Early in the autumn the army advanced to Khozar, ultimately seizing the city. They then proceeded to
Qarshi, which had been strongly fortified and garrisoned by
Sultan Ubaydullah Sultan, the chief of
Bukhara. It was proposed to leave Karshi behind as had been done with success in preceding campaigns, but Najm, believing it was Sultan Ubaydullah Sultan's lair, declared that it must be taken. The city was therefore besieged and carried by storm with all inhabitants, Uzbek or not, being put to the sword regardless of age, sex, or sanctity. The circumstances of this massacre disgusted Babur, who found himself playing a subordinate role in an army that was professedly acting under his authority. In his desire to save the inhabitants, who were
Chaghatai Turks of his own race and sect, he earnestly besought Najm to comply with his wishes. But the unrelenting Persian, deaf to his entreaties, let loose all the fury of war on the devoted city. Among the casualties was the poet
Maulana Binai, one of the most eminent minds of his time who happened to be in the town when it fell in the indiscriminate slaughter, along with many
Sayyids and holy men. From that time forward, Najm failed to prosper in any more of his undertakings. The
Uzbek chiefs, after the massacre at Karshi, appeared for some time to have retired and fortified themselves in their strongholds. Najm eventually moved on to attack
Ghazdewan, on the border of the desert, without having taken Bukhara. The Uzbek sultans now had time to assemble under the command of Ubaydullah Sultan. Joined by
Timur Sultan from
Samarkand, they threw themselves into the fort the very night that Babur and Najm had taken their ground before it, preparing their engines and ladders for an assault. In the morning, the Uzbeks drew out their army and took up a position among the houses and gardens in the suburbs of the town with the confederates advancing to meet them. The Uzbeks, who were protected by the broken ground and by the walls of the enclosures and houses, had posted archers in every corner to pour a shower of arrows on the
Qizilbashes as they approached. Once Biram Khan, the chief military commander of the Qizilbash troops, had fallen off his horse and had been wounded, the main body of the army fell into disorder. In the course of an hour the invaders were routed with most of them falling in the field. Babur routed and discomfited fled back to Hissar. It is said that the Qizilbash chiefs, disgusted with the haughtiness and insolence of Najm, did not use their utmost efforts to assist him and he was eventually taken prisoner and put to death. Many of the Persian chiefs who fled from the battle crossed the Amu Darya at Kirki and entered Greater Khorasan. == Aftermath ==