loyal by constant visits to the different points,
he vainly reasoned with the mutineers, and then
left them absolute masters of their quarters. On
5th February, the traitors admitted a Persian
envoy within the lines against orders, and soon
a crowd of Mughal officers gathered round him
to hear the Shah's letters read. An Imperial
officer from Bist was also brought in to convince
the garrison of the surrender of that fort to the
Persians. This took away what little courage
the defenders had still left in them. The commandant begged for a five days' truce, which
was granted.Capitulation of Qandahar. On 11th February, the garrison surrendered on
a promise of safety from the
Persian king, marched out of the fort and set
out for India. Thus Qandahar with all its stores
and armament was lost to India.[1] The siege
had lasted 57 days, and the relieving force
succeeded in coming in sight of the fort only three months after its fall!
No greater blow was ever struck at Mughal prestige than the loss of Qandahar. And the shame of it was equalled only when three grand and costly expeditions, led by the Emperor's sons, failed to wrest it from the Persians. The success
- ↑ (For the siege by the Persians) Waris, 23a—27a; Khafi Khan, i. 686—690 and 693.
