Finding his orders not complied with, he despatched an army of
50,000 men to enforce obedience, and Yusuf Shah, preferring apparently
to die than fight, delivered himself up, and was sent to Lahore.
The imperial army was afterwards, however, repulsed in attempting to
subdue the country, and it was not finally conquered for two years,
when Akbar, overcoming all resistance, took possession of the province.
The purity of the emperor's motives in annexing the territory, and
his opinion of his conquest, are amusingly shown in the following
letter to his minister Abdullah Khan: -
"On the mirror of your mind, which bears the stamp of Divine
illumination, be it manifest and evident, that at the time when my
imperial army happened to be in the territories of the Punjab, although
I at first had no other views than to amuse myself with sports and
hunting in this country, yet the conquest of the enchanting kingdom
of Cashmere, which has never yet been subdued by monarchs of the
age, which for natural strength and inaccessibility is unrivalled,
and which, for beauty and pleasantness, is a proverb among the most
sagacious beholders, became secretly an object of my wishes, BECAUSE
I received constantly accounts of the tyranny of the rulers of that
region. Accordingly, in a very short time, my brave warriors annexed
that kingdom to my dominions. Though the princes of that country were
not remiss in their exertions, yet, as my intentions were established
on the basis of equity, it was completely conquered.
"I myself also visited that happy spot, the possession of which is
a fresh instance of the Divine favour, and offered up my praise and
thanksgiving to the supreme Lord of all things. As I found myself
delighted with the romantic bowers of Cashmere, the residence of
pleasure, I made an excursion to the mountains of that country and
Thibet, and beheld, with the eyes of astonishment, the wonders of
the picture of Nature."
This visit was in A.D. 1588.
The emperor then appears to have entered the valley by the Peer Punjal
Pass, and to have been received with every demonstration of joy by
the people in whom he took such a fatherly interest. The loyalty of
his children, however, was but short-lived, for about the year 1591
he again writes to Abdullah: -
"I must acquaint your Highness, that just at this time certain persons,
under the predominance of an unlucky destiny, raised an insurrection
in Cashmere and breathed the air of rebellion and dissatisfaction at
the bounty of Providence.
"As soon as the intelligence of this tumult arrived, regardless of
deluges of rain, I hastened away by forced marches, but before the
troops could get through the passes and enter into that kingdom,
certain Omrahs, attached to my interests, who had been obliged by
compulsion to join in that rash enterprise, availing themselves of
an opportunity, brought me the head of the rebel commander.
"As my forces were near, I visited a second time that ever-verdant
garden, and gratified my mind and senses with the beauties of that
luxuriant spot."
With a view to keeping the capital in order, the Fort of Huree Purbut
was built, about A.D. 1597, at a cost of over 1,000,000L.
Means were at the same time adopted of rendering the Cashmerians less
warlike, and of breaking their independent spirit. To effect this,
it is generally believed in Cashmere that the Emperor Akbar caused a
change to be made in the dress of the people. Instead of the ancient,
well-girdled tunic, adapted to activity and exercise, he introduced
the effeminate long gown of the present day, a change which may have
led to the introduction of the kangree, or pot of charcoal, now used
in the valley.
During Akbar's reign much was done towards the improvement of the
province. The country was adorned with palaces and gardens, and
various trees and shrubs were introduced and cultivated.
About the beginning of the seventeenth century, Akbar visited
Cashmere for the third and last time, being succeeded, after a reign
of fifty-two years, by his son Selim, or Jehangeer, A.D. 1605.
Jehangeer, during the early part of his reign, visited Cashmere
many times, and the valley having been surveyed and brought to
order by Akbar, nothing remained for his successor but to enjoy the
delights of the country in company with his empress, the famous Noor
Jehan. In 1621, and in 1624, he repeated his visit, when he built many
summerhouses and palaces at Atchabull, Shalimar, &c., and in A.D. 1627
he visited the valley for the last time. He was succeeded in that
year by Shah Jehan, who, in 1634, also visited his territories; and,
besides improving the country by the introduction of fruit-trees,
flowers, &c. from Cabul, he invaded Thibet, and taking the Fort of
Ladak, annexed the country to Cashmere.
In 1645 he again visited the valley, and also in the following years,
being accompanied by many poets and savants; among the former was
a certain Hajee Mahomet Jan, a Persian, who composed a poem on the
country; but the difficulties of the road appear to have impressed
his mind rather more than the beauties of the scenery. He compares
the sharpness of the passes to "the swords of the Feringees," and
their tortuous ascents to "the curls of a blackamoor's hair!"
In 1657, Shah Jehan, being deposed by his son Aurungzib, was confined
in the Fort of Agra for life; and in the year 1664 the new emperor
also paid a visit to his Cashmerian dominions.
