A_ flowed under its walls. The advantages
of irrigation to the country, through which it passed, were nothing
compared to the expense of its construction. [39] Literally,
"the supreme camp
or market." [40] A Persian expression. [41] _Shah 'Alam_ the emperor of
_Dilli_, was then towards _Patna_ a tool in the hands of
_Shuja'u-d-Daula, the Nawwab_ of _Lakhnau, and Kasim 'Ala Khan, the
Nawwab_ of _Murshid-abad._
[42] Alluding to the confusion which reigned in
_Upper Hindustan_ after the assassination of _'Alamgir_ the Second, and
the flight
of _Shah 'Alam. Upper Hindustan_ was then in a sad plight,
ravaged alternately by the _Abdalis_, the _Marhattas_,
and the _Jats_--the king a pageant, the nobles rebellious, the subjects
plundered
and oppressed, and the country open to every invader--though
this was near 100 years ago, and although they had some government,
justice, and security from 1782 to 1802, yet the country had not even
then recovered from the severe shock. [43] The word is used in the
singular, both by _Mir Amman_ and the original author, _Amir Khusru_
according to a well-known rule in Persian
syntax, viz., "a substantive accompanied by a numerical adjective
dispenses with
the plural termination," as "_haft roz_," "seven days," not "_haft
rozha_.
The Persian term _darwesh_, in a general sense, denotes a person who has
adopted what by extreme courtesy is called a religious life, closely
akin to the "mendicant friar" of the middle ages; i.e., a lazy, dirty,
hypocrital
vagabond, living upon the credulous public. The corresponding term in
Arabic is _Fakir_; and in _Hindi_, _Jogi_. [44] The word
_Rum_ means that empire of
which Constantinople is the capital, and sometimes called, in modern
times, Romania. It was originally applied to the Eastern Roman Empire,
and, at present, it denotes Turkey in Europe and Asia. [45] _Naushirwan_
was a king of Persia, who died in A.D.
578. He is celebrated in oriental history
for his wisdom and justice. During his reign
_Muhammad_ the prophet was born. The Persian writings are full of
anecdotes of _Naushirwan's_ justice and wisdom. [46] _Hatim_ or rather
_Hatim Tai_, is the name of an Arab chief, who is
celebrated for his
generosity and his mad adventures, in an elegant Persian work called
_Kissae Hatim Tai_. This work was translated into En
