f his own personal administration and the
sixth of his actual reign, he re-attached Malwa to his dominions.
Later in the season his generals repelled an attempt {94} made by the
Afghan ruler of Chanar and the country east of the Karamnasa to
attack Jaunpur, whilst Akbar himself, marching by way of Kalpi,
crossed there the Jumna, and proceeded as far as Karrah, not far from
Allahabad, on the right bank of the Ganges. There he was joined by
his generals who held Jaunpur, and thence he returned to Agra. The
year, at its close, witnessed the siege of Merta, a town in the
Jodhpur state, then of considerable importance, beyond Ajmere, and
seventy-six miles to the north-east of the city of Jodhpur. This
expedition was directed by Akbar from Ajmere where he was then
residing, though he confided the execution of it to his generals. The
place was defended with great energy by the Rajput garrison, but, in
the spring of the following year it was surrendered on condition that
the garrison should march out with their horses and arms, but should
leave behind all their property and effects.

In the same year in which Merta fell (1562), the generals of Akbar in
Malwa, pushing westward, added the cities of Bijagarh and Burhanpur
on the Tapti to his dominions. The advantage proved, however, to be
the forerunner of a calamity, for the dispossessed governors of those
towns, combining with the expelled Afghan ruler of Malwa, and aided
by the zamindars of the country, long accustomed to their rule, made
a desperate attack upon the imperial forces. These, laden with the
spoils of Burhanpur, were completely defeated. For the moment Malwa
was lost, but the year did not expire before the {95} Mughal
generals, largely reinforced, had recovered it. The Afghan noble,
whilom Governor of Malwa, after some wanderings, threw himself on the
mercy of Akbar, and, to use the phrase of the chronicler, 'sought a
refuge from the frowns of fortune.' Akbar made him a commander of one
thousand, and a little later promoted him to the mansab (dignity) of
a commander of two thousand. He died in the service of his new
sovereign. The reader will not fail to notice how the principle of
winning over his enemies by assuring to them rank, position, and
consideration, instead of driving them to despair, was constantly
acted upon by Akbar. His design was to unite, to weld together. Hence
he was always generous to the vanquished. He would bring their
strength into his stren