On the day that I crossed the bridge I first set foot on Transoxanian
soil. After a day's rest I proceeded to Bazar No (New-Market), and
from there to a little place called Tchiharshembe, where I visited the
grave of the Khodja Yaakub Tcharkhi. Then on to Tchaganian, _i.e._,
Hissar-i-Shadman.[168] I visited Timur Sultan, the Kagalga[169] of the
Ozbeg rulers, and passed Mount Senghirdek,[170] where it always rains
and a considerable stream is formed at the foot of the mountain,
and I marveled at the wonderful works of God. The next station was
Sehri-Sebz, _i.e._, Kesh, where I met Hashim Sultan, who gave me
permission to continue my journey to Samarkand. With great difficulty
we got across the mountain[171] situated between the two last-named
places; we touched the little town of Mazar, and in the beginning of
Shaaban we reached Samarkand, which is a perfect paradise. Here I saw
Borak Khan[172] (more correctly called Noruz Ahmed), who, in return
for my humble offerings, gave me a horse and garments of honor. It was
this same Borak Khan to whom his Majesty the Padishah had sent cannon
and guns by the hand of Sheiks Abdullatif and Dadash. At the time of
my arrival Abdullatif Khan, the rider of Samarkand, was dead,[173] and
Borak had taken his place. Pir Mohammed Khan, in Balkh, and Burhan Seid
Khan,[174] in Bokhara, declared their independence, and Borak's first
business was to settle this matter. He began by taking Samarkand and
proceeded to Shehri-Sebz, where a great battle was fought, in which
the Ketkhuda (overseer) of the Osman soldiers fell. He then took the
stronghold and marched to Bokhara, which place he laid siege to. Seid
Burhan, the ruler of Bokhara, made peace with Borak, relinquished
the place to him, and retired to Karakul, where the brother of Pir
Mohammed Khan then reigned. He, however, gave up the place to Seid
Burhan. When Borak Khan entered Samarkand, the Aga of the Osmans[175]
had just started with a few men on their way to Turkey, having taken
the way of Tashkend and Turkestan. Ahmed Tchaush was also on the point
of returning to Turkey by the way of Bokhara and Kharezm, for part
of the Janissaries had enlisted under Seid Burhan, and the remainder
joined his son. About 150 remained faithful to Borak Khan. When he had
communicated all this to me, he added: "I am now as a liar before his
Majesty the Sultan of Turkey, for I can do nothing, but if thou wilt
help me, something may yet be done." He offered me the government of a
Province, but I said that with such a small army nothing could be done,
moreover that, without the consent of my Padishah, I could not stir
in the matter. He thereupon proposed to send an envoy to the Sublime
Porte to explain the situation. As a matter of fact he had already
decided to send Sadr Alem, a descendant of Khodja Ahmed Jesewi,[176]
and gave him a letter, in which he expressed his willingness in the
future to satisfy every wish of the Sultan. He discharged me, however.
During my stay in Samarkand I made a pilgrimage to the grave of the
prophet Daniel, to the place of the Khidr (Elias), to the cloak and
to the wooden shoes of the Prophet, and also to the Koran, written by
Ali himself.[177] Besides these places I visited the graves of the
following sheiks and sages: the author of Hidayet, Ebu Mansur Matridi;
Shah-Zinde, Khodja Abdullah, Khodja Abdi-birun, Khodja Abdi-derum,
the Tchopanata, and the Kazizade of Rum, and the grave of the 444,000
Transoxanian sages.
But to return to Borak Khan. One day, while talking together, he asked
me which of all the cities I had visited pleased me most. I replied
with the following stanza:
"Far from home no one longs for Paradise.
For in his eyes his native town is superior even to Bagdad."
"Thou hast spoken well," said the Khan.
Now as regards the embassage to Constantinople, Sadr Alem proposed
to go by Turkestan, but when he was told that the Nogai tribe of the
Mangit committed violence upon travelers, and that the roads swarmed
with robbers and highwaymen, who gave no quarter to Mussulmans,[178]
but plundered and ill-treated any that came in their way, he decided to
travel through Bokhara.
Unfortunately, just then the news came that Seid Burhan had again
declared war with Borak Khan, and that the latter's son Kharezm
Shah had been attacked. Borak Khan advised me thereupon to remain
at Ghidjduvan until the return of the envoy. If no hostilities took
place we might travel by that way, but otherwise we were to wait until
he sent some one to conduct us safely through Bokhara. To this I
agreed. On the fifth of Ramazan we started, touched Kala and Kermineh,
crossed the river of Samarkand[179] at Duabe, and so arrived at
Ghidjduvan,[180] where I visited the grave of Khodja Abdul Khalik.
As the Mirza was not here, and no news concerning him could be
obtained, we went on to Pul Rabat. Meanwhile the troops of Prince
Kharezm Shah had prepared for battle. Suddenly Khan Ali Bey, the
Prince's tutor, accosted us with the question whither we were going.
When I replied: "To Bokhara," he said: "Seid Burhan, the ruler of
Bokhara, threatens to attack Prince Kharezm Shah, and we pray thee
to help us." "How now!" I cried, "we help no man; Borak Khan has
not requested us to do so; on the contrary, he has charged us to
go to Ghidjduvan, and there to await the return of the envoy." So
we continued on our way. As we approached Minar (Spire) about 100
redcoats (_Ala tehapan_)[181] rushed down upon us, crying: "In the
name of the Mirza, turn back," and at the same time they struck one of
my companions. Immediately we prepared to fight, when a Seid sprang
forward and commanded the Ozbegs to stop. Both sides held back, and
the Seid announced that the Mirza sent us greeting and desired us not
to proceed any farther, but to look on from a distance. So we were
compelled to turn back. With ten of my companions I had an interview
with the Mirza, who renewed his request that we should help him; but I
refused again, whereupon ten guns were forcibly taken from us and we
were commanded to remain mere spectators. The Prince's bearing was very
haughty before he had sighted the enemy, for as the proverb says:
"Our own fist is always of iron,
Until we receive the first box on the ear."
But no sooner had Seid Burhan appeared in sight, from the opposite
direction, than the Prince retreated across the bridge to the Rabat
(Karvanserai). I went on with six companions, which I left behind
me in the court of the kiosk. Seid Burhan advanced with 1,000
Kizil-Ayaks,[182] _i.e._, young men from Bokhara, and 40 Turkish
archers, therefore well equipped for war. In a moment he defeated
the Prince, who, being wounded by a bullet, took flight, leaving his
colors, musical and other military instruments behind him on the
battle-field. Of my three companions which fled with the Prince, one
was wounded by a lance and died soon after, and while the others
retreated with the Ozbegs into the Rabat where they were attacked by
Seid Burhan, I went on to meet the army to inquire after the Mirza,
leaving my horse in charge of two men. I heard that he was quartered
close to the Rabat, and asked to be conducted into his presence, and
just as I was crossing the bridge, attended by a few men, some villain
wounded me with an arrow. This was the signal for a general attack;
swords were raised on all sides, and I was very near losing my life.
Fortunately the attack had been witnessed by the Osmans serving under
the Khan; they had recognized me and came to my rescue, calling out:
"This man is the guest of our Prince, what then is the meaning of
this?" The Ozbeghi (commander of 10 men) immediately stopped the attack
and apprized the Khan of what had taken place, whereupon the latter, a
glorious youth, hastened to me, embraced me, and begged my forgiveness,
for it was by accident, he said, that I had become mixed up in the
battle and I had been attacked on the principle of the proverb which
says: "Wet and dry burn together." He commissioned two officers to
conduct us over the bridge, during which transport two more of my
people were attacked and received sword wounds. I lost on this occasion
a beautiful led-horse, all my cooking apparatus, one pack-horse, and 10
saddle-horses, which were stolen by the soldiers. With much difficulty
I got across the bridge, and, while I was resting at a little distance,
the Khan, to please me, ordered the Turkish soldiers stationed in the
Rabat to hand the place over to me, as we were innocent and free from
all reproach. As I approached the place I called out: "Stop fighting;
I am here, and the Khan will pardon you for my sake." Thus the Rabat
fell into my hands and with it some of the lost horses, but many of
the firearms were irrevocably lost. My two men, who had been taken
prisoner in the fight, had escaped, and so we proceeded to the town,
which we reached that night. Seid Burhan spoke thus to me: "Be thou
my guide in this and in the next world; this land shall henceforth
belong to thy Padishah, thou shalt rule in Bokhara and I will retire to
Karakol." "Not so," was my reply, "if thou gavedst me the whole land of
Transoxania I could not stay here. Know, O Khan! that I shall report
before the Sublime Porte the injustice which has been done to thee,
and my glorious Padishah will be gracious unto thee, and possibly
the government of these provinces will be entrusted to thy care."
These words pleased the Khan; he gave a banquet in my honor and showed
me much kindness, and during the fortnight which I spent in Bokhara
he visited me every day in the pleasure-garden which served as my
residence. I composed a gazel in his honor, which highly delighted him
and led to many poetical discussions. When at last I desired permission
to continue my journey, he demanded of me that I should give him our
iron guns in exchange for his brass ones. He pressed me so hard that
I was compelled to give in, and received 40 brass muskets in return
for all the iron ones which we had left. I also had to exchange my
led-horse for a gelding, besides giving him two precious books.
Meanwhile the envoy from Borak Khan had arrived, who apologized to me
for his son (Kharezm Shah), and made peace with Seid Burhan through the
mediation of the Ghidjduvani Abdul Sultan. Thus peace and security were
once more restored.
I delayed in Bokhara to make pilgrimages to the graves of Bahaeddin
Nakishbendi, Kazi Khan, Tchar Bekir, Khodja Ebn Hifz Kebir, Sadr esh
Sheriat, Tadj esh Sheriat, Seid Mir Kelal (the spiritual head of
Baha-eddin), Sultan Ismail the Samanide, Eyub and Sarakhsi, and after
that I journeyed to Kharezm.
Our way led first to Karakol, then to Farab, where we crossed the Oxus
in ships, and early in the month Shavval I touched Iranian soil, namely
Khorassan. The first town I stopped at was Tchardjui,[183] where I
visited the grave of Khodja Meshed, a brother of Imam Ali Musa.[184]
Then we took the road through the wilderness[185] to Kharezm. By day
and by night we had to wage war against lions;[186] it was not safe
for one man to go alone to draw water; but at last, after ten days of
unutterable weariness, we reached Hezaresp,[187] and from there in five
days, Khiva, where I visited the grave of Pehlevan Mahmud Pir.