Sir Arthur Phayre, After Noting These Points,
Remarks:
"From all these circumstances, and from the conquests attributed
to Anaurahta, it is very probable that, after the conquest of Bengal by
the Mahomedans in the 13th century, the kings of Burma would assume the
title of Kings of Bengal.
This is nowhere expressly stated in the
Burmese history, but the course of events renders it very probable. We
know that the claim to Bengal was asserted by the kings of Burma in long
after years. In the Journal of the Marquis of Hastings, under the date of
6th September, 1818, is the following passage: 'The king of Burma
favoured us early this year with the obliging requisition that we should
cede to him Moorshedabad and the provinces to the east of it, which he
deigned to say were all natural dependencies of his throne.' And at the
time of the disputes on the frontier of Arakan, in 1823-1824, which led to
the war of the two following years, the Governor of Arakan made a similar
demand. We may therefore reasonably conclude that at the close of the 13th
century of the Christian era the kings of Pagan called themselves kings of
Burma and of Bengala." (MS. Note by Sir Arthur Phayre; see also his
paper in J.A.S.B. vol. XXXVII. part I.)
NOTE 3. - It is very difficult to know what to make of the repeated
assertions of old writers as to the numbers of men carried by
war-elephants, or, if we could admit those numbers, to conceive how the
animal could have carried the enormous structure necessary to give them
space to use their weapons. The Third Book of Maccabees is the most
astounding in this way, alleging that a single elephant carried 32 stout
men, besides the Indian Mahaut. Bochart indeed supposes the number here
to be a clerical error for 12, but this would even be extravagant. Friar
Jordanus is, no doubt, building on the Maccabees rather than on his own
Oriental experience when he says that the elephant "carrieth easily more
than 30 men." Philostratus, in his Life of Apollonius, speaks of 10 to
15; Ibn Batuta of about 20; and a great elephant sent by Timur to the
Sultan of Egypt is said to have carried 20 drummers. Christopher Borri says
that in Cochin China the elephant did ordinarily carry 13 or 14 persons, 6
on each side in two tiers of 3 each, and 2 behind. On the other hand, among
the ancients, Strabo and Aelian speak of three soldiers only in addition
to the driver, and Livy, describing the Battle of Magnesia, of four.
These last are reasonable statements.
(Bochart, Hierozoicon, ed. 3rd, p. 266; Jord., p. 26; Philost.
trad. par A. Chassaing, liv. II. c. ii.; Ibn Bat. II. 223; N. and
E. XIV. 510; Cochin China, etc., London, 1633, ed. 3; Armandi, Hist.
Militaire des Elephants, 259 seqq. 442.)
[1] Sir A. Phayre thinks this may have been Vikrampur, for some
time the capital of Eastern Bengal before the Mahomedan conquest.
Vikrampur was some miles east of Dacca, and the dynasty in question
was that called Vaidya. (See Lassen, III. 749.)
Patteik-Kara is apparently an attempt to represent some Hindi
name such as Patthargarh, "The Stone-Fort."
CHAPTER LII.
OF THE BATTLE THAT WAS FOUGHT BY THE GREAT KAAN'S HOST AND HIS SENESCHAL,
AGAINST THE KING OF MIEN.
And when the Captain of the Tartar host had certain news that the king
aforesaid was coming against him with so great a force, he waxed uneasy,
seeing that he had with him but 12,000 horsemen. Natheless he was a most
valiant and able soldier, of great experience in arms and an excellent
Captain; and his name was NESCRADIN.[NOTE 1] His troops too were very
good, and he gave them very particular orders and cautions how to act, and
took every measure for his own defence and that of his army. And why
should I make a long story of it? The whole force of the Tartars,
consisting of 12,000 well-mounted horsemen, advanced to receive the enemy
in the Plain of Vochan, and there they waited to give them battle. And
this they did through the good judgment of the excellent Captain who led
them; for hard by that plain was a great wood, thick with trees. And so
there in the plain the Tartars awaited their foe. Let us then leave
discoursing of them a while; we shall come back to them presently; but
meantime let us speak of the enemy.
After the King of Mien had halted long enough to refresh his troops, he
resumed his march, and came to the Plain of Vochan, where the Tartars were
already in order of battle. And when the king's army had arrived in the
plain, and was within a mile of the enemy, he caused all the castles that
were on the elephants to be ordered for battle, and the fighting-men to
take up their posts on them, and he arrayed his horse and his foot with
all skill, like a wise king as he was. And when he had completed all his
arrangements he began to advance to engage the enemy. The Tartars, seeing
the foe advance, showed no dismay, but came on likewise with good order
and discipline to meet them. And when they were near and nought remained
but to begin the fight, the horses of the Tartars took such fright at the
sight of the elephants that they could not be got to face the foe, but
always swerved and turned back; whilst all the time the king and his
forces, and all his elephants, continued to advance upon them.[NOTE 2]
And when the Tartars perceived how the case stood, they were in great
wrath, and wist not what to say or do; for well enough they saw that unless
they could get their horses to advance, all would be lost.
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