338 AURANGZIB Royal orders were also issued to collect the revenues of each province according to the Mohammedan law. As a single instance of his Majesty's fortitude we may cite the following event. When the royal army arrived at Balkh, Abd-al-Aziz Khan, with a large force which equalled the swarms of locusts and ants, came and arranged his men in order of battle and surrounded the emperor's camp. While the conflict was being car- ried on with great fury, the time of reading the evening prayers came on, and his Majesty, though dissuaded by some worldly officers, alighted from his horse and said the prayers in a congregation with the utmost indiffer- ence and presence of mind. On hearing of this, Abd-al- Aziz was much astonished at the intrepidity of the emperor, who was assisted by God, and put an end to the battle, saying that to fight with such a man was to destroy oneself. The emperor is perfectly acquainted with the com- mentaries, traditions, and law, and one of the greatest excellences of this virtuous monarch is that he has learned the Koran by heart. In his early youth he had committed to memory some chapters of that sacred book, but he learned the whole by heart after he ascended the throne, taking great pains and showing much per- severance in impressing it upon his mind. He writes a very elegant Arabic hand and has acquired perfection in this art. He made two copies of the holy book with his own hand, and having finished and adorned them with ornaments and marginal lines at the expense of seven thousand rupees, he sent them to the holy cities
