intriguing and dissipated brother Jahángír fled the country soon after: his absence sensibly relieved the court.
Freed from a presumptuous minister and treacherous kinsfolk, Bábar next undertook the reduction of a turbulent tribe. The Hazára were 'up' again, and were again suppressed, with the usual difficulty attending mountain warfare. As Erskine truly says, it would lead to needless and monotonous detail if one followed Bábar in all his expeditions against the various tribes in the hills and wilds. 'The history of them all is nearly the same. He sets out secretly with a strong light force, marches without halting, comes upon the encampment of the tribe unawares, disperses or slays the men, and carries off the women, cattle, and valuables. Sometimes, however, the clans are on their guard, and he meets with a brave resistance; when, after considerable loss to both parties, victory in the end inclines to the side of disciplined valour. It is hardly possible for governments constituted like those of the East, and possessed of no regular standing army, to subdue, and still less thoroughly to settle, the erratic tribes of the mountains and deserts, who always govern themselves most easily and effectually. Bábar in some instances forced them to acknowledge his supremacy, and to a certain degree restrained their inroads and subjected them to tribute; but in general, down to the time when he conquered Delhi, the Afgháns maintained their independence, only sending tribute with more or less
