AKBAR SENDS AN ARMY 197 not allow him to make this visit at present; but he promised to send his son with suitable offerings, if the emperor would graciously direct him to do so. After a while he declared that when all the dependents of the Imperial throne should have been confirmed in their places and he should be able to throw off his feelings of shame, he would proceed in person to pay his respects to the emperor. These excuses proceeded either from his wavering disposition or from a settled design to act treacherously. When Miran, the envoy, found that his representations had no effect upon Bahadur, he com- municated the result to the emperor. This roused great anger in the breast of Akbar and was the cause of his sending Shaikh Farid Bokhari to Khandesh. On the 14th of Sha'ban, while the Imperial camp was at Dhar, Shaikh Farid, the paymaster-general, re- ceived orders to lead a considerable force against the fort of Asir. His instructions were to reassure and advise Bahadur Khan. If he proved tractable, he was to be brought to the presence of the emperor; if not, Shaikh Farid was to invest the fort of Asir and reduce it with all possible speed. The Imperial officers were eager to proceed on this service, partly out of zeal in the service of the emperor, partly from the wish to serve under Farid; and with a select force the Shaikh Farid crossed the Narbada, seeking to get information about the enemy. He then learned that the forces of Bahadur Khan were under the command of Sadat Khan, son-in-law of the late Raja Ali Khan, who had been the greatest and the most trusted of all the royal servants.
