102 Fayz Muhammad “Katib” The Events of the Year One Thousand Three Hundred and Nine Lunar Hijri, Corresponding to the Twelfth Year of the Awe-inspiring and Mighty Reign of His Highness Amir fiAbd al-Rahman Khan On the first day of Muharram/7 August 1891, A. W. Walsh and F. A. Martin, two English representatives of Mr. Thompson of the Ikwan (ˆkw�n) Acorn?) Martin-Walsh-Lovett Company arrived in Kabul at the request of the government—mentioned above under the events of 1308—were received in audience, and it was agreed that they would take charge of Afghanistan trade goods in lapis lazuli from the Badakhshan mine, wool (pashm), rubies (y�qüt), and hard woods (chub-i archah)1 and nashtar (?) wood from the mountains of Jalalabad, as well as other trade goods. Of every one hundred rupees net fetched by the company for these goods, five rupees would be paid in cash to officials of the government as its profit. This contract and other terms were signed, a written document was drafted, they received permission to leave, and the two men went (back) to India. In the end, as was already indicated, the agreement led to loss, no profit was forthcoming, and commercial ties with that company were severed. From this point on, the trade goods of Afghanistan which belonged to the government were exported from the kingdom without [the use of] foreign middlemen. A Solicitous Manshur is Issued to the Hazarah Leaders Who Were Fortunate To Be The First (of the Hazarah Leaders) to Present Themselves Before Sardar fiAbd al-Quddus Khan Also during these days, through a letter from Sardar fiAbd al-Quddus Khan, it came to royal comprehension that some Hazarah leaders of the unpacified areas (y�ghist�n) like those of Hajaristan and some of those from Uruzgan and other places had come to offer their submission to the sardar without putting up a fight and as a result of the letters of counsel which His Majesty had issued in their names on the thirteenth of Zi’l-Hijjah of the previous year. So His Majesty, on the eighth of Muharram/14 August wrote the following words and sent them to those men: To the sincerity-showing minds of the people of the Hazarahjat who have come and are coming in peace to Sardar fiAbd al-Quddus Khan and have made evident their friendship and obedience to me who is their padishah and their sovereign may it be absolutely clear that I ask of the Lord of the World that having taken the path of obedience in truth and sincerity, no signs of duplicity or hostility should appear on the face of the situation of all of you people, and as long as I live, I will view you with the eyes of love and kindness. After me, my children 1 RM: Afghani Nawis says “a kind of wood from which utensils (asb�b) are made” possibly cypress? 103 Fayz Muhammad “Katib” and grandchildren will be your close friends just like me. Now that you have presented yourselves and continue to present yourselves before Sardar fiAbd al-Quddus Khan in peace and obedience, I had ordered him, before sending out this farman, to disarm you of your rifles and keep them in escrow (am�nat). /735/ He was not [ordered] to take your side arms, such as swords, daggers, and knives but to let you keep them. This is because if rifles are not confiscated it would be necessary, after the army has passed through, to leave either a few or many soldiers of the regular army behind in every place while the rest advanced. You would be unhappy and resentful if soldiers were billeted in every village and town. I don’t want to make you unhappy and resentful nor do I want to scatter the army around, for even though, through the grace of God, the army is large, still, breaking it up and scattering it about would be difficult for me to do and unpalatable to you and a cause of distress and harm. With this concern in mind, I ordered that your rifles would be confiscated and kept in escrow and then once affairs have all been settled and well-organized, they would be given back to you. This confiscation of your rifles and holding them in escrowwill last until the business of the Hazarahjat has been completely resolved. Afterwards, you may collect your rifles. The test of your friendship and sincerity was that you came to Sardar fiAbd al- Quddus Khan peacefully and now you must hand over your guns because you are firm friends, not enemies whose rifles are not going to be returned. After several days during which peace of mind is obtained about you, then those rifles are yours, because why wouldn’t a gun be entrusted to a servant, friend, and subject of the government? Moreover, if during that period, you should suffer any loss of weapons, gunpowder, and lead, it will be necessary for me to make it all good. And if in fact, it should be unpalatable and impossible for you to hand over your rifles, that would have to introduce suspicion into my heart about your friendship and obedience. There is no place in the business of government for suspicion and doubt. Whatever there is [in the business of government] should be clear, straightforward, and unambiguous. I have written this so that you know that I have a use for you people and am putting your rifles in escrow and will give them back to you. There’s no other agenda [on my part] and nothing else to say. So don’t worry. The end. Thanks to this solicitous letter and the earlier advisory letters which had arrived, as well as to the distribution of khilfiats and the giving of reassurances by Sardar fiAbd al-Quddus Khan, all the people of the Haz�rah-i y�ghistan, by the example of those who had gone first, were imbued with the hope of royal favors, and the people of Hajaristan and Sih Pay of Hazarah-i Day Zangi as well as all others who up until this time had gone into the wasteland of opposition and hypocrisy now began coming to see Sardar fiAbd al-Quddus Khan. They Sir�j al-taw�rıkh volume three 1309/1891–1892 104 were given reassurances and then returned home. The sardar assigned Ghulam fiAli Khan Hazarah and his son Muhammad Nabi Khan, along with the sons of Jars fiAli Khan Malistani, to supply the tribal force with provisions and ordered them to go with the force and its provisions to Zawuli whose people had not submitted as required after Colonel Farhad Khan marched through there. So once again they headed for Zawuli district and were en route when fiAli Naqi Sultan, Shah Muhammad Yusuf Beg, fiAli Akbar Beg, fiAli Muhammad Beg, and fiAbbas Beg, (all) the chiefs and leaders of Uruzgan except for the leaders of Darrah-i Pahlawan who—as was mentioned above—had come to Kabul and been placed under house arrest, as well as Kalb Husayn Khan, fiAli Shifa Beg, Bakhsh fiAli Beg, Shayr fiAli Beg, Muhammad fiAziz Beg, and the notables and heads of the people of Sultan Ahmad together wrote a letter expressing their obedience and submission and sent it to the throne by the hand of Sayyid Husayn the son of Sayyid fiAta Muhammad, one of the sayyids of Uruzgan. His Majesty referred their affairs to Sardar fiAbd al-Quddus Khan and gave their emissary permission to return home. During this time, nine wild men of Uruzgan who were ignorant of royal power and might sent Sardar fiAbd al-Quddus Khan a letter which said: With the help of the five members of the ‘family of the cloak’ (�l-i fiab�), [the ahl al-bayt, i.e. the family of the Prophet], we humble people consider ourselves the ‘government of the five’ [lit: the “fifth government”] and with the aid of the King of Saints [fiAli b. Abi Talib] we will make the fame of this ‘government of the five’ echo throughout the world and will never place the command of the padishah of the Afghans on our necks. He forwarded this letter on to the throne and from His Majesty a letter was sent which told him to seize these nine stupid and despicable men with their absurd remarks, whether they come peacefully or not, make them repent and disavow their unworthy words, and give them the punishment they deserve. He also wrote these two quatrains describing the situation of those nine wild men: We nine who are brothers of the cloak/ the sea and the sun are our heart and mind, If the wheel (of fortune) should not turn for our success/then we will break the wheel and change reality. And when they are beaten down, exhausted, and done in, they will say; We nine who are brothers of the cloak/we suffer from famine and want If the shah of the world does not provide for us/we are poverty-stricken and utterly destitute. As required, Sardar fiAbd al-Quddus Khan set in order and rationalized the 105 Fayz Muhammad “Katib” affairs of a number of polaces such as the Hajaristan district and Sih Pay of Day Zangi, confiscated all their firearms and despite the fact that His Majesty had written that these would be held in escrow /736/ and then returned to them after matters had been resolved, since he was in the midst of things and did not see this as being in the best interests of the government, he had the weapons collected by agents deputized by Colonel Farhad Khan and by the leaders of the Afghan nomadic tribe of the Mulla Khayl who had suffered at the hands of the Hazarahs and whose hearts were filled with resentment and then sent the weapons to Kabul.