
