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KHOSHAL KHAN, the renowned chieftain of the powerful Afghan trilbe of Khattak-alike a warrior anda poet-was born in the year 1022 of the Hijrahi (AD. 1613). Shahbaz Khan his father, having

received a wound in a battle with the Yusufzis-one of the most numerous and powerful of all theAfghan tribes-from the effects of which lie shortly after died Khoshal, who had also been severelywounded in the head and knee, in the same battle, in the year H 1050 (A.D. 1640), with theunainmous consent and approbation of his relations and friends, became chief of his tribe. His

fathers fief was confirmed to him by the Mughal Emperor, Shah Jahan, together with the charge of

protecting the royal road from Attak, on the Indus to Peshawar; and other duties were entrusted tohim by that sovereign, in whose estimation Khoshal stood high. He accompanied Sultan MuradBaksh, the son of that monarch, on his expedition to Badakhshan in 1645, and was also engaged in

other wars of that period.On the death of Shah Jahan Khoshal continued to serve his son and successor, Aurangzeh, in the

same capacity as formerly; but after some time, through the machinations of his enemies, amongwhom was Amir Khan Shahdar, or governor of the province of Kabul, he fell under the displeasure,

or rather suspicion of the monarch, and was sent prisoner to the strong bill fortress of Gwalior, inUpper India, where he remained in captivity about seven years; and there it was that many of the

following poems were written. At length, at the recommendation of Muhabhat Khan, the second ofthat name, Aurangzeb released Khoshal, and sent him, along with the noble just referred to-whohad been lately appointed Subah-dar of Kabul-for the purpose of settling the affairs of the Peshawardistrict, which had fallen into a very distracted state. But the iron had entered the soul of Khoshal,

and on reaching his native country, he kept as retired as possible; ceased to hold any intercoursewith the governor of the province, and other subordinate officers; and declined rendering any

assistance to the troops of the Emperor.Khoshals tribe had been long at feud with many of the other Afghans around Peshawar, amongst

whom were the Yusufzis- fighting against whom, as before mentioned, his father lost his life- andwas generally engaged in hostilities with one or other of them; but with the Afridis, who were alsopowerful, the Khattaks maintained a close alliance. Matters, at length, went so far between theKhattak chieftain and the Mughal authorities, as to produce an open rupture. Khoshal now girded his

loins with the sword of courage; and in concert with Aemal Khan, and Darya Khan, chiefs of theAfridis, carried on, for seven or eight years, a determined and destructive war with the Mughals, inwhich the latter were generally defeated.The whole of the Afghan tribes from Banu to Jalalabad, seeing the success of their countrymen over

the hated Mughals, had been drawn, by degrees, into the confederacy, which now aimed at no lessthan the total expulsion of the Mughals from Afghanistan. But the Yusufzis, who could have aided so

effectually, held aloof; and would render no assistance to their countrymen, through enmity to theKhattaks, notwithstanding that Khoshal went in person, even as far as the Suwat valley, to

endeavour to instil into them some of his own and his confederates patriotic spirit, hut without

effect-they were deaf to the voice of the charmer.Affairs at Peshawar had assumed such a serious aspect, that Aurangzeb considered it necessary toappear in person on the scene; and for about two years he remained encamped at Attak, superin-

tending the prosecution of the war; and that wily monarch, finding force unavailable in such adifficult country, began to try the effect of gold. In this he met with the success he desired; and

some of the petty clans of the confederacy became fascinated with the gold of the Mughals, andsubmitted to the government; whilst others of Khoshals friends began either to desert him, or togive him cause to doubt their sincerity; and Aemal Khan and Darya Khan, his most powerful, andmost trusty supporters, having previously been removed, by death, from the scene, such an effect

was produced upon the fine spirit of Khoshal- that he became disgusted, and sought to find peace inretirement.At length, he resigned the chieftainship of the Khattak tribe, in favour of his eldest son Ashraf, anddevoted himself to books and literature. On Ashrafs becoming chief of the clan, Bahram, another

son, who appears to have been always regarded with aversion by his father for his degenerate acts,succeeded in gaining over a considerable party to his side, and appeared bent upon bringing mis-fortune upon his brother. They met in battle several times; and on one occasion, Bahram was takenprisoner, but succeeded, by his artfulness and duplicity, in exciting the pity of his injured brother,

who set him at liberty. Khoshal well aware of the disposition of Bahram, was highly incensed withAshraf for allowing him to escape so easily, and, as it turned out, not without reason; for no soonerwas Bahram free, than he again commenced his intrigues against Ashraf and at length, in the yearH. 1093 (A.D. 1681), he succeeded in betraying him into the hands of the Mughals. Aurangzeb sent

him prisoner to the strong fortress of Bejapur, in Southern India, where, after lingering in captivityfor about ten years, he died. A further account of this unfortunate chieftain, will be found prefixed

to his poems; for, like other sons of Khuahhal, as well as numbers of his descendants, he was apoet as well as his father.

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country, not usual in the Oriental heart, but such as we might look for In the Scottish Highlander, orSwiss mountaineer, of bygone days, whom the hardy Afghans strongly resemble. A more extended

account of Khoshals writings, and those of his descendants, will be found in the IntroductoryChapter to my Afghan Grammar, published last year, together with an account of the Afghans andtheir literature.Up to the time of Khoshals chieftainship, the bounds of the Khattak country were not well defined;

that is to say, each family of the tribe had no fixed lands allotted to them. Khoshal caused a survey

to be made of all available land; fixed the boundaries; entered them in a register; and, according tothe number of each mans family, assigned a corresponding quantity of land for cultivation. Thisarrangement is still in force, and hitherto has not, that I am aware of, been deviated from; and

many small towers of stone, erected to mark the different boundaries, still remain.