FATHNAMA — I CHITTOR, MARCH 1568 by Ishtiaq Ahmad Zilli The importance and utility of insha literature as source material for history is increasingly recognized. In this vast literature the Munshat‑i-Namakin compiled during the reign of Akbar, in 1598, holds an unique place became of the information contained in it. It is the largest collection of its kind, so far known, that has come down from the early Mughal period. Its compiler Saiyid Abul Qasim Khan ‘Namkin’ was a noble of some prominence and served under Akbar and Jahangir. Under Jahangir he rose to the mansab of 3000.   Among the documents contained in the collection are several fathnamas (letters of victory) issued by Akbar at various occasions. These include Fathnarna-i Chitor issued by Akbar after the conquest of Chitor. No other copy of this Fathnama is known to exist. It was issued from Ajmer, where he stayed for some time en route to Agra, on Ramazan 10, 975/ March 9, 1568. The copy included in the Munshat‑i-Namakin was sent to the Officers in the Punjab.   Both, owing to the importance of the campaign against Chittor as a political event,and in view of Akbar's subsequent formulation of religious policy (first as an orthodox Emperor, and then, as a proponent of sulhi‑i kul), the text of the document is of exceptional interest.   A critically annotated translation of the document has been offered.   Translation: Praise be to Allah who made good His promise, helped His servant, honoured His soldiers, defeated the confederates all alone, and after whom there is nothing. “All Praise and thanks‑giving behoves that great Opener (fattah) of forts and kingdoms in whose grasp are the keys of the conquests of the just and religion Sultans, and with whose patent of favour and authority are decorated the manshurs of the Khilafat and sovereignty of the Victorious Emperors. The Merciful one (Karim) whose omnipotence has ensured the victory of the believers through the promise to help believers is incumbent upon us, “the Omnipotent one who enjoined the task of destroying the wicked infidels on the dutiful mujahids through the blows of their thunder-like scimitars as laid down: "Fight them ! I Allah will chastise them at your hands and He will lay them low and give you victory over them.” "Glorified is He, and High Exalted from what they say,” “His sovereignty is not dependent on any friend and helper.”   Whereas the Sovereign one, universal be His bounty and exalted His glory, has, in conformity with “I am to appoint thee a leader of the mankind”, assigned to us government of the mumalik of Hindustan which is one of the biggest countries of the world, and the Munshi of the office (divan khana) of munificence and the Supreme Sovereign has adorned the radiant mandate (manshur) of our Khilafat and monarchy with the Parwana “Surely we established him in the land” and decorated it with the ornament of “That is the bounty of Allah, which He giveth unto whom He will All the people who are God's trusts, being in the security of Peace from the hardships and misfortunes of the age, are busy in discharging the obligations of obedience and worship of the Almighty under our benevolent Protection, we deem it our duty to render thanks and express gratitude for this great favour. In accordance with “Proceed whither you wish, you are victorious, in whatever direction we Proceed fortune and felicity come forward to greet us and whither we turn the reign [sic] of our resolution the [sic] success and Victory hasten to our Presence. In conformity with the happy injunction— “This is of the grace of my Lord that He may try me whether I am grateful or ungrateful”—we spend our precious time to the best of our ability in war (ghiza) and Jihad and with the help of Eternal God, who is the supporter of our ever‑increasing empire, we are busy in subjugating the localities, habitations, forts and towns which are under the possession of the infidels, may God forsake and annihilate all of them, and thus raising the standard of Islam everywhere and removing the darkness of polytheism and violent sins by the use of sword. We destroy the places of worship of idols in those places and other parts of India. "The praise be to Allah, who hath guided us to this, and we would not have found the way had it not been that Allah had guided us. The purport of the discourse is that during these victorious times, after the elimination of Ali Quli and (his) ungrateful faction we arrived at the Capital Agra like “the noble, victorious”, and with a view to augment the materials of our recreation of hunting of elephants we encamped in the confines of Sivi Supar and Gagrun which are on the border of the country of Chitor. There it was brought to our notice that Rana Udai Singh, may God annihilate him, from whom it was expected that he would come forward to welcome, pay respects and kiss the royal threshold or would send his son with Peshkash, has adopted, due to excessive pride and conceit, and obstinate and arrogant attitude. (He) is collecting provisions in the fort of Chitor which is his hereditary place of residence and is distinguished in the forts of India in strength and grandeur, with the intention of entrenching himself there. Since the thoughts of war (ghaza’) and Jihad dominated enlightened mind, it (Rana’s behaviour) made the King angry and increased (his) zeal for the divine religion. Despite the fact that most of the royal troops had returned to their Jagirs after the last victory and only a few, who happened to be present at the Capital, accompanied the royal cavalcade on this hunting (excursion), we turned our rein to suppress that infidel. Fearful of the approach of the imperial standards he left his uncle, Sahidas Jaimal and Udiban Patta who are renowned for their vaour among the infidels, may God forsake them and lead them to the abode of Perdition, and who are considered to be equal to a thousand horsemen in intrepidity and prowess, with five thousand chosen Rajputs, one thousand troops from his (Rana’s) own contingent and ten thousand other men to guard the fort. (The Rana) himself hastened with his troops to Udaipur and Kombalmir which are located in the security of the mountains and jungles.  When at the town of Rampur, which is one of the well-known towns attached to Chitor, it became known that he was entertaining such plans, the royal mind decided upon subjugating the fort (of Chitor) with the divine help and only then to take other steps that may appear [sic] feasible. In this way we arrived in front of the fort with the intention of besieging it on Thursday, 20 Rabi II/Oct. 24, 1567. A fort rose in view such as Alburz with all its majesty would appear an insignificant rock at its foot and Tur and Hindukush would fit as walls in its rampart. Its canopy vies with the Crystalline sphere in its height. Its circumference is about three farsangs and the calculators are unable to count in battlements.   Though the siege of the fort looked impossible, but by the grace of Almighty and with the secret help of the accomplished people, any direction that we have taken we have achieved there what we have wished, the very same day we inspected the surroundings of the fort carefully, and entrusted each pace to one of the courageous servants (Khans, Sultans and Amirs) of the exalted court who were present. The mountain traversing warriors, who brave the fields of battle and seek Jihad with all their heart and soul and consider martyrdom to be the greatest reward in this as well as the other world, sought permission [to] betake themselves to the towers and fortifications and putting their trust in God and relying on the divine help, which is the source of strength to the imperial authority, carry out brave assaults and bring the fort under control by force. Since those ignoble people had collected such large quantities of weapons for defending the fort like mortars (deg), zarbzan, Cannon (top), matchlock (tufang), Catapult (manjaniq), Jarr i saqil, naphata (naft) and nawak that would last for thirty years even if continuously used, and since they had great confidence in these weapons and in the strength of the fort as well as their own prowess, we did not let them (the royal officers) fight with a view of protecting the people of Islam, may God preserve them till the day of resurrection, lest some of them may get killed in rashness.(We) sent for the dragonlike rads (Cannons) mortars and other pieces of artillery which were left at the capital. We also ordered the manufacture of cannons and mountain-breaking mortars in the camp and decided that tunnels be dug and after the arrival of battering ram (sarkob) and sabat (covered passage) an attack be launched, we appointed some troops of the left wing to sack, kill and (take) captives (the people of Udaipur, and the troops and men of Rana who were there while he himself was perched at a distance of ten Kos. We sent another army to plunder and sack Rampur. The troop returned with immense booty after dispatching many of the worthless infidels to the abode of perdition. After the arrival of the artillery (topkhana), completion of the covered passage (Sabat), explosion of the mines causing conflagration and (the consequent) blowing up of the towers and battlements, we directed the troops to establish themselves at the foot of the rampart and surround the fort from every side. The doomed ones (Rajputs) being fully informed this time of the strength and prowess of the army of Islam and the asperity and haughtiness of their ruler (?) they started imploring for intercession and respite with abject submission and some of the chiefs came out (with this petition). Notwithstanding the fact that they have caused death of many people of Islam, both nobles and common soldiers, with matchlock-fire, continuous showering of stone through the manjaniq, they sued (for peace) on such impossible terms which could not be conceded. They were permitted to return. Next day we went in person to the Sabat of Muhammad Qasim Khad, mir-i bahr, which was nearest to the fort and issued orders for Jang‑i Sultani to be launched.   The armies of Islam placing their reliance in (the revelation) “Allah is sufficient for us and most excellent protector”, fearlessly and boldly commenced the assault. Within (the fort) the vigilant bands of jew‑like infidels set ablaze the fire of conflict and brawl by discharging fire raining manjaniqs and cannons (top) one after the other. The lions of the forest of intrepidity and the panthers of the mountain of bravery, in their extreme courage stretched their coveting hands to the Sash of the Constellation Orion and with great expedition snatched the diadem from the head of Bahram.   In conformity with the commandment, “And prepare against them what force you can, the troops excelled each other end with complete unity betook themselves to the towers and the walls of the fort that were breached by the artillery fire. From that multitude, groups like the pigs hit by arrows rushed out of doors and blocked the entry of the combatants. In return they (the royal troops) fought back by throwing arrows and stones and scattered those retreating ones (the Rajputs). They sent a tremor through the ranks of the enemy with incessant and frightful cannonade setting fire to the harvest of their lives.   Three days and nights passed in this manner. The two sides did not stop fighting even for a moment. All the attempts of these fox-like people at fraud and deception were frustrated by the lions of the jungle of intrepi­dity. At last on the night of Tuesday, 25th of Shaban, 975 A.H. (23 February 1568) in conformity with “…..they shall not be able to ward off the fire from their faces nor from their backs, nor shall they be helped” the continuous rain of fiery balls and cannonade became so intense in conformity: “Nay, it shall come on them all of a sudden and cause them to be  confounded” those condemned ones were no longer able to resist. The call from beyond—If ye help Allah, He will help you and will make your foothold firm— was coming to the exalted hearing and every moment the Divine Inspirer made audible the good tidings: “Now surely Allah's help is nigh.” The revengeful warriors and the brave ones skilled in the use of daggers, deadly set against the enemy and drenched in the blood, delivered concerted assault and succeeded in removing the wooden planks with which those accursed ones had blocked the breaches. Seeing this, Jaimal, one of the three chiefs, who had taken the lead in the battle and was looking after the fort from the beginning to the end advanced with a body of men to stop the breach. In the meanwhile some artillery men belonging to that wretched band fired their guns one after the other (and in their flashes) Jaimal, and these accompanying him could be seen (from afar). As for the last three days and nights we have been present there (battery of Qasim Khan) often firing with muskets and arrows and since it was destined for Jaimal that he should hasten to the lowest parts of hell at our own God‑worshipping hands, when he came in view the matchlock (tufang) we were holding, was ready as is said, “When God wills anything, He provide its means.” No sooner he was seen and the gun discharged then the worthless infidel was struck in forehead and hearing the call, “where so ever you may be, death will overtake you, even though you were in lofty towers,” proceeded to the abode of perdition. This caused great consternation among the high and low of that cattle-like community. (Subsequently) the other chiefs continued to resist but they could not repulse the brave from the openings. At the dawn, the excellent archers whose skill is such that they could pierce the eye of an ant at dark night and the lancers who could pick up the crumbs of the breach from the ground, putting the elephant in front delivered another assault. (They) forced their entry into the fort through sheer bravery and prowess and started discharging arrows and fighting with lances.   The hand of destiny had covered the deceitful eyes of that erroneous, arrogant and scanty host with the nocturnal blindness of ill‑luck “And they thought that there would be no affliction and so they became blind and deaf,” and had blocked upon them the way of success and escape in accordance with “They could neither go forward nor turn back.” The people of Islam were busy praying: “Our lord ! bestow on us endurance, make our foothold sure, and give us help against the disbelieving folk,” and the refreshing message—“Help from Allah and present Victory. Give good tidings to believers”—was coming to them from heaven. They advanced in groups against the wicked unbelievers to get hold of the opening. (They) stood in the foremost rank without flinching and got an upper hand. They felled them (the Rajputs) one upon the other with the stroke of (their) bloodthirsty sword, leaving an around heaps of the slain. Pursuing the remanent [sic] who were fleeing in different directions— 'As they were frightened asses. Fleeing from the lion”—despatched them to the lowest part of the hell ‑‑when the star of success and good fortune rose from the horizon of the sublime message, “Victory comes only by the help of Allah, the Mighty, the Wise the whore victorious troop entered the fort. In accordance with the imperative Command “And kill the idolaters all together, those defiant ones who were still offering resistance having formed themselves into knots of two to three hundred persons, were put to death and their women and children taken prisoners. According to the promise, “Allah promised you many acquisitions which you will take,” immense booty and spoils in cash and kind were acquired. “So the roots of the people who were unjust were cut off; and all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.   The receptacle of nobility the support of kingdom, the pillar of the mighty state, the prop of the magnificent empire, the confidant of the resplendent Khilafat, the foremost among the great Khans of the age, the climber of the ladder of authority and dignity, the devoted and sincere are the well wishing one, the intrepid cavalier, the adorner of the ranks in the field of valour and bravery, Mubarizuddin, Mir Mohammad Khan Bahadur, and the receptacle of nobility, the support of kingdom, the Pillar of the mighty state, the prop of the magnificent empire, the best among the sinceres [sic] of the age, worthy of confidence and favour, the rider of the field of battle and valour Qutbuddin Mohammad Khan Bahadur and the rest of the great Khans and noble Sultans along with the Saiyids, Ulama, Mashaikh the qazis of shariat and other dignitaries, residents, inhabitants, Chaudhris, qanoongos the ri'aya and peasants (muzari'an) of Sarkar Punjab respectively, being jubilant at the happy sidings carried by this auspicious Fathnama, which is, in fact, a foretaste of the victories to follow, should offer infinite thanksgivings. They should also pray in the auspicious moments, when the prayers are more likely to be granted, for the long life of our noble self, the perpetuity of the empire and for the grant of greater competence to us for fulfilling obligation. of Jihad, divine worship and acts of piety. Further they should continuously be expecting that day after day doors of fresh victories and succeess will be opened before us.   Whereas after the management of the affairs of Chitor we have turned the reins of our determination towards the capital Agra.       The horse beneath the thigh and overhead canopy of victory,     The victory and soccer keeping company and divine help guiding the way.    God willing within these few days we will reach the seat of the Khilafat. The pillar of the state knowing that our thoughts are directed towards the management of his affairs and the fulfilment of the hopes and aspirations of all the well wishers may sent regular reports about the development (in his region). Any request that he might like to make should he communicated (to the court) so that it may be granted. Written by the royal order (to be obeyed permanently) at Ajmer on 10th of the month of Ramzan 975 A.H., 9 March 1568.   arned work on the army of the great Mughals, p. 276, considers a Sabat to be mainly a trench, but, what Nizamuddin and others say it seems to me that there was not much excavation of the ground and that the Sabat was mainly a covered way above the surface of the ground. It had earthen walls on each side and a roof of planks, etc.; which was strong enough to carry a sentry box from which a man could fire.”