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Hae history of the world-
conqueror
KANSAS CITY, MO.PUBLIC LIBRARY
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Us;
THE HISTORY OF
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
lib *. ; ^
THE HISTORY
OF THE
WORLD-CONQUEROR
Jy
'Ala-ad-Din 'Ata-Malik
JUVAINI
j.d *" ./'< ." '-'!- i 1 ' - .-:;
Translated
from the text of
Mirza Muhammad
QAZVINI
Jy
JOHN ANDREW BOYLE, Ph.D.
VOL. II
HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS
1958
(i958) by
MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY PRESS
Quotation from or reprinting of this work in the
United States of America is forbidden except by
written permission of the exclusive licensee,
HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS
Printed in Great Britain
CONTENTS
PART TWO (continued)
PAGE
XL Of the remaining events in the life cf Sultan Muhammad
of happy memory and of the confusion of his affairs . .362
XII. Of the causes of the estrangement between Sultan Muhammad
and the Commander of the Faithful an-Nasir li-Din-Allah
Abul-'Abbas Ahmad . . . . . . .390
XIII. Of the destruction of the Sultan of Sultans and the cause
thereof 392
XIV. Of Sultan Jalal-ad-Din 396
XV. Of his adventures in India 411
XVI. Of Sultan Jalal-ad-Din's approach to. Baghdad . . .421
XVII. Of Jalal-ad-Din and the Georgians and the extirpation of that
people .......... 426
XVTEI. Of the Sultan's return to Georgia 438
XIX. Of the Sultan's advance against Akhlat and the capture thereof 443
XX. Of the Sultan's advance to make war on the Sultan of Rum 449
XXL Of Yamin Malik and Ighraq and their fate . . .460
XXII. Of the Sultan's mother, Terken Khatun . . . . 465
XXm. Of Sultan Ghiyas-ad-Din 468
XXIV. Of Sultan Rukn-ad-Din 474
XXV. Of Baraq Hajib and the conquest of the region of Kerman 476
XXVI. Of Chin-Temur and his governorship of Khorasan and
Mazandaran ...... 4^
XXVH. OfNosal 488
XXVTn. OfKorgiiz 489
XXIX. Of Korgiiz's arrival in Khorasan and what befell him thereafter 500
XXX. Of the Emir Arghun 55
XXXI, Of the Emir Arghun's proceeding to the great quriltai . 514
XXXII. Of Sharaf-ad-Din of Khorazm 5*5
CONTENTS
PART THREE
PAGE
DOXOLOGY 547
INTRODUCTION 548
I. Of Ulugh-Noyan and Sorqotani Beki .... 549
IL Of Bachman and his destruction 553
III. Of the accession of the Lord of the Seven Climes, the Just
Emperor, Mengii Qa'an, to the throne of the Khanate, and of
his spreading the carpet of Nushirvanian justice, and reviving
the practices of sovereignty, and laying down the principles of
monarchy 555
IV. Of an instance of the virtuous deeds of His August Majesty the
World-Emperor Mengii Qa'an after his accession to the throne
of the Empire ........ 602
V, Of the pillars of State 604
VI. Of the advance of the Prince of the World Hulegii to the
countries of the West 607
YE. Of the advance of the World-King Hiilegti to capture the
castles of the Heretics 618
Vin. An account of the tenets of the Isma'iHs or Batinis as also a
history of that sect 641
IX. Of the declaration regarding the false Mahdi . . .658
X. Of the accession of Mustansir, the son of Zahir . . 660
XI. An account of these events [i.e. the overthrow of the Fatirnid
Caliphate] and the reason therefor 664
XII. Of Hasan-i-Sabbah and his innovations (tajdtf) and the propa-
ganda of the Heretics which they call ' the New Propaganda *
(may God not renew it!) 666
Xffl. Of the birth of Hasan, the son of Muhammad, the son of
Buzurg-Umid 686
XIV. Of the history of Rukn-ad-Din Khur-Shah after his father's
death 7I2
XV. Of Rukn-ad-Din's castles after his coming down . .718
XVI. Of Rukn-ad-Din's fate and the end of that people . .723
GENEALOGICAL TABLES '726
INDEX 73i
Frontispiece. Terken Khatun, the Mother of Sultan Muham-
, mad, being led Captive by the Mongols
Maps. These will fa found at the end of Vol. I
vi
THE HISTORY OF
"THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
Part Two Continued
THE HISTORY OF
[XI]
[94] OF THE REMAINING EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF
SULTAN MUHAMMAD OF HAPPY MEMORY
AND OF THE CONFUSION OF HIS AFFAIRS
WHEN the [rule of the] Ascendant, Fortune, has been transferred
to [that of] the Anareta, 1 Tribulation, then the sun of a man's
prosperity, which used formerly to thrust out its head through
the collar of the Eastern horizon of felicity, approaches the
decline of disappointment and the West of adversity, and the
tail node of evil augury becomes the cause 2 of his misery. And
although he be adorned with excess of perspicacious counsel
and with superabundance of judicious resolve and decked out
with the experience of a lifetime of dealing with men, yet every
reflection that he makes and every task that he undertakes becomes
the source of evil and the cause of confusion to his mind and
spirit, whilst every perfection he awaits occasions deficiency and
privation ; to such an extent that from observing the auspicious-
ness of the benefic planets 3 he is affected by the inauspiciousness
of the malefic planets, 4 and the light of his brilliant mind, which
used to shine like the moon in the Sea of Darkness, lies hidden
in the net of eclipse behind the curtain of amazement and in the
fog of bewilderment, and the flints of his desire give no spark,
and the means of salvation are precluded from him, and he
loses sight of the goal to which the path of righteousness leads,
and the veil of neglect covers his heart and eyes, so that all his
actions tend to nothing but the frustration of his cause. God
the planet which causes death, the Anareta (a corruption of
or Abscissor of European astrologers. Professor O. Neugebauer of
the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, and Professor E. S. Kennedy of
the American University, Beirut, have been good enough to check my translation
of this and two other astrological passages (pp. 374-5 and 567-8).
2 rds : lit. * head ', i.e. * head node '. The head and tail nodes are the caput
draconis and cauda draconis where the orbit of the Moon intersects that of the Sun
with both Sun and Moon near such a node, and only then, an eclipse becomes
possible.
3 Jupiter and Venus. 4 Saturn and Mars.
362
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
Almighty bath said : f And when God ivilleth evil unto men, there is-
none can turn it away, nor have they any protection beside Him.' 5
When God wishes something to a man, even though he te
endued with wisdom, and intellect, and understanding,
And craft which he exercises against whatever is brought
to him through the unpleasant resources of Fate,
He causes him to It ignorant, and ttinds his eyes, and
plucks him out of his wisdom like a hair,
Until, when His decree concerning him has ken carried out,
He restores his understanding to him in order that he
may take warning.*
If therefore, kind and gentle friend, thou art doubtful and
[95] suspicious of these statements and dost not credit the tales
of the Ancients
If thou believest me not, then put out thy hand,
and seize the rein of this manifest parable, and view this cir-
cumstance with the eye of truth, and hearken to this tale with
the ear of understanding, and take a taste from this potful of
wonders with the palate of experience, and with the nostrils of
acceptance sniff the scent of this advice ! Now these allusions
are explained and these secrets and mysteries revealed in the form
and shape of the life of the Sultan of happy memory, Muhammad
(may God illuminate his example and cause him to dwell in His gardens I).
For as long as the humpbacked circle, and the blind-hearted
heavens, and the base wheel, and the chameleon world, and
unkindly Fate were in agreement with his commands and
wishes, without any great effort or endeavour on his part all the
marvels of Fortune came out to meet the vanguards of his
ambitions whilst the delegations of Prosperity welcomed the main
body and the wings. He turned the reins of intention in the
direction of no undertaking but that the grandeur of his daily
increasing fortune made a night-attack upon the hearts of foes
and rebels with fear and dread of the punishment of his furious
5 Koran, xin", 12.
6 Abu-Ja'far Muhammad b. 'Abdallah b. Isma'il al-Mikali, governor of
Nishapur. Quoted by Tha f alibi in the Yatimat-ad-Dahr and also by e Utbi.
(M.Q.)
363
THE HISTORY OF
severity. The leader and commander of his army was ever-
wakeful Luck, whilst his guard and scout were the protection
and custody of the Almighty. The centre and right consisted
of cherub angels, while the left was composed of relays of the
troops of heavenly blisses. His parasol was fashioned by the
concurrence of Fate and Destiny, and his banners were raised
with the assistance of Victory and Triumph, the pen of Success
having written on the borders thereof with the ink of Divine
Assistance the words : e Help from God and speedy conquest ! >
Prosperity to the South and victories to the North;
Heaven beside the stirrup and Fate beneath the reins.
But when his luck turned and the side-wind of adversity
extinguished the fire of prosperity, the water of success was
muddied with the dust of disappointment and the guides of his
counsels and deliberations avoided the pathway of righteousness
[96] and strayed from the station of rectitude. And one of the
first signs of coining events and harbingers of future happenings
was that in the year . . , 7 he set out against the Abode of Peace
(may it continue to flourish !)* At that time the robe of the
Caliphate was adorned by the Commander of the Faithful an-
Nasir li-Din- Allah, 9 and there had been bad feelings between
them, one of the reasons for which was that when Jalal-ad-Din
Hasan 10 adopted Islam and sent a sdbil u on the Pilgrimage the
Caliph had given his standard and sdbil precedence over those
of the Sultan, treating the latter's representatives with contempt.
Other incidents also occurred, and Sultan Muhammad was
deeply offended and obtained Jatwas from the imams of his king-
dom to the effect that the * Abbasids had no right to the Caliphate,
that the title belonged to the sayyids of the line of Husain and
that whoever had the power to do so was under an obligation
7 There is a blank in most MSS. The correct date, according to Ibn-al-Athir
and Nasawi, was 614/1217-18. (M.Q.)
8 Apparently written before the destruction of the 'Abbasid Caliphate.
9 1180-1225.
10 le. Hasan IE, the Isma*ili ruler of Alamut (1210-21), on whom see below
pp. 698-703, also Hodgson, The Order of Assassins, 217-2$.
11 Apparently a caravan of pilgrims. (M.Q.)
364
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
to redress wrongs. Moreover, the 'Abbasid Caliphs had been
backward in undertaking holy wars in the way of God Almighty
and, though possessing the means thereto, had failed to defend
the frontiers, to extirpate the heterodox and the heretical and
to call [97] the infidel to the True Faith, as is incumbent upon,
nay obligatory to all in command ; and so had neglected this
pillar, which is the main pillar of Islam. With such argument
as his pretext he designated "Ala-al-Mulk of Tirmiz, one of the
chief sayyid?, to be set up as Caliph ; and he set out to put this
intention into effect.
Upon reaching Damghan he received news that the atabe&
Sa'd 12 had approached Ray in the hope of seizing the kingdom
of Iraq. The Sultan rode forward with a band of warriors,
travelling like a patrol with the speed of lightning. He came
upon the atdktg in Khail-i-Buzurg, 13 where he lay with the army
of Iraq. No sooner was battle joined than the army of Iraq
was put to flight. The atdktg Sa e d was taken prisoner and the
Sultan wished to put him to death, but he sought refuge with
the malik of Zuzan, whom he prevailed upon to intercede for
him ; and at the malik's request the Sultan spared his life. He
gave his eldest son, the ataltg Zangi, 14 as a hostage to the Sultan
and likewise settled upon him the two castles of Istakhr 1S and
12 The Salgharid ruler of Fars (1195-1226).
13 According to Yaqut Khail-i-Buzurg was a small town and district between
Ray and Qazvin : it was considered a dependency of the former although situated
nearer to the latter. (M.Q.) See also Nasawi tr. Houdas, 25, where the name
is misspelt Djebel-Bourzouk.
14 Not mentioned by Lane-Poole, The Mohammadan Dynasties^ or Zambaur,
Manuel de gintdogit et de chronologic pour I'htstoire de I'lslam.
15 1 have adopted the Istakhr of C, E and G (the usual spelling of the name)
in pkce of the Istarkh of the text. The Castle of Istakhr was also known as
Istakhr-Yar, 'the Friend of Istakhr*. This and two other fortresses, the Casde
of Ashkanavan (on which see the following note) and the QaTa-yi-Shikasta,
or ' Broken Casde * ky on the hills to the north-west of the town of Istakhr,
a Sassanian foundation, which at the time of the Moslem conquest was one of
the largest cities of Fars. It was situated in the narrow gorge through which
the Pulvar passes before entering the Marv-Dasht and so ky a short distance
to the north of the great Achaemenid pktfbrm-pakce of Persepolis. See le
Strange, The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate, 275-6, and, for a description of the
Castle of Istakhr, Hamdalkh tr. le Strange, 131.
365
THE HISTORY OF
Ashkanavan 16 and two thirds of the revenue of Pars ; upon
which he received permission to return home. When he arrived
before the Castle of Istakhr the atabeg Abu-Bakr having learnt
the terms of the agreement issued forth to do him battle. Father
and son stabbed one another and the atabeg Sa'd took his son
prisoner and then complied with the engagement he had given
and the terms he had accepted. 17
At the same time the atdbeg Oz-Beg, who also had been cherish-
ing a desire for the kingdom of Iraq, entered Hamadan from
Azerbaijan, 18 but fled when the Sultan's forces [98] arrived.
They wished to pursue him but the Sultan said that it would
be inauspicious to capture two kings in one year and bade them
let him go. Reaching Azerbaijan in safety he struck coin and
read the kbutba in the Sultan's name and sent envoys to him
with gifts and presents.
From Hamadan the Sultan proceeded in the direction of
Baghdad. By the time he had reached Asadabad it was mid-
autumn. The vanguard of Dai 19 made an assault and struck
with their swords in the shape of snow that descended like
showers of arrows. In that night the Sultan's army witnessed
the Day of Judgement, and from the spears of the cold and the
wind, which no breastplate could ward off, they experienced the
terrors of zamharir. 20 Many persons perished in the snow, and
of the animals there was left not even a trace, so that in the hands
of Resolve there remained only Repentance and Regret : ' for
16 Reading Ashkanavan (AKNWAN) with E for the ASKNAN of
the text. Other forms of the name are Shaknavan (Ibn-al-Balkhi) and Shan-
kavan (Hamdallah). The Askanabad of Nasawi (tr. Houdas, 34) would
appear to be a corruption of Ashkanavan.
17 According to Nasawi (tr. Houdas, 34) this encounter took pkce at the
gates of Shiraz.
18 In fact the atdbtg was not in Azerbaijan but in Isfahan, which he had seized
at the same time as Sa'd had possessed himself of Ray and Qazvin, viz. upon the
death of Ighlamish, the governor of Persian Iraq (on whom see below, p. 702
and n. 34) ; and he had approached Hamadan in flight upon receiving the
news of the defeat and capture of Sa'd. See Nasawi tr. Houdas, 25 and 27,
also, for the whole of Oz-Beg's career, Minorsky's article Uzbek in the Encyclopedia
of Islam.
19 The Persian solar month, December-January.
20 Intense cold.
366
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
God's are tbe armies of the Heavens and of the Earth : and God is
Knowing, Wise!^
Let them beware of tbe wrath of God wherefy fairness
of face Is rendered foul and transformed.
And this was a buffet (chashm-zakhm) upon the face of his
fortune and a scratch on the cheek of his cause, and from then
onward the claims of Misfortune answered one another and the
caravans of Frustration and Disappointment followed one behind
the other.
I was not one that loved thee, this I know but
Destiny pulls down a veil before my eyes.
And since this weakness and impotence had penetrated his
affairs and the miracfe of the Mohammedan faith had turned
aside his hand
Fate has turned aside the hand of my fortune ; therefore
my hand cannot reach the end of my Beloved's ringlets
of necessity he drew back from that enterprise and remained in
Iraq for a few days oijy in order to mend the affairs of his
followers and to cleanse that kingdom from the impurities [99]
of disaffection.
As he returned home, a messenger reached him from Ghayir-
Khan, the emir of Otrar, announcing the arrival of merchants
connected with the Tartars and the circumstances thereof.
Without thinking or reflecting upon the matter or weighing the
profit or loss or good or evil thereof in his mind, the Sultan at
once gave orders for that party of Moslems, who had sought
refuge in the asylum of his safeguard, to be put to death and
for their goods, which were accounted splendid spoils, to be
carried off.
Often one lite has prevented a second and for the
enjoyment of a moment has precluded eating for all time.
When life darkens for a man, he does everything that
avails him not.
In accordance with his orders Ghayir-Khan took the lives of
450 Moslems and in so doing caused Peace and Security to rise
21 Koran, xlviii, 4.
367
THE HISTORY OF
in rebellion. And in fact, if the consequences of an act are not
considered from the first, one must look for unexpected troubles
that were not apparent at the beginning.
Beware of the enmity of men, for it sullies
the purity of every drinking-pkce.
And do not stir up war even though thou reliest
upon afrm support and a strong shoulder,
For the wise man will not drink deadly poison because
of his confidence in a tested antidote that he has.
Now Chingiz-Khan had sent the Sultan by those merchants
a message to the following effect : * The areas which bound on
our territory have been purged of enemies and have been com-
pletely conquered and subjugated to our will ; and we now have
the obligations of neighbours. Human wisdom so requires it;
that the path of concord should be trodden by either side ; that
the duties of friendship should be observed ; that we should
bind ourselves to aid and assist one another in the event of
untoward happenings ; and that we should keep open the paths
of security, frequented and deserted, so that merchants may ply
to and fro in safety and without restraint/
[100] Not only did the Sultan fail to hearken with the ear
of understanding to these counsels, but he actually put the mes-
senger to death. And these unworthy acts gave rise to the
matter which generates evil humours and were the cause of
retribution and precipitate attack.
When news of these happenings reached the ear of Chingiz-
Khan the fire of wrath so set him upon the hurricane of violence
that with the water of destruction and perdition he annihilated
the very soil of the Sultan's empire. Kuchliig, the son [of the
ruler of] the Naiman, had fled from him and after defeating the
Khan of Qara-Khitai had occupied his kingdom, his army was
the only screen between the two parties, and therefore Chingiz-
Khan first of all dispatched forces again Kiichliig, as has already
been recounted. 22
When the Sultan left Iraq for Transoxiana, he appointed
Sultan Rukn-ad-Din over that kingdom he is mentioned in a
22 See above, i, 66-8.
368
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
separate chapter 23 and upon reaching Khorasan went to
Nishapur. He remained there a month, and carelessly, and
contrary to his wont, strayed from the path of seriousness in
compliance with his desires, and set foot in the wilderness of
merriment, and for some days tasted the pleasures of riotous
living.
Drink wine, for the jasmine will see many a sky;
Live gaily, for the cypress will see many a Suha. 24
Enjoy this one moment that thou hast on loan
Know that the meadow will see many a one like us.
From thence he set out for Bokhara, where he remained from
the 8th of Sha'ban to the loth of Shawal. . . , 25 [101] And
since it was springtime and the world was as beautiful as a
bride, he forgot the malice of the revolving circle in compliance
with the verse:
Now that the spring has smiled, fresh and new, let us have
music, and red wine, and the locks of our beloved.
And for the remainder of his life he was constantly satisfying
his desires in the company of fair songstresses and in continual
drinking of purple wine, gratifying every pleasure and appetite
and answering thus the reproaches of unkind Fate :
It is the time of the rose. Not long remains. Drink wine !
What is the rose when life is gone ? Drink wine !
As the heavens revolve, in this deserted caravanserai
No one remains long, only a very short time. Drink wine !
From thence he set out for Samarqand with the intention of
proceeding against Kiichlug and collected all the armies
stationed in that area. In Samarqand also out of wanton pride,
nay from carelessness and because his luck and fortune had
changed, he had for a while, like Venus, spread the carpet of
merriment, and applied himself to Dargham 26 wine, and pitched
the tent of Desire upon the plain of Gaiety. And with the
23 See below, Chapter XXIV. 24 The star 80 Ursac Majoris.
25 There is a blank in B, E and G. Probably 615 according to both M.Q.
and Barthold (Turkestan, 370), Le. the soth of October to the soth of December,
121 8, which was hardly the springtime 1
26 A district near Samarqand famous for its wine. (M.Q.)
369
THE HISTORY OF
(? navir) and bass and treble strings of the lute these words came
from the Sultan's tongue to the ear of the soul of wisdom.
The plain of my heart is covered with blood, O cupbearer !
And madness has brought my heart from the world, O cupbearer !
Give wine openly for no one knows
What will appear from behind the veil, O cupbearer !
Meanwhile he received tidings of the flight of Toq-Toghan 27
before the Mongols towards Qara-Qum, 28 which is the home
of the Qanqli. He left Samarqand for Jand by way of Bokhara
in order to follow [102] them, but learning that the emirs and
main army of Chingiz-Khan were pursuing them, he took
the precaution of returning to Samarqand, where he gathered
together all the troops that were still left there and then proceeded
again to Jand at the head of a great and splendid host, thinking
to kill two birds with one stone and not realizing that ' be that
seeketh all losetb all '. 29 He followed in their trail and between
the two rivers Qaili and Qaimich 30 came upon a battle-field,
27 On the name see above, i, 61, n. i. Here is meant not Toqto*a Beki,
but one of his sons Qul-Toghan according to Barthold, op. dt., 370 and
n. 4, Qodu according to Marquart, Uber das Volkstum der Komanen, 134 and
n. i.
28 See above, i, 89, n. 9.
29 On the different versions of this first clash with the Mongols see Barthold,
op. dt., 369. The sources are here particularly divergent in their chronology;
and Barthold and Marquart disagree in their conclusions upon this difficult
problem. * Until we have more accurate data, it must be taken as most probable
that the sultan's campaign in the Turgai province was begun in the winter of
1215-16, and that his collision with the Mongols took place in the summer
of 1216.' So Barthold, op. tit., 371. On the other hand, Marquart, op. dt. } 133,
concludes that the batde with Jochi was fought about the I5th of July, 1219.
30 QYLY and QYMj. Minorsky, Marvazi, 100, n. 3, suggests the restoration
of these names as QNQLY and QBjX, i.e. Qanqli and Qipchakh (Qipchaq).
It may be however that the forms as recorded in Juvaini are correct. In the
biography of Siibetei in the Yuan sbib (see Marquart, op. dt., 132, Haenisch,
Die letzten Feldzvge Cingls Han's und sein Tod, 533-4, also below, p. 373, n. 35)
there is mention of an indecisive batde between the Mongols and Sultan Muham-
mad on the Hui-li River, which already Marquart, op. dt., 133, had identified
with Juvaini's Qaili. As for Qaimich (Qimich, Qaimach, etc.), H. Desmond
Martin, in his article, The Mongol Wars with Hsi Hsia (1205-1227), 217, quotes a
Chinese report of an interview between Chingiz-Khan and the widow -of the
Khitan prince Yeh-lu Liu-ku, in the course of which the Conqueror recounts
how Yeh-lii Liu-ku's eldest son had rescued Jochi when he had been surrounded
370
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
where he beheld great piles of dead and fresh blood. Amongst
the fallen a wounded man was discovered and questioned. It
being ascertained that the Mongols had been the victors and had
left the spot that very day, the Sultan, without stopping to con-
sider, set his face to the road and hurried after them. The next
day, when the scouts of Dawn raised their flashing swords out
of the scabbard of the eastern horizon and removed the black
bile from the brain of the army of Night, the Sultan overtook
them and made ready for battle. The Mongol army did not
lay hand on the skirt of war but held back, saying : ' We have
no authority from Chingiz-Khan to fight with thee. We have
come upon another errand, seeking a quarry which had escaped
from our net.
[103] Do not, O king, do not act like a [rash] youth, do not
indulge thyself thus in what leads to calamity.
by Moslem troops in a place called Qimaq. The passage is reproduced in
Martin's book, The Rise of Chingis Khan and his Conquest of North China, 284,
but here the name of the battle-field is spelt Kimach. The report is derived,
according to a footnote in Martin's article, loc. dt. t from the T'ungschien fangsmu.
In fact, as Professor Cleaves pointed out to me in a letter dated i5th September,
1955. the ultimate source of the story is not this work but the biography of Yeh-lii
Liu-ku in the Yuan shih, 149 (ts'e 45), ir4~5V7. Professor Cleaves was good
enough to supply me with a translation of the relevant passage (40-50). Return-
ing from his campaign against the West Chingiz-Khan is met by Yao-li, the
widow of Liu-ku, and in the course of the interview he extols the bravery of
Liu-ku's son. * "Hsieh-ch'e," * he says, ' "has left [you] and has become a Mongol.
When he accompanied Us on Our campaign in the Western Region, the Hui-hui
[i.e. the Moslems] surrounded the t'd-tzu [eldest imperial son, i.e. Jochi] at
Ho-mi ch'eng. Hsieh-ch'e led 1,000 troops and brought him out [of danger].
His [own] body was pierced by a knee. . . ." ' It will be seen that Martin's
Qimaq or Kimach is in fact Ho-mi ch'eng, * the city of Ho-mi ', and this, as
Professor Cleaves informed me in his letter, would appear to be Qamil, the Camul
of Marco Polo and the present-day Qomul (Kami) in Sinkiang. There can
however be no question of a clash with Sultan Muhammad's forces on the edge
of the Gobi ; and it would seem therefore that the compiler of the biography
or his informants substituted the familiar name of Qamil for some unknown word
resembling Juvaini's Qaimich, of which the final -ch is perhaps represented by
the ch'- ofcb'etig ' city *. It is a. curious point that the rescue of Jochi by the son
of Liu-ku has its exact parallel in the rescue of Sultan Muhammad by his son
Jalal-ad-Din. See above, i, 69, also below, p. 372. As to the identity of
the Qaili and the Qaimich, Professor Minorsky has suggested in a written com-
munication that they are possibly the Irghiz and the Turghai.
B II. 371
THE HISTORY OF
Do not, O king, sadden my heart, do not imperil my life
and thy own. 31
However, if the Sultan takes the first step and stretches his hand
to war, then we have no choice and cannot turn face but must
stand our ground. But if he desists and does not idly draw
upon himself the fire of calamity, but considers the evil con-
sequences of a quarrel that will end only in repentance, and
hearkens to this advice with the ear of wisdom, and does not
caress the tail of the viper nor wound the spirit of repose with the
spear of ill temper, but avails himself of a gift that is offered him,
and does not persist in this matter, it will be the nearer to the
interests of his country and he will remain the farther from the
infamy of corruption and the calamity of perversity/ However
Whenever evil fortune grows angry, hard stone becomes
like wax 32
and since the mirror of his fortune was clouded and the eye of
his experience blinded, the Sultan was not rebuked by this
admonishment nor rebuffed by these warnings
Thou knowest that the king's evil temper is a colocynth
tree that is always bearing fruit 83
and he opened the battle in such manner that from the clanging
of swords, and the neighing of horses, and the war-cries of
horsemen and heroes the ear of the World was deafened, and
from the dust thereof the face of the sun was hidden and the
shining stars came into view. The right wing of either side
attacked the opposing left wing and forced it back. Then the
whole Mongol army attacked the centre, where the Sultan had
taken his stand. They gave way and had almost been put to
flight, when Sultan Jalal-ad-Din came to the rescue from the
right wing, where he was stationed with a few horsemen. He
stood firm and repelled the attack. The battle continued till
31 Sbabnama ed. Vullers, 1680, 1L 3239-40. Rustarn is addressing Isfandiyar.
32 find., 502, 1. 1146.
33 IM, 509, 1. 1283. Instead of tu dam ki 'thou knowest that* Vullers has
Udil guft ' he said to him '. I have preferred Vullers' hanzctl * colocynth tree "
(which D also has) to the /<?/ ' warlike ' or ' a war ' of the text.
372
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
between the evening prayer and nightfall; both sides exerted
themselves to the utmost and no one [104] showed the back of
flight until
When the ends of the locks of Night were combed and
the writing of Infidelity was written upon the World
they gathered up their skirts from the fight and encamped opposite
one another.
And they returned with their knees shattered, and
we returned with our swords
The Mongol army then kindled a fire for every man and made
off on their swift horses casting dust in the eyes of Fate, As
for the Sultan, he remained for some time where he had encamped
until
When the true dawn appeared in the world and all
the hundred leaves of heaven began to sprout,
And the negro, Night, with magic, as it were, began
to blow a flame of fire from his mouth
he found their encampment empty and returned hurriedly to
Samarqand without having gained a victory; 35 vacillation and
bewilderment taking possession of his mind and his inner
uncertainty disturbing his external appearance. For when he
thought of the power and might of that people and of the stirring
up of the troubles that had gone before, and when he realized
that he had brought this calamity upon himself by force, he was
overcome with misery and disgust, and repentance was manifest
in his speech. For that army was but a river out of a sea, a
34 *Abd-ash-Shariq, one of the poets of the Hamasa. (M.Q.)
35 Cf. the account in the biography of Siibetei. There is a German version
by Haenisch (see above, n. 30) and I quote here from an English translation
kindly provided me by Professor Cleaves. Siibetei and Jebe having pursued
the Sultan as far as the Hui-li River, where Jebe had suffered a defeat, s Su-pu-
t f ai quartered [his] army east of the River and warned [i.e. commanded] his
multitude that [each] man should light three torches in order to magnify the
strength of the army. Their king escaped by night.' It is clear from this account
that the purpose of lighting fires or torches was to intimidate the enemy and not,
as Juvaini implies, to conceal the fact of the Mongols' own withdrawal. The
same ruse had been employed by Chingiz-Khan himself against the Naiman.
See the Secret History, 193, Grousset, L f Empire Mongol, 161-2.
373
THE HISTORY OF
town out of a clime, a hair out of a head, and he had seen and
experienced their absolute superiority. When the seas of trouble
began to rage and all the winds of affliction to blow, the ship
of safety would not be able to reach the shore of salvation and
the tempest of calamity would be universal. And because of
the domination of doubt and suspicion the gates of true counsel
were closed to him ; his heart was wounded by the cruelty of
the revolving dome ; timidity and terror prevailed and sleep and
repose departed. ' For success is brought to nought between impotence
and anxiety.' And since by his futile ambition he had attracted
to himself the fire of unrest and had brought the pot of calamity
to the boil
[105] Through greed my age has caused me to miss its advantages,
and the greedier I was the more I missed.
The rope of desires like the rope of the sun 36 seems all one
piece, fat when one touches it it is broken 3 *
that spy, the reputation of religion and state, was exposed and
the law of severity and punishment revealed so that the nightmare
of impotence and weakness gained the mastery, the peacock of
the realm became the prey of the owls of Calamity and King
Ka'us 38 remained in chains in the hands of the demon host of
Trial and Grief. He resigned himself to inexorable Destiny and
yielded to impotence and failure, surrendering to evil fortune
and complied with the words : e We submitted to the will of God!
If only they had made the attempt like the notte,
then they would have succeeded.
Or else they might resign themselves to their
predestined stations in life.
The astrologers too said that the beneficent stars were cadent
from the angles of the Ascendant and the Tenth House and the
36 hatt-ash-sbatns, i.e. * sunbeam *.
37 From a qastda by Abu-Ishaq al-Ghazzi in praise of the Turks. The opening
line and some other verses are quoted in Vol. 1, 63, 153 and 154, [i, 82, 194, and
195]. (MA)
88 Ka'us, a legendary king of Persia, was imprisoned by the dfvs or demons
of Mazandaran.
30 From a famous qasida by Abul-Hasan at-Tihami, of which the opening
line has already been quoted in Vol. I, 240. (M.Q.)
374
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
maleficent stars were in attendance; until the transmission [of
power] to the Dark Houses had passed, it would be prudent
to undertake no course which would involve an encounter with
the enemy.
This circumstance added to the confusion of his case, and he
determined to turn back and hasten elsewhere. Most of his
armies he left in Transoxiana and Turkestan, including 110,000
men in Samarqand, where he ordered the citadel to be strength-
ened. A corner of the moat was opened to let in water, and
the Sultan passing by on the day of his departure remarked:
* If every soldier in the army which is about to attack us were
to throw in his whip, it would be filled up.' The army and
the people were depressed by these words. As for the Sultan
he proceeded from thence by way of Nakhshab, and wherever
he came he advised the people to look to their own affairs and
[106] to find some refuge or asylum since it was impossible for
them to oppose the Mongol army. He also sent someone to
take his womenfolk from Khorazm to Mazandaran. His con-
fusion and perturbation, his perplexity and distress increased
daily and he was ever consulting the ministers of his court as
to how this pain might be cured and by what means this situation
might be met.
And shall the Druggist remedy what has teen spoilt by Fete ? 40
And when disturbing reports arrived one after the other and the
confusion grew greater
Every day the heavens give birth to a new calamity
Such that thought cannot imagine even with an effort.
One needs an understanding clearer than the sun
In order to solve the riddle of this time
all the wise and the great were bewildered thereby and distraught
at the vicissitudes of Fate ; and every one spoke and sug-
gested a course of action according to his own intellect and
understanding.
The behaviour of Destiny is heyond the grasp of the mind :
man is hut the plaything of events.
40 The Kamil of Mubarrad, Leipzig ed., 176. (M.Q.)
375
THE HISTORY OF
Those who had been tested with the practice of a lifetime, and
had experienced good and evil, and had thought deeply on the
administration of affairs, suggested as follows : c The position in
Transoxiana has passed out of our control and it is no longer
possible to hold that area ; but we should do everything in our
power not to lose the kingdoms of Iraq and Khorasan. The
armies which have been stationed in every city and upon every
side must be recalled; a general advance must be made; the
Oxus must be converted into a moat; and they must not be
suffered to set foot across that river. " Haply God will of Himself
faing about some victory or event of His ordering." ' 41
Others said : * We must go to Ghaznin and gather forces
there. If it be possible we shall give the enemy his reply ; if
not, we can make India our rampart against him/
Sultan Muhammad preferred this latter advice [107] and with
the object of putting it into practice advanced as far as Balkh.
However, his son Rukn-ad-Din had sent 'Imad-al-Mulk to him
with gifts and presents. c Imad-al-Mulk was a man of influence
and enjoyed great respect ; and the management of affairs was
in his hands. Love of home and country prevailed on him to
advise the Sultan to come to him. * For i' he said, * these
people are victorious, we can put ourselves at a greater distance
from them by going to Iraq, where we can gather together the
army of that country and turn to do battle with open eyes and
abundance of equipment/
But his son Jalal-ad-Din rejected these various counsels and
said : * My advice is that we should, as much as possible, gather
the armies together and advance against them. And if the
Sultan have no heart for this, let him proceed to Iraq and hand
over the armies to me so that I may advance to the frontier, and
join battle with them, and smite them hard 42
Help, O strong man, raise up in me one that advances
against death and plunges whole squadrons therein.
When he purposes anything he sets its intention before
his eyes and turns away from thought of the consequences.
41 Koran, v, 57. 42 Lit. ' strike a stone and a pitcher together '.
376
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
He consults no one in bis affairs but himself and is
satisfied with no companion but the hilt of the sword 43
so that we may be excused before God and man
In order to le excused or to obtain an advantage, for he
that causes himself to le excused is like him that is
successful^
If fortune is kind we shall with the polo-stick of success have
borne off the ball of our desire, and if our luck be unfavourable
we shall at least not be the target of the reproaches of freeman
and slave, nor will they lash us with the tongue of abuse and
say : " How many times did they exact tax and tribute from us !
Yet in time of need they place us in the jaws of disappointment." '
He repeated these words on several occasions and was awaiting
the permission of his father, from [108] attendance upon whom
he was never absent. But Sultan Muhammad, being overcome
with fear and dread did not heed his earnest words but would
say:
* Do not lose thy head for a crown, for no king was
born of his mother with a crown.'
And, as is the custom of the unfortunate, he would regard the
sage advice of his son as childish sport and pay no attention to
it, because the star of fortune was still in the house of descent
and disaster and he did not know that
The sword is more truthful in giving news than looks :
on its edge is the boundary between earnest and play.
In the whiteness of the blades of swords i , not in the
blackness of the texts of books lies the exile of
doubt and suspicion.* 5
Finally the Sultan accepted the advice of c !mad-al~Mulk that he
should hasten to Iraq and departed from Balkh with bitter joy,
43 Sa'd b. Nashib, one of the poets of the Hamasa. (M.Q.)
44 'Urwa b. al-Ward al-'Absi. Quoted in the Hamasa. (M.Q.)
46 The opening lines of a famous qasida by Abu-Tammam in which he praises
the 'Abbasid Caliph al-Mu'tasim billah [833-42] and describes his capture of
Ammuriya [Amorion] in Asia Minor. (M.Q.)
377
THE HISTORY OF
sending a patrol from thence to Panjab 46 to obtain news of the
development of events. When he came to the bank of the river
at Tirmiz the patrol came up [109] to report that Bokhara had
been taken, and following upon this came the news of the
capture of Samarqand. At once he recited the four takbirs 47
over his kingdom and fastened three divorces 48 upon the corner
of the veil of the bride of kingship, so that return thereto was
unthinkable; and set his face to the road.
He ceased to think of good or ill
' that God might carry out the thing that was to be done J . 49
Now the greater part of his army were Turks of the tribe to
which his mother's kinsmen belonged called the Oran. 50 In
the midst of all this distraction and confusion they plotted to kill
the Sultan. Someone informed him of their plan, and that
night he changed his sleeping quarters and left his tent. At
midnight they let fly their arrows, and in the morning the tent
appeared as full of holes as a sieve from the arrow shots. On
this account the Sultan's apprehension was increased and his
fright and terror redoubled.
Every shaft that falls from the circle of the heavens
comes as salt to the stricken one with a wounded heart.
He made great haste in the direction of Nishapur, and wherever
he came he would enjoin the people, with threats and menaces,
to strengthen their citadels and fortify their dwelling-places ; and
so fear and dread were increased a thousandfold in men's hearts
and an easy matter made difficult. When they came to Kalat 51
in Khabaran 52 of Tus he was persuaded by some of his followers
that the castle of Kalat, of which the upper circumference was
seven parasangs and comprehended two or three fields, ought to
46 On Panjab or Mela see above, i, 144, n. 3.
47 Le. he read the burial service over his kingdom.
48 According to Mohammedan law the third pronouncement of divorce is
irrevocable.
49 Koran, viii, 43 or 46. 50 UrMyan. See above, i, 305, n. 68.
51 The later Kalkt-i-Nadiri. See above, i, 158, n. 15.
52 Khabaran was the district in which Abivard stood. By the ' Khabaran
of Tus ' is presumably meant that part of the district nearest to Tus.
378
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
be repaired, stores and treasures collected therein and troops and
tribal levies transported thither
Whithersoever the heavens will turn in the end.
On this too the Sultan could reach no decision, and following
his previous intention he came to Nishapur on the I2th of Safar,
617 [i8th of April, 1220]. Here he turned his back on the
affairs of the realm and set his face towards pleasure and enjoy-
ment, amusing himself with songstresses and songs, [no] And
since he now knew of a certainty that the fraudulence of wicked
Fate and cruel Destiny would not suffer him to take one step in
accordance with his wishes nor to breathe one breath to his
heart's desire, he paid little heed to the world and would say :
To-day one must eat the world like sugar;
To-morrow, as thou shalt see, one will have to drink the
blood of the liver.
It was as though the following quatrain had been taken down
from his lips:
When the rose blossoms we shall rise for an hour,
And with the joy of wine we shall flee from the clutch of Griefl
It may be that in another spring, O my companions,
The rose will be scattered on the ground, and we too shall be scattered.
He therefore constantly applied himself to the quaffing of cups
of wine and had no fear of the arrows of reproach. And such
as ministered to sport and mirth and provided joy and pleasure
gathered around him and became his companions and advisers.
And he recognized no business but merrymaking. Because of
arranging the jewels of women he could not concern himself
with the training of men, and whilst pulling down the garments
of his wives he neglected to remove the confusion in important
affairs. Now at that time the vizier of Nishapur, in succession
to Khoja Sharaf-al-Mulk, was Mujir-al-Mulk Kafi-ad-Din
e Umar of Rukh 53 (may God have mercy on them loth !). He
had a noble spirit and a pleasant disposition, and Sayyid
53 The district of Zava.
379
THE HISTORY OF
Siraj-ad-Din composed the following verses on the occasion
of his appointment to the vizierate :
They said and they bore good tiding : ' Your vizier
is e Umr al-Kaf from Rukh* I said: e Victory is ours
For thou wilt fad no crookedness in the course of the rook (rukh), 54
and justice has always ken connected with *Umar! 55
Now the Sultan being present in Nishapur, all manner of people,
leaders fawvad) and petitioners, had come from all sides to wait
on him; but no one would deal with their affairs, and they
were perplexed and bewildered. One day they gathered in
great numbers at the gate of Mujir-al-Mulk's palace, where they
raised an uproar and began to shout abuse. Mujir-al-Mulk
came out, and turning towards them spoke as follows : * What
you say is perfectly true and your complaints are fully justified,
but I too am blameless in the eyes of men of sound judgement.
Because of my duties as a pander (qwvaiagl) I cannot attend to
the business of leaders (quwad) who are in charge of affairs ; and
because [in] I must see to the provisions of damsels I have no
time to check the pages of registers. Some days ago the Sultan
commanded us to provide so and so many ornaments for the
singing-girls and to do nothing else. The Sultan s orders must
be complied with, but it is also necessary to attend to the requests
of petitioners/
They were engaged in this conversation when the bearer of
evil tidings, that is the patrol from Panjab, arrived with the
news that the Mongol army under Yeme Noyan and Siibetei
Bahadur had crossed the river. The dust of grief was scattered
on the Sultan s head, the fire of anxiety flared up in his bosom
and the wind of fortune died down.
And I passed the night as though I had ken attacked by
a slender snake of the kind with Hack and white speckles
in whose fangs the poison is deadly. 56
54 I.e. the castle in chess. The English rook is in fact derived from the Persian rukh.
55 A reference to the Caliph *Umar (Omar), the father-in-law and second
successor of Mohammed.
56 From a famous qasita by the pre-Islamic poet, Nabigha of the Dhubyan
tribe. In it he defends himself against accusations laid by his enemies before his
patron, King Nu'man b. Mundhir of Hira. (M.Q.)
380
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
Having drunk every drop in the goblet of pleasure he ought to
have expected the sting in the headache that followed.
The same man drank the dregs who drank the pure wine.
That life was nought but intoxication; the delight thereof
departed and the headache therefrom descended. 57
The thought of wine and beloved left my head ; the sound of
harp and lute departed from my mind.
And for every joy there was substituted a sorrow and every rose
was exchanged for a thorn.
Grief is my friend, pain my intimate, complaint my minstrel,
the blood of the liver my wine, and the pupil of the eye
my cupbearer.
And having no choice he preferred the law of the flight of the
prophets to the ordinance of God, Who saith : e And contend
with your substance and your persons in the Way of God' 5& The
cupbearer Fate had been plying all and sundry with cup after
brimful cup of patience, 59 the unpalatable drink of sorrows, and
with patience they had had to taste that bitter pill out of loyalty,
whilst those singers, the cares of mankind, had set the following
words in the key of the Sorrows of Husain 60 to a harsh and
discordant tune [112]:
O cupbearer of Care, If [the cup] is moving towards me
do not mix [the wine], for I am mixing my cup with
my tears.
And, O young man of the tribe, if thou stngest mirthfully,
sing f O grief, Because of the heat of my breath.'
In the midst of all this alarm and confusion on Tuesday the
7th of Rabi c I, 617 [i2th May, 1220], he set out for Iraq by
way of Isfarayin, filled with every kind of despair and composing
the following gbazal out of the pain of his heart and the grief
of his bosom :
When Venus at dawn plays the harp upon the horizon,
Fate gives shrill voice to my lament.
57 As-Sarri ar-Raffa' of Mosul. (M.Q.) 58 Koran, ix, 41.
59 salr, which also means ' aloes *. 60 Probably a reference to Shia laments.
381
THE HISTORY OF
Discordant Fate drives out of my head desire for the
wail of the pipe and joy in the plucking of the harp.
And the dirge in the wilderness of his sorrowing heart was :
Neither the pleasure of union with the Beloved has
remained, nor yet the Beloved.
Nothing has remained of anything but grief and care.
And of the foundations of our union in the street of desire
No trace was left in the twinkling of an eye.
When he reached Ray, the Khorasan patrol, which was
indeed the patrol of grief of heart, suddenly came up from another
direction with the news that the strange army was close at hand.
He repented of his decision to proceed to Iraq knowing of a
surety that c be had left Us counsel in R.ay \ 61
When the crow is men's guide, the Magians* lurid-ground is
their place of rest. 62
He departed from thence for the castle of Farrazin, 63 at the foot of
which his son Rukn-ad-Din was encamped with 30,000 [113]
men of the army (hasham) of Iraq. When they received news
of the Sultan's arrival they hastened out to meet him and powdered
their eyes with the dust raised by his troops. The same day he
sent Sultan Ghiyas-ad-Din and his mother with the rest of his
harem to Taj-ad-Din Toghan in the castle of Qarun 64 and
likewise dispatched a messenger to summon the malik Hazar-
Asf, 65 who was a descendant of the ancient kings of the Lurs.
61 A pun on ray * counsel ' and Rayy * Ray *.
62 For a variant of this proverb see below, p. 704.
63 Farrazin was a castle at the gates of Karaj, a town 30 parasangs south-east
of Ramadan on the Hamadan-Isfahan road near the present-day Sultanabad
[founded by Fath-*Ali Shah at the beginning of the nineteenth century, now
Erak]. The word occurs four times in Houdas* edition of Nasawi (pp. 15, 17,
69 and 73) and except in the last instance is mis-spelt Qazvin ; it is also mis-
spelt Qazvin in the first instance in the unique Paris MS. on which Houdas"
edition is based. [It appears everywhere as Qazvin in Houdas' translation.
See pp. 27, 30, 117 and 122.] (M.Q.) Now Farzm. I saw it on my left
in 1905 (coining from Burujird to Sultanabad). (V.M.)
64 Qarun must be somewhere in Central Persia, probably in the region of
Hamadan. (V.M.)
65 The usual spelling is Hazar-Asp. He reigned from 600/1203-4 to 6z6/
1228-9 or 650/1252-3. The dynasty known as the atalegs of the Greater Lur
382
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
Meanwhile he consulted the emirs of Iraq as to how this formid-
able enemy should be encountered and repelled. They thought
the best course would be to take refuge in the Ushturan-Kuh 66
and make it their bastion and asylum and so repulse their foes.
The Sultan went to inspect the mountains and said : * This is
no place for us to take refuge in nor can we withstand the
Mongol army in such a fastness.' On hearing these words the
soldiers were much disheartened. When he had descended
from the mountains the malik Nusrat-ad-Din Hazar-Asf arrived
and came straight from the road to the audience pavilion. He
kissed the ground in seven places, and the Sultan honoured
him by commanding him to be seated. After returning to his
tent the Sultan sent e !mad-al-Mulk and Dokhan 67 to consult
him as to how they might deal with this difficult task and this
fearful calamity. Nusrat-ad-Din replied : * The best course
is for us to set out this very hour without waiting to reflect
or consider. There is a mountain between Fars and Luristan
called Tang-i-*Balu. 68 When one passes through its defiles
[114] there is a rich and fertile region. 69 Let us go there and
make it our asylum. We shall muster a hundred thousand foot
out of Luristan, Shulistan 70 and Fars and set men at all the
approaches to the mountain. When the Mongol army arrives,
and also as the Hazaraspids ruled over Eastern and Southern Luristan between
1155 and 1423, their capital being at Idaj (Malamir). They were not descended
from 'the ancient kings of the Lurs', the founder of the dynasty being a Kurd
from Syria. Juvaini appears to have confused them with another dynasty, that
of the Lesser Lur (1184-1597) in Northern and Western Luristan with their
capital at Khurramabad. See Minorsky's articles, Lur-i Buzttrg and Lur-i Kiicik
in the Encyclopedia of Islam.
66 Ushturan-Kuh (* the Mountain of the Camels ') is a mountain range
stretching southwards from Burujird and separating Iraq or Central Persia from
Luristan.
67 DWXAN. Perhaps for Doghan, a form of Toghan. D has ARDW-
XAN, i.e. apparently Ordu-Khan.
68 Reading BLW for the TKW of the text in accordance with the suggestion
made by Minorsky in his article, Sbulistan, in the Encyclopedia of Islam. Tang-i-
*Balu would mean ' the Pass of the Oak '.
69 Probably the Shi'b-i-Bawan. (V.M) On this celebrated valley, which
was considered one of the four Earthly Paradises, see Hamdallah tr. le Strange, 128.
70 On the district of Fars called Shulistan, 'the knd of the ShuF, Marco
Polo's Cielstan or Suolstan, see Minorsky's article in the Encyclopedia of Islam,
383
THE HISTORY OF
we shall advance against them with a stout heart and fight a
good fight. As for the Sultan s army, which has been suddenly
overcome with fear and terror, if on that occasion we gain a
victory, they will realize their own strength and might and the
weakness and impotence of their enemies ; and they will take
fresh heart.' But the Sultan said : * His object in giving this
advice is to come out in open enmity against the atdbeg of Pars
and so prevent the conquest of his country. When we have
finished dealing with the foes in front of us then will be time to
think of settling with the ataleg. My opinion is that we should
remain here and send to all sides until the armies are gathered
together/
Such was his intention when his patrol arrived from Ray with
the report that the Mongols had reached the town, sacked it and
massacred the inhabitants. At the heels of this patrol came the
Mongols themselves ; and no troops had been got ready except
for the gathering together of griefs and cares and the dispersal of
the desires of the heart. ' And after the desolation of Basra ' 71 the
Sultan realized that
Deeds must be done at the proper time; an untimely
deed is feeble, feeble.
The malik Nusrat-ad-Din went his way and returned home;
each part of the army betook itself to a different place ; and the
Sultan together with his sons set out for the castle of Qarun.
The Mongol army overtook him on the way. They did not
recognize him and discharged arrows without realizing [whom
they were attacking]. The Sultan's mount was severely wounded
in several places but did not stumble and bore him at a gallop
out of the whirlpool of destruction. Thus he came to Qarun,
where he remained for one day receiving several horses from the
emirs. Then descending from Qarun and taking guides he stole
off in the direction of Baghdad. In the very same hour the
Mongol army arrived and thinking the Sultan was still in the
castle commenced a fierce battle. Then realizing [115] that he
had departed they set out in his pursuit. On the way they fell
71 I.e. when it was too late.
384
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
in with the guides whom the Sultan had dismissed and who
informed them of his intention of proceeding to Baghdad, They
set off on his trail but the Sultan had turned back and made
for Sarchahan. 72 Not finding his tracks, the Mongols realized
that he had eluded them and withdrew after putting the guides
to death. The Sultan remained seven days in the castle of
Sarchahan and then struck out towards Gilan. Su'luk, one of
the emirs of Gilan, came forward to meet him and placed himself
at the Sultan's disposal. He urged him to stay but after a week
the Sultan departed to the province of Ustundar. 73 Here what
treasure was left to him was lost and from hence he came to the
district of Dabuye, 74 a dependency of Amul, and the emirs of
Mazandaran came to offer their services. Wherever he halted
for a day the Mongols would overtake him ; and in the mean-
while his harem too had arrived from Khorazm and had gone
into the castles. The Sultan sent for certain of the emirs of
Mazandaran who enjoyed his confidence and were the repositories
of his secrets and consulted with them as to how he might take
refuge in some fastness where for a few days he might be safe
from the Mongols. They thought it best for him to seek asylum
in one of the islands of the Sea of Abaskun. 75 He went to one
of these islands, [116] where he remained for a while. Then
when the report of his presence on that island was spread about,
he took the precaution of removing to another island. His
departure coincided with the arrival of a detachment of Mongols
whom Yeme Noyan had sent in pursuit of him from Ray. Not
finding the Sultan they turned back and laid siege to the castles
in which his harem and treasures lay and stormed them within
a few days. When the dreadful news reached the Sultan and
he learnt that his harem had been dishonoured and his attendants
disgraced ; that his small sons had been put to the sword ; that
his veiled womenfolk were in the clutches of strangers ; and that
72 Sarchahan lay between Zanjan and Tarum on the road to Gilan.
73 Reading AST^DAR for the ASPYDAR of the text. On Ustundar,
another name for the district of Rustamdar in Mazandaran, see Rahino, Mazandaran
and Astarabdi, 26, also Minorsky's article, Ruffa, in the Encyclopedia of Islam.
74 Dabuye (or Dabuyi). The usual form is Dabu. See Rabino, op. cit., 40.
75 Le, the Caspian. See above, i, 155, n. 6.
385
THE HISTORY OF
all of his wedded wives had fallen into the embraces of [other]
men and had been crushed in the clasp of beggars
And now they showed their cheeks whilst wearily beating
their breasts with the hands of shame
and when he learnt also that all of his dependants in that region
had put their necks through the collar of Destiny and their feet
down the smoke-vent of Calamity, and had fallen into the snare
of Affliction and the jaws of Annihilation, and had become but
a tale in the world and strangers amongst friends
When the Sultan heard this, his head grew dizzy, the
world grew dark before his eyes.
Such are the nights and their happenings renewing to
men event after event
then was the pain past remedy and threatened his very existence,
and he preferred death to life and chose annihilation rather than
survival
Pay thy visit, then, O Death, for life is detestable ;
be serious, O Soul, for thy lot is hazardous.
He writhed in this anguish and agitation and bemoaned this
calamity and disaster until he delivered up his soul to God and
was released from the sorrow of this life and the trickery of the
revolving heavens.
[117] Farewell to the world and all its good things! It is
as though Ya'qub had never sojourned in it. 1 *
And on the occasion of his death someone composed the
following :
O thou, who didst die seeking the solution of difficulties,
Who didst die alone though born of union ;
O thou who didst turn to dust, thirsty upon the shores of the sea;
O thou who didst die of penury on the top of treasure !
He was buried at the time upon that very island but afterwards
76 A slight variation of one of the lines said to have been written on the tomb
of Ya'qub b. Lais the Saf&rid, 868-78 and quoted by Ibn-Khallikan in his
biography of Ya'qub. (M.Q.)
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THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
Sultan Jalal-ad-Din ordered his bones to be taken to the castle
of Ardahn. 77 One of the learned composed the following lines
a propos of the occasion :
O king, this has befallen thee because of the
evil eye;
Thou hast departed and many a discomfiture has
overtaken the Faith.
O thou, to the crown of whose sultanate the heavens
were a helmet,
The tightness of the cloak of thy kingdom was caused
by Chin. 78
Islam was heartbroken and paralysed by this disaster ; because
of this catastrophe, which caused blood to drip from the eye of
hard rock, the hearts of true believers were sore and sad.
Behold the weeping of the rock and say not that it is
[only] exudation; and ask the mountain to lament
and think not that it is [but] an echo.
In every hovel there was weeping and in every corner sorrow in
77 The text has Ardahin, but I have preferred the Ardahn of E, which is
also the form of the name in Nasawi and Yaqut. The latter describes Ardahn
as a strong castle situated in the mountains between Damavand and Mazandaran,
three days' journey from Ray. According to Nasawi, Jalal-ad-Din, during
the siege of Akhlat (August, 1229-March, 1230), had conceived the idea of
building a mdrasa in Isfahan to be the final resting-place of his father's bones.
He had therefore dispatched a message to his paternal aunt in Mazandaran request-
ing her to superintend the transfer of the coffin to the castle of Ardahn where it
should remain until the madrasa was completed. It was Nasawi himself who
wrote the letter, but not without grave forebodings. * Par ma vie ! j'ecrivis
cette depeche bien a contre-coeur, tant Tidee m'en semblait ridicule. . . . Je
savais, en efFet, que le cadavre du prince . . . n'avait echappe a 1'mcineration
de la part des Tatars que parce que ceux-ci n'avaient pu arriver jusqu'a lui, car
ils avaient 1'habitude de bruler les os de tout sultan enterre dans quelque pays
que ce fut, croyant que tous les sultans etaient les descendants d'un ancetre com-
mun. C'est pour cek qu'ils avaient exhume les os de Yemin ed-Daula Mah-
moud ben Sebokteguin . . . qui etait enterre a Ghazna et qu'ils les avaient
bruits . . . Les choses d'ailleurs se passerent efFectivement comme je 1'avais
pense* : les Tatars, aprs en avoir fini avec le sultan dans les environs d'Amid,
ainsi qu'on le racontera plus loin, firent le siege de cette forteresse d'Ardehen;
guis ils exhumerent le corps du grand sultan et 1'expedierent au Khaqan [i.e.
Ogedei] qui le fit bruler.' (Nasawi tr. Houdas, 319-21.)
78 Cbm ' China', i.e. the Mongols, or chin 'fold', i.e. too many folds.
c ii. 387
THE HISTORY OF
men s hearts at this happening. Mourning and tearing their hair
they recited and sang with sighs, and groans, and lamentations :
[118] Where is the Sultan of the lands of the Moslems? Where
is the exemplar of the Commander of the Faithful ?
Where is he who was like the edge of the sword in mightiness ?
Where is he who was like the shaft of the spear in suppleness ?
Verify, that calamity has brought misfortune upon us
which we cannot see clearing away.
However we must avoid the practice of the discursive and
turn aside from the pathway of rhetoric.
Make for the essence of the matter, never mind
the smell and the colour.
This, then, is all we will say in that manner:
Why dost thou relate the adventures of a cutpurse ?
Listen rather to the tale of Destiny.
Let her tell the wise, and the deaf, and the blind
to whom it was that she gave and from whom it was
that she took away gold and power;
How she bound the hands of the Khusraus and how she
razed [their] castles
Let her tell how with might she broke the necks of
the haughty,
So that, when thou hast heard of the pride of greatness,
thou mayst not set thy heart upon this fickle life.
From this tale may the seeing man know that such is the end
and conclusion of this present world. She is an angry deceiver,
wicked and impudent; her society is the cause of estrangement,
and her company fraught with peevishness. She is one that
shows wheat and sells barley, a poison tasting of honey, an old
hag in the guise of a beautiful maiden clad in fine silk ; her
lovers pursue her as in a trance and with a hundred thousand
cries and laments.
The world is a juggler with a wrinkled head ; it does a
thing in one way and appears to do it in another.
It calls with love and drives away with hateall
its actions were ever thus.
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THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
Thou knowest not, when it calls thee, whither it calls thee,
and thou knowest not, when it drives thee away, whither
it drives thee.
Thou didst not come willingly in the beginning, and thou
shalt not depart willingly in the end.
Between two such disappointments how can one live contentedly
in this world ?
He must be keen of sight who realizes that the uttermost
pleasure and the highest friendship are reserved for those who
take warning from the inconstant deeds and actions of this present
world, and have spurned it with [119] the foot of ' Touch me
not ! > and shunned all contact with it, holding its good and ill
to be equal and with the water of contentment washing the hand
of greed for this tottering edifice full of dogs and carrion
And it is nought lut ridiculous carrion covered with dogs
which are concerned at their being attracted to it,
Consider the commands and prohibitions of the world to be a
dream; consider its wine to be nothing but a mirage.
Be like a dog, thou art intended for carrion: thou art the
shadow and the fan 79 of the u$tukhan-khar. BQ
Rather they renounce its goods and vanities
How shall the glory of God display the sanctity of divinity
to the frivolous heart ?
and turn the face of inquiry towards the Kingdom of Heaven
until the sanctity of divinity is reflected on their luminous breasts
and they soar on the wings of High Resolve with Wisdom as
guide over the horizon of the spirit and miracles, and stand
shoulder to shoulder with the holy in the ranks of purity, and
ride in the company of the cherubim gripping the firm handle
79 The farr was a kind of halo, especially the aureole that surrounded the
heads of the legendary kings of ancient Persia.
80 The ustukhwan-khwar, lit. * bone-eater ', is another name for the huma or
hwnai (on which see above, i, 19, n. i), i.e. the Common Lammergeyer or
Ossifrage. It * is a bird of good omen and its shadow also is of good omen. . . .
It eats bones ; and in regard to it they have said : " The humay is held in greater
honour than all other birds for this reason, that it eats bones and harasses no
animal/" (Hamdallah tr. Stephenson, 73.)
389
THE HISTORY OF
which is trust in God, and know of a certainty that this rubbish-
heap is a conduit suspended from the wind and there is no place
in it that one can build on, or profit by, or find ease and comfort
in
The ringlets of the Beloved One's tresses are the snare
of calamity : we have lost our heart to them : it is
the essence of sin
neither should one be distressed or incapacitated by its deceit,
nor set one's heart on its joy, [120] nor be sad and grief-stricken
because of its sorrow. Its good and its evil are parallel and equal
in the eyes of the wise man.
The meanness and the generosity of Laila are as one
to us.
Why praise and decry prosperity and adversity ? For
when thou hast closed thy eyes thou shalt see
neither the one nor the other.
[XII]
OF THE CAUSES OF THE ESTRANGEMENT BETWEEN
SULTAN MUHAMMAD AND THE COMMANDER OF THE
FAITHFUL AN-NASIR LI-DIN-ALLAH ABUL-*ABBAS AHMAD
EVER since in the days of Tekish a dispute had arisen on account
of the kingdom of Iraq and Tekish had routed the army of
Baghdad and slain the Vizier (as has been previously mentioned), 1
the Caliph had been constantly sending clandestine messages to
the Khans of Qara-Khitai calling upon them to attack Sultan
Muhammad, and he had also on many occasions dispatched
letters to the Sultans of Ghur [to the same effect]. These secrets
were revealed when the Sultan came to Ghaznin, and a search
being made in their treasuries the correspondence came to light
in which the Caliph egged on and incited him 2 to attack the
1 See above, i, 307, where however it is stated that the Vizier died (presumably
a natural death) several days before the battle.
2 I.e. Shihab-ad-Din. See above, i, 353.
390
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
Sultan and asked him to render aid to the army of Qara-Khitai.
The Sultan did not reveal this secret but kept those letters for
use as evidence.
Furthermore, when Jalal-ad-Din Hasan 3 had for reasons of
expediency made profession of Islam and the Caliph had
accepted his profession, he wished, in order to make his con-
version widely known, to send a sabil on the pilgrimage. [121]
The Caliph commanded his standard to be carried in front of
that of Sultan Muhammad, and when news of this reached the
Sultan he was much distressed and offended. The Caliph also
asked Jalal-ad-Din for a band officials, and he sent him a body
of men whom he had ordered not to deviate from whatever the
Caliph commanded. An estrangement having arisen between
the latter and the ruler of Mecca, he sent some of these Jidtfk to
stab him. They made a mistake and instead of the ruler of
Mecca it was his brother that they stabbed and killed. This
abominable act occurred on the day of *arafa 4 on the plain of
"Arafat. 5 He likewise sent some of these fidais to Iraq to stab
and kill Ighlamish. 6 Ighlamish, who had been sent to the atabeg
Oz-Beg by the Sultan, regarded himself as the latter's servant
and chosen [emissary].
To these outward reasons were added others. The Sultan
regarded himself as in no way inferior to the Buyids 7 and the
Seljuq Sultans, nay he considered even one of his emirs to be
on a par with the Buyids whilst he held his own worth and
dignity to be vastly superior to those of the Seljuqs. Now the
kingdom of Baghdad, though in the possession of the Caliphs,
had in fact been under the sway of the Seljuqs, and the Caliphs
of that time, such as Tayi e , 8 Mustarshid, 9 etc., had been subject
3 The ruler of Alamut. See above, p. 364, n. 10.
4 The 9th of Zul-Hijja, the eve of the 'Id-al-Azha or Feast of Sacrifice.
5 'Arafat, the ' Mount of Recognition ', situated 12 miles from Mecca, is the
place where the pilgrims stay on the pth of Zul-Hijja.
6 On Ighlamish see below, p. 702, n. 34. tghlamisb in Turkish means ' he
wept*. On names of this type see above, i, 308, n. 81.
7 A dynasty (932-1055) which reigned in Central and Southern Persia and
Iraq.
8 Tayi* (974-91) lived and died long before the rise of the Seljuqs (1037)-
9 1118-35.
391
THE HISTORY OF
to their rule and obedient to their commands and prohibitions,
as has been recorded in every history. And if one studies these
histories the matter becomes clear. However, the Sultan needed
some excuse whereby he might be secured from the reproaches
of mankind and the rulers all around him and such as might
prevent its being said that a Sultan professing Islam had, out of
lust for empire, attacked that Imam to do homage to whom is
to complete the pillar of Islam and in so doing had cast his faith
to the winds. The Prophet of God (may God Uess him and give
him peace !) hath said : ' Whosoever dieth without having done homage
to an Imam, hath died as though he lived in the Days of Ignorance/
And the poet hath said :
We pray, and the completion of our prayer is that we
klleve tkee to le the lest Imam before Goi
He therefore asked the imams in his own kingdom for a fatwa
to the effect that the Imamate of any Imam who committed such
acts [122] as have been mentioned was not a true Imamate ; and
that when such an Imam made an attack upon a sultan who
succoured Islam and had passed a lifetime in Holy War, that
sultan had the right to reject that Imam and to set up another
[in his place]. Furthermore, the sayyids of the line of Husain
had the right to the Caliphate and the 'Abbasids were usurpers.
Having obtained fatwas to this effect he removed the name of the
Caliph from the khtttla throughout his kingdom. However, this
attack on the 'Abbasids was to turn out ill for the Sultan.
[XIII]
OF THE DESTRUCTION OF THE
SULTAN OF SULTANS AND THE CAUSE THEREOF
His descent is traced back to Ilig * and Boghra-Khan, 2 who
were the khans of Transoxiana and the account of whose rise
1 By Hig is meant perhaps Boghra-Khan's father, who bore the title of ilig.
See Barthold, Turkestan, 257, n. 5, also above, i, 288, n. 34.
2 On the rise of the Qara-Khanids and the career of Boghra-Khan Harun
b. Musa see Barthold, op. tit., 254-60,
392
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
to power is recorded in the Yamini of *Utbi. 3 In Transoxiana
he was called the Sultan of Sultans.
When the Khans of Qara-Khitai made themselves masters of
Transoxiana, Sultan 'Usman also came under the sway of the
giir-kban and yielded obedience to his commands and prohibi-
tions. The gur-kban for his part accorded him the continued
possession of the kingdom of Transoxiana and did not oust him
therefrom, contenting himself with a small annual tribute and
with the appointment of a sbabna to reside with him. Sultan
'Usman led a life of ease and pleasure, and whenever he visited
the giir-kban was received with honour and respect. Now the
giir-kban had a daughter such that the face of the moon was the
reflection of her cheeks and the sura of Beauty had been sent down
regarding her.
O them from whose musk-bag the locks of the beautiful
are but a scent, on whose surface the eighteen
thousand worlds are but an alleyway.
She was the Joseph of Egypt of her age, and the Sultan of Sultans
became smitten with her beauty, [123] the shirt of his patience
being rent with desire of her like a rose that has blown : their
love became as famous as that of Joseph and Zulaikha. The
Sultan of Sultans asked for her hand in marriage, but the giir-
kban, because of the difference between their kingdoms, refused
to agree and rejected his suit.
O ibou tube givtst the Pleiades fn marriage to Canopus,
in the name of God bow shall thy come together ? *
The Sultan was hurt and offended, and to this cause of resent-
ment were added others arising out of the brutality of the giir-
kban's tax-collectors and sbabnas.
Now at that time the local rulers (muluk-i-atraf) and various
nobles held Sultan 'Usman in detestation, for he was, they said,
the Sultan of a Moslem country who was subject and tributary
to a polytheist. If he had not power to resist, why did he not
3 The Ta'rikb-al-YamM of Abu-Nasr Muhammad b. 'Abd-al-Jabbar *UtbI
(fi036), on which work see Barthold, op. dt., 19-20.
4 'Umar b. Abu-Rabl'a, the famous poet [f7i9]. (M.Q.)
393
THE HISTORY OF
apply to the Sultans of Islam and seek their aid and support ?
God Almighty bath said : e Those who take the unbelievers for friends
besides the faithfuldo they seek honour at their hands ? Verily, all
honour belongeth unto God' 5 Now at that time the pomp, power
and grandeur of the Sultan had taken firm hold of men's hearts
and the expanse of his kingdom had been far extended ; and
whoever had no call on his friendship and no claim on the
bond of his affection might expect to draw upon himself the
calamities of Fate and look to endure the vagaries of wily Fortune.
To oppose the gur-khan } then, was possible [only] in agreement
with the Sultan. Sultan 'Usman, accordingly, dispatched mes-
sengers to him, and throughout the land of Transoxiana he
perfumed the wood of the pulpits with the mention of his name
and circulated coins bearing his titles.
[124] When Sultan Muhammad went to war against Qara-
Khitai, Sultan 'Usman was in attendance upon him rendering
obedience and assistance ; and upon his return he betrothed to
him a pearl from the shell of the Sultanate and a full moon
from the Heaven of Bliss. To complete the nuptials, and hold
the feast, and plant firmly the sapling of union, he bore him
with him to Khorazm and showed him every delicate attention
that is possible between two Sultans. After the marriage had
been consummated Sultan 'Usman was minded to return to his
own capital, but Terken Khatun would not allow this in view
of the custom of the Turks, who, as a sign of respect, will not
let the son-in-law go back to his own house until a full year
has elapsed. When the Sultan set out a second time against
Khitai and came to Samarqand, the inhabitants and notables
had misgivings about the continued absence of Sultan 'Usman,
to which they each gave a different interpretation. The Sultan,
therefore, sent back some of his officers to give Sultan 'Usman
permission to return home with his daughter : he dismissed him
in a manner worthy of such a Sultan and sent an escort of
retainers to accompany him.
Upon his return to Khorazm the Sultan intended daily to
increase the rank of his son-in-law, but there came messengers
5 Koran, iv, 13$.
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THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
from his daughter telling how Sultan 'Usman had turned against
her father and was again in league with the gur-khan and how
he had made a mock of her by causing her to appear on a
festive occasion as attendant upon a maiden he had now received
in marriage from the iir-khan.
The Sultan bore this patiently and did not permit it to be made
known until another messenger came with the news that the
people of Samarqand at the command of Sultan *Usman had
massacred the persons who had accompanied the princess
together with such troops as had remained in the town. The
estrangement was thus made public and the Sultan could not
in honour look idly on. He ordered Sultan 'Usman's brother
[125] Otegin, 6 whom he viewed with favour and in whose
hands he had intended laying a whole clime, to be imprisoned
in Khorazm ; while he himself proceeded to Samarqand. The
citizens closed the gates ; but when they realized that gazelles
could not resist hunting lions, Sultan 'Usman took a sword
and a shroud 7 and came to wait on the Sultan. The latter,
however, gave orders for a general massacre, and nearly ten
thousand Moslems were slain. The sayyids, holy men, imams
atid *ulema held up copies of the Koran and made intercession;
and orders were then given for the sheathing of swords. When
Sultan Usman presented himself the Sultan turned to him and
said : c O man without honour, if thou didst mock thy wife on
my account, was she not after all thy consort ? What sanction
didst thou find in the code of chivalry for the commission of
such dishonourable acts ? * Sultan 'Usman hung his head in
shame. Now the Sultan for his part had no intention of harm-
ing him, but his daughter, whose name was Khan-Sultan,
would not suffer her husband's life to be spared. He therefore
gave command for Sultan 'Usman to be dispatched in the night.
This fell out in the year 609/1212-13.
The Sultan sought to win over the people of Samarqand and
6 Apparently his tide as youngest son and * guardian of the hearth * ot-tegin
or ot-tigin. See above, i, 42, n. 8.
7 To indicate that his life and death were in the Sultan's hands. Cf. below,
p. 416.
395
THE HISTORY OF
also sent envoys to the emirs of Farghana and Turkestan calling
upon them to yield allegiance to him. He likewise sent troops
to Sibijab 8 both to guard the place and to make constant attacks
on the remnants of ihe gur-khan's forces and so prevent them from
recovering their strength and storing up supplies.
When Kiichliig learnt of the Sultan's activities and of the
superior strength of his forces, he sent messengers to him and
they came to an agreement in accordance with which [126] they
were to attack the gur-khan from either side, and if the Sultan
was the first to defeat him, all territory as far as Kashghar and
Khotan would pass to him, while if Kiichliig was the first
everything up to the river at Fanakat would be his. They
reached an understanding on these terms ; and the Sultan then
sent army after army to attack the gur-kkan, and these attacks
extended as far as the region of Besh-Baligh. Samarqand now
became the Sultan's capital, and he built a Friday mosque there
and began the construction of other fine buildings.
It was a curious circumstance that when the Sultan's harem
fell into the hands of the Tartar army, Khan-Sultan, who had
held Sultan 'Usman in loathing, came into the possession of a
dyer in Emil : he married her and they lived together until her
death.
[XIV]
OF SULTAN JALAL-AD-DIN
SATAN the Tempter had caused fear and dread to gain such a
hold upon the mind of his father, Sultan Muhammad, that he
was seeking a hole in the ground or a ladder to the heavens in
order to place himself out of reach of the boundless army and to
tread heavily 1 upon the stirrups of flight before their onrush.
When he retreated before the Tartars and came to Samarqand
8 Reading, as M.Q. suggests, Sibijab for the Panjab of the text. Sibijab was
an older form of the name of Isbijab or Isfijab, which lay on the site of the present-
day Sairam, a small town in Kazakhstan, north-east of Tashkent and about
6j miles east of Chimkent.
1 Reading sang-ginn for the $<&uk~iran of the text.
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THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
with the intention of removal and flight he began to distribute
throughout the country and to depute as guardians of the land
those valiant troops and men of battle who for long years and
since remote times had been intended for such an occasion and
held in reserve for days like these.
And of his sons he who was eldest of age and greatest in
valour and daring, the crown upon the head of [127] kingship
and the glittering lamp of the divine Faith
The offspring of the Shadow of God on Earth : if he he
mentioned amongst sultans, thy will cry ' Bravo I '
Anl the hunters of the lands urill prostrate themselves
humbly before him when there are drawn up around him,
ripe men and youths
i.e. Sultan Jalal-ad-Din, was alone in attendance upon his
father, while the other sons were the adornment of this life
and of folly.
He was ever denouncing his father's plan, remote as it was
from the target of rectitude and the highway of righteousness,
and saying : * To scatter the armies through the lands and turn
tail before an enemy whom one has not encountered, nay, who
has not yet started from his own territory, is the mark of a craven
wretch, not the path of a mighty lord. If the Sultan does not
decide to advance, and do battle, and charge, and fight at close
quarters, but persists in his decision to flee, let him entrust the
command of the valiant troops to me, so that we may set our
faces towards the warding off of events and the forestalling of
the actions of frivolous Destiny before the opportunity is lost,
and our feet are caught in the mire of perplexity and bewilder-
ment, and we are chewed like gum in the mouth of reproach
and drowned in the flood of repentance before the eyes of all
mankind.
Perchance shining Fortune is not awake, otherwise
such a deed is not difficult/ 2
His father would straightway reply : " The good and evil of
this world are of a fixed extent and the order and arrangement
2 Shahnama ed. Vullers, 464, 1. 479.
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THE HISTORY OF
of affairs and the derangement and deficiency thereof are of a
specified measure. Until the time has elapsed that was pre-
destined in eternity without beginning and written in the page
of Fate and Destiny, and until an event which has occurred
has produced its full effect, prevention and defence or neglect
and procrastination will have one and the same taste in that
crucible. For with the feeble measures which men take in
ignorance under conditions of hardship and adversity and of
which they know not what the final outcome [128] will be nor
what number the dice of Empire will throw upon the board,
hope of success and prosperity is inconceivable and in that case
strength and weakness 3 bear the same appearance. Every per-
fection has a defect, every full moon a waning and every defect
a perfection ; and until this has reached its culmination and
this misfortune, which has appeared on the globe of the earth
through the influence of the heavens and particularly affects our
own circumstances, has expended itself, and the flood thereof
subsided, and the flame of the fire of calamity died down, and
the hurricane of suffering slackened, to attempt to set right affairs
of which the order has been deranged and the pillars shaken is
perhaps to strive, and endeavour, and struggle, and fight for no
profit but toil and increase of tribulation. For it is well known
and an established fact that agitation in the noose of the rope
only precipitates death and that from the union of conjecture and
fantasy there can spring nought but madness.
If the bands of Fate are fastened on us and we are
afflicted with hurt from all the varieties of her
cruelty.
There are in the heavens stars without number, and yet
there are none that suffer eclipse save only the sun
and the moon.' 4
They several times disputed in this fashion but the Sultan
would by no means agree to his son's remaining behind and
compelled him to continue at his side. When Sultan Muham-
3 The text has quvvat va shaukat ' strength and magnificence ', but, as M.Q.
points out, the meaning must be as in the translation.
4 Shams-al-Ma'all Qabus b. Vashmgir. (M.Q.)
398
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
mad left the ruined caravanserai of this present world for the
resting-place of the world to come and betook himself from a
dusty salt-marsh to the Garden of Purity, then only did Sultan
Jalal-ad-Din and his younger brothers with some few others
cross from Abaskun to the mainland, 5 where in accordance with
the verses:
[129] And sit not with thy eyelids covering a mote, when
on earth there are a mount, a spear and a companion 6
he wished to gallop on to the field of manliness and by wisdom
to prevail over the revolution of the circling heavens, so that
perchance he might lay the dust of the unrest which Fate had
raised from the earth of tribulation and blunt the sword of hard-
ship which Destiny had drawn from the sheath of tyranny.
And 1 desire nought hut generosity, for it is the
nature of a free soul filed with pride.
However those conversant with subtleties and those who dive
into the sea of truths know that when Fortune shies, and shakes
the load off its side, and turns the back of unkindness, a man can
on no account expect that it will again show the cheek of
fidelity ; or that having sharpened the teeth of violence and
treachery it will again place its tongue against the soft palate;
or that once it has made off it can be captured again ; or that
having twisted the neck of pride it will consider the showing of
kindness a sufficient encouragement; or that having knit in
hostility the brow of enmity and perversity it will open its lips
with the smile of conciliation. But when it has turned but a
hair's breadth aside, though a man exert himself to the utmost
to regain its favour and bring it back, it cannot be expected to
wag its jaw in self-satisfaction again. And if it deviates but the
width of a fingernail one cannot raise a finger to prevent it.
5 az Abaskun ti-$hatt-i-an dmadand. Perhaps rather : c land from [the Sea of]
Abaskun'. See above, i, 155, n. 6.
6 From a gastda by Abu-Bakr al-Khuwarizmi praising Shams-al-Ma e ali Qabus
b. Vashmgir. Quoted by 'Utbi. Another bait of this qasida has been quoted
above, i, 342. (M.Q.)
399
THE HISTORY OF
If my soul turns away from something it will hardly
face it again until the end of time. 7
And if sometimes, contrary to custom, it sprouts for a few days,
like the verdure of the dunghill, it finally becomes ' dry stMle
which the winds scatter '. 8
Nor was it concealed from the Sultan's discernment that to
struggle with the contentious Heavens and to persevere against
fickle Fate is [vain] toil and trouble ; that the course of all
events is predestined f there is no rejecting of His judgement and no
[130] one to reverse His doom ' 9 and that it is not in your hands
or mine to restore our luck when it is gone, nay the world itself
is a snare of calamity, a deceitful coquette.
Shun care, for worldly-wise men have found no shore
to the sea of the world.
Why shouldst thou blindly put thy trust in oppression and
chicane ? For the affairs of this world are all oppression
and chicane.
Fortune and prosperity had completely deserted the House of
Tekish, and the star of felicity, amid the calamities of adversity,
had begun to turn and decline, and there could be no hope of
arresting it. The secret of the mandate ' Thou givest power to
whom Thou wilt ' 10 was written and revealed upon the brow of
the empire of Chingiz-Khan and his posterity, just as the purport
of ' Thou takest away the power from whom Thou wilt ' 10 was plain
to read in the pages of the circumstances of his opponents, though
it was beyond the powers of human imagination to peruse it.
Nevertheless, the Sultan wished that the son might not like the
father be chid by the tongues of men and struck with the arrows
of reproach by the servants of God Almighty.
It is for me to seek glory where it abideth, and it will
not be my fault if what I seek escapeth me. 11
7 Ma*n b. 'Aus, a poet of the Hamasa. (M.Q.) 8 Koran, xviii, 43.
9 Apparently an echo of Koran, xiii, 41 : ' God pronouncetb a doom, and there
is none to reverse His doom.' 10 Koran, iii, 25.
11 It is very likely that this is a hut from the qarila by Abu-Bakr al-Khuwarizmi
of which two huts have already been quoted on pp. 75 [342] and 129 [399].
[M.Q.]
400
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
With all this in mind Sultan Jalal-ad-Din, hearing that the
Mongol army had passed by in the direction of Iraq, departed
to Manqishlagh 12 and requisitioning the horses he found there
dispatched messengers to Khorazm. He was accompanied by
his brothers, Uzlaq-Sultan, 13 who was heir presumptive [131]
to his father and Aq-Sultan.
Now of the chief emirs there were present in Khorazm
*Buchi 14 Pahlavan, the maternal uncle of Uzlaq-Sultan,
Kuch-Ai Tegin, Oghul Hajib and Temur Malik 15 together
with 90,000 Qanqli. And on account of his being favoured
by Terken Khatun Sultan Muhammad had conferred the Sul-
tanate and control of Khorazm upon Uzlaq-Sultan, who was
a very young child and not quick in his studies, 16 When the
Sultans arrived, opinions and feelings varied. Everyone inclined
to a different party, and because of the weakness and impotence
of Uzlaq-Sultan and the lack of agreement amongst the ministers
every servant became a master and every oppressed person an
oppressor. Some of the emirs who were greatest in power and
authority but mounted on the steed of ignorance and stupidity
were of opinion that they could achieve something [by themselves]
but that if Sultan Jalal-ad-Din, who was the firmest pillar and
the strongest party, became Sultan, each would have a rank and
station assigned to him beyond which it would be impossible to
advance a single step, and offices would be allotted [solely] in
accordance with merit.
[132] An (Met for the foot, and a lofty crown for above
the eyebrow, and a pearl necklace for the neck.' 11
Most of his own following as well as the common people and
12 The Mangyshlak Peninsula on the eastern shores of the Caspian.
13 Reading AWZLAQ for the ARZLAQ of the text.
14 The spelling of the name is uncertain. The text has J3WH following A,
in which however the reading may be BWHY, i.e. BWJY. A similar form
occurs in the MS. of Nasawi. See PelHot, Horde d'Or, 18, n. 2.
15 On Temur Malik see ahove, i, 91-5.
16 According to Nasawi (tr. Houdas, 93-4), Sultan Muhammad, shortly
before his death, had deprived Uzlaq-Sultan of the tide of heir-presumptive
and conferred it upon Jalal-ad-Din.
17 From a gastda by Abul-'Ala al-Ma'arri in his Saqt-az-Zand. (M.Q.)
401
THE HISTORY OF
the majority of the higher classes favoured the Sultan, and the
more intelligent courtiers, who with the passage of time had
tasted the sweetness and bitterness of life and experienced the
pleasure and pain thereof, were eager to serve him and came
forward to offer their allegiance. Moreover firm covenants and
binding agreements had been made between the brothers.
Nevertheless, the hostile emirs laid their plans to destroy Jalal-
ad-Din by a sudden trick. One of their number 18 informed
him of their plot, and when he realized that at such a time the
people were thinking only of strife and rebellion, not of concord
and unity, he bestirred himself to find an opportunity [of escape]
giving up all hope of the throne and castle of Khorazm. Like
a man 19 he set out for Shadyakh by way of Nisa. Upon reaching
Ustuva he collided with the Tartar army on the Hill of Shayaqan.
For a long while he fought that host with his tiny force and
opposed them with constantly repeated assaults in circumstances
in which the son of Zal could only have trodden the road of
retreat. Finally, when the world [133] donned a pitch-black
veil
The captain gave his dragon rein and with dust removed
light from the world 20
and at the time of ' no time it was of escape ' 21 he got free of that
people.
And in the very hour of the Sultan's leaving Khorazm they 22
received news that troops were massing against them and not
having the wherewithal to make a stand they hastened off in
the Sultan's trail. The next day in the same area they came face
to face with those who had fought and striven with Sultan
Jalal-ad-Din. And when Aq-Sultan, who was in attendance
on Uzlaq-Sultan, and the chief khans beheld the Tartar host,
18 Oghul Hajib, according to Nasawi (tr. Houdas, 96). See also i, 158, n. 17.
19 The phrase is introduced for the sake of the word-play with Nisa nisa
' women '.
20 Sbabnama ed. Vullers, 451, 1. 302. For gard 'dust* Vullers has kbasbm
'anger'.
21 Koran, xxxviii, 2.
22 I.e. Uzlaq-Sultan, Aq-Sultan and their following. See Nasawi tr.
Houdas, 103-6.
402
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
they fled like stars when the sun unsheathes his blades, all of
them turning their faces from battle upon the first charge and
showing their heels without having stretched out their hands to
combat. And the Sultans of the age became prisoners in the
hands of Tartar devils, and their chief men and most of their
followers were food for the edge 23 of the flashing sword and
the prey of wolves and hyenas. And after for two days enduring
the ignominy of captivity the Sultans paid the penalty for all
that their father had done to the royal houses and ancient families,
being buried beneath the earth, nay deposited in the bellies of
beasts of prey and eaters of carrion. 24 ' And judgement is with God,
the Lord of the Worlds'
If a whirlwind springs up from a comer and knocks an
unripe orange to the ground,
Do we call it tyrannous or just ? do we call it virtuous
or wicked ? 25
Meanwhile Sultan Jalal-ad-Din having arrived in Shadyakh,
was employed for two or three days in preparing for departure
whenever an opportunity presented itself. Finally one midnight
when
There was no sound of bird and no cry of beast, and the
world had silenced its tongue for good or ill- 26
he suddenly, like a shooting star, leapt upon the mount of trust
in God and on the I5th of Zul-Hijja, 617 [xoth of February,
1221], set out for Ghaznin which had been assigned to him by
his father. [154] Between his departure and the arrival of the
Mongol army there was an interval of no more than an hour.
Learning that the Sultan had vacated the town they at once took
up his trail and came to a place where the road forked. Here
the Sultan had left the malik Il-Direk 27 with a body of men to
23 There is a pun in the original, ztdab meaning both ' edge ' and ' fly *.
24 Nasawi's account (loc. cit.) is quite different. Far from being captured in
flight the two princes had fallen in battle ; and the Mongols had then cut off
their heads, which they had fastened to the ends of knees and paraded throughout
the country in order to strike terror into the hearts of the population.
25 Sbabnama ed. Vullers, 433, 11. 3-4. 26 J&/4 1065, 1. 13.
27 AYLDRK. On the title direk see above, i, 309, n. 83. C and D have
AYLDKZ, i.e. Ildegiz.
D II. 403
THE HISTORY OF
offer resistance for a while until there was some distance between
him and the enemy. After some while, being no longer able
to hold them, U-Direk withdrew and made off by another route
than that taken by the Sultan; and the Tartars followed in his
pursuit thinking the Sultan also had gone that way- The latter,
meanwhile, proceeding by another route, traversed 40 parasangs
in a single stage, although the steed of his ambition was lame;
and the Mongol army desisted from their pursuit and turned
aside from the road he was following. Arriving before Zuzan
he wished to enter the town in order to rest his horses, a little,
but the inhabitants disputed with him and would not even
agree to his taking refuge inside the ramparts, a request which
he made so that should the Mongol army arrive he might offer
resistance for a while without their being able to approach him
at once from the front and from the rear. * If/ they said, e the
Mongol army arrives, they will assail thee with sword and arrow
from that direction whilst we shall attack thee with stones from
behind, on this side/ It was just like the story of Khidr in the
Glorious Koran: * (They went on) till they came to the people of
a city. Of this people they asked food, tut they refused them for
&w$t$! 28 In short, finding the smoke-hole of treachery open in
the hospitable houses of the faithful nobles of Zuzan, he pro-
ceeded to Mabizhanabad 29 which he left at midnight. At day-
break the Mongols 30 [135] arrived and continued [in his pursuit]
as far as Barduya, which is a dependency of Herat, when they
turned back.
The Sultan proceeded on his way and came to Ghaznin.
Amin Malik, 31 who was stationed there with an army of 50,000
men, came out to greet him ; and everybody, both the soldiers
28 Koran, xviii, 76.
29 MAB Y2NAB AD. M.Q- quotes two instances of a form MABZNAB AD
in a collection of documents of the Timurid period. This latter place appears
to have been in the vicinity of Khaf and is therefore almost certainly identical
with Juvainfs Mabizhanabad,
30 Here the text has MogU (MWFAL) for the usual MogM (MTWL).
MogM (cf. the Moal of Carpini and Rubrudk) or Mo&M was the Turkish
form of the name, the native form being Mcnggb&l.
31 See below, p; 460, n. i.
404
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
and the local population, rejoiced at his coining and were
heartened by his presence. The Sultan married Amin Malik's
daughter and passed that winter in Ghaznin in the Maidan-i-
Sabz. The news of his arrival being spread abroad, bands of
soldiers and tribesmen approached from every side ' arriving ly
every deep defile '. 32 Saif-ad-Din Ighraq attached himself to the
Sultan with 40,000 valiant warriors, and the emirs of Ghur like-
wise joined him from every direction.
From every side an army gathered about him, for he was
at once of noble birth and a [mighty] swordsman. 33
His condition was now one of glory and splendour and he
had a numerous army and following at his command. Accord-
ingly, in the first days of spring when [136] the flowers began
to bloom, he issued forth from Ghaznin and proceeded in the
direction of Parvan. 34 Upon encamping there he received a
report that Tekechiik and Molghor 35 with an army of Mongols
were laying siege to the castle of Valiyan 36 and were on the
point of capturing it. Leaving his heavy baggage at Parvan the
Sultan led his army in an attack on Tekechiik and Molghor.
He slew a thousand men of the Tartar vanguard ; and his army
being larger in numbers, the Mongols withdrew across the river, 37
destroying the bridge, and encamped upon the other side. The
river thus formed a barrier between the two armies, and they
[simply] discharged arrows at one another rill nightfall. Then
at midnight the Mongol army retreated, and the Sultan also
retired, and having brought a great quantity of stores thither, he
now took these from his treasury and distributed them amongst
the troops. Then he returned to Parvan.
32 Koran, xxii, 28. 33 Sbabnama ed. Vullers, 445, 1. 201.
34 To the north-east of Charikar at the confluence of the Ghorband and
the Panjshir. According to Raverty, 288, 1021 and 1042, the battle between
Jalat-ad-Din and the Mongols was fought at another place of the same name
between Ghazni and Bamiyan, near the sources of the Logar. See also Minorsky,
flulid, 348.
35 MLTWR. Perhaps identical with the Mular of Kirakos and Grigor and
the Molar of Vardan, but see Cleaves, The Mongolian Names, 424.
36 The Walian Kotal to the north of Charikar.
37 ' Probably the Panjshir.' (Barthold, Turkestan, 442.)
405
THE HISTORY OF
When news of this reached the ear of Chingiz-Khan and he
learnt how the Sultan had mended his affairs and restored them
to order
Tidings came to Afrasiyab that Suhrab had cast a
boat upon the water. 38
From the army there were chosen many horsemen,
veterans in war
[137] he dispatched Shigi-Qutuqu a9 with 30,000 men. A
week after the Sultan s arrival in Parvan the Mongol army
appeared in the middle of the morning. The Sultan at once
mounted horse, advanced to the distance of one parasang and
drew up his army, confiding the right wing to Amin Malik
and the left to Saif-ad-Din Malik Ighraq, whilst he himself took
up his position in the centre. He commanded the whole army
to dismount whilst keeping hold of their horses and to fight like
desperate men. And since the numbers of the right wing, which
had been entrusted to Amin Malik were greater than those of
the Mongol army, 10,000 horsemen, all valiant warriors, attacked
it and forced it back. Repeated reinforcements were sent from
the centre and the left wing until they drove the Mongol army
back to their base. In all these charges many were killed on
either side, there was much hand-to-hand fighting and unending
recourse to both guile and force, and none would show his back
to the foe. Finally, when the bowl of the horizon was red with
the blood of the sunset glow, either side encamped at its base ;
and the Mongols ordered every horseman to set up an image on
his spare horse. 40 The next day, when the swordsman of the
sky had brought down his blade upon the skull of night, both
sides drew up their forces, and the Sultan s army seeing another
rank behind the Mongol army thought that reinforcements had
**Sbahnama cdL Vullers, 445, I. 208. The following line is not in Vullers.
On the comparison of Chingiz-Khan to Afrasiyab see above, i, xxxii.
3& See above, i, 135, n. 8.
40 This practice is noticed by Carpini : ' . . . et faciunt aliquando ymagines
hominum et ponunt super equos. Hoc ideo faciunt ut multitude magna bel-
kncium esse credatur.' (Wyngaert, 82.) According to the translation by
Haenisch the same tactics would appear to have been used against the Naiman
in 1204 (Secret History, 193), but see Cleaves* review of this translation, 528-9.
406
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
arrived. They were alarmed and consulted together as to
whether they should take to flight and seek refuge in the *Basta 41
and Tirah 42 mountains. But the Sultan would not countenance
this [138] and rejected their corrupt counsels in accordance with
the verse:
And what I say [to my soul], whenever it wavers
or is disturbed, is : e Stay as thou art, thou wilt
be praised or thou wiltfnd rest.' 43
And again on the next day they dismounted, and the Mongol
army, having experienced the fury and the great numbers of
Ighraq's troops, selected their bahadurs and attacked the left wing.
Ighraq's men stood firm and let fly (ijhraq) with their bows;
and by attacking with arrows held the Mongols in check. And
when the latter withdrew before that attack and made for their
base, the Sultan commanded the drums to be beaten, and the
whole army mounted horse and made a general charge, putting
the Mongol army to flight. In the midst of their flight, however,
they turned round a second time and charged down upon the
Sultan's army, striking nearly 500 warriors to the ground. At
this very juncture the Sultan rode up like a lion of the meadow
or a leviathan of the raging sea, and the Mongols were routed ;
the two noyans 44 departing with a small body of men to wait
upon Chingiz-Khan and the Sultan's army busying themselves
with plunder.
While they were thus occupied a dispute arose between Amin-
ad-Din [139] Malik and Saif-ad-Din Malik Ighraq about a
horse. Amin-ad-Din Malik struck Malik Ighraq on the head
with a whip, and the Sultan exacted no punishment for this act
41 So in the text, BSTH = lasta ' bound ', ' closed '. E has PTH = pushta
'hill'.
42 Ttraht. On the mountainous region of Tirah in the North-West Frontier
Province see the Imperial Gazetteer of India, XXIII, 388-90. Ibn-al-Athir, XII,
38, reports, stA anno 602/1205-6, a revolt of the Tirahis against Shihab-ad-Din
of Ghur.
43 'Amr b. al-Itnaba al-Khazraji. See the Kamil of Mubarrad, Leipzig ei,
753. (M.Q.)
44 By the two noyans are presumably meant Tekechiik and Molghor, Shigi-
Qutuqu, the commander of the army, being passed over in silence.
407
THE HISTORY OF
for he was not confident that the Qanqli troops would submit
to punishment. Saif-ad-Din remained where he was all day
but when night fell he made off like Jabala son of Aiham 45
and hastened to the mountains of Karman and Sanquran. 46
After professing the Truth I became a Christian
because of the disgrace of a UoWj in which there
would have been no harm had I endured it patiently, 4 ' 7
All that befell Ighraq afterwards will be set forth in a separate
chapter. 48
The Sultan's strength was broken by his defection and the
highway of honour and success closed to him. He made for
Ghaznin with the intention of crossing the Indus, and Chingiz-
Khan, who by that time had finished dealing with Talaqan,
learning of the dispersal of the Sultan's forces, went forth to
defeat him and exact vengeance, like flashing lightning or a
torrential flood, his heart filled with rage and leading an army
more numerous than the raindrops. When the Sultan received
tidings of him and heard the report of his advance against him
with so great an army that it was impossible to oppose that
vengeful host and confront the Emperor of the Earth
For that king is a male dragon panting for vengeance,
a cloud of calamity.
45 The last of the Arab kings of Ghassan. He had become a Moslem but
afterwards reverted to Christianity. * The occasion of his turning Christian
was this : In passing through the bazaar of Damascus he let his horse tread
upon one of the bystanders, who sprang up and struck Jabala a blow on the
face. The Ghassanis seized the fellow and brought him before Abti 'Ubayda
b. al-Jarrah, complaining that he had struck their master. Abti 'Ubayda
demanded proof. "What use wilt thou make of the proof?" said Jabala.
He answered : " If he has struck thee, thou wilt strike him a blow in return."
"And shall not he be slain?" "No." "Shall not his hand be cut off?"
" No," said Abti 'Ubayda ; " God has ordained retaliation only blow for
blow." Then Jabala went forth and betook himself to Roman territory and
became a Christian; and he stayed there all the rest of his life/ (Ibn-Qutaiba
tr. Nicholson, A Literary History of the Arabs, 51.)
46 See above, i, 136, n. 10.
47 From the famous verses recited by Jabala b. al-Aiham after he had become
a Christian. (M.Q.) See above, n. 45.
48 See below, Chapter XXL
408
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
A mountain of hard rock becomes like a sea of water if
it hears the name of Afrasiyab 49
he prepared to cross the Indus and ordered boats to be got ready.
[140] Orkhan, 50 who was in the rear-guard, took up a stand
against the vanguard of the World-Conquering Emperor Chingiz-
Khan, but he was defeated and withdrew to join the Sultan.
And when Chingiz-Khan learnt of the Sultan's purpose he
hastened forward and overtook him; and his armies hemmed
him in before and behind. The next morning when the light
of day sprouted upon the cheek of night and the milk of the
dawn gushed forth from the breast of the horizon, the Sultan
was left between water and fire on one side the water of the
Indus and on the other an army like consuming fire, nay on the
one side he had his heart in the fire and on the other his face
towards the water. Nevertheless he did not lose heart but quit
himself like a man, preparing for action and kindling the fire of
war and battle. And when that lion through donning the garb
of combat had become like a panther crouching in readiness to
strike off the veil of opponents, he saddled the horse of vengeance
and chose to plunge into the fray. The victorious army of the
Lord of the Seven Climes attacked the right wing which was
commanded by Amin Malik : they were driven back and most
of them killed. Amin Malik took to flight and struck out for
Peshawar hoping to save his life by the fleetness of his mount.
But the Mongols had blocked the roads [141] and he was killed
49 For the first line see Sbabnama ed. Vullers, 301, 1. 35. For * king* Vullers
has * Turk ' and the second half of the line reads : * panting, and in [exacting]
vengeance a cloud of calamity '. The second line is not in Vullers. It occurs
however in Macan with * iron " instead of* hard rock *. Note again the identifica-
tion of Chingiz-Khan with Afrasiyab.
50 AWRXAN. According to Kirakos, 119, he was Jalal-ad-Din's step-
father. Both Kirakos, 119, and Nasawi (tr. Houdas, 220) speak of his assassina-
tion by the Isma'ilis at Ganja (the kter Elizavetpol, now Kirovabad in Soviet
Azerbaijan), and according to Nasawi this took place upon the Sultan's return
to that town, i.e. apparently in 1226 (ibit., 211); and yet Nasawi, 'ML, 406,
like Juvaini, ii, 456, recounts how Orkhan roused his [master from his drunken
sleep to make the final dash before the oncoming Mongols which ended in his
death at the hands of a Kurdish mountaineer. This was in 1231 ; and Nasawi
adds, ibid., 406-7, that Orkhan then entered Irbil and afterwards approached
and captured Isfahan. Perhaps there were two persons of this name
409
THE HISTORY OF
while on his way. The left wing was pushed back also, but
the Sultan stood firm in the centre with a body of 700 men
and resisted from dawn till noon, charging from left to right
and from the left attacking the centre; and with each attack
he felled several persons. But the army of Chingiz-Khan con-
tinued to advance and their numbers increased hourly, so as to
leave the Sultan less and less space to manoeuvre. Seeing that
the situation was desperate, with a moist eye and a dry lip he
ceased to care for fame and reputation. Akhash 51 Malik, the
Sultan's cousin on his mother's side, seized his bridle and drew
him back. With a burning heart and a weeping eye the Sultan
bade farewell to his children and with the boast :
When a man does not resort to trickery, even after
exerting every effort* he ruins his cause, and Heals
harshly with it, and is unfortunate.
But the man of determination on whom misfortune Joes not
descend without his having some plan in view
He is the hero of his age, as long as he lives, sagacious,
and if one nostril is dosed the other is in motion 5 *
he ordered his led horse to be brought up and mounting it again
charged leviathan-like into the sea of calamity. Then, having
forced back the Mongol army he turned rein and discarding his
cuirass whipped his mount and caused it to leap into the water
from a distance often ells or more.
[142] I stretched out my heart towards itj ani my broad lack
and slender waist glided with it over the rocks. 5 *
And crossing the great river like a fiery lion he reached the shore
of safety.
And it touched the level ground without a single scratch
from the rocks., while Death looked on
51 Reading AXA.S for the A|A of the text Nasawi ed, Houdas has
AXS (138 and i8<5) for which the MS. has AHS. Cf. the name Aqash in
HadloiF and Malov, Uighurische S$rachdenkmahr> also the AQ of Nasawi (ibid fj
153), although this could be read Aq-Qush ' White Bird * like the AQW of
Houtsma, Glossar, 32. Akhash MaKk, according to Nasawi tr. Houdas, 229
and 309, was killed in the Battle of Isfahan.
52 All these lines are from a famous qasida by the pre-Islamic poet Ta'abbata
Sharran, (M.Q.)
410
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
Seeing him swimming across Chingiz-Khan rode down to the
edge of the water. The Mongols made to cast themselves in
[after him] but he prevented them. They bent their bows, and
some who were eye-witnesses have related that so many were
killed in the water that as far as their arrows reached the river
was red with blood. As for the Sultan, he emerged from the
water with a sword, a lance and a shield.
And I returned to Fabm, though I bad not expected to
returnand how often have I escaped from the like
of them while they whistled [impotentfy] ! 52
And the heavens exclaimed in wonder:
No one has seen the like of this man in the world
nor heard of his like from the worthies of yore. 53
Chingiz-Khan and all the Mongols put their hands to their
mouths in astonishment, and Chingiz-Khan, after witnessing
that feat, turned to his sons and said : * Such sons should a
father have ! Having escaped the two whirlpools of water and
fire and reached the shore of safety, he will be the author of
countless exploits and troubles without number. How can a
wise man [143] fail to take him into account ? '
In the world he has no equal save the wise and
illustrious son of Zal.
In bravery he goes beyond the heavens, he does not
hold himself light. 54
[XV]
OP HIS ADVENTURES IN INDIA
WHEN the Sultan had escaped from the twin dangers of water
and fire, that is the flood of the Indus and the flame of the fury
53 Shahnama ed. Vullers, 1650, 1. 2705, where the reference is to Rustam.
54 JbiL, 1637, 11, 2494 and 2496. For na-darad * he has not ' Vullers has na-dari
* thou hast not *, which is correct, for Gushtasp is addressing his son Isfandiyar.
I read pur-kbirad ' wise * with C for the fo-khirad * foolish " of the text (which
has however the support of the best MSS. and is also in Mohl). D and G,
like Vullers, have pur-hunar * virtuous '. The second line agrees exacdy with Mohl
but Vuilers has bmtin * the same * instead of the particle bami in the first half.
411
THE HISTORY OF
of Chingiz-Khan, he was joined by five or six of his guards
(mjraiSn)^ whom Fate had not destroyed nor the blast from
the flames of tribulation and calamity confided to the dust of
annihilation. They could think of no plan but to conceal
themselves in the forest, and they remained thus hidden for a
day or two, by the end of which some fifty had joined him.
Scouts who had gone out to spy the land now returned with the
news that a band of Indian scoundrels (runud\ both horse and
foot, were engaged in wanton destruction and debauchery (bi-ais
ufujur masbgbul) 2 two parasangs away from the Sultans camp.
He ordered his companions each to cut himself a cudgel and to
fall upon these people by night. They killed the greater part
of them and carried off their animals and arms.
Another body of men now joined the Sultan, some on horse-
back and some mounted on oxen (dirdz-dunbal). They brought
news that Indian troops to the number of two or three thousand
men were in the vicinity. The Sultan attacked them with 120
men and thrust his Indian blade through many of these Indians ;
and with the booty thus gained he re-equipped his forces.
[144] And wboever is poor among us lives by his sword,
but whoever is poor among the rest of mankind
goes a-begging.
And we play with swords as a maiden plays with a
necklace or a garland of gilly-jlowers.
As the news of the Sultan's strength and his recovery from
defeat spread through India, troops gathered together from the
mountains of Balala 3 and Nikala * and about five or six thousand
horse attacked him. On hearing news of their approach he set
1 mufrad appears to be synonymous with ghutim (on which see above, i, 289,
n. 3 6"). Thus one of the officers who deserted Sultan Ghiyas-ad-Din to enter
the service of Malik Nusrat is referred to as a mufrad by Juvaini (ii, 470),
whereas Nasawi (ed. Houdas, 142) calls these officers ghulams (ghilmati).
2 Perhaps a reference to some Hindu ritual.
3 BLALH.
4 Reading NKALH with E (with C, E and G in H t 145) for the RKALH
of the text. Raverty, 294**, adopts the spelling Nikalah ; Elliot and Dowson, II,
5530, say that the name may be spelt either Bankala or Mankala. According
to the Tarikh-i-Alfi Balala and Nikala were in the vicinity of Lahore.
412
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
out against them with the 500 horsemen at his disposal and
joining battle scattered and annihilated those Indian forces. And
from every side isolated individual forces turned towards the
Sultan until about three or four thousand men had joined his
service.
The news that he was gathering forces together reached the
World-Conquering Emperor Chingiz-Khan, who at that time
was in the region of Ghaznin ; and he dispatched an army to
put an end to him. When the Mongol army, which was led
by Torbei Toqshin, 5 had crossed the river, the Sultan, not being
strong enough to oppose them, set out in the direction of Delhi.
The Mongols, for their part, upon hearing the news of his flight,
turned back and laid waste the district of Malikfur. 6
Meanwhile, the Sultan, having arrived within two or three
days' journey from Delhi, sent a man whom he had given the
tide of 'Ain-al-Mulk with a message to Sultan Shams-ad-Din, 7
in accordance with the saying that ' the noUe have a place for the
nolle. '. [145] * The vicissitudes of fortune/ his message ran,
* have established my right to approach thy presence, and guests
of my sort arrive but rarely. If, therefore, the drinking-place of
friendship be purified upon either side and the cups of fraternity
filled to the brim (? muvaffa), and we bind ourselves to aid and
assist one another in weal and woe, then shall all our aims and
objects be attained ; and when our opponents realize the concord
that exists between us, the teeth of their resistance will be blunted/
And he requested that a place might be assigned to him in
which he could remain for a few days.
Now the valour and bravery of the Sultan were famous every-
where and his great might and prowess were the talk of the
whole world. When, therefore, Sultan Shams-ad-Din heard
his message he brooded over the matter for several days, considering
5 See above, i, 141, and n. i.
6 According to Raverty, 537/1, there is in the Rawalpindi district * a Malik-
pur, in ancient times, the residence of the provincial governors, which lies in the
direct line of route from the NANDANAH district on the Jhilam to the locality
in which Chingiz Khan had pitched his camp . . .* It is not however men-
tioned in the Imperial Gazetteer.
7 I.e. Il-Tutmish.
413
THE HISTORY OF
the evil consequences thereof and fearing lest the Sultan might
gain an ascendancy over him and involve him in ruin. It was
said that an attack was made on 'Ain-al-Mulk in Delhi and he
was killed. In any case Sultan Shams-ad-Din sent a messenger
with offerings of food worthy of such a guest, but excused himself
from providing a place of abode on the grounds that nowhere
in that region was there a suitable climate nor any locality such
as would be fit for a king. If the Sultan agreed he would assign
him a place in the region of Delhi and would hand that area
over to him as soon as he had cleared it of rebels.
When this message reached the Sultan he turned back and
went to the region of Balala and Nikala. Here refugees from
the various armies gathered round him from all sides and having
escaped in small bodies from beneath the sword joined themselves
to the Sultan, until the total of his followers amounted to 10,000
men.
He now sent Taj-ad-Din Malik Khalaj with an army to the
Mountains of Jud: 8 they ravaged the country and carried off
much booty.
He also sent to Rai Kokar Sankin 9 and sought his daughter
in marriage. He agreed and likewise sent his son to [146] the
Sultan with an army. The Sultan conferred upon the son the
title of qutlugb-khan.
Now Qubacha was an emir who held sway over the provinces
of the Indus and breathed the breath of Sultanhood, and there
was enmity between him and Rai Kokar Sankin. The Sultan
sent an army against him under the command of Oz-Beg Tai. 10
On the bank of the Indus, one parasang from Ucha, Qubacha
had an encampment with 20,000 men. Oz-Beg Tai made a
surprise attack on him by night with a force 7,000 strong.
Qubacha's army was routed and dispersed and he himself
escaped by boat to Akar and Bakar, 11 which are two fortresses
8 I.e. the Salt Range.
9 Rai Kokar is the man's tide : ' Raja of the Khokars/ The spelling of his
name (SNKYN) is uncertain. See Elliot-Dowson, II, 396, n. i.
10 See above, i, 357, n. 15.
11 '. . . Altogether I make little doubt that the famous island-fort of Bhakkar
is the one indicated. Bhakkar indeed does comprise two islands. But, when
414
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
on an island. Oz-Beg Tai entered his encampment and took
prisoner all whom he found there. He sent the good news to
the Sultan, who set out [to join him] and dismounted in that
encampment before the pavilion that had been pitched for
Qubacha. The latter, meanwhile, fled from Akar and Bakar
[147] to Multan. The Sultan sent an envoy to demand the
return of the son and daughter of Amir Khan, 12 who fleeing
from the battle of the Indus had fallen into Qubacha's hands ;
he also asked him for money. Qubacha obeyed his command
and sent the son and daughter of Amir Khan to him with a
large sum of money, at the same time requesting that his territory
might not be molested.
When the weather became hot the Sultan left Ucha for
summer quarters in the Mountains of Jud and Balala and Nikala.
On the way he laid siege to the castle of Parasravar 13 and
engaged in a battle in which he was wounded in the hand
by an arrow. The castle was taken and everyone in it put to
death.
Here news reached him of the Mongol forces in his pursuit.
He turned back and as he passed by Multan sent an envoy to
Qubacha to notify him of his passage and ask for * shoe-money/ u
Qubacha refused and rising against the Sultan came out to do
battle. After a hour's skirmishing the Sultan would remain no
longer but departed for Ucha. The people of Ucha rose in
rebellion, and the Sultan halted there for two days and having
instituting inquiries on the spot I could not find that the small island lying to
the north was ever called " Akar ". It now goes by the name of the shrine on it.
But that it might once have been called so is not improbable, as the tendency to the
reduplication of the name of Bhakkar is even now shown by its being rarely men-
tioned, except when coupled with the name of one of the towns lying on either
side of it as " Bara-Bhakkar ", " Sakkar Bhakkar ' V (ElKot-Dowson, 11^554*0
12 As M.Q. points out in a footnote to the text this must be a copyist's error
for Amin Khan, i.e. Amin Malik, on whom see, above, pp. 409-10, also below,
Chapter XXL .
13 Parasravar appears to be a variant form of Parasrur, now Pasrur in the
Sialkot district of the Punjab.
14 a f /-tete : ' a tribute which a king exacted from the ruler of a place in
passing by, being the price of the shoes of the horse on which he was riding at
the time.' (M.Q.)
415
THE HISTORY OF
set fire to the city departed in the direction of Sadusan, 15 [148]
of which Fakhr-ad-Din Salari was governor on behalf of
Qubacha, his army commander being Lachin the Khitayan. 16
This latter attacked Orkhan, who was in charge of the Sultan's
vanguard, and was killed. Orkhan then laid siege to the town
of Sadusan, and when the Sultan arrived Fakhr-ad-Din Salari
presented himself humbly before him with a sword and a shroud.
The Sultan entered the town and remained there for a month.
He gave presents to Fakhr-ad-Din Salari and conferred the
governorship of Sadusan upon him. He then advanced against
Deval 17 and Damrila, 18 and Chatisar, 19 the ruler of that
province, fled before him and put to sea in a boat. The Sultan
encamped near Deval and Damrila and sent Khass-Khan with
an army to make an attack on Nahrwala, 20 from whence they
15 Reading SADWSAN for the SADWSTAN of the text. Sadusan is
often mentioned in the Arab geographers. It must have lain near the Indus,
somewhere in the neighbourhood of Sahwan, but the Indus has changed its
course. Marquart, Eransabr, 190-5, comes to no definite conclusions on Sadusan :
* Uber die wirkliche Lage von Sadusan konnen wir also heraus nichts lernen/
(V.M.) is Le. the Qara-Khitayan.
i? DYWL. The usual form of the name was Debul (Daybul). At the
time of the Arab geographers Debul was * a fine harbour at the principal mouth
of the Indus '. Its ruins now He far inland to the south-west of Tatta. See le
Strange, The Lands cftbe Eastern Caliphate, 331 and n. i, Minorsky, HuM t 372.
18 * Damrilah is one of the puzzles of Sind record. Like Bakhar, it does
not appear till the thirteenth century. It then invariably appears coupled with
Debal; so coupled it is mentioned by the TAakat-i-Ntsiri, the JJwi Kusba and
the Jami-ut-TdwaM of Rashiduddin ; when Tatha first appears in Barni's
account of the Emperor Muhammad Shah's pursuit of the rebel Taghi into
Sind, it is equally strangely coupled with Tatha. I know of no instance of
its mention alone by any writer of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, though
the Muntakbctlu-t-Tawarikh of Badaoni writes of the conquest of Damrilah by
the eldest son of the Sultan Ghiyasuddin. Major Raverty in one passage identifies
it with the ruins found by Ibn Batuta near Lohari, an identification made
impossible by the later mention of Damrilah in the account of Taghi's rebellion;
elsewhere he places it near Shakhrpur in the Shahbandar sub-division, where
local traditions certainly still point to the debris of the residences of Sumrah chiefs,
among them of Chanisar [Chatisar], whose name history and legend alike
associates [sic] with Debal.' (Abbott, Sind, 533.)
19 Reading CTYSR for the XNYSR of the text. Malik Sinan-ad-Din
Chatisar was the ' eleventh of the Sumra line, a Rajput dynasty the later members
of which accepted Islam'. See Haig, Turks and Afghans, 54.
20 Nahrwala or Anhalwara was the capital of Gujerat. Its site is now occupied
by the town of Patan in Northern Baroda.
416
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
brought many camels. The Sultan built a Friday mosque in
Deval on the site of an idol temple.
Meanwhile [149] news came from Iraq that Sultan Ghiyas-
ad-Din had established himself there, but that the greater part
of the army in that country were in favour of the Sultan and
demanded his presence. News also came that Baraq 21 Hajib
was in Kerman and had laid siege to Juvashir. 22 It was like-
wise reported that the Mongol army was approaching in pursuit
of the Sultan, and he therefore departed from thence by way of
Makran, numbers of his men perishing on account of the
unhealthy climate.
When news that the Sultan's forces were approaching reached
Baraq Hajib he sent out many offerings of food and sought to
hearten the Sultan with expressions of joy and pleasure. When
the latter arrived he begged him to accept the hand of his daughter.
The Sultan agreed and went through the ceremony of marriage.
The governor of the castle also came out and brought the Sultan
the keys of the town (hisar). He entered and there consummated
his marriage ; then after two or three days he mounted horse to
go hunting and to look for forage. Baraq Hajib remained
behind on the pretext that he was suffering from rheumatism
In the words of the saying:
Thou pretendedst to Imp because tbou didst not with to limp.
News was brought to the Sultan on the road of his holding
back and feigning illness. He realized that this backwardness
would engender mutiny and this delay beget rebellion before any
one was aware. In order to test him he sent back one of the
officers accompanying him with the message that he had decided
to leave shortly for Iraq and that this plan had priority over all
21 BRAQ. The spelling Buraq (Barthold, Turkestan) or Boraq (Spuler,
Die Mongoltn m Iran) is due to the identity of the word in unvocalized Arabic
script with Buraq, the name of the wondrous beast on which the Prophet Moham-
med ascended into Heaven. In fact fcrag is * le nom turc d'un chien a longs
poils plus ou moins fabuleux \ See Pelliot, Horde VOr, 57. On Baraq Hajib,
the first of the Qutlugh-Khans of Kerman, see below, Chapter XXV.
22 Juvashir (Guvashir) or Bardasir was the old name for the town, as distinct
from the province, of Kerman.
417
THE HISTORY OF
other matters. Baraq Hajib should therefore present himself in
the hunting grounds in order that the scheme might be discussed,
for he was a man of experience and was particularly conversant
with Iraq, so that his advice might promote the realization of this
undertaking. Baraq [150] replied that he was prevented from
attending on the Sultan and obliged to hold back from waiting
upon him by reason of his rheumatism. It was however advisable
that the Sultan should set out for Iraq as soon as possible since
Juvashir was not fit to be his residence or to accommodate his
retinue and following. However, that province must needs
have a lieutenant or governor answerable to the Sultan, and there
was no one better disposed or more suitable for this office than
himself, who had grown grey in the Sultan s service and to
whose previous services had been added more recent ones.
Moreover he had conquered that kingdom with his own sword
and acquired it by his own valour. He sent back the messenger
and ordered the gates to be closed and such of the Sultans men
as had remained to be ejected.
Having neither a place of abode nor the means of revenge, the
Sultan set out for Shiraz, sending an envoy to announce his
arrival to the atiktg Sa'd. The latter sent out his son Salghur-
Shah 23 with 500 horse to greet the Sultan. He excused himself
from attending in person with the plea that he had once sworn
a solemn oath, from which it was impossible to be released, that
he would never go out to welcome anybody. The Sultan
accepted his excuse and distinguished Salghur-Shah with every
kind of honour, also conferring upon him the title of qarindash-
kban** When he reached the frontier of Shiraz 25 in the region
of Pasa, 26 Sa'd sent him all manner of presents worthy of such
a guest wardrobes of ceremonial and everyday clothing, all sorts
of goblets, purses stuffed with dinars, large numbers of horses,
mules and camels, an arsenal and all the appurtenance of drink-
ing and cooking, together with Turkish and Abyssinian slaves
23 Usually Salghar-Shah. He was the father of Saljuq-Shah (1262-3), the
penultimate ruler of this dynasty.
24 I.e. 'Brother Khan'. I read QRNDA, i.e. wrindash, with B and D
for the QRA ANDA of the text.
25 Le. Fars. iThe usual spelling is Fasa.
418
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
for each capacity. He also expressed a desire to be connected
with him by marriage, and a pearl which [151] had been reared
in the shell of that noble house, in the bosom of chastity, hearken-
ing to the lips of Wisdom and Modesty, was strung upon the
Sultan's necklace. 27 When by this marriage the ropes of concord
had been spliced together between the two parties and the
foundations of agreement and friendship firmly laid, he remained
a few days and then set out for Isfahan.
Now at that time the atobeg Muzaffar-ad-Din Abu-Bakr, whom
God Almighty made heir to his father's kingdom and to those
of other kings also, was confined by his father, like a pearl, in
the shell of imprisonment because at the time of the latter's
returning from Sultan Muhammad he had made war on his
father and wounded him. The Sultan now asked for his release,
and the atabeg replied : * Although my son Abu-Bakr has
neglected his duties and has been marked with the brand of
disobedience (and he sent the caftan with the mark of the wound
on it), nevertheless the Sultan's command must be obeyed as the
body obeys the soul. After the Sultan has left, I will send him
after him, with full equipment/ He kept his word and did in
fact sent Abu-Bakr.
At the time of the Sultan's departure a slave belonging to
'Izz-ad-Din [152] Sokmez, 28 called Qilij, who had fled from
Isfahan, arrived and was brought before the Sultan. He was a
Turk, whose picture the Painter had copied from the reflection
of the sun and whose beauty the Distributor of comeliness and
27 The following is written in the margin of C in this place : * Note by Muham-
mad Munajjim, who by gleaning after 'Ata-Malik Juvaini had the good fortune
to ascertain the following : the name of the atalegs daughter was MalTka Khatun.
She became the wife of the Rustanvhearted Jalal-ad-Din, son of Muhammad
Khorazm-Shah, and he remained here for two and a half months. When he
went to Isfahan Muzaffar-ad-Din Abu-Bakr was equipped by his father and
went to join him there. He remained in attendance on Sultan Jalal-ad-Din
for 3 [? 6] years and the Sultan thought more highly of him than his own brother.
Finally the atabeg Sa'd sent for him and made him his heir, and when he died
in 627/1229-30 or 628/1230-1 [this must refer to the death of Jalal-ad-Din
in 1231, not to that of Sa'd in 1226] Muzaffar-ad-Din Abu-Bakr succeeded
his father on the throne of Shiraz and was the best of the Salghurids.* (M.Q.)
28 SKMAZ. The word may be read in several ways : sokmez means * he
who does not kneel ' and also * he who does not scold *.
E n. 419
THE HISTORY OF
grace had made equal with that of Joseph ; while in the delicate
bloom of his cheeks was also the flash of fire. The poet might
well have been describing him in the following quatrain :
Those who are unique in the belief of metempsychosis
Watched thee as thou didst walk abroad yesterday
And swore by one another's lives
That this was Joseph the Handsome resurrected.
The Sultan showed honour to Qilij and took him into his
service.
Upon arriving in Isfahan he received tidings that his brother
Ghiyas-ad-Din was in Ray with the ministers and chief men
of the army. Travelling light [he set out] with a few picked
horsemen carrying banners of white cloth like the Mongol army;
and before any one of them was aware he had swooped down
upon them like a falcon upon a pigeon. Ghiyas-ad-Din and
some of the army leaders dispersed in alarm. Out of kindness
and pity the Sultan sent a message to Ghiyas-ad-Din and his
mother. It was not right, he said, to conceal oneself from any
kind of guest, and in any case now was no time for differences
and no place for strife and disagreement. They should present
themselves with ample hopes and easy minds and not abandon
themselves to uncertainty and bewilderment. And when such
of the army leaders as had hastened to present themselves to the
Sultan had been received with honour, Ghiyas-ad-Din, seeing
the inclination of men's natures and the attraction of their thoughts
toward his brother, came with a burning heart to wait upon
him accompanied only by a few followers of long standing.
[153] The Sultan retained every man in the army in the rank
he held and allotted a post to each of them. As for the local
administrators (a$h$b-i-amal) he dispatched each of them upon
appropriate business and issued the necessary edicts and man-
dates. And with the advent of the Sultan the various lands and
territories saw the prospect of some degree of peace and stability.
Now the Secretary and Controller of the Realm was Nur-ad-
Din Munshi, 29 and this Nur-ad-Din was constantly drinking.
a9 This was no other than the celebrated Nasawi, the secretary (mmdn) and
afterwards the biographer of Sultan Jalal-ad-Din.
420
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
Kamal-ad-Din Isma'il the Isfahan! with some of the imams of
Isfahan called upon him one morning when he had not yet
risen from his drunken slumbers. Kamal-ad-Din wrote the
following quatrain and sent it in, and they went away:
Your accomplishments combined with this fondness for wine
Are like sublimity combined with baseness.
Your condition resembles the eyes of the fair
Because there light and languor 30 are always combined.
Nur-ad-Din Munshi has a qasida on the Sultan of which the
following comes from the beginning:
Come, my soul, for the world has again become sweet and
pleasant because of the glory of the supreme Chosroes,
the ttlugh-sultan, zl Jalal-ad-Din.
[XVI]
OF SULTAN JALAL-AD-DIN'S APPROACH TO BAGHDAD
IN the beginning of the year 621/1224 he set out with the
intention of proceeding to Tustar * and passing the winter there.
He sent Elchi Pahlavan on in advance to reconnoitre with a
body of 2,000 men, whilst he himself followed after; and as he
passed by, Sulaiman-Shah 2 paid a visit to him and gave him
his sister in marriage. Upon reaching Shabur-Khast 3 (which
30 Nur-ad-Din means ' Light of the Faith ' and the ordinary meaning of
martf * languor ' is * drunkenness '.
' 31 Le. ' the Great Sultan '. Perhaps the Sultan was so called by his Turkish
followers.
1 I.e. Shustar.
2 This was Shihab-ad-Din Sulaiman-Shah, the ruler of the Ive Turcomans
and the future defender of Baghdad against the Mongols. See Minorsky, Stud'ts
in Caucasian History, 152, n. 2, also M.Q., HI, 453-63. According to Nasawi
the marriage took pkce when Jalal-ad-Din was returning from the Baghdad
area and had encamped near Sulaiman-Shah's castle, i.e. the castle of Bahar
near Hamadan. The circumstances were less scandalous than they appear in
Houdas' translation (308-9), the kdy being the sister, not the wife, of the ' seigneur
de k citadelle', who was of course Sulaiman-Shah himself.
3 Shabur-Khwast or Shapur-Khwast is the kter Khurramabad. See Minor-
sky, Hudud, 383, also his article, Luristan, in the Encyclopedia of Islam.
421
THE HISTORY OF
used to be a great and famous city [154] of which mention is
made in histories though only the ruins of it still remain) he
remained there for a month, and the chiefs of the Lurs came to
wait on him. When his horses had recovered their strength he
set out for Baghdad expecting the Commander of the Faithful
an-Nasir li-Din- Allah to render him assistance and make of
him a bulwark against the foe. He sent a messenger on in
advance to announce his arrival and explain his intentions. But
the Commander of the Faithful paid no attention to his words,
for he still harboured resentment for what he had suffered at the
hands of the Sultan s father and grandfather. Instead he deputed
Qush-Temur, one of the slaves holding the rank of emir, together
with an army of 20,000 valiant men and illustrious heroes to
expel the Sultan from his territory ; and at the same time carrier
pigeons were dispatched to Irbil with the message that Muzaffar-
ad-Din 4 should likewise send 10,000 men so that the Sultan
might be caught between them. Qush-Temur, who was over-
confident on account of the greatness of his own numbers and
the smallness of the Sultan s resources, set out before the time
appointed for the army from Irbil. When the Sultan drew near
he sent someone to Qush-Temur with a message to the effect that
the purpose of his coming was to seek refuge under the far-
reaching shadow of the Commander of the Faithful, inasmuch
as powerful foes had gained the victory and conquered the lands
and peoples of Islam, and no army could withstand them. If
he received assistance from the Caliph and had the encourage-
ment of his approval, he was just the man to repel that people.
However, Qush-Temiir turned a deaf ear to this counsel and
drew up his army in battle-order ; and the Sultan for his part
had no choice but to prepare to fight and resist. His own men
being not a tenth part of Qush-Temiir's army he placed a
detachment in ambush, whilst he took up his stand with 500
horse. He made two or three assaults upon the centre and wings
of the enemy [155] and then turned as though in flight. Qush-
Temur's army thought they had been routed and set off in
4 This was MuzafFar-ad-Din Kok-Bori ('Blue Wolf 1 ), the kst (1190-1232)
of the Begteginids of Irbil. See Lane-Poole, The Mobammadan Dyaastiet, 165.
422
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
pursuit. The men in hiding then fell upon them from behind,
and the Sultan also turned and charged down upon them.
They were put to flight, and the Sultan pursued them to the
outskirts of Baghdad, when he turned back and struck out in
the direction of Daquq, 5 kindling the fire of pillage and rapine
in that area.
And the kindled fire that dies not in Takrit*
While he was passing by, scouts reached him with the
information that Muzaffar-ad-Din was coining up with the army
of Irbil, that he had sent on some baggage in advance and that
he intended to put his men in battle array and attack the Sultan
from ambush. The latter ordered his heavy baggage to be
moved as hitherto along the same route, whilst he himself with
a band of valiant horsemen made his way around the mountains.
As soon as he knew that the enemy's army had passed by he
made an attack with his serpent-like warriors 7 and fell unex-
pectedly upon Muzaffar-ad-Din. And when the Sultan had
him in his power, he observed the practice "of pardon and for-
giveness in view of the respect and honour due to rulers but
would not allow him to proceed further in the direction in which
he was going. Muzaffar-ad-Din was ashamed of his actions
and asked to be pardoned, expressing his regret by saying that
until that day he had been unaware of the Sultan's enlightened
outlook and had had no knowledge of his courtesy and dignity.
The Sultan in return spoke words befitting a monarch and
praised and lauded him because during his reign the roads had
been safe and disturbances in abeyance despite the presence
among his subjects of Lurs and Kurds who deemed it lawful
to shed the blood of pilgrims. [156] He likewise bestowed upon
him all manner of presents and showed him every kind of favour ;
and at the command and by the leave of the Sultan he returned
5 Daquq or Daquqa, the present-day Tauk.
6 The first half of the lait is :
Tell the story of az-Zctun or Hit
It is the opening line of a qasida by Abul- c Ala al-Ma'arri in his Saqt~az-Zan&
(M.Q.) az-Zaura is Baghdad and Hit was the name of a town on the Euphrates.
7 Simply a pun on sbvja*, which means both ' brave ' and * serpent '.
THE HISTORY OF
to the town and strove to please him by the rendering of countless
services of every sort.
From that region the Sultan set out for Arran and Azerbaijan
of which the ruler at that time was the atobeg Oz-Beg. Not
being strong enough to oppose the Sultan he fled from Tabriz
alone, leaving his wife Malika, the daughter of Sultan Toghril, 8
behind in the town
And the stallion protects bis female even when fettered.
When the Sultan arrived at the gates of Tabriz and laid siege
to the town, the leaders of the atabegs army, who were still there,
offered strong resistance; but Malika herself, realizing that it
was impossible to dislodge the Sultan and having moreover been
deeply offended by the atabeg, sent privily to Jalal-ad-Din and
told him of the secret hatred that she felt towards her husband.
She also sent him the fatwas of the imams of Baghdad and
Damascus to the effect that the three divorces that had been
made conditional had now come into effect. 9 And a compact
was made to the effect that the two sides should come to terms ;
that Malika should be permitted to go to Nakhchivan with her
baggage; and that the Sultan should afterwards follow her
thither and marry her. He sent a ring as a token.
Women and their covenants are as dust; the east wind
and their covenants are as one.
After two days had elapsed Malika sent for the emirs and the
chief notables of the town and said : c It is a great sultan who
has sat down before the town, and the atribtg has not the strength
to dislodge and repel him. If we do not come to terms with
him and he storms the town, he will do the same as his father
did in Samarqand. If it be judged advisable let us send the
8 I.e. Toghril II (1177-94), the last of the Seljuqs of Iraq.
*I.e. the completion of the divorce had been made dependent upon something
which had now taken place, as is explicitly stated by Ibn-al-Athir sub anno
622/1225-6 (XH, 284) : * And it was legal for him to marry her only because Oz-Beg
was recorded as having sworn to divorce her if he kitted a slave called . . . Then he killed
him, and when the divorce came into effect by reason of the oath, Jalal-ad~Din married
herf (M.Q.)
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
cadis [157] and notables to him and reach an agreement with
him so that he may do no harm to the atobtgs harem or his
dependants nor prevent them from going whithersoever they
wish. And let us surrender the town to him. This is what
my counsel dictates : it is for you, the ministers of the atabeg, to
say what appears to you to be expedient.' They all exclaimed
with one voice that Malika's advice was royal advice and her
thought a wise one ; and the chief cadi *Izz-ad-Din of Qazvin,
one of the most learned men of the age, was sent to the Sultan
together with several of the chamberlains. They begged for
pardon and forgiveness with the stipulation that he did not
hinder Malika and the dependants of the atabeg from proceeding
whithersoever they wished. The Sultan granted their petition
and gave them leave to depart if they so desired.
The next day, when the hand of the sky drew the sword of
the sun from the scabbard of the horizon, the atabtgs chief officers
and emirs and the principal men of the town presented themselves
all at once at the Sultan s audience-place bearing all manner of
gifts and offerings. They kissed the carpet over which the sky
served as a parasol and observed upon the Sultan's brow the
indications of gaiety, cheerfulness and a generous disposition
The brightness of bis countenance informs tbee of
his gaiety.
Malika for her part followed the bidding of her nature 10 and
departed for Khoi; and the Sultan, in the year 622/1225,
entered the town in triumph and was received with congratula-
tions by the people. He remained there a few days and then
left for Nakhchivan, where, in accordance with thtfawas of the
imams, he took possession of Malika and trod the path of the
At that time this latter was in the castle of Alinja. 11 Learning
of the Sultan s arrival in Nakhchivan he realized what his
10 kbui or kbffL Juvaini can never resist a pun on a place-name.
11 * La riviere Alinja-cai se jette dans TAiaxe a Test de Nahicevan. Pr&
de son embouchure etait situee rancienne ville Julfa. La forteresse Alinja
s'devait sur la hauteur inaccessible de sa rive droite pres du village actuel -
aga. . . .' (Minorsky, Transcaucasica, 93.)
425
THE HISTORY OF
purpose was. An internal pain, which was irremediable, was
aggravated by this external cause, and on that very day, out of
grief and chagrin, he delivered up the ghost.
My soul resolved to depart. I said, * Go not.' ' What
can I do ? ' it said, " the house is coming down/
Now in justice, the fruit of unlawful actions, especially those
which affect the family and the harem, is in all codes regarded
as blameworthy, and the like unseemly conduct and reprehensible
behaviour arouse nothing but feelings of disgust in the minds of
men ; and the Prophet (may God Hess him and give him peace I) has
truly said: 'Everything is easy except women, and the mention of
them! 12
[XVII]
OF JALAL-AD-DIN AND THE GEORGIANS
AND THE EXTIRPATION OF THAT PEOPLE
WHEN Fortune, in her wonted manner, had caused the downfall
of the atdkegs power and transferred his kingdom into the hands
of Sultan Jalal-ad-Din and when, moreover, followers and hench-
men had turned their faces towards him from every side, those
lewd unbelievers, the Georgians, were seized with a desire to
possess themselves of the country (vilayat), wishing in the first
place to drive out the Sultan and capture the kingdom of Tabriz
and then to proceed to Baghdad to set up the Catholicos in
place of the Caliph and turn mosques into churches and the
truth into falsehood. Filled with this vain desire and with
arrogant folly and relying upon the prowess of their men and
the sharpness of their lances and sabres, they gathered their forces;
and having mustered more than 30,000 men they sallied forth.
The truth shineth forth and the swords are tared:
leware of the lions of the thicket, beware ! l
When news hereof reached the Sultan, his forces were still but
12 As M.Q. points out, this is not a hadith but simply a proverbial saying.
1 This line has already been quoted, i, 52.
426
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
few nor had he yet recovered from the confusion of his affairs.
[159] Nevertheless, without reflection or hesitation, he advanced
against the Georgians with such troops as he had. At the time
when the light of morning was dispelling the darkness of night
he reached their camp in the valley of Garni, 2 where they lay
drunk with wine and sunk in debauchery.
O thou who steepest happily at the Itginning of the
night, it may It that calamities will overtake
the ly dawn.
Before they could raise their hands in battle he advanced and
gained a great victory over them. Now in that valley of Garni
there was a cavern in a narrow defile which was as deep as the
profoundest reflection of the wise. The Georgians, mounted as
they were, made for this cavern and cast themselves into it ; but
the ringleaders of every sedition and the mischief-makers of the
age, namely Shalva and Ivane, were taken prisoner together with
the other Georgian notables and dragged in chains before the
Sultan. Now Shalva was like the men of c Ad 3 in hugeness
of body and stature and in splendour of dignity and power.
When they came before the Sultan he asked him where was now
the fury with which he had cried : ' Where is the owner of
Zul-Kqar 4 that he may feel the stroke of my flashing sword ? '
It was the Sultan's good fortune/ he said. He was then invited
to embrace Islam, and he replied : * Cultivators have a custom
of hanging up an ass's head in their vegetable gardens in order
to ward off the evil eye. 5 Now Shalva too would be an ass's
head 6 amongst the verdure of the garden of Islam/ Nay, [160]
saving your presence, he was a complete boor (km-Mar)?
2 Reading CRN Y for the KRB Y of the text. The town of Garni (Garni)
was situated on the river of the same name which flows into the Araxes to the
east of the Zanga, on which Erevan, the present-day capital of Armenia, stands.
3 On the people of 'Ad in Ancient Arabia see Nicholson, A Literary History
of the Arabfj 1-2.
4 Zul-Kqar (Dhul-Fiqar) was the sword of the Caliph 'Ali.
5 This superstition is referred to in an anecdote in Sa'dTs Bustan (ed. Forughi,
6 sur-i-khtr, i.e. an unwelcome intruder. See Browne, A Year amongst the
Persian?, 300. 7 Lit. ' podex asini '.
427
THE HISTORY OF
The Sultan now returned victorious and triumphant to Tabriz ;
and from the awe which he inspired all hearts trembled and foes
were overcome with terror throughout those regions; and his
army was now large indeed compared to what it was before.
He showed honour to Shalva and Ivane, and thinking they
might be of assistance to him in conquering Georgia he gave
them, as an additional act of bounty, Marand, Salmas, Urmiya
and Ushnu.
What hope hast thou of the unclean ? For the Ethiopian
does not become white from washing ?
And he equipped a large army and sent Shalva and Ivane with
it, they having spoken words in accordance with his temper, and
made all manner of undertakings and deluded him with false
promises ; intending with the rope of deceit to cast him into the
well of assassination and by acting the fox to bind that panther-
like lion in the bonds of their wiles. Meanwhile, the Sultan
travelling alone, had set off to meet a noble lady 8 (kbarida) not
a slave-girl bought (kbarida) with gold, and made for Khoi.
From here he proceeded towards Georgia and they, came together
at Duvin, 9 which is on the frontier of Georgia. And first of
all the Sultan sent Malik the Basin-Holder 10 on an embassy to
Qiz-Malik. 11 Now Qiz-Malik was a woman who was ruler
of all the Georgians. And there is a tradition regarding the
Commander of the Faithful Abu-Bakr (may God be pleased with
him !) that when the report reached him that the ruler of Persia
was a woman [161] he exclaimed : ' Base is be that entrustetb bis
affairs to a woman ! '
One day Malik the Basin-Holder was standing on the bank
of the River Kur, when a drunken qasis (for so they call priests)
8 Le. Malika, the divorced wife of Oz-Beg.
9 Le. Dvin (in Armenian Duin, pronounced Dmn) f one of the many capitals
of Armenia. It stood on the left bank of the River Garni below the town of
that name. See Minorsky, Studies in Caucasian History t 86, 125 and n. 4, also,
for the history of the town, 116-24.
10 He evidently held the same office as Jalal-ad-Din's ancestor Nush-Tegin.
See above, 1, 278 and n. 8.
11 Le. Rusudani (1223-47).
428
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
coming from Shalva behaved insolently towards him and said :
* Soon Malik 12 will send an army so that we may entrap the
Sultan and his army in the valley of Markab 13 and wreak our
vengeance on him/ Malik the Basin-Holder slew the priest that
very instant and flew to the Sultan like a bird on the wing. At
dawn when the voices of the muezzins were arousing the faithful
from their slumbers he reached the Sultan and informed him of
the true state of affairs and the treachery of the party of error.
The Sultan commanded Shalva and Ivane to be brought before
him together with forty other emirs so that information might
be sought and warning taken. He spoke to them as follows :
' We wish to consult you as to which is the better road to take,
the Kars 14 road or the road through the valley of Markab.'
Shalva and the emirs replied : * The Kars road is in fortified
territory and it is impossible to pass along it, but the Markab
road is the middle road and nearer to Tiflis. 15 When we arrive
there the armies will be scattered by the news of the Sultan's
approach and we shall subdue and conquer the region of Tiflis/
The truth being now clear as to the bad faith of those hypocrites
the Sultan stood up and with the sword in his hand [162] he
struck at Shalva's waist and cut him in two so that his blood
polluted the sword. He then ordered them all to be dispatched
to hell and took counsel with his own emirs as to which road
he should take. Each of them expressed his own views, and
the Sultaa then said : * My own counsel is that we should fall
upon them by surprise while they are unaware of the fate of
12 Qiz-Malik? 13 MARKAB. See below, n. 15. 14 Spelt
15 At the time of this conference Jalal-ad-Din must have been to the south
of the Pambak range which he afterwards crossed (see below, n. 16), presumably
in the Pambak area. The shortest route to Tiflis ky along the Borchala (Debeda)
valley. This must correspond to the Markab road. In fact in a side valley there
is a place called Marts which may be connected with Markab. By the Kars
road must be meant the road from Tiflis to Kars by way of Lori and Gumri
(the later Alexandropol, now Leninakan). This road could be reached by
following a route along the southern slopes of the Pambak Mountains which,
at its junction with the Tiflis-Kars road, was dominated by the Georgian fortress
of Tet'ris-tsiihe. It was evidently to avoid this westerly, and dangerous, detour
that Jalal-ad-Din decided to strike northwards across the mountains and so
descend^ through the Bezobdal Pass, into the Lori steppe. (V.M.)
429
THE HISTORY OF.
Shalva and Ivane and are still awaiting news of them/ In
accordance with his own plan he at once set out with 10,000
valiant men and so continued until he came to the foot of the
Band-i-Panba 16 pass, to fly over which would be the task of an
eagle. He dismounted and his army followed behind. The
mountain goats watched his passage and because of the shame of
going on foot and fear for themselves they cast themselves down
headlong from the rocks. When the fountains of dawn gushed
forth he came upon those fornicators. Both sides engaged in
fierce battle, and hands were set to arrow and sword, until in
the end truth prevailed over falsehood, and the greater part of
the sect of polytheism fell into the net of destruction, the people
of error being bitten by the serpents of perdition ; the com-
panions of the Sultan victorious and the friends of Satan
vanquished. c See they not how many generations we have destroyed
before them ? Not to false gods is it that thy shall fa brought lack! 17
That day when night drew in they encamped where they were.
The next day at the time when
The dawn follows the darkness at the heels of its star
Venus like the ihrusttr of Ac lance at the heels of
the man feeing before fern 18
[163] they came to the plain of Lori. 19 A cloud of dust had
been stirred up so that the two sides could not distinguish each
other. When it subsided and the sun had risen they descried
the Georgians who looked like weary game fallen into the net,
in groups of five and ten. As a soldier caught sight of a Georgian
so he killed him, and in this way more were slain and went to
join their companions. Lori itself Jahl-ad-Din spared. And
ie So in E. The text has END PNBH. The reference is to the Pambak
Mountains which stretch from Leninakan to the region of Lake Sevan.
17 Koran, xxxvi, 30-1.
18 From six lines by the Emir Abul-Muta* quoted by Tha'alibi at the begin-
ning of the Tatimmat-al-Yatwut. (M.Q.) See EghbaTs ed., I, 6.
1& Lori (in Armenian Lore) was the chief town of a district called Tashk.
Its ruins are situated near the health resort of Stepanavan in Northern Soviet
Armenia, It was for a short time (circa 980-1089) the seat of an Armenian
dynasty. See Minorsky, op. cit., 41 and 102, Grousset, Histoire de VAtmenk,
507-8, 520-1 and 564-6.
430
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
from thence he proceeded to the castle of 'Aliabad. 20 The
garrison sued for quarter and he did them no harm.
For the whole of the months of Muharram and Safar 21 he
remained with the army, but when the new moon of Rabi* 1 2a
was described he took a fancy to go hunting and set out alone
with only a few horsemen. When the Georgians heard of this
they dispatched 500 horsemen, all experienced warriors, in the
hope that they might capture the Sultan unawares with the lasso
of trickery and so extinguish the fire of Islam.
The knight of the world, the son of Dastan, the son
of Sam, will not lightly put his head in the snare. 23
Catching sight of them from a distance the Sultan realized that
this was a mighty deluge but hoped that from the quarters of
the winds of Fortune there might blow a breeze from the grace
of the Powerful and Glorious One and scatter the dust of
Adversity in the eyes of those vile ones. He joined battle with
them and made charges in which one man drove back five
hundred ; and each time he felled several of the enemy. The
Sultan s army now learning of his plight a detachment came to
his assistance ; and in the meantime more and more men were
joining those wretches until they exceeded 10,000 in number.
Orkhan sought refuge in the neighbourhood of Tiflis and kept
the army based on it until the Sultan with a detachment of his
followers shouting the tokkir [164] charged down upon those
wretches and smiting to right and left with sword and lance
left many of them lying on the field.
Hast thou seen the sea raining mountains ? So does
he wield his sword.
Thou wouldst think the sun were a cloud if he strikes
it with fear of himself.
When the Georgians had felt the weight of his mace, they took
20 *Aliabad is mentioned in Nasawi ed. Houdas, 178 [tr. Houdas^ 295]
as belonging to a princess whose mutilated name appears to be Tamt'a. It
was probably situated south of the Kur some distance to the east of the Debeda.
"January and February, 1226. 22 The beginning of March.
23 Sbdbnma ed. Vullers, 1662, L 2940.
431
THE HISTORY OF
the road of flight; and finding the approaches to the town
crammed with stalwarts they turned towards the river, 24 and in
their terror the craven wretches hurled themselves, horses, arms
and all, to destruction in the water and departed unto hellfire.
Over the hearts of such as envy him the breast is a
grave because of their fear of him.
Over the bodies of his enemies the skin is a shroud
because of their dread of him.
And when the garrison of the castle saw what had happened
they set their hands to battle ; but when the army put forward
the foot of advance and harassed and disabled them with a
discharge of star-transfixing arrows and liver-consuming quarrels
they cast the treasury of Qiz-Malik into the river and the next
day sued for quarter. The Sultan granted their request and
stood by in person as they passed his various posts on their way
fcq the Abkhaz country. 25 And whatever villages and castles
within the confines of Tiflis were crammed with the factions of
IblS, he uprooted them all ; and there fell into the hands of
his followers plunder beyond all computation. He likewise
demolished the churches of Tiflis, on the building of which
valuable treasures had been expended since ancient times ; and
he founded the cells of Islam upon their sites. 26
here the Kur is meant. See above, i, 326, n. 26.
25 I.e. to Georgia proper, Tiflis being still regarded as a recent acquisition
from the Moslems. Abkhaz is not Abkhazia but the territory of the ' Abkhaz '
dynasty of Georgia. (V.M.)
26 It is interesting to compare an account of these events by Kirakos of Gandzak,
a witness hostile both to Jalal-ad-Din and to the Georgians : ' The aforesaid
nation from the north-east, who were called Tartars, pressed hard upon the Sultan
of Khorasan, Jalaladin, defeating his troops and subjugating his country; and
they drove him as a fugitive to the land of the Albanians. He came to the town
of Ganja and took it ; and he gathered about him troops without number, from
the Persians, the Arabs and the Turks. Then he came to the towns of Armenia,
seeing which Iwane informed the king of the Georgians and collected many
troops to oppose the Sultan. They were greatly puffed up with pride and had
made treaties that if they gained the victory over him they would make all the
Armenians that were in their power go over to the religion of the Georgians,
while such as opposed them they would remove with the sword.
' The Sultan then came to the province of Kotayk* [around the present-day
Erevan] ; and Iwane came with the troops of the Georgians and stood opposite
432
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
Suddenly [165] messengers arrived with the news that Baraq
had slipped off the collar of fidelity and had set off from Kerman
with the purpose of conquering Iraq. To counter Baraq the
Sultan spurred on Buraq-like 27 steeds and leapt forward like the
lightning (barq). Taking such as he could of his troops with
him he skimmed the surface of the earth like the wind and yearned
to soar like the flames of fire. In the stages he travelled and the
routes he followed the troops were left far behind ; and in 17
days he rode from Tiflis to the confines of Kerman, accompanied
by no more than 300 horsemen. When Baraq Hajib learnt of
his coining he sent many presents to him and tendered excuses. 28
The Sultan then went to Isfahan for several days to rest his
him, above. But the Sultan led on his troops and came in front of them. See-
ing this a leader (iskkban) from amongst the chiefs of the Georgians, Shalwe
by name, and his brother Iwane, brave and famous men, and victorious in war,
said to the other troops : " Stand and wait a while, and we shall go and join
battle with them. If we cause some of them to turn back, ours is the victory :
do you then come also and save your lives." And when they joined battle
they began to smite the troops of the Sultan, but the troops of the Greeks [i.e.
the Greek Orthodox Georgians] took no heed of this but fled from the field
in such a fashion that a man could not find his fellow in the rout : they went
on without being pursued until they were all pushed over a precipice and filled
the valley above the small town of Garni. And when the Sultan s men saw
this they entered after them, and slew many and hurled others over the precipice.
And when the Sultan came to the head of the valley he beheld a mournful sight,
multitudes of men and youths heaped up like mounds of rocks. He shook
his head and said : " This deed is not of man, but of God alone, Who is all-
powerful." And he turned to strip the fallen. And having laid waste many
towns he came to Tiflis, and he was helped by the Persians that were in it ; and
he took it, and slew many people, and many also he forced to forsake Chris-
tianity and accept ... the doctrine of the Arabs. Many, therefore, being moved
by the fear of death, exchanged the truth for falseness ; others, preferring a brave
death to a life of remorse, inherited the name of martyr and departed this world
by a goodly death. Then he gave command not to inquire who believed and
who did not but to circumcise all by force. And so men's hands were forcibly
held to their sides [by one], while another took a sword and severed the skin
of the male member. And they had commerce with the women in filthy lewd-
ness. And in all places, wherever they found a cro^s or a church, they demolished
and destroyed it ; and this they did not only in Tiflis but also in Ganja and
Nakhchivan.' (Venice ed., 117-18.)
2r See above, p. 417, n. 21.
28 No such gesture is recorded by Nasawi, according to whom (tr. Houdas,
207) Jalal-ad-Din turned back because of a report of the strong defensive measures
adopted by Baraq.
433
THE HISTORY OF
horses, 29 and the great men of Iraq came to wait on him. Kamal-
ad-Din Isma'il has this long qasida [a propos of this occasion] :
The carpet of the earth's surface has again become verdant
through the auspicious passage of the army of the Lord
of the World.
Such as are left of men and beasts are congratulating one
another on being alive.
From the garden of the Sultanate this one sapling has raised
its head, whose foliage is all justice and its fruit
beneficence.
In order that they may present themselves at his court
Nature has again begun the generation of men.
Jalal-i-Dunya-u-Din 30 Meng-Eurm^ that monarch whom God
has rightly made Sultan of the world.
[166] How excellent the degrees of thy might and thy perfect
counsel ! How excellent the qualities of thy character,
which are beyond description !
O World-Conqueror, God has sent thee because the four corners
of the world are thy kingdom. Go ! Take them !
Justice is the witness to thy kingship : cause the witness to
thy good nature to pass wherever thou wilt.
Thou wilt experience the life of Noah because through thee
prosperity came to the world after the Deluge.
Thou hast exacted revenge for the pulpit of Islam from the
Cross: thou hast removed the bell from the place of
the azan,
Thou hast lifted the covering of tyranny from the face of
justice ; thou hast raised the veil of infidelity from
the cheeks of the faith.
Through thy arm the arm of Islam has grown strong which
had been laid waste by infidel warriors.
The Buraq of thy purpose raising its foot in India set
it down again in Arran.
Who has there been save thee of the kings of the age who
has given his horse oats from Tiflis and water from
Oman ?
29 Reading Mjmm with C, as M.Q. suggests in the Errata, II, 354. The
text has istihmam, i.e. ' to take a bath ' !
30 'The Glory of the World and the Faith', an elaboration of his name.
31 On the spelling of Jalal-ad-Din's title of Meng-Burni see M.Q., II, 284-92.
It appears to be derived from the Turkish meng * mole ' and lurun or burin ' nose *
and so to mean ' the man with a mole on his nose '.
434
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
[167] From the play of thy blade in striking the foe is checkmated.
What need is there of horses 32 and elephants ? 33 Send a single
foot-soldier. 34
News now reached him that the Georgians had gathered their
forces again ; that the vizier Yulduzchi, 35 whom the Sultan had
left as his viceroy in Tiflis, had been forced to flee to Tabriz ;
that Malik Ashraf 36 had sent Hajib e Ali 37 from Damascus to
Akhlat, 38 which he was attacking every few days ; that Malika
had gone from Khoi to Akhlat and had been admitted by Hajib
'Ali; and that the Georgians had re-entered Tiflis and were
destroying the mosques and torturing the Moslems. The Sultan
was disturbed and distressed at this news and at once left for
Azerbaijan.
What sort of life is that of a man who every day has
a tanner unfurled before a town,
And if the wind brings the sound of a drum from afar f
his heart is startled?
O thou who hast not need for armies and excitement }
pleasant for thee the siesta and the soft Ml
He that has a crust on which he may live unkholden
to other men, he Meed is the emir !
When the Sultan arrived in the neighbourhood of Akhlat,
his army slew whomsoever they found and carried off whatsoever
32 I.e. knights. 33 I.e. bishops. 34 Or pawn.
35 Reading YLDZCY for the YLDRjY of the text. Rashid-ad-Din
(Blochet, 28) has YWLDWZ^Y. The full name of the vizier was Sharaf-al-
Mulk 'Ali b. Abul-Qasim al-Jandi (i.e. of Jand, though Houdas in his trans-
lation, 159 and 382, has el-Djondi, i.e. al-Jundi, 'the soldier*); and he also
bore the titles of Khoja-Jahan and Fakhr-ad-Din. As for Yulduzchi (* the
Astrologer ') it appears in Houdas* text in the corrupt form BLDWjN Bele-
doudjen in the translation and is described as a ' sobriquet dedaigneux qu'on
lui avait donne au temps ou il etait encore un personnage obscur*. (Nasawi
tr. Houdas, 376. Cf. also, M. } 382).
36 On the Ayyubid Malik al- Ashraf, afterwards ruler of Damascus (1229-37)*
see Minorsky, op. cit., 149-56.
37 This was the hajib Husam-ad-Din 'Ali b. Hammad of Mosul, c a very
energetic man to whom the Ayyubid cause owed its greatest successes in Armenia*.
See Minorsky, op. cit., 150-4.
38 Akhlat (now spelt Ahlat) lies on the north-western shores of Lake Van
in Eastern Turkey. The original Armenian form of the name was Khlat'
(i.e. Khalat') : it was the chief town of the district of Bznunik'.
F II. 435
THE HISTORY OF
[168] they saw. Coming to the gates of the town itself they
threw themselves in and began to pillage and massacre. Cries
and screams arose from men and women, and the Sultan sent
his personal attendants to fetch them out of the town. The
common people raised an uproar, and some of the soldiers were
killed and the rest driven out. The position had now passed
out of control and try as they might the Sultan's men were not
allowed to re-enter the town.
Meanwhile news had come of the arrival in Iraq of Taimas 39
and Tainal 40 and, it being impossible to remain, he left for
Iraq by way of Tabriz and proceeded from thence to Isfahan.
And wherever there were scattered troops or individual men they
all rallied to the Sultan. The Mongol army, meanwhile, had
arrived at Ray, and the Sultan prepared for battle and summon-
ing all the notables and khans
He called for the nobles from the army 41
addressed them as follows : * This is a great event which has
overtaken us and a mighty disaster which has come upon us.
If we give way to impotence and cowardice, it will be impossible
to survive. In any case it is better to resist and endure. If the
grace of God assist us then both we and you shall be saved.
And if the event be otherwise we shall not be deprived of the
degree of martyrdom and the excellence of [eternal] bliss. God
Almighty hath said : ee Believers I when ye confront a troop, stand fam
and make frequent mention of the name of God } that it may fare well
with you!' ' 42
They all with one heart and voice acclaimed the Sultan, and
he drew up his army, arraying the centre and the wings. The
right wing he confided to his faithless brother and tyrannical
peer, Ghiyas-ad-Din, and the left wing he strengthened . . ., 43
39 Reading TAYMAS (with E, II, 186) for the NAYMAS of the text.
Taimas means 'he who does not flinch*. Houdas (text, 135 and 230) adopts
the form YATMAS, i.e. Yatmas, * he who does not lie down ', which is also
possible.
40 See above, i, 90, n. 14. 41 Sbabnama ed. Vullers, 26, 1. 66.
42 Koran, viii, 47.
43 Here there is a blank in A and B and a lacuna in the sense.
436
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
while he himself took up his stand in the centre and [169]
arranged the battle-line. He was about to order the right and
left wings to charge together with himself the centre of the enemy's
forces and the opposing wings, when his brother, Ghiyas-ad-Din,
turned rein together with Elchi Pahlavan, his attendants and
some others.
In my experience of Said [in seeking to renew our friendship]
after I bad experienced bis character in bis excesses
I was like one who was doubtful again about dung after smelling
it and to make sure tasted it. 4 " 41
Sultan Jalal-ad-Din was alarmed on this account and filled
with disgust of the army. Nevertheless he did not turn tail but
attacked the enemy's centre, whereupon the right wing of the
Mongols drove back his left wing and his right wing the Mongols'
left, and the two armies were mingled together. The Mongols
penetrated behind the Sultan's centre, his standard was dislodged
from its position and the enemy's right wing continued to pursue
his left, so that none knew of each other's whereabouts. The
Sultan, meanwhile, was left in the centre, where there remained
with him no one but the attendant of his led horse. He was
encompassed on all sides like the centre of a circle. Now he
felled one from his horse, now he clove the limbs from another,
until he escaped from their midst and fled to Luristan, where he
took up his abode in a valley and where he was unexpectedly
joined by fugitives in ones and twos. No one in Isfahan or in the
army was aware of what had befallen him, some thinking that he
had been killed in battle and some that he had been taken prisoner. 45
As for the Mongols they came to the very gates of Isfahan and
then without the slightest halt rode at great speed to Ray, which
they reached in three days. 46 From thence they made for
Nishapur and so returned.
44 Abu- Ahmad b. Abu-Bakr b. Hamid, one of the secretaries of the Samanids.
See the Yatimat-ad-Dabr, IV, 5, (M.Q.)
45 According to Nasawi (tr. Houdas, 231) the Battle of Isfahan was fought
on the 26th August, 1228.
46 E and C add here : * And part of the army laid siege to Kashan, which
they took in three days with much slaughter and pillaging; and from thence
proceeded to Ray.'
437
THE HISTORY OF
The Sultan now set out for Isfahan, sending bearers of the
good tidings on [170] in advance and himself following in their
wake. All the men and women of the town came out to wel-
come him and deemed his coming to be the advent of joys and
the departure of disasters.
When the Iranians beheld his face, they all together
went towards him.
The Sultan was angry with most of his chief followers and he
ordered such khans and leading men as were court officials and
title-holders of his house and had done nothing on the day of
battle to be brought before him. Women's veils (miqncfa)**
were cast over their heads and they were paraded through the
streets. As for such as, while not of the rank of ernir, had on
that day, which was the Day of Judgement, come to the fore
in the fighting, and planted their feet firmly, and faithfully stood
their ground, to some of them he gave the title of khan and to
others that of malik 48 together with robes of honour and other
presents: he singled them out for special favour and caused
their market to flourish.
[XVIII]
OF THE SULTAN'S RETURN TO GEORGIA
FROM thence in the year 625/1227-8 he proceeded to Georgia.
Now the Sultans of Rum, Syria, Armenia and all that region,
being in dread of his violence and vengeance, his furious charge
and headlong attack, had formed a confederacy * and united 2
in order to repel him; and an army was assembled consisting
of Georgians, Alans, Armenians, Sarir, 3 Lakz, 4 Qifchaq, Svan, 5
47 Because of their cowardice ?
48 As a title bhan was higher than mdik, which in turn was higher than emir.
See Nasawi tr, Houdas, 166.
1 Lit. * had made a pact (bai'af) with one another '. 2 yak-tigh shoda,
3 On the Sarir, i.e. the Avars of Daghestan, see Minorsky, HuM, 447.
4 Lakziyan. On the Lakz, whose name still survives in that of the Lezghians
of present-day Daghestan, see Minorsky, op. <#., 411 and 455.
5 Swwiyan. This people still survives in modern Georgia along the Upper
Ingur, See also Allen, A History of the Georgian People, 27-8.
438
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
Abkhaz, 6 Chanet, 7 Syrians and Rumis; [171] to whom were
joined men who had been roasted in the fire of life and chosen
on the day of battle.
The Sultan arrived at Mindor 8 near where they lay and pitched
camp. He was embarrassed by his shortage of armaments and
lack of swordsmen and lancers, as also by the great numbers of
the enemy and the reversal of his fortune ; and he consulted
with the vizier Yulduzchi and his other ministers.
Yulduzchi thought that as their numbers were not a hundredth
part of the enemy's, their best course would be to pass through
Mindor and cut them off from wood and water so that they
might languish in the heat and their horses grow lean. Mean-
while the Sultan's own forces upon every side would have
arrived ; they would then be in a position of strength and able
to see their way clearly, and they could set to and give their
minds to battle.
The Sultan became as enraged as it was possible for him to
become and seizing a pencase that lay in front of him hurled
it at the vizier's head. * They are a flock of sheep,* he said.
* Does the lion complain of the size of the flock ? '
Yulduzchi repented his ineffectual words and as a fine forfeited
50,000 dinars.
* The case/ said the Sultan, * is hard and difficult, but the only
solution is war and trust in God. It is impossible to know who
will prevail/
The doors of the treasury were opened and the herds of horses
rounded up, and the emirs and dignitaries as well as those of
middling rank and the common soldiers carried off what they
could and made their preparations.
6 The Abkhaz on the Black Sea coast in the extreme north-west of Georgia
are now citizens of the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of Abkhazia,
7 Reading CANYT for the HANYT of the text, for which D and E have
JANYT. Chanet is the Georgian Ch'anet'i, which strictly speaking means
* the land of the Ch'an ', Ch'an being the Georgian name of the Laz, who still
inhabit the south-eastern shores of the Black Sea between Trebizond and Batum.
See also Allen, op. dt., 54-6.
8 I.e. Mindori (in Georgian * field ', * plain ') near Lori. According to the
Georgian Chronicle the battle was fought at Bolnisi. (V.M.)
439
THE HISTORY OF
[172] When the enemy hosts arrived with their drums and
bugles, their male and female camels, standing rank behind
rank in readiness for battle, they thought the Sultan's army in
comparison with themselves was but a stream out of a sea, nay
but a ball in their field. Cod Almighty hath said : e Twenty of
you who stand frm shall vanquish two hundred : and if there le a
hundred of you they shall vanquish a thousand of the infidels, for they
are a people devoid of understanding? 9
When the Georgian army came up the Sultan's army also
donned their arms, and the Sultan ascended a high hill in order
to observe the enemy. He caught sight of the signs and banners
of the Qifchaq upon the right with 20,000 picked men. Sending
for Qoshqar he gave him a loaf of bread and a little salt and
dispatched him to the Qifchaq to remind them of their obliga-
tions to him. During his father's reign they had been enchained
and humiliated, and he by his diplomacy had saved them and
had interceded on their behalf with his father. Was it a fulfil-
ment of their obligations that they were now drawing their
swords against him ?
On this account the Qifchaq army held back and at once
vacating their place in the battle-field stood upon one side from
the rest.
The Georgian army having drawn up their ranks the Sultan
sent a messenger to Ivane, 10 who was their leader, with this
message : * You have come a long way to-day. Your horses are
knocked up and your men tired. Let us remain where we are
to-day, and let the warlike youths upon either side enter the
arena one at a time and lay hands upon one another, in thrust
and parry, v/hile we look on and put aside the affairs of to-
morrow/ Ivane was well pleased with these words, and from
their valiant youths and courageous stalwarts there stepped into
the arena a chieftain who emulated a mountain in bulk, while
on this side the Sultan, like Munkar, 11
9 Koran, viii, 66.
10 Le. Ivane Mkhargrdzeli, the famous Georgian general, on whom see Minor-
sky, Studies in Caucasian History, 102-3.
11 Munkar is one of the two angels (the other is called Nakir) who question
the dead in their graves.
440
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
[173] Charged out from the army like a lion and came valiantly
before Hujir 12
whilst either side looked on. As he drove on his horse he
shouted the takbir and
Thrust a lance at his girdle so that kbaftan and clasps
(larland) were split open. 13
That accursed one fell from his horse and gave up the ghost.
He had three sons, who came forward one after the other, and
each time the Sultan through the strength and might of God
Almighty dealt a single blow and dispatched the son to hell
after his father.
As the hawk of thy terror pounced the falcon of
Fate became a dove,
O thou whose lance, upon the battle-field, closed
the eyes of the stars.
Another aznaur^ with a body like Mount Bisutun and a
lance like a pillar galloped forward on a horse of elephantine
size
Attacking and retreating, at once advancing and withdrawing,
like a great rock carried downhill by the food. 15
Now the Sultan's mount was no longer capable of moving
forward because of its great weariness and was on the point of
falling into the shackles of flight. The aznaur made a fresh
attack every moment and each time the Sultan warded him off
by the quickness of his movements. He continued to attack in
this manner and dealt blows at the Sultan which had no effect.
12 Sbabnctma ed. Vullers, 448, 1. 252, where however the second half of the
line is entirely different and the first half has lad * wind ' instead of shir ' lion *.
Macan's text, on the other hand, corresponds exactly to Juvaini. Hujir is the
commander of the Dizh-i-SapId or White Castle, which is attacked by Suhrab
at the head of a Turanian host.
13 Hid., 263, 1. 341, with ui instead of and lunyad * foundation* and paivand
* joint ' instead of khaftan and the difficult barland.
14 In Georgian aznaurL On this Georgian rank see Allen, op. dt. f 225-7.
15 From the famous Mu'allaqa of Imru'-al-Qais. (M.Q.) On Imru'-al-Qais,
the celebrated pre-Islamic poet, see Nicholson, A Literary History of the
103-7-
441
THE HISTORY OF
The position became serious and the accursed Satan was about
to vanquish the merciful Sultan and the king to fall into the
hands of the black dw. The aznaur was again approaching in
a charge when the Sultan leapt from his galloping horse and
Hurled a knee at the head of Ashkabus: then Heaven
kissed his hand. 16
Thereupon the sound of the applause of the terrestrial angels
ascended to the Supreme Pleroma and the cry of ' Praise God,
Who bath granted victory to His servant I ' reached the ears of men
and jinns, and both sides marvelled at this feat, the like of which
was beyond the powers of Rustam son of Zal, and
[174] Everyone said, ' This is Rustam, or else the sun at dawn.' 17
And when these several persons, each of whom was a great
warrior and a bulwark of the army, had in one moment become
the prey of a single horseman and the food of dogs and hyenas,
despair and terror overcame those wretches while fear and dread
departed from the army of Islam.
From where he stood the Sultan made a sign with the butt
of his whip, and the men of battle advanced, and the Georgian
army turned tail. The first signs of victory became apparent
and the beauteous lights of triumph uncovered their faces ; and
in one moment the plain became a rugged hill from the piles of
the slain and the face of the earth was dyed deep red with blood.
The case of those wretches was now beyond repair and the
schemes of those liars could no longer be promoted by lying.
They saw no alternative but to flee while there was still time,
grasping the skirts of Night and concealing themselves behind
the curtains of Darkness. ' And God is not unjust.' 1B Every
corner of the hills and plains shook with the noise of their cries
and screams, and the earth quivered with the neighing and braying
of their distracted beasts.
16 Sbahnma ed. Vullers, 950, 1. 1410, where the first half of the line is :
When he shot an arrow at the breast of Ashkabus.
Ashkabus was a Turanian warrior slain in battle by Rustam.
17 JB/i, 436, L 57.
18 Cf. Koran, xli, 46 : ' . . . and thy Lord will not deal unfairly with His servants'
442
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
So much booty (gbana'im) was taken that no attention was
given to flocks of sheep (aghndm), and wealth (nfmat) became
so general that no account was taken of herds of cattle (atfam).
And when the Faith of the Prophet again (bi-navi) waxed
strong, and news of the dread and terror of the Sultan s name was
spread to the horizons, and these good tidings were dispatched
to every side, kings and nobles again took heed of him. Mean-
while the Sultan proceeded from thence to Akhlat.
[XIX]
OF THE SULTAN'S ADVANCE AGAINST AKHLAT
AND THE CAPTURE THEREOF
WHEN the Sultan returned from Akhlat the first time in order
to proceed to Iraq, the rulers of that town had repaired the citadel
and strengthened the walls. Upon his arrival for the second
time he sent messengers to announce his approach and request
their presence. [175] The strangers to the town who were its
governors refused to answer that summons and began to knock
at the door of resistance. They closed the gates, not realizing
that they were trampling on their own fortune and making a
felt bed out of the spikes of caltrops. When he despaired of
their accepting his advice he commanded his army to form a
circle round the town, to build houses l and to prepare mangonels
and other implements of war such as quarrels and [pots of)
naphtha. Inside the town also they made ready for battle. Both
sides set up their mangonels, and arrows and quarrels poured
down like hail. Night and day the battle-kindling warriors of
the Sultan assaulted the gates of the town, and the townspeople
for their part kept devising means to repel them until days and
months had passed in this fashion and dearth and famine made
their appearance in the town. They secretly sent messengers to
Baghdad, Rum and Damascus asking the rulers thereof to
mediate with the Sultan. And the Commander of the Faithful,
al-Mustansir billah, 2 and the Sultans of Rum and Damascus
1 kbanaha. Perhaps some kind of siege constructions are meant, 2 1226-42.
443
THE HISTORY OF
several times sent envoys to intercede on behalf of the people of
Akhlat. But since the inhabitants of the town were unwilling
to owe allegiance to the Sultan, the brain of these fools of Akhlat
having been maddened by the putrefaction of the humours
(akblat), they had opened their mouths in downright abuse and
had wagged their tongues with obscene ravings, and all at once
the demon of error had darted into their veins and minds. They
therefore turned a deaf ear to the acceptance of advice and insisted
upon continuing to resist. Nearly ten months 3 passed in this
way, and finally the people of the town were reduced to starvation.
The Sultan then ordered his men to attack from every side and
force their way into the town. He and his emirs were extremely
angry and annoyed at the insults and abuse of the townspeople ;
and he commanded the soldiers [176] to massacre them from
morning till midday, when, the flame of his wrath having died
down, he had pity on the poor wretches and gave orders for the
sparing of their lives.
He took up his abode in the palace of Malik Ashraf, while
Mujir-ad-Din, the latter's brother, and his slave 4 'Izz-ad-Din
Ai-Beg entered the citadel (hisar-i-andaruni) without water or
provisions. Mujir-ad-Din then came out and waited on the
Sultan, who treated him with honour and respect. He delivered
a message from 'Izz-ad-Din Ai-Beg asking that his life might
be spared and offering to conclude a treaty. The Sultan turned
to Mujir-ad-Din and said : * When thou canst claim the title
of Sultan how will thy pride allow thee to bear the message of
an emasculated slave ? He cannot be held responsible. Let
him do as he likes. He knows/
Perceiving that the Sultan was not disposed to pay attention
3 According to Ibn-al-Athir, XII, 318, the siege of Akhlat lasted from the
beginning of Shavval, 626 (August, 1229), to Jumada I, 627 (April, 1230),
i.e. tight months, which is also the figure given by Nasawi in his fath-nama. See
below, p. 446.
4 mamluk 'Izz-ad-Din Ai-Beg had been appointed governor of Akhlat in
succession to Hajib 'AH, who had fallen into disgrace. See Minorsky, Studies
in Caucasian History, 154. He was afterwards put to death by Jalal-ad-Din
(see below, p. 451, also Nasawi tr. Houdas 334) and so is not to be confused,
despite the identity of their names and condition, with the future Mameluke
Sultan of Egypt, Mu'izz Izz-ad-Din Ai-Beg (1250-7).
444
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
to his words, they realized that this was no time for importunity.
Ai-Beg himself came out having caused his men to don mail
under their clothing and placed javelins in their hands, intending
to create a disturbance as he entered the Sultan's presence and
strike him unawares. The eyes of the guards (mufradan-i-abvab) 5
fell upon their garments and they realized that there was evil
underneath. They prevented them from entering and brought
in Ai-Beg to the Sultan alone. The latter took no notice of
him and ordered his following to be imprisoned.
Finally, when the Jamshid of the heavens set out on his journey
to Damascus (Sham), the sun of monarchs turned towards the
sweetmeats spread out for supper (sham) and made to enter the
palace (wan), where he passed the night in the company of the
daughter 6 of Ivane, who was the wife of Malik Ashraf, and so
assuaged his anger at the elopement of Malika.
The man of perception will take full warning from these
happenings. When the Sultan took Malika to himself [177]
another 7 [also] took her to himself; and the year was not ended
before the spouse of Malik Ashraf fell into the Sultan's hands.
Approve in no one what thou approvest not in thyself.
Much wealth and riches was carried off from Malik Ashraf *s
treasury, and the double thereof was obtained from the well-to-do
people of the town. The Sultan's treasury was restored to
affluence with the influx of cash and jewels ; and the soldiers
were heartened with the spoils and booty.
The Secretary Nur-ad-Din 8 composed a fath-nama of which
the following is a copy.
Copy of the fath-nama
Praise and thanksgiving unto the Creator (glorious and sublime
is His mention !), Who hath caused victory and triumph to
5 See above, p. 412, n. i.
6 Her name was T'amt'a. See Minorsky, op. cit,, 155-6, for an account of
her subsequent history.
7 I.e. Hajib C AK. See above, p. 435, also Minorsky, op. dt. } 153.
8 I.e. Nasawi, the biographer of Sultan Jalal-ad-Din.
445
THE HISTORY OF
accompany our fortune-begetting counsel and our empire-
increasing banners and hath assisted and strengthened our august
enterprises and our auspicious undertakings. By a single move-
ment a whole clime comes into the possession and control of
the servants of our house (to which God grant eternity I ) } and with
another step a whole army is imprisoned in our might and
subjected to our command. And e this is of the favour of my
Lord, to try me whether I will be thankful or unthankful \ g
And thus our banners with triumph embroidered upon them
and bearing the effigy of victory (may God encompass them with
His aid !) came to flutter over the whole land of Armenia and
for eight months 10 formed a circle round the town and environs
of Akhlat. Again and again we recited to the opponents of
our house verses of promise and menace, and time after time we
advanced the premisses of warning and admonishment to drive
home our argument and prove our case, in order that perchance
they might with the eye of insight perceive the road of their
salvation and leap to one side from the path of the hurricanes
of our fury and the thunderbolts of our displeasure, which even
a mountain cannot withstand ; but might flee from the clashing
of the waves of our conquering army's wrath to the Mount Judi u
of submission and [178] allegiance; and come forward begging
forgiveness, and open their gates. However, during all this long
time no answer at all was heard to the prayer of ' O God, guide
my people, for they know not *, and our opponents became day by
day more stubborn in their error and delusion
That God might accomplish what was already done.
Great numbers of soldiers from Diyar-Bekr and the banks of
the Euphrates, from Egypt and Syria, and some also from the
lands of the East and from the Turcoman and Turkish tribes
had crowded together into the town, all kinds of peoples gathered
together from every side and relying upon the strength of their
9 Koran, xxvii, 40. 10 See above, n. 3.
11 In the Kurdish district of Bohtan (Biihtan) to the south of Lake Van.
According to the Mesopotamian and the later Mohammedan tradition it was
on Mount Judi that Noah's Ark came to rest.
446
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
right arms, the stoutness of the walls and their ample stock of
crossbows (charkh u navak), mangonels, naphtha and siege instru-
ments. 12 And indeed its towers (fariij) competed with the
eighth sphere (falak-al-luriij) while the moat at its bottom passed 13
along the back of the ox-fish. 14 Terrestrial and celestial influ-
ences and effects had joined hands in perfecting the fortifications
whereof the foundations were as unshakable as the laws of the
heavens.
The madness of pride had penetrated the core of these rebels'
hearts so that no room was left for the acceptance of admonish-
ment, and depraved imaginings had taken such hold of the
enemy's brains that they could not comprehend the idea of right.
Finally at the end of Jumada 1 15 our victorious followers (God
aid and strengthen them !) received permission to fight, and orders
were given that everyone should make a breach where he stood
and every man seek entry in the place in front of him. Our
lion-like retinue and valiant followers, who had long wearied of
their standing idle and had in all manner of ways begged leave
to do battle, engaged for three days and nights in a bitter struggle,
seeking to enter the town from every side. On Sunday the
28th Jumada I, 16 at sunrise when the towers and battlements
had been decked out with a vanguard of banners and standards
as the heavens with stars [179] and shouts and cries arose from
every side of the town, the opponents of our house took refuge
in a castle in the middle of the town and our victorious followers
(may they never cease to le victorious!) busied themselves with
looting and pillaging. And although the people of Akhlat, in
view of their persistence in error, had no right to mercy, yet it
was our just and benevolent counsel to spare their lives, and we
gave command to our men to desist from plundering. The
clouds of our unstinted munificence poured their bounty upon
the lot of those hapless wretches ; and all settled down to their
lz jarrba-yi-&tiqil : perhaps some instrument for lifting objects. At the present
day jarr-i-fagtl is the ordinary word for ' crane \
13 Reading ijtiyaz with C and E for the tkbtar of the text.
^gw-mA>i: a creature, half ox, half fish, supposed to support the world
on its back.
15 April, 1230. 16 i5th April, 1230,
447
THE HISTORY OF
former pursuits repeating prayers for our victorious house (may
God strengthen the foundations thereof!).
Some of our opponents, perceiving that the road of flight was
closed and the gate of our all-embracing mercy open, proffered
excuses and sought pardon, saying : ' O Lord, we have dealt
unjustly! 17 It was the decision of our counsel, which ever
pardoneth faults and bestoweth happiness, to have compassion
on them ; and so we passed over their misdemeanours, and by
this act of boundless benevolence the door of hope was reopened
to all the guilty. And to-day the brothers of Malik Ashraf, viz.
Mujir-ad-Din and Taqi-ad-Din, as also Izz-ad-Din Ai-Beg,
the ruler of Arzan 18 and the Emir Aqsam, 19 everyone of them,
together with Asad son of 'Abdallah 20 and all the officials of
the Ayyubids are, nokntes volentes, strung upon the string of
allegiance ; and because of their lives that we have spared and
the pardon that they have received they raise their hands in
prayer for the increase of our strength and dominion and the
continuance of our fortune and felicity.
By this auspicious action a clime of this splendour has been
added to the realms inherited and acquired by us (may God
increase their extent I), as sooner or later the realms of Syria and
Rum will likewise fall into the hands of the servants of our house
(may God perpetuate it and grant them victory !).
These happy events having occurred and our desires having
been thus achieved we have dispatched the Emir So-and-so
(may God support him !) to the emirs, chief men, sadrs, notables,
cadis, leaders, shaikhs, the wise, the distinguished, the respected
and in short to all the inhabitants of Hamadan (may God cause
it to flourish and improve the affairs of its citizens I). Let all rejoice
and be exceeding glad at these signs of favour which the Creator
17 Koran, vii, 22.
18 Arzan was a well-known principality to the south of Bitlis. Nasawi (tr.
Houdas, 335) gives the ruler's name as Husam-ad-Din ToghriL He was a
descendant of Shams-ad-Daula Toghan-Arslan the Hunchback, on whom
see Minorsky, op. cit., 83.
19 Unidentified.
20 Nasawi (tr. Houdas, 335) calls him Asad b. 'Abdaliah al-Mihraru, i.e.
of the Kurdish tribe of Mihran.
448
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
(glorious and sublime is He I) hath shown unto us, and may
they be heartened and encouraged by the success [180] of our
victorious house ( may its fabric continue strong and its foundations
frm !), whereof the profits are common to all nations, and may
they add to their duties prayers for our welfare, if God Almighty
so will.
[XX]
OF THE SULTAN'S ADVANCE TO MAKE WAR ON THE
SULTAN OF RUM
THE Sultan having gained the victory over the Georgians, a
people, who by reason of their inaccessibility, the impregnability
of their strongholds, the greatness of their wealth and the prowess
of their warriors had been secure from the vicissitudes of fortune
and whom mighty kings and the princes of Syria and Rum had
met on terms of equality for fear of their fierceness in battle, nay
from whom they had turned tail in weakness and impotence
all this people now bowed their necks in allegiance to him, and
the conquest of Akhlat was added to these conquests and became
the evening draught to that morning draught. Fear of the Sultan
spread through all those regions and the tale of his severity and
rigour was diffused far and wide.
The Rulers of Rum and Syria, imitating the example of the
City of Peace dispatched relays upon relays of gifts and presents
to the Sultan in his splendid and magnificent hall of audience.
His court again became the resort of the noble and the great,
his following numerous, his fortunes flourishing, his treasuries
overflowing and the surrounding regions fruitful by his justice.
The following quatrain was composed by a man of letters at
this time:
king, the world is becoming as thou wishest;
Shrewish Fortune is becoming thy slave.
1 wait patiently till the coin of mankind,
As also their khuiba is adorned with thy name.
449
THE HISTORY OF
From Akhlat the Sultan proceeded to Malazjird * and from
thence to Khartabirt, 2 [181] being affected with some infirmity.
It was at this time that the Sultan of Erzerum 3 was distinguished
with all manner of favours in gratitude for his assistance at the
time of the siege of Akhlat by the supplying of provisions and
cattle for slaughter. 4 He reported that Sultan *Ala-ad-Din had
made peace with the rulers of Aleppo and Damascus ; that they
were leagued together against the Sultan and busy collecting
together their forces ; and that they were constantly threatening
him and saying that if the Sultan had not been supplied with
provisions at the gates of Akhlat it would have been impossible
for the Sultan to maintain himself.
Despite the greatness of his infirmity and the failing of his
strength the Sultan rode on. When the army reached the plain
around Mush 6,000 men, who were going to the aid of the
Syrians, crossed their path. They surrounded and killed them
all in a single instant.
Some days after, when the armies were drawing close to one
another, the Sultan of Rum, Malik Ashraf and the other Sultans
and rulers of those countries came together and assembled so
much gear and equipment and mustered so many men as to be
beyond computation. They drew up their forces on a hilltop,
placing naphtha-throwers and crossbowmen with cowhide
shields in front, both mounted and on foot.
When the tinder of battle had caught light and the fighting
had reached the pitch when the zephyr of Fortune was beginning
to blow and the bud of Hope to unfold, the Sultan decided to
get out of his litter and on to the saddle. But his strength was
not sufficient to hold the reins. Like victory they slipped ftom
his grasp, and the horse turned round against his will and walked
a few paces back. His attendants then said that the Sultan
1 Now Malazgirt. The original Armenian name of the town was Manazkert.
It was here, in 1071, that Alp-Arslan gained his great victory over the Byzantines,
2 Now Harput.
3 His name was Rukn-ad-Din Jahan-Shah. See above, i, 250, n. 10.
*gu$M: the text has kvsbf, a word of which M.Q. could make nothing.
tfishti occurs in I, 163, and also in III, 32, where it is interpreted by M.Q. as
meaning ' animals that are slaughtered for their flesh ',
450
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
should be allowed to rest for a while until he had recovered his
strength and his personal standards were therefore carried back.
Seeing this the right and left wings thought that the Sultan was
in retreat, and they too turned back. [182] The enemy, how-
ever, imagining that this was a trick of the Sultan to draw them
down on to level ground, a herald stood up in the midst of their
troops and proclaimed that no one should stir from the spot and
go in pursuit of them. Meanwhile, the Sultan's army having
scattered and dispersed in every direction, it was impossible to
make a stand and the Sultan was in a dilemma. 5 He turned
back and made towards Akhlat, from which place he recalled
those whom he had detailed to defend it, and then proceeded
to Khoi. Of the brothers of Malik Ashraf he dismissed Mujir-
al-Mulk with honour, whilst he gave leave to Taqi-ad-Din to
return and intercede on his behalf with the Commander of the
Faithful, al-Mustansir billah. As for Husam-ad-Din Qaimari 6
he had fled. His wife, who was related (bam-shakb) 7 to Malik
Ashraf was still there and the Sultan treated her with respect
and sent her back with every show of kindness and attention.
As for Izz-ad-Din Ai-Beg he met his end in the castle of
Dizmar. 8
It would be strange indeed if Fortune were always propitious
and did not in the end produce a trick out of her juggler's cup.
The Heavens do not assist us, it is not hard for them
to behave basely. '
I complained that my luck was asleep. Alas ! being
awake does not last.
A stone, O Heavens, lies upon me. It would be strange
if you do not rain. 9
5 This battle was fought near Arzinjan (Erzincan) on the zoth August, 1230.
See Minorsky, Studies in Caucasian History, 154.
6 For an account of his escape see Nasawi tr. Houdas, 334-5. His full name
was Husam-ad-Din al-Qaimari al-Hasani b. Abul-Fawaris. He was after-
wards the Ayyubid governor of Aleppo, from which he fled upon the approach
of Hulegii. See Zambaur, Manuel de ginlalogie et de chronologic pout rbistoire it
I' Islam, 34.
7 According to Rashid -ad-Din (Blochet, 3 1) she was Malik Ashraf 's daughter.
8 Dizmar is in Western Qaraja-Dagh (east of Marand). (V.M.)
fl I.e. * if you do not show mercy " ?
G ii, 451
THE HISTORY OF
The Sultan had not yet recovered from the blow on the cheek
of his fortune when he received tidings that Chormaghun Noyan
had crossed the Oxus. He deputed the vizier Shams-ad-Din
Yulduzchi to defend the castle of Giran 10 and confided his
womenfolk to him in that place. The Sultan himself went to
Tabriz, from whence, despite his differences with [183] the
Commander of the Faithful and the Sultans of Syria and Rum,
he dispatched messengers to them reporting the crossing of the
river by the Emperor's " army and bearing a message to the
effect that this great host of Tartar troops was in magnitude and
might like unto ants and serpents. Neither castles could with-
stand them nor cities. Fear and dread of them was deep-rooted
in the hearts of the people of those parts. * If I am removed/
he went on, ' you cannot resist them. I am to you as the Wall
of Alexander. Let each of you send a detachment with a
standard to support me, and when the news of our concord
and agreement reaches them, their teeth will be blunted and
our army in good heart. "And we have decided what we must do"
But if you treat this matter lightly you shall see what you shall see.
Let each of you see to his life ; exert your understanding
in this matter.'
Alas ! Alas ! When thou hast planted the sapling of dis-
cord in a man's breast and watered the roots thereof with the
blood of men's hearts, what fruit dost thou expect therefrom save
the thorn of revenge 12 and the sting of Fate ? And if you fill
a goblet with deadly poison, wherefore desire to taste therefrom
the wine of Babylon ? To offer excuses and seek pardon after
inciting to vengeance is a balm laid upon men who have died
of their wounds ; it is the potion given to Suhrab after his
death. 13
10 Giran. Now Gllan, to the north of the Araxes. (V.M.)
11 I.e. Ogedei's.
12 Reading sar * revenge ' with C for the $tmar ' fruit * of the text.
13 When Suhrab lies dying Rustam sends to Kai-Ka'us to ask for a potion
in his possession that will heal his son's wounds. The request being refused
Rustam sets out to appeal to the king in person but is overtaken by a messenger
with the news that Suhrab is already dead.
452
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
I am not thefrst to hope for what he did not attain,
even if I love one who dwells among the ghada 14 trees}-*
The powerful fortune and auspicious ascendant of the Emperor
of the World, Chingiz-Khan, 16 threw their words into dis-
agreement and changed the Sultan's hope into despair and
disappointment. Suddenly news arrived that the Mongol army
had reached Sarab. The Sultan set out at full speed for the
district of Bishkin. 17 The roof of the palace in which he lodged
on the night of his arrival caved in, and he took this for an
omen and recognized it as a sign that the pinnacles of his great-
ness were tottering and that his pregnant hopes were suffering
a miscarriage. His was a dynasty that had long been on the
rise until the announcers of death and the ravens that foretell
separation had with the tongue of circumstances whispered in
its ear the ill news of its decline and beaten the royal drum in
the house of another. He wavered for a while as though to
make a show of resistance, just as a bird will flutter when its
throat has been cut; and deceitful Fate teased and tormented
him like the hunter who, in order to have sport with a wild
creature that has fallen into his net, fastens it to a rope ; it leaps
for joy but when it reaches the end of its tether he draws it back.
God Almighty hath said : e Until as they wen rejoicing in our gifts,
we suddenly laid hold upon them, and lo I they were plunged into
despair! 18
He set out the next day for Mughan. He had been there
five days when the Mongol army arrived close at hand in his
pursuit. He abandoned his tent and encampment at dawn and
entered the mountains of Qaban. 19 Finding the Sultan's en-
campment deserted the Mongols at once turned back.
14 H. R. P. Dickson, Kuwait and her Neighbours, London, 1956, p. 594, describes
gbada as a * saline-tasting bush (Haloxylon persicum Bungs), one of the varieties
known under the general name of bamdb '. I am indebted for this reference
to Dr. J. D. Latham of the University Library, Manchester.
15 See Tabrizi, Sbarh-al-Hamasa, Bulaq ed., HI, 148. (M.Q.)
16 This is of course a mistake, Chingiz-Khan having died three years before
in 1227.
17 Now Mishkin (the district round Ahar). 18 Koran, vi, 44.
19 Qaban. The Armenian Kapan, now Kafan, a district in the extreme
south-east of Soviet Armenia, noted as a copper-mining centre.
453
THE HISTORY OF
The Sultan spent the winter of 628/1230 in Urmiya and
Ushnu. Sharaf-al-Mulk Yulduzchi, whom he had placed in
charge of his harem [185] in the castle of Giran, was falsely
accused of having, at the time of the Sultan's absence when all
news of him was cut off, cast covetous eyes at his harem and
treasury. A report to this effect had reached the Sultan, and
when he came to that district, Yulduzchi for fear of the Sultan
and dread of [what] this tale [might involve], refused to come
out of the castle and asked the Sultan for a safe-conduct (mtsiq).
At his request the Sultan sent in Buqu Khan, who brought him
out by force or persuasion. When he reached the place where
the ministers* horses were tethered, he was detained there, and
such great officials of the Divan and other dignitaries as were in
attendance on him, seeing the posture of his affairs, separated
themselves from him one by one, until the vizier was left standing
all alone. Sultan Jalal-ad-Din then spoke as follows : * I raised
Yulduzchi from the nadir of abasement to the zenith of exaltation
and from a foundation of trash to a pinnacle of eminence; and
so he has requited my kindness.' He gave orders for his horses
to be taken as plunder by the lads in attendance (vu$kaqan-i-
hazrat), while he himself was handed over to the governor of
the castle ; and after a time, at the slanderous instigation of the
envious and upon the calumniatory accusation of enemies, he
entrusted him to the confinement of eternity, nay to the prison
of the grave. He later repented of this act.
He now set out for Diyar-Bekr, and when the Mongol army
(hasham) returned to Chormaghun the latter chided them roundly
for turning back and abandoning their intensive search for the
Sultan. At the very moment, he said, when such an enemy had
lost his strength and the veils of concealment had fallen from
him, [186] how could they then give him respite and slacken
the search. And he dispatched like lightning in his pursuit
Taimas 20 and other chief emirs with a band of vengeful Turks
such as those who sought to avenge Afrasiyab upon Gurgin. 21
Now the Sultan had sent back Buqu Khan 22 to act as scout
20 See above, p. 436, n. 39. 21 One of the heroes of the Shaknama.
22 See above, i, 305, n. 67.
454
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
and reconnoitre the movements of the Mongol army. Upon his
arrival in Azerbaijan it was reported to him that they had struck
the drum of departure from Iraq also and that there was no trace
or news of them in those parts. Without treading the highway
of circumspection, as is incumbent upon, and the bounden
duty of, the trusted servants of the Court, nay the emirs of the
Empire, Buqu Khan turned back and bore the Sultan the glad
tidings that the Mongols had disappeared, and in joy thereat
The king caused music to be played, and the palace
became like the garden of spring.
And I like not drunkenness save only that it benumbs
me so that I feel not the hurt of misfortune.
It is related that one day Mutawakkil 23 was rebuking one of
his courtiers for devoting his time to pleasure and indulging in
unlawful practices. The man replied : f I call sport to my aid
against Fate only because to endure the cares of this world is possible
only with a little rejoicing* However, cases differ.
In a word, the ministers and chief men, like the Sultan,
neglected the defence of their lives for the circulation of cups.
For all the fbrlornness (bi-navai) of their affairs they again
(bi-navi) struck the road of song (navd) ; while instruments of
war were in preparation they set their hands to harp and
tambourine ; they preferred the bellies of women to the backs of
stallions and chose slender damsels [187] rather than lean steeds.
From the goblet there gushed forth pure blood, and they thought
it wine ; from the strings (rag) of the harp there issued a mournful
lament, and they sang bass and treble (bam u zir). This was
the same king who had made the saddle his throne, the saddle-
cloth his couch, armour his cloak and a helmet his crown.
Forsaking preliminary skirmishes and pitched battles for unions
with maids and matrons, he now, contrary to his wont, pre-
ferred feasting to fighting, making wine the balsam of the wound
of Fate, forgetting in the loving-cup the thrust of powerful foes,
hearkening to the cheerful notes of harp-strings rather than seek-
ing out bowstrings and drinking old wine rather than mounting
23 The 'Abbasid Caliph (847-61).
455
THE HISTORY OF
a noble charger. Someone composed the following a propos of
that occasion:
O king ! what will come of [drinking] strong wine ?
And what will come of continual drunkenness ?
The king drunk, the world in ruin and enemies before and behind
It is plain to see what will become of this ! 24
Two or three days passed in the vanity of merrymaking.
Suddenly pregnant Night gave birth to her infant Disaster, and
at midnight when the throne of Sultan Wisdom had been usurped
by the Demon Ignorance, and the core of the heart had become
the centre of human greed, and lofty thoughts, those noble
chargers, had been curbed by the bridle of physical desire, and
drunkenness had deprived emir and vizier of prudence and
forethought, and the army of Sleep had overwhelmed the world
of the brain, and all the men and [188] most of the guards
(mufradan) were shackled and crippled with intoxication at
the time
When a third of the dark night had passed and the
morning-star moved across the revolving circle. 25
a Tartar host of mighty warriors, whose leader was Taimas, 26
came upon men without guard or watch. And it was a strange
fact that when Qa'an charged Chormaghun with the destruction
of the Sultan and appointed the various emirs, he turned to
Taimas and said : * Of all these it is thou that shalt deal the
final blow to the Sultan/ And so it was. Acting with caution,
in the belief that the men before them were also watching and
waiting, the Mongols advanced noiselessly like creeping ants.
Orkhan 27 became aware of their approach and went at once
to the Sultan's pillow. The Sultan was in his first sleep forgetful
that
Events may fall out at dawn.
24 This quatrain is quoted in the Kitab-al-Fakhri of Ibn-at-Tiqtaqa, who
ascribes it to one of Jalal-ad-Din's courtiers. See my note, Ibn al-Tiataqa and
the Ta'rikh-i-Jabatt-Gusbay ofjuvaym.
25 Sbabnama ed. Vullers, 438, 1. 82. For the az' of ' of the text Vullers has
zdn * of that '.
26 Sec above, p. 436, n. 39, 27 See above, p. 409, n. 50.
456
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
As for sleep I see in it the imagination of joy; it is
a sweeter fruit than the awakening that drives away slumber.
Being thus rudely awakened from sleep he ceased to doubt the
power of God Almighty and clearly perceived and realized that
the skirt of counsel was firmly held in the hand of Destiny ; that
the steed of Wisdom lay helpless at the feet of Fate ; that the
arrows of Cunning, fitted to the bow of Possibility, had broken
without hitting the target ; that Calamity had intervened between
him and Safety ; and that he had alighted at the stage of Evil.
Without waiting for evening the strange guest had drunk at
dawn, and Peace and Security had girded their loins to depart.
But this time the guest was a fierce warrior, and the host knew
how to dispel a drunken headache. He asked for cold water
and poured it over his head as though to signify that he had
done with hotheadedness, and [189] with a heart glowing like
a blacksmith's furnace and an eye dripping like a broken pitcher
he set out with a small following and much lamentation, bidding
farewell to that mistress, Empire, nay reaping the field of his luck.
If the eye of the nights overlooked us for a time
we should think this gooL
O day of youth, may thy night be pleasant ! Thou and
I have seen the Day of Judgement.
And when the Sultan set off with a small body of men he
ordered Orkhan not to move his standard and to offer resistance
until he had gained a little lead. Obeying the Sultan's command
he struggled impotently for a short while, and when he turned
tail the Mongol army, believing him to be the Sultan, charged
after him like eagles. When they realized that they had failed
in their main object (pat az dast dada and vapaigirifta), they returned
to the encampment, where they put officers, soldiers and dignitaries
of state to the sword making them the food of flies and the titbit
of wolves. The phoenix Vainglory, which had laid an egg in
the brain of each man's pride, after hatching the chick of joy
set about producing a cock's egg. All the hopes they had
entertained of this transitory world now turned to dust, and the
garment of their lives was rent in the teeth of annihilation. If
457
THE HISTORY OF
before they had been exalted like the Constellation of the Bear
(ban5t-an-na$l))?* now indeed they were nought but corpses
(alna-an-na*$b) 28 forming a couch for earth and rubble.
So the ancient circle ever turneth; now it is like
a bow, now like an arrow. 29
Now it is love and sweet wine, now hatred and poison-
thus is the revolving circle of Fate.
As for the Sultan of blessed memory, unable to fulfil his
wishes
With a heart torn in two with the cruelty and sorrow
of the world, he still fears that fear may be alive.
[190] he set his face to the road.
If this be how the world keeps faith, how then if it played
the tyrant ? But they have given the name of * World ' to a
place set with snares and that of * Time ' to nets of misfortune,
just as they have called the centre of griefs f heart 9 and the seat
of cares * soul \
thou with whom my existence has become entirely one,
I know not whether that seat of griefs is I alone or thou.
Grief knocked at the heart's door. The heart cried, * Enter !
There is no separate existence : thou art I, and I am thou/
1 do not believe that any age will suffer what we are enduring
from the vicissitudes of Fate.
It is not a period of rest and repose ; it is a season of calamity
and a time of troubles.
A whole world is full of evil and confusion because the fortune
of the King of the World is exposed to trial.
O generous man, know that this evil and confusion is nought but
the grieving of an old woman.
It Is strange beyond surprise that we should attribute
the blame for events to Time
And attack him with reproach, when he has a muzzle on
his mouth even though he were granted speech.
28 Lit. ' daughters of the bier ' and ' sons of the bier '.
29 Shahnama ed. Vullers, 1061, 1. 229. The following line, which is not in
C, E or G, is lacking in Vullers.
458
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
Does he not hurry along like man, while everything is
louna up with the affairs of Death ? 30
Accounts differ as to how the Sultan met his end. 31 Some
say that upon arriving in the mountains of Amid 32 he had
encamped for the night in a certain place when a party of Kurds
conceived a desire to despoil him of his clothes and stabbed him
in the breast, not realizing what deed they had done or what
game they had caught. Nor is this strange : wherever there is
a huma it is vilely treated in the claws of an owl [191] and wherever
there is a lion it is sorely tried from fighting with a cur. Now
how this came to be discovered was that those Kurds 33 entered
the town clad in his garments, and certain of his retinue recognized
his clothes and arms ; and the ruler of Amid, when he had
been acquainted with the circumstances, put the Kurds to death
and ordered a grave to be dug and a murdered man, thought to
be the Sultan, to be buried in it. But some say that these were
other clothes which his retinue had with them and that the
Sultan, clad in rags, was following the calling of a Sufi and
wandering about amongst the lands and peoples of Islam.
But however it came about he departed this life after receiving
a blow from this pitiless, inconsiderate world.
Years afterwards, whenever a rumour arose amongst the people
that the Sultan had been seen in such-and-such a place, especially
in Iraq, Sharaf-ad-Din Ali of Tabrish, 34 who was the vizier
of Iraq, would for a time be actively concerned with such
30 It has been impossible to identify the author of these verses but it is almost
certain that the two lines quoted above, II, p. 186, and 188, are from the same
poem. (M.Q.)
31 For Nasawi's account see Houdas* translation, 409-10, also d'Ohsson, III,
61-2.
32 The Roman Amida, now called Diyar-Bekr after the district of which
it is the chief town.
33 At this pkce there is the following note in the margin of C : * The Sultan
was certainly murdered by the Kurds, for while they were murdering him his
wife Malika Khatun with a small party fled from thence to Rum, and the ataltg
Muzaffar-ad-Din Abu-Bakr then sent men to fetch his sister from Rum to Shiraz.
Thus it was ascertained that it was indeed the Sultan whom these wretches had
unwittingly murdered for the sake of his clothes.' (M.Q.)
34 I.e. Tafrish.
459
THE HISTORY OF
reports ; and again and again the glad tidings would be spread
through the town and countryside that the Sultan was in such-
and-such a castle or in such-and-such a place.
In the year 633/1235-6 a man rose in rebellion in Ustundar 35
claiming to be the Sultan ; and his fame spread far and wide.
During the governorship of Chin-Temur the Mongol emirs
sent some persons who had seen and known the Sultan to look
at this man. He was put to death for his lying.
In the year 652/1254-5 a party of merchants came to the
banks of the [192] Oxus. One of them told the boatmen that
he was Sultan Jalal-ad-Din. He was seized and the matter
investigated. He persisted in his claim until he was put to
death. There are many kinds of madness.
To be brief, all those rumours and reports were of no avail.
f Everything shall perish except Himself! Judgement is His and to
Him shall ye return ! ' 36
[XXI]
OF YAMIN MALIK x AND IGHRAQ AND THEIR FATE
WHEN Sultan Muhammad fled from the banks of the river,
Yamin Malik, who was feudatory of Herat, proceeded to that
35 See above, p. 385, n. 73. 36 Koran, xxviii, 88.
1 C has Yamin-al-Mulk. This person is differently named by different his-
torians. Juvaini usually refers to him as Arnin Malik and sometimes as Amin-
ad-Din Malik ; but throughout the present chapter he is called Yamin Malik.
Nasawi everywhere calls him Amin Malik, while Ibn-al-Athir, XII, 259,
calls him Malik Khan. In the Talaqati-Nasiri of Juzjani he appears as Malik
Khan and Malik Khan of Herat and in Rashid-ad-Din ed. Berezin, XV, 126,
[Smirnova, 220-3] as Khan Malik. [He is called Qan Melik in the Secret
History (257) and Mieh-li-k'o-han in the Yuan sbib (Krause, 38, Haenisch,
Die letzten Feldzuge Cinggis Han's und sein Tod, 530-1) and the Sbeng-wu cb'in-
cheng lu (Haenisch, op. tit., 528).] He was a chief of the Qanqli Turks and
the Sultan's cousin (the son of his maternal uncle). His daughter was married
to the Sultan. Having first been entrusted by Sultan Muhammad with the
governorship of Herat he afterwards entered the service of Sultan Jalal-ad-Din
becoming one of his chief commanders. See above, pp. 405 and 406/7, also
Nasawi tr. Houdas, 109 and 144-5. He was finally killed by the Mongols
at Peshawar at the time of Jalal-ad-Din's crossing the Indus. See above,
pp. 409-10. (M.Q.)
460
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
place and then went on by way of the Garmsir 2 to Ghazna.
Muhammad son of c Ali [193] Khar-Pust of Ghur was then in
Ghazna as the Sultan's representative with 20,000 men. Yamin
Malik encamped at Sura [?], two or three stages from Ghazna,
and sent a messenger to Khar-Pust asking him to assign them
pasturage so that they might remain together, for the Sultan had
fled to Iraq, and the Tartars had entered Khorasan, and [they
should stay together] until it was known what had become of
the Sultan. Now at that time Shams-al-Mulk Shihab-ad-Din
of Sarakhs, the vizier of Sultan Jalal-ad-Din, was also in Ghazna,
and Salah-ad-Din of Nisa, who was governor of the castle and
the inner town on behalf of the Sultan, was likewise present.
Khar-Pust and his emirs replied to Yamin Malik as follows :
* We are Ghuris and you are Turks ; we cannot live together.
The Sultan has assigned fiefs and pasturage to everybody. Let
each remain in his own place and see what happens.' Messengers
passed several times between them but no decision was reached
and the Ghuris persisted in their unfriendly attitude. Shams-
ad-Din the vizier and Salah-ad-Din now agreed together to
make an attempt on Khar-Pust's life. ' In their hearts, 5 they
said, * the Ghuris are rebels against the Sultan, and they will
not admit Yamin Malik, the Sultan's kinsman, into the territory
of Ghazna/ Now all the troops in Ghazna were collected
together half a parasang from the town, where they had a camp.
Shams-al-Mulk and Salah-ad-Din the Governor having thus
agreed to make an end of Muhammad Khar-Pust they entertained
him in a garden. Suddenly Salah-ad-Din of Nisa stabbed
Khar-Pust and killed him. Having killed him Shams-ad-Din
and Salah-ad-Din threw themselves into the town before his
troops had learnt of his fate and seized the castle. The Ghuris
then scattered and after two or three days Yamin Malik [194]
entered Ghazna and became its governor.
After a while there came news that Chingiz-Khan had
arrived at the Talaqan near Balkh and that two or three thousand
Mongols had come by way of the Garmsir 3 in search of Yamin
Malik. He collected an army and advanced against them.
2 See above, i, 136, n. 9, 3 See above, i, 136, n. 9.
46!
THE HISTORY OF
Seeing that his numbers were superior to theirs they retired
without offering battle, and Yamin Malik pursued them as far
as Bust 4 and Teginabad, 5 from whence the Mongols departed
in the direction of Herat and Khorasan, while Yamin Malik
proceeded to Sivistan 6 by way of Qusdar. 7 He had brought
Shams-al-Mulk with him and he now imprisoned him in the
castle of Kujuran 8 in [the district of] Bust and Teginabad.
Salah-ad-Din he had left in Ghazna, and during his absence
the people rose in rebellion and killed and mutilated him.
In Ghazna the cadi and Razi-al-Mulk and 'Umdat-al-Mulk,
two brothers, made themselves masters of Tirmiz 9 and then
agreed together to make Razi-al-Mulk ruler of Ghazna. Mean-
while, Khalaj and Turcoman tribesmen without number had
poured out of Khorasan and Transoxiana [195] and gathered
together in Peshawar, their leader being Saif-ad-Din Ighraq
Malik. Razi-al-Mulk conceived the desire of attacking and
defeating them and then making himself master of India. He
raised an army and advanced on Peshawar to do them battle,
but the Turcomans and Khalaj defeated him and slew both
himself and the greater part of his army.
His brother c Umdat-al-Mulk being in command in Ghazna,
A'zam Malik, the son of Imad-ad-Din of Balkh, and Malik
Shir, the governor of Kabul, proceeded thither with an army of
Ghuris, who had gathered around them, and besieged him in
the castle in the middle of the town ; in the course of the fighting
they set up mangonels and at the end of 40 days had taken
the castle.
Meanwhile, Sultan Jalal-ad-Din, in his flight from Khorasan
before the Mongols had reached the castle of Kujuran and
4 The modern Qal e a-yi-Bist.
6 Perhaps on the site of Qandahar. See Minorsky, Hudud, 345.
6 Sivistan, also known as Balis or Valishtan, is the present-day district of
Sibi, to the south-east of Quetta.
7 Qusdar. Now Khuzdar, 85 miles south of Kalat. See Minorsky, op, dt, t
373.
8 KjWRAN. Unidentified.
9 There must be some mistake. There would have been no point in their
seizing Tirmiz (Termez) on the northern bank of the Oxus.
462
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
released Shams-al-Mulk, whom he sent to Ghazna to make
preparations for his residence there as ruler. Shams-al-Mulk
arrived on the very day the castle was captured and gave the
welcome news of Sultan Jalal-ad-Din's approach. A week
later the Sultan himself arrived, and armies turned towards him
and gathered around him from every side, and provided him
with all the appurtenances of royalty. Yamin Malik, who was
in India, heard of the Sultan's arrival and hastened to his side.
So too Ighraq Malik joined the Sultan from Peshawar with
Khalaj and Turcoman troops. And A'zam Malik and Malik
Shir with a great host of Ghuris likewise placed them-
selves at the Sultan's disposal. In this way a well-equipped
army of sixty to seventy thousand men was gathered around
him.
With these forces Sultan Jalal-ad-Din proceeded to Parvan, 10
which [196] lies on the border of Bamiyan where many roads
meet and where he hoped to get information about the course
of events. Meanwhile some ten to twelve thousand Mongol
horsemen in pursuit of the Sultan arrived before Ghazna.
There being no troops in the town there was no obstacle in their
way and they had unexpectedly entered the town before the
inhabitants were aware of their presence. Some set fire to the
Friday mosque whilst others killed whatever people they found
in the streets. After remaining one day they took a guide and
proceeded to Parvan in pursuit of the Sultan. There they joined
battle. The Sultan was victorious, and the Mongol army
returned to Chingiz-Khan at Talaqan.
After the Sultan's victory a dispute arose between the Khalaj,
Turcomans and Ghuris on one hand and the Khorazmians on
the other over the sharing of the horses taken as booty. The
result was discord in the Sultan's army ; and Ighraq Malik and
A'zam Malik turned back with all the Khalaj, Turcomans and
Ghuris and made for Peshawar, while the Sultan set out for
Ghazna with the Turkish and Khorazmian troops that still
remained with him:
Upon leaving the Sultan, Ighraq Malik, A'zam Malik and
10 See above, p. 405, n. 34.
463
THE HISTORY OF
the other emirs went to Ningrahar, 11 which was the fief of A'zam
Malik and where he entertained them as his guests, offering
refreshments and every manner of polite attention. Now there
was bitter enmity between Nuh Jandar, a Khalaj emir with five
to six thousand tents, and Ighraq Malik. The latter now set
off for Peshawar with 20,000 men while Nuh Jandar stayed
behind to pasture in Ningrahar. When Saif-ad-Din Ighraq
Malik [197] was one stage distant he sent the following message
to A'zam Malik : * Between thee and me is the relation of father
and son. I am the father and thou art the son. If thou wouldst
please me do not give Nuh Jandar leave to abide in thy territory
and do not let him stay there/ A'zam Malik replied: * It is
not fitting that there should be war and enmity between Moslem
armies at such a time as this.' And with an escort of 50 horse-
men from amongst his chief men he set out after Saif-ad-Din
Ighraq in order to effect a reconciliation between him and Nuh
Jandar. Saif-ad-Din Ighraq bade him welcome and made him
sit and drink wine with him. A e zam Malik began to speak of
Nuh Jandar and to intercede on his behalf, but Ighraq refused
to listen. Suddenly, drunk as he was, he mounted horse and
set out for Nuh's encampment accompanied by a hundred
horsemen. Nuh, thinking that he came in kindness, went
before him with his sons and saluted him respectfully. Ighraq
Malik was still drunk. He drew his sword to strike Nuh and
was at once seized by Nuh's soldiers, who tore him to pieces.
When news hereof reached his camp his men exclaimed : * This
is an act of treachery on the part of A'zam Malik. He came
here with the connivance of Nuh in order to put an- end to
Ighraq Malik/ Thinking this they seized A'zam Malik and put
him to death. Then they attacked Nuh's encampment and
killed both Nuh and his sons. Many were thus killed on either
side, and the Ghuris fought them also, and great numbers were
slain.
Shortly afterwards Tekechiik and Sayyid c Ala-al-Mulk of
Qunduz came upon them. Tekechiik was the commander of
11 Reading NNGRHAR for the BKRHAR of the text. Ningrahar is
the present-day Jalalabad district of Afghanistan. See Minorsky, op. dt,, 252-3.
464
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
the Mongol army and c Ala-al-Mulk the leader of the infantry
levy (cherig). 12 They destroyed the remnants [198] of the
Khalaj, Turcoman and Ghuri armies. In a word, those twenty
or thirty thousand Khalaj, Turcomans and Ghuris, after separat-
ing from Sultan Jalal-ad-Din, were all scattered and slain within
less than two or three months either by the hands of one another
or by the armies of Chingiz-Khan, and not a trace was left of
them.
[XXII]
OF THE SULTAN'S MOTHER, TERKEN KHATUN X
BY race she belonged to the Turkish tribes called the Qanqli, 2
and Terken on account of her origin used to favour the Turks, 3
who during her lifetime were in the ascendancy. They were
called A'jami, 4 and mercy and compassion were far removed
from their hearts. Wherever they passed by, that country was
laid in ruin and the people took refuge in their strongholds.
And indeed it was their cruelty, violence and wickedness 5 that
brought about the downfall of the Sultan's dynasty.
People who regard the jive prayers as supererogatory and
deem it lawful to shed the blood of pilgrims in the
Sacred Territory.*
12 On chertg see above, i, 97, n. 4.
1 On her name see above, i, 79, n. 3,
2 Juzjani (Raverty, 240) says that she was the daughter of the Khan of the
Qipchaq, whereas according to Nasawi (tr. Houdas, 44 and 72) she belonged
to the Baya'ut, a branch of the Yemek. On the relationship between the Yemek
(the earlier Kimek), the Qipchaq and the Qanqll, * une des questions les plus
obscures de Fhistoire de 1'Asie Centrale ' (Pelliot, Campagnes, 95), see Minorksy,
Hudud f 304-10 and 315-17. On the Mongol tribe of the Baya'ut, of which
Marquart, Ober das Volkstum der Komanen, 171, thinks the Yemek Baya'ut may
have been an offshoot, see Pelliot, op. cit., 82-9.
3 There is a word-play, a * visual ' pun in the original, both Terken (Tergen)
and Turkdn ' Turks ' being spelt TRKAN.
4 See above, i, 305, n. 69.
5 na-paktj lit. ' uncleanness '. Probably a reference to their paganism. Cf.
the following verse. (V.M.)
6 Slightly adapted from a qasida by Mutanabbi. (M.Q.)
465
THE HISTORY OF
Terken Khatun had her own separate court and state officials
and disposed of her own separate stipends and fiefs. Nevertheless
her power extended over the Sultan, his finances and his high
officers and officials. She used to hold secret revelries and it was
through her that many an ancient house was overthrown.
Whenever a kingdom or a country was conquered and the rulers
of such kingdoms were brought to Khorazm as hostages she
would cause them to be cast by night into the river 7 to the end
that her son's empire might be untroubled by [199] rivals and
the fountain of his authority unsullied with dust. She did not
realize that God Almighty not only punisheth in this present
world but knoweth how to chastise and retribute in the world
to come.
Whatever thou dost, the cruel world will write ' Oppression '
upon thee with sharp pens.
When the Sultan in his flight crossed the river at Tirmiz he
sent a messenger to Khorazm with instructions that his mother
should set out with the rest of his harem for Mazandaran, where
they should take refuge in the strongholds of those parts. Obey-
ing her son's command she departed from Khorazm taking with
her the other young boys, her grandsons, and the womenfolk.
The troops she left in Khorazm in charge of the principal khans.
At the time of her departure she ordered a number of local rulers
(sahib-tarafdn) who had been detained as hostages to be cast into
the Oxus, all except those who were not of royal rank. With
the children and the treasure she then set out for Mazandaran
by way of Dihistan, 8 the vizier Nasir-ad-Din being in attendance
on them.
When the Sultan arrived in Mazandaran he sent Terken with
the rest of the womenfolk to the castles of Larijan 9 and Hal. 10
j the name of the Tigris, is here applied to the Oxus. See above, i, 326
and n. 26, for the similar use ofjaibun * Oxus ' to describe any large river.
8 See above, i, 291, n. 40.
9 Larijan is now a sub-district of the district of Amul, It is here, some 50
miles to the north-east of Tehran, that Mount Damavand is situated.
10 Hal ; on the head-waters of the river of Sari (Tljin) in the Du-Danga
canton. (V.M.)
466
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
And when Subetei u came to Mazandaran in pursuit of the
Sultan he laid siege to these castles. Now in no age had the
castle of Hal been recorded as having suffered a shortage of water,
for those water-carriers, the clouds, used to spare the inmates the
labour of storing water in tanks : the clouds by their weeping
would cause the mouths of the garrison to smile. But it so
happened that when the [Mongol] army sat down before the
castle, the rain too became hostile and like Fortune deserted
them.
He is the Sultan, Who from water-carrying elephants presents
the earth from the air with sweet water.
[200] After ten to fifteen days no water was left and Terken
Khatun with the other members of the harem and the vizier
Nasir-ad-Din was compelled to come down from the castle.
And at the very hour when they reached the foot Day in her
perversity let down the veil of the clouds and binding them one
to another began to weep. 12 It was the story of the duck which
said to the fish:
When we are dead, what does it matter whether the world be
sea or mirage ? 13
Terken Khatun together with the other members of the harem
and Nasir-ad-Din was taken to Chingiz-Khan in Talaqan in
11 Elsewhere (i, 146) Juvaini speaks of Jebe's troops as laying siege to these
castles. See Barthold, Turkestan, 431.
12 ' The climate of Mazandaran is universally condemned. It is extremely
capricious, and not naturally divided into wet and dry, or cold and hot, seasons :
one year it pours for a month without cessation, and the same month in the
next year may be quite dry. Though not nearly so damp as Gilan, it must
be termed a humid climate, for there is no day throughout the year in which
the people can rely on dry weather.' (Rabino, Mazandaran ana AstardUA, 9.)
13 This is the last line of a quatrain included in Whinfield's edition of Omar
Khayyam, where the wording is slightly different (skarab ' wine ' instead of sarat
' mirage '). It is certainly not one of the genuine quatrains and is not for instance
in the Chester Beatty manuscript recently edited by Professor Arberry. Whin-
field's version (p. 16) runs as follows:
Quoth fish to duck, * 'Twill be a sad affair,
If this brook leaves its channel dry and bare';
To whom the duck, ' When I am dead and roasted
The brook may run with wine for aught I care.*
H II. 467
THE HISTORY OF
the year 618/1221-2. When they came before him Nasir-ad-
Din was tortured, and all the male children of the Sultan, how-
ever young, were put to death. As for the rest, namely the
Sultan's daughters, sisters and wives that accompanied Terken,
Chingiz-Khan commanded them on the day of departure to
sing a dirge on the Sultan and his empire.
When Sultan Jalal-ad-Din flung himself in the river his harem
was sent to join them.
Terken Khatun was dispatched to Qara-Qorum, where she
existed wretchedly for a number of years dying in 630/1232-3.
Of the Sultan's daughters two were given to Chaghatai. One
he made a special concubine and the other he gave to his vizier
Qutb-ad-Din Habash 'Amid. Of the daughters that fell to the
lot of the other ordu 14 one was given to 'Amid Hajib.
Among the members of Sultan Jalal-ad-Din's harem that
were afterwards captured by Chormaghun [201] was a daughter
aged two likewise called Terken.
Chormaghun sent her to Qa'an, who ordered her to be
brought up in the ordu. When the Prince of the World Hiilegii
set out for the countries of the West, Mengii Qa'an sent her with
him to give to any one that was fitting. Since the Lord of
Mosul 15 had been distinguished from his peers by his long
continued services Hiilegii bestowed Terken upon his son Malik
Salih. 16 She was married in accordance with the rites of the
Shari'at, receiving also a dowry after the Mongol custom. This
was in the year 655/1257-8.
[XXIII]
OF SULTAN GHIYAS-AD-DIN
His name was Pir-Shah, and the province of Kerman had been
assigned to him. However, ' man proposes but God disposes \
When his father left Iraq for Mazandaran he sent his women-
> 14 Which other ordu ? Presumably that of one of Chaghatai's brothers,
Ogedei or Tolul.
15 Badr-ad-Din Lu'lu' (1233-59). 16 Salih Isma'il (1259-63).
468
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
folk to the castle of Qarun * and left Ghiyas-ad-Din there also.
When Sultan Muhammad (may God illuminate bis example !) was
drowned in the sea of death in the islands of Abaskun 2 [202] and
the Mongols had passed by he came out of the castle and, Kerman
having been assigned to him by his father, he made his way thither.
Shuja c -ad-Din Abul-Qasim, a retainer (mufrad) 3 of the malik
of Zuzan, had been appointed governor of the castle of Juvashir. 4
Seeing the world in confusion he would not admit Ghiyas-ad-
Din into the castle but sent offerings of food with the excuse
that the castle must have a trustworthy governor and that he was
the same old servant who had sat there at the Sultan's command.
Sultan Ghiyas-ad-Din realized that the man was misled. He
made no attempt to fight but turned away with those accompany-
ing him and went to Iraq. Large numbers of men and individual
emirs who had been in hiding gathered around him, and Baraq
Hajib and Oghul Malik 5 likewise joined him. They marched
against the afobeg Sa'd and attacked him in a place called Dina. G
He fled before Ghiyas-ad-Din s assault and when the latter's
army came up they obtained [as booty] quadrupeds of every
kind and then turned back. Baraq Hajib had words with
Ghiyas-ad-Din s vizier Taj-ad-Din Karim-ash-Sharq. He be-
came angry and left with his following for India.
In the year 619/1222-3 Ghiyas-ad-Din marched against
Fars. The atdbeg evacuated the town, 7 which Ghiyas-ad-Din's
army entered and plundered. From thence they proceeded to
Khuzistan where, after engaging in a dispute with Muzaffar-ad-
Din Wajh-as-Sabu', 8 they made peace and returned. It being
[203] winter they settled down in Ray.
1 See above, p. 382, n. 64. 2 See above, i, 155, n. 6.
3 See above, p. 412, n. i. 4 See above, p. 417, n. 22.
5 This was Oghul Hajib, Moghol Hajib or Inanch-Khan, on whom see above,
i, 158, n. 17. He died according to Nasawi (tr. Houdas, 116 and 130) before
Jira in the Kazerun area, poisoned, it was said, by Ghiyas-ad-Din for having
aspired to his mother's hand, and was buried in a place called Shi*b-i-Salman.
6 Dina. Perhaps identical with the Kuh-i-DIna range in Western Fars on
the border of Khuzistan. (V.M.) 7 Presumably Shiraz.
8 On the career of MuzafFar-ad-DIn Sonqur, a Turkish slave (maml&K) of
the Caliph Nasir (1180-1225) see M.Q., III, 411-12. Wajh-as-Sabu c in
Arabic means * Lion's Face *.
THE HISTORY OF
All of a sudden there appeared Sultan Jalal-ad-Din like a
lion falling unexpectedly upon a herd of gazelles. He alighted
in Ghiyas-ad-Din's camp. Ghiyas-ad-Din was alarmed, but
he reassured him. The next day Ghiyas-ad-Din*s emirs and
chief followers came to do obeisance. Those who had been
curbed by the restraint of wisdom and had already previously
cherished in their hearts the desire to serve the Sultan were
distinguished by elevation of degree and loftiness of rank. But
as for those who had not followed the [right] path and were
constantly stirring up trouble he commanded them to be put to
death near his place of audience.
Sultan Ghiyas-ad-Din remained in his service together with
some of his chief followers, and Sultan Jalal-ad-Din regarded
him with the eye of brotherly affection ; until one day, in the
course of a drinking bout, referring to an officer (sarhang) who
had left his service to attach himself to the son of Kharmil,
Malik Nusrat, 9 he said to the latter, ' Why didst thou take in
my guard (mufrad) ? * Now Malik Nusrat was one of the
Sultan's most intimate companions and one of his chief emirs.
He enjoyed his confidence, and in the closet Jalal-ad-Din used
to jest with him, and he too would utter pleasantries. He
jokingly replied to Ghiyas-ad-Din: * The officer must have
bread in order to serve.' Sultan Jalal-ad-Din observed his
brother's anger, and with a glance of the eye he commanded
Nusrat Malik to leave. Sultan Ghiyas-ad-Din stayed until the
day had drawn to its close and he was overcome with drunken-
ness. Then he too withdrew, and passing by Malik Nusrat's
house he sent a messenger to say that a guest was waiting to
see him. Malik Nusrat at once came out of his house and
helped Sultan Ghiyas-ad-Din down from his horse. They
entered the house, and a wine party being prepared by Malik
Nusrat the cups were passed round again and again, and they
grew drunk in the extreme. Sultan Ghiyas-ad-Din then took
his departure, and, as is customary, Malik Nusrat helped him
9 Nusrat-ad-Din Muhammad. He was not the son but the grandson of
Kharmil, his father's name being Hasan. He had been for a time in the service
of Qubacha before attaching himself to Jalal-ad-Din. See Nasawi tr. Houdas,
146, and 233-4.
470
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
on to his horse and walked along by his side. Suddenly
Ghiyas-ad-Din seized his dagger and struck him between the
shoulder-blades. 10 [204] Shouts were raised that Malik had
been killed, and bricks and clods of earth came flying down
from the rooftops. Ghiyas-ad-Din spurred on his horse and
escaped from that street to his own house. Sultan Jalal-ad-Din
was at once informed of what had happened. The next morning
he came in person to visit Malik Nusrat and ordered surgeons
to be sent for. However the wound was beyond the powers of
healing, just as the dagger had passed beyond the bone, and in
a day or two's time he breathed his last. Sultan Jalal-ad-Din
ordered all the emirs and chief men, as well as his soldiers,
officials and servants and the people of Isfahan to go in mourning
for him and don garments of sackcloth. Ghiyas-ad-Din out
of shame for this unworthy act absented himself from attendance
on his brother for a whole week, whereupon Sultan Jalal-ad-
Din commanded him to be brought outside his audience-
chamber and severely reprimanded through the mouths of the
emirs. However, certain influential courtiers interceded on his
behalf and brought him before the Sultan, his head hung down
from excess of shame and too tongue-tied to offer excuses.
Several days passed by, Ghiyas-ad-Din being filled with shame
at his action and at the same time apprehensive of his brother.
Then, when Tainal arrived at the gates of Isfahan and Sultan
Jalal-ad-Din led out his army, he withdrew and made for
Khuzistan by way of Lur, the reason for this step being his
childishness and despondency. When he came to his kinsmen
by marriage (kbusuran), Hazar-Asf and the other emirs, they
received him with honour and respect, but from fear of hurt
from the Sultan thought it in their best interest and in his own to
send him away. He left his mother and his emirs in Tustar,
and the Caliph having honoured him with many presents he
set out for Alamut, where he remained for some time. *Ala-
ad-Din of Alamut welcomed him with every show of honour
and respect and was constantly making him presents worthy of
10 Nasawi (tr. Houdas, 235-6) gives a somewhat different account of Nusrat's
murder.
471
THE HISTORY OF
such a prince. However, all of a sudden he judged it prudent
[205] to decamp from Alamut without their knowledge and
proceed to Khuzistan. He then sent a message to Baraq Hajib
in Kerman to tell him of his position ; and once again treaties
were confirmed between them, and they made a rendezvous in
the desert near Varkuh, 11 where Baraq was to receive Sultan
Ghiyas-ad-Din when the latter should arrive there.
Baraq came to the trysting-place with a body of three to four
thousand men and for two or three days he treated the Sultan
with proper respect. However, the latter's following not amount-
ing to 500 men, it then entered Baraq's head to marry the Sultan's
mother. Rising above the station of his likes he sat on the same
carpet with the Sultan and assigned places for his servants with
one of the emirs. He began to address him in conversation as
6 dearest child * and sent emissaries to seek his mother's hand.
Perceiving how matters lay and having no means to prevent
[events from taking their course], the Sultan left the decision to
his mother. She for her part, after refusing, and denying, and
showing many signs of fear and distress, gave way, and the
marriage took place. And after much pressing, together with
a number of her domestics she donned mail beneath her tunic 12
and entered [Baraq 's] house, where the marriage was consum-
mated. Now the spirit of Firdausi (may it be honoured with
one of the perfumes of Paradise !) was perhaps describing these
very circumstances in the verse:
When the cypress disappears from its place, grass takes
the place of that lofty cypress. 13
And here is a most appropriate place to quote a verse by that
elegant scholar Farid-ad-Din of Baihaq regarding a person who
became vizier after Sharaf-al-Mulk,
Raise thy head from the privy to see what he voided who
sat in thy place.
When Ghiyas-ad-Din had come to the town and some days
has passed, two of Baraq's kinsmen [206] approached him and
11 Or Abarkuh, now Abarquh. 12 I.e. concealed her real feelings.
13 Shabnatna ed. Mohl, VII, 80, 1. 917, with bagh 'garden* for the first/a/ 'place*.
472
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
said : * Baraq is not to be trusted. We have discovered an
opportunity of making away with him. Thou art the Sultan
and we are thy obedient slaves.' However the goodness of his
nature and the purity of his character would not allow him to
violate solemn covenants, nor the strength of his faith to break
oaths ; and he did nothing in this matter.
Do not always give way to gentleness ; knit thy brow when
occasion demands.
When thy object may not be gained by gentle means, in that
case roughness is better than gentleness.
But the time having come for the decline of their house and the
rise of a dynasty of rebels, one of Ghiyas-ad-Din's most con-
fidential attendants privately informed Baraq of this matter, and
he at once questioned both his own kinsmen and Ghiyas-ad-
Din. They admitted to the conspiracy, and he first of all com-
manded his relations to be cut limb from limb that very hour in
the presence of everybody and likewise gave orders for the
detention of the Sultan and all who were connected with him.
Then, a week or two later, they put a rope round the Sultan's
neck to strangle him. He cried out : * After all, did we not
make a covenant not to plot against each other ? How canst
thou justify the breach of that covenant when there has been no
hasty action ? * His mother heard her son's voice and realized
that he had placed his neck in the noose. In sorrow and com-
passion for her child she was unable to restrain herself and began
to moan and wail. She too was strangled; and in the same
manner they cast the whole of his army into the furnace of
calamity, breaking their covenants, falsifying their oaths and
throwing dust into the eyes of their good faith.
[207] They were content to 14 what they lacked from Ignorance,
and fairness of speech comes from fairness of deed.
How long, O circling Heavens, with your tricks and jugglery,
how long with your tyranny and oppression will ye cast Sultans
into the bonds of Satans, and make base churls lords over noble
emirs, and cast kings into wells, and raise worthless persons from
14 The text has SFAT (sifat ?).
473
THE HISTORY OF
the plank of abasement and set them upon the throne of honour ?
And, O my wise but careless friend, take advice from these
words that thou fall not into the bonds of imperious passion, and
look at these happenings with the eye of attention, and draw
back thy feet lest the gallows be the resting-place of thy head.
To know about this fast world it is enough for thee \to see]
the elevation of slaves therein and the debasement of noUe
men.
Men of honour are under its shoes and
scabby wretches are upon its hump.
Against the arrows discharged by the thumb of Destiny there is
no shield save the eyes and hearts of loved ones.
All the griefs and tribulations that appear from the heavens pass
only by the wretched abode of the stranger.
Everyone enters a door at last when night comes unhappy
stranger who has not house or door !
The sigh which the exile heaves in his grief, there are no
sparks in the nethermost pit like that sigh.
The tears which the stranger rains from his eyes are nought
but bile and the blood of the liver.
See that thou sneer not at the case of strangers, for thou hast
no knowledge of the griefstricken breast of strangers.
[XXIV]
[208] OF SULTAN RUKN-AD-DIN
WHEN Sultan Muhammad returned from Iraq he assigned that
kingdom to his son Rukn-ad-Din, whose name was Ghur-
Sanji, 1 together with equipage and accoutrement worthy of such
a kingdom and such a Sultan, and [209] in his suite he dis-
patched 'Imad-al-Mulk of Sava to act as otriheg and administer
the country. When Rukn-ad-Din reached Ray the local rulers
in Iraq united in rebellion against him, and Sultan Muhammad
sent Sharaf-ad-Din, the amir-i-majlis, who was a eunuch (kbadim),
with an army to his son's assistance. He attacked and defeated
the enemy and took prisoner most of the emirs of Iraq. How-
1 ' A colic to the Ghur.' (V.M.) According to Nasawi (tr. Houdas, 46)
and Juzjani (Raverty, 281) he was given this name to commemorate his father's
defeat of the Ghurid Shihab-ad-Din.
474
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
ever he did no harm to any of them but spared them all ; and
by restoring their power and sparing their lives of which they
had lost hope he passed over the faults and errors of all and also
allotted a fief or a province to each of them. Because of this
kindness they all became loyal and cleansed their minds from
contention.
When the news arrived that Sultan Muhammad had fled from
Transoxiana, Rukn-ad-Din sent 'Imad-al-Mulk to him to
attract him to Iraq by holding out hopes of assistance, and he
himself went out to meet his father. However nothing could
be achieved and, the Sultan having set out for Mazandaran,
Rukn-ad-Din made for Kerman. With a small following he
arrived in Guvashir, 2 where some of the troops of the ntalik of
Zuzan had remained. At first they were overcome with fright
and attempted to flee. Then recognizing that it was Sultan
Rukn-ad-Din they hastened to pay their respects ; and people
approached him out of every corner. He opened the treasury
of the tnalik of Zuzan and gave its contents to the troops. And
from thence he again set out for Iraq.
Upon his arrival in Isfahan there collected around him
scattered groups of soldiers and isolated commanders, and so he
gathered strength. [210] However the cadi of Isfahan felt
insecure and held aloof, behaving with caution and circumspec-
tion. Sultan Rukn-ad-Din for his part thought it best not to
remain inside the town: he departed and pitched his tents
outside. However, the troops were constantly coming and
going, and the populace, on the cadi's orders, raised a tumult
and rained down stones and arrows from the rooftops- Nearly
a thousand men were killed or wounded, and Rukn-ad-Din' s
troops for their part slew large numbers of the townspeople. On
this account Rukn-ad-Din left Isfahan for Ray, where he
remained for two months. When the Mongol army, led by
. . ., 3 again arrived he departed to the castle of Firuzkuh. 4 The
2 I.e. the town of Kerman. See above, p. 417, n. 22.
3 There is a blank in A and B.
4 According to Nasawi (tr. Houdas, 119) Ustunavand, which like Firuzkuh
was a famous stronghold in the Damavand region.
475
THE HISTORY OF
Mongols laid siege to it and after five or six months forced him
to come down with all the people of the castle. For all their
pressure he refused to kneel on the ground in fealty ; and finally
they put him to death together with all his followers and the
garrison of the castle.
When are these tricks which Fate produces time and again
from under the juggler's cup of the Heavens with such legerde-
main that her hand cannot be seen ? Or without interposing
her hand she sets that poison-tasting cup in the hand [of her
victim], and no opportunity is afforded to cast the dice again
(dast bar deist). O friend, this affair is beyond remedy. Lay not
thy finger on it lest thou suffer harm. Plant thy foot firmly in
the centre of resignation and trust in God that thou fall not.
And step not forward lest thy foot be caught.
[XXV]
OF BARAQ HAJIB AND THE CONQUEST OF THE
REGION OF KERMAN
BARAQ HAJIB and his brother, Khamid-Bur, 1 were from Qara-
Khitai, and during the reign of the Khan of Qara-Khitai
Khamid-Bur was sent on various embassies to the Sultan. When
Tayangu of Taraz was taken prisoner they were brought with
him and attained to favour in the Sultan's service : Khamid-Bur
gradually became an emir and Baraq was appointed a bajib.
When the Sultan was going to Transoxiana he left Khamid-Bur
in Bokhara with several thousand men: at the beginning of the
interregnum he too passed away. As for Baraq he went to
Ghiyas-ad-Din in Iraq and entered his service, becoming one
of his chief emirs and receiving the title of gutlugh-kban. After
the corroboration of covenants and oaths Ghiyas-ad-Din
appointed him commander of Isfahan.
When news arrived of the approach of a Mongol army led
by Tolan Cherbi 2 he sought Ghiyas-ad-Din*s permission to
x See above, i, 103, n. 17.
2 TWLAN JRBY. The Tolun Cherbi of the Secret History and Rashid-
ad-Din. He belonged to the Qongcjotan tribe and according to Rashid-ad-
476
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
[212] go to Isfahan and then proceed to India with his followers
by way of Kerman. When he came to Jiruft 3 and Kamadi 4
the young men in the castle of Juvashir prevailed upon Shuja e -
ad-Din Abul-Qasim to pursue and attack them and carry off
Khitayan slaves. Between five and six thousand men set out
regarding them as so much quarry, nay considering them a table
set for dining. And when this host drew near, Baraq Hajib
and his men realized that the moment had arrived; and he
ordered the women also to put on men's clothes and prepare for
battle. The enemy divided into four groups and attacked from
four sides. A detachment of Turks in Shuja'-ad-Din's force
went over to Baraq on account of their racial affinity. Nearby
were two walled villages (hisar), one called Harq 5 and the other
'Abbasi. Shuja c -ad-Din's men made for these villages in order
to take refuge therein. Baraq's Turks charged down upon them
like the flashing lightning that cleaves the clouds and separated
the Taziks from one another, leaving many of them dead on the
plain. Shuja e -ad-Din with some of his men took refuge in the
walled village. They were besieged for a day or two and having
no stores came out of the village. Shuja c -ad-Din was made
prisoner and placed in heavy chains; and Baraq Hajib then
turned back and went to Juvashir. Shuja c -ad-Din was brought
in his chains to the gates of the town (hisdr) that his son might
ransom his life by surrendering the castle. The son ignored
him, and he was put to death; and they began to lay siege. to
both the town and the castle.
A sentinel deserted from the castle [and said] [213] that he
Din (Khetagurov, 168) was, like Sogetii (see above, i, 91, n. 2), a brother
of the shaman Teb-Tengri. With Sogetii he was among the first five officers
appointed to the post of cberki. See the Secret History, 191, Grousset, L f Empire
Mongol, 158. After fighting at Gurganj and in Afghanistan (see Barthold,
Turkestan, 433 and 442) he had taken part in the final campaign against the
Tangut and, according to the Secret History, 267, had been responsible for
the execution of the ruler of that people. See Grousset, op. at. 279-80, and
cf. Rashid-ad-Din tr. Smirnova, 233.
3 The ruins of Jiruft are known as Shahr-i-Daqiyanus, * the Town of the
Emperor Decius'. See le Strange, The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate, 314-1$.
4 Kamadi, the Camadi of Marco Polo, was a suburb of Jiruft.
5 HRQ. The spelling is quite uncertain.
477
THE HISTORY OF
would show them an unguarded route to it and introduce their
army into it by this route. Baraq encouraged him with many
promises but cautiously did not place full confidence in his
words and asked for a written undertaking. The next night the
man went to the castle and secretly brought down a girl (sar-
pusbtda) 6 that he had there and took the men up by the route
he had mentioned. At dawn they beat their drums and raised
a yell, seized the castle and flung open the gates. Baraq sent his
heavy baggage there the same day ; and they then laid siege to
Shuja'-ad-Din's son who was in the town (hisar).
Suddenly there came news of Jalal-ad-Din's approaching from
the direction of India. Baraq Hajib sent refreshments of every
kind on in advance and then hastened to present himself in
person and to offer the Sultan the hand of one of his daughters.
When the Sultan arrived and his marriage with Baraq's daughter
had been solemnized, he sent messengers to Shuja c -ad-Din's son
to announce his arrival and summon him to his presence. He
replied that he would not trust them till he saw the Sultan's
parasol with his own eyes. The Sultan rode in person in front
of the town (hisar) and he at once prepared to hasten to his
presence sending presents of every kind on in advance. He
then took a sword and donned a shroud and waited upon the
Sultan. He was viewed with the eye of favour and indulgence,
and the Sultan entered the town.
Baraq accompanied the Sultan into the town. One day the
latter went out hunting with the greater part of his followers but
Baraq refused to leave the town on the pretext of being ill. The
Sultan realized that he had remained behind in order to plan
rebellion; and wishing to test him he sent a messenger to
summon him to his presence for the purpose of consultation on
matters of importance. Baraq replied that he had conquered
those territories with the sword and that they were not the place
for a royal residence. Those strongholds would need to be in
safe hands, and he was an old servant and by meritorious services
[214] had acquired rights. He was now advanced in years and
had no longer the strength to move about. It was his intention
6 Lit. * one whose head is covered '. The meaning is not certain.
478
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
to pray for the Sultan s august house in that castle and if the
Sultan wished to enter it would not be possible.
Being pressed for time the Sultan sent a conciliatory reply and
then set out for Shiraz.
Baraq Hajib consolidated his position. He seized all that
region and became possessed of great stores of equipment.
After putting to death Sultan Ghiyas-ad-Din who had sought
his aid and protection
Like one who appeals to the fae to shield him from the
scorching earth 7
he sent a messenger to the Commander of the Faithful to announce
his conversion to Islam and to beg that he might be honoured
with the title of Sultan. His request was granted and he was
accorded the honour of being addressed as qutlugb-sulten. And
so his power increased daily and his troops and following grew
in number until the time when the emirs who were laying siege
to Sistan 8 under the command of Tayir Bahadur sent a messenger
to him calling upon him to tender submission and asking for
troops and assistance. Now Baraq Hajib was a shrewd man
and he realized that the power was now in the hands of the
seed of Chingiz-Khan. His reception of the messengers there-
fore was to accept their command and to submit himself thereto
and by humbling himself to seek protection from the suffering
of calamities. He replied that he would deal with Sistan with
his own men without incommoding the Mongol army; but
that being himself advanced in years and no longer capable of
travel he would send his son to attend at Court. He made
preparations as he had said and in the year . . . 9 dispatched
Rukn-ad-Din Khoja Mubarak to Qa'an.
7 The second half of a famous line quoted in the story of the War of Basus.
(M.Q.) On this war of the pre-Islamic Bedouin see Nicholson, A Literary
History of the Arabs, 55-60.
8 Perhaps Zaranj, the capital of Sistan, is meant. See le Strange, op. clL, 335.
9 There is a blank in most MSS. According to the Ta 3 rikh-i-Guztda f etc.,
Baraq died in Zul-Qa'da, 632 [July-August, 1235], and since Rukn-ad-Din
had not yet reached the ordu of Ogedei when he learnt of his father's death, his
departure for the ordu must have taken place during the same year, viz. 632, or
a little earlier. (M.Q.)
479
THE HISTORY OF
Rukn-ad-Din had not yet reached his destination [215] when
he received news of his father's death and the assumption of the
government of Kerman by his cousin on his father's side, Qutb-
ad-Din. However, he did not halt until he had arrived at
Court. Qa'an, as was his natural wont, showed him all kinds
of favours, and because he had been the first to reach Court and
behold the face of the Emperor he gave him the kingdom of
Kerman and issued a yarligb conferring upon him his father's
title of gutlugb-sultan. Chinqai was made his tutor and orders
were given that Qutb-ad-Din should present himself at Court
and wait upon the Emperor. When Rukn-ad-Din returned
Qutb-ad-Din set out with his heavy baggage. Taking the road
to Khavis 10 he came to Zuzan, from whence he proceeded to
Court. He remained for a time in attendance [on Qa'an] and
then orders were given that he should go to Khitai and join the
service of Mahmud Yalavach. In obedience to these orders he
resided for a considerable time with Yalavach, who viewed him
with a father's eye, treating him with honour and respecting
his rank.
When Giiyiik Khan's quriltai was held Qutb-ad-Din Sultan
also attended and wished to resume the rule of the sultanate.
But Chinqai, being the tutor of the qutlugh-sultan Rukn-ad-Din,
prevented this and orders were given that he should still as
previously at Qa'an's command remain in attendance upon the
Minister (sahib) Yalavach, and that Sultan Rukn-ad-Din should
continue in the position to which he had been appointed.
Rukn-ad-Din therefore still held the territory of Kerman and
delivered the tribute that had been fixed in balish and camels to
the emirs appointed to receive it until [216] the throne of the
Empire was honoured by the accession of Mengii Qa'an.
Qutb-ad-Din then proceeded to Court in the company of the
Minister Yalavach, and Mengii Qa'an received him kindly and
granted him many favours. He bestowed the sultanate of that
region u upon him and sent a Mongol to accompany him as
10 Khavis or Khabls (the usual spelling), now Shah-Dad, to the east of
Kerman on the edge of the Dasht-i-Lut.
11 I.e. Kerman.
480
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
When they reached Herat Qutb-ad-Din sent messengers
on in advance to Rukn-ad-Din to inform him of the favour
shown him by the Emperor of the World and to summon him
to listen to the yarligh.
Rukn-ad-Din realized that times had changed. He sent back
the messengers and in Ramazan of the year 650 [December 1252
January 1253] removed such of his goods as he could and
accompanied by those of his following who had reason to fear
Qutb-ad-Din, set out for Luristan. From Yezd he was joined
by his sister's son "Ala-ad-Daula 12 accompanied by his mother ;
and it was reported that they were making for Baghdad and had
sent a message to the Commander of the Faithful . . , 13 How-
ever they did not know what course to follow, for if [the Caliph]
should admit them their relations [with Mengii Qa'an] might
become even worse. Accordingly Rukn-ad-Din left the greater
part of his baggage in Luristan and set out in person for Court.
When he reached Girdkuh, the animals having been turned
loose to fodder in the cornfields in the middle of the day, the
Heretics sent a party of men to catch them unawares during the
siesta while their horses were grazing and to cause them to taste
the drink of destruction. [217] Rukn-ad-Din was awake, and
when that band of wretches arrived he mounted horse together
with some five or six persons whose horses were saddled and
fought with great vigour until his companions had got on their
horses and joined him ; when they slew the greater part of the
Heretics and went their way. The next day Buqa came up,
and because of this battle he held Rukn-ad-Din in high esteem
and treated him with great respect. And from thence he
proceeded to the Court of the World-Emperor Mengii Qa'an.
(I chanced to meet him whilst in Almaligh in Ramazan, 651
[October-November, 1253] when returning from the great ordu
of Mengii Qa'an : the traces of fear and dread prevailed upon
him, and the lights of fortune and prosperity had deserted him.)
12 The future atobg of Yezd (670/1271-2 circa 685/1286-7). See Zambaur,
Manuel de gtnialogit et de chronologic pur I'bbtoire de llslam, 23 1.
13 A and B have a blank for the name of a Caliph. C has wrongly an-Nasir
li-Din- Allah. The ruling Caliph at that time was al-Musta'sim billah. (M.Q.)
481
THE HISTORY OF
When he reached Mengii Qa'an there came a message from
Qutb-ad-Din to report on his proceeding in the direction of
Baghdad ; and Qutb-ad-Din followed in person. They were
both of them questioned and in the end Rukn-ad-Din was
handed over to Qutb-ad-Din to execute what Fate and Destiny
had pre-ordained for him; and he put him to the sword of
annihilation. Qutb-ad-Din now thought the kingdom of Ker-
man to be cleansed of the stain of tyranny and considered
Fortune, contrary to her wont, to be a faithful mistress. Arriving
at his capital and having subdued all the surrounding territories
he had on several occasions visited the Court of Hiilegu and
had been distinguished by all manner of favours, [218] when
suddenly Death charged out from the ambush of Fortune and
in the year 656/1258 he passed away.
If thou hast rested in comfort all thy life
And tasted the pleasures of the world all thy life,
Yet in the end thou must depart and then
*Tis but a dream thou hast dreamt all thy life.
[XXVI]
OF CHIN-TEMUR AND HIS GOVERNORSHIP OF
KHORASAN AND MAZANDARAN
THE first emir to be appointed governor of Khorasan and
Mazandaran was Chin-Temiir, who was by origin a Qara-
Khitayan l and had been made basqaq of Khorazm by Tushi at
the time when that place was conquered. When the World-
Emperor Qa'an appointed Chormaghun to the Fourth Clime 2
he issued a yarligh that the leaders and basgaqs on every side should
accompany the levy and render assistance to Chormaghun ; and
1 See above, i, 88, n. 7.
2 * The FOURTH CLIME begins in the East and runs across the lands
of Tibet, then Khorasan and Transoxiana, the territories of Iraq and Daylam,
some of the lands of Syria and Rum, then it cuts through the Syrian Sea, the
islands of Cyprus and Rhodes, and the lands of Maghrib, and runs through
the territory of Tanja (Tanger) to end in the Sea of Maghrib.* (Marvazi, 13-14.)
The Moslem geographers followed the Greeks in dividing the earth into seven
climes. See Marvazi, loc. cit.j and Minorsky's Commentary, 63-4.
482
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
Chin-Temur set out from Khorazm by way of Shahristana and
at the same time placed at Chormaghun's disposal other emirs
representing the princes. So too Chormaghun placed at his
disposal an emir to represent every prince and prince's son, Kiil-
Bolat 3 representing Qa'an, Nosal 4 Batu, Qizil-Buqa 5 [219]
Chaghatai and Yeke 6 Sorqotani Beki. At that time Korgtiz 7
was a member of Chin-Temiir's following, in which he gradually
attained to the office of chamberlain.
Chin-Temur called upon all the territories that lay across his
path to submit places such as Yazir, Nisa, Kukrukh 8 and
Jaristan ; 9 and by a show of kindness he brought them into the
noose of obedience : some that rebelled he attacked and reduced
by force of arms.
Chormaghun had left Khorasan in a state of turmoiL Some
places he had taken and set basqaqs over them, while others had
not yet thrust their necks into the collar of submission. Rebels
and Turks would appear on every side and cast confusion amongst
the people ; and the scum and rabble (runud va aubdsb) would
gain the upper hand so that an area which had been pacified
and subdued would relapse into chaos because of these troubles
and disturbances. Thus Qaracha and Yaghan-Sonqur, two of
Sultan Jalal-ad-Din's emirs, used to make raids on Nishapur
and its dependencies ; and since men's minds were still [220]
exercised by reports about the Sultan there was no peace in that
3 KLBLAT, for which Rashid-ad-Din (Berezin, VII, 150) has KWL
BLAT. The name means * Glorious Steel '. He was a Naiman according
to Rashid-ad-Din (Berezin, loc. dt., Khetagurov, 142).
4 On Nosal see below, Chapter XXVII, and on the spelling of his name
Pelliot, Horde d'Or, 54-5.
5 'Red Bull. 9
6 Reading YYKH for the YYKH of the text, yeke in Mongol means ' great '.
7 On Korgiiz see below, Chapters XXVEH and XXIX. On a later Korgiiz
(the name is the Turkish form of George), the son-in-law of Qubilai's grandson
and successor, Temiir Oljekii (1295-1307), see Grousset, L J Empire de$ Steppes,
362 and 371.
8 Kukrukh or Ku-Kurukh. There is a Kurukh in North-Western Afghanis-
tan. (V.M.)
9 The vowel of the first syllable is uncertain. Tabari, II, 1605-13, speaks
of a JRYSTAN in Southern Guzgan where, in 120/783 the Arabs defeated
the Turkish Khaqan. (V.M)
I n. 4 8 3
THE HISTORY OF
region. An emir would suddenly appear in a district and build
a castle on a hilltop. That man would attack this, and this
man seize and kill that ; and the faqaqs set up everywhere by
Chormaghun were slain by Qaracha and his Turks, who used
to lay hands on everyone who breathed the breath of submission
to the Mongols.
It was on this account that Chin-Temiir sent Kiil-Bolat to
Nishapur to put an end to Qaracha. My father together with
some of the notables and leading men recited the verse of flight
from that town and left for Tus. Now at that time there was
a person from the inner town of Tus called Taj-ad-Din Farizani 10
who outdid all the unbelievers in massacring and treachery and
who had seized a castle in Tus. When my father and the
leading men arrived there, they sent a trustworthy person to him
to announce their presence and to inquire about asylum, for ( a
drowning man bangs on to anything } . He encouraged them with
false promises, and relying on his insincere word they set out
and came to that castle.
He that in Us distress seeks the protection of "Amr is
like one that seeks the protection of fire from the
scorching earth. 11
When Kiil-Bolat came back after routing Qaracha he heard
of the departure of these people and sent a messenger to Farizani
to demand their return. The latter dispatched them to him
thinking that Kiil-Bolat would put them to death. Instead he
welcomed my father and the chief men with every kind of
attention, and my father composed a qifa on the subject to the
following effect:
I arrive! on an embassy to Farizanf, whose acts speak of
the feebleness of his intellect :
His discourse is last and full of vileness ; it is beneath
the dignity of narrators [to relate] even what is easiest
to relate.
10 Reading Farizani for the Farizana'i of the text, which below (as B, C and
E here) has Farizani. According to Yaqut Farizan was a village just outside Herat.
11 This is the whole of the line of which the second half is quoted above,
II, 214 [ii, 479]. (M.Q.)
484
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
[221] When news of all this confusion and unrest reached
Qa'an rage flared up in his nature to such an extent that he
commanded Tayir Bahadur to lead an army from Badghis and
deal with Qaracha : such as had [hitherto] escaped the sword
were to be cast upon the wind of annihilation, no one was to
be left alive in the lands of Khorasan and their dwellings and
habitations were to be flooded with water so that no remains
or trace thereof might survive. This is a well-known proverb :
* The wolf must be taught to sew, but he can tear very well
already.' And in this very fashion the [Mongol] army was to
seek slaughter and rapine [even] in the earth : and so with the
speed of fire they went forth from Badghis.
They had proceeded half way when news reached Tayir
Bahadur that Kiil-Bolat had routed Qaracha and driven him
out of Khorasan ; and that he had now departed to Sistan, 12
where he had made the citadel his stronghold. Tayir Bahadur
proceeded thither and laid siege to the town ; but it took nearly
two years of toil and fatigue before he captured it. He then sent
messengers from Sistan to Chin-Temiir to say that the administra-
tion of Khorasan had by virtue of a yarligb of Qa'an been vested
in him and that Chin-Temiir should relax his control thereof.
Chin-Temiir replied that the report of a revolt by the people of
Khorasan was false and that there had been motives of self 1
interest in the presentation of this report. How, for the sins of
Qaracha, could so many lands and peoples be made to drink
the draught of annihilation and a province which had taken
years of toil and trouble to make some little recovery be needlessly
destroyed a second time ? He too would send a messenger to
report on the situation and the matter would be dealt with in
accordance with the orders received. But in the meanwhile he,
Chin-Temiir, would allow no harm to be done to anyone of
the people of those parts. Tayir's ambassadors returned angry
and disappointed.
Chormaghun, for his part, had sent messengers to summon
Chin-Temiir and the aforementioned emirs to join him with
their armies and to leave Khorasan and Mazandaran to Tayir
12 See above, p. 479, n. 8.
485
THE HISTORY OF
Bahadur. But how shall one who has for a day been an emir
[222] again become an underling ? How shall a man who has
been in charge of important affairs submit to the performance of
menial tasks ? And how shall the master become the servant ?
Chin^Temiir consulted his friends and confidants as to how this
blow might be warded off, and it was agreed that Kul-Bolat,
who was one of the confidential attendants on the Emperor of
the Face of the Earth, should go [to Court] taking with him some
of the emirs of Khorasan who had already submitted. In the
meantime the late malik, Baha-ad-Din of Su'luk, 13 had sent
down his brother from the castle and made his submission con-
ditional upon his being sent to Qa'an when he came out of the
castle. This fitted in with their own plans. Chin-Temur
returned from Mazandaran, and most places in Khorasan,
hearing of the submission of the emirs of Su'luk, themselves
also tendered submission, while those whose skirt had been
plucked by Death and who did not come forward, were utterly
wiped out. And when the malik Nizam-ad-Din 14 arrived back
at the castle, the malik Baha-ad-Din set out on his journey.
When he came to Chin-Temiir the latter showed him every
kind of honour ; and from Mazandaran there was designated
the isfablad Nusrat-ad-Din of Kabud-Jama ; 15 and they left for
Court together in the company of Kiil-Bolat. (These events
took place in the year 630/1232-3.) Since these two were the
first to present themselves from the lands to the west of Tran-
soxiana, Qa'an was greatly delighted and ordered feasts to be
held and banquets to go on for days on end. And on this
account he distinguished Chin-Temiir and Kiil-Bolat with
all manner of favours, saying : * During all this time since
Chormaghun went and conquered so many great countries he
has sent no malik to us, whereas Chin-Temiir, though his territory
be of small extent and his resources few, has served us thus.
We approve of him and have placed the governorship of
Khorasan and Mazandaran firmly in his hands. Let Chor-
13 On the castle of Su'luk to the north of Isfarayin, see above, i, 155, n. 7.
14 Evidently the brother of the malik Baha-ad-Din mentioned above. (M.Q.)
15 See above, i, 351, n. 3.
486
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
maghun and the other emirs [223] relax their hold thereon/
And he made Klil-Bolat Chin-Temiir's partner in command
and conferred upon the isfabbad the rank of mlik over all the
territory from the frontier of Kabud-Jama to beyond Astarabad,
at the same time appointing the malik Baha-ad-Din malik of
Khorasan, [i.e., of] 16 Isfarayin, Juvain, Jajarm, Jurbad 17 and
Arghiyan, 18 of which places Khorasan then consisted. 19 He
gave them each a golden paiza and a mandate with an al-tamgba ;
and he showed mercy and compassion to the people of Khorasan
and spared the survivors. And by the grace of God for ' the
mercy tvbich God layetb open for man, no one can keep lack 3 20
Khorasan, through the care and solicitude of Chin-Teimir and
by reason of the submission of the late lamented malik Baha-ad-
Din, remained secure from the blows of Fate ; and such few
people as had escaped by the fleetness of their feet from a thousand
calamities and had by a thousand toils and trials saved their
heads from the sword, in hope of life now submitted themselves
to the will of Destiny and bowed their necks to the strokes of
the revolving Heavens.
Chin-Temiir, being now confirmed in his office by the yarli$),
appointed Sharaf-ad-Din, 21 on account of his seniority, to be
vizier representing Batu. He likewise appointed my father
sabib-divan ; and each of the other emirs sent a bitikcbi to the Divan
to represent the princes. Having restored the Divan to a fairly
flourishing condition he deputed Korgiiz to go on an embassy
to the Court of Qa'an accompanied by my father. He 22 left
the late Nizam-ad-Din as his deputy in the Divan and set out
on the journey. When he 23 came to Qa'an, the latter, upon
learning who they each were, questioned Korgiiz about the state
16 The text has va ' and *, for which in B there has been substituted by a kter
hand kbususan * especially '.
17 Jurbad, according to Yaqut, was a village in the Isfarayin district.
18 Arghiyan was the district around Jajarm.
19 What is meant perhaps is that only this region, in the extreme north-west
of Khorasan, was not still lying desolate as the result of the Mongol invasion.
20 Koran, xxv, 2.
21 On Sharaf-ad-Din see below, Chapter XXXH.
22 I.e. Juvaini's father. (M.Q.) 23 I.e. apparently Korgiiz.
487
THE HISTORY OF
of the province. He gave his report in accordance with the
Emperor's taste ; and Qa'an approved both the manner and the
matter of his statement. He also showed favour to my father
and gave him a paiza and a yarligb with an al-tamgha. [224] He
likewise conferred on him the rank of sahib-divan of the lands
(mamalik) ; and my father was distinguished with further marks
of his condescension and kindness.
When they returned from the ordu with their wishes gratified
Chin-Temiir had passed away with his hopes of rank and wealth
disappointed. His death occurred in the year 633/1235-6.
[XXVII]
OF NOSAL
WHEN Chin-Temiir had passed away a message was sent to
report his death to the World-Emperor Qa'an, and the decree
was issued that Nosal, an aged Mongol * more than a hundred
years old, should succeed him as emir. By virtue of that decree
the emirs, the scribes in the Divans and the ministers (ashab)
transferred themselves from Chin-Temiir's house to Nosal's
encampment, where the business of the Divan was again taken
up. Sharaf-ad-Din departed to the Court of Batu, and Korgiiz,
as usual, travelled to and fro [between the various ordus].
It was at this juncture that the malik Baha-ad-Din again set
out for the Court of Qa'an together with Mahmud Shah of
Sabzavar on account of a dispute in which they were involved
regarding Baihaq and also for other reasons. Baha-ad-Din laid
his case before Qa'an, who decreed that as no adversary was
present a definite decision could not be reached in the matter.
He should therefore go back again in order to return accompanied
by his adversaries so that the case might be fully investigated.
And again a yarligh was issued and communicated through the
malik Baha-ad-Din regarding my father and the confirmation of
his office.
When the malik Baha-ad-Din arrived back and they heard the
1 He actually belonged to the Tube'iit clan of the Kereit. See Rashid-ad-Din
tr. Khetagurov, 141, also Pelliot, Horde d'Or, 54-5.
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
terms of the yarligb, Nosal and Kiil-Bolat were not pleased that
Korgiiz had been sent for. When the latter set off [225] Nosal
remained in office, but when he returned, the control and
administration of the province was taken away from him and he
contented himself with the command of the army until the year
637/1239-40, when he too followed his other friends to the
place from which there is no returning.
[XXVIII]
OF KORGUZ
His birthplace was a small village four parasangs from Besh-
Baligh called Barligh x in the western part of the Uighur country
on the route followed by travellers through that region. In the
year 651/1253-4, when returning from the ordu of the World-
Emperor Mengii Qa'an we rested for a while in this place by
way of siesta and I recalled to mind something that had been
effaced ftom the page of my memory, viz. a single lait which
the late Nizam-ad-Din *Ali as-Sadid of Baihaq had composed
and recited to me a propos of Korgiiz when passing through that
village :
In the morning we baited in the church of Barltgh ; it
became clear to me that men come from villages.
And then, in that very moment, I added to that bait, which
was the expression of his inner conviction, other verses in the
same metre although not equal to it:
And I knew of a certainty that a man rises by his endeavour
and resolve : e the generous man, if he be generous . . / 2
And his good stock will not avail an ignoramus if he descend
from a high mountain.
Therefore strive to attain glory and deep-rooted honour and
be not garrulous a judgement has already been passed.
1 Reading BRLYT with E for the YRLYT of the text. It is the Barlugh
of the Hudud, 94, which, as Minorsky surmised, ibid., 272, lay to the west of
Besh-Batigh.
2 For the whole of the bait of which the first half is here quoted see above,
i, 275.
489
THE HISTORY OF
[226] And if be attain to the eminence to which he had aspired, that is a
young tree tvhose time has come to bear fruit.
And if he he disappointed of what he had hoped for, and his
desires deceive for Fate is cruel to mankind
The husbandman is excused if his feld be well sown but the
rains miss it and it is not watered thereby ;
And the warrior is excused on the battle-feld if his colt
stumble among the ranks.
Therefore bestir thyself so that no reproacher may reproach
thee, though the Lord of Creation decree that which was
preordained.
I questioned the inhabitants of the village about his parentage.
They said that his father was a man of the people who had died
while Korgiiz was still a child. He was left with no one but
a step-mother, who on account of the tenderness of his age and
his impoverished state paid no attention to him. When some
time had passed since his father's death her hand was sought by
a stranger who was about to marry her when Korgiiz approached
the idi-qut and recounted the circumstances of the case. It is the
custom of the Mongols and Uighur for the son to have authority
over his father's wife and to marry her; and the idi-qut now
enforced the ancient custom. However, Korgiiz afterwards
renounced his right taking only a little property and allowing a
stranger to obtain her hand. He then concerned himself with
learning the Uighur script in which he soon became skilled.
Having conceived a lofty ambition he refused to be satisfied with
the baseness of contentment and the shame of lowliness. But the
cloak of his wealth was not large enough for him to escape
therein from the land of distress nor had he the wherewithal to
[227] procure the provisions for a journey. He had no con-
nection to whose skirt he might cling, nor a kinsman to save
him from the privations of poverty, nor a friend to assist and
support him by means of a gift or loan.
I was prevented from enduring oppression by the range of
my ambition, and the level of my hopes, and the plane
of my recreation.
In this grievous predicament his cousin on his father's side
490
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
called Besh-Qulach 3 was intermediary on his behalf with a
cultivator, from whom Korguz borrowed the price of a horse
giving his cousin's person as bond. 4 He purchased a horse
and set out for the ordu of Batu. 5 Upon arriving there he joined
the service of one of the emirs of the Court, being appointed a
herdsman. Some little time elapsed and Korguz having shown
signs of his ability in that employment he was taken from it by
the emir to wait upon his person. Time went by and he became
a favourite. When he had gone on a hunt with his emir in
attendance on Tushi zyarligb arrived from the Court of Chingiz-
Khan, the contents of which were matter for pleasure and
rejoicing. None of the secretaries being present to read the
yarligh a search was made among the attendants for someone
who knew the [Uighur] script. Korguz was pointed out and
he was taken before Tushi. He read out the yarligh observing
the requisite etiquette in a manner not to be expected from the
likes of a stirrup-holder (rikSbi) or outside servant (\>irM). His
manner and delivery pleased Tushi, who ordered him to be
enrolled among the secretaries. By showing respect to the emirs
and fulfilling the requirements of etiquette and service he grew
[in influence] and the signs of prosperity became daily more
apparent upon his affairs. Becoming famous for his skill in
writing and his eloquence he was appointed to instruct the
Mongol children. And when Chin-Temur was deputed to be
tasqw of Urganch he was sent to accompany him. He remained
in attendance on him and displayed his ability and intelligence
in the tasks entrusted to him [228] until he enjoyed his full
confidence and attained to the rank of chamberlain and deputy
to Chin-Temur himself. The latter sent him to wait upon
Qa'an, and when Qa'an questioned him about himself, his
replies pleased him and those present were filled with wonder
thereat. The talk came round to the subject of the districts of
Khorasan and Qa'an asked him about the spring, summer and
3 BY QLAj. Lit. * Five Fathom '.
4 On the practice of mortgaging one's own person see the Uighur documents
in Radloff and Malov, Uighurische SpraMenkmcikr. (Y.M.)
5 Though, as appears from the sequel, Batu's father Tushi (Jochi) was still
alive.
491
THE HISTORY OF
winter pastures. He answered as follows : * The servants of the
Emperor's realm live in comfort and luxury, and the bird of
their hearts flies over the horizon of well-being. The winter
retreats are like the season of spring, each with every kind of
narcissus and fragrant herb like the pleasance on high ; and the
mountains in summer are equal to the Garden of Paradise with
every kind and variety of blessing and the songs of all manner
of birds singing in unison/ When he spoke in this fashion
displaying his language in the garb of praise and thanksgiving,
the reliance of Qa'an upon his counsel, sagacity, intelligence
and ability increased, and the Emir Chinqai also, because
Korgiiz was an Uighur 6 and had sought his protection as soon
as he arrived at the Court of Qa'an, supported the latter's words
when he showed favour to Korgiiz. And so Korgiiz departed
loaded with honours (wyurgbamisbi va navakbt).
His arrival in Khorasan coincided with the death of Chin-
Temiir. He was succeeded by Nosal, on whom Korgiiz con-
tinued to be in regular attendance until the malik Baha-ad-Din
arrived from the Court of Qa'an to deliver the decree that he
was to be sent to report on the affairs of Khorasan. Nosal and
KiiKBolat were unwilling for him to go for they guessed from
his actions that if he again went to Court the verdure of their
livelihood would wither away and the food of their lives be
rendered noxious by his presence. As for Korgiiz himself he
had been thinking how he might find a way of getting himself
to the ordu. Having now this opportunity he began to make
preparations. One day, at this juncture, he went for my father,
the sahib-Aivan, and said : * Fortune is like a bird. No one
knows on which branch it will alight. I will make the endeavour
and find out [229] exactly what has been preordained and what
is required by the revolution of the heavens/
In the end Nosal and Kiil-Bolat were obliged to agree to his
going, and the malik Baha-ad-Din with Mahmud Shah and
some of the leading men of Khorasan accompanied him. They
spoke of the taxation, assessment and census of the provinces,
6 The inference would seem to be that Chinqai too was an Uighur, but see
Waley, The Travels of an Alchmlst, 3<5-8.
492
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
especially Khorasan and Mazandaran, and of the arrears that
were still outstanding. Though Chinqai favoured Korgiiz,
Danishmand Hajib and certain others wished to settle the
authority on Chin-Temur's son. When the chief men of
Khorasan were present and Korgiiz also, Chinqai, who favoured
his cause, waited for the opportunity of a private word [with
Qa'an] and said : * The chief men of Khorasan wish to have
Korgiiz/ Qa'an replied * Perhaps then a yarligb may be written
for him saying that as an experiment we have sent him to try
to ascertain (istikbrdj) the extent of the produce of so many years
and of the amount held back by each person ; he is also to carry
out a census ; and no one is to interfere with him. When he
returns if he has done his task well we shall know what
to do/
Upon obtaining this mandate Korgiiz left the ordu like a hawk
pouncing out of the sky and in a short time arrived in Khorasan
and Mazandaran, where he caused the yarligb to be proclaimed.
Then, forcing the secretaries and office-holders to come to him
he busied himself with the work of government. As for Nosal,
he was a simple man, decrepit with age and incapable of holding
his own in a controversy ; and if Kiil-Bolat, who was a shrewd
and experienced man, tried to make some objection, Korgiiz
would thrust the yarligh in his face and say : * The decree says
that no one is to interfere in my work. How then canst thou
have any say in the matter ? ' It was a peremptory reply, and
Kiil-Bolat desisted from what he was doing. As for Nosal,
although by the terms of the yarligb he had been dismissed, he
was not removed from office.
Korgiiz restored the affairs of Khorasan and Mazandaran to
order and gave protection to property. From all sides he col-
lected presents worthy of the Emperor. He carried out a new
census and re-assessed the taxes. [230] He founded workshops
and spread justice and equity amongst the people. No mortal
could now touch water without rendering account and the
covetousness of profiteers was disappointed. The capable and
wise were distinguished from the foolish and ignorant ; and the
hope was born that the land might flourish [once again].
493
THE HISTORY OF
Sharaf-ad-Din had now arrived from the ordu of Batu, With
Korgiiz in power he and certain others were left without any
authority, and some of them, as ministers of Chin-Temiir, had
actually been bound in the shackles of dismissal. They therefore
worked upon Edgii-Temiir, 7 the eldest son of Chin-Temiir,
saying that the office of the father should fall to the son, and that
if he refrained from seeking the governorship now it would be
difficult to dislodge Korgiiz later when he was more firmly
established. Edgii-Temiir should seize the initiative before
Korgiiz had strengthened his position in the country and report
his activities to the Court of Qa'an. Accordingly Edgii-Temiir
nominated Tonquz 8 and sent him to Court to make all sorts
of false and slanderous charges. Certain persons, who were
striving to discredit Chinqai, availed themselves of an occasion
when he was absent to report these charges to Qa'an, and as
a result the Emir Arghun, Qurbaqa 9 and Shams-ad-Din
Kamargar were deputed to investigate [231] the matter.
When Korgiiz learnt of the sending of a messenger he too
made ready and set out [for Court] having appointed my father
the salnb-divan to deputize for him as governor of the countries
under his command. Upon reaching Fanakat he was met by
the messengers who had come to investigate the position. When
Korgiiz refused to turn back at their suggestion Tonquz started
a brawl with him and behaved in such a manner that they
grappled with each other and he broke Korgiiz J s teeth. In the
night Korgiiz sent his blood-stained clothes by the hand of
Temiir to be shown at Court. Then, of necessity, he turned
back. When he reached his house all the Mongol emirs, such
as Kiil-Bolat, Edgii-Temiir and Nosal, gathered together and
with clubs drove the litikchis, maliks and ministers (ashab) out
of Korgiiz's house and took them to their own encampments,
where they began the investigation.
Korgiiz, while awaiting the return of Temiir Elchi, 10 played
7 ' Good Iron.' * Pig.'
9 On his name see above, i, 243, n. n.
10 I.e. Temiir the Messenger, the Temiir just mentioned as having been sent
by Korgiiz to Ogedei.
494
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
for time and gave evasive answers, but some of the more fool-
hardy people from Mazandaran and elsewhere, disregarding
their own safety and not considering the consequences, began
to make absurd statements. On the second day Temiir Elchi
had in 45 days reached Sultan-Duvin n near Astarabad from
beyond Qara-Qorum. An edict had been issued that all should
present themselves at Court and that no inquiry should be con-
ducted on the spot: the Emperor was exceedingly angry on
account of Korgiiz's blood-stained clothes.
Korgiiz's supporters now turned the maltks and ministers
out of Edgii-Temiir's encampment ; and Edgii-Temur's men
mounted horse and clubbed them back again. In short, office-
holders were in a perplexing position : if they supported Korgiiz
they were attacked by the messengers, whereas if they remained
on good terms with them they had reason to fear Korgiiz.
Sharaf-ad-Din consorted with Edgu-Temur at night and sup-
ported [232] Korgiiz by day.
Korgiiz sent a message to his opponents to say that Temiir
Elchi had returned and that they must present themselves to
hear the yarligh that had been issued. Then without waiting to
hear what they had to say he mounted horse and rode to his
house, from whence he set out for Court with some of the leading
men of Khorasan who enjoyed his confidence and were persons
of judgement and foresight.
When they learnt of his departure his opponents could not
remain where they were ; and Kiil-Bolat and Edgii-Temiir set
out in the company of a number of tale-bearers and informers.
They arrived all together in Bokhara, the malik of which, Sain-
Malik-Shah, entertained them in his house. Kiil-Bolat went
outside to pass water. A band offidais who had been lying in
11 Sultan-Duvin (spelt wrongly Sultan Darin in le Strange, The Lands of
the Eastern Caliphate, 376, also in his tr. of Hamdalkh, 206) is the name of a
hill between the Gurgan River and the Qara-Su. Minorsky, Transcaucasica,
43-5, lists a whole series of mounds called iwnn in the Turcoman steppe near
Astarabad; and he suggests, ItiL, 43, Studies in Caucasian History, 117, that
the Arsacids, whose original home was in this south-eastern corner of the Caspian,
may have introduced the word duvjn ' hill ' into Armenia as the name of their
capital, Dvin.
495
THE HISTORY OF
wait for him in Bokhara for some time past were seated in a
corner in a vestibule. When he came out they stabbed him
and several persons accompanying him, and Kiil-Bolat himself
was killed.
He had been the ringleader and mainstay of that party. Their
spirit was broken by his death, and they were perplexed and
bewildered, for in their childishness they had cast the felt of
calamity into the water and could not draw it back to the shore.
However, when they reached the ordu, they 12 first pitched the
tent which Chin-Temur had built. Qa'an entered it and sat
upon a throne, and they began to feast and be merry. Qa'an
arose in order to [go outside and] make water. As he set his
foot in the doorway of the tent a wind sprang up and tore it,
and the tent-pole in falling injured one of his concubines. By
that fire-like wind was the harvest of Edgu-Temiir's prosperity
consumed and his honour spilt upon the earth of abasement.
Qa'an ordered the tent to be taken to pieces and given to the
tent-pitchers and camel-drivers. A week later they 12 erected
the tent which Korgiiz had built, and in it were placed all the
gifts and presents that he had brought as offerings. [23 3] On
that day Qa'an's joviality was redoubled, and Korgiiz's cause
triumphed and his enemies were discomfited. Among the
presents was a belt 13 studded with W: 14 stones, which are
also called jaundice stones, 15 made and devised by Korguz him-
self and altogether priceless. Upon seeing it Qa'an, out of
curiosity, fastened it round his waist. It so happened that he
had a swelling (1 imtila) in that region and it was cured. He
12 The verb is in the singular in Juvaini but in the plural in the corresponding
passage in Rashid-ad-Din (Blochet, 58) ; and this seems to be the meaning
intended.
13 It was perhaps a belt of this kind that the goldsmith William Buchier sent
to Louis IX : * Master William, once your subject, sends you a girdle ornamented
with a precious stone, such as they wear against lightning and thunder/ (Rock-
hill, 254.)
14 Reading 'WZ for the 'WR of the text. On 'auz see Biruni, Kitab-al-
Jamdtirp Ma'rifat-d-Jawbir, Hyderabad, 1355/1926, P- 2 ^ 6 - t (V.M.)
15 $<w&-i-yaraqan. In Arabic hajar-al-yarqan : the icteritts of Pliny. See Achun-
dow, Die pbarmakologiscben Grunfoatze . . <fef Ah Mtnsur Muwafiak tin All
Harawi, Halle, 1893, pp. 54 and 181. (V.M.)
496
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
took this as a good omen and said : * Make another like it/
And he said to Edgii-Temiir : * Why didst not thou and thy
father make tangsuqs 16 (that is, novelties or rareties) like this ? '
In spite of such clear indications and obvious reproaches those
who accompanied Edgii-Temiir did not yet fling away their
shields nor recognize where their interest lay.
The fool doeth what the wise man doetb in desperate times,
but doetb only after be bath been disgraced.
After they had remained there a while Qa'an ordered Chinqai,
* Tainal 17 and some of the other chiefs of the yargbu to sit in
judgement upon their case ; and they set about this task. The
men of Korgiiz's party were persons of judgement and discretion
and owners of wealth and property, maliks, like the malik Nizam-
ad-Din of Isfarayin, Ikhtiyar-ad-Din of Abivard and e Amid-
al-Mulk Sharaf-ad-Din of Bistam, and secretaries, such as Nizam-
ad-Din Shah and the like ; and Korgiiz himself was equal to
a thousand men.
His enemies in their hosts consisted of individuals, lut they
saw him among the individual warriors like the whole host
He would consult with these people and then proceed in the
manner upon which all were agreed. Important matters were
concealed from Sharaf-ad-Din although ostensibly [234] Korguz
behaved in a friendly manner towards him.
As for Edgii-Temiir he was very young and the sons of Kiil-
Bolat were mere children. Of his supporters two or three who
were distinguished with the ornament of intelligence were con-
scious of the exigencies of the occasion and ventured upon no
course of action from which it was impossible to draw back.
As for the short-sighted, foolish Mazandaranis a whole herd of
these wearers of the kulah-band 18 could not do the work of a
single man they could neither utter a sensible word themselves
nor repeat the words of others. Whenever anyone of them was
questioned and examined, the decision went against him, though
16 twgswL is a Turkish adjective meaning ' rare ', ' precious *.
17 Reading TAYNAL with D for the TARNAL of the text
18 Apparently a kind of headdress. (M.Q.)
497
THE HISTORY OF
the reason for this was largely the favour of the Emperor and the
kindness of the emirs for ( the kindness of the judge is letter than
two just witnesses \ and be spoke truth who said : ( There is no govern-
ment save through men, and no men save through money.' And the
two parties were in opposite positions, for while Korgiiz had
both men and money on his side, his adversaries were destitute
of either.
Several months passed in this fashion, and no end being in
sight the emirs grew tired of the yarghu. Qa'an then ordered
the two parties to be mixed up together, one each of Korgiiz's
and Edgti-Temiir's men sharing the same tent, eating out of the
same bowl and sleeping in the same bed ; so that Korgiiz and
Edgii-Temiir themselves lived together under one roof and fed
from one dish, and all their followers likewise. Qa'an also
commanded that they should have no knives or iron weapons
about them, and accordingly their knives and other arms were
taken away from them. The Emperor's idea was that perhaps
by night or day they might become reconciled and abandon their
hostile claims. But since by this means also no reconciliation
could be effected, Chinqai and [235] the litikchis made a report
on all the statements and occurrences ; and one day Qa'an
himself sat in judgement and again examined them in person.
* Tiimen 19 and his brother and the sons of Kiil-Bolat knelt
down with the rest of Edgii-Temur's following and underwent
questioning. Qa'an's glance fell upon them and he shouted at
them : * What business have you amongst these people ? Come
out from amongst them and stand with the sword-bearers/ He
then judged their cases and found Edgu-Temiir and his follower
guilty. To Edgii-Temur himself he said : * Since thou art one
of Batu's men I will send thy case to him. He will know how
to deal with it.' However despite his complete lack of sympathy
for Edgu-Temiir's case Chinqai did not fail to show him some
kindness. Having prompted him what to say he communicated
his statement to Qa'an, viz. : * Qa'an is Batu's superior. Who
am I that my case should require consultation ? The might of
19 The text has Nurin (NWRYN) but this is apparently the same person
as the Tiimen mentioned below, p. 500, where a variant is Nurin.
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THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
the Emperor of the Face of the Earth, Qa'an, knows how to deal
with it.' Because of this Qa'an spared him : had the case been
sent to Batu, even had he been his dearest friend, what mercy
would he have shown him ?
Qa f an commanded Edgii-Temiir and his companions to go
to Korgiiz. Some were beaten and some handed over to
Korgiiz, who put them in the cangue, which was the reason for
their [subsequent] contumacy and rebellion. As for the rest he
ordered them to be given relay animals and sent back with
Korgiiz. He likewise ordered them to be told that in accordance
with their deserts and the yasa of Chingiz-Khan, according to
which a lying aiqtQ 20 is punished with death, they ought to
have been executed as a warning to others ; but since they had
come a long way to reach his Court and their wives and children
were awaiting them, he did not wish bad news of them to reach
their households and had therefore spared their lives. But they
should not again engage in such actions. To Korgiiz he gave
the following message [236] : * These people are our servants.
We have pardoned their crimes. If therefore thou continuest to
bear a grudge against them, thou too wilt be at fault and it is
not difficult to kill the like of thee.'
When these yargbus were over Korgiiz began to administer
affairs of state and public business, and the disposal of petitions
proceeded in accordance with his wishes. And whatever
countries were conquered by Chormaghun's forces [to the west]
of the Oxus 21 were all entrusted to him by Qa'an, who gave
him yarligbs and paizas to this effect.
Now at the time of the yargbu Qa'an had said of Sharaf-ad-
Din : * The cause of all this mischief is that Tazik who has
taught the young fellows what to do. If he accompanies Korgiiz
now he will turn his head from the right path. He is not to
go with him/ As for Sharaf-ad-Din himself he realized that
inwardly Korgiiz was angry with him and he feared his revenge.
He was therefore glad to be left behind. However, Korgiiz,
20 In Turkish * informer '.
21 ]-j ere Amuya would seem to mean the river and not the town later known
as Charjui. See le Strange, The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate, 434.
K II. 499
THE HISTORY OF
with ChinqaTs approval, objected to this decision on the grounds
that the accounts for many years past could not be settled without
Sharaf-ad-Din's presence and that if he was absent the tax-
collectors and financial agents would refer matters to him.
Qa'an's consent was thus obtained to his return and he was
brought back against his will.
When Korgiiz's affairs had been settled the maliks and leading
men of Khorasan who had accompanied him wished each to be
granted his own yarligb. However Korgiiz came to a secret
understanding with Chinqai on this subject arguing that if they
were all to receive a yarligh or edict, what precedence would he
have over the rest ? On this account none was able to procure
a yarligb or paiza.
They all now returned and Korgiiz sent on messengers in
advance with the good news of QaWs favour (soyurgbamisbi va
marhamat) and his enemies' discomfiture. Here too a number of
Mongols who had sided with Edgu-Temiir [237] were arrested
and placed in the cangue ; and Tonquz and Tiimen were led
out of the ordtt with their hands tied behind their backs. After
this Korgiiz himself returned.
XXIX
OF KORGUZ'S ARRIVAL IN KHORASAN
AND WHAT BEFELL HIM THEREAFTER
HAVING thus found favour and warded off his enemies Korgiiz
on his journey homeward went to wait upon Tangut, the brother
of Batu, and then proceeded by way of Khorazm. To prepare
his tuzghu I my father had dispatched hither a tent complete with
all the requisite implements in the way of gold and silver plate
(1 majlis-kbana) and had observed the necessary formalities. All
that were left of the leading men of Khorasan went out with my
father to welcome him back. He arrived by way of Shahristana
and in Jumada I, 637 [November-December, 1239] he alighted
before his own house. Messengers having been sent to summon
1 See above, i, 102, n. 12.
JOO
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
all the chief men, they now presented themselves, and the Mongol
emirs came also. My father had provided another tent of mar-
vellous artifice and wondrous colouring with everything in
keeping in the way of gold and silver vessels. He pitched this
tent and feasted in it for days on end, during which time the
yarligbs were read out and the newly decreed yasas promulgated
to all creation. The leaders and sadrs of Iraq now arrived, and
he sent his son to Iraq, Arran and Azerbaijan with such secretaries
as were in the Divan. And though in name they were many yet
the pivot of the work was around Nizam-ad-Din Shah on
account of his competence and proficiency.
When they arrived in those regions they had many disputes
with Chormaghun's commanders, and finally they took over
those territories from them and fixed the taxes [238]. For [until
then] each province had been held by a noyan and every town
by an emir, and they had been content to levy but a small portion
of the taxes for the Divan and used to seize the remainder for
themselves. It was all taken from them and [considerable] sums
were drawn upon them (bar-isban mutavajjib gardid).
Korgiiz made Tus his place of residence and removing thither
began to rebuild the town. Nothing had been left of Tus but
the name and there were not more than fifty habitable houses in
the whole town and even these scattered, one here, one there, in
odd corners. And so ruined were the bazaars that two donkeys
in passing one another would have e one Itg laid over the other ' 2
amongst the rubble and thorns. Korgiiz built treasury buildings
and laid out parks; and all the sadrs, maliks, and great men
began to purchase mansions and set about rebuilding the market,
excavating qanats and repairing ruined estates. And a mansion
which on the first day had been sold for 2-| mkni 3 dinars was
sold a week later for 250. And from that time dates the rebuild-
ing of the town and district. Korgiiz laid a firm foundation
in the administration of affairs. He established yams in various
places complete with horses and other necessities in order that
the people might not be put to inconvenience by the ambassadors ;
and so strict was his rule that no emir, who had previously cut
2 Koran, Ixxv, 29. 3 See above, i, 23, n. 15.
501
THE HISTORY OF
off heads with no one able to protest, could now decapitate a
chicken ; whilst the peasantry became so self-assured that if a
great army of Mongols encamped in a field they might not even
ask a peasant to hold a horse's head, let alone demand provisions
(*ulufa) and offerings of food (nuzl), and the same applied to
ambassadors, coming and going. Fear of him became deep-
rooted in men's hearts.
Later he sought by some means to place Sharaf-ad-Din in
the snare of calamity and the jaws of annihilation. There was
a dihqan's son from Rughad 4 called Asil who had originally
[239] been appointed steward (vakil-kharj) to Korgiiz and whose
affairs, as Korgiiz rose in dignity, had prospered accordingly.
When Korgiiz began his attack on Sharaf-ad-Din, Asil par-
ticipated with the utmost zeal. Sharaf-ad-Din having been
seized and placed in the cangw, the office of vizier was transferred
to Asil. He had originally been a coppersmith, and in the
Divan he would unashamedly break wind before an assembly
of sadrs and notables. 5
Korgiiz sent the aforementioned Temiir Elchi to Court to
report on Sharaf-ad-Din and then followed in person. He was
met en route by a messenger who informed him of Qa'an's
death, as a result of which there was a state of chaos. Whilst
on his way Korgiiz had had a dispute with one of Chaghatai's
chief emirs who traced his descent from the race of Chingiz-
Khan 6 and out of haughtiness had given him a rough answer.
With such persons words are finer than a hair of the head or
a sharp sword and they objected to certain expressions which
true or false, they attributed to him
And what is thy excuse for something when it has leen said ? 7
4 Rughad was probably in the Kabud-Jama district. See Rabino, Mdzandardn
and Astarabdd, 84.
6 Coppersmiths being notorious for their inability to control their natural
faculties. (M.Q.)
6 According to Rashid-ad-Din his name was Sartaq-Kuje'ur (Sartak-Kujan
in Khetagurov, 142) and he was a page (ev-oghlari) of Oghul-Ghaimish.
7 From some verses addressed by Nu'man b. al-Mundhir to Rabi' b. Ziyad
al-'Absi. See the Kbizanat-al-Adab, IV, 171-6. The first half of the line runs ;
That has ken said, whether true or false, (M.Q.)
502
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For fear of the situation Korgiiz turned back. The emir reported
the incident, and at this juncture a messenger sent in secret by
Sharaf-ad-Din arrived as if to take his place (jai-gir). The wives
and sons of Chaghatai and the other princes deputed Arghun and
Qurbaqa to fetch Korgiiz to Court, and [240] they were instructed
in the event of his refusing to come to bring him as a prisoner. 8
Korgiiz had [just] returned to Tus when the messengers
arrived. They sent for Sharaf-ad-Din and made him their
decoy. Contrary to the Mongols* custom Korgiiz had built a
strong treasury in the middle of the walled town (hisar) and
made his abode there. The messengers therefore sent for help
from the army commanders, for whom this pretext was quite
sufficient, for their breasts were filled with anger and their hearts
with malice. Great numbers of Mongols arrived, bringing
Sharaf-ad-Din out of Sabzavar. As for Korgiiz he was uneasy
about the messengers and in any case Asil of Rughad would
not let him go to them, giving him ill advice and warning him
not to place himself in their hands. Being ignorant of the con-
tents of the edict Korgiiz was afraid and kept guard on (mahfuz
ml dasbt) the treasury, to which had been given the name of
fortress, until one day the messengers mounted horse and together
with the Mongols, clad in armour under their cloaks, entered
the gates. Korgiiz ordered the gates of the treasury to be closed,
and on this pretext they began to shoot. * I am not a rebel/
said Korgiiz, and the gates were opened. The Mongols entered,
seized Korgiiz and Asil and sent men to the gates to lay hands
on all the maliks and [other] persons there. However the malik
Ikhtiyar-ad-Din escaped to Abivard. The affairs of the maliks
of Khorasan and Mazandaran were thrown into utter confusion
and a contemporary composed the following verses h propos of
their condition:
I see the feet stumUing as they advance having strayed
from the path
8 According to Rashid-ad-Din (Khetagurov, 142, Blochet, 60) this incident
had occurred during the lifetime of Ogedei, who, upon receiving a complaint
from Chaghatai's widow, had himself issued the order not only for Korgiiz's
arrest but also for his execution.
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But the wind will subside 9 soon as the building was founded
upon flatulence.
After some days the messengers returned taking Korguz and
Asil with them as prisoners. Korguz in no way humbled him-
self and paid no attention to them. [241] Upon reaching the
ordu of Ulugh-Ef 10 the emirs of the yargbu sat down and began
the yargbu. Korguz said to them : c If you can dispose of my
case, let us talk, but if it will be left undecided it is better to say
nothing/
So long as thou hast said nought thou canst still speak,
what thou hast said thou canst not conceal again.
The trial came to a standstill and they said that he was to be
taken to Toregene Khatun. Sharaf-ad-Din intervened in the
yarghu and tried to enter into an argument with Korguz, but
the latter so trounced him that he was unable to reply. One
of the emirs of the ordu turned to Sharaf-ad-Din and said : c He
has been arrested on another charge, and if he is acquitted on
that count what chance will the like of thee have against him ?
It would be better to seek his pardon and forgiveness than to
behave in a hostile manner/
Leaving Ulugh-Ef they came to the ordu of Toregene Khatun.
Now at that time Chinqai had fled from the wrath of Toregene
and sought refuge with Giiyuk ; and both the Minister Mahmud
Yalavach and Korguz, being under the protection of Chinqai,
had paid little heed to Toregene. Moreover, her ministers were
people not previously employed in affairs of state and Korguz
at that time had shown no respect towards them and he now
had no money wherewith to make good his position with them.
And again it was Fatima Khatun, 11 in whom all affairs were
now vested, who had chosen out and educated Sharaf-ad-Din
before sending him to the countries of Khorasan and Mazandaran
in attendance on the Emir Arghun. 12
9 Reading tarkadu for the tarkanu of the text.
10 Lit. ' the Great House ', ef being a variant of the Turkish ev * house ', This
was the name of Chaghatai's ordu. See Barthold, Histoire des Turcs, 142.
11 On Fatima see above, i, 244-6.
12 There is no mention of this in the chapter on Sharaf-ad-Din.
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The order was given that since Korgiiz had been arrested on
account of words spoken in the ordu of Ulugh-Ef [242] he
should be taken back thither and tried upon the spot. As
usual he had spoken hard words without considering the out-
come. Qara Oghul ordered his men to fill his mouth with
stones and so put him to death. Towards the end of his life
he had become a Moslem and had abandoned the religion of
idolatry. 13
As for Asil he was imprisoned in Samarqand upon his
return. He 14 gave orders for him to be kept hungry and finally
ordered the jailer to put a drug in a dish of tutmacb 15 and give
it to him, and so he met his end.
The affairs of this world are like lightning, which flashes and
then at once disappears, or like the wind which a man blows
into a bottle, and when he takes his mouth away there is nothing
there.
If thou remain a hundred and if a hundred thousand [years],
the day is the same and everything is the same.
[XXX]
OF THE EMIR ARGHUN
HE belongs to the Oirat tribe and his father Taichu x was the
commander of a thousand. The Oirat are one of the best known
of the Mongol tribes, and to that tribe belong most of the maternal
uncles of the children and grand-children of Chingiz-Khan, the
reason being that at the time of his first rise to power the Oirat
came forward to support and assist him and vied with one
13 but-parastt, which normally (see above, i, 59, n. 22) means Buddhism.
Korgu'z was therefore probably a Buddhist despite his Christian name of George
and the fact that there was a church in his native village. See above, p. 483,
n. 7 and p. 489.
14 The subject of the sentence is not clear. Probably Qara is meant.
15 tutmacb is fresh pastry cut in strips and stewed with meat.
1 The text has TAYjW. On the name see Pelliot-Hambis, Cmpagnes,
180-1. According to Rashid-ad-Din (Khetagurov, 120-1), Arghun's father,
whom he does not name, far from being the commander of a thousand, was a
poor man who, in a famine year, disposed of his son to a Jalayir emir in exchange
for a leg of beef !
505
THE HISTORY OF
another in their alacrity to tender allegiance, and in recognition
of their services an edict was issued concerning that tribe to the
effect that the daughters of their emirs should be married to the
descendants of Chingiz-Khan ; and he likewise bestowed upon
the chief of that tribe a daughter of his own called Checheken 2
Beki. This is the reason why all the princes take their wives
from the Oirat.
The Emir Arghun, after mastering the Uighur script and
having grown into young manhood, encountered every manner
of luck and good fortune. Young though he was he went to
the Court of Qa'an and was enrolled amongst the litikcbis. [243]
Day by day Qa'an looked upon him with greater favour, and
he was still in the flower of youth when he sent him to Khitai
together with Qaban on an important mission. He remained
there some time, and upon his return to Qa'an was nominated,
because of his complete reliability, to investigate the case of
Edgii-Temur and Korguz, wherein he was associated with
Qurbaqa and Shams-ad-Din Kamargar. Upon arriving in
Khorasan he commenced the investigation and then, in accord-
ance with a decree, he sent all the parties to Court and returned
thither himself also. At Court he assisted and supported
Korguz ; and when the countries of Khorasan and Iraq were
entrusted to Korguz, the Emir Arghun was appointed basqaq to
him and his noker 3 or associate in the administration of affairs,
so that Korguz might carry out all business in consultation with
him and embark upon nothing without him.
3 Reading CY&AKAN for the JYJAKAN of the text. The Chechegeyin
of the Secret History. The name means * Little Flower *. She was actually
given in marriage, not to the Oirat chieftain (Qutuqu Beki), but to one of his
sons, Inalchi according to the Secret History ( 239), Torelchi according to Rashid-
ad-Din (Khetagurov, 119).
3 The text has NWKR, while B, D and E have NWKAR. The usual form
of the word in Mongol is nokor } but a form noker is represented by the noger c socius '
of the Codex Cumanicus (see Gr0nbech, Komanisches WorttrlucV) and by the
Modern Persian naukar (noukar) * servant '. On the nokot (Mongol pi. of nokor)
as * antrustions, c'est-a-dire des personnes libres au service des dirigeants, des
chefs de clans et de tribus, notamment en qualit de guerriers " see Vladimirtsov,
Le rtgime social dts Mongols, 110-23. Vladimirtsov however makes no mention
:>f the nokot as civil administrators.
506
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
When Korgiiz returned to Khorasan he began to administer
the affairs of those countries independently, and the Emir Arghun
turned back. Upon reaching the or du of Ulugh-Ef he was sent
back again to fetch Korgiiz, and Qurbaqa and a number of
[other] messengers were sent with him. They arrested Korgiiz
and released Sharaf-ad-Din from imprisonment, as has been
previously recorded. When they reached the ot 'dit of Toregene
Khatun, Korgiiz was imprisoned on account of words he had
spoken, and Toregene Khatun placed the territories he had held,
from the Oxus to Pars, Georgia, Rum and Mosul, under the
command and control of the Emir Arghun and appointed
Sharaf-ad-Din to accompany him as ulugb-bitikcbif the other
officials being retained in their posts.
In the year [244] 641/1243-4 the Emir Arghun arrived in
Khorasan, where he read the yarlighs and reduced the affairs of
the country to order. Then he left Siraqchin 5 Elchi together
with other ekbis who had come from the ordu of Toregene
Khatun to collect the arrears of taxes ; he left Nizam-ad-Din
Shah with him also. He himself set out for Iraq and Azerbaijan,
When they reached Dihistan Sharaf-ad-Din received news that
there was a plot against him at Batu's Court. He set out for
that court, whilst the Emir Arghun proceeded towards Tabriz,
appointing the Emir Husain, the Khoja Fakhr-ad-Din and a
number of secretaries to deputize for him in Khorasan and
Mazandaran. Upon arriving in Tabriz he restored to order the
affairs of that region which had been disturbed by the proximity
of the great emirs such as Chormaghun, Baichu 6 and others,
who regarded that territory as their own property. He protected
the revenue and caused these people to withdraw their hands
4 I.e. chief titikchi or secretary.
5 SYRAQjYN. Apparently * the Yellow One', from the Mongol adjective
sira or siro * yellow *. The ending -qchin is normally used to form feminine names
(cf. above, i, 268, n. 8, the name Boraqchin) but it would seem that, like -jin, it
can also occur in masculine names. See Mostaert and Cleaves, Trots documents
mongols des Archives secretes vaticctneSj 462, n. 49.
6 Reading BAYCW for the TAYJW of the text. The native pronunciation
of the name was Baiju (see Pelliot, Les Mongols et la Papaute, [io9]-[no], Cleaves,
The Mongolian Names, 413) but it would appear to have been pronounced Baichu
in Western Asia Cf. in particular the Armenian forms, Bach'u (Grigor and
507
THE HISTORY OF
therefrom : he recovered from the grasp of their control all the
inhabitants, noble and base, both such as had resorted to the
protection of these men and such as had fled from their tyranny
and oppression. He put the affairs of that region to rights, and
in response to his fair and handsome treatment both small and
great were minded to follow and attend on him ; and the hearts
of men fell victims to the goodness of his character, and they
wished him well. The Sultans of Rum, Syria and Aleppo
sent ambassadors to him and sought his protection and favour ;
and he dispatched elckis to those parts to secure the payment
of tribute.
When Sharaf-ad-Din arrived in Tabriz from the ordu of Batu
he made great exactions on the people there and elsewhere because
of arrears in taxes. The Emir Arghun opposed this although
Sharaf-ad-Din persisted ; and love and affection for him [245]
became even more firmly implanted in men's hearts.
When dcUs came to summon 7 local governors (mutctsctrrifan-
i-atraf), sultans and maliks he too set out, having sent messengers
to fetch the maliks and revenue officials from every side. He left
my father the sahib-divan as his deputy in the lands of Azerbaijan,
Georgia, Rum etc., and appointed Buqa as ktsqaq. By the time
he reached Tus Sharaf-ad-Din had passed away. The Emir
Arghun abolished the illegal taxes which he had imposed on
everybody to be collected by confiscation and swept away that
innovation, but such taxes as were already collected he dispatched
[to the treasury]. Then he set out for Court, accompanied by
the maliks j secretaries and holders of governorships (mutalalbhan-
i-a*mal).
After the death of Qa'an the princes had each of them taken
possession of a region or district, made assignments (iflaq) on
the taxes by means of drafts and transfers and issued yarlighs and
paizas [in their own name], which was contrary to their ordinances
Kirakos) and Bach'aw (Vardan). In 1242 Baichu or Baiju succeeded Chor-
maghun in the command of the Mongol army of the West ; it was he who
conquered the Seljuq princes of Asia Minor. See Grousset, L f Empire des Steppes,
420-4.
7 Sc. to attend the ytrfttoi at which Giiyu'k was elected Khan. (M.Q.)
508
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
and yasas. Accordingly the Emir Arghim commanded the
collection of every paizct and yarligb issued by the princes after
Qa'an s death.
When he came to Giiyiik Khan he gave him many presents,
and he likewise sought the favour of the princes by the offering
of gifts proportionate to the rank and importance of each and
cloud-like poured buckets of wealth upon the ministers and great
dignitaries of Court. Having finished the distribution of gifts
he turned to the presentation of affairs of state. First he laid
before the assembly, at which all the princes were present, those
paizas and yarlighs which they had issued and which he had
retrieved from the holders. This was the most important of his
services and produced the greatest effect. Giiyiik Khan showed
him favour and confirmed him in the administration (tasarruf)
of all the territories he held. He gave him a tiger-headed paiza
and a yarligh and transferred the affairs of all the maliks and
ministers to him. To none of these latter did he give a yarligb
or paiza, and none [246] of the governors, maliks and mutasanifs
were allowed admittance to his presence except the Sahib
Yalavach and his son from Khitai and Transoxiana and the
Emir Arghun from the lands of the West.
Sharaf-ad-Din being dead Giiyiik appointed as ulugb-litihcbi
the Khoja Fakhr-ad-Din Bihishti. He was born and bred in
Khorazm, but the fame he enjoyed under that appellation was
indeed such as the poet has said:
I am called Asma as a nickname amongst the tribesmen as
though Asma had become one of my names. B
He was a good and kind-hearted man.
When returning from Court the Emir Arghun arranged the
affairs of each of his attendants, whoever he was, in accordance
with his desire and ambition, appointing them to important tasks
and great enterprises in conformity with their rank and station
and granting the wishes of each of them, so that the great officers
8 From a famous qasida by Abu-Muhammad al-Khazui In praise of the Minister
Ibn-'Abbad. See the Yatimat~ad-Dahr, HI, 34-5. (M.Q.) There is a pun
in the original since asm? is the Arabic for * names '.
509
THE HISTORY OF
were united in loving him and agreed in singing his praises,
and they went back in attendance upon him filled with joy
and exultation.
During the journey the Emir Arghun opened his sea-like
hand in the manner of April rain, and all the lands of Turkestan
and Transoxiana were immersed in his beneficence, and through
the fame of his bountifulness and generosity the hearts [even] of
strangers inclined towards him, He sent on messengers in
advance to Khorasan and the [adjacent] countries to announce
his return, and [the peoples of] all these lands and places set
out to welcome him back and gathered together in Merv. The
Emir Arghun with the mdiks, emirs and ministers alighted in
Arzanqabad 9 near Merv in . . . 10 For several days [247] they
feasted in the royal palace, and he caused the palace to be rebuilt
and the park restored, and each of the ministers at his instructions
began to lay out a park and erect a mansion in Arzanqabad.
From thence he set out for Tus, where he gave orders for the
rebuilding of the Mansuriya and the palaces, which had fallen
into such complete ruin that all trace of any building had long
since disappeared from the site. This task he entrusted to
Ikhtiyar-ad-Din of Abivard. He himself took up his abode in
the meadows of Radkan, where for some days he took his
pleasure in the company of his peers and coevals. He was joined
by the nobles from every side ; affairs of state developed in
accordance with his wishes ; sadrs and maliks kept on arriving
every day and he promoted their interests as his auspicious counsel
saw fit.
When the nights began to sigh deeply because of separation
from the days of Summer, and Autumn grew old and decrepit,
9 Arzanqabad, according to Yaqut, was the name of one of the villages of
Merv. (M.QO
10 There is a blank in B and E. A has no blank and the whole sentence
is missing in D and G. C has ' the year 648 ', i.e. 1250-1, which, as M.Q.
points out, is clearly wrong since Juvaini goes on to say (below, p. 512) that
Arghun again set out for the ordu and having reached Talas received news of
Guyulc's death and turned back; and (below, p. 513) that he left once again
for the orfa in the year 547/1249-50. Since Gtiyiik died in the early spring of
1248 (see above, i, 261, n. 43) the date of Arghun's arrival in Merv cannot
have been kter than the spring of 1247 and was probably earlier,
510
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
and the leaves of the trees, upon the assault of the breeze of Dawn,
began to desert the elevation of the tree-tops, the Emir Arghun
set out for Tabriz by way of Mazandaran. He adjusted the
affairs of each region or district as he came to it and so proceeded
very slowly. When he reached the Amul country my father
came to meet him with all kinds of valuables, jewel-studded
objects and precious stones which he had had prepared in
Azerbaijan. To these he added rugs and carpets and all the
paraphernalia of banqueting, and for a day or two he held
a feast.
As the time drew near for his departure [for Azerbaijan] there
came a report about Mengu-Bolad, 11 a Mongol, who under
Chormaghun had been appointed lasqaq over the artisans of
Tabriz. When the opportunity presented itself he had attached
himself to the skirt of the protection and favour of Qadaq
Noyan, 12 in whose hands lay the administration of Giiyuk
Khan's realm. [This he had done] because of Qadaq's belong-
ing to the Naiman tribe, a circumstance which was bound to
draw them together. 13 [248] Availing himself of this advantage
he resorted to the Court of Giiyiik Khan in order to report
upon his activities. Qadaq Noyan obtained a yarligh confirming
Mengii-Bolad's position as lasqaq and emir; he also procured
a firman with al-tamgba appointing as the commander of the
tumen in Tabriz and Azerbaijan the atdbtg Nusrat-ad-Din, son
of the atabeg Khamush, 14 who had come out of Rum and after
remaining in hiding had shown his face [again] as an opponent
of the malik Sadr-ad-Din.
When the Emir Arghun learnt of these circumstances and
realized how those who envied and hated him were waiting
their opportunity his pride would not suffer him to disregard
their intrigues. He ordered his deputies to prepare for the
journey and draw upon the funds destined for the expenses of
the Court, and he sent on Nizam-ad-Din Shah in advance to
serve as his ambassador and to report on the confusion that had
11 On the spelling of the name see above, i, 50, n. I r.
12 On Qadaq see above, i, 259, n. 37.
13 Thus Mengu-Bolad too was a Naiman. 14 See above, i, 148, n, 29.
THE HISTORY OF
arisen with the spreading of that rumour. A month later he
too set out and at the request of the malik Sadr-ad-Din ordered
him likewise to set out from Tabriz.
The Emir Arghun loosened his reins and pressed hard on
his stirrups as he journeyed to Court. The Khoja Fakhr-ad-
Din Bihishti and my father accompanied him, and by his orders
the writer of these lines was also in attendance on him. When
constant journeying had brought them to Taraz there came news
of Guyiik Khan's death, which coincided with the arrival of
Eljigitei 15 in that area. The Emir Arghun with a party of
Mongols set out to meet this latter, travelling light ; he ordered
the mctliks and sadrs to remain behind in Kenchek. 16 Eljigitei
strongly urged him to turn back in order to organize the main
army and make ready its equipment, which could not be done
in his absence. [249] He returned therefore whence he had
come sending the Emir Husain to the ordu to report on his setting
out for Court, the reason for his turning back and other
matters. The Emir Husain and Nizam-ad-Din made their report
and the result was in accordance with the Emir Arghun's
wishes.
Upon reaching Khorasan the Emir Arghun prepared for the
provisioning (fagbar u sbml) of Eljigitei. Meanwhile the princes
everywhere dispatched messengers and sent drafts in every direc-
tion so that the revenue for several years ahead was exhausted by
these assignments, the great number of which together with the
constant relay of Mongol tax-collectors and the levies (ikhrajat)
and demands of Eljigitei reduced the people to indigence and
the emirs, mdiks and secretaries to impotence.
When his emissaries returned the Emir Arghun tarried a little
while, then went again to Eljigitei near Badghis and returning
from thence proceeded to Sarakhs. When Winter turned her
back and Spring showed her face, and the weather became
15 See above, i, 256, n. 27.
"Reading KNfiK for the KNHK of the text, for which C and E have
KNjK, as has also Vassaf, Bombay eel, 12. This was Rubruck's Kinchat,
i.e. *Kinchac, See Rockhili, 135 and n. i. It is mentioned in the Masalik-d-
Akfar as one of the towns in the Talas valley. (The relevant passage is quoted
by RockhiD, 136, n. 2.). Kashghari, I, 480, calls it Kenchek-Sengir.
512
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
milder and the birds began to sing in the gardens, he held it
prudent to take a firm decision and in Jumada I, 647 [August-
September, 1249] 17 set out [for Court], And since no order
from Mengii-Bolad was obeyed in Tabriz, he too at the Emir
Arghun's command set out from thence. When the Emir
Arghun reached the ordu yarghus were several times held and
his case investigated. The truth of his words was plainly
distinguished from Mengii-Bolad's lies and his clear proof pre-
vailed over his adversary's false argument. The damask steel of
Mengii-Bolad became soft iron 18 and the water of his desire
fetid, while with God's aid the Emir Arghun [250] was
victorious, and after remaining there awhile he obtained leave
to return having succeeded in all his objectives.
Because of their displeasure, of which there were obvious signs,
he was unable to go in person to the Court of Beki 19 and
Mengii Qa'an. In order therefore to present his excuses for
failing to wait upon them he dispatched the tnalik Nasir-ad-Din
*Ali Malik, who was one of the most distinguished maliks and
the associate and noker of the Emir Arghun on behalf of Beki, and
the Khoja Siraj-ad-Din Shuja'i also, who was a UtikcU likewise
representing her, with gifts and presents to the Court of Beki
and Mengii Qa'an. At the same time he sent Nizam-ad-Din
Shah, who had succeeded Sharaf-ad-Din as titikcbi on behalf of
the qosbgun 20 of Batu, to that Court, but he died whilst actually
in that ordu.
The Emir Arghun then journeyed homewards and coming to
[the ordu of] Yesii in the region of Almaligh he halted for a month
or two to celebrate his nuptials with the daughter of one of the
emirs of his Court. The Khoja Fakhr-ad-Din and Mengii-
Bolad went on in advance, whilst the writer of these lines remained
behind with the Emir Arghun.
17 It will be seen that, if the date is correct, he actually set out in the late summer,
18 A word-play upon his name (* Eternal Steel ').
19 I.e. Tolui's widow, Sorqoqtani Beki, on whom see above, i, 108, n. 31.
20 Reading, as M.Q. suggests, QWSQWN for the QWSQWN of the
text. This is the Turkish form of the word, which in its Mongol form (gostigburi)
seems only at a later stage to have acquired the meaning of (army) division'.
See Vkdimirtsov, op. cit., 172, PelHot-Hambis, Campagnes, i6S.
513
THE HISTORY OF
When the latter left that place 21 it was winter, and plain and
hill were level with each other from the snow, and the intensity
of the cold restrained the limbs from motion ; and yet he reached
Merv from that place 21 in a space of thirteen days. The Emir
Husain and the sabib-livan, whom he had left there as his deputies,
were absent having, at Batu's command, betaken themselves to
his Court. After a while the Khoja Najm-ad-Din <Ali [251]
of Jilabad arrived from that Court bringing a yarligh appointing
him idit&b-litikcbi on behalf of that qosbgm ; the chief elcbis
accompanied him in order to confirm that appointment. And
when the elcbis in response to the invitation of the Emir Arghun
and the nobles and chief men had duly arrived, he appointed
Naqu and the Khoja Najm-ad-Din to deputize for him in
Khorasan, whilst he himself set out for the quriltoi as is related
in the following.
[XXXI]
OF THE EMIR ARGHUN* S PROCEEDING TO THE
GREAT QURILTAI
IN Jumada II, 649 [August-September, 1251], he determined
to set out for the quriltai and, in accordance with the edict, elcbis
were sent to summon all the malifo, emirs and secretaries [to
accompany him]. When they had reached the neighbourhood
of Taraz he heard the glad tidings of Mengii QaWs accession
to the throne of the Khanate. 1 He travelled at a faster pace and
though the great quantities of snow hampered movement and
precluded haste he paid no attention thereto. When he came
to the neighbourhood of Qulan-Bashi, 2 the snow had levelled
hollows and hillocks blocking the roads and filling the thorough-
fare to more than the height of a horse. That day they halted
where they were, but the next day the Emir Arghun ordered
21 What place ? Almaligh is altogether out of the question. It was situated
near the present-day Kulja and was therefore more than 1000 miles east of Merv,
1 This had taken place on the ist July, 1251, See below, p. 567.
2 See above, i, 40, n. 6.
514
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
all the horsemen to proceed in his company in advance of their
horses. He turned aside (multafit) from the road, crossed the
stream and proceeded along the hilltops.
[252] He would make the horsemen dismount ten at a time
to dig a road. Wherever there was a hollow he would fill it
in, and the horsemen would then follow. And wherever it was
impossible to pass he would throw down tarpaulins (1 barpusbba)
and so allow the animals to proceed. By the grace of God
Almighty the sun was shining that day so that by dint of great
labour a parasang had been traversed by evening, and by the
bounty of the Glorious and Exalted Creator the dread of that
danger had been dispelled. In the same manner he continued
to deny himself rest and repose until he reached Besh-Baligh,
where the Emir Mas e ud Beg had arrived on his return from the
Court of Mengli Qa'an. They received each other with all
manner of refined courtesies and gave feasts and banquets.
Then he departed from thence and sent on a messenger in
advance to Mengii Qa'an to inform him of the exhaustion of
their beasts of burden. The messenger was met by another
bringing instructions for him to hasten [to the Khan's presence].
With this the gusts of the breeze of divine grace began to blow
and the bud of hope of superabundant royal favour to unfold.
In obedience to this command the Emir Arghun increased his
pace and in the middle of Safar of the year 649 3 he reached
Court.
On the next day his companions arrived likewise and presented
their offerings ; and he was enrolled amongst the great ones of
the realm. Later came the malik [253] Sadr-ad-Din, the Khoja
Fakhr-ad-Din Bihishti and the other notables who had been
held up by the snow and cold, and they had the honour of
making presents (tikisbmisbi). When they had finished present-
ing their offerings the Emperor ordered an inquiry to be made
into the state of land and people, and the Emir Bulghai and
certain [other] emirs summoned them all and questioned the
3 A mistake for 650. According to Juvaini's own statement, III, 74 [ii, 597],
Arghun reached the Mongol Court on the 20th Safar, 650 [2nd May, 1252].
(M.Q.)
L II. 515
THE HISTORY OF
maliks and sadrs. Thereupon the Emir Arghun made an oral
report on the chaotic condition of finances and the deficit in
tax-payment occasioned by the constant succession of unlawful
assignments and a stream of harsh elcbk and tax-gatherers ; and
acknowledged and admitted the shortcomings arising from the
disordered state of affairs, which in turn was produced by the
conditions of the time. Since his confession of negligence in
the administration of affairs and his excuses therefor were rein-
forced with plain and evident proofs, the World-Emperor
expressed his approval, being not unmindful of the services the
Emir Arghun had rendered in the past, and he distinguished
him with increase of favour, and, in excess of kindness and
beneficence, singled him out from all his peers and equals.
Mengii Qa'an then ordered all the sa&rs who were present to be
gathered together and consulted as to how the people's lot might
be alleviated and the country so administered that the poor might
be relieved and the lands restored to prosperity. For that which
exclusively occupies the Emperor's mind is that the scented
breezes of justice and equity should perfume the four corners of
the world, that the hands of oppressors and tyrants should be
restrained from harming the subjects of his realm, that the
prayers of the servants of God Almighty should comprehend
his daily-increasing fortune and that the blessings of that fortune
should be united with an auspicious era. Moreover there is not
a shadow of doubt that everybody is best acquainted with the
interests of his own country, and knows most about the cause
of its ills, and by reason of that knowledge sees best how those
ills may be cured. The Emperor commanded therefore that
after careful consideration [254] they should each write a state-
ment explaining what was right or wrong with their country,
and how it had been caused, and how it might be remedied,
so that he might order the necessary reforms according as his
lofty understanding dictated. For it is no secret that the skilful
physician, before commencing his treatment, inquires into the
symptoms of the disease, its origins and its violence or mildness,
and informs himself by means of the beat of the pulse and other
indications, so that the causes and symptoms of the disease being
516
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
recognized the treatment becomes an easy matter, and he mixes
his drugs in accordance with the constitution [of the patient].
Now the justice of the Emperor is like a compassionate physician
who dispels the diseases of tyranny and oppression from the
constitution of the world with one draught of awesome severity;
nay, it is the breath of Jesus which in a moment raises the victims
of injustice to life.
In accordance with his command they each wrote a statement
setting forth the griefs of the world, and the next day they were
all ordered to present themselves in the place of audience. They
were brought in before the Emperor and began to discuss the
welfare of land and people in the aforesaid manner ; and the
gist of their conclusions was that the various levies (ikbrajSt) and
miscellaneous exactments (iltimasSt) from the people were [too]
numerous, that the latter's dispersion was due to this cause and
that therefore taxation should be fixed in the way it had been
established in Transoxiana by the Minister Yalavach, i.e. what
was called qupcbur, in accordance with which the amount of a
person's annual payment was determined according to his wealth
and ability to pay, and having discharged this fixed amount he
might not be approached again during the same year nor might
another assignment be made on him. So was the decision
reached, and the Emperor gave orders that a wealthy man should
be assessed at ten dinars and so in proportion down to a poor
man at one dinar, all the revenue from this source to be employed
to meet the expenses (ikhrajat) of the forced levy (hashctr), the
yams and the maintenance of ambassadors. Beyond this the
people were not to be interfered with and nothing was to be
taken from them by unlawful requisitions, 4 nor were bribes to
be accepted. And for every circumstance and [255] contingency
he made a yasa, some of which are mentioned in the chapter on
the accession of Mengii Qa'an. 5
And when the decrees and yasas had been promulgated and
the affairs of these countries settled upon the Emir Arghun and
4 qjsmat va dast-andaz. On gtsmat, ' the distribution of levies among the popu-
lation *, see Minovi and Minorsky, Nasir al-Din Tust on Finance, 784.
5 See below, pp. 598-600.
517
THE HISTORY OF
the administration thereof entrusted to his hands, the Emperor
first of all gave him a yarligh and a tiger-headed paiza and
appointed Naimatai 6 and Turumtai 7 to be his nokers, an emir
being likewise nominated as noker on behalf of each of the brothers,
viz. Qubilai, 8 Hulegii, Arigh Bdke 9 and Moge. 10 He then
issued a yarligh concerning the various yasas, of which the chief
purpose was to alleviate the plight of the people, and also gave
yarlighs and paizas to those who had accompanied Arghun. Of
the mlih Nasir-ad-Din *Ali Malik, who was in effect the
associate of the Emir Arghun, was entrusted with all the ter-
ritories and in particular with the tumen of Nishapur and Tus
and the t&mtns of Isfahan, Qum and Kashan. The malik Sadr-
ad-Din, who was malik of all Arran and Azerbaijan, was con-
firmed in that governorship. The governorship of Herat,
Sistan, Balkh and all that area in the direction of India as far
as it had been subdued was granted to the malik Shams-ad-Din
6 ' He of the Naiman.'
7 On turumtd, the name of a small bird of prey, see above, i, 242,
n. 8.
8 The text here has QBLA instead of QBLAY (Rashid-ad-Din's QWBY-
LAY). This is of course Mongke's successor, Marco Polo's Cublai Kaan
(1260-94).
9 AJRYT BWKA. Vassaf (ed. Hammer-Purgstall, text, 21, 22, 25 and
28, tr. 23, 24, 26 and 29) has the form ARYF alongside ARYF BWKA,
and it would appear therefore that his actual name was Arigh, to which Boke
stood in apposition, the whole meaning * Arigh the Wrestler*. Cf. the Biiri
Boko who wounded Chingiz-Khan's half-brother Belgiitei (Secret History,
131) and the Chilger Boko to whom his wife Borte was given after her capture
by the Merkit (ibid., in). This seems a more natural explanation of the
name than to take artgb * pure ' or arty * lean * as an adjective qualifying lake
(loko) and to conclude with Pelliot, Horde d'Or, 57, that the meaning is either
* Lutteur Pur * or * Lutteur Maigre '. Grousset and Baruch (Grousset, L f Empire
Mongol, 3 17 and 548) adopt the form Ariq-boge, * Pure Sorcerer ', but as Pelliot
points out, op. tit, 56, the g of the Mongol loge * shaman ' is purely graphic and
the pronunciation is bo'e or lo } which, as he says, accords ill with the Chinese
transcription of the name (A-li Pu-ko) it is equally irreconcilable with the
Arabuccha* of RubrucL Arigh Boke was Tolui's youngest son by his chief
wife Sorqoqtani. William Buchier, the goldsmith from Paris, was his slave.
On his struggle with Qubilai for the Khanate after the death of Mongke see
Grousset, op. c\t. } 317-24.
10 MWKA. Tolui's eighth son according to Rashid-ad-Din (Blochet, 202).
He died in 1261. See Hambis, Le cbapitre CVH, 89, n. 7.
5 I8
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
Muhammad Kart, 11 while the Emir Mahmud was given Karman
and Sanquran. 12 To all of these the Emperor gave tiger-headed
paizaSj whilst each of the others received gold or silver paizas and
also yarligbs according to their importance ; after which he bade
them depart. And all who were in attendance on them were
numbered, and he presented them with Khitayan robes, even
the donkey-drivers and cameleers that accompanied [256] them;
and after receiving great honours and favours they departed, at
the royal command, in the train of the Emir Arghun. The
writer of this history and Siraj-ad-Din Shuja'i remained behind
for a few days. They received a yarligh and a paiza confirming
the office of sahib-divan on behalf of the writer's father and Siraj-
ad-Din, who had been bitikcbi representing Beki (after whose
death that office was dependent on Arigh Boke) and then
departed in Rajab of the year 651 [August-September, 1253].
When the Emir Arghun arrived in Khorasan, all the ministers
(ashab) and sadrs presented themselves and he caused the yarligbs
to be read out and expounded the yasas of Mengii Qa'an to the
revenue officials (*ummal) and mutasarrifs. And from each he
exacted a written statement that he would not violate the principles
thereof nor neglect the matters referred to therein ; and that
whoever acted contrary thereto and committed an act of oppres-
sion against the people would thereby incriminate himself and
lay himself open to punishment. And in accordance with the
royal decree he appointed emirs and secretaries, who for a number
of days deliberated together regarding the fixing of the qupcbw
that had been ordered. It was finally decided that when the
census was taken the rate should be fixed at 70 rukni dinars per
ten persons to be paid annually. He then nominated emirs and
secretaries to organize the census and the qttpcbur. In Khorasan
and Mazandaran he appointed two or three of the Mongol
emirs, who had come as representatives of the princes together
with Naqu, a relation of his own, the Khoja Fakhr-ad-Din
Bihishti, who was the ulugb-bitikebi, and the Minister c Izz-ad-Din
11 On the Karts of Herat (1245-1389) see Lane-Poole, The Mohtmmaian
Dynasties, 252.
12 See above, i, 136, n. 10.
519
THE HISTORY OF
Tahir, [his] deputy with full powers (nayfo-i-mtlaq). To Iraq
and Yezd he sent Naimatai and my father, the sabib-divan, though
the thumb (sbast) of Fate had tied the latter's age [257] with the
knot of sixty (sbast) and weakened the forces of appetite and
desire ; he was wearied and disgusted with service in the Divan,
and repenting [in time] before falling into the whirlpool of
regret he had decided to himself to withdraw his feet beneath the
skirt of contentment and make up for the days he had passed
in frivolity and idleness. He composed the following bilingual
qifa on this subject:
For bow long wilt tbou commit what is unrighteous and for
bow long wilt tbou trail tbe skirt of childishness ?
Juvaini, thou art barley (javm-f), when thou seekest, thou
shalt find. Why hasten so after greed ?
Tbou reckonest with otbers in ignorance forgetting that be
who reckonetb hastily is punished grievously.
Thou hast drawn up an account of thyself which is without a
sum total. What a wonderfully improvident man thou art !
If Fate contenteth another some day, thou reproacbest
Utterly thine own fate.
Night and day because of thy cowardice thou writhest on
account of thy evil temper.
Tbe light of the gleaming [cloud] of grey hairs rises
high, and thy youth has passed over like a cloud.
Youth has fled and old age arrived: being finished with
that fraud thou art, as it were, in a deep sleep.
Youth is gone and eld is come ; misfortune prevailed,
therefore betake tbee to repentance.
Old age has pressed hard on the stirrups of permanence
why turnest thou the reins of desire towards what is vain ?
And be not deceived by singing women (ghawanl), for sweet
praises are worse than the teeth of torture.
Cast off the veil of contentment, for no moonshine will reach
thee from the moon of Muqanna'. 13
And be not led astray by the lapping of wine f for it is but
tbe craving for a mirage.
13 On Muqanna*, the * Veiled Prophet *, celebrated by Moore in Lalla Rookh,
see Browne, A Literary History of Persia, I, 318-23. The reference here is to
* the false moon which he caused, night after night, to rise from a well at Nakhshab
(whence he is often called by the Persians Mdb-sdzanda t * the moon-maker ') . . . :
520
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
If thou be not a false taster, why art thou constantly full
of wine like a goblet ?
Dost thou intrude in the sanctum of the treasures whilst
the worms of prohibited actions 14 gather together in the leather-lag ? 15
[258] Like the rain of the heavens thou art restless day and night,
like a qutrub 1G thou art all thy life in a commotion.
However, as the emirs would not consent to his retirement,
my father set out against his volition for Iraq. When he reached
the district of Isfahan he was overcome with mutually harmful
ills and surrendered his soul to God, departing from the halt of
annihilation to the destination of eternity.
The Emir Arghun likewise sent Turumtai and Sariq-Buqa 17
together with the malik Sadr-ad-Din to arrange the census, the
division into thousands and the imposition of the qupcbur in
collaboration with the Khoja Majd-ad-Din of Tabriz.
Meanwhile, he himself set out for the Court of Batu to deal
with certain matters and the Khoja Najm-ad-Din 18 accom-
panied him to Batu's ordu. These matters were transacted in
accordance with Mengii Qa'an's edict and his own improvisa-
tion. He then proceeded by way of Darband to Georgia,
Arran and Azerbaijan and completed the work of holding a
census, imposing qupcbur and assessing taxes, after which he
set out for Iraq.
Now during his absence from the Imperial Court certain
persons had banded together in spite and hostility towards him
and had obtained a yarligb [for the dispatch of] Jamal-ad-Din
Khass-Hajib as inspector. Arriving in Khorasan and finding it
empty of men he set to work to check the accounts and opened
the hand of seizure and appropriation.
When the Emir Arghun had completed his business in Iraq
and Azerbaijan he hastened to meet Prince Hulegii, whom he
reached in Kish. 19 With his encouragement and favour he
14 Reading nuha * prohibitions '. 15 Reading jiral for the hirab of the text.
16 The qutrul was the name of a particularly restless kind of insect.
17 'Yellow Bull/
18 His full name was Najm-ad-Din 'AH of Jilabad. See above, p. 514.
19 The text^has Kitu (following A) but D has KS, i.e. KS, Kish. Cf.
also IE, 99 (ii, 613), where the spelling Kish is guaranteed by the word-play
521
THE HISTORY OF
continued his journey to the Court of Mengii Qa'an and came
to Khabaran. After [259] his departure from Hulegii Jamal-
ad-Din Khass-Hajib went to the latter and laid before him a
detailed list of all the ministers, malik, emirs and chief men,
saying : c I have charges against each of them and must go to the
Court of Mengii Qa'an/ Hiilegu replied : * This matter is the
concern of the Emir Arghun and must be dealt with as he sees
fit. At the command of Mengii Qa'an and with our agreement
we have placed the keys of the government of those countries
in his hands/ Now in the list of names Jamal-ad-Din had
included that of the writer of these lines. When he came to
my name the Prince said : * If there is a charge against him let
it be stated in my presence so that the matter may be investigated
here and now and a decision given/ Jamal-ad-Din repented
of what he had said and excused himself; and returning from
thence he joined the Emir Arghun at Merv.
The latter now contracted a friendship with the Khoja Fakhr-
ad-Din such as had not previously existed between them, and
they set out for Court in Rabi* I, 654 [March-April, 1256],
the Emir Arghun having appointed his son Kerei Malik, the
Emir Ahmad and the present writer for the management of
affairs under Prince Hulegii and having handed over to them
the administering of Iraq, Khorasan and Mazandaran.
When the Emir Arghun reached the ordu of the World-
Emperor, a number of calumniators and informers were already
there awaiting his arrival, hoping to contrive some action, or
hatch some plot and so do harm to his fortunes, whereof God
was the protector. Khass-Hajib and some others now joined
forces with these people. They made statements, and the
Khitayan scribes set about casting the accounts, whilst the emirs
of the yargbit began to investigate the Emir Arghun's case. Since
the favour of the Judge of the Eternal Judgement still attended
his affairs, his opponents achieved nought but trials and tribula-
tion and in the arena of conflict nothing but disgrace and repent-
tance. Some of the ringleaders had already passed away whilst
with 'Mn-kasb * drawing rein*. Kish, the later Shahr-i-Sabz, was the birthplace
of Tamerlane.
522
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
actually in the ordu, and [the Emperor] handed over Khass-
Hajib and the other informers to the Emir Arghun ; and some
were put to death on the spot and some executed upon his
arrival in Tus. [260] As for Khass-Hajib he was sent back
under arrest with only one mount.
In the meantime, the census of the provinces having been
completed, the World-Emperor apportioned them all amongst
his kinsmen and brothers, as shall be mentioned in the proper
place. And since the Heaven-resting parasol of Mengii Qa'an
was now moving towards the uttermost lands of Khitai, the
Emir Arghun was again ordered to return to the countries under
his control together with all the maltks and emirs ; and he was
distinguished with special honours and favours. As for the
emirs and maliks, those who on the first occasion had not been
honoured with paizas and yarligbs now received them. The
Khoja Fakhr-ad-Din Bihishti had died in the ordu. His post
was given to his son Husam-ad-Din Amir Husain, although
he was younger than his other sons, because he could write the
Mongol language in the Uighur script, 20 and that, in this
present age, is the essence of learning and proficiency. 21 The
office of ulujrb-bitikcbi on behalf of Batu was conferred on the
Khoja Najm-ad-Din, whilst the other litikcbis, maliks and emirs
retained the offices which they had hitherto held. The Khoja
Najm-ad-Din then set out for the Court of Batu.
The Emir Arghun arrived in Khorasan in Ramazan of the
year 656 [September, 1258], and having been witness of important
affairs of Court, and experienced the subtlety thereof, and learnt
the method of inquiry and investigation there practised, he
carried out a minute examination of the accounts, punishing
some of the mutasarrifs and appointing as his deputy in the affairs
of the Divan and the private 22 treasury the Khoja lzz-ad-Din, a
man whose character was as pure as his name 23 and whose
20 Lit. ' he united the art of the Mongol tongue with [that of] the Uighur
script *.
21 Juvaini rarely shows his feelings so openly.
22 Vbass, i.e. relating to the Khassa or Private Purse. See Minovi and Minor-
sky, op. dt., 779.
23 Tahir, i.e. 'the Pure*. See above, pp. 519-20.
THE HISTORY OF
competence and capacity were manifest to all mankind. The
ties of close relationship and the bonds of friendship unsullied
with hypocrisy prevent me from dilating upon this subject, for
The love between us surpassed that of kinship, and what
[261] kinsmen rate [high] became mean \by comparison].
It had on every previous occasion been the practice to com-
mence the census and assessment of the qupcbur and [other]
taxes in Khorasan, but on this occasion, to make matters easier,
the census of Khorasan was held over.
The Emir Arghun now set out to join Hiilegu, who was in
the region of Arran. Having arrived and made his report he
proceeded to Georgia, where he began to hold a census and
divide the population into thousands. On the first occasion the
gupcbur had been fixed at 70 dinars per 10 persons but since the
expense (ikbrajat) of levies of men (hasbar), post-houses (yarn),
relays (ulagb) and supplies for the army exceeded the estimates
and could not be met by the qupcbur as then fixed, it was so
adapted that the excess requirements were assessed in proportion
to the original assessment. Before the introduction of the qupchur,
landowners and men of wealth, people for example who had
interests in ten different places or widely scattered property were
proportionately taxed for each separate interest, so that one person
might have to pay 500 or 1000 dinars. But when this new tax
was imposed the assessment was 10 dinars, which would have
been no great burden to the rich even though it had been doubled,
whereas it weighed heavily upon the poor. The Emir Arghun
had reported on this state of affairs and the order was given for
the re-assessment of the qupcbur at 500 dinars for the wealthy
descending proportionately to i dinar for the poor, in order that
expenses might be met. This procedure was adopted and the
census was carried out with great thoroughness.
The Emir Arghun first went to Georgia because David Malik,
the son of Qiz-Malik, had risen in rebellion 24 there and Hiilegii
had dispatched thither a large force of Mongols and Moslems.
The Emir Arghun proceeded in that direction from Tiflis with
24 See Allen, A History of the Georgian People, 116.
524
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
his own immediate following and some troops. The armies
united from every side and slew or took prisoner a great number
of Georgians. The Emir Arghun then turned back and at the
end of Ramazan, 657 [beginning of September, 1259] joined
the Prince in Tabriz at the moment when he was preparing to
march against Syria and reported to him on the affairs of [262]
Georgia. Hiilegii deputed a Mongol army for the task of levying
the tiimens of Iraq and the subjugated portion (il) of Georgia.
All of this army he placed under the command of the Emir
Arghun.
When the latter arrived back in Tiflis, David Malik the Elder
had also risen in rebellion 25 because of demands for arrears of
taxes and had shaken off the noose of allegiance. 26
[XXXII]
OF SHARAF-AD-DIN OF KHORAZM
THE Judge of the Court of ( He rejected whom He rejectetb without
reason, and He accepted whom He accepted without reason ', when
He was creating the souls of men, threaded some upon the string
of the blessed and fastened some to the tether of the accursed ;
f and the Messed man is Messed for aye and the accursed man accursed
in eternity \ And the souls having been moulded and kneaded
in men's hearts, by the process of generation and increase each
individual at an appointed time and in accordance with pre-
destination enters the plain of manifestation and descends from
the loftiest rooftop to the lowliest doorstep. Then, if the garment
of a man's being was embroidered with the embroidery of blessed-
ness, the effects of goodness display themselves in his deeds and
words without his needing to make any special exertion, whilst
if another has been marked with the brand of accursedness, his
whole behaviour is in keeping therewith. And the significance
25 In the autumn of 1260. See Allen, loc. at.
26 In B there follows a blank space equivalent to seven or eight lines of text.
This seems to indicate that the author in his original copy had left space for the
insertion of subsequent events. (M.Q.)
525
THE HISTORY OF
hereof is confirmed by the pearl-raining words of the Prophet
(may God bless Urn and give him peace I): ' There are people in whose
hands hath ken placed the key of good, and there are people in whose
hands hath been placed the key of evil' Now in accordance with
the verse:
I dm a man who hands his foes with qasidas. Verily,
the worst qasidas are the anonymous ones x
the point of this preamble and the purpose of this exordium will
be revealed in the life and deeds of Sharaf-ad-Din.
The Artificer in the workshop of Creation and Invention,
having made him the vomiting place of the filthy leavings of
depravity and the depository [263] of a mixture of unclean
beliefs, wishing that his name too might correspond to his actions
and desirous of establishing the truth that ' nick-names are sent down
from Heaven ', composed the letters of his name from the shin and
ra of sharr and named him Sharr fd-Din* And it being a
common custom and long-established practice to drop tashdids
and infirm letters in names of frequent use for the sake of sim-
plicity, so in this case the tashdid of the ra was lost and the ya
in his name omitted and he was called Sharaf-ad-Din. 3 And
we must needs say somewhat of that whereof his base nature
was made up and which was comprehended in the unclean
heart of that ill-fated wretch
Anl I do not satirize him because of Us rarik> but I
saw the dog falng pelted with stones 4
in doing which we obey the command of the Prophet : e Describe
the scoundrel and all about him' Now to the man of discernment
it will be obvious that this commandment to make known the
1 Bashama b. Hazn, one of the poets of the Hamasa. See Tabriz!, Sharh-al-
Hamasa, Bulaq ed., I, 207. (M.Q.)
2 Le. ' Evil in the Faith'.
3 tashdtd is the name of the orthographical sign which indicates that a letter
is pronounced doubled and the ' infirm letters ' are alif (A), wdw (W) and ya
(Y). Thus according to Juvaini's pretence R FY ALDYN, i.e. Sharr fid-
Din, was corrupted into SRF ALDYN, i.e. Sharaf-ad-Din, his actual name,
lit. * Nobility of the Faith '.
4 Abu-Yusuf Ya'qub b. Ahmad, a contemporary of Tha'alibi, who quotes
these lines in his Tatimmat-al-Yatitna. (M.Q.) See now EghbaTs ed., II, 21.
526
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evil character of the wicked is not devoid of particular and general
advantages, which are limited to two sorts. First, when the
crimes and vices of such a fool are recounted in the gatherings
and assemblies of men, those who are decked in the raiment of
wisdom and adorned with the jewel of felicity perceive the
necessity of shunning and avoiding the like actions and neglect
not to proceed to the practice of noble customs so that the
picture thereof may be delineated in their minds and their bodies
become the receptacle of sublime matters. The Commander of
the Faithful C AH was asked : ' From whom didst tbou learn good
manners ? ' He replied : f From such as bad none.' And secondly,
a person possessing such faults, if he be prepared to accept the
lights of divine guidance, will doubtless eschew such actions,
and shrink from the reproach of the censorious, and hold it his
bounden duty to avoid being the butt of criticism, and regard
the attainment of the perfections of felicity as taking precedence
over all things ; in order that he may be saved from that shame
and disgrace, whereof the mention remains engraved for ever
upon the countenance of [264] Life, and may conscientiously
implant in his person praiseworthy qualities and excellent proper-
ties by the exclusion of evil deeds, so that within a short time
he may be known among his equals for the goodness of his
character. But if (which Heaven fbrfend !) the figure of adversity
and the sign of disappointment be already traced upon his being,
then no admonishment will draw the cotton of inattention from
his ears nor will he desist from his ways, nay every day his per-
sistence therein will increase and he will become more rooted
therein than ever.
For the old man will not abandon Us ways even when he
is bidden beneath the earth of his grave. 5
His enormities cannot be separated from him: how can
one separate the stench from the dung ?
He complains : ' Why hast thou satirized me ? * But he himself
is the satire with what then dost thou satirize him ?
6 Salih b. 'Abd-al-Quddus az-Zindiq. See the Kitab-al-Aghani f XIII, 15.
(M.Q.)
5^7
THE HISTORY OF
So likewise was this scoundrel unworthy of greatness
High rank befitted not the person of Ahu-Yala nor the
light of the beauty of Islam 6
this fellow with the viper face and the scorpion manners, of
base behaviour and hideous mien, womanish in appearance and
effeminate in action
Abur-RJda al-Qari hath a countenance which betoken? an
effeminate nature.
He is womanish in character hut lacketh a woman's lightness
of spirit 7
a two-faced tale-bearer sunk in shame and ignominy ; a bringer
of ill-fortune to any master ; a reprobate devoid of all good
qualities ; a whoremonger splendid in tyranny and oppression ;
a male harlot having attained the uttermost degree in the world ;
defective in appearance and Yazid-like 8 in nature ; evil of
character and of unsavoury influence ; [265] the betrayer of
every friend and the informer against every superior ; in boasting
and aberration like unto Nimrod ; in iniquity and ignorance
the companion of Thamud ; an impaler like Pharaoh, 9 and
like c Ad in the creation of oppression and unrighteousness
throughout the lands and peoples of Islam ; a pathic masquerad-
ing as a pederast ; an outcast ignoring the claims of religion ;
like a rock when mounting and like an ass when mounted;
slaying the oppressed and attracting the oppressors ; an afreet
in human shape ; hated 10 by the good and trusted by the
6 Ibn-al-Hajjaj, the well known profligate poet. Attributed to him by Ibrahim
al-Kutubi in the Ghurar-al-Kha$ai$ d-Wadfam-Urar-an-Naqa'isal-Fadi'a (Paris,
MS Arabe 1301, folio 266). See also 'the Mukadirat-ar-R.agbib J I, 14, in the
new edition of 1326/1908-9. (M.Q.)
7 Abul-Khair al-Mufassal b. Sa'id b. 'Amr al-Ma'arri. Quoted by Tha'alibi
in the Tatimmat-al-Yatima. (M.Q.) See EghbaTs ed., I, 9.
8 Apparently a word-play on the names of two of the Umayyad Caliphs,
Yazid b. Mu'awiya [680-3] and Yazid b. al-Walid b, Abd-al-Malik [720-4],
whose laaab was Naqis lit. ' deficient ', There is also a play on the ideas of
increase (ziyadat) and deficiency (nugan). (M.Q.)
9 C Koran, xxxviii, n : * Before them the people of Noah and Ad and Pharaoh
the impaler treated their prophets as impostors!
10 Reading mamaut with B, D, E and G.
528
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wicked ; a tearer of veils and a murderer of petitioners ; an
impudent miser; morose like a Russian, always in a rage;
reviled by all mankind and cursed by every tongue ;
And I never called down curses upon Urn without my
listeners following iviih e Amen I '
a beast on its hind legs ; a devil in human form ; a demon-like
scoundrel ; a swine in the garb of mankind ; an Iblis in the
grossness of his deceit ; base from the turpitude of his base
ambition ; a Satan in the guise of men ; ape-like (nasnas) n in
the number of his evil suggestions ;
It is a miracle in this world one of human mien and
yet not born of Adam.
In deceit he is like a devil, never finished with fraud
and wickedness.
If our father Adam accepted tim, then a dog is better
than our father Adam 1 *
[266] (God pardon the slips of my tongue !) 13 wealthy in his store of
ignorance; poor in the clothing of learning; shunning the
dudes of generosity ; jealous except with respect to his women-
folk; large in bulk but mean in spirit; with no sense of honour
or shame; a man of keen vision but [only] in the reckoning of
grains and drams ; skilled in villainy (toharmvz) but a fool at ; 14
a foul-mouthed rogue for ever picking quarrels; as a grave-
robber outdoing the lowest rabble; impatient of the commands
of God ; eager to commit forbidden sins ; loose of rein in
11 The term is applied sometimes to the anthropoid apes and sometimes to a
fabulous monster. See Browne, A Year amongst the Persians, 180 and 291.
12 This hit is adapted from three lines by a Samanid poet, Abul-Hasan *Ali
b. al-Hasan al-Lahhan, in which he satirizes the people of Khorazm. They
are quoted by Tha'alibi in the Yatimat-ad-Dabr, IV, 42, and by Yaqut in the
Mu'jam-al-Buldan under Khorazm. In the margin of A, a reader, after blotting
out the greater part of the lait, has written : ' This is pkin Uasphemy : God curse
him that saith it and dieth unrepentant andforgwe him if he repent thereof!' (M.Q.)
13 Cf. the preceding note.
14 The text has tabarruz * going out into the open country ', * sortir pour aller
a la selle *, but perhaps, as in the case of taharmuz from haram-zada, (* bastard '),
tabarruz or some word like it is here an Arabicized derivation from a Persian
root.
529
THE HISTORY OF
everything evil ; tight of fist in everything good ; cruel except
towards sin ; denying the limitless mercy of God ; cowardly
and playing the tricks of cowards ; blind to the goodness of
God the Forgiver ; greedy like a dog for the carrion of this world ;
careless of the world to come ; the inscription ' despairing of God'?
mercy ' engraved upon the brow of his soul ; and the lights of
certainty withheld from the page of his gloomy bosom by the
screens of doubt and suspicion. The truth of the matter is
Had Iblis recognized, thy deeds he would have made thee
his successor in his profession.
And had Adam known that thou wouldst be born, out of shame
he would have castrated himself.
And indeed his ill-fated arrival amongst the people of Khorasan
resembled the preliminaries to the arrival of Dajjal, 15 nay it was
like the onslaught of the vanguard of Doom.
His eyes are the prelude to ill luck, and there is ill
luck even in the prelude.
Already in the loins of Adam he was cdled ' the harbinger
of sorrows '. 16
Now the explanation of the secret here hidden and of the
mysteries here hinted at is that this ignoble person, naked of the
clothing of learning, was the son of a porter in one of the villages
of Khorazm.
How excellent are the people of al-Mda except that if
Mayy be mentioned she is not excellent.' 1 ' 1
[267] Having passed through the years of infancy and reached
the age of puberty he had, from the mildness of the air and the
sweetness of the water, acquired a pleasant shape and a handsome
presence, his hair falling to his loins and his face putting the
moon to shame ; his teeth resembling dazzling pearls and his
15 The Mohammedan Anti-Christ, whose appearance will herald the end
of the world.
16 Abul-Fadl al-Fadli al-Kuskari. Quoted by Tha'alibi in the Tetimmat-d-
Yatitna. (M.Q.) See EghbaTs ed., I, 86.
17 From the verses of Dhur-Rumma in which he satirizes his mistress Mayya
[Mayy]. See the Kjtok-al-A$am 9 XVI, 119-20, the M'jm-d&uU8n under
al-Mala and Ibn-Khallikan under Dhur-Rumma. (M.Q.)
530
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
mouth like a smiling pistachio-nut : so that many wept for love
of him.
On Mayys face there is a trace of beauty, lut under ber
clothes Is vileness could it hit It seen. 17
One day the malik of Khorazm passed by and his glance fell
upon him. He found his face well-shaped and his limbs
symmetrical ; and he became violently enamoured of him and
captivated by his beauty. He took him into his service and
removed the veil of shame. Some time elapsed and having
become skilled in the rules and procedure of service he became
secretary (davatf) to the malik, nay a pen-case (davatl) for his pen,
a cure for his pain and a vessel for his dregs. And from constant
use of the pen he came gradually to know the difference between
black and white 18 and so on, until the down began to grow on
his cheeks and his looks to fade, it being well know that the
beauty of striplings is as fleeting as the fidelity of women.
The rose of thy cheek will not always remain in flower,
nor will this heartbroken one remain full of care and
grief.
Now sensual love is an obsession which quickly casts dust in
the eyes of wisdom, but the fire of that passion is quenched with
the shedding of but a little water, and it passes away like the
wind.
Love is what does not become less, and as long as it is
one does not turn away from it.
The interest of the malik, as these ravages grew worse with
increase of years, turned to ennui and his passion changed to
indifference.
I used to fear the cruelty of slender damsels when I
grew older,
But my grey hairs brought an indifference towards them
greater than I had expected.
[268] I feared they would turn away from me, and behold! it is
I who turn away from them.
18 I.e. he began to learn the rudiments of writing, though there is probably
an obscene secondary meaning.
M ii. 531
THE HISTORY OF
Finally, an edict arrived from Court that Chin-Temiir was
to proceed to Khorasan with the army of Khorazm and assist
Chormaghun in the subjugation of that country. Chin-Temiir
asked for secretaries but no person of any standing was willing
to accompany the expedition for two reasons : first because of
the intention of laying waste a Moslem country and secondly
because of the uncertainty of the final outcome. However the
malik of Khorazm compelled Sharaf-ad-Din and by force he
departed in his service.
The faces of beardless youths are shining and their teeth
are tempting.
And they are full of Uandishments and amorous gestures, and
their powers of wheedling are strong.
But when hair appears on the clean surface of the face,
It separates friend from friend in the manner of Death. 19
O thou who hast pawned a rose-garden for thorns,
Since thou hast grown thorns, be off with thee and reap thorns.
There was a time when I said : ' Come hither, O handsome one ! '
Now I say to thee : * Begone, thou ugly face ! '
He was given a one-eyed donkey and mounting it like Dajjal 20
( e a wasp riding a scorpion into a serpent's hole') he set out on his
journey, wherein he endured a hundred thousand privations.
This smoke-reeking wretch, this kinless fool.
Had no acquaintance in any town, no relations in any place.
When he had been some time in Chin-Temiir's service he had
mastered the Turkish language and apart from him no other
interpreter was employed.
When affairs are in a state of confusion a fool is raised
to eminence, ly whose elevation barm is done to eminence,
Just as, if thou stirrest water, the dregs at the bottom of
the vessel rise to the surface. 21
19 Abu-Muhammad Tahir b. al-Husain. Quoted in the Tatimmat-al-Yatima.
(M.Q.)_ SeeEghbal's ed., I, 23.
20 Dajjal (see above, p. 530) will appear riding on a strange, monstrous
donkey.
21 Abul-Qasim al-Husain b. 'Ali. Quoted in the Tatimmat-al-Yatima.
(M.Q.) See Eghbal's ed., I, 25.
532
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[269] Now the affairs of Khorasan were in a state of turmoil
and commotion and the fires of insurrection and disturbance
ablaze; but though the land was trampled underfoot by the
passage of the armies, the population was not entirely annihilated,
because when a district or village surrendered the Mongols would
be satisfied with only a little fodder and ten ells of linen, or at
most a hundred, according to the size of the place, and would
withdraw the hand of molestation ; and even when they took a
village by force of arms they would, it is true, carry off all the
cattle and clothing they could lay their hands on, but such as
had been spared by the sword they did not torment with torture
and mutilation. For at first the Mongols paid no attention to
gold and jewels, but when Chin-Temur was established in
office, this noble, in order to make a show of efficiency, rendered
money sweet in their hearts, like Iblis who cast into men's hearts
a love for the flowers of this world and made that love the source
of every calamity. And wherever he came and wherever his
forces passed he would impose a tax upon those who submitted,
and whenever a place was taken by storm, the people would be
racked with tortures until they surrendered all that they had;
and even then their lives would not be spared ; and such as it
was considered profitable to save ransomed their lives with gold
and in this present age the people's pride is that most of them
purchased their lives with gold. And so it went on until
Khorasan and Mazandaran were crushed under the stones of the
calamity of this revolving mill and rendered as lowly as the earth
beneath the footsteps of Destiny.
The affairs of this region were now firmly settled upon Chin-
Temur, and disturbing influences were swept aside and factious
persons uprooted. And now this aforementioned scoundrel,
who after living in poverty and indigence had become the
possessor of male and female camels and enriched himself
through the heart's blood of orphans and widows (God Almighty
bath said : e On that day their treasures shall fa heated in bellfre, and
their foreheads shall fa branded with them '),** was, because of his
previous services and the concealment of men of proficiency,
22 Koran, ix, 35.
533
THE HISTORY OF
appointed ulugb-Utikcbi ; and the eye of Learning and Grandeur
wept tears of blood whilst uttering these sentiments :
[270] The face of the age hath ken reversed and the neck hath
become the face, O marvel!
The head hath fallen from its rank and after its glory hath
become a tail.
And the donkey, after his lowly estate, hath been saddled with
the saddle of leopards 23 \an\ crowned with gold.
How many spurious sons, the offspring of adultery, are there
who do not claim the most nolle of men as their father !
Fate hath aided and guided them, and they have acquired wealth
and laid claim to consideration.
And in every district where taxes were being assessed or collected
he would record the matter on scraps of paper in a hand such
as greengrocers use, until such time as some of the chief men of
Khorasan entered these details into the records and account-
books. And so matters continued until Chin-Temiir died and
was succeeded by Nosal, when this wicked man betook himself
to the Court of Batu and obtained a yarligb confirming him in
the office to which he had been appointed. When Korgiiz
came to power he continued in the same office and was assigned
to the same duties. Now Korgiiz was renowned for his shrewd-
ness and efficiency, and under him Sharaf-ad-Din was no longer
able to issue orders or even to draw breath without his instruc-
tions; he could oppress no one nor could he bring wrongful
charges against the defenceless. On this account he kept urging
Edgii-Temiir, the son of Chin-Temiir, to seek his father's office,
and in secret he would send messenger after messenger to him
writing reports on Korgiiz and planting the sapling of rebellion
in his heart, whereas overtly he breathed the breath of agreement
with Korgiiz and joined with him in enmity towards Edgii-
Temiir. * Be a woman that is a woman or a man that is a
man.' His evil suggestions took root in Edgii-Temiir's heart
and he sent a messenger to the Court of Qa'an to report on the
activities of Korgiiz. And from the Court of the World-
Emperor there was dispatched the Emir Arghun with several
23 I.e. leopard-skin coverings.
534
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
nokers to investigate the position and collect the taxes. When
they arrived in Khorasan, Sharaf-ad-Din continued to tread the
path of hypocrisy and he accompanied Korgiiz to Court in the
guise of an attendant. When they arrived he was still as before
an attendant on Korgiiz and a talebearer to Edgii-Temiir.
When the grace and favour of Qa'an were lavished on Korgiiz
and his opponents were discomfited, some of Edgii-Temur's
followers being well bastinadoed [271], one of these latter gave
Korgiiz a register which that two-faced one had kept in a
scrawling hand resembling flyblow. All doubt now vanished
that the greater part of those disturbances had been stirred up
by the suggestions of that accursed wretch, and the reports of
that wicked man, and the words of that hyena. The true state
of affairs was brought to the notice of the Just King and Wise
Emperor, Qa'an, through the mouth of the Emir Chinqai, and
he spoke as follows : * His very shape and form speak of worth-
less evil and mischief. If he accompanies Korgiiz he will turn
his head away from the path of righteousness and by his rascality
and cunning the affairs of those countries that have been entrusted
to Korgiiz will be diverted from the ways of truth. He must
be sent somewhere else lest the concerns and interests of Khorasan
be thrown into confusion/
When Sharaf-ad-Din became aware of the position he was
apprehensive of Korgiiz's revenge and was only too pleased to
remain behind and stay in the ordu. However certain persons
pressed Korgiiz with the following arguments. * Sharaf-ad-
Din/ they said, * is a feeble enemy such as wise men in all ages
have striven to deal with before the opportunity was past and
they had cause for regret; regarding negligence in such cases
as being contrary and foreign to perfect wisdom and farsightedness
and realizing that this world of growth and decay is not without
its vicissitudes and accidents. If he remains here, let him not
find some chink or breach and avail himself of an opportunity
to stir up trouble and mischief/ And Korgiiz would say:
' He is a snake that has escaped from the snake-catcher's basket.
Whoever lays hands on him should be told: "Let evil le" 3
However as a measure of prudence and precaution these people
535
THE HISTORY OF
persisted in tKeir arguments until Korguz too was convinced.
Accordingly permission was sought for Sharaf-ad-Din's return
on the pretext that the accounts of Khorasan and Mazandaran
had not yet been settled and it was undesirable that the inutasarrifi
and tax officials should, on account of his absence, attribute [the
cause of] some deficit to him and the revenue of the Divan suffer
in consequence. And that oppressor without an equal was at
the royal command sent back without a yarligh. Korgiiz dis-
played no sign of anger or displeasure towards him ; but when
he crossed the Oxus and the emirs, maltks and chief men of
Khorasan and Iraq came to greet [272] him, no one paid any
attention to Sharaf-ad-Din and he proceeded to and fro unaccom-
panied like one of the people.
The true vizier is fa who is a vizier when he is
dismissed.
When control over & province is lost, be regains
control over bis own virtues.
When they finally reached Tus he was seized and placed in a
canffie, Korgiiz having arranged with the ministers while he was
still in the ordu that Sharaf-ad-Din was to be arrested and his
crimes investigated [upon their return]. Sharaf-ad-Din made a
full confession and a messenger was dispatched to Court to
report thereon. The messenger had travelled half the journey
thither when Qa'an's death occurred and the roads were closed
and the doors of mischief opened. He turned back and came
to Korgiiz. Meanwhile Sharaf-ad-Din was kept in custody
being entrusted every so often to the care of a different malik.
Now at the time when he was imprisoned and cast like Abu-
Lahab into the chains of calamity and torture, the female laden
with jirewoo&j U that is his wife, had sent messengers to report his
plight at the courts of the princes. Some of these were arrested
en route and did not reach their destination but one of them did
reach the court of Ulugh-Ef ; and it so happened that certain
24 See Koran, cxi, where It is stated that Mohammed's uncle, Abu-Lahab
('the Father of Flame *), who at his wife's instigation had rejected his nephew's
claim to the Prophecy, shall be burnt ' at the fiery fame, and bis wife laden with
fire wood,ott her tieck a rope of palm fibre '.
536
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
emirs had at that time been nominated to summon Korgiiz :
they were now entrusted with the case of Sharaf-ad-Din also.
By the time they arrived in Tus, however, Sharaf-ad-Din had
been handed over to Mahmud Shah of Sabzavar to be put to
death. Now Mahmud was notorious for the feebleness of his
intellect, the crassness of his ignorance, his disregard of the com-
mands and prohibitions of God and his lawless behaviour
(ibahat) in confiscating the goods and shedding the blood of
Moslems ; and the idea was that if some enemy made a charge
against him he too might be implicated and in this way two
birds might be killed with one stone and two rogues got rid of
with a single device. However, the floodwater of the tribulation
of the people of Khorasan had not yet passed and one draught
of the wine of adversity was still left in their cup, and before
[273] that benefit could be effected there came news of the arrival
of the messengers. As a precautionary measure Korgiiz sent a
man to Sabzavar with instructions that the case of Sharaf-ad-Din
should be held up and nothing done in a hurry and yet
' calamities arise from delay 3 and it is recorded of *Ali (upon whom
be peace !) that he said : e I have recognized my Lord through the
abrogation of resolves and the breaking of decisions.' Mahmud Shah
of Sabzavar perceived that the temper of the world was now in
agreement with his own ideas, that the sword of rebellion had
been drawn from the scabbard of the age, that sleeping Strife
had awoken and the infant Days grown weary of their mother,
Security. He therefore began to treat Sharaf-ad-Din with honour
and respect. When the emissaries arrived they arrested Korgiiz
and sent a messenger to fetch Sharaf-ad-Din. The messenger
brought him back and he had hardly arrived before he opened
his hands in tyranny and oppression, attacking the leaders and
ill-treating the people. f What is bred in the lone will out in the
flesh.' 25 And he broke the treaties and covenants which he had
made with the Court of Power and Glory in the days of retire-
ment and the nights of tribulation. God Almighty hath said :
f Whoever shall break his oath shall only break it to his own hurt' 26
25 This appears to be the meaning of the corrupt Arabic.
26 Koran, xlviu, 10.
537
THE HISTORY OF
He extorted and confiscated as much as was possible in the time
and then set out for Court in the company of the emissaries.
Upon reaching Ulugh-Ef he sought to argue his case with
Korguz in the yargbu. But Korguz so trounced 27 him that his
tongue was caught in the ' shut-out* 28 of fatigue and his spirit
imprisoned in the ' bar' 29 of perplexity and shame. One of
the emirs then turned to him and said: ' This misfortune has
befallen Korguz because of some slip or shortcoming that was
reported about him. He has not been involved in this trouble
because of your cleverness. It would be more in your interest
[274] to make apologies than to engage in strife, because if he
is acquitted of this charge, you will then be no match for him.'
Setting out from thence they came to Toregene Khatun, who
on account of an ancient grudge she bore him neglected Korgiiz's
interests and threw his affairs into confusion, whilst showing
innumerable favours to the Emir Arghun and holding him in
great honour. Through the Emir Arghun s mediation Sharaf-
ad-Din s affairs were mended. He received a mandate 30 and
assessed the arrears of revenue in Khorasan and Mazandaran at
4,000 gold fafcbj which sum he undertook to collect. He
accordingly returned in the suite of the Emir Arghun and upon
arriving in Khorasan took over the whole administration of
finance.
He vatiqttisbet the world iy bis effort and rose up thereby;
ad the world fell on Its face and ckst. 31
The Emir Arghun also placed all business in his hands, but
when he reached Dihistan he was sent for by Batu. Because of
the Emir Arghun's protection and influence and because, too,
of the necessity of collecting the arrears of taxes he was saved
from that abyss also, because though he was several times brought
to trial there was no other party to speak against him. When
he returned the Emir Arghun had gone to Tabriz : he did not
27 Lit. ' pounded his dice* (kfktdn-w-rS baz mStit). This expression means
to get the better of an adversary'* but probably meant originally * to beat some-
one in backgammon*, as would appear from the context.
28 sbisb-dar. 29 hijab. 30 fcl probably a yartyb.
31 Abu-Muhammad al-Yazidi, a poet of the Hatnasa. See Tabriz!, Sbarh-al-
Htmasa, Bulaq ed., IV, 57- (M.Q.)
538
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
hold rein till he had joined him there. Whilst Korgiiz was
still alive he could venture on no great enterprises, but when he
received the news of his death, he set his hand to what was
demanded by his doltish ambition and unclean purpose, and
inborn in his nature, and comprehended by his character,
viz. the raising of the flames of tyranny and the stirring up of
treachery
For every vessel drips what is in it.
As for the taxes he had undertaken to collect, the hundredth
part thereof was no longer available in any locality in such a form
that it might be regularly levied (ti-vajb-i-mtfamala), and he began
to seize and confiscate property and appointed tax-collectors to
each of the lands for each individual (musamma) [275] province ;
and the gist of his written instructions was that they should show
favour or consideration to none but should demand cash of the
wealthy, since it was gold that was needed, not accounts or
registers. They accordingly extracted whatever they could from
such as had any property, whilst he himself made his headquarters
at Tabriz and set about the financial administration- of that area.
He imposed upon the Moslems a tax beyond the strength and
endurance of each individually (musamma), noble and base,
leaders and led, rich and poor, pious and wicked, old and young ;
and appointed a number of vile, impious wretches as bailiffs to
bend the heads of the mighty to the feet of abasement. Certain
pious men of God, such as the strangers to religion have exempted
from extraordinary contributions (mu'an va *avarizat) and whom
they regard with the eye of respect and honour, addressed him
by way of advice and admonishment and asked that the citizens
of the town in general and themselves in particular might
be spared these impositions. However he received them with
contempt and scorn and turned a stone-deaf ear to the words
of truth.
He greeted them with a frowning face as though the feeding
of Gos servants were his responsibility**
Instead he doubled the levy upon them and insisted upon its
32 Attributed in the Hamasa to an unnamed woman. See Tabrizi, loc. tit,
(M.Q.)
539
THE HISTORY OF
exaction. God the Blessed and Exalted bath said, speaking through
Noah (upon whom he peace 1) : ' So oft as I cry to them, that thou
may est forgive them, they thrust their fngers into their ears, and wrap
themselves in their garments, and persist in their error, and are dis-
dainfully disdainful' 33 And it often happened that widows and
orphans, on whom there is no charge in the law of God nor
impost in the yasa of Chingiz-Khan, would approach him
begging for mercy, and he would loosen the tongue of abuse
and vituperation and close the road of lenity and indulgence,
laying the hand of repulsion upon their brows so that they with-
drew frustrated and disappointed. [276] The Emir Arghun
would then order the amount about which they were protesting
to be paid from his own private treasury. And in the town
there rose to the Heaven the screaming of women and the wailing
of orphans, the supplications of the good and the lamentations
of the wicked, cries for help from the oppressed and imprecations
from the poor. In every corner there was torture ; in every house
was quartered a stranger and there was a bailiff in every home ;
and neither fear of God could prevent nor reproaches and shame
before all the world preclude. It is of this situation that the
late Sayyid Mujtaba speaks in the following lines:
Beware, one must strive to keep one's honour.
And this time one must strive to keep one's honour.
They do not give quarter and they demand gold
One must still strive to keep one's honour !
Having swept clean the floor of Tabriz he proceeded from
thence to Qazvin, which is a city of Unitarians and a frontier of
Islam. 34 He arrived in Ramazan of the year 642 [February
1245] and took up his abode in the palace of the malik. The
chief men were then summoned to him and he fixed a tax upon
each of them individually (musamma) confining them on the
roof of the palace without food or water ; and he did not let
them out at the time of the iftar 35 nor did he permit anyone
33 Koran, Ixxi, 6.
34 Against the Isma'itis, who were not regarded as Moslems.
35 The iftar is the light meal at sunset with which Moslems break the fast
during Ramazan.
540
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
to bring food to them. He appointed tax-collectors to each
individual quarter, and set over the people a crowd of base-born
wretches, who for two loaves would set fire to a hundred persons ;
and so was the honour of the chivalrous trampled in the dust
of abasement and their reputation and property cast to the winds ;
and he imposed upon great and small a burden beyond endur-
ance. Because of punishment by torture and mutilation the
groans and supplications of the wretched and the deep sighs of
the whole population arose to high heaven. And yet brother
might not condole with brother though he saw him at the stake,
nor father relieve son, nor kinsman come to the aid of kinsman
even though all his blood were being shed. During the few
days Sharaf-ad-Din was there the people experienced c that day
wherein a man shall fly from his brother and his mother and his father \ 36
And how many persons [277] were there who pledged the
freedom of their children, aye and who sold their own selves!
A person lying on his death-bed had been charged with a
trifling amount. When he had died and had been prepared for
burial the tax-collectors returned to demand the tax, and there
being nothing else they seized the winding-sheet and left the
dead man as he was. Certain of the weak and poor, seeing no
other recourse in their extreme impotence and helplessness, made
their way to the cell of the shaikh-al-Islam, the cream of mankind,
Jamal-al-Milla vad-Din al-Jili (may God be gracious to all Moslems
by lengthening his shadow!), in the hope that he might give
some advice to his vile wretch. Upon reflection he gave
his opinion in auspicious language in the following terms:
* The darkness of oppression has become a screen before his
murky heart, which is an example of what is meant by (f hard
like rocks or harder still " 37 and has cut off the light of auspicious-
ness and faith therefrom. Advice can produce no more effect
upon it than rain upon a hard stone. However, we should be
light of heart, for the archers of the dawn have from the thumb
of prayer discharged at the target of his life a shaft wherefrom
the wound is not yet evident.
3 6 Koran, box, 34-5-
541
THE HISTORY OF
If the arrow is quivering in the midst of the entrails
how can shields protect the man against it ?
However, I wish to be in partnership with you in this calamity
and to share with you in the endurance of this oppression, and
of the stipend which I receive annually from the Supreme
Divan 38 (may it continue supreme I) there remain but five dinars,
and apart from that there is nought of the vanities of this world
laid up in the inner or outer chambers of my house.* And he
gave orders for this sum to be given to them.
Having seized all that he could [278] Sharaf-ad-Din now
betook himself to Ray, where he repeated his reprehensible
practices, which had the effect of a purgative upon the goods of
Moslems ; for he would bring unveiled women and bare-footed
men out of their houses and lay hands upon their property.
Hither came the tax-collectors from other places such as Isfahan,
Qum, Kashan, Hamadan etc., bringing the sums they had col-
lected. He ordered it all to be taken into the Friday mosque,
the beasts of burden being driven inside the precincts. On the
day of departure there was insufficient material for packing cases
and he personally supervised the use of the mosque carpets for
this purpose.
Setting out from thence he sent someone on in advance to
impose a tax upon the people of Damghan greater than it was
in their power to pay. When the tax-collectors arrived they
hanged women by their breasts and men by their feet. Finally
in their despair the inhabitants of Damghan turned to the
Heretics and surrendered their town to them. The Heretics
came and killed some people but carried most of them off to
the castle of Girdkuh. They destroyed the citadel by flooding
it and levelled its walls with the street, planting corn on the site.
They likewise laid waste the town and all the houses.
As for Amul, Astarabad and Kabud-Jama they were in like
case.
Sharaf-ad-Din sent Mahmud Shah to collect the taxes from
Isfarayin, Juvain, Jajarm, Jurbad and all the territories under the
38 I.e. the Divan of the Caliphate.
542
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
malik Nizam-ad-Din. Because of the fanatical behaviour of the
Shiites towards the Sunnites and because of an ancient quarrel
between Mahmud Shah and the chief men of Isfarayin the fire
of oppression flared up to such an extent that Hajjaj 39 had never
practised the like, so that the greater part of the people were
ruined with bankruptcy and the honour of most of them cast
to the wind. Sharaad-Din likewise sent emissaries to Abivard
to seize the malik Ikhtiyar-ad-Din, upon whose life he harboured
secret designs, let alone his property.
[279] When Sharaf-ad-Din reached Ustuva he lodged near
the Shrine (masbbad)* Q The custodian of the Shrine approached
the Emir Arghun, who gave him alms and ordered the granting
of a patent (parvana) for the rebuilding of the Shrine and the
tilling of the land with oxen (diraz-dmbal). The patent coming
into the hands of this catamite, ignorant of affairs and oblivious
of the Creator, he ordered the custodian to be so soundly boxed
about the ears that he fell stunned and at once lost consciousness.
A month having elapsed since Nauruz he turned the oxen
(chabar-payan) loose amongst the corn.
By the time he reached Tus the malady which he had first
contracted in Tabriz had grown worse and it was only with an
effort that he could stay on his feet.
My endurance of the malicious is to show that I will not
le shaken by the uncertainties of Fate.**
And the Angel of Death having sharpened the teeth of Doom
spoke with the tongue of Destiny :
And when Death spreads out her claws thou shaltfnd no
amulet of any avail*' 1
Finally his strength failed and his infirmity gained the upper
hand. He took to his bed, being no longer able to walk ; and
he became blind in the right eye.
39 The Umayyad viceroy of Arabian Iraq, famous for his severity.
40 I.e. Meshed.
41 From a famous gasida by Abu-Dhu'aib al-Hudhali, an elegy on his children.
See the Kbizanat-al-Adab f Bulaq ed., I, 202. (M.Q.)
543
THE HISTORY OF
Thou didst drink, as in a goblet, the blood of the innocent:
the time has now come to turn up the cup.
But though he lay on the bedding and mattress of death, he still
did not remove the cotton of ignorance from his ears, and still
the belly of his avarice was not filled. He was constantly opening
his mouth and placing his tongue on his palate to say : * So-
and-so must pay so much and such-and-such a one so much/
The turn came even for his own relations, and he attacked the
gains of his very wife and upon her too he imposed a tax of
10,000 dinars. He was now overcome with pain such as the
physicians were powerless to deal with, and he recognized
within him the assaults of the Angel of Death and [280] realized
that resistance to this foe would be impossible. Calling an
assembly he made his will and sent the following message to the
Emir Arghun : * I am on the point of death and there is no
hope of recovery. If the slightest change is made in any measure
that I have instituted or in any tax that I have imposed upon
anyone, or if some deficiency should occur in these matters, then
the whole basis of administration will be thrown into confusion.
As for those persons whom it has been decided to put out of
the way, their lives should on no account be spared/
His message had not yet reached the Emir Arghun before he
had departed in haste c unto the Jire of God and His bell 3 . The
Emir Arghun abolished all the taxes he had instituted and
released all prisoners from their bonds. All creation regarded
Sharaf-ad-Din's death as a wondrous relief and considered the
departure of the calamity of his dishonour to herald the coming
of the good things of this world. God Almighty hath said : c Now
are the two seas alike : the one fresh, sweet, pleasant for drink, and the
other salt, bitter!** Glory be to God, Who createth what He
will in His might ! On the one hand He brings into existence
a person such as this and makes him the target of men's curses,
and on the other hand He makes a man like the Minister Yalavach
Mahmud the centre-point of men's hopes and ambitions ; and
some He afflicts with the former calamity whilst to others He
grants the latter blessings.
42 Koran, xxxv, 13.
544
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
Things are far removed from things which resemble them:
the sky is like water in blueness.^
At the time when this vile wretch was in Tabriz Jamal-ad-
Din 'AH of Tafrish, one of the chief men of Iraq, whom his
opponents, either from jealousy or because it was a fact, accused
of being a bringer of ill-luck, joined his service and was associated
in his actions. Sharaf-ad-Din raised him up because of his help
and support in wickedness and oppression after he had been
shackled with dismissal and seclusion by [281] the hand of the
people's forebodings. ' For some tyrants are letter than others.'
After appointing him Sharaf-ad-Din died, and every con-
temporary has composed a poem on the subject, of which the
following is one:
Alas for the passing of Simal-ad-Din 44 on whose survival
depended the grandeur of the Faith !
They have written on the plaster on his tomb : c This is
the work of the sadr, Jamal-ad-Din. 3
And a poet from Tabriz called Zujaji wrote the following
qifa :
O lucky Jamal c Ali, all the world is glad because of thee.
Thou didst follow him as far as Tus, and in the end he did
not escape thee.
For fear of thee, O Master, the Lord of the Age will not
come out.
The Master of the World, O luckless one, departed from
Tabriz in flight before thee.
No mortal is safe from thee [even] if
he flees to Heaven from thee.
And another contemporary composed the following:
There has died one who revived wicked customs of tyranny
and rose in rebellion against God.
43 Attributed by Tha'alibi in the Tatimmat-al-Yatima both to Abu-Diya
al-Himsi and to Abur-Rumma al-Fusaisi. (M.Q.) See EghbaTs ed., I, 27
and 73.
44 Simal-ad-Din means ' Protector of the Faith ' : it is also possible to read
Sumal-ad-DIn, ' Poison of the Faith '. The reference is of course to Sharaf-
ad-Din.
545
THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
The announcement of bis death came to us at a time when
it was a cool 45 to our burning liver.
Sirs, long may ye live in prosperity ! Recite to one
another : ' I asked a courier coming from Kborasan . . .' 46
[282] Those who have seen Sharaf-ad-Din and known of his
actions will realize that what has been related about his practices
is nothing but a sample, and a brief summary of a lengthy tale,
and one part in a thousand, and a little out of much. But
Heaven forbid that readers of these lines who did not witness
his deeds should accuse the writer of exaggeration and charge
him with malice, 47 which springs from baseness and pusillanimity
and whereof the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him I) hath said :
f Malice is a vile thing? But even if a man might hope to escape
from this abyss, yet malice, which comes from vileness and
cowardice, would still not be seemly.
Say to them that rejoice at our discomfiture : f Come to
your senses, for those who rejoice at our misfortunes
shall themselves encounter what we have encountered! 48
However, the man who is guided by God derives some advantage
from whatever he may consider; and from this event he will
draw the full moral : he will strive after good works and will
avoid and eschew anything in the world or in religion that might
contribute to his decline or bring about his ruin: so may he
achieve good fame in this present world and attain his just desires
in the world to come, if God Almighty so will.
Live in such a way that when thou diest thou shah be free;
live not in such a way that when thou diest [others] will be free.
45 A corrupt word.
46 The beginning of two famous lines by the Minister Ibn-'Abbad upon the
death of Abu-Bakr Khuwarizmi:
I asked a courier coming from Kborasan : ' Has your Khuwarizmi died ? ' 1 was told
'Yes'.
I said : e Write on the plaster of his tomh : " Hath not God cursed whomsoever con-
cealeth blessings?"' (M.Q.)
47 shamatat : more precisely * Schadenfreude '.
48 Attributed in the Hamasa to Farazdaq, in al-Hamasa al-Buhturiya to Malik
b. 'Amr al-Asadi and in the Kkizanat-al-Adal to Dhul-Asba e al-'Adwani.
(M.Q.)
546
THE THIRD PART
OF
JUVAINl's
HISTORY OF THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
May the Lord prosper it !
[DOXOLOGY]
PRAISE and thanksgiving unto God, by the beam of Whose
brightness and purity the radiant stars are resplendent and by
Whose will and command the revolving heavens are maintained
in morion ; the Worshipful One, to worship Whom is meet ;
the Giver, to ask from any other than Whom doth not taste
sweet ; the Maker of being out of nothingness, and then the
Maker of nothingness out of being ; Who raiseth thralls from
baseness to nobility and casteth down the haughty from their
sovereignty; Whom royalty becometh and divinity befitteth.
Seek greatness and eminence at His Court alone ; whatever is
not He is all mere ornament, and deceit, and frivolity ; whoever
out of ignorance chooseth Him not ruin overtaketh him: the
existence of all that beareth the name of existence pertaineth
unto Him; good and evil, profit and loss issue from Him.
[2] To the world Thou art loftiness and lowliness ; I know not
what Thou art, all that is Thou art. 1
And blessings upon the last prophet, the leader of the former
prophets ; the loosener of every bond and the dispenser of every
counsel ; who showed the way to the lost and abhorred not the
sinners amongst his own ; who was sent unto man and peri and
taught on behalf of justice; whose name hath been praised by
every tongue, and whose voice hath been heard by every ear I
1 Sbdbwma ed. Vullers, 1003, 1. 73<5.
N ii. 547
THE HISTORY OF
And blessings likewise upon his chosen friends and laudable
kinsmen, as long as wind, and water, and fire, and earth are
active in creation, and the rose upon fresh, green branches is
the bedfellow of the thorn ! 2
[INTRODUCTION]
WHEREAS in the previous volume l we have recorded the cir-
cumstances of the rise of Chingiz-Khan and his conquest of the
climes, the accession of Qa'an and Giiyiik Khan and the
particulars of the events that occurred during their reigns, in
accordance with our knowledge thereof, and have likewise
recounted the history of the Sultans of Khorazm and other lords
of the marches, to the extent of the information at our disposal,
from the first beginnings of each of them until the end of their
days ; we shall now in this further volume 2 describe the accession
of the World-Emperor Mengii Qa'an and the events and cir-
cumstances, both past and present, of his Khanate, the advance
of the World-Prince Htilegu against the lands of the West and
the particular circumstances of the kings of the age and the
monarchs of the time, in allegiance and rebellion, from the
beginning to the end. And in all cases we seek the pardon of
the All Highest for our actions and words, and beg to be
excused for slips of the pen and faults of style, and look for
forgiveness from the abundance of [God's] unstinting grace,
than which the sinner has not other protection.
2 This passage, in the original, is written in rhyming prose (which I have
imitated in one instance !) and the language is pure Persian, i.e. words of Arabic
origin have been deliberately excluded. One such word however, bavas ' frivolity ',
has been admitted, probably because of the exigencies of the rhyme.
1 tnujallad-j-pfsbma.
2 mujallad-i-digar. On JuvainTs original division of his work into two volumes
see the Introduction, pp. xxvi-xxvii.
548
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
[i]
[3] OF ULUGH-NOYAN * AND SORQOTANI 2 BEKI
BY the yasa and custom of the Mongols the father's place passes
to the youngest son by the chief wife. Such was Ulugh-Noyan,
but it was Chingiz-Khan's yasa that Ogetei should be Khan
and in obedience to his father's command Ulugh-Noyan went
to great pains in order to set Qa'an upon the throne of the
Khanate and was most assiduous in his exertions to establish
him firmly upon the seat of kingship. For between the brothers,
and especially between Qa'an and himself, there was affection
beyond the degree of brotherhood.
The love between us surpassed that of kinship, and what
kinsmen rate (high) became mean \ly comparison]*
He accompanied Qa'an on the campaign against Khitai and,
as has already been recorded, 4 accomplished that mission with
determination, energy, competence and valour, on which account
those eastern provinces were reduced and subjugated.
Upon his return with his will and desire achieved, [4] the
world his thrall and the heavens subservient to his wishes, he
became excessively addicted to the circulating of cups of wine
from morn till eve, and a malady over took him such that two
or three days did not pass before he died. 5
Such is ever the wont of the Blue Circle ; when it sees
contentment it swiftly brings about its decline.
Qa'an was greatly distressed on this account and much agitated
1 I.e. Toli (Tolui). See above, i, 150, n. i.
2 On the spelling of her name see above, i, 108, n. 31.
3 Quoted above, n, 260 [ii, 524]. (M.Q.) 4 See above, i, 191-5*
5 Such was no doubt the truth of the matter, for the Mongols were great
drunkards. The facts have however been curiously idealized in the Mongol
version of Tolui's end. Ogedei had fallen sick during the Chinese campaign,
and his illness was ascribed by the shamans to his being possessed by the local
water spirits. Tolui offered himself as an expiatory victim, drank a bowl of
water over which the shamans had pronounced their incantations and shortly
afterwards died. See the Secret History, 272, also Rashid-ad-Dm ed. Blochet,
220-1.
549
THE HISTORY OF
and disturbed. And as long as he lived he passed his time
in recalling and lamenting his companionship and association
with him.
And when we parted it was as though Malik and I, for all
the length of our union, bad not passed a single night
together*
And whenever in his morning and evening cups wine had
gained the upper hand in his veins and drunkenness firmly
planted its foot, Qa'an would weep and would say : c The
reason for my constant application to wine is the onslaught of
sorrow which arises from grievous separation, and I therefore
choose to be drunk in order that perchance for a while I may
find relief in my heart from the agitation of that sorrow/
Drunkenness is sweet because it separates the 7 from the I,
otherwise how should sense countenance senselessness ?
After [5] Ulugh-Noyan s death Qa an commanded that as
long as he lived affairs of state should be administered in accord-
ance with the counsel of his wife Sorqotani Beki, the niece of
Ong-Khan, by whom he had his eldest sons, Mengii Qa'an,
Qubilai, Hiilegu and Arigh Boke, and that the above-mentioned
sons, the army and the people, great and small, should be under
the control of her command and prohibition, her loosening and
binding, and should not turn their heads from her command-
ment. Now in the management and education of all her sons,
in the administration of affairs of state, in the maintenance of
dignity and prestige and in the execution of business, Beki, by
the nicety of her judgement and discrimination, constructed such
a basis and for the strengthening of these edifices laid such a
foundation that no turban-wearer 7 (kulab-dar) would have been
capable of the like or could have dealt with these matters with
the like brilliance. In any business which Qa'an undertook,
whether with regard to the weal of the Empire or the disposal
6 From the famous elegy of Mutammim b. Nuwaira on his brother Malik.
(M.Q.)
7 Le. man. Cf. above, i, 84, (* both wearers of the veil and those that donned
Mah and turban 5 ) and i, 100, (' both such as donned kulah and turban and such
as wore kerchief and veil*.)
550
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
of the army, he used first to consult and confer with her and
would suffer no change or alteration of whatever she recom-
mended. The ambassadors and elcbis too held her in great
honour and respect; [6] and the dependents and subjects of her
Court in nearest and farthest East and West were distinguished
from those of all the other princes by the dignity and protection
they enjoyed, and 8 because of her zealous concern for each of
them individually their lives were contented and carefree. And
the tax-gatherers, the shahnas and the army, for fear of her punish-
ment and discipline, were fain to deal equitably with the people.
And whenever there was a ymltai or assembly of the princes,
and there was great elegance, and decoration, and adornment,
and embellishment on the part of everybody, she was distinguished
above them all with respect both to her retinue and to her troops.
And her protection was such that when during the reign of
Qa'an certain maliks were involved in a dispute with some of her
dependents regarding the tax and gupcbur to be levied on her
subjects 9 and had committed excesses, she sent messengers to
have the maliks brought to her presence and after the establish-
ment of evidence had them put to death.
As for her control and management of her sons, though each
of them is a khan and a personality in the mould of his intellect,
and superior to all [other] princes in shrewdness and sagacity,
[7] nevertheless, whenever by reason of the occurrence of a death
they awaited the accession of a new khan, she would allow no
change or alteration of the ancient ordinances or yasaSj although,
in fact, they had the licence of authority and of command and
prohibition. So it was that when Guyiik Khan was raised to
the Khanate and there was search and inquiry as to which of the
princes had deviated from the yasa and established custom and
had issued paiz& and yarligbs, he commanded that every order
and paiza that had been issued since the death of Qa'an should
be withdrawn. And in the guriltai, in the presence of all, most
of the decrees which they had issued with regard to the assign-
ment of taxes and the appointment and dismissal of tax-gatherers
8 Omitting dar sbctrq va gkarb ' in the East and the West ' with G.
9 ra'iyatan-Massa, i.e. her private subjects, the dependents of her Private Purse.
551
THE HISTORY OF
were laid before the princes [responsible for them]. All were
put to shame save only Beki and her sons, who had not swerved
a hair's breadth from the law, and this because of her great
wisdom, self-discipline and consideration of the latter end of
things, whereof even wise and experienced men are negligent.
And if women were like unto her, then would women le superior
to men. 10
And at the time of the accession of Mengu Qa'an to the throne
of the Khanate the same thing happened again, because after
Giiyiik Khan's death everyone had issued his own decrees.
As for Beki, from the time [8] when Ulugh-Noyan passed
away, she had won favour on all sides by the bestowing of gifts
and presents upon her family and kindred and dispensing
largesse to troops and strangers and so rendered all subject to
her will and planted love and affection in everyone's heart and
soul, so that when the death of Guyiik Khan occurred most
men were agreed and of one mind as to the entrusting of the keys
of the Khanate to her son Mengii Qa'an. For the report of her
wisdom and prudence and the fame of her counsel and sagacity
had spread to all parts, and none would gainsay her word.
Furthermore, in the management of her household and in the
ceremonial of her court she laid for kinsmen and stranger such
a foundation as the khans of the world had not been capable
of.
And so she continued until the time when God Almighty
through the mediation of her experience laid the bride of king-
ship in the bosom of Mengii Qa'an's distinction. And her
hand was ever open in munificence and benefaction, and although
she was a follower and devotee of the religion of Jesus she would
bestow alms and presents upon imams and shaikhs and strove also
to revive the sacred observances of the faith of Mohammed (may
God ttess him an&give him peace !). And the token [9] and proof
of this statement is that she gave 1000 silver lalish that a college
(madrasa) might be built in Bokhara, of which pious foundation
the sbaikb-al-Islam Saif-ad-Din of Bakharz should be admin-
10 Mutanabbi. (M.Q.)
55*
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
istrator and superintendent; and she commanded that villages
should be bought, an endowment made and teachers and
students accommodated [in the college]. And always she
would send alms to all parts to be distributed among the poor
and needy of the Moslems ; and so she continued until in Zul-
Hijja of the year 649 [February-March, 1252], when the
Destroyer of Delights sounded the note of departure.
PI]
OF BACHMAN 1 AND HIS DESTRUCTION
WHEN Qa'an dispatched Mengii Qa'an, Batu and the other
princes to conquer the countries of the Bulghar, As 2 and Rus
and the Qifchaq, Alan 2 and other tribes, all those regions were
cleared of mischief-makers and such as had escaped the sword
bowed their heads in submission. However, one of the dis-
comfited Qifchaq chieftains [10], a man called Bachman, had
evaded pursuit together with a band of Qifchaq warriors, and
he had been joined by other fugitives. Having no lair or hiding-
place to serve as base he betook himself every day and every
night to a different spot. And because of his dog-like nature
he would strike wolf-like on every side and make off with some-
thing. Gradually his evil grew worse and he wrought greater
mischief; and wherever the army sought him they could not
find him since he had departed elsewhere and hidden his tracks.
Most of his refuges and hiding-places were on the banks of
the Etil. 3 Here he would lie concealed in the forests, from which
he would spring out like a jackal, seize hold of something and
hide himself once again. Prince Mengii Qa'an ordered 200
1 BjMN. The Pa-ch'ih-man, i.e. Bachman, of the Yuan shib. See Pelliot,
A propos des Cowans, 166.
2 This separate mention of the As and the Alan makes one wonder whether
Juvaini did not realize that they were one and the same people, the ancestors
of the present-day Ossetes. On the other hand it may be that the As formed
the western part of the federation, particularly in the territory later occupied by
the Bulghar Turks. (V.M.)
3 I.e. the Volga. See above, i, 267, n. 4.
553
THE HISTORY OF
boats to be constructed and 100 fully armed Mongols to be set
in each. Then he and his brother Bochek * formed a nerge 5 on
either side of the river. Coming to one of the forests along the
Etil they found the traces of an encampment that had been
vacated that very morning : broken waggons and [11] the dung
of men and beasts lying around. Amidst all this rubbish they
caught sight of a sick old woman. They asked her what had
happened, who the horsemen were, and where, and of what
manner. They discovered that Bachman had decamped that
very moment and taken refuge on an island in the middle of
the river and that all the animals and wares he had stolen in
the course of his depredations were likewise on that island.
They had no boats with them, and the river was billowing like
a sea so that it was impossible to swim in it, let alone ride a
horse. Suddenly a wind sprang up and blew away the water
from the approach to the island so that the bottom appeared.
Mengu Qa'an ordered the troops to ride in without delay.
Bachman was seized before he was aware, and his army was
destroyed within an hour, some being flung into the river and
others' killed outright. The Mongols bore off their wives and
children as prisoners, and they likewise carried off much valuable
booty. Then they returned. The water 'began to move and
when the troops had crossed it was back again without one
soldier's having suffered harm.
When Bachman was brought before Mengu Qa'an he begged
to be put to death by the latter's own hand. Instead he ordered
his younger brother Bochek to cut him in half. 6
These indications provide a reason for the transfer of power
and the key of empire to the World-Emperor Mengu Qa'an
such as requires no further demonstration.
4 He was actually Mongke's half-brother. See above, i, 269, n. 3.
6 An encircling movement as in the fatttfc. See above, i, 28.
e This operation against Bachman was carried out in the winter of 1236-7.
See Pelliot, op. at., 167. Pelliot, itid., i<5<5, quotes the account in the Ytian sbib.
For Rashid-ad-Din's version see Minorsky, Caucasia 111, 225.
554
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
[12] [III]
OF THE ACCESSION OF THE LORD OF THE
SEVEN CLIMES, THE JUST EMPEROR, MENGU QA*AN,
TO THE THRONE OF THE KHANATE, AND OF HIS
SPREADING THE CARPET OF NUSHIRVANIAN JUSTICE,
AND REVIVING THE PRACTICES OF SOVEREIGNTY,
AND LAYING DOWN THE PRINCIPLES OF MONARCHY
WHEN God the Glorious and the Exalted wishes to make one
of His servants a leader and to place the crown of kingship and
the diadem of sovereignty upon his head, so that by his justice
and equity the desolate world may bloom again and the lot of
the denizens of the habitable quarter benefit from the flow of
His bounteous compassion ; in the first place, the nature of e He
created souh before bodies' adorns that mans being with the
embroidery of bliss and illumines his soul with the lights of
sound judgement ; and then, when he comes from the highest
world to the lowest halting-place, God rears his nature in the
cradle of wisdom and sagacity, and puts the breast of the nurse
that is all gentleness and gravity to the mouth of his inner know-
ledge, and inspires him to righteous deeds and actions and
straightforward speech, and curbs him in his coinings and goings
[13] with the bridle of understanding, so that gradually, day by
day, he ascends the steps of greatness and, hour by hour, receives
instruction from Fortune and Prosperity.
When Fortune wishes to rear a rose, she produces it and
then wishes for a man.
First Prosperity stitches a Teulah, then she pkces it on
the head of a king.
A diver raises pearls from the sea, in a short time they
find a place of honour upon crowns. 1
And so, when the time comes for the manifestation of wisdom
and might, there appears in the rising-place of the sun of honour
and glory the first signs of the dawn-break of Fortune, and as a
preliminary thereto, because
things are male plain fy their opposite*,*
1 From the Khisrau u Sbirm of Nizami. 2 Mutanabbi. (M.Q.)
555
THE HISTORY OF
by inflexible Destiny the world is filled with the darkness of
injustice and iniquity, and the sweetness of life and the pleasure
of existence produce the bitterness of myrrh upon the palate of
the soul, so that the servants of God, when that Fortune has
passed from potentiality into actuality and from non-existence
into existence, may know the value of that immense boon and
give thanks for that mighty blessing.
Now the proof of this statement is that after the death of
Qa'an the affairs of the world had been diverted from the path
of rectitude and the reins of commerce and fair dealing turned
aside from the highway of righteousness. The darkness of
tyranny, i.e. c darkness upon darkness '* piled up, and the waves
of the seas of events clashed together. The people were crushed
and trodden underfoot by the mighty and from the frequency
of oppression were left without money or [14] property ; and
the cup of the world was filled to the brim with the drink of
iniquity. ElcUs poured down upon the lands like drops of
rain; taxgatherers (muhassildn) sped like arrows from a bow
to collect unlawful taxes; 4 and the people, dragged now this
way, now that, were at their wits* end, for they had neither
the endurance to stay nor did they know of a place to which
they might flee.
The cruelty of the revolving cupola has reached such a
degree that a higher degree is unimaginable.
But when violence and injustice had reached their culmination
and iniquity and wickedness developed to their extreme, the
tradition : ' When it is most severe it will be relieved > was verified
and the verse : ' Verily dong with trouble cometh ease * 5 confirmed ;
and the gates of c The mercy which God layeth open for man, no one
can keep lack ' 6 were flung open and the provisions of
When a situation is desperate it is nearest to relief
got ready.
3 Koran, xxiv, 40. 4 Or perhaps ' taxes not yet due '.
6 Koran, xciv, 5 or 6. 6 JS/i, xxxv, 2.
55*
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Mirth has come after grief, just as in the autumn time the
breeze from the train of the grace of early spring has
come.
The cry of the lute, the sound of song and the plaint of
the harp have risen from the feast to the green heavens
of the world.
[15] The pattern that emerges from all this can be [only]
that the grace of the Creator has come to aid us.
That is to say, the keys of the kingdom of c For the earth is God's :
to such of His servants as He pleaseth doth He give it as a heritage 3 7
were laid in the powerful hand of the Supreme Monarch, the
Lord of all mankind, the Khan of all Khans, Arab and non-
Arab, Mengu Qa'an (may he live till the end of the world !);
and the surface of the face of the earth was again decked out and
adorned because of his all-embracing justice, and the affairs of
mankind in general and the concerns of the Moslems in particular
took on a new freshness and brilliance. Of this the circumstances
are made plain in the events which shall be described and the
truth hereof expounded in the chapters that shall be written.
' And our trust is in the grace of our Lord. Verily, it is He to Whom
we turn for aid ! y
Batu had set out from his ordu in the Bulghar and Saqsin
country to proceed to the Court of Giiyiik Khan and had arrived
in Ala-Qamaq, 8 which is a week's distance from the town of
Qayaligh, when he heard the report of [16] Giiyiik Khan's
death. He halted where he was and sent messenger after mes-
senger to his kinsmen on every side to announce his arrival : he
bade them present themselves [before him there]. Mengii Qa'an
set out from the region of Qara-Qorum. As for Siremiin and
the other grandsons and wives of Qa'an who were in that region,
they sent Qonqurtaqai 9 Noyan, the emir of Qara-Qorum, as
their agent and gave a written undertaking to the following
effect : ' Batu is aqa 10 to all the princes. Whatever he commands
7 Koran, vii, 125.
8 See above, i, 263, n. 3.
9 Reading QNQWRTQAY for the QNQWRBQAY of the text. See
Pelliot, Horde d'Or, 9in.
10 Le. ' elder brother ', ' senior '.
557
THE HISTORY OF
his word is law. We consent thereto nor shall we refuse what-
ever he prescribes and sees fit.* As for the other princes, [viz.]
the sons of Giiyiik Khan, being already in that neighbourhood,
they came to Batu in advance [of the rest]. They remained a
day or two and then, without seeking permission, turned back
towards their own ordu on the pretext that the practitioners of the
science of the qam had not sanctioned a longer stay. They left
Temiir Noyan as their agent with Batu with instructions that
when the necklaces of the assembly were strung together, in any
deliberation in which agreement was reached between aqa and
// u he too should give his consent.
The princes now presented themselves from every side. Of
the sons of Qa'an there came Qadaghan Oghul and of the sons
and grandsons of [17] Chaghatai, Qara-Hulegii and Mochi. 12
[There came also] Mengii Qa'an with his brothers Moge and
Arigh Boke and of the emirs Uhatai 13 and Yesii-Buqa ; 14 and
from other directions came the emirs and noyans and the other
princes and nephews of Batu. They held a great assembly and
after feasting for some days deliberated together about the entrust-
ing of the Khanate to a person who was fitted thereto and had
experienced the good and ill, the weal and woe of action, and
tasted the sweet and bitter of life, and led armies far and near, and
won renown in banquets and victory in battles. For days and
nights they weighed and pondered this matter, that is which
prince there was of the sons and grandsons of the race and lineage
(uwgb) of Chingiz-Khan who by his sound judgement and
11 I.e. all, lit. 'elder brother and younger brother'.
12 Qara-Hiilegii was a grandson (son of Metiken). Rashid-ad-Din mentions
two Modus a son (Mochi-Yebe) and a grandson (son of Baiju). See Blochet,
156 and 177. Presumably the elder Mochi is meant here. He appears to be
identical with the Mauci or Maucy of Carpini. It was Mauci, whose territory
lay along the eastern banks of the Dnieper, who detained the members of Car-
pini*s party sent back from Batu's camp with a message for the Pope. See Rock-
hill, 8, ii and 31. His name means * carpenter*. See Grousset, L f Empire
Mongol, 483.
13 AWHTAY. 'ThemanoftheUhaz/ On the Uhaz-Merkit or Uwas-
Merkit see Pelliot-Hambis, Cmpagnes, 275.
14 YYSW BWQA. This name was borne by a son of Belgutei, Chingiz-
Khan's half-brother. See Hambis, Le cbapitre CVII, 48 and 49, n. i.
558
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
penetrating counsel might control the lands and guard the roads ;
for if the affairs of the Empire were to remain neglected as they
were the very basis of the commonweal would be overturned and
the knots of administration loosened, so that the ordering thereof
by the hand of wisdom and policy would be impossible and
the mending [18] thereof by deliberation inconceivable.
And no lord shall fa lost to us ever fat we shall rear amongst us
a lad to le our lord. 15
Finally after much thought and reflection all present in that
assembly, whether princes or emirs and noyans, arrived at the
decision that since Batu was the eldest of the princes and the
leader amongst them he was best conversant with the good and
ill in the affairs of the realm and dynasty (daulat). It was for
him to decide whether he should become Khan, himself or
suggest another as Khan. All being agreed on this decision
they gave written undertakings that they would in no way go
back on their word or contravene Batu's command. And
having thus concluded and wound up their discussion that day
they began to drink and make merry.
The next day when the banner of the light of day was unfurled
and the veil of darkness removed
A day such that [even] the world-illuminating lantern became
bright of eye from [contemplating] it;
Its dawn having risen out of Paradise, its wind experienced the breath
of the Messiah
the necklace of the princes' assembly was as on the previous
day strung in the manner of the Pleiades. Batu took up the
speeches of that day and none having anything to add thereto
he continued as follows : e The administration of so great a
realm and the advancement of so delicate a matter [19] can be
effected by such a person, and only such a person can extricate
himself from the straits of entrance and egress, as has known and
experienced the yasa of Chingiz-Khan and the customs of Qa'an,
16 From verses by Bashama b. Hazm an-Nahshali, one of which has already
been quoted above, I, 143 [i, 181]. (M.Q.)
559
THE HISTORY OF
and in the race-course of wisdom and the hippodrome of manli-
ness has borne off the reed 16 of excellence from all his peers and
equals, and has in person supervised important affairs and been
in charge of weighty matters, and in the overcoming of difficulties
and the crushing of rebels has provided unanswerable proofs.
Now of the lineage (uwgb) of Chingiz-Khan is Mengii Qa'an,
who is famous for his shrewdness and bravery and celebrated
for his sagacity and valour. The affairs of the Khanate should
be ordered and regulated by the excellence of his world-adorning
counsel and the welfare of land and people assured by the good
fortune of his knot-loosening resolution and forethought.
In this world there always appears the affair for every man
and the man for every affair.
" There are men for every action and everything is possible to such as
are created for it! 3 I shall place the reins of this affair in the
hands of his proficiency and put the signet of the Empire upon
the finger of his resolve and experience, for that unbroken horse,
the world, will be tamed beneath the thighs of his severity and
valour and the sword that protects the commonweal and guards
the frontiers will be unsheathed from the scabbard of his resolve
and intrepidity.'
Hearing these words with the ear of intelligence and under-
standing all present knew of a certainty that the profits and
advantages hereof would accrue to all mankind and to themselves
in particular and that whatever was beyond this would be
redundant * when thou dost pass beyond the straight it is
crooked *. They exclaimed as one man : e fe Thou hast givm the
bow to him that shaped it and hast settled in the house [20] him that built
it!' 17 Beyond this stage there is no thoroughfare. " There is no
village beyond 'Abbadan. 18 " ' And each said truthfully in allegory :
16 A reference to the Arab custom of planting a reed in the ground to serve
as a kind of winning-post : it would be snatched up and flung in front of him
by the leading horseman.
17 From the MaqSmSt of Hariri. (M.Q.)
18 'Abbadan is the original Arabic spelling of Abadan, which in the Middle
Ages was situated on the sea-coast. See le Strange, The Lanfo of the Eastern
Caliphate, 48-9.
560
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
' If I tear my heart away from thee and take my love from thee,
upon whom shall I cast that love, whither shall I take that *
heart?' 19
And every jewel comes to rest when it finds its proper setting.
However Mengu Qa an would not consent and for days he
continued to refuse and would not undertake this immense
charge nor accept this mighty obligation. When this persistence
had exceeded all bounds his brother Moge 20 Oghul, who was
adorned with the jewel of wisdom and authority, rose to his feet
and said : * In this assembly we have all given written under-
takings and in this meeting we have all promised to abide by Batu
QaWs 21 commands, and suffer no change or alteration thereof,
and desire no addition to his words. But since now Mengii
Qa'an seeks to deviate from the advice of the aqa and his own
statement, if hereafter aqa and ini should disagree on some matter,
let it not give rise to censure or be the subject of reproach/
He spoke in this fashion and with the diamond of his tongue
pierced the pearl of this affair. It was a clear proof and a
decisive demonstration, and Batu praised these words and
applauded Moge. And Mengu Qa an was convinced. 22
And since the rare and wonderful works of God had made
the sapling of kingship firm of root and lofty of branch beside
the stream of ' And We made you 'kings 7 3 Batu, as is the custom
of the Mongols, rose up and all the princes and noyans knelt
down with him. He then seized a goblet and set the Khanate
in its proper place. All the preachers and novices 24 approved
his action.
19 This line occurs in a gbazal of Kamal-ad-Din Isma'il (f 1237) but must
be a quotation from an earlier poem for it appears in the KcMa u Dimna of Nas-
rallah written nearly 100 years earlier. See M.Q.'s additional note at the end
of his introduction to DJ, xxix-xxx.
20 See above, p. 518, n. 10.
21 It is very strange that Juvaini should here give Batu the title of qa'an, i.e.
Great Khan. Some of the MSS. have Batu Qa'an Aqa and M.Q. suggests
that the original text may have had simply Batu Aqa, i.e. Batu the Senior Prince.
22 Reading mulzam with B.
23 Apparently a misquotation of Koran, v, 23 : ' He [God] made you kings.'
24 Apparently * old and young *, with perhaps a reference to Buddhist priests.
561
THE HISTORY OF
The leadership has come to thee submissively, trailing
its skirts towards tbee.
It was ft only for him and be was ft only for it.
Had another than he desired it, the earth would have
quaked with quakes.* 5
Everyone who was present in that assembly acclaimed [Mengii
Qa'an] as sovereign, and they arranged to hold the great quriltd
in Onan-Keliiren 26 in the new year. And with this intention
each returned to his own encampment.
Tidings hereof spread throughout the world and penetrated to
the farthest corners of the earth. And Sorqotani Beki began to
cultivate strangers with all kinds of attentions and favour and
to win over kinsmen and relations with all means of courtesy
and diplomacy.
As for those who spoke evasively [22] and postponed [a
decision] on this matter, fabricating tales and inventing stories,
on the pretext that the Khanate ought to remain in the family
(urugb) of Qa'an or Giiytik Khan, they forgot the subtlety of
Thou ffvetf power to whom thou wilt ' 27 and therefore dispatched
messenger after messenger in all directions and also sent messages
to Batu to say that they dissented from that agreement and did
not acquiesce in that covenant.
Batu would reply : * With the agreement of the aqa and ini
we have settled this matter and the discussion is over " the
matter is decreed concerning which ye inquire "?* It is impossible to
abrogate it, and if we did not proceed in the matter in this
fashion and if another than Mengii Qa'an were to be nominated,
the order of affairs would be upset and the laws of the realm and
the concerns of the people thrown into confusion to such an
extent that it would be impossible to set matters to rights. And
if you ponder this business well with the eye of reflection and
farsightedness, it will be clear to you that the interests of Qa'an's
25 Slightly adapted from a qastaa by Abul-'Atahiya in praise of the Caliph
al-Mahdi. (M.Q.)
26 I.e. the territory between the Onon and the Kerulen. Cf. Rubruck:
. . . Onankerule which is as it were their original home, and in which is
the ordu of Chingis chan.* (Rockhill, 165.)
27 Koran, iii, 25. ** M. f xii, 41.
562
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
sons and grandsons have been respected, for the administration
of so great an empire, which stretches from the farthermost East
to the uttermost West, is beyond the strength and knowledge of
mere children/
Amidst such exchanges the appointed year came to an end
and the next year was half over, and still there was no sign of
the conclusion of that matter. Meanwhile with each year that
passed the affairs of the world became more desperate, and with
every month the garment of the people's livelihood more ragged.
Batu sent his brothers Berke and Toqa-Temiir as his representa-
tives. [23] Qadaghan set out too, as did also Qara-Hulegii.
And the other princes who were of one mind began to journey
[thither]. From Ulugh-Ef, which is the ordu of Chingiz-
Khan, 29 came other princes.
Meanwhile Mengii Qa'an and Sorqotani Beki sent to those
who were not constant and sincere of heart and trod the pathway
of consideration, friendliness and helpful advice' you must pa
the camel before you can milk it 3 . Since their exhortations and
admonishments produced no effect upon them and [24] there
was no sign of any change in their attitude, they dispatched
messenger after messenger to them, now cajoling them, now
making use of threats and menaces ; and so they reinforced their
argument hoping that they might be restrained by kindness
and conciliation and aroused from the slumber of pride and
negligence. But far-sighted Wisdom would say:
O thou who rebukest lovers, let le a fand that God has
led astray as He will lead them aright.
Reproach produces no effect upon endeavours whereof the
nearest to tbee are the farthest from thee. 3
The unlucky man never does anything at the bidding of the
wise man; never by any device can the unlucky man
become lucky.
29 Ulugh-Ef (see above, p. 504, n. 10) was the ordu, not of Chingiz-Khan,
but of his son ChaghataL However the name means simply * Great House '
and may have been applied to some other ordu also. In any case Chaghatai's
ordu cannot be meant here since his successor Qara-Hiilegu has already been
mentioned, presumably coining from elsewhere.
30 Mutanabbi. (M.Q.)
o ii. 5<53
THE HISTORY OF
When that year drew to an end and there reached men's
hearts the gladness of the following spring, the Lord of the
Planets began to proceed gradually from the places of his fall
and detriment to his apogee in mansions of honour and glory
and to direct his course towards the house of his exaltation. Like
the victorious Khusrau Parviz 31 he set his world-illuminating
face towards the residence of power. And when he placed the
burden of royalty upon the litter of Aries, the fertile winds began
to blow and move in a gentle manner like the Northern zephyr,
which blowing from the bedchamber of the rose stirs the base
of the sweet herbs. And the straitened 32 ponds that had
been shackled by the cold of Dai 33 [25] and like Bahman 34
imprisoned in the bonds of snow and ice (babman)j by the efforts
of the gentle breeze now became open-hearted and loose of rein.
Through the effort of the breeze there appeared on the
surface of the water a thousand ripples (chin), and
upon every ripple a thousand Chinese (Cfo#) musk-bags.
And the soil of the earth waxed joyous and merry from the
heat of the fiery exhalations. The natural powers [of living
organisms] came into action with their growth and development,
and birds burst into song in the meadows.
Now we must drink sweet-tasting wine, for the scent of
musk arises from the stream.
Every garden is covered with the petals of flowers ; every
mountain is full of tulips and hyacinths. 35
The lustre of verdure and freshness came to the face of the world.
The branches [of the trees] stretched their necks and thrust out
green heads. The gardens, like sprightly, well-shaped ladies,
grew daily (ruz-afzun amadand) nearer to their heart's desire.
The fruit blossom and the water-lily were splendid and glorious
in a hundred thousand ways. The judas-tree stole the colour
of the cheek. The camomile borrowed the sparkle and purity
31 The last of the great Sassanians, Chosroes II (590-628), the antagonist
of Heraclius.
32 fast-tang, i.e. frozen. 33 December-January.
34 January-February.
35 Sbabnama ed. Vullers, 1630, 11. 2372 and 2376.
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
of the loved one's teeth. The violet was sweet-scented from the
locks of its gbaliya 36 hair and turned inwards (tut far tut) like
the faces of lovers. The flowers still in bud were like coquettish
sweethearts or pleasures without pain. The jessamine drew all
eyes upon it in the meadow, and the jonquil (nasrin) adorned
the earth like the two Eagles (nasrain) 37 in the heavens. The
narcissus, like quiver-bearing Turks, illumined the garden with
head held high. And the mouth of the tulip, like the mouth
of a cup, was merry with rose-coloured wine. [26] From the
scattering of flowers upon them thou wouldst have thought the
channels of water to be Indian swords of enchased steel. The
melodious nightingale, like the ten-tongued lily, sang a thousand
songs in praise of garden and meadow, and the minstrels
accompanied the tune of the lark. And the following bilingual
(muhmnuf) qit'a of the sahib-divan of the Lands 38 (may God
lengthen his life !) which, in the flower of his youth, he had
composed and put together like puffs of the Eastern zephyr,
became the morning and evening refrain of the treble and bass
of harp and organ (arghaniin) :
The turtle-doves have lamented upon the tree, and the
garden has spread perfume like Comorin aloes.
The air has become scented: since thou hast musk it is
fitting that thou shouldst keep vigil all night
alone [with her].
Pass round the cup, O friend, let us be merry like the
wild stock (khuzama) and the spice (bahar).
The lips of the bud have opened in a smile because of the
spring cloud.
The gardens have smiled because of the camomile, just as
the twinkling stars have appeared on the horizon.
Since the preparations have been made for merrymaking thou
wilt consent to unite with me this one night.
Like the days of union with the damsel with the mole, the state
of the weather was as temperate as could be wished and the
sickness of the year was changed to health. The world was a
rose-garden and the season resplendent.
86 See above, i, 170, n. 5. 37 The constellations Aquila and Lyra.
38 I.e. Juvaini's father. See above, p. 488,
565
THE HISTORY OF
This spring and these lights of it excellent ate Its
nights and excellent its days?*
Most of the princes now assembled on the Kelliren. They
sent Shilemun 40 Bitikchi [27] to Oghul-Ghaimish and her sons
Khoja and Naqu and *Alam~Dar 41 Bitikchi to Yesti-Mengu
with the following message : * Most of the family of Chingiz-
Khan have gathered together and the business of the quriltai has
been delayed until now because of you. There is no more time
for excuses and procrastination. If you have a mind to concord
and unity you should present yourselves as soon as possible at
the quriltoi in order that the affairs of the realm may be dealt with
in unanimity and the foul veil of estrangement (vahshat) and
duplicity removed from the countenance of harmony/
Previously Siremiin also had sent messengers to Khoja and
Naqu, for a feeling of friendship and amity had sprung up
between them since
in times of stress ill feelings disappear. 4 ' 2
When they realized that no good would come of deferment Naqu
Oghul set out. Qadaq Noyan and some of the emirs of the
Court of Giiyiik Khan likewise set out. And [28] Yesiin-
Toqa 43 Oghul, the brother of Qara-Hiilegii, [setting out] from
his place of abode came with them to join Siremun, so that all
these were assembled in one spot; and it was rumoured that
they were hatching some plot against the Moslems.
Thereafter Khoja also gradually began to move, saying now
* to-day/ now c to-morrow * and causing time to pass with
* perhaps ' and * peradventure.' And they all still imagined that
the business of the quriltai could not progress or be successful
without their presence and that the question [of the accession]
39 From the verses of Abul-Ghana*im al-Mausili quoted by Tha'alibi in the
Tatimmat-d-Yatima. (M.Q.) See EghbaTs ed., I, 47.
40 Shilemun, like Siremun, appears to be a Turco-Mongolian form of Solomon.
See above, i, 251, n. 14.
41 A Mongol with the Persian name of *Alam-Dar ('Standard-Bearer')
appears in Rashid-ad-Din ed. Blochet, 383 et stq.
42 The second half of a lait by ' Uwaif al-Qawaf i, a poet of the Hamasa. (M.Q.)
43 See above, i, 249, n. 4.
566
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
could not be settled. Siremiin and Naqu being the nearest, the
princes, emirs and noyans in attendance on Mengii Qa'an sent
a joint message to them to this effect : * If you intend to be
listless and laggardly in proceeding to the assembly, we [by
ourselves] shall raise Mengii Qa'an to the Khanate/ Realizing
that delay and deferment would not conduce to the attainment
of their aims and desires they gave their promise to reach the
assembly at such-and-such a time. And they set out with the
speed oif the fixed stars, travelling slowly with horses, horsemen
and troops, [29] with heavily loaded camels and countless
wagons.
How slow is the camels' gait whether they carry stone or iron,
Or men sitting crouched I 44
When the appointed time had passed and they still showed no
haste to appear and their delay and deferment had exceeded all
bounds a group of wise men and astrologers who were present
at that assembly selected the 9th of Rabi e II of the year 649
[ist of July, 1251] because of a horoscope such that the fortunate
planets might glean after its fortune, and Jupiter seek to purchase
its effects, and Venus light herself with its lights. And one of
the indications of daily-increasing fortune was that in those few
days the clouds had piled up, and the rains poured down, and
the face of the sun was enclosed behind a veil of vapour and a
screen of mist ; and at the selected hour the astrologers were
writing but the dark clouds kept off the radiation and they were
unable to take the altitude. Suddenly the fair countenance of
the sun, like a bride displayed to the bridegroom after being
guarded, and kept from him, and denied to him, cast aside its
veil at the chosen hour, and the sky was uncovered enough to
reveal the globe of the sun and was cleared of the turbidity of
the fog; and [30] the astrologers began to take the altitude.
The world was adorned with light and brightness, and the
face of the earth emptied of shadow and darkness. The rising
44 Attributed to az-Zabba, Queen of Mesopotamia, in a story related in the
Kitab-al-Aghani. (M.Q.) On az-Zabba see Nicholson, A Literary History of
the Arabs, 35-7.
567
THE HISTORY OF
of the house of the Greater Benefic 45 was ascertained from the
movement of the heavens and the strength of the angle of the
Ascendant determined: the maleficent planets and the Dark
Degrees 46 were cadent from the fortunate Ascendant, the
Greater Luminary 47 was erect in its apogee in the Tenth House
and the Anaretae (qavat?)** resident in the Twelfth.
All those present the princes such as Berke Oghul and his
brother Toqa-Temiir, their uncle 49 Elchitei the elder, the sons
of Otegin, Koten and Kolgen, and the emirs, noyans and great
officials of the orlu of Chingiz-Khan as well as such other leaders
as were in that neighbourhood, together with troops beyond
number or computation [of all these] the princes took off their
hats inside the oritt, slung their belts over their shoulders and
raising up Mengii set him upon the throne of sovereignty and
kingship. They named him Mengii Qa'an, and from the
ringing of the heavens there came this cry as augury to the ear
of the innermost soul:
[31] * O king, remain a thousand years in thy kingdom, and then
lor a thousand years take pride in thy glory,
Every year a thousand months, every month a hundred days,
every day a thousand hours and every hour a thousand years.'
As for the emirs and troops they drew up outside the ordu
more than a thousand men of action, famous warriors, who in
truth were lions of battle at the moment of revenge or when in
desperate straits
A band of men like gloomy Night and broadswords which shone
like the dawn of a dark night
and, at the same time as the princes inside the ordu, knelt three
times. 50
And when the World-Emperor had auspiciously seated him-
45 I.e. Jupiter.
46 On the Dark Degrees see Biruni, The Book of Instruction in the Elements*
of Astrology, 270. It may be however that the Dark Signs Leo, Scorpio and
Sagittarius are meant here. (B# v 214.)
47 Le. the Sun. Sce above, p. 362, n. i.
49 Rather their cousin, for he was the son of Chingiz-Khan's brother Qachi'un.
50 Or * nine rimes * as in several MSS. So also above, i, 252.
568
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
self upon the couch of the Empire, like the sun in the zenith of
power, his magnanimity so required it that some ease and com-
fort should at once be enjoyed by every kind of living creature
and every variety of inorganic matter. He therefore made a yasa
that on that lucky day no man should tread the path of strife
and contention ; people should not engage in acts of hostility
and enmity towards one another but should enjoy themselves and
make merry. And since the human species was receiving its
due of life in all manner of enjoyment and self-indulgence,
so too all the other animals should not go without their share,
and therefore those domesticated animals used for riding or as
beasts of burden should not be subjected to the discomfort of
loads, chains, hobbles, shackles and straps [32], while as for
those which are slaughtered for their flesh 51 in accordance with
the just Shari'at, their blood should remain unshed in the asylum
of security, so that for one day, like the doves in a sanctuary,
they might pass their time in ease and tranquillity. And as for
the wild creatures that fly or graze, on land and in the water,
they should have a respite from the attack of attackers ; 52 and beat
their wings to their heart's content in the gardens of safety.
The air is clear for tbee, so lay thy tggs, and whistle,
and peck as long as thou wishest to peck.
The hunter has departed from thee, so rejoice. 5 *
And since all living creatures had had their full benefit from
his daily-increasing fortune, the inorganic bodies also, which are
likewise the work of the Creator (glorious is His name !) and
every one of the atoms of His creation has in it its own particular
secret meaning : f O our Lord ! thou bast not created this in vain ' 54
should not be deprived of that mercy since ' there is nought
which doth not celebrate His praise. 3 55 Therefore the brain of the
earth should not be given a headache through the pain caused
by tent-pegs and digging ; and the soul of the water should not
be polluted by the discharge of impurities. Praise God for a
5:L gtishti. See above, p. 450, n. 4. 52 Reading qasidan with E.
53 Tarafa b. al-'Abd at-Taghlabi. (M.Q.)
54 Koran, iii, 188. - 65 Ji/i, xvii, 46,
569
THE HISTORY OF
being whom the Almighty makes the source of [33] compassion
and the meeting-place of equity to such an extent that He causes
his acts of charity to be dispensed upon whatever bears a name,
even brute animals and lifeless stones ! Now if a man of insight
considers these subtleties deductively, and draws the conclusion
therefrom, and ponders and reflects upon the inner meaning of
these circumstances, whereof with the passing of months and
years the picture will remain engraved upon the face of Life, so
will be ascertained and determined the extent and degree of the
benevolent attention of his august mind to improving the lot of
the weak and poor and his extreme concern for spreading his
all-embracing- justice and mercy among great and small May
God (gnat is His glory !) grant him the enjoyment and pleasure
of empire and sovereignty for endless years to come !
In this manner they passed that day until nightfall and when
night came each departed to his quarters. On the next day
when the black-garbed army of Night turned their backs in
flight before the vanguard of Daybreak and the Khusrau of the
planets rose, victorious and triumphant, above the horizon, the
princes began to rejoice, and make merry, and spread the carpet
of gaiety, making, as it were, the following words their refrain :
The locks of Night are thrown back from the cheek of Day :
it is time for the drunk to make merry again.
The cupbearers are busy bringing in the rose-coloured wine, the
aroma, of which is taken from the pleasant breath of the censer. 56
And that day the feasting took place in the tent which the
Supreme Minister (sahtb-i-azam) Yalavach (God strengthen the
foundations ^"[34] his power !) had constructed of cloths of splendid
texture resembling the green cupola and a model of the highest
vault, whereof the designs (ashkal) from the abundance of the
embroidery and the beauty of the colouring appeared as a sky
with the lights of the stars shining as lanterns, or as a garden
wherein flowers and blossom were scattered like pearls. The
floor of the tent, covered with carpets of all kinds in all varieties
56 From a qasida by Sayyid Hasan b. Nasir Ghaznavi, from which three other
baits have been quoted below, IE, 36 [ii, 572.] (M,Q.)
57
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
of colour, seemed to be a meadow full of every sort of fragrant
herb, such as violets, Judas-flowers and jonquils. None had
ere this erected a tent in that shape and style or fashioned a
pavilion in so ingenious a form. The interior was like the
Garden of Iram and the exterior fair and pleasant. When the
revelling was resumed and their joviality had passed all bounds,
this song arose from every side:
Ha ! O picture of Mansuriya, 57 thou art a garden and a palace,
or a paradise which God has sent into the world.
Nay, I will not call thee of the world, [thou art] not
of the world, because the world decreases life and thou,
unlike the world, dost increase life. 58
And the Emperor of the Clime, like the Khusrau who walks
alone 59 in the house of his exaltation, was now firmly seated on
the throne of fortune and the couch of sovereignty, leaning on
the cushion of power, standing upon the ladder of splendour
and majesty, his feet planted on the centre of happiness and
success and mounted on [35] the steed of might and eminence.
And the princes, like the Pleiades, were gathered on his right ;
and his seven brothers, each of whom was a full moon in the
heaven of kingship, Qubilai, Hulegii, Arigh Boke, Moge,
Bochek, * Sogetii 60 and Siibetei, stood there like the Seven
Thrones. 61 And on his left the princesses like [36] gardens,
each of them in fairness and beauty far superior 62 to the sun
and the moon, were seated * on inwrought couches reclining on them
face to face J '. 63 And houri-like, sweet-faced cupbearers, on whose
countenances was written the sura of Beauty, from ewers and
jugs poured out cup after cup of qumiz and wine, and the field
of all hearts was cleared of the thorns of grief and fear.
57 In Tus. See below, p. 616. 58 Anvari. (M.Q.) 59 I.e. the Sun.
60 Reading SKTW for the SKTR of O. (The text has SYKR.) On
the spelling of the name in the Chinese sources (Sogedii) and Rashid-ad-Din
see Hambis, op. tit., 88 and 89, nn. 8 and 9. The forms in Rashid-ad-Din
and the Mu'izz-d-Ansat> are perhaps corruptions of an original SWKTY or
SWKTAY, i.e. Sogetei. According to Rashid-ad-Din (Blochet, 202 and 211)
this prince was the ninth son of Tolui.
61 I.e. the constellation of the Great Bear.
62 This appears to be the meaning of the Persian (clu rukb fadd).
63 Koran, Ivi, 15-16.
571
THE HISTORY OF
What shall I say of such cupbearers and how, O Lord, who take
the rose-coloured moon out of the amber-scented snare ?
Mars becomes a drop of blood from their dagger on the day
of victory when they blithely seize the hilt of the dagger.
Venus dances in their cup like a bubble at revelling time when
with their hands they seize the edge of the cup. 64
And contrary Fate, having set a foot in the right direction, must
needs strike up a tune. And the Venus of prosperity chose a
poem to suit her mood and having with the tongue of fortune
put speech into the mouth of the world thus began her overture :
Glad tidings I Fortune bath kept her promise, and Destiny is
repentant cf her cruelty and oppression.
And in time with the following gbazal, which was in keeping
with the occasion, the circling heavens, looking on with the eye
of contentment and approval, began to dance :
[37] O Khusrau, may the kingdom be pleasant to thee ! May the
whole world be subject to thee !
By thee were the flourishing lands of tyranny laid waste;
by thee may the foundation of justice be firmly laid I
And they gave voice to the following melody which was
appropriate to the times now that they were safe from being
struck with the plectrum of Destiny's harp :
Thy grandsire 65 washed tyranny off the page of the world.
Thy uncle's 66 generosity repaired what was broken.
O thou whom the cloak of the Khanate exactly fits,
Do good, for 'tis thy turn to reign. 67
And the noyan? and emirs, together with their chief and leader
Mengeser Noyan 68 were stationed rank behind rank in the place
of the sword-bearers, whilst the litikcbis, viziers and chamberlains,
of whom the principal and leader was Bulghai 69 Aqa, took
64 See above, p. 570, n. 56. 6S Le. Chingiz-Khan. 66 I.e. Ogedei's.
67 For the original lines by Rashid-ad-Din Vatvat from which these verses
are adapted see fi, i<5. (M.Q.)
68 On Mengeser, the 'great yargbucbi' or Grand Judge, see below, p. 578
et seq. He belonged to the Jalayir tribe. For a full account of his history see
Pelliot-Hambis, Compares, 368-9.
69 BUT AY. This is Rubruck's Bulgai, f magnus scriptor qui erat christianus
nestorinus', ( Wyngaert, 245 and n. 2.)
572
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
their stand in their proper station and the remainder of the emirs
and retinue were seated outside the pavilion in more than a
hundred ranks (rasta) with their weapons fastened.
A people who, if you meet them, are angels in beauty and,
ifyovfybt them, are devils.
The Turks are wise and clever angels;
They are jet-tressed houris and iron-ckd dm.
They are livs when in time of bade they wear iron;
They are houris when in banquets they drink wine.
In this style and manner with every kind of joy and pleasure
they feasted and revelled for a whole week with care and malice
banished far from the courtyard of their breasts. And every day
in accordance with the dress of the World-Emperor they would
don garments of a different colour 71 [38] and quaff cups and
goblets. And the daily ration of drink and food was 2,000
waggon-loads of qwniz and wine, 300 horses or oxen and 3,000
sheep. And since Berke was present there was performed upon
these the commandment : e Eat of that over which the name of God
hath leen pronounced? 72
During all this feasting there arrived Qadaghan Oghul, his
nephew 73 Melik Oghul, and Qara-Hiilegii. They performed
the ceremonies of congratulation and observed the etiquette of
obeisance, and in return Mengii Qa'an held it his duty to exceed
himself in showing them every manner of honour, courtesy and
kindness. With their arrival the assembly still awaited the other
princes who were to follow them ; and they continued to be
excessive in their joy and revelry and defective in caution and
alertness. And since none of them [39] dreamt that the yasa
of the World-Emperor Chingiz-Khan could be changed or
altered, and there had been no disagreement amongst them, nor
was such a thing in accordance with the customs of the Mongols,
70 From a qasida by al-Ghazzi in praise of the Turks. See 1, 63 [i, 81-2]. (M.Q.)
71 See above, i, 186 and n. 25.
72 Koran, vi, 118. I.e. they were skughtered in accordance with the Moham-
medan ritual for Berke's benefit, Berke being a convert to Islam.
Brother, rather, for both Qadaghan (Qadan) and Melik (Mengii) were
sons of Ogedei
573
THE HISTORY OF
it never crossed their minds nor was it painted in the picture-
gallery of their imagination [that any such occurrence was
possible] ; and they therefore neglected to take any precautions.
Suddenly, by a happy chance, nay as an indication of fortune
and the continued favour of the Most Glorious, a falconer 74
called Keshik 75 lost a camel which was comparable with the
she-camel of the Prophet Salih 76 (upon whom fa peace !), being
the cause of the salvation of the true believers and the reason for
the destruction of the unrighteous. 77 The falconer spared no
effort in his search for the animal. He rode from left to right in
that region and traversed a distance of two or three days' journey.
All of a sudden he stumbled into the middle of Siremiin's and
Naqu's forces. He beheld a great host of men, heavily loaded
waggons and food and drink by the kharvar all this allegedly
7 *janvar-dar. -According to Rashid-ad-Din (Blochet, 288) he was one of
Mongke Qa'an's falconers (gusbebt). He belonged to the Qanqli * bone ' (/i/i),
i.e. apparently not to the tribe of the Qanqli Turks but to a Mongol ckn bearing
the same name. On the type of ckn known as a * bone * or yasun see Vladi-
mirtsov, Le regime social des Mongols, 56-7.
75 KK with the variants KSK, KSL and KSL. I take this name to be
identical with the Mongol word keshik (keshig) ' guard *. On the other hand
it may, conceivably, like the KLK of I, 27 (on which see above, i, 37, n. 7),
be a corruption of the name Kishlik = Qishliq. Cf. Pelliot, Les Mongols et
la Papaute [201] : * . . . ce reck rappelle d'assez pih,jusque dans It nom du peuple
oui rlvlla It complot, un episode de I'histoire de Gengis-khan.'
76 On Salih see above, i, 17, n. 40. The story here referred to will be found
in Koran, vii, 71-7: 'And to Tbemoud we sent their brother Saleh. He said, O
my people I worship God : ye bane no other God than Him : now hath a dear proof
of my mission come to you from your Lori, this she-camel of God being a sign to you :
therefore let her go at large to pasture on God's earth : and touch her not to harm her,
lest a grievous chastisement seize you. . . .' However the chief men of Thamud
rejected the preaching of Salih. ' And they ham-strung the she-camel, and rebelled
against their Lord's command, and said : " O Saleh, let thy menaces be accomplished
upon us if tbou art one of the Sent Ones" Then the earthquake surprised them ; and
in the morning they were found dead on their faces in their dwellings.'
77 It is interesting to compare the account given by Rubruck : * Keu [Giiyiik]
had a brother called Siremon, who on the advice of the wife of Keu and her
vassals, went in great state toward Mangu as if to do him homage. In truth,
however, he intended to kill him, and to exterminate all his ordu. And when
he had already got to within a day or two of Mangu, he had to leave on the road
one of his carts which broke down ; and while the carter was fixing it, there
came along one of Mangu's men who helped him ; and he asked so much about
the journey that the carter revealed to him what Siremon proposed doing. Then
574
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
for the purpose of offering congratulations and making [40]
obeisance. However, Keshik failed to perceive the purpose
thereof and continued to ask everybody about his loss. Suddenly,
in the midst of all his searching, he came upon a broken waggon
with a young lad seated beside it. The lad, thinking this horse-
man was one of their companions, asked Keshik to help mend
the waggon. Keshik got down from the horse and began to
assist in the repairing. His glance fell upon the weapons and
warlike equipment arranged in bundles. * What are all these
arms ? * he asked. * The same as in the other waggons/ the lad
replied. Clever Keshik at once affected indifference, but when
he had finished the job joined another person and somehow
struck up an acquaintance with him. Bit by bit he discovered
how matters lay and when he had deduced the nature of their
secret all doubt was removed, for ' the dear appears from the scum \
He realized that those people were meditating treason and
duplicity, and treachery and discord, intending in the midst of
the feast that would be given to welcome them, when the hob-
bling rope of their minds had snapped and old and young were
manacled with drunkenness, to step outside the sanctuary of
decency and all of a sudden [41] to put their plot into execution.
' But the plotting of evil shall only enmesh those who make use of it.' 7B
Keshik let go the reins of free will and reciting the proverb :
f Thy rope on thy withers ! J over his camel he travelled a three
days' journey in one and reached the ordu close on the time of
evening prayer. He entered without leave and without fear or
hesitation or embarrassment and with a stout heart spoke boldly
the other, leaving him as if he did not care about it, went to a herd of horses
and taking the strongest horse he could pick in it, rode day and night in great
haste till he came to Mangu's ordu, and told him what he had heard. Then
Mangu promptly called all his men, and caused to be made three circles of men-
at-arms around his ordu, so that no one could come in. The rest he sent against
this Siremon, and they captured him, for he did not suspect that his designs had
become known, and led him with all his men to the ordu. When Mangu charged
him with the crime he at once confessed. Then he was put to death, he and the
elder son of Keu chan, and with them three hundred of the greatest men among
the Tartars. And they sent also for their ladies, that they might be whipped with
burning brands to make them confess/ (Rockhill, 163-4.)
78 Koran, xxv, 41.
575.
THE HISTORY OF
is follows : * You have spread the carpet of merrymaking and
in pleasure and gaiety have bid farewell to the sorrows of the
world, whilst in their ambushes your enemies have sharpened
the teeth of their lances, biding their time, preparing and girding
themselves for action.
And if thou dost not enter its door speedily, thy enemy
mil come upon thee through its door! 79
The gist of all this he declared to them by word of mouth,
urging them to set to and look to their interest and bidding them
make haste. But since the like ideas had never been entertained
in the customs and practices of the Mongols, especially in the
age of the seed (urugb) of Chingiz-Khan, they were quite unable
to believe that such a state of affairs existed and they made him
repeat himself over and over again. And each time he recounted
what he had expressed in the first place speaking of the nature
of their 80 character.
His words took no root in the Khan's ear and he paid no
attention to them. Keshik continued his urgent pleading, and
his distress and anxiety [42] were plain to see, but the Khan
remained unshaken in his calm. The princes and chief noyans
cried out against this firmness. * Heaven forbid,' they said, ' that
it lead to some misfortune and be the occasion of regret and
repentance.
Beware of the matter whereto the entrance is broad and
wherefrom the egress is narrow. 81
Before the hand of retribution is laid upon the neck of desire,
and the road 82 of policy is blocked, and the way of expedience
obscured, and the case has become as subtle as a hair, and the
bright eye of wisdom dazzled, and the following of a petty foe
triumphant, it is incumbent upon a man of intelligence to neglect
no measure of prudence or precaution and not to despise his
enemy however feeble his condition. If then his surmise be
79 From a qasida of Ibn-al-Mu'tazz. (M.Q.)
80 I.e. Siremiin's and Naqu's.
81 Quoted in the Hamasa, where the author's name is not given. See
Sharh-al-Hamasa, El, 89. (M.Q.)
82 Reading rah with O.
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
true he will be secure from the annoyance and vexation thereof
and if it be without foundation no harm or mischief can be
imagined and no one will suffer thereby.
And despise not the determination of the humlk man, for
the tree-trunk is set on fre with chips of wood.
To act with shrewdness and sagacity it is necessary to enter upon
this affair with gentle and conciliatory means so that perchance
the fire of this disaffection may be quenched before it flares up,
and the side wind of adversity die down before it can blow away
the soil of peace and security from the surface of the earth, and
the water of shame, which [43] is the life of all creation, remain
in the eyes of Destiny and on the face of their affair.
Roughness and violence are of no avail ; only gentleness
will bring the snake out of the hole.
If nothing can be achieved by such methods and these people
cannot be reduced to submission by fair words and courteous
actions, we can then put into practice [the proverb which says :]
ef The final remedy is cautery " and bend low the back of their
resistance.
There is girded before thee an army sharp-pointed like
the lance and the spear-head in time of service and
at the moment of revenge;
Like Khusrau with his cup each of them in wisdom ; like
Rustam mounted on Rakhsh is each of them on the saddle.*
Their plans and counsels being thus decided each of the
princes wished to set foot in this road and go in person to
investigate and inquire into these circumstances and achieve that
object by persuasion or force as the occasion might demand.
However, by the inspiration of good fortune
Counsel came as the key to victory: it is plain that iron
counsel is the golden key.
One piece of good counsel is better than a hundred swordsmen;
a king's crown is better than a hundred moulds.
With counsel an army's back may be broken; with a sword [only]
one to a hundred men can be slain 83
83 From the Kbwsrav u hmn of NizamL (M.Q.)
577
THE HISTORY OF
[44] the princes were spared the endurance of that toil and it
was agreed that Mengeser, who was the leader of the emirs of
Court and the most senior of the Pillars of the State, should go
and investigate the matter, and take action to forestall the plot ;
and in so doing should say whatever he thought expedient.
Following his instructions he mounted horse with some two or
three thousand horsemen, Turkish warriors and unclean Turks,
who were in truth
Jinns upon jinns and if they are human, it is as though
they bad been stitched on with needles**
At the break of day, when the vanguard of the Jamshid of
the heavens had launched a surprise attack upon the host of
Night, the great noyan Mengeser approached the tents of those
forces. With more than a hundred horsemen he rode up to
the thresholds of the tents, [45] troops having meanwhile come
up from before and behind, and right and left, and taken their
stand like the circumference of a circle. Mounted as he was the
noyan called out and spoke as follows : c A tale has been told
concerning you and it has reached the Khan's ear. If those
words dripped from the vessel of mendacity and deceit and are
false, then the mark of truth and the sign of sincerity will be for
you unhesitatingly and with complete confidence to come and
do obeisance, and not have recourse to hollow excuses, but with
the water of speed and alacrity wash the dust of this lassitude
from the cheeks of fidelity and the countenance of unity/
Hearing these sensible words they came out of their tents, and
as far as their sight could reach they could see nothing but troops
without number or limit with themselves like the centre of the
circle, whilst their friends and following, their horse and foot
(kbail u rajil), were far away in their hiding places. The reins of
self-mastery slipped from the hands of their power and thought
and the shackles of confusion, fear and perplexity tightened
84 Quoted by Ibn-al-Athir as a fait from an urjtiza by Abu-Nuwas in praise
of polo. (M.Q.) The reference is of course to Turks on horseback. Cf.
Ammianus Marcelllnus* description of the Huns : * They are almost glued to
their horses.' (The whole passage is quoted in Vernadsky, Ancient Russia f 128.)
578
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around the feet of their cogitation and resolve. They became
exceedingly depressed and bewildered ; and the tongue of excuse
having turned mute and the leg of advance and withdrawal lame,
they saw no hope of departing and no prospect of remaining
behind. There was no support on which to lean their backs ;
they had not the arm of such strength as would enable them to
resist nor had they the liver [46] and gall to rebel. No shore
was visible from the midst [of that sea] so that they might recite
[the proverb ;] ' He that escapes with his life has gaind, and make
their way out, and avoid the consequences of their action. In
the end they put their necks through the collar of Destiny and
thrust their feet down the smoke-vent 85 of Discretion.
And the yearling camel colt, when it is fastened to a rope,
cannot attack six-year old camels that have cut their teetb. 8 ^
Under duress, not by choice they departed together with
the noyan, accompanied by only a few horsemen, to wait upon
the Emperor of the Face of the Earth. As they drew near to the
ordu the greater part of their companions were detained and their
arms taken from them. And it was commanded that some of
the wicked and sinful emirs, without quiver or bow-case, should
together with the princes make tikishmishi 87 where they were,
nine at a time, and then enter the ordu.
For two days they were not questioned at all and the letter of
examination and investigation remained sealed. On the third
day when the sun auspiciously rose from the East, the day of
the rebels* fortune reached the West of frustration, and the spring
of the hypocrites* life approached its autumn. Another assembly
was held and [47] all gathered together. Mengii Qa'an spoke
as follows : c This is what has been related concerning you. It
85 A curious expression apparently intended to convey the idea of moderation.
See below, p. 599, n. 161.
86 From a qasida by Jarir. (M.Q.)
87 The meaning of this word is * making obeisance ' either by the offering
of presents or by standing to attention. It appears to be used in the former sense
above, p. 515, and below, p. 724. Cf. also Rashid-ad-Din ed. Berezin, VII,
278, where it is related how Jebe brought back from the campaign against Kuch-
liig a thousand chestnut horses with white muzzles which he presented to the
Khan (tikisbtnishJ karda).
p n. 579
THE HISTORY OF
is incredible and inconceivable and cannot be heard by the ear
of intelligence nor accepted by the soul of wisdom. Neverthe-
less since the like imaginings, once they have become implanted
in men's brains are no matter for jest, and rumours of such
speeches, once they come to people's lips, are no longer merely
figurative, therefore the goodness of [our] nature and the purity
of [our] faith require and demand that this matter be examined
and investigated in order that the countenance of certainty may
be cleansed of the dust of doubt and the veil of uncertainty
removed from the face of the sun of truth and right, so that if
this be nought but calumniation and slander the liar and slanderer
may behold his punishment upon the pages of events and man-
kind receive a lesson and a warning.'
It was commanded therefore that none should enter or leave
the or&u, and he gave orders for the detention of a number of
emirs and noyans such as Elchitei Noyan, Taunal, * Qata-
Kiirin, Jangi, * Qan-Khitai, Sorghan, Taunal the Younger,
Toghan and Yasa'ur, 88 each of whom regarded himself [48] as
88 Nearly all these names occur in the corresponding passage in the Yuan
s fob 3 (tfe 2), jap-sbi. The following is a translation of that passage kindly
supplied me by Professor Cleaves in a letter dated 4th February, 1955 : * Yeh-
sun To (Yesiin To), An-chih-tai (Aljidai), Ch'ang-chi (Canggi), Chao/Chua-
nan (? Junal/ ? Jonal), Ho-ta Ch'ii-lin (Qada Kurin), A-li-ch'u (? AKu) as
well as Kang Ch c i-tan (? Fang Kidan), A-san (Asan), Hu-tu-lu (Quduluy)
and others bent on duplicity (lit., " devoted themselves to holding two ends/
sides ") were charged with having enticed the princes [of the blood] into sedition
(lit., "to make disorder") and were all [sb] executed/ Aljidai (Alchidai)
corresponds to the Elchitei (AYLC^TAY) of Juvaini. On the tendency to
confuse the names Alchidai, Elchidei and Eljigidei see Hambis, op. dt., 29-30,
n. i. Elchitei, if he is identical with the Elchidei of Rashid-ad-Din (Kheta-
gurov, 95 -6), belonged to the Jalayir tribe. The following name (Changgi)
corresponds exactly to the CNKY of M.QA text. This is however based
on Blochet's reading in the corresponding passage in his edition of Rashid-ad-
Din (293). I have restored the JNKY of E and G. On the name Janggi,
which occurs in the Secret History ( 277), see PelHot-Hambis, op. dt. t 278.
Jaunal is clearly preferable to Jonal as the spelling of the next name in view
of Juvaini's TAWNAL (HI, 50) alongside the TWNAL of the present passage.
The form Qada-Kurin represented by the Chinese transcription Ho-ta Ch f ti4in
indicates QATAKRYN (Qata-Kurin) as an obvious emendation of the
TATAKRYN in the printed text of Juvaini. (Blochet, loc. dt, actually has
QATAKRYN, but the reading seems to be based, not on his MSS., but on
this same passage from the Yuan shibj which he quotes in a footnote.) The
580
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of such rank and station that the highest heaven had no power
over him and the pearls of his necklace, which had been strung
together by the revolution of days and nights, could not be
scattered. Perhaps they did not know [the verses] :
To what cypress has He not given loftiness which He has
not bowed again with affliction.
Not every lump of sugar can be swallowed; now one must
drink the clear [liquid] and now the dregs.
Some other commanders of tumens from amongst the rebel
leaders [were likewise detained] whom it would take too long
to name individually; and the investigation and examination
began.
With Mengeser Noyan as the chief yargbucbi certain of the
other emirs and chief men inquired for several days into the
subtleties and obscurities of the case proceeding with circum-
spection. The prisoners contradicting one another, no doubt
remained as to their guilt. In their shame and contrition they
exclaimed in dumb show : f Ob I would I were dust ! 3 89 They
confessed also and acknowledged and admitted their crime.
Mengii Qa'an, following his laudable custom, wished to turn a
blind eye to what had passed, for c to forgive when one has power
is one of the essentials of generosity.' However, the princes and
emirs said : e Carelessness and [49] over-confidence in the
case of an enemy are remote from the highway of rectitude and
wisdom.
second element of Qada-Kiirin occurs as the name of a Kereit chieftain, the
Kiirin Badu[r] of the Sheng-wu dfin-d&ng lu and the Ubchiqtai Gtirin Ba'atur
of the Secret History ( 160). See Pelliot-Hambis, op. cit., 295 and 328-9.
Finally, for the Ghang-Kidan or the like on which the Chinese transcription
Kang Ch'i-tan is based, AlQ/s text has QLC^QAY (based on the QLJQAY
of B), which would appear to be a corruption of an original QNXTAY, i.e.
*Qan-Khitai. The second element of this compound is of course the
name (Khitai or Qitan) of the Manchurian people who founded the Liao
Dynasty in Northern China. Of the names not mentioned in the Yuan
sbib SRTAN is presumably the Mongol Sorghan or Sorqan, on which see
PelHot-Hambis, op. clt., 157-8, and IT AN is the Turkish Toghan* Falcon *.
On Yasa'ur (reading YS'WR for the YSWR of the text) see above, i, 46,
n. 13.
89 Koran, Ixxviii, 41.
581
THE HISTORY OF
And the application of a sake in place of the sword
in ti&b matters is as harmful as to apply
the sword in place of an unguent. 9Q
Wherever thou oughtest to make a scar, when thou puttest
a salve thereon, it availeth not. 91
And when a man of counsel has got the advantage over a
malignant foe, if he delays taking vengeance on him, that is far
indeed removed from perfect prudence and farsightedness and in
the end will be the occasion of regret 92 and repentance.
If tbou get a chance at thy enemy t legin no other concern.
Kindness has no influence over the wicked; it is like seed
scattered on a saline swamp : it yields no fruit, and though
cloud after cloud rain down upon it, they produce no effect
and nothing will grow.
A tree whose nature is bitter, if thou plantest it in
the Garden of Paradise ;
And if at the time of watering thou pourest honey and
pure musk over its roots from the stream of Paradise :
In the end it displays its nature and bears that same
bitter fruit. 93
And if punishment were not necessary and mighty kings and
powerful monarchs could dispense therewith, the verse of " Iron
and the Sword " would not have been sent down and there
would have been no commandment regarding retaliation, which
is the cause of survival and of generation and increase : ff in this
law of retaliation is your [security for] life, O men of understanding ! ' 94
[50] A tree produces blossom only when it bursts the end
of every branch.
O king thou must store up vengeance for the enemy of thy kingdom,
And thou must learn this rule from the sun,
For until he struck his sword 9S victoriously out of his station (martabd),
The world was not lit up by his light.*
90 Mutanabbi. (M.Q.) 91 From the Hadiqa of Sana'i. (M.Q.)
92 Reading hasrat with H.
93 From FirdausTs satire on Sultan Mahmud (Mohl, I, xci).
94 Koran, ii, 175. 95 I.e. until the first rays appeared on the horizon.
582
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Mengii Qa'an realized that such words as these are spoken
out of sincerity and not from motives of self-interest or hypocrisy.
And with respect to the wicked emirs aforementioned who had
kept the princes to these paths and involved them in these
abysses and crimes he gave orders that they should be put to the
sword in anger in accordance with the commandment of God
(mighty is His name !) : c They were drowned and made go into the
fire' 96 The first was Elchitei : his head and feet were cut off.
Then Taunal was trampled underfoot. *Qata~Kurin chose [to
comply with] the proverb : ' By my hand, not by *Am/s : ' he
ran his belly on to a sword and was so killed. And as for the
rest they departed this life in turn in the same manner : c they
shall bear their burdens on [51] their backs! Will that not be evil
with which they shall be burdened ? 9 97
These tidings reaching Yesun-Toqa, the grandson of
Chaghatai, he left all his army and taking 30 horsemen set out
of his own accord. 98 He was sent to the nerge " around Naqu
and Siremiin, and they remained in one place.
In a word, if anyone had been meditating rebellion in his
heart, Heavenly Predestination was now fixing a rope about the
neck of his plans and pulling them along at a run, whilst the
propitious horoscope and daily-increasing splendour [of Mengii
Qa'an] was rendering these haughty tyrants and devils docile
and submissive in the grasp of obedience and command, so that
each of them would say in dumb show :
* Thou hast asked for my head. It cannot be given to anyone.
I will come and bring it on my neck.' 10
And elchis went after some of them and fetched them.
As for Qadaq Noyan he had not yet arrived. He realized
that to him was due the origin of this estrangement, that from
him had arisen the source of this alienation, that it was he who
had stirred up the dust of this disaffection and cast the fire of
96 Koran, Ixxi, 25. * 7 M. 9 vi, 31.
9B li-pit-yi-'kbwsb. Lit. e with his own feet".
99 The meaning is presumably that he was imprisoned inside the nirgt along
with Naqu and Siremiin.
100 The second half of a quatrain by Nusrat-ad-Din of Kabud-Jama. (M.Q.)
583
THE HISTORY OF
turmoil into the world and that all this might not be righted
by his hand.
[52] How many a squadron did I embroil with another, and when
they were embroiled I shook my hand of it ! 101
When therefore Siremun and Naqu set out, he wished to draw
back his foot from the affair f after the destruction of Basra V 02 and
lay his hand in the bosom of retirement and seclusion, and rest
his back against the mountain of comfort, and hide his face,
hoping safely to keep his head upon his neck and his soul in
his body. And this desire he kept boiling in the pot of his
brain upon the fire of greed, singing to himself:
' Strive to reach a place of refuge safely, for the road
is exceeding frightful and a station very far away.'
And day and night he thus pondered and reflected, trying to
think of some opening through which he might achieve security
and escape. And all the while Destiny laughed at his grief
and anguish, his weeping and crying, and said in figurative
language :
' If thy tongue were discreet, what business would the
sword have with thy head ? '
Suddenly the agents of the Court arrived like so many Angels
of Death and said :
' All thy friends have gone ; now 'tis thy turn.
Come tent-man, strike thy tents, for the leader [of the
caravan] has left the stage/ 103
They took him out of his tent and brought him on a wagon as
far as Qara-Qorum. Though he pretended to be very ill they
saw fit to remove him from thence and took him away. Upon
arriving at Court he was tried by the yargbuchk and though his
101 By al-Farrar as-Sulami, a poet of the Hamasa. He is excusing himself
for fleeing from battle. (M.Q.) * I shook my hand off it/ i.e. ' I broke off the
engagement.'
102 1.c. when it was too late.
103 Manuchihri. (M.Q.) The whole jpoem is translated in Browne, A
Literary History of Persia, II, 30-4.
584
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
guilt was more notorious than the infidelity of Iblis yet it was
[only] after confessing and admitting [his crimes] that he departed
in the wake of his friends and companions, [53] and drank his
fill in the watering-place of f and cause them to descend into the foe ;
and wretched the descent ly which they shall descend ! 9 104
And since some who were in other places had not yet arrived
[the princes] did not yet feel secure from their wicked tenets
and evil machinations. They therefore sent *Burilgitei 105 Noyan
with an army consisting of ten tumens of valiant youths and
spirited Turks to the region of Ulugh-Taq, 106 *Qanghai 107
and * Qum-Sengir, 108 which lies between Besh-Baligh and
Qara-Qorum, so that a nerge might stretch from thence to the
nergt of Qonghuran 109 Oghul, [54] who was in the neighbour-
hood of Qayaligh and had extended his nerge to the region of
Otrar. And Yeke Noyan was sent to the country of the Qirqiz
and the Kemchihiid 110 with two tumens of men.
Meanwhile, neither Oghul-Ghaimish nor her son Khoja
having yet arrived, elchis went to both mother and son with a
message to the following effect : * If you had no share with these
men in this conspiracy and did not agree with or assist them,
it is essential for your happiness and will be the sign [of your
104 Koran, xi, 100.
105 See above, i, 246, n. 9.
106 ALT TAQ. Lit. * the Great Mountain ', apparently in the region of
the present-day Kobdo.
107 Reading QNFAY or QANFAY for the MWTF AY of the text. (Several
of the MSS. have Q as the first lette of the word.) On Qanghai, i.e. the Khangai
mountain range in Mongolia, see below, p. 609, n. 9.
108 Reading QWM SNKR for the YWRYLYK of the text. Such a
reading had already been tentatively suggested by Pelliot, op. tit., \i97\n. On
Qum-Sengir see above, i, 261, n. 42.
109 QNTWRAN. The Qongqiran (QWNK QYRAN) of Rashid-ad-
Din (Blochet, 103), the fourth son of Orda (Hordu). His name, like that
of the Onggiran of the Secret History ( 202), appears to be the singular form of
the name of the tribe (see above, i, 38, n. 15) ; and in fact, according to Rashid-
ad-Din (Blochet, 92 and 93) both his mother and his paternal grandmother
belonged to the Qonqirat.
110 KM JHWD. I.e. Kem-Kemchi'ut, the country (strictly speaking, the
people) between the Kem (i.e. the Upper Yenisei) and its left-bank affluent the
Kemchik. See PelHot-Hambis, op. dt., 317. On an alternative form, Qam-
Kemchik, see above, i. 69 and n. 21.
585
THE HISTORY OF
innocence] that you proceed to Court and [55] do so with
all speed/
When Shilemiin Bitikchi, who was the elchi sent to Khoja, had
finished delivering his message, Khoja paid little heed to his
words and was about to make an attack upon him and commit
an abominable act. But one of his wives, lower in rank than
the rest but superior in wisdom and intelligence, prevented his
intention and said : * It is the messenger's duty to deliver his
message, and in no age have men molested the messenger even
of rebels. How then, when an elchi comes from Mengii Qa'an,
can one make an attempt upon his life ? And by the killing
of one man how can his kingdom be possibly harmed or
weakened ? Such an action will generate many evils ; oceans
of trouble will rage ; the world will be set in confusion ; the
flame of calamities will fire up ; and when the matter is beyond
thy control, contrition and repentance will be of no avail.
Mengii Qa'an is the aqa and in the position of a father : thou
must go to him and submit thyself to his command, whatever
it be.'
Since Fortune favoured Khoja he reflected upon these words
and considered how the event would be dangerous and the
subject of regret. He therefore hearkened to her words with the
ear of consent and showed honour and respect to Shilemiin.
Thereupon he and his wife set out from where they were and
hastened to Court.
As for Tekshi 1U Oghul, who had come with his aqa Qara-
Hiilegii, [56] he went to Biiri. And Turkmen Bitikchi was
sent to Yesii-Mengii and Toqashi 112 his wife and the emirs and
noyans of Ulugh-Ef. After making known the fate of those
people, 113 whose feet had been caught in the snare of their own
111 Tekshi, as M.Q. points out, was the son of Mochi and therefore not the
younger brother but the cousin of Qara-Hulegii; but aqa is probably used
loosely.
112 Here TQASY, but below (IE, 57) TTA3Y: Rashid-ad-Din (Blochet,
297) has TWQASY. ^ In a letter dated the zoth April, 1955, Professor Cleaves
suggested the possible identity of this name with the Mongol togfasi (togbashi)
'calculable', perhaps used here in the sense of ' estimable J .
113 Le. the conspirators,
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THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
action, [Turkmen Bitikchi spoke as follows] : * If you did not
support these men in their rebellion, why are you needlessly so
slow in coming to join us and what is the reason for this delay,
and procrastination, and remissness ? If that thought had no
place in your minds, you should set out forthwith. Otherwise
you must fix your place of battle and make ready your weapons
of war. " And be that warneth is excused" 3
Hearing these words they were overcome with fear and dread
of the Emperor. [57] They repudiated those ideas and entirely
disassociated themselves from them. After delivering their
message the elcbis 114 returned immediately not even stopping to
take food. Biiri, Yesii and Toghashi 115 also set out.
As for such of those people as had set out from the region of
Emil and Qayaligh, as each of them came to the army of
Biirilgitei, he sent them on without their arms together with the
greater emirs : as for the rest of them he dealt with them and
disposed of them as he saw fit.
As soon as Khoja reached Court he was sent to join [58]
Siremiin and the other princes. As for the emirs who accom-
panied him, men such as * Bughatai 116 Qorchi, Arghasun 117
the son of Eljigitei and others, they were all of them tried and
then dispatched along the road that their likes had trodden.
Chinqai too arrived. He was dealt with by Danishmand
114 I.e. Turkmen Bitikchi and his colleagues. (M.Q.)
115 See above, p. 586, n. 112.
116 The text, following A, has QWRBFAY, i.e. apparently Qurbaghai
(i.e. Qurbagha, * the Frog', on which see above, i, 243, n. n), but all the
other MSS. have a different word, which in O is quite clearly BIT AY, perhaps
identical with the Buqatai of the Secret History ( 168).
117 ARTASWN. The Harqasun of the Secret History and Rashid-ad-Din.
The form of the name in Juvaini corresponds exactly to the spelling of the word
argbasun in Chaghatai Turkish, * ou il est surement emprunte au mongol et
ou il designe la fiente seche servant de combustible*. See Pelliot, Mots a b
initiale dans It mongol, 205. The oddness of the name is accounted for by the
Mongol custom of calling children after the first object to catch the mother's
eye after her confinement. See Grousset, op. tit., 541. Harqasun, according
to the Secret History ( 275), had been associated with Giiyiik and Biiri in their
quarrel with Batu (on which see below, p. 588, n. 124) ; and this circumstance
was probably remembered against him on the present occasion. Cf. Grousset,
op. cit., 3 02 and 310.
587
THE HISTORY OF
Hajib in Ramazan of the year 650 [November-December, 1252].
There is an account of him in a separate chapter. 118
After all these came Ghaimish Khatun : she was sent together
with Qadaqach, 119 the mother of Siremun, to the ordu of Beki.
[59] Thither went Mengeser Noyan, and the sons of these women
having admitted being the originators of the conspiracy, they
paid the penalty for their action after having been tried and
confessed their guilt, 120
Yesii, his wife Toqashi and Biiri likewise arrived, and a
number of emirs and UtikcUs of high standing, men such as
Miran 121 Bitikchi, Suman 122 Qorchi, Abachi 123 and other
noyans commanding tumens. Such as were emirs met their
ends [immediately]. Yesii and Biiri were sent to the Court of
Batu. 12 * As for Toqashi Khatun, she was tried by Qara-
Hulegii in the presence of Yesii : he ordered her limbs to be
118 There is in fact, as M.Q. points out, no such chapter in any MS.
119 QDAQAJ. The Qataqash of Rashid-ad-Din (Khetagurov, 163). (On
the spelling of her^name see Pelliot, Les Mongols et la Papaute [203], n. 3.) She
was the wife of Ogedefs third son Kochii (whose name is mis-spelt Kerju by
Khetagurov) and belonged to the Qonqimt tribe. Her grandfather was Alchi
Noyan, the brother of Chingiz-Khan's chief wife, Borte Fujin, who was in
consequence her great-aunt.
120 On the trial and execution of Oghul-Ghaimish herself, see Rashid-ad-Din
ed. Blochet, 304, Grousset, op. dt., 310.
121 MYRAN. f 122 SWMAN.
123 ABAjY. This name (* the Hunter ') was borne by a grandson of Orda
(Hordu) and a great-grandson of Eatu. See Rashid-ad-Din ed. Blochet, 102
and in, Hambis, op. cit., 54.
124 Bam hao! an old score to settle with Biiri. Accounts differ as to the details.
According to the Secret History ( 278, cf. Grousset, op. dt., 301-2) Biiri, together
with Giiyiik and Harqasun, had used insulting language towards Batu at a
banquet held by the princes after the capture of Magas, the Ossete capital, i.e.
some time in 1240. Rubruck's version (Rockhill, 136-7) refers only to Biiri,
and the scene appears to be set in a later period, when the Mongols were in peaceful
possession of their grazing-lands along the Volga. Rashid-ad-Din (Blochet, 164)
speaks of an insult uttered during the reign of Mongke : it was on this account
that Biiri was handed over to Batu, by whom he was put to death, Rubruck
too mentions his execution by Batu. See Pelliot, op. cit. [204] and n. i. Biiri
had brought back fiom the campaign in Eastern Europe a number of German
slaves, who appear to have formed the subject of a pontifical letter to their master :
it was largely on account of these men, says Rubruck, that he had undertaken
his journey to the Mongols, See Rockhill, loc. dt., 225 and 238, Pelliot, op.
dt. [2i6]-[2i8].
588
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
kicked to pulp and so assuaged an ancient grudge which he had
cherished in his heart.
[60] Meanwhile, in Besh-Baligh the icli-qut, who was the
leader of the polytheists and idolaters, 125 had come to an under-
standing with a band of rebels and had arranged with them that
to the congregation of the Moslems in the Friday mosque they
should cause to appear black night in broad daylight so that
in the morning they might behold midnight; and thus they
were to cover the light of Islam with the darkness of unbelief
and so to scatter the assembled believers that there might be hope
of gathering them together again on the Judgement Day. ' Fain
would they put out God's light with their mouths : lut God only
desireth to perfect His light, albeit the Infidels abhor ft/ 126 The
miracle of the faith of Mohammed revealed the secret of the
enigma (musahhaf) and the light of the law of Ahmad showed
up the design upon the dark page. A slave from amongst them
becoming acquainted with the ins and outs of their plotting, he
confessed Islam and became aiqa<( against them, pinning that crime
to them. The idi-qut with a number of others was brought to
the ordu and tried. And the charges having been accepted [61]
he was ordered to be taken to Besh-Baligh, where all classes of
the populace, Moslems and idolaters, were gathered together on
the plain and in the presence of the people he was handed over
to the demons of hell. And for this victory, whereby they
gained fresh life, the Moslems rendered thanks unto God.
A victory to which the gates of the heavens open up, and
the earth appears In new striped clothes
And this punishment and requital caused the victorious 128
Emperor Mengii Qa'an to be blessed even more and to acquire
even greater merit. May God Almighty make this just retribu-
tion the cause of the endurance of his Empire and the continuance
125 mushnkan va iut-parastan. Presumably Buddhists are meant. See above,
i, 59, n. 22, and ii, 505, n. 13. 126 Koran, ix, 32.
127 From the famous qasila by Abu-Tarn mam in praise of the Caliph al-
Mu'tasim billah and celebrating the victory of 'Ammuriya. (M.Q.)
128 gbazi * victorious against the infidel', a specifically Islamic title almost
incredible in this context.
589
THE HISTORY OF
of his Khanate ! (This subject has been dealt with exhaustively
in the chapter on the idi-qut.} 12 *
At this time Eljigitei was in Iraq. Ghadaqan Qorchi set
out and went to wait on Batu and then proceeded from thence
accompanied by nokers to arrest him. Upon their arrival in
Iraq Eljigitei made off travelling light and went to Badghis.
Here he was seized by the elcbis, who bore him off to Batu with
some [62] of his followers. He met the same end [as the rest].
He counted a few moments and then became nothing. Jeeringly
the world said : ' He too is gone.'
The details of the case may be ascertained from the chapter
devoted to Eljigitei. 130
All that now remained of the rebels [were concealed] in nooks
and crannies and had retired into the corner of seclusion ; and
it took some time to produce every one of them. Bala the
yarghucbi was sent together with nokers to the armies of Yesii to
examine and question their mates and fellows ; and all who had
taken part in the conspiracy were put to death. Another emir
was sent to Khitai charged with the same task.
These disturbances, which by the excitement of evil had all
but set the world on fire, were now over and all care was dismissed
from men's minds. Now the aforementioned princes had been
puffed up with pride and had strayed far from the path of
discretion and the acceptance of advice because of the promptings
of wicked teachers and the suggestions of impious emirs, and
c an evil companion is like fre : if its heat barm thee not tbou sbalt
not escape [63] its smoke V 31 Moreover the goodness of the
blessed Emperor's nature and the purity of his heart required
him to regard it as his first duty to respect the claims of kinship
and consanguinity by the passing over of faults ; he was bound
also in the moment of his pomp and glory to consider it an
129 See above, i, 48-53.
130 There is again, as M.Q. points out, no such chapter. It is a pity, for it
might have contained some account of his relations with Louis IX. See above,
i, 256, n. 27. Cf. also Pelliot, op. dt. [202]-[203J.
131 See the Majma'-al-Amthal I, 115, and n, 146, for two proverbs to more
or less the same purpose with some slight variations. (M.Q.)
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obligation in the code of magnanimity to comply with the
proverb : ' If tbou It king be kind! 132
Pay the tithe OH thy glory and know that like the tithe
on property 133 it must be paid in full
He therefore, humaA&> spread the wing of mercy and compassion
over their heads and covered the slips and errors of each of them
with the skirt of pardon and forgiveness.
And he does not nurse his ancient grudge against them, for
he is not a leader of the people who nurses a grudged
And wishing to chasten but not to torture them he gave command
that in conformity with the tradition : f Travel that ye may gain ' 135
they should for a while set foot upon the road of exile
The moon endures the fatigue of travel in order to become full
[64] and in the toil of combats and battles should display the
resourcefulness of men and the competence of masters
The glory of dangers lies in the dangers [themselves] 13G
in order to wash off the dirt and filth of their crimes with the
sweat of undergoing and enduring dangers and so to cleanse
and purify their veins from the taint of treachery and the defect
of sinfulness.
Verily, fire maketh pure the standard of gold.
And every child that is not trained and trimmed into shape by
the instruction of loving kinsfolk will without doubt be tested
and chastened by the teaching of unkind, quarrelsome Fate.
Whoever is not taught ly his parents will le taught by
Night and Day.
He gave orders therefore that Siremiin, Naqu and Yesiin-Toqa
should proceed to various provinces of [65] Manzi, Siremiin
132 M., II, 158. (M.Q.) l zakat-al-mal
134 Slightly adapted from al-Muqanna* al-Kindi. See Tabrizi, Sharh-al-
Hamasa, HI, 100-1. (M.Q.)
' 135 A well-known hadith. (M.Q.)
136 From a famous qaslda by at-Tihami, (M.Q.)
591
THE HISTORY OF
accompanying Qubilai Oghul and Naqu Jagha Noyan, 137
whilst Yesun-Toqa went elsewhere.
As for Khoja, out of gratitude to his wife the Emperor
exempted him from taking part in a campaign and fixed his
place of residence in the region of Solangai, 138 which is near to
Qara-Qorum. ' And of God was tins act which decorated the
preface of generosity and cast dust upon the endeavours of the rulers of
the nations!
God's are His acts, which are fair to lehold and gool to
publish.
They have deposited in all souls love, which they offer to
Him secretly and openly.
And the pearl-raining words of the Prophet are to this effect :
e Maintain the bonds of kinship ' and ' Close ties of kinship prolong
life '. 139 And this commandment is not directed to one nation
exclusively, for [66] all nations have their share herein and its
meaning is fixed by the intellect intuitively, for to maintain the
ties of kinship is to blend and intertwine. Now if this tradition
is followed in the literal sense of the words it is inconsistent with
the verse : c When tlmr time is come, they shall not retard it an hour ;
and they shall not advance it? But since traditions confirm
verses and sound hadiths agree with the Word of God and the
Holy Koran, it has been established as an irrefutable fact that
the prolongation of life by maintaining the ties of kinship takes
place in two ways. First, by marriage and matrimony, whereby
the begetting of children is rendered possible and generation
after generation of descendants and successors come from the
world of non-existence on to the courtyard of existence and from
the sanctum of concealment on to the plain of manifestation.
And the remembrance of forebears and ancestors remains as a
137 Or Jaghan Noyan. See above, i, 256, n. 26.
138 SWLNKAY. Solanga, i.e. Northern Korea, seems out of the question.
Perhaps, in spite of the spelling in the text (which is based on A) and most
of the MSS., we should read SLNKAY, i.e. the Selenga. Juvaini's narrative
is much more detailed than the Yuan sbih, according to which Siremiin, Yesii
and Biiri ^(see above, n. 124) were exiled, whilst Qocha (Khoja), Naqu and
Yesiin-To'a became * prisoners with the armies '. See Pelliot, op. dt. [203~H204"1.
(M.Q.) uo Ko ran, vii, 32
592
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
monument on the face of the world by the children's cleaving
to the ways of their fathers. And by life the wise man under-
stands fame and fair renown such as is spread and diffused
throughout the world and remains and endures for ever after
he is gone. And the existence of a noble successor who is not
a base lout is the life of all that preceded him. And in the
second place, [the maintenance of such ties is] by harmony and
concord amongst kindred and family and friendship and kind-
ness towards the more distant and strangers so that by assisting
one another, though they be weak, they may vanquish several
strong enemies, [67] just as sinews and hairs, which when they
support one another cannot be broken by an elephant.
A thread, when it is single, may be snapped by the strength
of an old woman (zaf) :
When it is doubled it cannot be broken by Zal-i-Zar. 141
And by the blessings of concord and mutual assistance they are
saved from perils and dangers, from which hope of relief is cut
off, and none may look on them with the glance of scorn and
contempt, and they pass their lives among mankind in easy
circumstances, respected, powerful and honoured ; and the road
is closed to foes to gain the mastery over them. And to the
man of lofty ambition one such day of life in a position of
veneration is better indeed than a whole year spent in frustration
and abjectness.
Truly death is letter for a young man than sitting in
penury and \}t is better] than a master whose
scorpions creep. 1 * 2
In this way Chingiz-Khan and his posterity have conquered
the greater part of the world ; and the rest of mankind breathe
the breath of submission and accept the payment of taxes (mil)
and tribute (kharaj). One day, at the time of his first rising to
power he was giving them this advice and instructing them each
141 Zal-i-zar f i.e. Zal the Aged, Rustam's father. E, G, and O have pur-i-Zal
the son of Zal', i.e. Rustam himself.
142 Abun-Nashnash. See Sharh-al-Hamasa, I, 167, Kitab-al-Aghanf, XI, 45.
(M.Q.)
593
THE HISTORY OF
individually. [68] To serve as an example he drew an arrow
"from his quiver and gave it to them. Clearly it required no
great strength to break it. He made the number two and so
continued till there were fourteen, and even athletes were unable
to break them. ' So it is/ he said, ' with my sons also. So
long as they tread the path of regard one for another they shall
be secure from the evils of events and shall be free to enjoy the
fruits of their kingdom. And if they act otherwise they shall
fare otherwise. 5 143
Now had the Sultans of Islam laid the same foundations in
the protection of kinsmen and strangers, and had they consolidated
this basis, and given asylum to refugees in their sanctuaries, and
accounted an attack upon relations as repudiated in the code of
liberality and humanity and forbidden in the canon of compas-
sion and pity, it would then have been impossible to destroy
them.
Of the issue of the race and lineage (uwgb) of Chingiz-
Khan there are now living in the comfort of wealth and affluence
more than 20,000. More than this I will not say but shall
rather avoid [the subject] lest the readers of this history should
accuse the writer of these lines of exaggeration and hyperbole
[69] and ask how from the loins ef one man there could spring
in so short a time so great a progeny.
The august mind of Mengii was now relieved of all business
and the assembly of princes resolved to retire and return. They
were gladdened and made happy with every kind of favour and
bounty and every sort of kindness and benevolence, and each
individually was distinguished and gratified in a different way.
And since Berke Oghul and Togha-Temur, who came from
Batu, had the greatest distance to go and had been the longest
absent he dismissed them the first and [bestowed upon them]
favours and gifts of every kind and all manner of gratifications
such that the belt of narration would be tightened by the descrip-
tion thereof. And he sent with them for Batu presents such as
are sent from a world-king to a king-maker ; for the sun sheds
light worthy of himself upon the planets and fixed stars, and the
143 See above, i, 41 and n. 7.
594
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
fresh-water stream according to the desires of the scooper ancl
the diver scatters pearls and water.
As for Qadaghan Oghul and Melik 144 [70] Oghul, he gave
each of them an ordu from the orfaf and residences of Qa'an
and bestowed the ladies of the ordus upon them. He likewise
gave them about a tiimen of QaWs emirs and troops and valuable
presents such as Fate herself is sparing of and appointed a yurt
for each of them in which he might cast away the staff of travel
and raise up the tent of residence.
After them he dismissed Qara-Hulegii with great honour and
bestowed upon him the place of his father which had been
seized by his uncle. He returned in exultation and triumph and
had reached the Altai, his desires not yet fully gratified, when he
was unable to advance another step before the decree of God
was fulfilled.
Not having obtained his food from the ruby of thy lips,
not having reaped his ear of corn from the field of Desire.
As for the rest of the princes and the ncyans and emirs, he
dismissed each of them in accordance with the dignity of his
rank and station and as his own magnanimity dictated.
They returned and praised Urn as be deserved, and if they
bad ken silent tbeir saddle-bags would bave praised him. 115
And as for Keshik he made him a tarkban 146 and gave him so
much wealth that he became a man of means, [71] lofty of rank
and inaccessible of approach.
And the princes having departed and their business being
dispatched he turned his attention to the administration of the
realm, and the straightening of the crooked, and the righting of
the wrong, and the chiding of the wicked, and the suppression
of the seditious. And when his royal resolve was directed
144 Or Mengli. See above, i, 244, n. 15.
145 Nusaib b. Rabah in praise of Sulaiman b. 'Abd-al-Malik [the Urnayyad
Caliph, 715-17]. (M.Q.) The meaning is that even if the recipients them-
selves had remained silent about the Caliph's gifts the clatter of their bulging
saddle-bags would have borne witness to his generosity.
146 See above, i, 37-8.
it 595
THE HISTORY OF
towards crushing the obstinacy of rebels and softening the necks
of traitors and his lofty mind was intent upon alleviating the
toils of mankind and lightening the labours 147 of the people,
his perfect intellect preferred earnest to jest, and abandoned the
constant quaffing of ancient wine and with the snares and corn 148
of overflowing justice and beneficence captured the love of men's
inmost hearts.
First he appointed armies for the East and the West, for the
lands of the Arabs and the non- Arabs. The Eastern countries
and the provinces of [72] Khitai, Manzi, Solangai 149 and
Tangut he entrusted to Qubilai Oghul, who is distinguished
by his wisdom and sagacity, his intelligence and shrewdness.
He nominated noyans of high standing to accompany him and
placed under his command all the emirs of the right and the
left 150 who were resident in those regions. The Western
countries he allotted to his other brother Hiilegii Oghul, who
is renowned for his firmness and dignity, his vigilance and
caution, his powerful protection and his jealous sense of honour ;
and he appointed double the number of troops to accompany
him. And Ked-Buqa 151 Bavurchi 152 set out in advance in the
middle of Jumada I, 650 [July, 1252], in order to begin dealing
with the Heretics.
By thy command which has gone forth let them travel night
and day, now from Chin towards Rum, and now from Rum
towards Chin.
And in order to assess the taxes and register the names of the
people he appointed governors, and sbahnas, and scribes. [73]
147 muan seems to be used here in the sense of corvees.
148 I.e. corn used as bait.
149 SLNKAY. Here of course only Northern Korea can be meant. See
above, p. 592, n. 138.
150 Le. of the West and the East.
151 KYD BWQA. 'Fine Bull/ This was Hiilegti's famous Christian
general, the conqueror of Damascus. See Grousset, If Empire des Sttppes, 435~9>
Spuler, Die Mongolen in Iran, 57.
152 Le. Ked-Buqa the Steward. On the office of bavurcbi (bawurchi), * overseer
of food and drink*, see the Secret History t 192, Barthold, Turkestan, 382, Spuler,
of. dt. } 273.
596
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
The Eastern countries from the beginning of the Fifth Clime 153
on the banks of the Oxus to the farthest limits of Khitai, which
are the First Clime, 154 he settled as previously upon the Great
Minister (sahib-i-mifazzam) Mahmud Yalavach and his worthy
heir Mas'ud Beg, giving to Mahmud Yalavach, whose former
services had been rewarded with marks of favour and who had
arrived before his auspicious accession, the region of Khitai,
whilst to Mas'ud Beg, who had come in fear and trembling and
had experienced terror and danger because of his devotion and
adherence to the Emperor, until in the end after escaping that
peril he became all-powerful and enjoyed great honour, there
fell the whole of Transoxiana, Turkestan, Otrar, the land of the
Uighur, Khotan, Kashghar, Jand, Khorazm and Farghana.
And since their arrival at Court had preceded the qwAltai, he
dismissed them the sooner and [74] all who had accompanied
them were distinguished with all manner of favours.
After their departure the Great Emir Arghun, who had
travelled an immense distance [along a route] fraught with
terrors and menaces arrived in Court on the 2oth of Safar, 650
[2nd of May, 1252], after the quriltai had dispersed and each of
the princes had departed to his home. And since perpetual
favour and eternal ability had ever been in attendance on him
and he had previously distinguished himself in devoted fidelity
to the dynasty and sincere devotion to the royal house by the
adoption of firm measures and the employment of perspicacious
methods (and e in the morning men praise the evening '), he was
singled out by the granting of his wishes and the attainment of
his aims ; and there was laid in his hands authority over the
countries of Khorasan, Mazandaran, India, Iraq, Fars, Kerman,
Lur, Arran, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Mosul and Aleppo. And
all the mdiksj emirs and litikchis who accompanied him were at
153 ' The FIFTH CLIME begins in the East in the lands of Gog and Magog
and runs through the northern part of Khorasan, Transoxiana and Khwarazm,
then through Adharbayjan, Armenia and the lands of Rum, then through the
shores of the Syrian Sea in their northern part, then through the lands of Spain,
to end in the Sea of Maghrib. 1 (Marvazi, 14.)
154 * The FIRST CLIME~begins in the East at the farthest limits of the Chinese
lands and stretches over the latter in their southern extension. . . .' ($?., 13.)
597
THE HISTORY OF
his suggestion and by his favour distinguished and honoured;
and on the 20th of Ramazan of the same year I55 they set out
[on the return journey]. Some of their number 156 still had all
kinds of business to attend to ; these remained behind for a few
days and then departed joyfully after him.
The Emperor appointed nokers to accompany these [75]
governors just mentioned and he commanded them to hold a
census of the provinces and assess the taxes ; and when they had
finished, to turn back and proceed in haste to Court. And
each of them had instructions to the effect that the conditions
previously prevailing should be properly investigated and
examined and that none of them should shirk the difficulties of
the task. However ' Cod bath for&iven what is past ' and the
Emperor was concerned with alleviating the lot of the people,
not increasing the wealth in the treasury. And he issued a
yarligb reducing the contributions 157 (muan) on the people, the
text of which is preserved in the archives 158 and from which it
is clear how great are his concern and solicitude for the affairs
of mankind and the maintenance of their interests.
After the death of Giiyiik Khan the princes [76] had issued
an excessive number of yarligbs ; they had engaged in com-
mercial ventures and dispatched eldis to all parts of the world.
Moreover persons noble and base had sought the protection
afforded by being an ortaq and the subjects had fled from the
greatness of the burden. 159 The Emperor now gave orders that
any yarlighs or paizas from the time of Chingiz-Khan, Qa'an,
Giiyiik Khan and the other princes that were held by any one of
them in the province belonging to him should be returned and
that henceforth the princes should not give or write instructions
155 The same date is given by Rashid-ad-Din (Blochet, 309-10) : it corresponds
to the 24th November, 1252. This is inconsistent with Juvaini's earlier state-
ment (see above, p. 519} that he and Siraj-ad-Din Shuja'i, who remained behind
for a few days after the departure of the main party, left Qara-Qorum in August-
September, 1253.
156 Juvaini and Siraj-ad-Din Shuja'i. See preceding note.
157 See above, p. 596, n. 147. 15 kbazayfa-i-airSj va turfy.
159 Heading az tisyarf-yi-Ur, zir-dcutan jasta for die az lisyari U sSr-fastm jasta
of the text. But, as M,Q. says, the sense is obscure, and Rashid-ad-Din, who
follows this passage very closely, has omitted this sentence.
598
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
regarding any matter relating to the financial administration
(masitih) of the provinces without first consulting the agents of
the Court. As for the more important elcbis they should not
make use of more than fourteen ulagbs ; they should proceed
from yam to yam and should enter no village or town in which
they had no specific business ; and they should take no more
provisions (*ulufa) than the amount allotted [77] for each man.
Furthermore the practice of tyranny and oppression having
exceeded all bounds 160 and the peasants in particular being
crushed and ground underfoot by the collection of casual levies
(*avdriz) to such an extent that the produce of their crops did
not amount to the half of the contributions (muunat) from them,
he gave orders that all ortaqs and financial and administrative
agents (ashab-i-*amal va sbugbl) should behave with self-control 161
in their dealings with the people. Each should pay in propor-
tion to his circumstances and ability the amount due from him
according to the assessment (bar vajb-i-mtfamalat) except such as
were exempt from the inconvenience of contributions (mu'an) by
the ordinance of Chingiz-Khan and Qa'an, i.e. of the Moslems
the great sayyids and the excellent imams, of the Christians, whom
they call erke'un?** the monks and scholars (ahbdr) and of the
idolaters the priests whom they call toyin 163 [78], the famous
toyins ; and of all these classes of people, those who are advanced
in years and no longer capable of earning a living. The Jews
heard of this ordinance and not being included in that category
they became exceedingly vexed and annoyed; they were per-
plexed and bewildered and thrust the hand of discomfiture into
their beards. As Zahir 164 says in his description of a preacher :
A red-bearded fellow was present He put his hand to his
beard when he heard that.
He said : * We are not of that number. We amount to nothing
in either world.*
160 Lit. ' risen to the sky '.
161 pal li-rauzan furu kunand, lit. * thrust their feet down the smoke-vent '. See
above, p. 579, n. 85.
162 On erke'un * Christian ', * Christian priest ', see Minovi and Minorsky,
Nasird-Din Tusi on Finance, 785.
163 See above, i, 14, n. 31. 164 I.e. Zahir-i-FaryabL
599
THE HISTORY OF
And in order that every agent (sahib-shugbl) might not distribute
(qismat) [the revenue at his own discretion] he instituted an
annual scheme (muvazaa) [79] whereby in the countries of
Khitai a man of great wealth was taxed eleven dinars and so in
proportion down to the poor man who paid but one ; and so
it was in Transoxiana also ; in Khorasan a rich man paid ten
dinars and a poor man one. He further ordered that the
governors and scribes should not show favour or partiality ; that
they should not accept bribes ; and that they should not falsify
the truth or display the false for the true. As for the levy on
animals (marfi-yi-cbabar-pii), which they call qupcbur, if a person
had a hundred head of a particular kind of beast he was to give
one, and if he had less, none. And wherever there were arrears
(baqaya) of taxes and whoever of the peasants owed them, they
were not to pay [such arrears] nor were they to be exacted from
them. As for the merchants and ortaqs who had made extensive
deals with Guyiik Khan, his wife and their children he ordered
them to be paid from fresh revenue (az mal-i-nau). 165
And of all the peoples and religious communities he showed
most honour and respect to the Moslems. It was upon them
that he bestowed the largest amounts of gifts and alms and it was
they who enjoyed the greatest rights. A proof of this is the
following. On the occasion of the *id-i-for 166 in the year 650
[5th of December, 1252] the Moslems assembled before the
Emperor 167 at the gate of the or fa together with the chief cadi
Jamal-al-Milla vad-Din, the exemplar of [80] the ulema,
Mahmud of Khojend (may God perpetuate his excellence !). The
chief cadi led the prayers and delivered the sermon, decorating
and adorning the kbttiba with the mention of the Orthodox
Caliphs 168 and the Commander of the Faithful. And when
they had finished the prayer of the festival, which according to
a tradition of the Prophet is more excellent than 2,000 prostrations
165 On this whole passage see Minovi and Minorsky, op. cit., 783-5.
166 'td-i-ftr, in Arabic, 'id-al-fitr, is the name of the festival held at the end
of the fasting month of Ramazan.
167 dar hazrat-i-a'la.
168 The first successors of Mohammed : Abu-Bakr (632-4), 'Umar (634-44),
'Uthman (644-56) and 'All (656-61).
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performed in the Ka c ba, the chief cadi entered the ordu and
acting as imam prayed [for the Emperor] to the following effect :
* May the rising of the star of the Festival be lucky for thee,
for thy horoscope is lucky for all mankind.
Thy enemy is waning like the full moon from an eclipse; but
thy fortune, like the crescent moon, waxes day by day/
He was viewed with the glance of favour and indulgence and
several times commanded to repeat the prayer. And as a gift
for the festival the Emperor presented 169 waggon-loads of gold
and silver balisb and all kinds of costly clothing, and the greater
part of mankind had their share thereof; although at other times
than festivals also his generosity towards the Moslems is great and
boundless.
[81] Because of thy gifts every day is a festival to us: low
then shall the festival k distinguished on the day it
returns ? 17
And throughout his realm, wherever there was a criminal or a
prisoner in the abasement of captivity, he ordered his release and
liberation m and so gave him quarter from the trials and indigni-
ties of this world. And here I have inserted the following verses,
which, although this is not the appropriate place for them, will
yet have some appeal to men of taste and discernment:
Who am I to God that when 1 sin He should not forgive my sin ?
Forgiveness is expected of the sons of Adam : how then
shall it not he expected of God?
In how many hearts did hope revive when necks were left upon
bodies and dirhems and dinars in purses and wallets ! And on
this errand elcbis and messengers sped to every corner of his realm.
Let the kings who bestow gold and silver learn the custom
of bestowing life 172 from our Sultan Bahram-Shah. 173
Like the sun in mid-heaven whose light covereth the lands
in East and West, 17 *
169 Reading fear with the majority of the MSS. for the isharat of the text
170 Abivardi. (M.Q.) " 171 Reading khalas va itlaq with E and O.
172 Or ' sparing lives *. 173 Presumably the Ghaznavid (1118-52).
174 Mutanabbi. (M.Q.)
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THE HISTORY OF
Now were one to begin describing the deeds which spring
daily from his being and to commence recounting the charitable
acts which thus manifest themselves, whole volumes would be
filled to overflowing. A little out of much, a drop from the
ocean, an atom from the sun has been and will be conveyed
with the tongue of the pen to the ear of those interested. C A little
of it is a guide to the greater part!
And since the fame of his justice and equity has spread through-
out the world, [82] all people, far and near, with a sincere
desire seek refuge in allegiance to him and so obtain quarter
from his might. Others who are exceedingly far distant cherish
the same wish, and ambassadors and elcUs come from the land
of the Franks, and farthest Syria, and the Abode of Peace ; 175
and sultans bring and send to his Court numberless gifts and
presents of heavily laden horses.
From these cities they send tribute, for they have not the
strength and might to make war on him. 176
And they return having satisfied their wants and attained their
desires. They will each be mentioned in a separate chapter. 177
Here we will say no more but will limit ourselves to uttering a
prayer for the [Emperor's] daily-increasing fortune:
O Khusrau, may thy kingdom and thy life be increased,
may the face of thy fortune be rosy !
Thy fortune is the centre of the sun: may it be outside
the orbit of decline 1
[IV]
OF AN INSTANCE OF THE VIRTUOUS DEEDS OF
HIS AUGUST MAJESTY THE WORLD-EMPEROR MENGU QA*AN
AFTER HIS ACCESSION TO THE THRONE OF THE EMPIRE
IN the introduction to this book there was some brief mention
of his noble character and actions, and in the chapter on his
accession there were included some more detailed references
175 Le. Baghdad. Sbabnama ed. Vullers, 1646, 1. 3640.
177 These chapters were never written.
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thereto. In order to corroborate what has been said we have
recorded a story, which is the meeting-place of justice and
generosity, in order that mankind may know of a certainty that
this narration is unmarked with the brand of extravagance and
innocent of the sin of aberration.
Merchants had hastened to the presence of Guyiik Khan from
all parts of the world and having concluded very large deals
had been paid by drafts (larat) on the lands of the East and the
West. But since he did not tarry long in his kingdom, the
greater part of that money remained unpaid and did not reach
those merchants. And after his death, his wives, sons and [84]
nephews concluded deals on a still greater scale than during his
lifetime and wrote drafts in the same way. And crowds of
other merchants came one after the other and carried out trans-
actions with them. When the position of those people * changed
and their cause was lost, there were some merchants who from
former transfers (havala) had not obtained even a tenth of their
due; some had not yet reached the stage of a transfer; some had
delivered their wares but a price had not yet been fixed, and others
had not yet received a draft (larat). When the World-Emperor
Mengii Qa'an took auspicious repose upon the throne of success
and the necklaces of justice and equity had been strung, certain
of these dealers approached him by way of a test partly hoping
[to enjoy the benefit of] his justice and partly despairing of
[achieving anything by] their petition for the money involved
in this transaction ; and they brought their case to his auspicious
attention. All the functionaries of Court and Pillars of State
were of opinion that there was no obligation to pay the amount
due on this transaction out of the Emperor's treasury and that
no mortal would have cause to object or cavil [if payment was
refused]. But on the principle of the verses :
What will become of our realm, which is the basis of good
fortune, if desolation should flourish ?
The generosity of the clouds has conquered the world because
it gives milk to the infants of the grass,
1 I.e. Giiyiik's family and supporters. (M.Q.)
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THE HISTORY OF
he spread the wing of compassion over them all and gave orders
for the whole sum [85] to be met from the finances of his Empire.
It amounted to 500,000 silver balisb, and had he withheld it none
would have had cause to object.
With such bounty he stole away the glory of Hatim-like kings
and with such justice he cast dust into the eyes of Nushirvan-like
emperors. And from what book of history has it been read or
heard from reciters that a king paid the debt of another king ?
And no mortal ever discharged the obligations of his enemies.
This is an instance of habits and practices from which one can
deduce his behaviour in other matters, for ' all game is in the belly
of the wild ass 3 ?
Before his might the nine-tiered heavens are like one
four-walled ruin. 3
An emperor like this, by the effect of his commands and pro-
hibitions, cannot but be powerful and long-lived in accordance
with the Divine Word : 'As to what is useful to man, it remainetb
on the earth' 4 God Almighty grant him in sovereignty an
unending life !
[V]
OF THE PILLARS OF STATE
WHEN the affairs of the world had been reduced to order by
means of his justice, and the pus that irritated men's minds had
been excised, and the disorders that had arisen had been allayed
by his auspicious accession, and [86] the hands of oppression
and iniquity bound, armies set out for all the four corners of
the world, and rebels bowed their heads in submission, and
from every land petitioners and office-holders bent their steps
towards his presence and from far and near turned their faces
towards his Court, which is the refuge of mankind and the
2 A well-known proverb. 3 Zahlr-i-Faryabi. (M.Q.)
4 Koran, xiii, 18.
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asylum of the fearful. Their numbers were great and the needs
of each of them beyond measure and their requirements various.
They remained a long time at Court. As for the scribes and
functionaries they fared variously, some becoming happy and
fortunate and others disappointed and wretched.
And since the extreme solicitude and compassion of the
gracious Emperor require that all his subjects should each of
them have his share in accordance with the amount allotted to
him, he gave orders that everything relating to the investigation
of the affairs and claims of the people should be undertaken by
the Emir Mengeser Noyan together with a body of other
experienced emirs, who should thus consolidate the foundations
of justice. And Bulghai Aqa, 1 who had acquired rights by
reason of his past services, was commanded to be chief and leader
of the scribes and to be their vizier. Like a chamberlain he
was to announce the petition of each applicant 2 and to attend
to it ; and it was he who had to write (nivisad va sava& kunad) the
decrees (amsila) and [87] mandates. And to act in association
with the Emir Bulghai the Emperor appointed, of the Moslem
litikcbis, the Emir c Imad-al-Mulk, who had occupied this position
at the courts of Qa'an and Guyiik Khan also, and the Emir
Fakhr-al-Mulk, who had precedence "over the other officials of
his Court on account of the length of his service, together with
some others that were Mongols. And to each of them he assigned
a separate task, on which after consulting and obtaining the
permission of the Emir Bulghai they were to refer their reports
to the knot-resolving counsel of the World-Emperor. As for
affairs of the Divan, such as the assessment of taxes and the
conferment of appointments, these are the concern of the Emir
Bulghai in conjunction with one or two other persons.
Others are concerned with the affairs of merchants and traders.
There are several classes of merchants. There are those who have
received Misb from the treasury and engaged to deliver a certain
amount every year and there are those who have recently become
ortctqs.
In former times before the Emperor's auspicious accession
1 See above, p. 572, n. 69. 2 Reading multamisan.
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THE HISTORY OF
important ortaqs had had yarligbs zndpaizas and no class of men
enjoyed greater respect and authority. Some had ulagbs and
were exempt from casual levies favarizat). But when he became
Khan and the key of Empire was placed in the hand of his
severity and justice, the order was given that paizas should not
be given to merchants so that a distinction might be made between
them and those engaged in affairs of the Divan. [88] That
merchants should make use of ulagbs was inequitable in the
extreme, and for that reason the people were not to be incon-
venienced in this way. And since the merchants were constantly
employed in their own gain, each of them should, in the place
where he had been numbered in the census, undertake his share
of the contributions (mv'an) on a footing of equality with the
[rest of the Emperor's] subjects and not lay claim to a superior
status.
Others are those who have brought goods to sell to the
Emperor's treasury. Of these too there are several classes. Some
value 3 jewels, others clothing, some animals and so on.
Others 4 collect and keep charge of the clothing assigned upon
the various provinces; others do likewise with furs, and two
or three with gold and silver cash.
Then there are separate persons to affix al-tamgb&, issue paizas
and supervise the arsenal.
There are many persons [89] in charge of the hunting birds
and beasts and their keepers.
[Finally] there are one or two persons to deal with the affairs
imams, sayyifc, dervishes, Christians and the holy men (attar)
of every religious community.
All these officials were commanded to be on their guard
against the stain of usury 5 and covetousness. They were to
arrest no one and were to bring each man's case promptly to
the Emperor's attention.
3 qfnut kututtid. Perhaps c sell ', which seems to be the meaning required by
the context.
4 Here Juvaini appears to have ended the digression on merchants and to be
speaking again of the Court functionaries.
*rib5 9 which M.Q. suggests may perhaps be used here in the sense of
* bribery*.
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They are attended by scribes of every kind for Persian, Uighur,
Khitayan, Tibetan, Tangut, etc., so that to whatever place a
decree has to be written it may be issued in the language and
script of that people.
[VI]
OF THE ADVANCE OF THE PRINCE OF THE
WORLD HULEGU TO THE COUNTRIES OF THE WEST
HE who to vigilant fortune has united meekness and modesty
and to daily increasing felicity the virtue of guiding wisdom
(Confronted with his world-adorning counsel the sun has no
beauty and in [90] the presence of his generosity the clouds have
no sustenance. Where are the khans of Chin and Machin that
they may learn the rites of kingship ? In what case are the
sultans of yore that they may witness the might of divinity ?
Had the Caesars of Rum been blessed with the honour of entering
his service, from his instruction they would have learnt the
methods of world-dominion. And the Chosroes of Persia and
the Pharaohs of Egypt would have gathered from his counsels
and decisions the means of world-conquest.), the Lord of the
Face of the Earth, Mengii Qa'an, had seen in the character of
his brother Hiilegii the indications of sovereignty and had
detected in his enterprises the practices of conquest. Accordingly
in the great quriltai, after he had been firmly seated on the throne
of the Khanate and his attention was no longer concerned with
the case of the self-seeking and the envious, he turned his mind
towards the subjugation of the farthest East and West of the
world. And first he dispatched Qubilai to the Eastern parts
consisting of Khitai and then in the year 650/1252-3 proceeded
to arrange and organize the affairs of his other brother Hiilegii
and charged him with the conquest of the Western parts. And
as in the case of Qubilai's mission he allotted to him two persons
out of every ten in the Eastern and Western armies and appointed
one of the princes, his younger brother Siibetei Oghul, to
accompany [91] him. He likewise dispatched as representatives
607
THE HISTORY OF
of Batu, Balaghai 1 son of Sibaqan, Tutar 2 Oghul and Quli 3
with troops belonging to Batu ; as representative of Chaghatai,
Tegiider 4 Oghul son ofMochi Oghul; from [92] Checheken
Beki, Buqa-Temiir 5 with an army of Oirat tribesmen ; and
from the sons-in-law, emirs and great noyan? on every side a body
of chiefs such as it would take too long to enumerate in detail.
And he sent to Khitai to fetch mangonel experts and naphtha-
throwers ; and they brought from Khitai [93] 1,000 households
(kbam) 6 of Khitayan mangonel-men, who with a stone missile
would convert the eye of a needle into a passage for a camel,
having fastened the poles of the mangonels so firmly with sinews
(pat) and glue that when they aimed from the nadir to the zenith
the missile did not return.
And debts were sent on in advance to reserve 7 all pasturage
1 BUT AY. The Balakhay, Balaghay, etc., of Grigor and Kirakos (see Cleaves,
The Mongolian Names, 41 3 -14) . He was the fourth son of Siban. See Rashid-ad-
Din ed. Blochet, 115, 117 and 137, where his name appears in the form Balaqan
(BALAQAN). This spelling, in conjunction with the forms of the name
in the Armenian historians, precludes the possibility of its identity (as suggested
by Cleaves, loc. cit, with respect to the Armenian forms) with Bulghai, although
both names appear as BLIAY in Juvaini's text.
2 TWTAR. The Tut'ar of Grigor and the Tuthar of Kirakos. (Cleaves,
op. cit. } 431.) He was the son of Mingqadur, the son of Bo'al. See Rashid-
ad-Din ed. Blochet, 123 and 137, where his name appears in the corrupt form
QWTAR. (On the various mis-spellings of the name in European authors
see Pelliot, Horde d'Or, 186.)
3 QWLY. The Khul of Grigor and the Ghul or Ghuli of Kirakos.
(Cleaves, op. cit., 432.) He was the second son of Orda (Hordu). (Blochet,
99 and 137.)
4 TKWDAR. The T'agudar of Grigor. ' Tegiider means " The Perfect ".'
(Cleaves, op. dt., 427-8.) On his revolt against Hulegii's successor Abaqa
see Spuler, Die Mongolen in Iran, 69. (Spuler adopts the spelling Nikudar.)
Tegiider is not to be confused with his namesake, the brother and successor
(1282-4) of Abaqa, better known by his Mohammedan name of Ahmad.
5 The son of Chingiz-Khan's daughter Checheken and the Oirat Torelchi
according to Rashid-ad-Din (Khetagurov, 119), but see above, p. 506, n. 2.
6 Perhaps e teams '.
^Lit. 'make qongb*. Cf. Vkdimirtsov, Le regime social des Mcngoh, 146:
6 D'autre part, le seigneur nomade pouvait de son plein gre " interdire " certains
emplacements de son nutuq, en faire des " Heux interdits " (goriq), reserves a la
sepulture des membres du clan royal, ou aux chasses seigneuriales. L'acces
de ces "Heux interdits*' etait, comme leur nom indique, absolument defendu
aux personnes etrangeres.*
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THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
and meadowland wherever the World-King's 8 troops might be
expected to pass, from the * Qanghai 9 mountains between
Qara-Qorum and Besh-Baligh ; and all animals were forbidden
to graze there lest the pastures might be harmed or the meadows
injured. And all the garden-like mountains and plains were
banned and prohibited and the teeth of cattle were prevented
from browsing thereon. And in all the countries from Turkestan
to Khorasan and uttermost Rum and Georgia grass fell into the
category of ' but to tUs tree come not nigh \ w so much so that
whoever fed a blade of it to his beasts was obliged to forfeit
them ; until, in truth, grass (giyab) became sin (gmah) and of
verdure (sabzi) there was satiety (siri). 11 The debts then departed
in order to remove themselves, consisting as they did of a whole
army, from the meadows and pastures to places through which
the King's troops would not pass. As for Baichu and [94] the
armies of Chormaghun [they were ordered] to proceed to
Rum.
As for the provisioning of the troops orders were given that
all the lands should provide one tagbarj 12 i.e. 100 maunds, of
flour and 50 maunds, i.e. one skin, of wine for each man.
And the emirs and local rulers, whoever they were, began to
prepare provisions (*ulufa) and get together tuzgbu or offerings
of food ; and they set down their offerings at every stage [of the
army's advance]. At the same time the Mongol and Moslem
8 padshab-i-jabSn, which I translate * World-Emperor * when it refers to the
Great Khan. Here Hiilegii is meant.
9 I.e. the Khangai range (Qangqai in the Secret History, 194). I read
QNFAY for the TY'AB of the text. The same form occurs below, III, 277
(ii, 724), where D, the MS. used by d'Ohsson, has TN'AT : d'Ohsson reads
Toungat in both cases. On these * Tungat mountains' Bretschneider, I, 114,
n. 282, comments as follows : * The name has some resemblance to TangiM,
which is the name of a mountain chain in North- Western Mongolia, stretching
parallel with the Kbangai range, and north and north-east of it. It would seem,
however, that here by Tungat the Khangai itself is meant.'
10 Koran, ii, 33. God is speaking to Adam and Eve.
11 In the Arabic script gyab and guwb, salzi and sin are identical in appearance
except for the diacritical points. Juvaini is much addicted to this kind of
visual pun.
12 A well-known dry measure equivalent to 675 pounds avoirdupois. See
Minorsky, A Soyurgbal of Qjbim b. Jabdngir Aq-qpyunlu, 948.
609
THE HISTORY OF
emirs brought herds of mares 13 and each in turn manufactured
qumiz until the troops passed on to another emir. And the
route along which it was calculated that the World-King would
pass was cleared, parasang by parasang, of thorns and boulders ;
and bridges were built over the rivers and streams and boats
held in readiness at the ferries.
And at the report of his departure quiet and tranquillity took
leave of the world : the rebellious slumbered not for fear of his
might and fury while such as were il 14 reposed not from the
preparation of troops, arms and provisions.
When the princes and noyant had been appointed and the
troops selected from the thousands and hundreds, Ked-Buqa,
who held the office of bavurcbij*- 5 set off in advance. [95] And
now the spring of the year 650/1252-3 16 had burst from the
bud of winter. The face of the earth from the multitudinous
colours of the herbs was like a peacock's feather; the world in
pleasantness became a rose-bed; the gardens were fresh and
smiling from exceeding moisture and verdancy ; the ponds after
being frozen and dry were brimful and freely flowing; the
flowers shone brightly and the clouds scattered pearls; the
nightingales sang paeans at the table of the rose-garden ; and
old men became young again from sniffing the scents and per-
fumes of the blooms.
Hulegii prepared feasts to celebrate his leave-taking and betook
himself to the ordu of the World-Emperor. Arigh Boke arrived
from the opposite direction, and all the princes and relatives who
were in that vicinity were gathered together like the Pleiades at
the Court of Qara-Qorum. Each in turn gave a feast, and they
cast the die of desire upon the board of revelry, draining goblets
13 Or perhaps ' mares from their herds '.
. , 14 T ^ e ^ on * worc * # occurs frequently in the phrase il sMan ' to become
// *, which I have usually translated by ' to surrender * or ' to tender submission '.
il means 'obedient*, 'submissive', 'at peace 5 , and stands in opposition to
to$a * rebellious ', * at war '. See Pelliot, Les Mongols et k Papautt [i26]-[i27],
Mostaert and Cleaves, Trots documents mongoh fas Archives secretes vaticanes, 454
and 492-3.
15 See above, p. 596, n. 152.
" 650 A.H. ended on the 2nd March, 1253, and it is presumably the spring
of this latter year that is meant.
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THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
(jdmba) and donning garments (jamaha) of one colour, at the
same time not neglecting important affairs.
At the end of a week, when he decided to return to his own
ordttj the World-ruling Emperor, in accordance with his Heaven-
like magnanimity, commanded that the stores of jewels, coin and
clothing should be spread [on the ground] and choice 17 mounts
and beasts of burden withdrawn from the herds ; and sent
separately to Hiilegu, [96] his wives and sons each his share, so
that the earth was weighted down by supporting it all and the
world made light. 18 And the Emperor likewise honoured with
presents the emirs and noyans that accompanied him as also all
the troops that were in attendance. And on Saturday the 2nd
of Rabi' I, 651 [2nd 19 of May, 1253], Hiilegii mounted the steed
of honour and power and turned the reins of homecoming.
Upon alighting at his own ordu he remained there for a while
arranging his affairs and seeing to the concerns of his men until
the heat of the air had abated somewhat. During this time the
princes came to bid him farewell and brought offerings of food.
Prince Hiilegu dismissed each of them with gifts and presents
proportionate to his rank. Finally on the 24th of Sha'ban, 658
[ipth of October, 1253], with an ascendant which was the East
of felicity he set out from the seat of fortune, his own ordu$ Triumph
in front of him crying ' Make way ! \ Victory running on the
right and left and Conquest following behind.
Jumghar 20 Oghul, who [97] because of his mother, 21 who
was senior to the other wives, [was of superior rank,] he appointed
his deputy and placed over the ordu and army. And of his
17 Reading guzida with O for the gwzln KLHA of the text.
18 sabuksar. Perhaps * light of heart '.
19 The 2nd May, 1253, was actually a Friday.
20 JWMTAR. In Rashid-ad-Din Jumqur (JWMQWR, Quatremere, 97)
and Jumghur (JWMTWR, Blochet, 413). He was Hulegii's second son.
In the struggle between Qubilai and Arigh Bo'ke he sided with the latter. He
died circa 662/1263-4. (Quatremere, 96-100, Blochet, Ice. V.)
21 According to Rashid-ad-Din (Quatremere, 96) her name was Kopek
Khatun and she was the daughter of Princess Checheken and the Oirat Torelchi.
However, elsewhere, in his chapter on the Oirat (Khetagurov, 119) Rashid-ad-
Din mentions only two daughters of this marriage, a wife of Arxgh Boke and
Orqina, the wife of Qara-Hulegu.
R n. 61 1
THE HISTORY OF
elder sons he chose Abaqa 22 and Yashmut 23 to accompany
him. The armies now set out from wherever they were stationed.
And from dread of the report thereof the mountains began to
quake and the hearts of kings to tremble. The King proceeded
very slowly, Balaghai and Tutar going on in advance and the
others hastening forward on the right and left. They travelled
alternately by the summer and winter routes. 24 When they
came to the region of Almaligh the ladies of Ulugh-Ef and
Orqina 25 Khatun came out to welcome them and gave feasts
[in their honour].
When the Royal banners had passed through that region the
Supreme Minister (sShib-i-a*zam) Mas'ud Beg and the emirs of
Transoxiana joined his train. The summer of 652/1254 they
passed in mountain pastures (yailqgb), setting out again when the
violence of the sun's heat [98] had abated, and in Sha'ban, 653
[September-October, 1255] they encamped in the meadows of
Kan-i-Gul 26 at the gates of Samarqand. The Minister Mas'ud
Beg erected a tent ofnasij? 7 of which the covering was of white
felt, and for nearly forty days they remained in that neighbour-
hood with constant revelry and merrymaking. In the midst
of all this, such being the wont of the unkind Heavens,
his brother Siibetei Oghul passed away and there came news
from beyond of his other brother's 28 death. Because of these
two calamities he was sorely grieved and became extremely
pensive.
When that month, which was Ramazan [October-November],
was over, on the ist of Shawal (jrd of November] they made
suyiirmisbi 29 according to their custom and began to rejoice
and revel once again. At this juncture Muhammad son of
22 Hulegu"s eldest son and first successor (1265-82). See Spuler, op. cit. t
67-77. v
23 YSMT. His name is of Persian origin (Jamshld). See Pelliot-Hambis,
Campagnesj 92.
24 va dar rab-i-tabistan va zamistw ti-tafaij harakat mi kardand.
25 See above, i, 274, n. 7. 26 * The Rose-Mine/
27 See above, i, 218, n. 34.
28 Which brother ? It could be either Bochek or Sogettu
29 Apparently ' feasting and revelry*.
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THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
* Miqdat 30 came torward to welcome the King in advance of
[99] all his peers and equals and was distinguished amongst
mankind by many marks of favour and honour.
Upon leaving that spot they did not draw rein till they came
to Kish. At this stage the Emir Arghun and most of the chief
men of Khorasan reached them and offered their presents. Here
they remained a month and then beat the drum of departure
and set out again with the intention of crossing [the Oxus].
Now at the time when the royal train set out from the summer
pastures (yailagb) orders had been given that all the boats should
be seized together with the boatmen and bridges built with the
boats, so that when the King's train arrived the forces (hasham)
crossed without any difficulty. The King took pity on them and
abolished the toll that used to be exacted from boats in crossing,
and when that toll was removed a load was taken off the hearts
of all who crossed the river. [100]
When the army had crossed the King went for a ride along
the banks. It happened that there were many tigers 31 in the
woods there. He ordered the troops to station themselves in a
circle and form a nerge. The horses being frightened of the
tigers they mounted Bactrian camels in rut 32 and ten tigers of
the meadow were bagged by the tigers of the battle-field, who
30 MQDAT. As M.Q. points out, the parallel passage in Rashid-ad-Din
(Quatremere, 148) makes it quite clear that by Muhammad must be meant
Shams-ad-Din Muhammad, the founder (1245-78) of the Kart dynasty of
Herat, on which see above, i, 121 and n. 20, also Spuler, op. tit, 155-7. As
for *Miqdat, M.Q. was unable to identify the name of which it is a corruption.
The authorities either do not mention Shams-ad-DIn's father at all, stating simply
that he succeeded his maternal grandfather, Rukn-ad-Dln Abu-Bakr b. Taj-
ad-DIn 'Usman Marghani; or else they state that this latter person was in fact
his father. Unfortunately Rukn-ad-Din's personal name, as distinct from his
lagab or title (Rukn-ad-Din) and his patronymic (Abu-Bakr), is nowhere re-
corded, so that even if he was Shams-ad-Din's father (as in the opinion of Spuler,
loc. at., he was) we cannot ascertain whether his name bore any resemblance to
Miqdat.
31 Even in the nineteenth century the Russians found tigers along the Oxus.
(V.M.) On the ambiguity of the word sbtr (sker), which means both * lion '
and 'tiger', see above, i, 257, n. 30.
32 mast, the Anglo-Indian must. The basic meaning of the word is * drunk',
and this has misled d'Ohsson, III, 140, to speak of * des chameaux qu'on avait
eu soin d'enivrer' !
613
THE HISTORY OF
made the story of Sultan Mas'ud, 33 the son of Mahmud, a mere
fable, where the poet says:
Whoever lags eight lions in one charge, mere human?
are nothing to Mm. 34
The next day they departed from thence and encamped in
the meadows of Shafurqan 35 not intending to remain there long.
However in the day of the "id-i-azba 36 it began to snow and for
seven days and nights the clouds did not disperse from that
region. And that winter was long-drawn-out and the chill of
the air and the violence of the cold were such that all of the
climes were like c the lands of snow V 7 and from the violence of
the cold many of the animals perished. Two or three lines
which I had written to my father (may he rest in peace I) from the
great ordu in Qara-Qorum were appropriate to the situation:
And the wind has pitched over our heads tents of snow
without ropes or poles.
Its arrows penetrate our clothes like an arrow shot hy
a person of gnat hulk
[101] And if her secret lover embraced a damsel with a mole upon
her face it would show them loth as one from the severity
cf the cold.
And the saliva would have frozen in their mouths hut for the
heat of the foe of desire in their livers.
And in this halting-place the Emir Arghun set up a large tent
of fine linen embroidered with delicate embroideries, 38 with gold
and silver plate in keeping with it ; and he performed many
services. Then, at the King's command he set out for the Court
of Mengti Qa'an after appointing his son Kerei 39 Malik with
33 The Ghaznavid (1030-40).
34 Abu-Sahl in a poem in praise of Sultan Mas'ud of Ghazna in which he
describes how the latter killed eight lions in one day. (M.Q.) Here too tigers
are probably meant.
35 Shafurqan or Shaburqan is the modern Shibarkhan in Northern Afghanis-
tan (55 miles west of Balkh).
36 The f id-i-azha (in Arabic t id-al-adha') or Festival of Sacrifice is celebrated
on the icth Zul'-Hijja, which in this case would have fallen on the loth January,
1256.
37 Presumably the Arctic regions. 38 Or ' pictures *. 39 KRAY.
614
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
Ahmad Bitikchi and the writer of these histories to administer
the affairs of Khorasan and Iraq in the King's service.
And when the dawn of the day of spring appeared out of the
long night of winter, and the verdure of blooms (baMr) and
flowers frothed at the lips of the grassy plain, and the vernal
season decked out the lands, and the world donned seven-
coloured brocade, and the garden sucked the breast of the clouds,
and this quatrain, composed in the springtime of life, became
apposite :
Since Spring has prepared the feast of beauty,
And the nightingale in joyfulness has taken the road to its mate,
[102] Appear, O sunrise, and give gladly to-day
Under the shadow of the willow the sun of wine, 40
and the animals had recovered their strength, orders were then
given for the fastening of banners and standards [to lances] and
the massing of the troops for the purpose of making holy war
and uprooting the castles of the Heresy. And all the forces in
that region, whether Turks or Taziks, put themselves in readiness.
Since the town of Tun 41 had apparently not yet been humbled
and still persisted in its former benightedness Hulegii first of all
proceeded thither, and at the beginning of Rabi I [the end of
March to the beginning of April, 1256] under a fortunate
ascendant he loaded the steeds of Victory and Triumph with
the burden of his desire. Upon his reaching the district of Zava
and Khaf the heavy cloud of an incident cast its shadow. He
deputed Koke-Ilgei, 42 Ked-Buqa and the other emirs [to deal
with the matter]. When they arrived the rabble (mnfid) of that
place put up some resistance until on the seventh day the army
penetrated the inner town (klsar) and razed its walls to the ground.
They drove all the men and women out into the open country
40 The second two lines are translated according to the text of G.
41 Tun (now known as Firdaus) is the first element of Marco Polo's Tunocain.
See above, i, 314, n. 97.
42 KWKAAYLKAY. So in A. B, D and H have KWKA AYLKA,
i.e. Koke-Uge, as has also Rashid-ad-Din ed. Quatreme"re. koke in Mongol
means ' blue * : on the second element of the name see Pelliot-Hambis, op. cit.,
331-2.
615
THE HISTORY OF
and spared no one over ten years of age [103] except the younger
women. And returning from thence in triumph to the World-
King they then proceeded towards Tus.
In Rabi c II [April-May] they pitched a tent onasij in Jinh-
al-Fuqara near Tus at the gate of a garden that had been laid
out by the Emir Arghun, and Jinh-al-Fuqara became the
rendezvous of emirs. 43 That tent was one which the World-
Emperor Mengu Qa'an had ordered the Emir Arghun to prepare
for his brother. In obedience to the Emperor's command the
master craftsmen had been called together and consulted, and in
the end it had been decided that the tent should be made of a
single sheet of cloth with two surfaces. And in executing the
weaving and dyeing 44 of it they had surpassed the art of the
craftsmen of San'a : [104] the back and front were uniform
(hama-rui) and the inside and outside in the exact correspondence
of the colours and designs complemented one another like the
simple-hearted. The teeth of the scissors had been blunted with
the cutting of it. That gilded cupola and heaven-like tent, the
disc of the sun, lost its brightness out of jealousy of the truck
of this tent, and the resplendent full moon wore a sulky expres-
sion because of its roundness. For a few days they feasted and
revelled here, and the access of mirth and joy to their breasts
was unrestricted. Then the King took his departure and wishing
to rest his horses [encamped] in the garden of Mansuriya, which
after falling into ruin had been restored by the Emir Arghun
and was now such that its extreme beauty made it the envy of
all the gardens of .the world. Of this spot Anvari says:
Ha ! O picture of Mansuriya, thou art a garden and a palace,
or a paradise which God has sent into the world.
That day the wives of the Emir Arghun and the Minister c lzz-
ad-Din Tahir offered tozgbu and gave a feast. The next day
they departed from thence and remained some time in the
meadows of Radkan also. And from all the provinces, far and
near, from Merv, [105] Yazir and Dihistan wine was drawn
43 Jinh-al-Fuqara means 'the Quarter of the Poor',
44 Reading nasj u sibgbat, as M.Q. suggests.
616
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
like water and unlimited provisions ('ulufat) transported and
deposited at every stage [along the route].
And departing from thence they came to Khabushan, 45 a
town which had been derelict and in ruins from the first incursion
of the Mongol army until that year, its buildings desolate and
the qanats without water and no walls still standing save those
of the Friday mosque. Now I had previously purchased a
quarter of the town from the inhabitants. Having observed the
King's interest and pleasure in restoring ruins I brought the case
of Khabushan to his attention. He listened to my words and
issued a yarligh for the repairing of the qanats, the erection of
buildings, the establishment of a bazaar, the alleviation of the
people's lot and their re-assembly in the town. All the expense
of re-building he met with cash from the treasury so that no
charge fell upon the people. All the qanats flowed once again
after a [long] interruption and the inhabitants returned after
years of exile bringing peasants and ^M-diggers from Quhistan
whom they settled there. They built workshops and laid out
a garden adjoining the Friday mosque. The mosque and the
graveyard had been destroyed. The Supreme Minister (sahflhi-
azam) Saif-ad-Din Aqa gave 3,000 gold dinars so that the work
of rebuilding and restoration might begin.
Hiilegii remained a month in [106] Ustu 46 and then departed
after mountain and plain had become denuded of grass.
Meanwhile Rukn-ad-Din Khur-Shah sent his brother Shahan-
shah and the ministers of his kingdom to announce his submission
and allegiance and his loyalty and devotion to the Court. When
these words reached the royal ear, the King ordered them to be
treated with honour and appointed elchis to go to Rukn-ad-Din.
He also sent one of their people with the elcbis and strongly
urged that Rukn-ad-Din should present himself in person and
that the castles should be destroyed. When that command
reached Rukn-ad-Din, out of madness and youthfulness he sent
a reply full of lies and slanders. It became clear to the King
that his fortune was reversed and that civility and kindness
46 The modern Quchan.
46 Ustu is another form of Ustuva, on which see above, i, 173, n. 10.
617
THE HISTORY OF
would effect nothing ; and he set out from Khurqan 47 to make
war upon him.
[VII]
OF THE ADVANCE OF THE WORLD-KING HULEGU
TO CAPTURE THE CASTLES OF THE HERETICS
RUKN-AD-DIN took no warning from the coming and going
of ambassadors and elctis. To meet the King's wishes he merely
evacuated some five castles [107] which had no stores and were
of no great strength and from the other castles wrenched out
the gates and demolished the battlements (sar-UvSr),*- thinking he
would avert his destined lot by trickery and deceit through foolish
falsehoods and deceptions, c Away, away with Us predictions ! ' 2
[Setting out] therefore from Khurqan in the middle of Sha'ban
[September, 1256] the King made his preparations to attack the
castles and destroy the dwelling-places of Rukn-ad-Din ; and
he sent instructions to the armies in Iraq and elsewhere to hold
themselves in readiness. The right wing under Buqa-Temur
and Koke-flgei then proceeded by way of Mazandaran and the
left wing under Teguder Oghuland Ked-Buqa by way of Khuvar
and Samnan. The princes Balaghai and Tutar and the armies
of Iraq set out from the direction of Alamut and the King himself
advanced 3 with men such as consider hardship a pleasant drink
and take no heed of pain.
They departed and the face of the world grew dark : the
heavens were dazzled at [the sight of] Suhrab. 4
And he again sent e Ickis in advance to say that he had put into
effect his intention [108] to move forward against Rukn-ad-Din.
The latter had added to his former crimes hollow excuses and
47 Khurqan was situated 4 leagues from Bistam (Bustam) on the road to Astara-
bacL See le Strange, The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate, 366.
1 Reading the emendation in B (va tar-cKvarha ti-y-afutakhf) for the sar-Ufvar
pjudar of the text. C below, j>. 714 and n. 7.
2 Koran, xxiii, 38.
3 Sc, in the centre, with the main body. (M.Q.)
4 Shabnama ed. Vullers, 492, 1. 966, with lava * air * instead ofjahan * world \
618
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
feeble evasions but if he would make his heart sincere again and
come forward to meet the King, he would read the lesson:
What is past is past * over his crimes, and cast the glance of
forgiveness and condonation upon his offences, and show the
teeth of assent in the face of his requests.
When the King's heaven-residing world-conquering parasol
had triumphantly passed by Firuzkuh they sent back the elcbis
and set about demolishing the ramparts and walls. With the
elcbis there came the false-hearted vizier and luckless minister
Kai-Qubad with all manner of lies and subterfuges. He
undertook to demolish their castles and dwelling-places and
asked that Rukn-ad-Din might be exempted from coming out
for the space of one year and that the castles of Alamut, Lam-
masar 5 and Lai, 6 which were their ancient home, might be
saved from destruction. Rukn-ad-Din would surrender the
other castles and would carry out any order that was issued.
He had sent a warrant (parvana) for the governor (muhtasbam) of
Girdkuh and the governor (muhtasbam) of the castles in Quhistan
[109] to present themselves before the King. By the like
blandishments Rukn-ad-Din thought that he could avert his
destiny and that by such deceptions the vizier might reverse the
inflexible will of Fate.
When the King's forces had reached the district of Qasran, 7
the castle of Shahdiz, which lay across their path, was invested
by [troops under the command of] Ked-Buqa. They encom-
passed it on every side and captured that stronghold by storm
after a day or two. They also took two or three other castles
in that vicinity.
The King now sent elcbis for the second time and ordered
him to carry out his undertaking to come down. Again he
sent them back with excuses, wishing to secure postponement
[of any action] and awaiting the fall of the autumn snows. He
5 On Lammasar see below, p. 679, n. 49.
6 Lai. G has Alan. There is no mention of this castle in the corresponding
passage of Rashid-ad-Din (Quatremere, 198).
7 Qasran was a district near Ray. See le Strange, op. dk, 216, Hamdallah
tr. le Strange, 59.
619
THE HISTORY OF
asked for a guarantee that his castles would not be invested by
the army and that there would be no fighting or plundering.
He agreed to send his son together with 300 men to serve as a
levy (hashar) and to destroy all his castles.
The King granted his request and halted at 'Abbasabad near
Ray to await the fulfilment of his pledge ; and the troops invest-
ing the castles raised the siege. At the appointed time Rukn-
ad-Din sent a child of seven or eight, [no] who he said was
his son, together with a number of his chief officials. Being a
man of great discernment and sagacity the King perceived that
this was a spurious son and that the establishment of his paternity
required the production of proof. He questioned Shahanshah
and Rukn-ad-Din's ministers whom he had sent previously.
Some whose hearts were tainted with the darkness of the Heresy
did not tell the truth, but the King shrewdly guessed what the
state of affairs was. However, he feigned ignorance and having
treated the child with honour and kindness gave him leave to
return. Then departing fiom 'Abbasabad he encamped in
Pishkil-Dara. 8
Day after day Rukn-ad-Din [in] continued to intercede for
the return of his brother, the vizier and the others, and his
followers, being evil companions, kept [leading him astray] from
the true path of submission and casting him into the wilderness
of error. When the false son returned to his luckless father the
latter sent another brother, Shiran-Shah, with 300 men to serve
as a levy, at the time it had been agreed that they should be sent
after the return of that accursed wretch, his spurious son. He
hoped that this pretence would induce the King's army to turn
back. And he kept asking for the return of his brother and
the ministers whom he had seat previously and begging to be
excused from coming out in person until the winter had changed
into spring and fear and dread had been dismissed from his
heart.
The King sent back his brother Shahanshah and bade him
8 1 have adopted the emendation in B in preference to the BYSKLH DZ
(? Pishkiia-Diz) of the text. On the district of Pishkil-Dara (Pushkil-Dara) to
the south-west of Talaqan and east of Qazvin, see M.Q., IE, 428-9.
620
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
strengthen his castles and prepare for war, unless he presented
himself within five days. When the elchi returned he brought the
same threadbare excuse, and the King realized that there was
evil in Rukn-ad-Din's head and guile in his faith. He deter-
mined to put an end to him, and the armies stationed all round
Rukn-ad-Din were ordered to advance each from its ner&e in a
parallel line. And on the loth of Shawal, 654 [3 ist of October,
1256] he set out from Pishkil-Dara, [112] having first given
orders that all those accursed wretches, the officials and soldiers 9
of Rukn-ad-Din, who had been detained in Jamalabad near
Qazvin, should be secretly dispatched to hell. Ever since that
time it has been a proverbial saying in Qazvin, when someone
has been killed, that he has been * sent to Jamalabad '.
Elcbis now departed to all the lands to procure and dispatch
taghars of flour for the provisioning of the army and also a great
number of animals both for slaughter and for use as mounts.
The provisions had to be transported [over an area stretching]
from Armenia to Yezd and from the land of the Kurds to
Jurjan and the beasts belonging to the Divan being insufficient
for the purpose the order was given that the animals of any person
whatsoever, whether noble or base, Turk and Tazik, should be
seized as ulagbs and the tagbars thus dispatched.
On the 1 8th of that month [8th of November, 1256] the
heaven-residing parasol was opened out on a hilltop facing
Maimun-Diz 10 from the North, and the next day the King rode
all round it in order to survey and examine the points most
suitable for making an attack. Now Maimun-Diz was a castle
such as perhaps Abul-'Ala was describing when he says:
[113] Men cannot reach its highest peaks, nor can the lira's,
not even the vulture and the eagle.
And the wishes of a seeker have not desired it } and its
dogs have larked only at the stars, 11
9 Presumably the 300 men sent with Shiran-Shah.
10 On the castle of Maimun-Diz see below, p. 627.
11 In fact these verses are not by any Abul-'Ala but by the Umayyad poet
Ka'b b. Ma'dan al-Ashqari. They describe the capture of the castle of NTzak
in Badghis by Yazid b. Muhallab in the year 84/703-4. (M.Q.)
621
THE HISTORY OF
The King therefore consulted with the princes, noyans and
pillars of state as to whether they should lay siege ^to the castle
or turn back and wait all the coining year. Since it was winter
and it was difficult to obtain provisions (*ulufa) and impossible
to procure fodder and their animals in consequence were lean,
most of the emirs were in favour of turning back. Of the
kinsmen Buqa-Temiir, of the ministers the Emir Saif-ad-Din,
who was the strongest pillar, and of the emirs Ked-Buqa and
Tayir would hear only of a siege. 12 And since they spoke after
the King's own heart he too would hear of no other counsel and
sent instructions to all the armies to prepare for a siege and make
ready for battle. And when Rukn-ad-Din saw this he came
to offer submission and descended from the height. Had it
been otherwise, the provinces of the kingdom would have been
exhausted by the transport oftaghars and food and drink. And
since the further history of Rukn-ad-Din has been given in the
fatb-nama appended to this chapter, it would be redundant to
repeat it here, and we shall say no more on that subject.
[114] Copy of the fath-nama of Alamut
Praise fa to God, Who keepeth His promise, and aideth His servant
and strengthened) His host, and routeth the sects, He alone ! And
blessings and peace upon the Prophet after whom there shall fa no
prophet !
From the time when the precedent established by the firm
command of "Be ", and it is ' 13 first placed the keys of the lands
of the Habitable Quarter in due order in the hands of the might
of the Sultans of the age and powerful Khaqans, and in each
era, in accordance with its command and desire, produced from
the unseen world a leader of men, and, in East and West,
embroidered the garment of each such leader's life with victories,
whereof the scent perfumed the nostrils of all creation, as hath
been written down in the bellies of books and proclaimed from
the backs of pulpits ; until this present day when the surface
of the earth has been adorned by the all-embracing justice and
perfect wisdom of the Khan of Khans, the source of the blessings
12 Lit. 'restricted their speech to a siege*. 1S Koran, ii, in.
622
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
of peace and security, the Commander of the Earth and the Age,
the one raised up by the wondrous might of the Merciful, Mengii
Qa'an, and the lights of clemency and benignity have become
visible on the horizon of equity and righteousness : there has
reached no ear and has been beheld by no eye so manifest a
victory. It is indeed the preamble to ' Verily, We have won for
the an undoubted victory V 4 for God (great is His glory and universal
His bounty !) made it possible through the action and resolve,
and caused the knot of it to be untied by the perspicacious
counsel, of the Blessed King and Just Monarch
He whose sword is kept strong by religion has the pomp
and manner of an Emperor
Hiilegii, the Buraq of whose lofty ambition touches the head of
the Pleiades while the lightning of his considered intention
tramples on the face of the earth. [115] And because God
Almighty hath said : ' Recollect God's favour upon you/ 15 the
meanest slave of his daily-increasing fortune, c Ata-Malik b.
Muhammad al-Juvaini, the mustaufi, wishes to send these good
tidings to all the climes of the world, far and near, and to utter
the cry which the tongue of the Faith has caused to reach the
souls of all orthodox Believers :
The Truth has appeared with frm pillars f with a rising
star and a lofty structure,
While the wrongdoers and the wicked, the aberrant and the
rebellious; have stretched out their hands after evil
Of the details of these events, which will remain for ever on the
face of the years, he will give some brief description and reduce
a line or two to writing, causing it to reach the ears of high and
low, the great and the noble, from the farthermost East to utter-
most Syria ( may God let them hear the glad tidings I) that ever since
that huma, the heaven-residing parasol of the World-Conquering
King, Hiilegii, had cast its auspicious shadow over these regions
and the pennants of the victory-proclaiming standards had been
unfurled over these lands and countries, [116] he had followed
the divine law which says : ' We never punished until we had fast
14 Koran, xlviii, i. "IS/i, v, 14.
623
THE HISTORY OF
sent an apostle * 16 and had dispatched messenger after messenger
to Rukn-ad-Din both to encourage and to warn him, hoping
that by politeness and civility he might [be induced to] come
forward and make obedience and submission a shelter from the
vicissitudes of Fortune. However, on each occasion because of
his youthfulness he sent a reply which was wide of the mark of
truth and remote from the direction of righteousness, its apparent
differing from its real meaning and his words being inconsistent
with his deeds. It was therefore decided by the King's judge-
ment, which radiates like the sun and is the mirror of the essence
of things and the elixir of wisdom, to overthrow the castles of
Rukn-ad-Din, which rubbed horns with the Horn of the Bull, 17
whose crags (kamar) from their great elevation placed their hands
on the girdle (kamar) of Orion and which vied for glory with
the palaces of Saturn ; [to overthrow these castles] with men
who in strife and battle were like Anaretae 18 (if the Sun seeks
their company like the Moon he begins to travel by night ; and
if Mars encounters their arrows like Venus he purchases peace) ; 19
to break these people's backs [117] which in their carelessness
they had leant against mountains ; to make the zenith of Rukn-
ad-Din s glory the nadir of abasement and the degree of exaltation
the limit of depression ; and to cause his ancestral home, i.e.
Maimun-Diz, in which he had ignorantly imagined his strength
to lie, to be his bane and ruin.
At the prompting of Prosperity and Good Fortune, in the
middle of Shawal of the year 654 [November, 1256], he dis-
patched elcbis to the emirs and noyans who were stationed round
the castles at a distance, like a belt round the waist of a wasp ;
and he ordered each to advance from his station. Suqunchaq 20
16 Koran, xvii, 16. 17 The star S or the star v Tauri.
18 dkbtantt-i-qaff. See above, p. 362, n. I.
19 A good example of taiubub. The mention of Saturn is the occasion for
the introduction of the remaining six planets. Of these only the Sun, the Moon,
Mars and Venus appear in the Translation, but fir ('arrows') is Mercury
and musbtan (* purchases *) Jupiter.
20 SQNjQ. Suqunchaq, Sughunchaq or Sunchaq, the future governor of
Mesopotamia and Fars, belonged to the Siildus tribe. He was a great-grandson
of the Sorqan Shira who befriended Chingiz-Khan at the time of his captivity
624
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
Noyan and Tamgha 21 he sent on in advance to reconnoitre
with an army of Turks who had bidden farewell to sleep and
rest and made a meal of the flashing sword. Behind them the
Monarch himself, blessed in action and in counsel, the God-
aided King of Kings, moved forward with an army in full
array, of such great numbers that Gog and Magog themselves
would have been destroyed by the waves of its battalions. 22 The
wings were filled with warlike youths, who in dark nights with
a thrust of the spear make Simak 23 the food of the fish of the
sea and the Crab the fish of the Lion of the heavens
Those who said, when they emerged with al- Qana from the vortex
of death : f Go tack into the thick of iff 24
[118] archers each of whose arrows make Sagittarius the bane
of Mercury and turn the sons of the saddle and Rakhsh into
* Daughters of the Bier.' 25 And the centre he adorned with men
of experience who had tasted the sweet and bitter of life, men
who consider the day of battle the wedding-night, and connect
the blades of flashing swords with the cheeks of white-skinned
women, and deem the pricks of lances to be the kisses of beautiful
maidens. 26
They set out 27 by way of Talaqan with the speed of the wind,
like a flood in their onrush and like a flame of fire in their ascent ;
and their horses' hooves kicked dust into the eyes of Time.
And on the very day of departure they came midway upon a
mountain ram. Some of the young men, eager for fame, at
once filled it with their arrows. The King took this as an
omen and knew that the butting ram would be a victim in the
amongst the Tayichi'ut. See M.Q., III, 303-4. The same name was borne
by a grandson of Muqali. See Pelliot-Hambis, Campagnes, 371.
21 TMTA. Perhaps Tamagha.
22 Reading mauj-i-fauj with O.
23 Either a Virginis (Spica) or a Bootis (Arcturus).
24 *Amr al-Qana, a Kharijite poet quoted in the Hatnasa. (M.Q.)
25 I.e. scattered like the banat-an-na'sbj the constellation of the Bear. Cf. our
Benetnasch (?? Ursae Majoris). In this passage the tanasub is concerned with
constellations, zodiacal and other.
26 Cf. above, i, 82, for which this passage may have served as a model
27 Reading ravan shudand with CX
625
THE HISTORY OF
oven of calamity and the faith of Hasan-i-Sabbah would be
without followers. 28
That day [119] the World-King's forces encamped in the
district of Talaqan and he ordered the armies of Kerman and
Yezd to besiege the local castles such as Aluh-Nishin, Mansuriya
and several others ; and he strengthened the hand of these troops
with a force of Mongols who were their mainstay (muavval)**
The next day when the bright-faced Sun thrust his head out
of the collar of the horizon they beat the drum of departure and
[advanced] by way of Hazar-Cham, 30 which was as twisted as
the curls of a sweetheart, nay as narrow as the sirat-i-qiyamat 31
and as dark as the road to Hell. There was no room to place
one's feet, how then could one go forward ? And the chamois
could not easily keep their footing, what then could men do ?
To tread on the level parts was no simple matter ; on the rugged
parts what could one do but come to grief? [120] [Yet] the
King passed over and chose toil and pain rather than the road
of ease. And the tongue of Destiny sang this song :
Give ear to thyself, because the self is the soul of a world
bound up in that dear soul which thou hast.
The next day the troops and squadrons arrived at the foot of
the castle and at noon
That parasol to which the heavens are inferior, [which]
is a cloud shading the sun
was opened up on a hilltop opposite the castle. 82
And from the direction of Ustundar, 33 which lay on the right,
there came Buqa-Temiir and Koke-Ilgei with armies all fire and
28 In the original there are word-pkys on kisb ' faith * or * quiver ' and qurban
* followers ' or * bow-case *.
29 Introduced for the sake of the visual pun with mugkul (mogbol) ' Mongols '.
30 Hazar-Cham is a well-known pass in the Elburz some 80-90 miles north-
west of Tehran between the district of Talaqan on the west, Kalar Dasht and
Kujur on the east and Tunakabun on the north. (M.Q.)
31 The bridge from this world into Paradise, more slender than a hair and
sharper than a sword.
32 I.e. Maimun-Diz.
33 I.e. Rustamdar in Mazandaran. See above, p. 385, n. 73.
626
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
fury along steep roads as crooked as the covenant of the wicked
[121], with hilltops twisted around them, full of defiles. And
from Alamut, which lay on the left, came the princes Balaghai
and Tutar with a great body of men, all clamouring for ven-
geance. And behind them came Ked-Buqa Noyan with a host
like a mountain of iron. The valleys and mountains billowed
with the great masses of men. The hills which had held their
heads so high and had such strong hearts [122] now lay trampled
with broken necks under the hooves of horses and camels.
And from the din of the braying of those camels and the noise
of pipe and kettle-drum the ears of the world were deafened, and
from the neighing of the horses and the flashing of the lances
the hearts 34 and eyes of the foe were blinded. ' For God's behest
is a fixed decree.' 35
Thus in one day so many immeasurable armies were joined
together to form around the said castle and town of heresy and
iniquity a mge whereof the blessing embraced both small and
great. Now the history of that castle is as follows. At the
time when that people were at the height of their power, his 36
father 'Ala-ad-Din, in accordance with [the words of Pharaoh :]
* " O Hainan, build for me a tower that I may reach the avenues, the
avenues of the heavens," * 37 had instructed his officials and ministers
to survey the heights and summits of those mountains for the
space of 12 years [123] until they chose that lofty peak which
confided secrets to the star Capella ; and on its summit, which
had a spring of water on its top (dahSn) 38 and three others on
its side, they began tp build the castle of Maimun-Diz making
the ramparts out of plaster and gravel ( ? sang-i-rikbta) . And from
a parasang away they brought a stream like the Juy-i-Arziz 39
and caused the water to flow into the castle. And because of
the extreme cold it was impossible for beasts to find a home or
live in that place from the beginning of autumn till the middle
34 I.e. they became kur-lil * blind-hearted ', ' senseless \ here perhaps * panic-
stricken *.
35 Koran, xxxiii, 38. 36 I.e. Rukn-ad-Din's.
37 Koran, ad, 38-9.
38 Lit. * mouth '. Perhaps a reference to its crater-like shape ?
39 See above, i, 121, n, i$.
s n. 627
THE HISTORY OF
of spring. On this account Rukn-ad-Din thought it impossible
for human beings to penetrate to the castle and lay siege to it,
since the mountains intertwined and the very eagles shrank back
from the passes whilst the game animals at the foot sought some
other way around. Nay, because of its great elevation that lofty
place applied to itself the words [of 'AH] : ' The food rusheth
down from me, and the Ms rise not up to me/
And now the inmates of the castle saw how a people numerous
as ants had, snake-like, formed seven coils around it [124] and
quickly contrived to make their abode upon hard rock. As in
the panja 40 they had joined rank to rank and laid hand in hand.
In the day-time as far as their sight could reach the people of
Maimun-Diz could see nothing but men and standards, and at
night, because of the great quantity of fires, they thought the
earth a sky full of stars [and] a world full of swords and daggers,
whereof neither middle nor edge was visible. For excess of grief
each of them on the towers and walls mourned in his heart at
the time of feasting. ' They shall say, " 3 Tis what the God of Mercy
promised ; and the Apostles spake the truth" 3 41
However, the prudent King, though confident of his strength
and power, wished to draw them into the net by the fairest of
means without his army's having to suffer pain. He therefore
dispatched an elcbi to Rukn-ad-Din to announce the arrival of
his standards ; and he still sought to win him and his people
over, saying that heretofore Rukn-ad-Din's best interests had
been obscured to him by the evil suggestions of a group of
nasnas,* 2 and on account of the fewness of his years the eye of
wisdom had not yet awakened from the slumber of neglect. If,
however, before his ant-like people, thoughtless and improvident
as they were, should be trampled underfoot ' lest Solomon and
his army crush you 3 he was, in accordance with the exigencies
of the time, to substitute for the words 'enter your dwellings ' 43
the words ( come out of your abodes,' and convert the injunction of
40 A kind of cknce. 41 Koran, xxxvi, 52. (Somewhat abridged.)
42 See above, p. 529, n. n.
43 ' Till they reached the Valley of Ants. Said an ant, " O ye ants, enter your
dwellings, lest Solomon and his army crush you and know it not"' (Koran, xxvii, 18.)
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THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
Hasan-i-Sabbah : ' See to your castles ! ' into e See [125] that ye
be parted therefrom ! ", and come down from the castle, and not
expose himself to danger because of the schemes of a band of
wretches and their futile lies, but at the suggestion of Fortune
speed from the whirlpools of calamities to the shore of salvation,
the promises to spare him and his people were as valid as ever,
nay they were more so. The King's magnanimity desired in
all cases the pleasure of forgiveness and condonation.
From the castle he 44 sent a reply saying : * As the saying is,
the hyena is not in his hole, and he 44 can do nothing that might
entail their destruction until he has news/ 45 that is to say :
* Rukn-ad-Din is absent and we cannot come out without his
leave and permission.'
The ekhi returned and the next day, when from the breast of
night the milk of the dawn-break gushed forth and the world
was in turmoil from the roaring of the thunder-voiced men and
lions, 46 the King proceeded by the road on the left to the highest
summit and having surveyed all the possibilities of entrance and
egress and examined the various approaches returned to his
encampment by the other route. On the next day, when the
heralds of the heavenly Jamshid drew their glittering swords from
the scabbard of the horizon and routed the black host of Night,
with their morning draught [the Mongol army] struck the harp
of war, [126] and with intent to rend the veil of their adversaries
they prepared to do battle with mangonels and stones. And
they cut down and trimmed for these mangonels trees which
those people had tended and watered for many years past, not
realizing what purpose they would serve or what fruit they would
ultimately bear.
I teach bint to shoot every day, and when Ins aim is sure
he will shoot me. 47
44 Apparently the commander of the castle.
45 Of the hyena, i.e. Rukn-ad-Din.
46 Reading mardan u sbiran-i-ra'd-avaz with O.
47 Attributed variously to Ma'n b. Aus, Malik b. Fahm al-Azdi and 'Aqll
b. 'Ullafa. (M.Q.) Quoted in the GuUstan in the story of the wrestler and his
pupil. See Arberry, Kings and Beggars, 62-3.
629
THE HISTORY OF
And during these days they placed a group of athletes at every
amaj* 8 to transport the heavy poles and pillars of the mangonels
to the top of the hill*
The next day, when the lid of night was lifted from the oven
of the earth and the loaf-like disc of the sun was pulled out of
the paunch of the darkness, the King ordered his bodyguard to
climb to the top of the highest peak and pitch the royal encamp-
ment there.
[127] We ascended Daushan 49 with one who was stronger than it anl
more steadfast when the knees were intertwined,
With an army fallowing with horsemen until tbou didst
think the dry land a sea of arms. BQ
Meanwhile, the garrison of the castle, having prepared by
night for battle and entrusted the towers of their heaven-reposing
castle to fellow ruffians, began the engagement ; they set up the
poles of their mangonels and in the middle of Shawal [Novem-
ber, 1256] commenced a brisk discharge of stones.
Thou hast tied the rope and dost play boldly: 'tis well
if in the end it do not miss.
And on this side also the young men were splitting hairs with
lance-like arrows and themselves flinching before neither stone
nor arrow. Arrows, which were the shaft of Doom discharged
by the Angel of Death, were let fly against those wretches,
passing like hail through the sieve-like clouds.
[128] The arrow passed through coats of mail as the wind of
early dawn through the petals of flowers.
When the sun drew the shield of shadow in front of him they
ceased fighting, but on the fourth day, which was the crisis of
their disease and the proof of the testimony of truth, when dawn
began to break, cries and shouts rose up, and on both sides they
set foot upon the road of battle. From the towers bows sent
48 amaj : the 24th part of a parasang, i.e. about a sixth of a mile.
49 According to Manini in his commentary on 'Utbi, Daushan or Dushan
is the name of a mountain. In the Yatimat-ai-Dahr the name appears in the
form Jaushan or Jushan. (M.Q.)
50 Abu-Eras Hamdani. Quoted in the Yatimat-al-Dabr. (M.Q.)
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THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
up swift-feathered shafts, and a kaman-i-gav, n which had been
constructed by Khitayan craftsmen and had a range of 2,500
paces, was brought to bear on those fools, when no other remedy
remained ; * and of the devil-like Heretics many soldiers were
burnt by those meteoric shafts. From the castle also stones
poured down like leaves, but no more than one person was
hurt thereby.
Having that day experienced the force of the Mongols' arms
they ceased fighting, and the garrison of the castle after the heat
of war knocked 52 at the door of peace. And Rukn-ad-Din
sent a messenger with a message to this effect : ' I had concealed
myself hitherto because I was not certain of Your Majesty's
arrival The army will now cease fighting and to-day or to-
morrow I will come out/ With such trickery did that idle
babbler cast water upon the fire so that that day they lifted their
skirts from battle. On the following day he sent another mes-
senger and asked for a yarligb granting him safe-conduct. In
compliance with their request the bearer of these good tidings 53
wrote a yatligb, the text of which together with other matters not
suitable for inclusion here has been incorporated in Juvaini's
History of the World-Conqueror. 5 * This yarligb was sent to them
and read out in public. Those who were not wanting in
intelligence and valued their property and their lives rejoiced and
exulted. And when the day drew to its close and light changed
into darkness they promised he would come down the next day.
When the morrow was born of dark Night and Rukn-ad-Din
prepared to descend, some of the more fanatical fdais went to
every extreme in their opposition and would not allow him to
go down. They even plotted to do away with those who had
encouraged him to take that decision. Rukn-ad-Din again sent
someone with the following message: * Before hastening to
present myself I had prepared gifts [for your acceptance], [130]
51 *kaman-i-gav, lit. ' ox's bow'. Apparently a ballista, i.e. a magnified cross-
bow which propelled, not stones like the mangonel, but javelins. See Oman,
A Hirtory of the Art of War in the Middle Agt$ 3 I, 137-8.
52 Reading ItiiftanJ, as M.Q. suggests, for the ffriftoni of the text.
53 1.e. Juvaini himself, who must have taken part in the negotiations.
54 See above, i, 10, n. 19.
THE HISTORY OF
but most of my followers were angry and agreed together to
make away with me before this plan was carried out. On this
account my intention was frustrated.'
When these words reached the august ear of the Il-Khan 55
he gave no sign 56 at all of his inner displeasure. He said that
it was best for Rukn-ad-Din to guard his own person; and
dismissed the messenger.
During the coming and going of messengers suitable sites had
been found for the erection of mangonels and the parts 57 had
been easily fitted together. On the next day,
When the sun rent that pitch-coloured veil and came out
from behind it, 58
[131] orders were given that all round the castle every man
should engage [the enemy] in front of him and that every one,
whoever he was, should advance and join battle with his
opponents. And from the whole circumference of the castle, a
distance of a parasang or more, the battle-cry was blended with
its echo ; and from the rolling of boulders hurled from above
a trembling fell upon the limbs and members of the mountains.
From the clashing together of the rocks the level ground between 59
with its core of hard stone became mere dust, and from the
frequent assaults the collar 60 of the ninth sphere was rent
open.
As for the mangonels that had been erected it was as though
their poles were made of pine-trees a hundred years old (as for
their fruit, ' their fruit is as it were the heads of Satans^} ; and with
the first stone that sprang up from them the enemy's mangonel
was broken and many were crushed under it. And great fear
55 AYLXAN. Only in A. Interesting as the first mention of the title
borne by Hulegii as the Mongol ruler of Persia. On this title cil-kban or /7-#w,
* qan soumis *, see Mostaert and Cleaves, Trots documents mongols des Archives
secretes vatkams, 454. An alternative form, El-Khan, is represented by the
Byzantine * Etydvriz and the Elghan of Vardan (149).
56 Reading zabir na-sbud with B, D and E.
57 ' jan-i-alat. The meaning is not quite clear.
58 Sbabnama ed. Vullers, 472, 1. 627.
59 1 take saharat to be a wrongly formed plural of sahra ' plain *.
60 /u; < 8 / which also means 'sine*. 61 Koran, xxxvii, 3.
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THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
of the quarrels from the crossbows overcame them so that they
were utterly distraught and everyone in the corner of a stone
made a shield out of a veil, 62 whilst some who were standing
on a tower crept in their fright like mice into a hole or fled like
lizards into [132] crannies in the rocks. Some were left wounded
and some lifeless and all that day they struggled but feebly and
bestirred themselves like mere women. And when the heavens
doffed the cap of the sun and the earth raised the curtain of
night from the soil up to the Pleiades, they withdrew from battle.
On the next day, when the Light-King thrust his head through
the collar of the East, the mighty warriors of the King's army
set to once again, drawing their hands through the sleeve of
Holy War and leaning the back of firmness against the mountain
of resistance.
Rukn-ad-Din now saw that he would be left with nothing
but regret. He had been seeking to gain time with * perhaps '
and * peradventure ' and sending back messengers with unaccept-
able excuses, and was still procrastinating in the same manner
in the hope that the cotton-dressers of winter might make cotton
of the King's army. But now he saw that it was an illusion
to look for winter and snow. By the grace of God Almighty
and the blessings of the King's daily-increasing fortune no day
bore a surly expression ; the screen of the chamberlain clouds
did not preclude the sun ; throughout the month of Dai 6S
* yesterday ' was cold in comparison with * to-day * ; and * to-
morrow * finer than * to-day '; any snow that had fallen at [133]
the beginning of autumn before the arrival of so many rivals
had not settled ; and yet old men of a hundred could not
remember that it had ever been possible to enter or leave those
parts from the time the sun entered the first point of Libra on
account of the coldness of the air, the falling of the dew and the
great quantities of snow. In these circumstances Rukn-ad-Din
saw no refuge save in surrendering and seeking shelter under
62 I.e. they availed themselves of such inadequate cover as there was.
63 Introduced for the sake of the word-play with fa e yesterday '. Actually
the solar month of Dai would be somewhat later the 22nd December to the
2 ist January.
633
THE HISTORY OF
the shadow of the King's mercy ; and in great fear and dread
he resorted 64 to supplication and intercession.
If thy fury leads its vanguard into the sea, the pearl
becomes a pomegranate pip in the throat of the shell
He dispatched a messenger and begged forgiveness for his past
crimes. Accordingly the King's universal beneficence and utter
compassion with the pen of power inscribed upon the pages of
his and his people's actions the verse: 'Forgive with kindly
forgiveness' 65
Rukn-ad-Din first sent out the greater part of his notables and
ministers together with his son, and the next day, after being
distinguished with the promised attentions, he came down
himself. And this auspicious day was the last of Shawal of
that year [ipth of November, 1256], the last of the prosperity
of the People of the Mountains, nay rather the first of the glad
tidings of the Glorious Lord.
Rukn-ad-Din descended from that high summit and elevated
seat, whereon he had thought himself in a position to say :
On this steep mountain of Jalnabad 66 1 am, as it were,
like facfagbfur on his throne or Porus 67 on his, 68
in an attitude of perplexity and stupor, stumbling along ' like
some bewildered man whom the Satans have spell-bound in [134] the
desert \ 69 And to that familiar abode and well-known dwelling
he bade farewell with a thousand pains and pangs, such a
farewell that another meeting was unimaginable. Against the
decree of Eternity Past of what avail the numbers of castles and
the strength of fortifications ? And when dynasties break up
ft4 Reading M, which M.Q. suggests and O actually has.
65 Koran, xv, 85.
66 Jalnabad the spelling is uncertain was a village at the foot of a mountain
to which the author of the poem had retired. It was a dependency of the larger
village of Kuban (? Cuban) in the Merv region. See M.Q., I, 235 and n. 3.
67 The text has Bur, i.e. Pur, for which 'Auffs text (M.Q., I, 236) has Fur.
The reference is of course to the Indian opponent of Alexander the Great.
68 One line of the poem has already been quoted. See above, i, 19 and
n. 2.
69 Koran, vi, 70.
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how can thought and constancy of mind assist them ? One sign
from Destiny annuls a hundred thousand misrepresentations by
human planning, and half a nod from Fate brings to nought a
million impostures by human deceit.
Fate playeth with mankind the game of the sticks with the lall,
Or the game of the wind blowing (know thou /) a handful of milkt.
Fate is a hunter, and man is nought but a larkS
Having then hastened down with his family and followers
Rukn-ad-Din sought refuge in the honour of kissing the threshold
of the World-King's audience-place and, in an attitude of shame
and contrition, confessed to the crimes and sins that he had
committed in former days and in the preceding months. And
since the King united in his person all the graces of kingly
beneficence and all the wonders of royal kindness, he changed
Rukn-ad-Din's feelings of loneliness and foreboding into a
mood of ease and happiness and conveyed to his soul the glad
tidings that he and his family who had been dead were alive
again.
The next day, Rukn-ad-Din took his brothers, children,
domestics and dependents and the inmates of the castle down on
to the plain, [135] and every one of the soldiers came out with
his goods and belongings. Then the Mongol army entered and
began to destroy the buildings, brushing away the dust thereof
with the broom of annihilation. 71
Some of the more fanatical f&stis, sacrificing their lives in the
cause of Error and Ignorance, leapt up again and seeking death
with their hearts opened their wings like ants and flew up on
to the dome of the stout palace, which was the seat of the rulers
of the kingdom, nay of those who were ill-fated both spiritually
and temporally. (' And bad not God willed the ant well He would
not have caused wings to grow on ft.*) 72 And here they stretched
their arms to battle. On the part of the victorious army man-
gonels were directed against those purblind, crooked-hearted
70 These lines have already been quoted. See above, i, 106 and n. 25.
71 Adding fana with C.
72 Attributed to 'Abd-al-Hamid b. Yahya, the famous secretary, in a letter
he wrote to Abu-Muslim regarding the Umayyad Caliph, Marwan H. (M.Q.)
635
THE HISTORY OF
unbelievers, and there was a brisk discharge of swiftly flying-
stones and arrows, like curses raining down upon Iblis.
For three days and nights they resisted in this manner, but on
the fourth day the snake-like warriors and valiant stalwarts of
the army scaled that lofty and majestic peak and utterly crushed
those serpent-like miscreants and hacked the limbs of those
wretches to pieces.
Apart from what was in the treasuries of Maimun-Diz Rukn-
ad-Din had nothing of any value to offer as a present (tikisb-
misht) to the King [136] because at the time of the passing to
and fro of the armies all his possessions had been distributed. 74
[The King] scattered it all as largesse and offered it to the Pillars
of State and the troops of the kingdom.
And to the other castles in that valley (rud-kbana) he sent his
messengers and officers together with the elcbis of the Il-Khan
with orders for their destruction. And the King turned back,
victorious and triumphant.
An elcbi proceeded to the commander of Alamut to call on
him to comply also and join his master in submission and
allegiance. He hesitated to come down immediately and Prince
Balaghai was despatched with a large force of men to lay siege
to the castle. Balaghai led his army to the foot of Alamut and
invested it on every side. The garrison, having cast a glance
at the consequences of the matter and the vagaries of Fate, sent
a messenger to sue for quarter and beg for favourable treatment.
Rukn-ad-Din intervened on their behalf and the King was
pleased to pass over their crimes. And at the end of Zul-
Qa'da of that year [beginning of December, 1256] all the inmates
of that seminary of iniquity 7S and nest of Satan came down with
all their goods and belongings. Three days later the army
climbed up to the castle and seized whatever those people had
been unable to carry off. They quickly set fire to the various
73 See above, p. 579,^ n. 87. < '* pa-yi-tafriqa uftada M.
75 lid'at, strictly * (objectionable) innovation *, * heresy '. Cf. Lewis, Some
observations on the significance of Heresy in the History of Islam, 52-3. Here it is
chiefly intended as a term of abuse, although of course Wat was specifically
applied to the Nizari reform of Isma'ilism, the * New Propaganda * of Hasan-i-
Sabbah. See below, pp. 671 and 674, also Ivanow, Kdami P/r,xxviii and n. i.
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buildings and with the broom of destruction cast the dust
thereof to the winds, levelling them with their foundations.
[137] To beware of death is not allowable on two days:
The day whereon is thy doom and the day whereon
thy doom is not.
On the day whereon is thy doom to struggle is of
no avail;
On the day whereon thy doom is not to fear it is
not allowable.
On the night of their doom the decree [of God in the words :]
' We turned those cities upside down ' 76 became as clear as broad
daylight to those people. And yet when the time was not yet
ripe, during the reign of Hasan-i-Sabbah, that same castle of
Alamut, whose garrison and resources were then but small, had
during a period of n years been several times besieged by
Muhammad, son of Malik-Shah, son of Alp-Arslan, (as may
be read in books of history), and all to no avail.
Now to the wise man it is clear and certain that every beginning
has an end and every perfection a falling-oif, which, when the
time comes, there is no power which can prevent. The Apostle
of God (Cod Uess him and give him peace !) hath said : ' It is the
right of God not to raise something without setting it down!
During this week Shams-ad-Din, the governor (muhtasham) of
the castles of Quhistan, arrived and asked for a yarligh. He then
set out with Rukn-ad-Din s officials in order that, beginning
with Girdkuh, they might demolish all the castles, more than
50 of them, still remaining in the region of Quhistan, castles
which raised their hands against the heavenly spheres and
assaulted the constellations ; and in demolishing them turn the
wine of their imaginings [138] into a mirage.
And from Dailaman, 77 Ashkavar, 78 Tarum and Kharkam 79
76 Koran, xi, 84.
77 Dailam or Dailaman, the home of the Dailamites, the Buyid dynasty in
Western Persia (932-1055), was situated in what is now Eastern Gilan and
Western Mazandaran. See Minorsky, Hudud, 385 and 387-8.
78 A district of Lahijan in Eastern Gilan.
79 Rabino, Mdzmdardn and Astarabdd, 124, mentions a village called Kharkam
in the district of Hazar-Jarib.
637
THE HISTORY OF
came the governors (kutvalan). They were enrolled in the
number of the King's obedient servants and having received
yarlighs destroyed their castles.
And on the ist of Zul-Hijja of that year [2ist of December,
1256] the King (may he endure like the shining Sun !) turned
back in the direction of the ordu. All the spoil that had been
collected he distributed amongst great and small and the Turkish
and Tazik troops. Rukn-ad-Din and all his relations, male and
female, he sent to Qazvin, which he appointed as their place
of residence. Meanwhile the King himself, victorious and
triumphant (may he survive till the Last Trump !), arrived at
the ordu at the end of the afore-mentioned month [middle of
January, 1257] and, like the Sun, entered the house of
exaltation.
Into the heaven of his Court there came, victorious and
triumphant from the hunting of a king, that sun of kings.
Whose eye has seen how with one movement the whole world
has come to rest and what wise man's ear has heard how with
one action Fortune, that unruly steed, has been broken to the
rein * like the lofty camel ' ? By this victory which is on a par
with the conquest of Khaibar, 80 and the obvious requires no
exposition and seeing dispenses with hearing the truth of God's
secret intent by the rise of Chingiz-Khan has become clear and
the benefit afforded by the passing of dominion and sovereignty
to the World-Emperor Mengu Qa'an [139] plain to see. By
this famous victory the keys to the lands of the world are placed
ready for use in the hands of the [Mongols'] power, and the
bolts of the remaining countries of the climes, which because
of Fate's malevolence still hesitated, are now undone. The good
call it the key to victories and the wicked the lantern for the
morning draught. 81 With these glad tidings the zephyr has
begun to blow and the birds of the air to fly. And saints
80 To the north-east of Medina, the site of a Jewish settlement conquered by
Mohammed in the 7th year of the Flight.
81 Le. everyone interprets the victory according to his disposition; but the
sentence is probably a proverbial saying and * it ' is the sun. (V.M.)
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felicitate the souls of the prophets and the living send congratula-
tions to the dead.
A victory ivhereto the gates of the heavens open up,
and the earth appears in new striped clothes?*
What cure is this which has appeared in this world of growth
and decay ? What joy and merriment is this which has shown
itself in this vale of sorrows ?
That which I see, is it in wakefulness or sleep, O Lord ? 83
In that breeding-ground of heresy in the Rudbar 84 of Alamut
the home of the wicked adherents of Hasan-i-Sabbah and the
evil followers of the practice of Haha, 85 there remains not one
stone of the foundations upon another. And in that flourishing
abode of innovations (bid*at) SG the Artist of Eternity Past wrote
with the pen of violence upon the portico of each one[*s dwelling]
the verse : ' These their bouses are empty ruins. ' 87 And in the
market-place of those wretches* kingdom the muezzin Destiny
has uttered the cry of e Away then with the wicked people ! ' 88
Their luckless womenfolk (haram u harm), like their empty
religion, have been utterly destroyed. And the gold of those
crazy, double-dealing counterfeiters which [140] appeared to be
unalloyed has proved to be base lead.
To-day, thanks to the glorious fortune of the World-Illuminat-
ing King, if an assassin (kard-zan) still lingers in a corner he
plies a woman's trade; wherever there is a dai 8 * there is an
announcer of death ; and every rqfiq 90 has become a thrall. The
propagators of Isma'ilism have fallen victims to the swordsmen
82 See above, p. 589 and n. 127. 83 See above, i, 104 and n. 22.
84 By Rudbar was meant at this time the whole area of which the eastern
part now forms the district of Alamut and the western that of Rudbar (known
also as the Rudbar of Qazvin to distinguish it from the Rudbar of Gilan). See
M.Q., III, 387 and 390.
85 Mfa, i.e. ' deeming the unlawful lawful', * libertinism 'the usual charge
against the Isma'ilis.
86 See above, p. 636, n. 75- 87 Koran, xxvii, 53.
88 IWi, xxiii, 43. 89 <&7, i.e. Isma'ili propagandist or missionary.
90 * There seems little reason to suppose that the fida'is . . . formed a bottom
rank in the Nizari hierarchy below the rafiqs or comrades, as the bulk of the Nizaris
called themselves . . / (Hodgson, The Order of Assassins, 82.)
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of Islam. Their maulana, to whom they addressed the words :
f O God, our Protector (maulana), 3gl dust in their mouths! [141]
(and yet ' the infidels have no protector**'} has become the serf of
bastards. Their wise Imam, nay their lord of this world, of
whom they believed that ' every day doth some new work employ
him V 3 is fallen like game into the net of Predestination. Their
governors (muhtasham) have lost their power and their rulers
(kiya) their honour. The greatest among them have become as
vile as dogs. Every commander of a fortress has been deemed
fit for the gallows and every warden of a castle has forfeited his
head and his mace. 94 They have been degraded amongst man-
kind like the Jews and like the highways [142] are level with
the dust. God Almighty hath said : ' Vileness and poverty were
stamped upon them' 9S ' These, a curse awaiteth them. 3 96
The kings of the Greeks and Franks, who turned pale for
fear of these accursed ones, and paid them tribute, and were not
ashamed of that ignominy, now enjoy sweet slumber. And all
the inhabitants of the world, and in particular the Faithful, have
been relieved of their evil machinations and unclean beliefs.
Nay, the whole of mankind, high and low, noble and base,
share in this rejoicing. And compared with these histories that
of Rustam the son of Dastan has become but an ancient fable.
The perception of all ideas is through this manifest victory, and
the light of the world-illuminating day is adorned thereby.
' And the uttermost part of that impious people was cut off. All praise
t>e to God, the Lord of the Worlds ! ' 97
91 maulcina * our Lord * was the usual Isma'ili mode of addressing the Imam.
The prefixing of the phrase ' O God ' would appear to be a malicious addition
on the part of Juvaini, even though ' the exalted imam and the ineffable God
seem confused to a greater extent even than their technical identity of name (to
the degree that God has a name, it is the imam's) ought to permit '. See Hodgson,
op. cit. t 290.
92 Koran, xlvii, 12. **Itil, Iv, 29.
94 Presumably his badge of office. 96 Koran, ii, 58.
xiii, 25. "JB/i, vi, 45.
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[VIII]
AN ACCOUNT OF THE TENETS OF THE ISMA*ILIS
OR BATINIS AS ALSO A HISTORY OF THAT SECT
IN the early days of Islam, after the times of the Orthodox
Caliphs x (God's blessing upon them all I), there appeared amongst
the Moslems a sect of people whose minds had no sympathy
with Islam and in whose hearts there was rooted a fellow-feeling
with the Magians [143]. In order to spread doubt and con-
fusion they put about amongst the people a saying to the effect
that in addition to the apparent (zahir) meaning the Shari'at
bears also an inner (batin) meaning which is concealed from the
majority of mankind. And in support of these lies they adduced
propositions that had come down to them from the Greek
philosophers and in which they also incorporated several points
from the tenets of the Magians. In order that the Moslems
might not hold them in loathing but rather might take their part
they disavowed those sects of the Believers who did not support
the family of the Prophet (God's blessings upon them !), especially
at the rime when Yazid 2 and his following (upon whom fa what
they deserve !) behaved with such open tyranny towards them 3
and none of the emirs and men of authority avenged them but
acquiesced in the Caliphate of Yazid's family.
When the Kaisanis 4 seceded from the rest of the Shi c a and
gave their allegiance to Muhammad, son of the Hanafiya, these
people also attached themselves to the Kaisanis and in expound-
ing their esoteric ( latin) doctrines cited Muhammad as their
authority. When Zaid, the son of *Ali, 5 rose in rebellion, the
party of Muhammad, 6 the son of c Ali, the son of Husain (God's
1 See above, p. 600, n. i<58.
2 The second of the Umayyad Caliphs (680-3).
3 A reference to the death of Husain at Kerbela,
4 These were the followers of Kaisan or Mukhtar, who rose in revolt in 685
preaching that Muhammad b. al-Hanafiya (a son of *Ali by a Hanafi woman and
therefore the half-brother of Hasan and Husain, his sons by Fatima, the Prophet's
daughter) was the Messiah. See Lewis, The Origins of Isma'ilism, 25-7.
5 I.e. 'AH Zain-al-'Abidin, the Fourth Imam. The party of Zaid, the Zaidi
Shiites, have maintained themselves to the present day in the Yemen.
6 Le. Zaid's brother, Muhammad-al-Baqir, the Fifth Imam.
641
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Blessings upon them all !), deserted him. It was said of them :
rafadu Zaidan, ( They have abandoned Zaidf and from that time the
name Rafidi clung to them. The Kaisanis now being weak in
numbers these people 7 attached themselves to the Rafidis.
Now amongst their number was a descendant of [144] JaTar
Tayyar 8 called 'Abdallah 9 son of MuWiya. He accepted the
call of the Rafidis and made a close study of that sect, establishing
certain principles in support thereof. Among other things he
worked out an astronomical table (jadwal) for the ascertaining of
the beginnings of the Arabic months. There was, he said, no
need to see the crescent moon. And he attributed the invention
of that table, which was an ocean of error, to the Imams of the
Prophet's Family (may God It pleased with them I) A one-night
old moon could, he said, be seen by an Imam only ; it was not
perceptible to anyone else, because the beginnings of the months
occurred before the new moon could be seen. The Rafidi party
amongst the Shi'a disavowed him and a schism took place
between them. The Jadwalis called themselves * the people of
esoteric knowledge* and the rest of the Shi'a 'the exoterics*.
[Such was the position] until the days of JaYar Sadiq 10 (may
God fa pleased with him 1). JaYar had four sons, of whom the
eldest, Isma'il, was through his mother the grandson of Hasan;
the second, Musa, was the son of a slave girl; [145] the third,
Muhammad Dibaj, is buried outside Jurjan near the grave of
Da'i j 11 and the fourth, 'Abdallah, is known as Aftah (* the
Hat-Headed 9 ). The Shi'a say (gufiand) that JaYar was the
sinless (ma sum) Imam. He designated 12 as his successor his
son Isma'il Afterwards Isma'il took to strong drink and
7 I.e. the crypto-Magians.
8 A son of Mohammed's uncle, Abu-Talib, and consequently a brother of 'Ali.
^ 9 Ja'far's great-grandson. Rising in rebellion against the Umayyads he made
himself master of Pars, Isfahan and Kerman but was then defeated in battle
and fled to Khorasan. Here he was seized and imprisoned 'by Abu-Muslim,
by whom he was ultimately (circa 103/721-2) put to death. See M.Q., III,
305-6, also Lewis, op. cit> 28.
10 Ja'far as-Sadiq, the Sixth Imam.
11 Hasan b. Zaid, one of the 'Alid styyids of Tabaristan (Mazandaran). See
M.Q., HI, 306-7. '
12 I.e. he transmitted the nass or heritage. See Lewis, op. dt., 37-8.
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JaYar Sadiq expressed his disapproval thereof. There is a
tradition that he said : ' Isma'il is not my son ; he is a devil
that has appeared in his shape/ 1S And according to another
tradition he said : ' God had second thoughts about him * and he
therefore designated his second son, Musa, as his successor.
The afore-mentioned people who had transferred from the
Kaisanis to the Rafidis now attached themselves to Isma'il and
seceded from the Rafidis. The real designation, they said, was
the first one and God cannot have second thoughts. Whoever
had learnt the inner meaning of the Shari'at would suffer no ill
consequences if he showed some neglect of the outer form.
Whatever an Imam said or did was right : Isma'il suffered no
hurt or loss from drinking wine. [146] They were called
Isma'ilis and by that name were distinguished from the rest of
the Shi'a.
Now Isma'il died before JaYar Sadiq (may God be pleased with
him !) in the year 145/762-3. 14 JaYar summoned the governor
of Medina on behalf of the 'Abbasid Caliphs (God h pleased
with them I) and a great number of the notables and elders of
Medina and showed them Isma e il['s body] which had been
brought to the town upon men's backs after his death in the
village of 'Uraid four parasangs away. He then drew up a
document attesting his death and caused it to be signed by all
that assembly, after which he buried Isma'il in Baqi*. 15
Those who had attached themselves .to Isma'il said that
Isma'il was not dead and that his death had been feigned in
order to deceive the people and protect him and his followers
from attack. The rest of the Shi'a said that JaYar Sadiq's pur-
pose was to expose the falsehood of the doctrine of the people
13 Lewis, op. dLj 39, quotes a passage from a Shiite source to show that Isma'il
had been involved * in some seditious enterprise of which Ja c far strongly dis-
approved *. He thus accounts for the present passage, e in which Juvaim attributes
to Ja'far a phrase which, it must be admitted, is very much out of proportion
if Ismail's sole offence was his kck of sobriety '.
14 On the date of Isma'il's death see M.Q., HI, 309, Lewis, op. tit., 38.
15 * The Cemetery of Medina, called BaqF, lies to the westward of the town,
and here is seen the grave of Ibrahim the Prophet's (only) son, also the graves
of his daughters.' (Hamdallah tr. le Strange, 15.)
T n. 643
THE HISTORY OF
who had attached themselves to him. It would appear that both
statements [147] were equally false, both parties attributing their
own motives to this action, whereas JaTar's purpose was to
prove his innocence of the charge of claiming to be Imam by
designating his sons as his successors, on which account the
Caliphs had regarded him and his followers with disapproval.
When JaTar (may God be phased with him !) died 16 the
generality of the Shi'a followed Musa. Some few who are
called . . , 17 recognized Muhammad Dibaj as Imam. And a
tiny minority, who are called Fathi, recognized 'Abdallah Aftah.
After a while the Caliphs sent to Medina and had Musa
brought to Baghdad in order to intimidate (ishkbas) him. There
they imprisoned him and he died in prison. The Shi'a said
that he had been poisoned. They brought him down to the
bridge and showed him to the people of Baghdad that they
might see that there was no sign of a wound on his body. And
they buried him in the Graveyard [of Quraish.]
[148] His son, c Ali, son of Musa, ar-Rida remained in Medina
until Ma'mun carried him off to Khorasan (his story is well
known) and he died in Tus. They said that he had been
poisoned and buried him there. 18
And since the Caliphs persecuted them because of their claim
to the Imamate the sons of Ismail went into hiding, and leaving
Medina some of them betook themselves to Iraq and Khorasan
and some to Maghrib. 19
The Isma'ilis say (gufiand) that Isma'il was still alive five years
after Ja c far*s death when he was seen in the market-place in
Basra. A paralytic begged alms of him. Isma'il took him by
the hand and he was healed ; and rising to his feet he departed
in his company. Isma'il also prayed for a blind person and he
recovered his sight.
16 In 148/765.
17 There is a blank in A. D and G have Dibajl and Rashid-ad-Din Dibajlya,
i.e. the Dibajis, but M.Q. regards this as an emendation due to the copyists,
since the followers of Muhammad Dibaj are nowhere else referred to by such
a name.
18 His shrine (masbbaf) gave its name to Meshed.
19 I.e. Morocco and Western Algeria (lit. ' the West ').
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When Isma'il died his son Muhammad, who was akeady
grown up during the life-time of JaTar and was older than
[JaTar's son] Musa, made his way to Jibal 20 and came to Ray
and from thence to * Shalanba 21 in Damavand. Muham-
madabad in Ray is called after him. He had sons who went into
hiding in Khorasan and making their way to Qandahar, 22
which is in the province of Sind, settled down in that country.
The dais or missionaries of the Isma'ilis now poured into every
land and called on the people to embrace their tenets ; and many
answered their call.
And from that direction *Ali son of Isma'il, having recited
the proverb : ' He that escapes with Us had . . /, 23 set out for
Syria and Maghrib. And since he did not lay claim to the
Imamate and had no following he showed himself openly.
Sons were born to him and he has descendants there to this day.
Leaders now arose amongst the Isma'ilis who expounded their
beliefs. The world, they said, had never been without an
Imam and never would be. And if a man was Imam his
father had been Imam before him, and his father's father before
him, and so on back to Adam (on whom be peace I), or, as some
say, back to Eternity Past, for they believe in the eternal existence
of the world. And in the same way an Imam's son would be
Imam and his son's son, and so on until Eternity to come.
And it was impossible for an Imam to die until his son who
was to be Imam after him had been born or begotten. And
they say that this is the meaning of the verses ' the one the posterity
of the other f 24 and ' this he established as a doctrine that should abide
among his posterity \ 25
And when the Shi'a advanced against them the argument
20 Jibal, ' the Mountains *, was the older name for Persian Iraq, i.e. Central
Persia.
21 Adopting the emendation suggested by M.Q. The text has SMLH, G
and H SLMH and the corresponding passage in Rashid-ad-Din SMLH.
Shalamba or Shalanba was a town in the Damavand area.
22 Not of course Qandahar in Afghanistan but the Indian kingdom of Gand-
hara, of which the capital, Vaihind, lay between the Indus and the Kabul river.
See Minorsky, Hudtid, 253-4.
23 Sc. *. . . bath gmd thereby*. 24 Koran, iii, 30.
25 JW., xliii, 27.
645
THE HISTORY OF
that Hasan son of C AU was universally recognized as an Imam
by all the Shi'a and yet his son was not Imam, they replied that
the latter's Imamate was in trust (mustauftf), i.e. not permanent,
he had it on loan, whereas Husain's Imamate was permanent
(mustaqarr), and this was referred to in the verse : ' an abode and
a resting-place/ 26
They say too that an Imam is not always visible. Sometimes
he is visible and sometimes hidden like day and night following
each other. When the Imam is visible his propaganda (da vat)
may be hidden, [150] but when the Imam is hidden his pro-
paganda may well be open and his dais specified, as long as
mankind has no proof of God. 27
And the Prophets are the people of revelation (tanzil) and
the Imams the people of interpretation (ta*vtl)** And no age
and the age of no Prophet was devoid of an Imam. After
Abraham there was a person who is mentioned in the Torah,
where it is said that at that time there was a king who is called
in the Torah in the Syriac and Hebrew languages Melchizedec 29
Melech Sholem, that is in the Arabic tongue Malik-as-Sidq and
Malik-as-Salam. And it is said that when Abraham (God's
Hissing upon him !) came to him he gave him the tenth part of
his flocks. And Khidr 30 who wished to teach Moses the
knowledge of God was an Imam or designated as an Imam. 31
26 Koran, vi, 98. In the original mustauda* m-mustaqan, i.e. identical in form
though not in meaning with the Isma'ili terms, on which see Lewis, op. tit,
49-54-
27 1& kbafy ra far Kbudai hujjat na-bashad. Perhaps ' as long as mankind has
no Imam '. The hujjat (' Proof ') was a person in the Isma'ili hierarchy appointed
by the Imam ; but the term was in early Shiite usage applied to the Imam him-
seE See Ivanow, Studies m Early Persian Imailism, 42-4 ; Kalami Pir, xlv-xlvi.
28 On 'Le "TaVil" ou exegese symbolique" see Corbin, Kital-e Jdmi* d-
"Hikmataitt) 65-74.
29 Genesis, xiv, 18, On the role of Melchizedec in Isma'ili mythology see
Hodgson, The Order of Assassins, 169-72 and 292-3.
30 Identified with the Dhul-Qarnain of the Koran, who in other contexts
represents Alexander the Great. (See above, i, 347 ^-) * ^ n ^ 1-Qarnayn-
Khidr as we know goes back even in the name to the Sumerian : Khidr is
derived from an alternative name of the ever-living Utnapishtim himself.'
(Hodgson, op. a/., 292.)
31 Reading ya nam-zad-i-imam as M.Q. suggests.
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[151] Before the rise of Islam there was a period of occultation
(satr) but in the lifetime of C AH (may God fa pleased with him !)
the Imam, that is c Ali himself, became visible, and from thence
onward until the time of Isma'il and his son Muhammad, who
was the seventh Imam, all the Imams were visible. The period
of occultation began with Isma'il and Muhammad. Muham-
mad was the last Imam to be visible. He became invisible and
after him all the Imams will be invisible until they become
visible again.
And they say (guftand) that Musa, son of JaTar, laid down his
life for Isma'il and that *Ali, son of Musa, ar-Rida laid down his
life for Muhammad, son of Isma'il. And the story of Abraham
and the sacrifice f and we ransomed Us son [152] with a costly
victim ' 32 was a reference to the like of this. In short, they
relate many [such] absurdities.
Dais arose among them, of whom were Maimun Qaddah,
his son 'Abdallah, 33 who is considered one of the great scholars
of that sect, and Hasan Shaikh 'Abdan. 34 Another, during
the lifetime of JaTar Sadiq (may God be pleased with him !), was
Abul-Khattab, 35 who claimed that JaYar was God, as the
Hululis or Ittihadis 36 also say. Of him Ja'far said : ' Accursed
is he and his followers ! ' And there were many others like him,
each of whom has been mentioned in historical works and in
treatises on religious sects.
Such were the tenets and beliefs that were spread abroad. In
most of the countries of Islam, from West to East, persons
32 Koran, xxxvii, 107. This son, according to the Moslem tradition, was
not Isaac but Ishmael.
33 On these two men see Lewis, op. cit., 54-67. In summarizing * a mass of
conflicting evidence * Lewis has also made use of the material collected by M.Q.,
ffl, 312-43.
34 Or perhaps * Hasan son of Shaikh 'Abdan '. M.Q., however, concludes
(HI, 343-4) that both Hasan and the title of shaikh are mistaken additions on
the part of Juvaini or his copyists. 'Abdan was rekted to Hamdan Qarmat,
the eponymous founder of the Carmathian sect, in the sense that each was married
to the other's sister.
35 On Abul-Khattab see Lewis, op. at., 32-7.
36 Those who believe respectively in hulul the incarnation of the Creator in
the creature, and in ittihai, the mystical union by which the creature becomes
one with the Creator.
647
THE HISTORY OF
appeared, some secretly and some openly, but all agreed that the
world was never without an Imam, that through him it was
possible to know God and that knowledge of God was impos-
sible without him. The prophets of every age had referred to
him. As for the Shari'at it bore an inner and an outer meaning.
The inner meaning was the real one, and when men had
ascertained this inner meaning of the law [153] they would come
to no harm from disregarding the outer meaning. On this
account their beliefs are considered to stand outside those of all
other sects, i.e. of Islam ksdffmillat). And some of them went
so far as to authorize (ibahat) Z1 the commission of unlawful acts.
In 278/891-2, during the reign of the Caliph Mu'tamid, 38
the Carmathians (Qarmatis) 39 made their appearance, as is
described in works of history, the first of them being Hamdan
Qarmat. A group of people having gathered around him in
the environs of Kufa he rose in rebellion. They began to
murder Moslems, pillage their goods and carry off their children.
They would fall 40 upon the cities of Syria and Iraq and then
disappear into the desert. Their rebellion grew in size and
the Caliphs were powerless to deal with them. They seized
Bahrain 41 and then proceeded to Mecca. Here they slaughtered
the pilgrims, filling the well Zamzam with their bodies, and
broke the Black Stone to pieces. They kept it for a period of
25 years, 42 and although [154] the kings of Islam offered to buy
it back for 100,000 dinars they refused to sell it. At the end
of 25 years they took it to Kufa and threw it into the Friday
mosque leaving with it a note in which they had written : * By
command we took this stone and by command we have brought
it back.* The Moslems took the stone to Mecca and set it
up again.
During the rebellion of the Carmathians one of the dais of
3r On itahat (ibaha) see above, p. 639, n. 85. 38 870-32.
89 On the Carmathians and the problem of their relationship with the Fatimids
see Lewis, op. cit. f 76-89.
40 Reading mi uftad with D.
41 Not of course the isknds in the Persian Gulf but the mainland opposite,
the present-day Hasa.
42 Actually 22 years.
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the Isma'ilis, a descendant (az farzandan) of 'Abdallah b.
Maimun Qaddah, came to the region of Kufa and Iraq accom-
panied by a son 43 and said : * I arn the dtfi of the Imam and
the Imam is about to appear.' And he sent Bul-Qasim, the
son of Haushab, 44 to the Yemen to conduct propaganda there ;
and he charged him to send dais to all sides. This Bul-Qasim
had great success in the Yemen and a number of people [155]
answered his call. One of these, a man called Bu-*Abdallah
Sufi Muhtasib, 45 of the Katama tribe in Maghrib, 46 he sent
thither to carry out propaganda ; and some people accepted his
words. He corresponded with the person who was a descendant
of 'Abdallah b. Maimun and sent letters to him on the grounds
that he was closer than Bul-Qasim, the son of Haushab, to the
Imam. [156] That person encouraged him in his propaganda,
and when his cause prospered and he seized the countries of
Maghrib and the area round Qairawan and Sijilmasa, 47 this
person who was a descendant of 'Abdallah b. Maimun pro-
ceeded thither with his son. 48 Upon their arrival in Sijilmasa
Bu- c Abdallah Katami 49 came to welcome him, 50 saying, c I
governed on behalf of thy lieutenant. Now that thou art come
thyself thou art superior/ He replied : * Hitherto I said that I
was the dai of the Imam. This I did from expediency because
43 pisari, which can also be translated * a boy *, a point not without interest
in view of the theory advanced by Lewis, op. tit., 51, that Muhammad al-Q*im
was not the son of 'Ubaidallah al-Mahdi, * but the Imam Mustaqarr for whom
he worked*.
44 Abul-Qasim Rustam b. al-Husain b. Faraj b. Haushab b. Zadhan an-
Najjar al-Kufi, known by the kgak of Mansur. See M.Q., HI, 348-9, for
an account of this famous Isma'ili missionary in the Yemen.
45 On Abu-'Abdallah as-Sufi al-Muhtasib, known also as Abu- e Abdullah
ash-ShTi, see M.Q., 349-50. He was the virtual founder of the Fatimid state.
46 Abu- Abdallah was not a Maghribi at all, though accounts differ as to
his birth-place, which is variously given as Kufa, Ram-Hurmuz and San'a
in the Yemen.
4? The ruins of Sijilmasa lie some 200 miles to the south of Fez on the edge
of the Sahara.
48 Or 'the boy'. See above, n. 43.
49 I.e. of the Katama tribe, but see above, n. 46".
50 In actual fact it was 'Ubaidallah who was in Sijilmasa, where he was
imprisoned together with his son (or master) ; and it was Abu-* Abdallah who
approached the town, for the purpose of liberating them.
649
THE HISTORY OF
the time had not yet come for the manifestation of the Imam.
Now that time has come and I declare that I am the Imam and
[157] a descendant of Ismail, the son of JaTar/ And he called
himself 'Abdallah al-Mahdi 51 and his son al-Qa'im bi-Amr-
Allah Muhammad and set himself up as Imam and Caliph ;
and the people of Maghrib, and in particular the Katamis,
recognized his claims.
In the year 258 52 he built the town of Mahdiya in the region
of Qairawan. [158] His affairs prospered and he sought to
demolish the palace of the Shari'at and began to make light of
its ordinances.
Bu-'Abdallah Sufi Muhtasib began to entertain doubts about
him and to slacken in [the service of] his cause. His brother
Yusuf 53 decided to rebel and cause Bu-'Abdallah also to rise
against Mahdi. For this reason Bu-'Abdallah and his brother
were both put to death by Mahdi.
The appearance of Mahdi in Sijilmasa, which is in the countries
of Maghrib, and his conquest thereof took place in the year
296/908-9. And in the year 302/914-15 he conquered and
destroyed the Aghlabid rulers representing the 'Abbasid Caliphs
and became master of all the lands of Maghrib, Africa 54 and
Sicily. And they recounted a tradition of the Prophet (God
Mess him and gm him peace I) : ( At the Itgmnmg of the 300'$ the
sun shall rise from the West ' ; and they said that this tradition was
to be interpreted as referring to the appearance of Mahdi. They
said too that between Muhammad, the son of Isma c il, and
Mahdi there were three hidden Imams [159], whose names were
Muhammad, his father Ahmad and his father . . . 5S and their
51 He is usually known as 'UbaidaUah but M.Q. quotes an Isma'ili work,
the Dustur-al-Munajjimm, as calling him 'Abdallah and adding that his name
had been 'Ubaidallah before his manifestation.
52 So in all the MSS. for 308/920-1.
53 This name is recorded in no other source, Abu-'Abdallah's brother being
referred to either as Abul-' Abbas Muhammad or as Abul-* Abbas Ahmad.
(M.Q.)
54 -!fiW tf * ** tne present-day Tripolitania and Tunisia together with Eastern
Algeria.
65 For the sake of clarity I have substituted ' his father * in both instances for
the c son of* of the original. The third name is missing in the Dustvr-al-Munaj-
650
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
Radi, Wafi, and Taqi, Mahdi being the son of Taqi. 56
However the Moslems of Maghrib said that Mahdi was a
descendant (az aulad) of 'Abdallah b. Salim of Basra, 57 one of
the dais of that sect, while the people of Baghdad and Iraq said
that he was a descendant of 'Abdallah b. Maimun. In short,
they denied and refused to admit his descent from Isma'il, the
son of JaTar. During the reign of al-Qadir billah 58 a declara-
tion (mahzar) was drawn up in Baghdad, which was signed
by persons in authority, sayyids, cadis and ukma, to the effect
that the pedigree 59 of Mahdi's descendants was subject to
dispute and that in tracing back their ancestry to JaTar Sadiq
[160] (may God le phased with him !) they were guilty of falsehood.
(The text of this declaration will be given in the section on
Hakim, the fifth in descent from Mahdi.) 60 Mahdi reigned
supreme for 26 years and his death occurred in the year 322/934-5.
He was succeeded by his son 61 Qa im. During the latter's
reign a person called Abu-Yazid, a Maghribi, rose in rebellion.
He was a God-fearing Moslem, a Sunni and a holy man : 62 he
enumerated the heresies (Mat) of Mahdi and Qa im to the people
and numbers followed him. He joined battle with Qa'im,
defeated his army and besieged him in Mahdiya. Qa'im's
followers called him Dajjal because in the fighting (malahim) it
had been said that Dajjal was rising against Mahdi or Qa'im. 63
jimm also. In the opinion of M.Q. (IE, 355-7) Juvaini almost certainly used
this work as his source of much of his information on the Isma'ilis ; and M.Q.
suggests that the manuscript preserved in the Bibliotheque Nationale may be
the actual copy he extracted from the library at Alamut.
56 According to Lewis, op. at., 73, Taqi would be the father, not of 'Ubaidal-
lah, but of Muhammad al-Qa'im.
57 The same genealogy is given in 'Arib's supplement to Tabari. See
M.Q., IE, 358-
58 991-103 1.
59 All the MSS. have mazhal ' belief* but Rashid-ad-Din in the corresponding
passage has nasal 'genealogy', and this must be the meaning intended.
60 See below, pp. 659-60.
Bi pisar-i-ii. Here there is no ambiguity.
62 He was actually a Kharijite. See M.Q., HI, 358-9-
63 On Dajjal see above, p. 530, n. 15. The Mahdi is a Messianic Imam,
as is also the Qa im, who appears at the beginning of the last millennium in a
cycle of 7,000 years. See Ivanow, Kakmi Pir t xxxv.
THE HISTORY OF
Qa'im died in the midst of these hostilities in Shawal of the
year 334 [May-June, 946], and his death was kept secret.
He was succeeded by his son al-Mansur Isma'il, who adopted
measures to oppose Abu-Yazid. He was a shrewd and cour-
ageous man. Having defeated and routed Abu-Yazid [161] he
continued for some time to pursue him and give him battle
until in the end he seized and slew him, causing his body to be
sent around throughout the lands of Maghrib. He then ascended
his father's throne and revealed the news of his death. In the
year 341/952-3 he too died.
He was succeeded by his son, al-Mu c izz Abu-Tamim Ma 'add,
a shrewd, able, courageous and fortunate man. He took full
and proper measures for the administration of the state, and his
kingdom waxed greater than that of his fathers.
All his ambition was centred on gaining the kingdom of
Egypt, which at that time was in the hands of Kafur 64 the
Ikhshidi. Mu'izz sent his slave Abul-Hasan Jauhar to Egypt
in the year 358/968-9 to conduct propaganda on his behalf.
Many responded to his call and he then approached Kafur
himself and addressed his propaganda to him also. He received
his approaches favourably and in defiance of the 'Abbasid
Caliphs the kbuiba was recited in the name of Mu'izz. 65
Kafur died during that same year, viz. 358/968-9, and
Jauhar became the sole ruler of Egypt on behalf of Mu'izz.
And that year he founded the city of Cairo near Fustat,
which was completed in 362/972-3 [162] and called Qahira
Mu'izziya.
Mu'izz arrived in Egypt in Ramazan of the year 362 [June-
July, 973] with troops without number and limitless riches and
luxuries. He made Cairo his capital, and Egypt and the Hejaz
passed from the control of the 'Abbasids and came into the
hands of Mu'izz. And in such a fashion did he spread justice
and equity that wondrous tales are still recounted of the effects
64 On Kafur (' Camphor '), a black eunuch, see Lane-Poole, A History of
Egyyt in the Middle Agt$, 88-9.
65 la fact Kafur had died at least a year, if not longer, before Jauhar *s arrival
in Egypt.
652
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
and consequences thereof. He died in Rabi e II, 365 [December,
975~January, 976].
He was succeeded by his son al-'Aziz Abu-Mansur Nizar,
who took possession of Maghrib, Egypt and the Hejaz. The
story of his wars and battles and his victory over Alp-Tegin
Mu'izzi, the governor of Syria on behalf of at-TaT billah, 66
and Hasan b. Ahmad Qarmati, who came to Alp-Tegin's
assistance, has been told in the history of the Maghrib countries.
His death occurred in Ramazan, 386 [September-October, 996].
'Aziz was a mild good-natured man so much so that Hasan
b. Bashar [163] of Damascus satirized him, his vizier Ibn-
Killis 67 and his secretary * Abu-Nasr * Qairawani 68 in the
following qifa :
Say to Abu-Nasr, the Secretary of the Palace, who is
prepared to break up tbe realm :
* Loosen the 'knots of the kingdom for tbe Vizier, tbou
sbalt win bis fast thanks and praise,
[164] And give and deny not, and fear no one, for tbe Lord
of tbe Palace is not in tbe Palace,
And knowetb not wbat is desired of him, and if he knew
be would not wish to know. 9
Ibn-Killis having complained of the poet and recited the qifa,
'Aziz said in reply : ' This is a matter in which we have shared the
satire. Do thou then share the forgiveness of it with me.'
The poet then composed another satire in which he included
Fadl, the commander of 'Aziz's army :
Become a Christian, for Christianity is tbe true religion,
as these times of ours prove.
And say of the Three : ' They are Mighty, Glorious ', 69 and
neglect all else, for it is negligible.
For Yaqtib the Vizier is the Father, and this "Aziz the
Son, and Fadl is the Holy Ghost.
Again the vizier brought the poem to 'Aziz's notice. He was
66 974-91.
67 Ya'qub b. Killis, a Jew, like so many of the Fatimid officials. See Lewis,
op. cit., 68.
68 The text has Abu-Mansur Darwanl. Ibn-al-Athir gives the secretary's
name as Abu-Nasr 'Abdallah b. al-Husain al-Qairawam. (M.Q.)
69 The plural of a phrase applied to Allah.
THE HISTORY OF
angry but said nevertheless : ' Forgive him.' And he forgave him
a second time.
Finally the vizier approached 'Aziz for the third time [165]
and said: 'Forgiveness is no longer possible for the King's
prestige has suffered loss. This time he has abused both thee,
who art the 'Aziz, 70 me who am the vizier, and thy companion
Ibn-Zabarij in this <jia :
Zakriji is a courtier and Kfttisi a vizier yes, the collar
is in keeping with the value of the dog.
* Aziz was enraged and authorized the vizier to arrest the poet.
Then repenting he gave instructions for his release. Learning
of this before the warrant had actually arrived the vizier hastened
to put him to death. At this 'Aziz was filled with grief and
regret.
'Aziz had given Syria to a Jew, whose name was Menesha, 71
and Egypt to a Christian called 'Isa b. Nestorius, and following
the dictates of their creeds they behaved with tyranny and
injustice towards the Moslems. Hereupon a woman wrote a
note to 'Aziz in which she said : ' O Commander of the Faithful,
[166] who bast exalted the Jews in Menesha h * Air am 72 and the
Christians in c lsa I. Nestorius and wilt bumble the Moslems in thyself
unless thou look to my case' 'Aziz was much affected by this
note. He dismissed them both and exacted 300,000 Maghribi
dinars from the Christians in order to redress the wrongs he
had done. And on several occasions he imposed upon the Jews
and Christians the contributions (muan) 73 due from the Moslems.
His son, Hakim Abu-'Ali Mansur, succeeded him at the
age of ii. He was as light-headed and insane as his father had
been mild and gentle; his tyranny and cruelty towards the
people of Egypt were boundless. It was one of his customs that
when he was seated and charges of oppression were laid before
him he would listen to the charges and in no way disavow the
70 A pun, since *aziz was also a title meaning * ruler of Egypt '.
7 L I.e. Menasseh.
72 Reading ABRAM for the LBSAM. Several sources give his father's
name as Ibrahim.
73 See above, p. 596, n. 147.
654
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
wrongs therein described. When letters were delivered to him
they often consisted of foul abuse of himself and his ancestors
and attacks on the authenticity of his pedigree.
The limit was reached when a woman was fashioned out of
paper [167] and dressed in a chadur ; and a sealed note having
been placed in the dummy's hand it was set up in a place where
Hakim would pass by. When the note was taken from the
dummy's hand and given to the tyrannous Hakim, [he discovered
that] it was nothing but obscene abuse of himself and his fore-
bears with a detailed account of their shameful and abominable
actions. He fell into a rage and commanded the woman to be
brought to him. But when the attendants hastened towards her
they found it was only an image. In his annoyance at this
Hakim ordered his slaves and troops to set fire to Cairo and
slaughter the population. The people of the town massed
together to prevent them and to protect the honour of their
womenfolk; but wherever they were unable to halt them
Hakim's men burnt and pillaged and slaughtered. Hakim came
every day in person to watch and used to pretend that these acts
were committed without his leave or permission. On the third
day the shaikhs and leading citizens of Cairo took refuge in the
Friday mosque ; and holding up Korans on the end of sticks
they proclaimed their wrongs, saying : * If this evil is done
without thy leave or permission, allow us, thy servants and
subjects, to repel the evil-doers * [i<58]. He replied : c I did not
order this evil, do you then drive them off/ And to the soldiers
he said : * Keep on with your work.' When the fighting began
the massed townsmen drove the troops back to the gates of Cairo,
where Hakim's own quarters were. He took fright and ordered
the soldiers to stop. In the course of this catastrophe a quarter of
Cairo was burnt down and half of it plundered, and Hakim's
slaves committed so many shameful acts against the womenfolk
of the town that the wearers of the veil 74 killed themselves for
fear of disgrace.
74 1 adopt the emendation suggested by M.Q. and read arlab-i-$itr for the
arkab'4-sbabr * people of the town ' of the text, in which it is followed by the unin-
telligible word MR WAT, conceivably a wrongly formed plural ofmar'a ' woman *.
655
THE HISTORY OF
Hakim used to walk about at night in the bazaars and
investigate the affairs of his subjects. He had also appointed
old women to pry into the concerns of their own sex : they
would go in and out of the people's houses and report to him
truly and falsely on wearers of the veil. On this pretext he put
a number of women to death and issued a proclamation for-
bidding women to leave their houses or go on the rooftops and
shoemakers to make women's boots.
He forbade the people to drink wine, and since they did not
desist he ordered most of the vines to be uprooted.
Another custom of his was to write notes in his own hand,
some saying, c Give the bearer of this note 1,000 dinars, or such-
and-such a town, [169] or such-and-such a costly robe of honour/
and some * Kill the bearer of this note, or take such-and-such
a sum from him, or cut off this or that limb of his, and torture
and mutilate him/ And he would seal the notes with wax,
ambergris or sealed earth, and on audience days he would
scatter them about and everybody according to his luck would
avidly snatch up one of these notes and bear it off to the local
administrators (muta$anifan-i-amal), and whatever the contents of
the note might be they were put into effect immediately.
Hakim issued an edict forbidding Christians and Jews to ride
horses or mules or to have iron stirrups ; and each of them had
to wear a necklace with several bells on it in order to distinguish
them from the Moslems.
Because of such blameworthy actions the whole population,
Moslem and non-Moslem, became disgusted with the evil of his
unseemly deeds and edicts ; and his very womenfolk as well as
his intimates and courtiers grew weary of him.
He made accusations against his sister, Sitt-al-Mulk, to Ibn-
Dawwas, 75 one of his emirs, who was the commander of his
armies and the administrator of his affairs. Because of this his
sister sent to Ibn-Dawwas and they agreed to kill Hakim and
set up his son *Ali in his stead ; and made a covenant to put
him to death. They gave 1,000 dinars to two of Ibn-Dawwas*
76 Ibn-Dawwas was a chieftain of the Maghribi tribe of the Katama. See
M.Q., IE, 360.
656
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
slaves to lie in ambush on the Muqattam hills near Cairo and,
when [170] Hakim went there as usual with his young equerry
(kudak-i-rikiibt)j to kill them both. Now Hakim professed to
understand astrology and he had calculated that that night would
be decisive for him and that if he came safely through it he would
live to be over eighty. He told this to his mother and she begged
and implored him [to stay quietly at home] saying that it would
be better if he did not stir. He allowed himself to be persuaded
by her words. However at dawn he was overcome with a
feeling of uneasiness : he was unable to keep still and could
not sleep or rest. His mother wept and clutched at the hem of
his garment, but it was no use. * Unless I bestir myself this
very moment/ he said, * my soul will fly from my body/
And he set out for the Muqattam hills with his attendant. The
slaves sprang out from their ambush and killed both Hakim
and the attendant. They carried his body to his sister secretly
and she buried it in her own palace. No one learnt of this
secret except the vizier, whom they acquainted therewith after
pledging him to silence* Upon learning the truth he agreed to
work with them and to help to allay the fears of the people.
They accounted for Hakim's absence by saying that he had gone
away for a week, and every day they would produce a different
person to report that he was now in such-and-such a place.
[171] Finally they acquainted the leading men and chief
officials [with his disappearance] and after the conclusion of
agreements and the assignment of presents they swore allegiance
to his son, Abul-Hasan c Ali, who received the tide of az-Zahir
billah, 76 and set him upon the throne. The news of Hakim's
death was then revealed, and Ibn-Dawwas was presented with
magnificent robes of honour and was given complete control of
affairs of state.
[Sitt-al-Mulk] now sent for Nasim Khadim, who was steward
(qahraman) of the palaces and supervisor of the slaves and was
always accompanied by 100 slaves armed with swords to protect
the Caliph; and she reached an agreement with him about
killing Ibn-Dawwas. She guilefully made those 100 slaves the
76 His Iqd was actually az-Zahir li-i'zaz Dm- Allah. (M.Q.)
657
THE HISTORY OF
attendants of Ibn-Dawwas, and then one day, on her instructions,
Nasim closed the gates of the palace, seized Ibn-Dawwas and
said to the slaves : * Our master, Zahir, says : " Ibn-Dawwas
is my father's murderer. Kill him."* They ran their swords
through him and put him to death.
After Ibn-Dawwas [172] Sitt-al-Mulk got rid of all the persons
who were implicated with her in the murder of Hakim or had
knowledge thereof. And so she ruled the state and administered
the realm alone and without a rival ; and fear of her was firmly
planted in the hearts of all the high officials and functionaries.
Now the death of Hakim and God's delivery of the people
of those lands from his tyranny and oppression, his wicked deeds
and evil morals took place in Shawal of the year 411 [January-
February, 1021], 77
From the Angd of Death unto Malik. 78
And Zahir was Caliph for 15 years [173] and died in
427/I035-6. 79
[IX]
OF THE DECLARATION REGARDING THE FALSE MAHDI
IN the year 3 op, 1 during the reign of al-Qadir billah, 2 Hakim
entered into correspondence with Mu'tamid-ad-Daula Abu-
Mani e Qirwash b. Muqallad the 'Uqailid, 3 the ruler of Mosul
on behalf of the 'Abbasid Caliphs. [174] He sent him a stream
of presents from Egypt and invited him to swear allegiance to
himself. Mu'tamid-ad-Daula agreed. He induced the people
of Mosul to submit to Hakim and rebel against al-Qadir billah.
He recited the kbutba in Hakim's name and departing to Kufa
did likewise there. At that time Baha-ad-Daula, son of 'Azud-
77 On the 27th or 28th Shawal 24th or 25th February, 1021. (M.Q.)
?8 Abul-Fath Busti. Malik is the name of the keeper of Hell. (M.Q.)
79 On the isth Sha'ban isth July, 1036. (M.Q.)
1 A gross mistake for 401/1010-11. (M.Q.) 2 991-1031.
3 On the 'Uqailids or Banu-'Uqail, a branch of the Arab tribe of the Banu-
Ka'b, see Lane-Poole, The Mohammaclan Dynasties, 116-17.
658
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
ad-Daula, 4 was absent in Fars. Receiving news of this he sent
some one to Mu e tamid-ad-Daula to reprimand him in strong
terms. Mu e tamid-ad-Daula repented of his action and with-
drew his head from the noose of allegiance to Hakim. In those
countries the khutba was again recited in the name of al-Qadir
billah, and Mu*tamid-ad-Daula was distinguished by the Seat
of the Caliphate with costly robes of honour. The details and
circumstances are recorded in books of history. Here we have
trodden the path of concision, our purpose being to introduce
the declaration (mahzar) which was drawn up regarding the
falseness of their genealogy, the text of which is as follows :
' In the name of God the Merciful, the compassionate !
This it is whereto the witnesses bear witness, namely that Ma*add>
the son of [175] Ismail who seized Egypt was Ma'add, the son of
*Abd-ar-R.ahman, the son of Sa*id } and that they are descended from
Daisan, the son of Sa*id, from whom spring the Daisanis ; 5 that the
aforesaid Sa*id betook himself to Maghrib, where he was called 'Abdallab
and received the laqab of al-Mahdi ; that this upstart in Egypt is
Mansur with the laqab of al-Hakim (may God condemn him to
destruction and perdition !), the son of Nizar, the son of Ma'add, the
son of Ismail, the son of *Abd-ar-R.abmanj the son of Sa'id ; that
[176] his foul and unclean ancestors (the curse of God upon them and the
curse of all cursers !) were false and alien claimants standing in no relation-
ship to the descendants of *Ali, the son of Abu-Talibj and being in no
way connected with him ; that their claim to be descendants of his is
false and untrue and no member of any of the Talibi families has ever
ceased describing them as alien claimants ; that this repudiation of their
lies was current in the Sacred Territories and waf. published far and
wide when they first appeared in Maghrib ; and that this upstart in
4 On the Buyid (Buwaihid) dynasty to which these rulers belonged see Lane-
Poole, op. dt., 139-42. These Daikmite princes 'were upstarts who, with a
crowd of other adventurers from Gilan and Daylam, appeared on the stage
towards 308/920. By 323/935 the sons of the Dayiamite Buya were masters
of Isfahan and Rayy. On 17 January Baghdad was theirs, and for a century
the orthodox caliphs became puppets in the hands of these heterodox usurpers.'
(Minorsky, Studies in Caucasian History, 112.)
5 I.e. the Bardesanians, the followers of Bar Daisan, a Syrian converted from
paganism to Christianity who died circa 222.
u ii. 659
THE HISTORY OF
Egypt, he and his ancestor*, are unbelievers* libertines? atheists, 8
materialists,* heretics, denying Islam, holding the creed of Dualism and
Maoism, having broken all bounds, sanctioned whoredom, [177] legalized
wine-drinking, shed Mood, insulted the prophets and laid claim to divinity.
This was written in RM II of the year 402 [November, ion]
and there bore witness thereto, of the *Alid sharifs, al-Murtada and
ar-Radi of the family of Musa n and others of their number as also the
eminent jurists Shaikh At>u-Hamid al-Isf<trayini, Abul-Hasan 12 al-
Quduri, the Chief Cadi Abu-Muhammad I. al-Afkani and Abu-
'Abdallah al-Baidawf 13
This declaration was read from the pulpit in Baghdad and in
the other lands.
[X]
OF THE ACCESSION OF MUSTANSIR, THE SON OF ZAHIR
WHEN Zahir died his son, Abu-Tamim Ma'add was seven
years old. [178] He was set on the throne of the Caliphate and
given the title of Mustansir. He was noted for his extreme
6 kafir. On leqfir * unbeliever ' and kufr ' unbelief (* . . . with these terrible
and unequivocal words we perhaps come nearest to an Islamic equivalent of
heresy ') see Lewis, Some observations on the significance of Heresy in the History of
Islam, 58-60.
8 zindic[. * This word is of uncertain origin possibly Syriac, more probably
Persian. In Sasanid times it seems to have been applied to Manichaeans, and
more generally to followers of ascetic and unorthodox forms of Iranian religion.
In Islamic times too the word was at first applied to Manichaeans and related
groups, more especially to those who held dualist doctrines while making nominal
profession of Islam. Later it was generalized to cover all holders of unorthodox,
unpopular and suspect beliefs, particularly those considered dangerous by the
social order and the state. At the same time it was applied loosely to materialists,
atheists, agnostics, and the like, and came to have the general meaning of free-
thinker and libertine.' (Lewis, op. dt, 54-5.)
9 mu'attil, * he who deprives God of His attributes *.
10 mulhii * deviator *, a term afterwards applied specifically to the Isma'ilis
of Akmut. See above, i, 256, n. 28, also Lewis, of. dt., 56.
11 Le. Musa the son of Ja'far, the Seventh Imam of the Imami Shi'a.
12 A mistake for Abul-Husain. (M.Q.)
13 On these four doctors of the Moslem Canon Law see M.Q., III, 361-2.
660
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
insanity and his small understanding; and because of the
capriciousness of his actions and the incongruity of his behaviour
misplaced extravagance and parsimony in cases where he
should have been liberal he became known as Mustansir the
Mad. Strange tales, remote from the manners and customs of
caliphs and sultans, have been written about him in books and
recorded in works of history. Here we shall cite only one or
two instances from which it is possible to appreciate the nature
of other like actions on his part.
An example of his extravagance was that he used to ask the
treasury for precious stones with a good lustre, and he would
then pound them like collyrium and cast the powder into a
stream. And his parsimony was such that he would reduce
his troops to great straits by withholding their normal radons
and retaining their usual pay : and as a result they would riot
and mutiny. One day they besieged him in his palace and
demanded their dues. He wrote in his own hand a note excusing
his retaining and withholding [their pay] :
' I have become such that I fear and honour none but my God,
from Whom is grace.
My grandsire is my prophet, and my father my Imam, and my
speech the assertion of God's oneness and justice,
[179] Wealth is God's wealth, and servants His servants, and to give
is better than to refuse. And those who behave unjustly shall know
what a reverse they will suffer!
The remainder of his actions were in keeping with these, from
which they may be deduced.
They are instances of diabolic suggestions : he gives or
refuses not out of parsimony or generosity*
Amd Mustansir lived his life in this fashion and held the
Caliphate for a space of 60 years. Go d Almighty hath said :
( We only give them length of days that they may increase their sins.' 2
He had two sons, one of whom was called Abu-Mansur
1 The Baghdad poet Mu'awiya b. Sufyan in a satire on Hasan b. Sahl, the
vizier of the Caliph Ma'mun. (M.Q.)
2 Koran, iii, 172.
661
THE HISTORY OF
Nizar. He first of all made this son his heir and gave him the
title of al-Mustafa H-Din-Allah. Then he repented having
taken this step, disinherited him and made his other son, Abul-
Qasim Ahmad, his heir with the title of al-Musta'li billaL 3
After Mustansir's death the emirs and dais 4 of the Heresy
divided into two parties, and some supported the Imamate of
Nizar on the ground that [only] the first designation was valid.
The Isma'ilis, i.e. the Heretics, of Iraq, Syria, Qumish 5 and
Khorasan, were of this party and are called the Nizaris. The
other party upheld the Imamate of MustaU [180] These are
the Isma e ilis of Egypt and those parts and they are called
Mustalawis.
During the reign of Mustansir Hasan-i-Sabbah had been
engaged in open propaganda 6 in the regions of Dailam, as
shall be hereinafter described. Now to the party of Nizar there
was applied the term of Heresy (ilhdd) 7 far excellence because in
the propaganda of Hasan-i-Sabbah the ordinances of Muhammad
(upon whom fa peace I) were abolished and forbidden things made
lawful. God Almighty bath said : ( And whoso will not judge by
what God hath sent down such are the perverse.' 8 The Mustalawis
on the other hand did not rebel against the outward form of the
Shari'at but conformed with the customs of their ancestors.
In Cairo the troops and people supported MustaTi and set
him upon the throne of the Caliphate. Nizar fled from Mustali
with his two sons 9 and went to Alexandria, where the people
swore fealty to him. Mustali sent troops which besieged him
for a while in Alexandria until finally the town surrendered
3 This is incorrect. It was Mustansir's vizier, after the Caliph's death, who
set Musta'U upon the throne in preference to his eldest brother, the heir-apparent.
See Lane-Poole, A History of Egypt in the Middle Agts, 161-2.
4 Reading id'iyan with all the MSS. except one, which has <fym ' notables *,
the reading of the text.
5 See above, i, 146, n. 16. 6 Sc. on behalf of Nizar.
7 See above, i, 256, n. 28, and 282, n. 15. 8 Koran, v, 51,
9 The circumstance of Nizar's being accompanied by two sons is not men-
tioned by the usual authorities and M.Q., HI, 364-5, is inclined to think that
Juvaini found this detail in some Isma'ili work. That Nizar was in fact the
father of two sons is attested by the Du$tur-d-Munajjimw, which gives their names
as the Emir Abu-'Abdallah Husain and the Emir Abu-'Ali Hasan.
662
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
and they carried Nizar and his sons off to Cairo. All three
remained imprisoned there until their death. The Nizaris claim
that one son of Nizar, who according to their vain beliefs was
designated Imam, left a son in Alexandria on whom no one
[181] had laid hands, not having recognized him. And to-day
the leader of the Heretics of Alamut traces his descent from
this son, as shall be mentioned in [the chapter on] the New
Propaganda. 10
As for Musta'li he retained the Caliphate until his death.
He was succeeded by his son Abu- c Ali Mansur, 11 who on
the 4th of Zul-Qa e da, 524 [loth of October, 1130] was assas-
sinated by some Nizari extremists.
Having no son he had designated his cousin Abul-Maimun
*Abd-al-Majid the son of Muhammad 12 as his heir-apparent, 13
who now succeeded him as Caliph receiving the title of al-Hafiz
li-Din- Allah. He reigned for 20 years.
He was succeeded by Abu-Mansur Isma'il, 14 who was given
the title of az-Zafir. 15 He was murdered by his vizier 'Abbas
b. Tamim. 16
[182] His son, Abul-Qasim *Isa, who was five years old, was
set on the throne in his stead and given the title of al-Fayiz
billah. He died after a reign of six years.
After his death his cousin Abu-Muhammad 'Abdallah b.
Yusuf was set up as Caliph and given the title of al-*Adid
li-Din-AUah. He was still reigning when the Ayyubids made
themselves masters of Egypt.
10 See below, pp. 691-4.
11 His kqab was Amir.
12 Muhammad was a son of Mustansir.
13 This is incorrect. Hafiz succeeded Amir, in the first place, as regent,
pending the birth of a posthumous child, which turned out to be a daughter.
See Lane-Poole, op. cit., 166-7.
14 His son.
15 His full tide was az-Zafir bi-Amr- Allah.
16 As M.Q. points out it was actually "Abbas's son who committed the murder.
See Lane-Poole, op. dt, 171-2.
663
THE HISTORY OF
[XI]
AN ACCOUNT OF THESE EVENTS l
AND THE REASON THEREFOR
IN the beginning of the year 554 2 a great army of Franks invaded
Egypt and began to massacre and pillage. [183] They laid
siege to Cairo and the Caliph, the vizier and the whole popula-
tion of Egypt and Cairo were in despair, whereupon Shabur, 3
'Adid's vizier, in whose hands the government of the country
lay, made peace with the leader 4 of the Franks by offering
1,000,000 Egyptian dinars partly in credit and partly in cash.
The Franks then raised the siege of Cairo but remained in Egypt
awaiting the payment of the remainder of the sum agreed upon.
At that time Nur-ad-Din Mahmud b. Zangi b. Aq-Sonqur
was lord of Syria. e Adid, the vizier and the people of Cairo
appealed to him for help against the invasion of the Franks and
sought his aid and support with such instancy that [184] they
even sent him their womenfolk's hair. Nur-ad-Din sent
Shirkuh, the Lord of Hims, with a numerous army to defend
Egypt, and Salah-ad-Din Yusuf, 5 the nephew of Shirkuh,
accompanied his uncle. When the Frankish army got tidings
of the army of Syria, they turned back towards their homes and
Shirkuh made for Cairo, which he reached on the 7th of Rabi
II, 564 [i<5th of January, 1169].
"Adid and Shabur, to show him honour, came out to meet
him. Shirkuh asked Shabur for some money for the troops but
he chose to postpone payment. Love and amity turned to
hatred and emnity, and Shabur laid his plans to make away
with Shirkuh under the pretext of entertaining him. But 'Adid,
being weak and powerless in the hands of Shabur, informed
1 Le. the overthrow of the Fatimid Caliphate.
2 A gross mistake for 564/1168-9. (M.Q.)
3 For the usual Shawar. M.Q. discusses this name at some length (III,
371-8) and concludes that it may (as Juvaini's Shabur would seem to indicate)
be derived from the Persian Shapur.
4 Amalric I.
5 The Saladin of the Crusaders. On the origins of this Kurdish family see
Minorsky, Studies in Caucasian History, 124-32.
664
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
Shirkuh of his treachery and so was the cause of his death.
One day Shabur came to Shirkuh to pay a friendly call. The
latter's nephew Salah-ad-Din Yusuf came out, as though to
greet him in his usual manner, with a body of armed men. He
seized him and, as 'Adid had commanded, sent him his head.
This occurred on the xyth of Rabi c II, 564 [26th of January,
1169].
'Adid [185] conferred the viziership on Shirkuh and gave
him the title of Malik Mansur. Before three months 6 were out
he had died. c Adid then gave the viziership to his nephew
Salah-ad-Din Yusuf. Salah-ad-Din reduced affairs to order;
he gained the mastery over *Adid and Egypt and "Adid was
completely subservient to him.
Nur-ad-Din Mahmud, the lord of Syria, wrote to Salah-ad-
Din Yusuf that, order having been re-established in those countries,
the truth should triumph over the false and be restored to its
rightful place, [that is,] the outward signs of Islam revealed
again by the mention in public prayers of the 'Abbasid Caliphs.
Salah-ad-Din agreed, and on the first Friday of Muharram, 566, 7
he pronounced the khtttba in the pulpits of Egypt and struck
coin in the name of an-Nasir li-Din- Allah. 8
'Adid died on c Ashura 9 and Salah-ad-Din imprisoned his
children [186] and kinsmen and finally caused them all to drink
the draught of annihilation and utterly extinguished their race.
Salah-ad-Din now became supreme: his achievements were
praiseworthy and the circumstances of his life are well-known.
6 Shirkuh's vizierate actually lasted two (lunar) months and five days. He
died on 22nd Jumada II, 564 [24th March, 1169]. (M.Q.)
7 A mistake for 567. (M.Q.) The roth September, 1171.
8 Evidently a mistake for Nasir*s predecessor, Mustadi (1170-80).
9 The loth Muharram, i.e. the I4th September, 1171.
665
THE HISTORY OF
[XII]
OF HASAN-I-SABBAH AND HIS INNOVATIONS (TAJDID)
AND THE PROPAGANDA OF THE HERETICS
WHICH THEY CALL * THE NEW PROPAGANDA *
(MAY GOD NOT RENEW IT !)
AFTER God Almighty through the resolve and action of the
World-Prince Hiilegii had uprooted the castles and dwelling-
places of those accursed ones and had put an end to their wicked-
ness, at the time of the conquest of Alamut the author of this
book received and executed the command to examine what was
deposited in their treasury and collected together in their library,
in order to extract therefrom whatever was worthy of the Private
Treasury (khass). Now I was examining the library which
they had gathered together over a period of many years, and
from amongst the multitude of lying treatises 1 and false teachings
touching their religion and belief (which they had mingled with
copies of the noble Koran and all manner of choice books,
interweaving good and evil) was extracting whatever I found in
the way of rare and precious volumes after the manner of f He
iringeth forth the living out of the dead', 2 when I came upon a book
containing [187] the life and adventures of Hasan-i-Sabbah,
which they call Sar-Guzasbt-i-Sayyidna. From this work I have
copied whatever was to the point and suitable for insertion in
this history, adducing whatever was confirmed and verified. 8
1 Reading fus&l for the fuziil of the text. a Koran, xxx, 18.
3 On the relationship between Juvaini's quotations from this work and the much
fuller quotations in Rashid-ad-Din see Bowen, The sar-gudhasht-i sayyidna, the
f Tale of the Three Schoolfellows ' and the wasaya of the Nizam al-Mulk. Bowen's
conclusions are summarized as follows by Hodgson, The Order of Assassins, 73,
n. 34: Very often Rashid ad-Din has more facts than Juwayni, where Juwayni
has more opinions than Rashid ad-Din. Where they coincide, the wording
is almost identical one would suppose, therefore, that Juwayni was excerpting
the originals which Rashid ad-Din copied. Yet in beginning his story Rashid
ad-Din seems to quote the introductory phrase of Juwayni, who had written
a generation earlier; so that Bowen suggests that the common original was a
first and fuller draft by Juwayni, which Juwayni pruned of the more objection-
able parts, including the obviously legendary and the less interesting ; and of
which he redressed the language to make it less offensive to Sunni ears.'
666
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
He traced his descent to the Himyar tribe. His father came
from the Yemen to Kufa, then from Kufa to Qum and from
Qum to Ray. Here he settled down and here Hasan-i-Sabbah
was born.
By origin thou art from Qayin and thy abode is in Kushkak.
O foolish cuckold, what dost thou in Khutlan ? 4
[188] His name was Hasan, son of *Ali, son of Muhammad,
son of JaTar, son of Husain, son of Muhammad, [son of] Sabbah
the Himyari upon him le the curse of Cody and the angds, and all
mankind !
It is related in the Sar-Guzasht that some of his followers wrote
an account of his forefathers and brought it to him ; but from
a desire to deceive and misrepresent he would not sanction it
and washed the pages in water.
This accursed Hasan relates as follows : * I followed the
religion of my fathers, that is Twelver Shf ism. 5 There was a
person in Ray called Amira Zarrab 6 who held the beliefs of
the Batinis of Egypt. We constantly disputed with each other
and he tried to destroy my beliefs. I did not give in to him
but his words took root in my heart. Meanwhile I was over-
come with a very dreadful illness and I thought to myself: " That
is the true religion and because of my fanaticism I would not
admit it. If, which Heaven fbrfend, my appointed hour should
come, I shall have perished without attaining the truth." It so
happened that I recovered from that illness. Now there was
4 Kushkaki of Qayin (Qa'in), a poet of the age of Sanjar. The poet is address-
ing himself. (M.Q.) The text has JUan, i.e. Gflan, for which I have sub-
stituted the Khutlan of M and the Majma*-d-Fu$aha, which fits in better with
the context of the original poem. Khutlan (Khuttalan) was the name of the
mountainous region between the Vakhsh and the Panj in what is now the Soviet
Socialist Republic of Tajikistan.
5 Or Imami Shi'ism, the state religion of present-day Persia. The Twelvers,
as their name applies, believe in twelve Imams, of whom the first was the Prophet's
cousin and son-in-law 'AH and the twelfth, the Mahdi, is still alive in some
secret place from which he will one day emerge in order to fill the world with
justice. Of these twelve Imams the Seveners, i.e. the Isma'ilis, recognize only
the first six, to whom they add as the seventh Imam either Isma*il, the son of
Ja'far as-Sadiq, or his grandson Muhammad.
6 Zarrab 'the Coiner'.
667
THE HISTORY OF
another Batini called Bu-Najm Sarraj. 7 I questioned him about
their religion. He expounded it to me in detail so that I became
conversant with its hidden secrets (ghavamiz). There was another
called Mu'min, who had been authorized by 'Abd-al-Malik, 8
son of 'Attash, to carry out propaganda. [189] I asked him to
administer the oath of allegiance. He replied : " Thy rank, since
thou art Hasan, 9 is higher than mine since I am but Mu'min. 10
How then shall I administer the oath to thee ? That is, how
shall I ask thee to swear fealty to the Imam ? " However, after
much insistence on my part, he administered the oath to me.
* In the year 464/1071-2 c Abd-alMalik, the son of 'Attash,
who at that time was the fa e i in Iraq, came to Ray. I met with
his approval, and he made me a deputy dai and indicated that
I should go to His Majesty in Egypt, who at the time was
Mustansir.
*In the year 469/1076-7 I went to Isfahan on my way to
Egypt (From thence he proceeded to Syria by way of Azer-
baijan after experiencing the dangers which are recorded in
detail in that history.)
* I finally arrived in Egypt in the year 471/1078-9- I stayed
there nearly a year and a hal and during [190] my stay, though
I was not admitted before Mustansir, he knew of me and several
times spoke in praise of me. Now Amir-al-Juyush, 11 his
Commander-in-Chief, who was an absolute and all-powerful
ruler, was the father-in-law of his younger son, Musta'li, whom
by a second designation he had made his heir. 12 Now I, in
accordance with the principles of my religion, [191] conducted
propaganda on behalf of Nizar. (This has been previously
mentioned.) 13 On this account Amir-al-Juyush was ill-disposed
I Sarraj 'the Saddler*.
8 He was the father of the Ahmad who seized the fortress of Shahdiz at Isfahan.
See Hodgson, op. tit., 85-6 and 95-6.
9 I.e. Hasan, the son of *Ali, and hasan * good *.
10 mu'mm is the Arabic for * believer *.
II Amir-al-Juyush itself means * Commander-in-Chief *. This was the title
of the famous vizier Badr al-Jamali, originally an Armenian slave, on whom
see Lane-Poole, A History of Egypt in the Middle Ages, 150-3.
12 See above, p. 662 and n. 3.'
13 See above, p. 662,
668
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
towards me and girded himself to attack me so that they were
compelled to send me by ship to Maghrib with a party of Franks.
* The sea was rough and drove the ship towards Syria, where
a miracle (vaqfa) 1 * happened to me. From thence I went to
Aleppo, from whence, by way of Baghdad and Khuzistan, I
arrived in Isfahan in Zul-Hijja of the year 473 [May-June, 1081].
From thence I proceeded to Kerman and Yezd and conducted
propaganda there for a while. Then I returned to Isfahan and
went to Khuzistan for the second time and from thence, by way
of the desert, to Firrim 15 and Shahryar-Kuh. 16
[192] * I remained three years in Damghan, from whence I
sent dais to Andij-Rud 17 and the other districts of Alamut to
convert the people. And I went to Jurjan, Tarz, 18 Sarhadd 19
and Chinashk 20 and returned from thence.
[193] ' Nizam-al-Mulk had charged Bu-Muslim Razi to lay
lands on me and he was making great efforts to find me. I could
not therefore go to Ray although I wished to proceed to Dailaman,
whither I had sent dais. Accordingly I went to Sari from whence
I reached Qazvin by way of Dunbavand 21 and Khuvar of Ray ;
and so avoided Ray itself.
* From Qazvin I again sent a da*i to the castle of Alamut,
which was held by an c Alid called Mahdi as a fief from Malik-
Shah. 22 Now Alamut is alub-amut, i.e. " the eagle's nest ", and
14 This miracle according to the fuller version in Rashid-ad~Din was his
prophesying that the ship would not sink. (M.Q.)
15 Firrim, the ancient capital of the Bavand dynasty, was situated in the moun-
tains of Eastern Mazandaran, to the south of Sari on the banks of a tributary of
the Tejen. A district of the same name (Farim) still exists in that area, i.e. in the
Du-Danga division of Hazar-Jarib. (M.Q.) See also Minorsky, Hudud, 387.
16 The present-day Hazar-Jarib mountain-range. (M.Q.)
17 Andij-Rud is to-day one of the four sub-districts of Alamut. See M.Q.,
ffl, 388 and 389.
18 M.Q., HI, 398-9, suggests that this may be identical with the Isma'ili
village in the Baihaq area mentioned by Ibn-al-Athir sub anno 520/1126-7.
19 Rabino, Mazandaran and Astardldd, 21, mentions a sub-district of this name
in Tunakabun, the most westerly district of Mazandaran, but in the present
context one would rather expect some locality in the Astarabad area.
20 On Chinashk, a sub-district of Kuhsar in Eastern Astarabad see M.Q.,
IE, 399-400, Rabino, op. cit,, 83-4.
21 Dunbavand is the older form of Damavand.
22 The famous Seljuq ruler (1072-92).
669
THE HISTORY OF
an eagle had its nest there. Some of the people in Alamut were
converted by the dai and they sought to convert the 'Alid also.
He pretended to be won over but afterwards contrived to send
down all the converts and then closed the gates of the castle
saying that it belonged to the Sultan. After much discussion
he re-admitted them and after that they refused to go down at
his bidding.
* From Qazvin I went to Dailaman, then to the district of
Ashkavar and then to Andij-Rud, which is adjacent to Alamut ;
and here I remained for some time. 5
Because of his extreme asceticism many people fell victims to
him and were converted by him. And on the eve of Wednesday
the 6th ofRajab, 483 [4th of September, 1090] and by a strange
coincidence the letters of Aluh-Amut, if added together according
to their dtyad values, 23 give the date of the year in which he
ascended Alamut he was brought up by stealth into the castle.
He remained there for a time in disguise calling himself Dihkhuda.
When the 'Alid learnt of his presence he was powerless to do
anything. He was given permission to leave, and Hasan wrote
a draft on the governor of Girdkuh and Damghan, the mis 24
Muzaffar Mustaufi, a secret convert of his, for the sum of 3,000
gold dinars as the price of the castle. [195] Now Hasan because
of his great asceticism used to express himself with extreme
terseness in his correspondence, as in the case of this draft, of
which the text is as follows : * The veils MZ (may God preserve
him !) is to pay 3,000 dinars, the price of Alamut, to the 'Alid
Mahdi. Blessings upon the Elect Prophet and his family ! ee Our
sufficiency is God, and He is an excellent protector. 3 ' 9 25
The c Alid took this draft and thought to himself: * The ra'is
MuzafFar is a great man and deputy to Amirdad Habashi, 26
23 The abjad is the Arabic alphabet arranged in its ancient order as still used
for numeration. The values of the letters of Aluh-Amut (ALH AMWT)
not, it is to be noted, of Alamut (ALMWT), the usual form of the name-
are i+ 30+ 5+ 1+40+ 6+400 =483*
24 On the office of rats see above, i, 112, n. 8, also Lambton, Islamic Society
M Persia, 10.
25 Koran, iii, 167.
26 One of the Seljuq emirs. See above, i, 278, also Hodgson, op. dt. 3 86-7.
670
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
the son of Altun-Taq. How should he give me something
in exchange for a note ? * Some time afterwards he happened
to be in Damghan and being in needy circumstances he put the
matter to the test and took the note to the rak Muzaffar. He
at once kissed the writing and paid him the gold.
Once Hasan-i-Sabbah (may God confound him !) was firmly
established in Alamut and had gained full control there he
dispatched Hats in all directions and devoted the whole of
his time to spreading his propaganda and perverting the short-
sighted. Now his reform of their heresy (Md'at) which after
his death they called the New Propaganda, was after this fashion. 28
His predecessors had based their tenets upon the symbolic
interpretation (ta*vll)** of revelations, especially the ambiguous
verses of the Koran and upon strange deductions (i$tikhraj-i-
maanl) from the traditions (akhbar va SsSr) and the like thereof;
and they used to say that there was a symbolic interpretation of
every revelation and that every [196] outward form bore an
inner meaning. But Hasan-i-Sabbah would admit nothing but
teaching and learning (tallm va taalhm).* The knowledge of
God, he said, was not to be attained through the reason and
by reflection (nazar) but through the teaching of the Imam, for
most of mankind were possessed of reason and everyone had
views (nazar) on the ways of religion. If the use of reason
(nazar-i-*aql) were sufficient for the knowledge of God, the
members of no sect could raise objections against other sects and
all would be equal, assuming that (cbi) everyone was possessed of
religion through the use of reason. But since it was open [for
men] to object and repudiate and some felt the need to imitate
others, this was nothing else but (kbvd) the doctrine (ntazbab) of
instruction (tallm) namely that reason was not sufficient and
there had to be an Imam in order that in every age the people
27 See above, p. 636, n. 75
28 For a translation of the corresponding passage of Rashid-ad-Din see Levy,
The account of the Isma'ili doctrines in the Jami* al-Tawarikh ofRashid d-Din FadlaM,
534-6.
29 See above, p. 646, n. 28.
30 Lit. * closed tight the door of teaching and learning '. On the doctrine
oftflfm see Hodgson, op. cit. } 51-61.
6 7 I
THE HISTORY OF
might be instructed and possessed of religion through his
teaching.
And he fashioned several concise sentences which he used as
the decoy for the snares of his deceit ; and these he called ilzam? 1
The foolish and the vulgar thought these terse expressions were
full of meaning. One of the most subtle of them was to ask his
opponents whether reason was enough or not enough ; because
if [the reply was given that] reason sufficed for the knowledge
of God, [this implied that] everyone being possessed of reason
no one could object to anyone ; and if his opponent said that
reason was not sufficient and that in addition to the use of reason
(nazcir-i- e aql) one also needed a teacher, this was simply his own
doctrine.
Now in putting that question, viz. whether reason was enough
or not enough, he implied that his own doctrine, which he was
trying to affirm, was that instruction was necessary in conjunction
with reason, and that the doctrine of his opponents was that
instruction was not necessary in conjunction with reason. Now
if instruction is not necessary it may be permissive (jfyiz) and
assist the function of reason (kbirad ra mu*in badad bar nazar), or
else it may not be permissive and reason have to be used alone
[197], otherwise the knowledge of God cannot be attained.
Now these are the two horns of a dilemma, and Hasan set
himself to refute the second and then said that he had refuted
their belief (mazbab). But it is not so, for the belief of the
generality of mankind is that the existence of reason alone is not
enough but reason must be employed in a special way, and
instruction and guidance are of assistance to some of those
possessed of reason, while others have no need thereof, though
if instruction and guidance are available, there is no objection
thereto. It is clear then that he has done nothing towards
refuting the belief of the majority.
As for his statement that instruction is restricted to one specified
person it requires proof and the only proof he provides are his
words when he says : c I have proved [the necessity for] instruction
and since there is no other than I who speaks for instruction,
31 Lit. * compulsion *.
672
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
therefore the determination of the instruction is by my words/
Now this is palpably false: it is as though someone were to
say : 'I say that such-and-such a person is Imam, and the proof
thereof is that I say so/ If he says : * The consensus of Moslem
opinion (ijma) is right ; therefore, if my words be not true and
I have refuted the words of others, then the Moslems are agreed
upon what is false " the reply to this argument is that the con-
sensus of opinion in the case of the majority is right because of
[its dependence upon] the Koran and the Traditions, and that
in his case this is not so. Therefore for him to base his doctrine
upon the consensus of opinion is to base it upon the words of
his opponents and is of no profit to him. And apart from this
he adduces no evidence for the designation of the Imam.
Again, he has said [198] that when the Prophet (upon whom
be peace !) said : c I was commanded to fght the people until they
said : ec There is no god but God" ' he meant that they had to learn
from him to say : ' There is no god but God ' which is [the
doctrine of] instruction. The reply to this is that it is incon-
sistent with the story of the old woman who, when they asked
her about God, pointed to the sky. And the Prophet (upon
whom te peace 1) said : e Let her he, for she is a believer! And he
said also : c Do ye adopt the religion of old women! He did not
say to the old woman : * Thou didst not learn the knowledge
of God from me; thou art not a believer/ And again a
Bedouin said : Is not Time God ? ' And the Prophet (upon
whom fa peace !) said : f Let him Ie 9 for he has said well' And
there are further similar instances that could be adduced. How-
ever this book is not the place to refute false doctrines and uphold
the True Faith ; I therefore thought it best to restrict myself to
the above. Such then was the nonsense which he expounded ;
whereof the outward form were snares of deceit and the inner
meaning the wiles of [199] Iblis and the purpose of which was
to prevent the use of reason and the acquisition of knowledge.
c Their hearts and their ears hath God sealed up ; and over their eyes
is a covering. For them, a seven chastisement I ' 32
Hasan exerted every effort to capture the places adjacent to
32 Koran, ii, 6.
673
THE HISTORY OF
Alamut or in that vicinity. Where possible he won them over
by the tricks of his propaganda while such places as were
unaffected by his blandishments he seized with slaughter, ravish-
ment, pillage, bloodshed and war. He took such castles as he
could and wherever he found a suitable rock he built a castle
upon it.
Amongst the officers of Sultan Malik-Shah was an emir called
Yuriin-Tash, 33 [200] who held the district of Alamut as fief
(iqta). He used constantly to attack [the country at] the foot
of Alamut and massacre and lay waste wherever the people were
Hasan's converts and subjects. Since as yet no stores had been
laid up in Alamut the occupants were reduced to great distress
and impotence and decided to hand over the castle to a few
unencumbered (jarida) men and themselves depart elsewhere.
Hereupon Hasan-i-Sabbah claimed to have received a message
from his Imam, i.e. Mustansir, to the, effect that they should not
quit that place because good fortune awaited them there. By
means of this imposture he prevailed upon his followers to resign
themselves to the endurance of hardships and remain on Alamut,
which, on account of those words, they named faladat-al-
In the year 484/1091-2 he sent Husain of Qa'in, one of his
dais, to Quhistan to conduct propaganda there. A number of
people were converted by him and they established themselves
in one part of that country. A deputy 35 was then appointed
to govern them on behalf of Hasan-i-Sabbah ; and just as Hasan
had proceeded in Alamut, so they too in Quhistan began to
spread their propaganda and conquer the country around them
by the fabrication of lies and the capture of castles.
[201] When the tale of his new heresy (Uat) spread about
and the injuries inflicted by his followers upon the Moslems
became widely known, Sultan Malik-Shah, in the beginning of
the year 485/1092, dispatched an emir called Arslan-Tash 36 to
33 ' White Stone.' 3 * ' The Town of Good Fortune.'
35 na'ib. Used perhaps here for the usual muhfabam ' governor *. Cf. Hodgson,
op. cit., Ti8, n. 50.
86 ' Lion-Stone '.
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THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
expel and extirpate Hasan-i-Sabbah and all his followers. This
emir sat down before Alamut in Jumada I of the said year
[June-July, 1092]. At that time Hasan-i-Sabbah had with
him on Alamut no more than 60 or 70 men ; and they had but
few stores. They lived on the little they had, a bare subsistence,
and kept up the battle with the besiegers. Now one of Hasan's
dais, a man called Dihdar Bu- Ali, who came from Zuvara 37
and Ardistan, had his residence in Qazvin, some of the inhabit-
ants of which were his converts ; as likewise in the district of
Talaqan and Kuh-i-Bara 38 and the district of Ray many people
believed in the Sabbahian propaganda; [202] and they all
resorted to the man who had settled in Qazvin. Hasan-i-Sabbah
now appealed to Bu-'Ali Dihdar for help, and he stirred up a
host of people from Kuh-i-Bara and Talaqan and likewise sent
arms and implements of war from Qazvin. Some 300 of these
men came to the aid of Hasan-i-Sabbah. They threw themselves
into Alamut and then with the assistance of the garrison and the
support of some of the people of Rudbar, who were in league
with them outside the castle, one night at the end of Sha'ban
of that year [September-October, 1092], they made a surprise
attack upon the army of Arslan-Tash. By divine preordination
the army was put to flight and leaving Alamut returned to
Malik-Shah.
Sultan Malik-Shah was much concerned at this defeat but
persisted in the idea of extirpating that sect. However his life
had drawn to its close and with his death the plans to exterminate
those wretches were deferred and they were strengthened in their
rebellion.
At the beginning of 485/1092 the Sultan had also sent another
of his chief emirs called Ghizil-Sarigh 39 to expel the Heretics
of Quhistan ; and he had ordered the armies of Khorasan to
follow and assist him. Ghizil-Sarigh besieged them in the
37 Zuvara was situated to the north-east of Ardistan in Central Persia.
38 Identified by M.Q. with the Bara of Hamdallah (tr. le Strange, 209 and
210), i.e. the present-day Manjil at the confluence of the Shah-Rud and the
Safid-Rud (Qizil-Uzan).
39 ' Red-Yellow ', from the Turkish fiztl * red * and sarijjb ' yellow '.
x n. 675
THE HISTORY OF
castle (hisar) of [203] Dara, 40 which is adjacent to Sistan and
is one of the dependencies of Mu'minabad, 41 and joined battle
with them. Before he could take the place, however, he received
the news of Malik-Shah's death, whereupon he raised the siege
and his army dispersed. Like the people of Alamut these
people too stretched out the hand of tyranny and extended the
foot of oppression. As has been said :
O what a happy lark on cultivated land! The air is clear
for tbee, so lay thy tggs and whistle I 42
Now at the time when Hasan first rose in rebellion Nizam-
al-Mulk Hasan b. *Ali b. Ishaq of Tus (may God have mercy on
him!) was Malik-Shah's vizier. With his penetrating glance
he beheld on the features of the actions wrought by Hasan-i-
Sabbah [204] and his followers the signs of troubles in Islam
and perceived therein the indications of disturbances ; and he
strove his hardest to excise the pus of the Sabbahian rebellion
and exerted every effort in equipping and dispatching troops to
suppress and subdue them.
Hasan-i-Sabbah spread the snare of artifices in order at the
first opportunity to catch some splendid game, such as Nizam-
al-Mulk, in the net of destruction and increase thereby his own
reputation. With the juggling of deceit and the trickery of
falsehood, with absurd preparations and spurious deceptions, 43
he laid the basis ofthefclais. A person called Bu-Tahir, Arrani
by name and by origin, was afflicted e with the loss both of this
world and of the next } ^ and in his misguided striving after bliss
in the world to come on the night of Friday the I2th of Ramazan,
485 [i6th of October, 1092] he went up to Nizam-al-Mulk's
40 The village of Dara lies to the south of Tabas and the south-east of Birjand ;
and there is still an old castle in the neighbouring hills. (M.Q.) Hamdallah
tr, le Strange, 144, describes Dara Castle as " a very strong fortress ; and on the
summit of the hill within the castle is a spring of water *.
41 The district of Mu'minabad lies a day's journey to the east of Birjand.
42 From a poem also quoted above, p. 569.
43 Perhaps a reference to the ' Paradise ' described by Marco Polo. See Bene-
detto, 49-51.
44 Koran, xxii, n.
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THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
litter at a stage called Sahna 45 in the region of Nihavand.
Nizam-al-Mulk, having broken the fast, was being borne in the
litter from the Sultan's audience-place to the tent of his harem.
Bu-Tahir who was disguised as a Sufi, stabbed him with a
dagger and by that blow Nizam-al-Mulk was martyred. He
was the first person to be killed by the jWcuV.
Now when Hasan-i-Sabbah returned from Egypt he had gone
to Isfahan. The report of his teachings, [205] his connection
with the Batinis and the propaganda he conducted on their
behalf had been spread abroad and those who were concerned
for the griefs of Islam and religion sought to lay hands on him,
and he therefore went into hiding. In Isfahan he entered the
house of the rais Abul-Fazl, a secret convert of his, where he
remained for some time ; and whenever this rais came in to him
they would talk together and discuss their troubles. One day,
whilst bemoaning his lot and speaking of the fanatical attitude
of the Sultan and his ministers, Hasan-i-Sabbah heaved a sigh
and said : * Alas ! had I but two men of one mind with me I
should turn this realm upside down/ The i<ti$ Abul-Fazl
concluded that ftom much thought and fear and the undertaking
of dangerous journeys Hasan had been attacked with melancholia,
otherwise how could he imagine that with two persons of one
mind he could turn upside down the realm of a monarch, in
whose name the kbutba was recited and coin struck from Egypt
to Kashghar and under whose banner so many thousands of
horse and foot could at one sign from him break up a whole
world ? He pondered over this and said to himself: c He is
not a man to boast or use extravagant language : there is no
doubt that he is affected with a disease of the brain/ Acting
on his belief he adopted the treatment for melancholia without
telling Hasan. He prepared perfumed drinks and foods to
fortify the constitution and moisten the brain such as are suitable
for the sufferers from such a malady ; and at the usual mealtime
he laid this food and drink before him. As soon as Hasan
saw it he knew what was in the rais Abul-Fazl's mind, and he
45 The present-day village of Sahna on the road between Bisutun in the West
and Kangavar in the East and almost equidistant from both places. (M.Q.)
677
THE HISTORY OF
immediately prepared to depart. The rats begged and [206]
pleaded with him but he refused to stay. It is said that he went
to Kerman. Upon his return from thence he established himself
in Alamut and caused Nizam-al-Mulk to be slain by hisfdais.
40 days later Sultan Malik-Shah himself died also, and the
affairs of the realm were thrown into confusion and there was
chaos in the provinces. Hasan seized his opportunity and his
cause waxed strong : and those who had some reason for fear
took refuge with him. The aforesaid rats Abul-Fazl sought an
opportunity and went to Alamut, where he was enrolled amongst
his followers. One day Hasan-i-Sabbah turned to him and said :
* Does it seem now that I had melancholia or thou ? Thou
hast seen that when I found two friends to help me I kept my
word and proved my claim/ The rais Abul-Fazl fell at his
feet and begged for forgiveness. 46
Some time after the death of Nizam-al-Mulk two of his sons
were also stabbed, one, whose name was Ahmad, in Baghdad
he became paralysed [207] and Fakhr-al-Mulk in Nishapur.
And from then onwards he used to cause the emirs, commanders
and notables to be assassinated by hisfdais one after the other;
and any one who opposed him in any way he would get rid of
with this trick. To record the names of all these persons would
take too long.
On this account the local rulers (ashab-i-atraf), near and far,
were exposed to danger, whether their friends or their foes, and
would fall into the whirlpool of destruction their friends,
because the kings of Islam would subdue and destroy them and
they would suffer ' the loss of this world and the next ; ' 47 while
their foes for fear of his guile and treachery would flee into the
cage of defence and precaution and [even so] were mostly killed.
When a quarrel broke out between Berk-Yaruq 48 and his
brother Muhammad, the sons of Malik-Shah, and there was
46 In Rashid-ad-Din's version Hasan-i-Sabbah's prophecy to Abul-Fazl had
been made before his visit to Egypt. Juvaini's placing the story, * where it fits
in comfortably, after his return ', is cited by Bowen, op. cit. 3 775, as an example
of his * editing ' of the Sar-Guzasbt.
47 Koran, xxii, n.
48 See above, i, 278, n. 9.
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THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
turmoil and confusion in the kingdom, the rais Muzaffar, the
governor of Damghan, persuaded his superior, Amirdad
Habashi, to ask Sultan Berk-Yaruq for the castle of Girdkuh ;
[208] and the Sultan granted his request. The rais Muzaffar
then ascended Girdkuh as Habashi's lieutenant and expended
large sums on repairing and fortifying the castle; after which
he transported all his superior's treasuries thither. Being thus
strengthened with stores and treasure he revealed the secret of his
conversion to the propaganda of the New Heretic (sahib-Ufcat)
and of his following the path of unbelief and infidelity ; and
for 40 years he lived there holding the castle for Hasan-i-Sabbah.
He dug a well in the solid rock on the ramparts of Girdkuh ;
but having gone down 300 ells (gaz) without reaching water
he abandoned it. Years after his death there was an earthquake,
and a spring gushed out in that well
With the assistance of the rais MuzafFar, who was an
impregnable wall and a mighty evil, the cause of Hasan and
his propaganda flourished. The occupants of the castle of
Lammasar, 49 which is also in the Rudbar of Alamut, having
refused to be converted he dispatched one of his companions
(rafiq), a man called Kiya Buzurg-Umid with a band of
Heretics ; they climbed up by stealth in the night of the 24th of
Zul-Qa da, 495 [roth of September, 1102] and slew the inhabit-
ants. Buzurg-Umid resided in that castle for 20 years and did
not come down until he was summoned by Hasan.
Hasan-i-Sabbah had two sons, one of whom was called Ustad
Husain. Now in the castle of Alamut there was an *Alid
called Zaid Hasani, who was secretly conducting propaganda
on his own behalf and was on the point of putting an end to
Hasan-i-Sabbah. And first he caused Husain of Qa'in, the 4a f i
in Quhistan, to be slain by the hand of * Ahmad of Dunbavand.
The murder of Husain of Qa'in was attributed to Hasan's son
Ustad Husain, and Hasan ordered the execution both of his son
49 The ruins of Lammasar (Lanbasar is another spelling) were visited by
Miss Freya Stark in 1931. See Chapter IV ('The Assassins* Castle of
Lamiasar ') of The Valleys of the Assassins.
60 See above, p. 639, n. 90.
679
THE HISTORY OF
and of Ahmad [210] of Dunbavand. A year later, having
learnt the true state of affairs, he put the 'Alid to death together
with a son that he had.
Now Hasan-i-Sabbah had founded his cause and his law
(ndmus) upon asceticism, continence and ' the enjoying of righteous-
ness and the forbidding of unrighteousness', and during the 35 years
that ^e dwelt in Alamut nobody drank wine openly nor put
it in jars. Indeed such was his austerity that a certain person
having played the flute in the castle he expelled him therefrom
and would not re-admit him. Now his other son, whose name
was Muhammad, was accused of drinking wine and he ordered
him to be put to death. And he used to point to the execution
of both his sons as a reason against any one's imagining that he
had conducted propaganda on their behalf and had had that
object in mind.
In conformity with this law (namus) it happened on another
occasion, at the time of the siege, 51 that he sent his wife and
two daughters [211] to Girdkuh and wrote to the rais Muzaffar :
' Since these women work the spindle on behalf of our propa-
ganda, give them their needs as wages therefor/ And from that
time onwards their governors (muhtasham), so long as they held
that office, would have no women with them.
And since the power of Hasan-i-Sabbah was continually on
the increase, Sultan Muhammad, the son of Malik-Shah, got
together armies to put an end to him and set Nizam-al-Mulk
Ahmad, the son of Nizam-al-Mulk, at the head of them. He
encompassed Alamut and Ustavand, 52 which is near to it on
the banks of the Andij ; 53 and they waged war for some time
and destroyed the crops. Then [212], being unable to accom-
plish more, the army departed from Rudbar. In their castles
there was a great famine and the people lived on grass ; and it
was for this reason that they sent their wives and children else-
where and he too sent his wife and daughters to Girdkuh.
51 The eight years' siege referred to below.
52 Ustavand is completely unknown.
53 A tributary of the Alamut river (whence Andlij-Rud, the name of the
sub-district).
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THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
For eight consecutive years the troops came to Rudbar and
destroyed the crops, and the two sides were engaged in battle.
When it was known that Hasan and his men were left without
strength or food, [Sultan Muhammad], at the beginning of the
year 511/1117-18, appointed the atckeg Nush-Tegin Shir-Gir
as commander of the troops and ordered him to lay siege to the
castles from then onwards. On the ist of Safar [4th of June,
1117] they invested Lammasar and on the nth of Rabi* I [isth
of July] Alamut. Setting up their mangonels they fought
strenuously and by Zul-Hijja of that year [March-April, 1118]
were on the point of taking the castles and freeing mankind
from their machinations, when they received news that Sultan
Muhammad had died in Isfahan. The troops then dispersed,
and the Heretics were left alive and dragged up into their castles
all the stores, arms and implements of war assembled by the
Sultan's army.
Now to every fortune there is a limit and to every cause a
term, which has been fixed by God Almighty in His perfect
knowledge and power [213] at the beginning of time, and until
the appointed hour is come abundant strength and gear and
equipment will accomplish nothing. And the proof of this is
that the conquest of these castles and the destruction thereof was
dependent on the rising of the fortune of the World-Emperor
Mengii Qa'an and was executed by the power, majesty and
action of his brother, the World-King Hulegii, who in one
week utterly and finally overthrew the whole of their abodes and
dwelling places, and they became like [those cities which] ' We
turned upside down ', 54 as shall be hereinafter described.
Because of his nephew's enmity Sultan Sanjar was unable to
deal with the Heretics and they recovered their strength; but
when he had restored the kingdom to order he sought to put
an end to them and began by sending an army into Quhistan.
Hostilities continued for years; Hasan-i-Sabbah would send
ambassadors to seek peace but his offers were not accepted. He
then by all manner of wiles bribed certain of the Sultan's courtiers
[214] to defend him before the Sultan; and he suborned one
54 Koran, xi, 84.
68 1
THE HISTORY OF
of his eunuchs (kbadim) with a large sum of money and sent
him a dagger, which was stuck in the ground beside the Sultan's
bed one night when he lay in drunken sleep. When the Sultan
awoke and saw the dagger he was filled with alarm but not
knowing whom to suspect he ordered the matter to be kept
secret. Hasan-i-Sabbah then sent a messenger with the follow-
ing message : ' Did I not wish the Sultan well that dagger which
was struck into the hard ground would have been planted in
his soft breast/ The Sultan took fright and from then on
inclined towards peace with them. In short, because of this
imposture the Sultan refrained from attacking them and during
his reign their cause prospered. He allowed them a pension
(idrir) of 3,000 dinars from the taxes on the lands belonging to
them in the region of Qumish and also permitted them to levy
a small toll on travellers passing beneath Girdkuh, a custom
which has survived to this day. I saw several of Sanjar's
firmans (mandur) which had been preserved in their library and
in which he conciliated and flattered them ; and from these I
was able to deduce the extent to which the Sultan connived at
their actions [215] and sought to be on peaceful terms with
them. In short, during his reign they enjoyed ease and tranquillity.
It was during the Sultan's reign, in the month of Rabi c II,
518 [May-June, 1124], that Hasan-i-Sabbah fell ill. He sent
someone to Lammasar to fetch Buzurg-Umid and appointed
him his successor. And he made Dihdar Abu-* AH of Ardistan
[sit] on his right and entrusted him in particular with the propa-
ganda chancery (? da* vat-divan); 55 Hasan son of Adam of
Qasran he made [sit] on his left and Kiya Ba-Ja'far, who was
the commander of his forces, in front of him. And he charged
them, until such time as the Imam came to take possession of
his kingdom, to act all four in concert and agreement. And
in the night of Wednesday the 6th 56 of Rabi c II, 518 [Friday,
55 The passage is obscure. Hodgson, op. cit. f 118-19, takes it to mean that
Abu-' AH was put in charge of finance.
56 An alternative reading is the 26th Rabi e II, i.e. the nth June, a Thursday,
only one day out. This seems more likely. Isma'ili dates, so Professor Bernard
Lewis informs me, were often one day out since they used an astronomical calendar.
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THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
23rd of May, 1124], he hastened off 'to the f re of God and
His Ml\
As has been previously mentioned, from the day Hasan first
went up into the castle of Alamut until he departed this world,
that is to say, for a period of 3 5 years, he never descended there-
from and he only twice came out of the house (sarai) in which
he lived. On these two occasions he went up on the roof.
[216] The rest of his time he passed inside his house, fasting
and praying, reading books, committing the doctrines of his
Heresy to writing and administering the affairs of his kingdom.
It is related of Sabi 57 that at the time when he was compiling
the Ta'rikh-i-Taji, a friend inquired as to what he was engaged
in, and he replied : c Stringing together lies and embellishing vanities/
An idle tale, O mother of *Amr ! 58
Succeeding Hasan-i-Sabbah together with his companions
Buzurg-Umid for a space of 20 years pursued those same [217]
customs and practices of his master and strengthened that edifice
which was built ' on the brink of an undermined bank! 59 And it
being still the reign of Sanjar there was no one who strove to
uproot their castles and demolish their dwelling-places.
Now at that time there was a quarrel between the Commander
of the Faithful al-Mustarshid billah 60 and Sultan Mas'ud the
Seljuq, who governed Iraq, Arran and Azerbaijan as viceroy
to his uncle Sultan Sanjar. In those days in reading the khutba
in Baghdad it was customary, as in the times of the Buyids, to
mention after the name of the Caliph that of the paramount
Sultan ; and there had been no mention from the pulpits of the
name of Sultan Mas'ud. It was therefore his firm intention to
make an attack on Baghdad. Wishing to forestall him al-
Mustarshid billah [advanced against him] at the head of [218]
a large army. He had approached Hamadan when Sultan
57 On this historian, Abu-Ishaq Ibrahim b. Hilal as-Sabi' (f 994), and his
work (a history of the Buyids), see Barthold, Turkestan, 8.
68 The second half of a hit by 'Abdallah b. az-Ziba*ra, a famous poet con-
temporary with the Prophet. (M.Q.)
69 Koran, ix, no, 60 1118-35.
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THE HISTORY OF
Mas'ud came up from the other side with an army of his own.
Some of the troops from Baghdad deserted and joined the
Sultan's army, with the result that the Caliph's army was
weakened whilst the Sultan's doubled its size. Their opponents
were defeated ; al-Mustarshid billah fell into the Sultan's hands ;
and his vizier and all his ministers were likewise captured.
Sultan Mas c ud ordered his troops to harm no one but to content
themselves with booty and pillage. And in this encounter not
more than five persons perished on either side.
Although he imprisoned his ministers in a castle Sultan
Mas'ud treated the Caliph himself with respect. He accom-
panied him to Maragha and sent a messenger to his uncle,
Sultan Sanjar, to report the news. It so happened that in those
days there was a constant succession of earthquakes and thunder-
bolts, and violent winds threw the world in turmoil ; and every-
one attributed all this to that same event. Sultan Sanjar sent
messengers and wrote a letter to Sultan Mas'ud to the following
effect : * When my child Mas'ud Ghiyas-ad-Din has seen this
edict let him at once proceed to the Commander of the Faithful
and after kissing the dust of the audience-hall, [219] which is
the asylum of all the world, let him crave fair pardon for the
crimes and misdemeanours which are the result of desertion [by
God] and seek forgiveness for the faults he has committed ; and
let him know that the falling of so many thunderbolts and the
blowing of violent winds such as no one has experienced the
like in this age and which have now continued for 20 days
these things I consider to have been caused by that event and I
fear lest from this disturbance the armies and the people be thrown
into confusion. By God ! let him see fit to make amends, let
him regard it as his bounden duty I '
From this incident one can form an idea of Sultan Sanjar's
piety and the orthodoxy of his beliefs.
In obedience to this command Sultan Mas'ud went to the
Commander of the Faithful and after tendering his excuses and
apologies and confessing his sins and crimes he begged forgive-
ness. And in order to acquire merit he picked up the Caliph's
saddle-cloth and walked in front of his horse to the pavilion he
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THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
had prepared for him. The Commander of the Faithful seated
himself on the throne and Sultan Mas'ud took his stand amongst
the chamberlains (hujjal) and deputies (nuvval)).
Sultan Sanjar now sent another messenger to say that the
Commander of the Faithful was perhaps thinking of returning
to the Abode of Peace and in that case Sultan Mas'ud should
make such preparations as were worthy of so great a Majesty.
And to make this announcement Sultan Sanjar sent as his
messenger to Sultan Mas'ud a trustworthy person who was one
of his closest favourites. [220] Sultan Mas'ud mounted horse
to go and meet the messenger, and a band of accursed finals and
Heretics having bided their time till the pavilion was empty of
troops suddenly entered and stabbed the Commander of the
Faithful, it being the xyth of Zul-Qa'da, 529 [29th of August,
1135]- Sultan Mas'ud was greatly distressed. He held a great
ceremony of mourning such as was worthy of either party, and
the Caliph was buried inside Maragha.
Some of the more short-sighted and ill-wishers to the House
of Sanjar accused them of responsibility for this act. But f the
astrologers lied, ly the Lord of the Ka*ba I } The goodness of
Sultan Sanjar's character and the purity of his nature as instanced
in his following and strengthening the Hanafite faith and the
Shari'at, his respect for all that related to the Caliphate as also
his mercy and compassion are [221] too plain and evident for
the like false and slanderous charges to be laid against his person,
which was the source of clemency and the fountain-head of pity.
However, ' one tiring leads to other ' and we have finished what we
had to say.
Buzurg-Umid remained seated on the throne of Ignorance
ruling over Error until the 26th of Jumada I, 532 [9th of February,
1138], when he was crushed under the heel of Perdition and
Hell was heated with the fuel of his carcase.
His son, Muhammad, whom he had made his heir only three
days before his death, followed in his footsteps by virtue of the
words: 'Verily, we found our fathers with a religion!* 1 As the last
baneful act of the father was to kill Mustarshid so was his own
61 Koran, xliii, 22.
685
THE HISTORY OF
first iniquitous act to kill Mustarshid's son, ar-Rashid billah. 62
And the reason for this was as follows.
When Rashid succeeded to the Caliphate some wished to
depose him while others persisted in their allegiance to him.
After several times going to war with Sultan Mas'ud he set out
from Baghdad to attack the Heretics and avenge his father's
blood. He fell sick upon the way and in that enfeebled state
arrived in Isfahan. Suddenly some vile fdais entered his
audience-chamber and stabbed him to death. He was buried
on the spot. From that time onwards the 'Abbasid Caliphs
went into hiding and concealed themselves from the people.
Muhammad, son of Buzurg-Umid, following the doctrines
of Hasan-i-Sabbah and his father, strove to strengthen the
foundations thereof and continued to comply with the customs
of Islam and observe the law of God in the manner they had
declared [222] until the 3rd of Rabi* I, 557 [20th of February,
1162] when he passed away and joined those ' that have lost their
labour most, whose aim in the present life hath been mistaken, and who
deem that what they do is right*.
[XIII]
OF THE BIRTH OF HASAN, THE SON OF MUHAMMAD,
THE SON OF BUZURG-UMID
HASAN was born in the year 520/1126-7. When he had nearly
approached the age of discretion he conceived the desire to study
and examine the teachings of Hasan-i-Sabbah and his own
forefathers ; and he closely scrutinized the text (sukhan) of the
Propaganda in the Sabbahian manner and making use of the
same ilzamat. 1 And so he came to excel in the exposition of
their creed. And having mingled such sayings with Sufistic
homilies (mava'iz) and subtleties (nikat) and poured his own
62 1135-6- He had been deposed in favour of his uncle, Muqtafl(ii36-6o),
two years before his assassination.
83 Koran, xviii, 103-4.
1 I.e. 'compelling arguments'. See above, p. 672 and n. 31.
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THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
interpretations, lavishly or sparingly, into the same mould, he
was constantly, during the life-time of his father Muhammad,
uttering moral sentences and the like such as the vulgar and
immature would marvel at upon the first hearing (which is
called e the stupid hearing ') [223] and so commending that
propaganda; and with the courtesy of his manner and the
eloquence of his words he won over the greater part of that
people. Now his father being altogether lacking in that art, his
son, with all these adornments and embellishments, appeared a
great scholar beside him, and therefore the benightedness of the
people of ignorance waxed greater still and the vulgar sought to
follow his lead. [224] And not having heard the like discourses
(maqdlat) from his father they began to think that here was the
Imam that had been promised by Hasan-i-Sabbah. The people's
attachment to him increased and they made haste to follow him
as their leader.
His father, Muhammad, learnt of this state of affairs and
became aware of what the people were thinking. He was rigid
in his observance of the principles laid down by his father and
Hasan with regard to the conduct of propaganda on behalf of
the Imam and the outward observance of Moslem practices ;
and he considered his son's behaviour to be inconsistent with
those principles. He therefore denounced him roundly and
having assembled the people spoke as follows : * This Hasan is
my son, and I am not the Imam but one of his da*is. Whoever
listens to these words and believes them is an infidel (kqfir) and
atheist (U-3m). 9 And on these grounds he punished some who
had believed in his son's Imamate with all manner of tortures
and torments, and on one occasion put 250 persons to death on
Alamut and then binding their corpses on the backs of 250
others condemned on the same charge he expelled these latter
from the castle. And in this way they were discouraged and
suppressed.
Hasan himself became apprehensive of the consequences and
being in dread of his father he compiled treatises in which he
asserted his innocence of such a charge (fat/Slat), denied his
holding of those tenets, [225] and chid and cursed the people
'687
THE HISTORY OF
who professed such beliefs. And he went to great pains to
refute these doctrines and to uphold and confirm the beliefs of
his father and to this end compiled tracts of which the words
are well-known to this very day amongst that people.
Hasan used secretly to drink wine. His father had some
inkling of this and went to great pains to discover the truth.
Hasan made use of all sorts of devices to free himself from the
charge; and in the end his father's suspicions were dispelled.
Now their irreligious and shameless followers, who had almost
discarded the practice of the Shari'at, regarded the committing
of sins and the drinking of wine as a sign of the appearance of
the promised Imam. When therefore Hasan succeeded his
father his followers and supporters went to every extreme to show
him honour because of their beliefs regarding him, whom they
considered to be the Imam. He for his part, his authority now
being absolute, did not rebuke or punish them for uttering such
nonsense, nay in the first days after his accession he began to
abolish or modify lawful practices and Islamic usages which had
been observed from the times of Hasan-i-Sabbah. [226] And
in Ramazan of the year 559 [July-August, 1164] he ordered a
pulpit to be constructed on an open space at the foot of Alamut
in such a way that the qibla should be in the opposite direction
to what is the custom of Islam. And when the iyth of Ramazan
[8th of August] came round he commanded the inhabitants of
his provinces, whom he had summoned to Alamut, to assemble
on that open space. Four great standards with the four colours,
white, red, green and yellow, which had been procured for that
purpose, were attached to the four pillars of the pulpit. Then
mounting the pulpit he indicated to those bewildered wretches,
who under his misguidance were proceeding in the direction of
perdition and destruction, that from their reprobate leader, that
is the imaginary Imam, who was non-existent, someone had
come to him in secret bringing, to use their language, a khutba
and a scroll (sijill) regarding the observance of their corrupt
faith. And standing on that wrongly placed pulpit he delivered
a discourse on the subject of his own false and distorted beliefs.
Their Imam, he said, had opened the door of mercy and the
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gates of his compassion to the Moslems and to them also and
had sent them [a token of his] pity ; he had summoned his
special chosen servants and had relieved them of the duties,
burdens and charges [277] of the Shari'at and brought them to
the Resurrection. He then read out a khutba in the Arabic
tongue in which not only were the contents nothing but lies
and falsehoods and a patchwork of absurdities but the language
itself, for the most part, broken, corrupt and full of gross mistakes
and confused expressions ; and these, he claimed, were the
unknown words of their non-existent Imam.
One of his ignorant, misguided followers, a wretch who had
some knowledge of Arabic, 2 had been placed by Hasan on the
steps of the pulpit to translate this wicked nonsense and these
iniquitous words and expound them in Persian to those present.
The purport of the khutba was as follows : * Hasan, son of
Muhammad, son of Buzurg-Umid, is our Caliph, hujjat and
dai? And our sect (sbfa) must obey and follow him in all
spiritual and temporal matters, and regard his command as
binding, and deem his word our word, and know that Maulana,
(dust in their mouths !)* has had pity on them, and called them
to his mercy, and brought them to God/ 6
And he read out such deceitful vanities, and fraudulent
subtleties, and lying infamies and godless obscenities as were
both unknown to the law of God and unacceptable to reason.
[228] His frigid delivery and unconvincing declamation of
the khutla completed Hasan descended from the pulpit, performed
two of the prostrations of the festival 6 prayer and, a table having
been laid, invited the people to break the fast, which they did
2 This was the jurist (faffi) Muhammad Busti. See Ivanow, Kalami Pir, 117.
8 * In the declaration at Alamut he is da'i (like Buzurg'ummid and his son),
hujja (like Hasan-i Sabbah), and Caliph, or representative of the imam who
is sending him the message.' (Hodgson, The Order of Assassins, 151.) On
hujjat see above, p. 646, n. 27.
4 An ejaculation on the part of Juvaini. I.e. ' curse them for their blasphemy ! '
Cf. above, p. 640.
6 On the proclamation of the Qiyama or Resurrection see Ivanow, op. cit. f
60 and 116-17, Corbin, Kitak-e Jam? d-Hikmatam, 22-3, Hodgson, op. dt,
148-51.
6 I.e. the 'ti-al-Jitr prayer. See above, p. 600, n. 166.
689
THE HISTORY OF
surrounded by the ministers to sport and the instruments of
forbidden pleasures, giving vent to their joy and mirth as on the
occasion of festivals. And Hasan said : * To-day is a feast-
day/ And ever since that time the Heretics (may what are left
of them receive their deserts !) used to call the I7th of Ramazan
* the Festival of the Resurrection *, and most of them would
drink wine avidly on that day and openly indulge in sport and
pleasure ; and by the like shamelessness and by even more dis-
graceful acts those ignorant wretches would seek to disgust and
annoy the Moslems who had the misfortune to dwell in their
midst.
And I am not one of them though I live In their midst,
lut the soil is a goli-mine. 1
Now the ugly-natured Hasan, the witless seducer of men, had
declared in the midst of the aforementioned discourse and
khutba that he was bujjat and da*i on behalf of the Imam, i.e. his
sole viceregent and deputy, 8 whereas in actual fact he was the
son of Muhammad, the son of Buzurg-Umid, because on the
gates of their castles and fortresses, in the inscriptions on the
walls and in the titles of his writings [229] he everywhere used
to write : * Hasan, son of Muhammad, son of Buzurg-Umid/
But afterwards it was as in the case of the other words and deeds
of those misguided fools, which are nought but lies and fabrica-
tionsas the proverb has it : ' He secretly sips [the milk] while
drinking the froth' In the baseless treatises that he wrote and in
his exposition of his clumsy creed he would sometimes insinuate
and sometimes explicitly assert that though in appearance he had
been considered to be the son of Muhammad, the son of Buzurg-
Umid, he was in fact an Imam and the son of an Imam, a
descendant of Nizar, the son of Mustansir.
Thus, when he sent word of the Propaganda with the sign 9
which they call * the Propaganda of the Resurrection ', to
Quhistan and asked for that abomination to be propagated there
also, this claim was explicitly made. It happened as follows.
'Mutanabbi. (M.Q.) 8 See above> p< ^ ^ ^
9 Perhaps the four standards mentioned above, p. 688. (M.Q.)
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The governor of Quhistan, who was his deputy in that country,
was called the rais Muzaffar. The khviba, scroll and discourse
previously mentioned were sent to him by Hasan by the hand
of a person called Muhammad, the son of Khaqan, to be read
out to the people there. And through the mouth of [230] that
person he gave a message to the inhabitants of Quhistan in
keeping with the above-mentioned lies.
On the 28th of Zul-Qa'da, 559 [i8th of October, 1164], in
the castle that was the fountain-head of their infidelity and heresy
and which was called Mu'minabad, 10 the rais Muzaffar set up
a pulpit directed away from the direction of righteousness and
towards the quarter of iniquity, just as his disgraceful Imam had
done in Alamut. Then mounting this pulpit he read out the
khutia, scroll and discourse that had been sent to him, after
which Muhammad, the son of Khaqan, ascended on to the
second step of the pulpit and delivered Hasan's oral message,
which was to this effect : * Mustansir formerly sent a message
to Alamut that God Almighty always had a vicar (khalifa)
amongst men and this vicar had his own vicar. He, Mustansir,
was then vicar and Hasan-i-Sabbah was his vicar. If the people
would obey Hasan and follow him, they would have obeyed
him, Mustansir. And now to-day I, Hasan, say that I am
vicar of God on the face of the earth and this rafts Muzaffar is
my vicar. You must obey his command and consider whatever
he says to be your duty.'
And that day on which these ignominies were divulged and
these evils proclaimed in that nest of heretics, Mu'minabad, 10
that assembly played harp and rebeck and openly drank wine
upon the very steps of that pulpit and within its precincts.
Now these inglorious fools [231] and false wretches have two
traditions, nay they are in error in two ways regarding the worth-
less birth and empty genealogy of the reprobate Hasan, who was
in truth an accursed idol and whose descent they trace back to
a supposititious Imam sprung, as they seek to show with a faulty
pedigree, from the race of Nizar. ' What is founded on absurdity
must be absurd.' However, the better known tradition and the
1 See above, p. 676, n. 41. Lit. * the Abode of True Believers '.
y ii. 691
THE HISTORY OF
one more widely believed amongst them is the following, accord-
ing to which they have not shrunk from branding him a bastard
and agree in saying that there was a person from Egypt called
the Cadi Abul-Hasan Sa'idi, a close kinsman and confidant of
Mustansir, who, in the year 488/1095, i.e. a year after Mustansir's
death, came to Hasan-i-Sabbah in Alamut, remained there for
6 months and in Rajab of the same year [July-August, 1095]
returned to Egypt. And Hasan-i-Sabbah gave strict charges
that he should be treated with honour and respect and went to
great pains so to treat him. And he brought to Alamut, in
the garb of disguise and the dress of concealment, a grandson
of Nizar, who was one of their Imams ; but he told that secret
to none but Hasan-i-Sabbah and it was not divulged. And
they caused him to dwell in a village at the foot of Alamut.
By reason of [232] a dispensation made in Eternity Past, whereby
the abode of the Imamate was to be transferred from Egypt to the
land of Dailam and the revelation of that shame which they call
* the Propaganda of the Resurrection *, was to take place in
Alamut, that same person from Egypt 11 or else his son who
was born in the neighbourhood of Alamut for they are not
informed of the truth of the matter committed adultery with
the wife of Muhammad, the son of Buzurg-Umid, and she
became pregnant with Hasan by the Imam. And when his
ill-omened birth occurred in the house of Muhammad, the son
of Buzurg-Umid, both Muhammad himself and his followers
thought him to be Muhammad's son, whereas he was actually
an Imam and the son of an Imam.
This is the better known tradition and the one more generally
accepted amongst them as the more correct and authentic ver-
sion ; [23 3] and yet it is based upon all manner of shame
and ignominy. In the first place the young man whose Imamate
they admitted was a bastard and the offspring of an adulterous
union. As the poet says:
When the eye rests with pleasure on lastards and the
qualities of base churls are gool . . .
11 I.e. the grandson of Nizar. (M.Q.)
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In the second place the false genealogy which they have established
for him runs counter to the tradition of the Elect Prophet (God
Mess him and give him peace I): e The child to the blanket and stones
upon the adulterer ! ' God's Apostle spoke tmly,
for the words were what Hdbam spake. 12
And thirdly and this is the supreme catastrophe and the
occasion of misery and ruin in the life to come wishing to
patch up this faulty tradition they drew an analogy with the
prophets sent by God and imputed this same spurious condition
to those holy men, claiming that Hasan's lineage was as the
lineage of Zabih-Allah Ishmael, the son of Khalil- Allah
Abraham 13 (God's Messing on them loth I), who was really son
of that Malik-as-Salam who is mentioned in the Torah under
the name of Melchizedec, as has already been stated in these
pages; 14 Ishmael, according to the belief of this misguided sect,
being one of their Imams and only apparently the son of
Abraham (on whom God's blessings !). And according to this
claim of theirs Ishmael was an Imam but not Abraham.
The other tradition, [234] that accepted by the descendants
and kinsfolk of Buzurg-Umid, i.e. the leading men of the region
of Alamut, is that Muhammad, the son of Buzurg-Umid, had
a son in the castle of Alamut and on the same day this Hasan
was born of his mother to that unknown Imam, who did not
exist, in a village at the foot of Alamut. Three days later a
woman went up to the castle of Alamut and entered the house
(sarai) of Muhammad, the son of Buzurg-Umid. Several per-
sons noticed that she had something under her chadur. She sat
down in the place where Muhammad's child had been laid to
sleep and by divine predestination there was no one else about.
She put this Hasan, the Imam's son, in the other child's place
12 The second half of a famous lait by Juyan b. Sa'b or Waslm b. Tariq,
of which the first half runs as follows :
' If Hadbm spdke they Hkvd her . . * (M.Q.)
13 KJhalll-Allah ('the Friend of God') and Zabih-Allah or Dhablh-Allah
(* the Victim of God ') are the Moslem titles of Abraham and Ishmael respectively.
Cf. above, p. 647, n. 32.
14 See above, p. 646 and n. 29.
693
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and then taking the other child, i.e. Muhammad's son, under
her cbadwr she carried it away.
This version of the tradition is even more discreditable than
the first that a strange woman should enter a king's palace,
where there was no one about the king's child, substitute a strange
child for the young prince and carry the latter off without anyone's
noticing ; and that the parents, nurses, servants and attendants
should not perceive the difference between the strange child and
their own ! This version is without doubt the result of the
pride of reason, the denial of feeling and the defiance of custom
and habit. In support of it it is related of Muhammad, the
son of this Hasan, that he said : c The filial relationship of Hasan
to Muhammad, the son of Buzurg-Umid, is like that of Ishmael
to Abraham (peace on them loth !). The only difference is that
Abraham knew that Ishmael was the son of the Imam, and not
his own, because [235] the exchange of sons took place with
his knowledge and consent, and that secret was not hidden from
him ; whereas Muhammad, the son of Buzurg-Umid, did not
know this secret and thought Hasan, who was the Imam, to
be his own son/
Those who held the other belief and the former tradition said
that after the birth of the child, Muhammad, the son of Buzurg-
Umid, realized that it was not his and that the person whom
this misguided sect supposed to be the Imam had committed
adultery with his wife ; and he secretly put that person to death.
On this supposition Muhammad, the son of Buzurg-Umid,
killed the Imam.
As we have previously mentioned Muhammad had tightened
the belt of rigour and severity in enforcing the customs of Islam
and applying the principles of the Shari'at to the creed of Hasan-
i-Sabbah, which is the essence of ignominy.
[On this account] they were ill disposed towards him and
most of them cursed him ; and they would allow 15 no pilgrimage
to his grave, which lay next to those of Hasan-i-Sabbah, Buzurg-
Umid and Bu-'Ali of Ardistan. [236] And again 16 the
15 I substitute the past tense for the present, as the sense seems to require.
16 I.e. as in the case of the Mustalawis and the Nizaris. See above, p. 662.
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Heretics in general (may God abandon them !) divided into two
parties, this time as to the number of generations between this
Hasan and Nizar. Some said that there were three generations
between them, and they had to call them by their titles as Imams,
because, as they said, their names were unknown, whereas in
fact they were, as the saying is, names without substance. His
lineage was, then, according to this party as follows: Hasan,
the son of al-Qahir bi-Quwwat~ Allah, the son of al-Muhtadi,
the son of al-Hadi, the son of al-Mustafa Nizar, the son of
al-Mustansir. The other party said there were but two genera-
tions between them because al-Qahir bi-Quwwat-Allah was
Hasan's own title and they gave the line of descent as follows :
Hasan, the son of al-Muhtadi, [237] the son of al-Hadi, the
son of Nizar.
In the ordinary speech of the Heretics Hasan was known as
'Ala Zikrihi VSalam, 37 and originally, and as first applied to
him, this title was an invocation which in his days they used to
say to one another, and afterwards it became a well-known title
of his and he was called nothing else.
Now the essence of this futile creed and the secret of this wholly
evil propaganda was that following the Philosophers they spoke of
the world as being uncreated (qadlm) and Time as unlimited and
the Resurrection as spiritual. And they explained paradise and
hell ( and all that is therein ' in such a way as to give a spiritual
meaning to these concepts (vujuh). And then on the basis of
this they said that the Resurrection is when men shall come to
God and the mysteries and truths of all Creation be revealed,
and acts of obedience abolished, for in this world all is action
and there is no reckoning, but in the world to come all is reckon-
ing and there is no action. And this is the spiritual [Resur-
rection] and the Resurrection promised and awaited in all
religions and [238] creeds is this, which was revealed by Hasan.
And as a consequence hereof men have been relieved of the
duties imposed by the Shari'at because in this period of the
Resurrection they must turn in every sense towards God and
abandon the rites of religious law and established habits of
17 'ala dhikrihi 's-salam ' peace be on his mention *,
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worship. It was laid down in the Shari'at that men must wor-
ship God five times a day and be with Him. That charge was
only formal (zahir), but now in [the days of] the Resurrection
they must always be with God in their hearts and keep the faces
of their souls constantly turned in the direction of the Divine
Presence, for such is true prayer.
In the like manner they interpreted all the principles of the
Shari'at and all the practices of Islam and held the former
observance thereof as abrogated ; and for the most part they
abolished [the concept of] lawful and unlawful. Hasan had
said on several occasions, sometimes implicitly and sometimes
explicitly, that just as in the period of the Shari'at, if a man did
not obey and worship but complied with the ordinance of the
Resurrection to consider obedience and worship as spiritual, he
was chastised, and punished, and stoned; so likewise, if in the
period of the Resurrection a man complied with the ordinance
of the Shari'at and was assiduous in the practice of material
worship and other such rites, it was even more necessary that
he should be punished, and put to death, and stoned and
chastised. 18 And he uttered further nonsense and absurdities in
the same strain.
And following this road of seduction, and incitement, and
negation, and temptation those miserable wretches were plunged
in the sea of Error and astray in the desert of Perplexity. And
' having lost this world and the next ' 19 they came finally to practise
libertinism (ibahat), and some of the extremists among them
adopted it as their creed, and some of them (dust in their mouths !)
accorded divinity to their misguided Imams, who were lower
in degree than brute beasts or vermin.
When they saw fit to reveal this new heresy (Ufat va ilhad)
some [239] of the inhabitants of that region, who had some
share of reason and on whose minds there still fell some rays of
the light of discernment, recited [the proverb :] ' Whoever escapes
18 The translation of these chapters on the Isma'ilis which Defremery incor-
porated in two articles in the Journal Asiatquefot details see the Bibliography
breaks off at this point.
19 Koran, xxii, n.
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with his head has gained thereby.' And they gave up dwelling
among those misguided people and secretly and openly began
to pour into the lands of the Moslems, especially from Quhistan,
from which country great quantities of people emigrated and
settled down in Khorasan. c Thus is it binding on Us to deliver
the faithful' 20 Others who were unable or unwilling to quit
their ancient dwelling-places remained in possession of their
homes, and lands, and property and in their wretchedness were
fain to bear the name and infamy of Heresy, but yet in their
hearts were Moslems and, wherever they could, secretly obeyed
the commands and prohibitions of the Shari'at. And thus the
general condition of the people in the countries of the Heretics
(may God abandon them 1) was as in the following verse of the
Glorious Koran : ' Some of them We guided aright ; but many
were evildoers.' 21
Because of this false compact and counterfeit coin Hasan, the
son of Muhammad, the son of Buzurg-Umid, whom they called
c Ala Zikrihi VSalam, was called Lord (qa'im) of the Resurrec-
tion and his propaganda the Resurrection.
Now amongst those to the nostrils of whose hearts there still
came some scent of piety and religion was a brother-in-law of
Hasan's called Hasan, the son of Namavar, one of the last
survivors of the Buyids, whose original home was in the dis-
trict of Dailaman, as is recorded in works of history. 22 This
man was unable to endure the propagation of those shameful
errors. God have mercy on him and reward him for the goodness of
his intention ! On Sunday the 6th of Rabi* I, 561 [pth of
January, 1166], he stabbed the seducer Hasan in the castle
of Lammasar, and he departed from this world f unto God's
burning fae .
[240] His son, Muhammad by name, whom the departed
wretch had placed in charge of their Error and, according to
their belief, had designated Imam, was 19 years old when he
succeeded his father. e Darkness upon darkness.' 23 He put to
death by torture Hasan, the son of Namavar, and all his kinsfolk,
a Ii/i, x, 103. 21 IM, Ivii, 26.
22 See above, p. 659, n. 4. 2S Koran, xxiv, 40.
697
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men, women and children, all that was left of the Buyids in
that country, and wiped out the race of Buya. 24
This man, Muhammad, i.e. praiseworthy, 2 * in name but blame-
worthy in deed, was more extreme than his father in proclaiming
the heresy (bid'at) which they called the Propaganda of the
Resurrection, of which libertinism (ibahat) was a necessary con-
sequence, and more explicit in laying claim to the Imamate.
He also professed a knowledge of philosophy although completely
ignorant of that and all other sciences. He would insert expres-
sions taken from the philosophers in the inelegant treatises that
he wrote and the incoherent principles to which he gave utterance
and by the introduction of subtle points in their manner would
seek to parade his learning. The Prophet (blessings and peace upon
him !) hath said : ' He that adorneth himself with what [241] is not
his own is like one who weareth false garments. 3 His expressions
and language in his remarks on Arabic style, philosophy,
exegesis, Traditions, proverbs and poetry for he pretended to a
knowledge of all these things were full of corruptions, absurdi-
ties, mistakes and mis-spellings.
In accordance with the text of God's revelation : ' He will
leave them distraught in their wanderings, 26 he was granted a respite
of 46 years as ruler. During his reign the Heretics shed much
innocent blood. They stirred up troubles, committed iniquities,
and perpetrated acts of robbery and brigandage; and persisted
in the evil of heresy and strengthened the foundations of infidelity.
Muhammad had two sons, of whom the elder, Hasan, was
called by the title of Jalal-ad-Din. He was born in the year
562/1166-7. During his childhood [242] his father had
designated him as his successor. When he grew up and showed
signs of intelligence, he rejected his father's creed and felt dis-
gusted with the customs of heresy and libertinism (ibahat). His
father having guessed what his feelings were, a sort of hostility
sprang up between them and they were apprehensive and mis-
trustful of one another. Whenever there was a levee or general
assembly and Jalal-ad-Din wished to enter the audience-chamber,
24 The eponymous ancestor of the Buyids.
26 The literal meaning of Muhammad. 26 Koran, vii, 185.
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his father used to be on his guard against him and uneasy about
him, and used to wear armour under his clothes. And certain
Heretics, who were persons on whom he could rely as being
extremists in their interpretation of the propaganda of error, he
kept ever in attendance upon him to protect him from any plot
that his son might hatch.
Now Jalal-ad-Din Hasan, whether because of the orthodoxy
of his beliefs or because of his hostility towards his father (' and
God knows lest what is in men's minds, for men themselves judge from
externals, but God hath charge of the inmost heart ; therefore let him
be praised or Uamed according to his deserts'), conspired against
Muhammad and sent secretly to the Caliph of Baghdad and
the sultans and rulers of other lands to claim that, unlike his
father, he was by faith a Moslem and that when his turn came
to reign he would abolish the Heresy and re-introduce the
observance of Islam. And in this fashion he paved the way
and made preparations [for the future].
The unpraiseworthy 27 Muhammad and reprobate leader died
on the loth of Rabi c I, 607 [ist of September, 1210] ; and
some say that he was poisoned.
[243] He was succeeded by his son Jalal-ad-Din Hasan, the
heir-apparent. From the very moment of his accession Jalal-
ad-Din professed Islam, and severely rebuked his people and
party for their adherence to the Heresy, and strictly forbade them
continuing therein, urging them to adopt Islam and follow the
rites of the Shari'at. He sent messengers to the Caliph of
Baghdad, Muhammad Khorazm-Shah and the maliks and emirs
of Iraq and elsewhere to notify them of these changes ; and
because of his having prepared the way during his father's life-
time by announcing his position to them all, they now believed
his word, especially in Baghdad, where a decree (hukm) was
issued confirming his conversion to Islam, and all manner of
favours were shown to him : a correspondence was opened with
him and he was addressed with titles of honour. And because
of this happy turn of events fatwas were written in all the countries
of Islam concerning his and his people's conversion to Islam
27 See above, p. 698, n. 25.
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and sanctioning intercourse and marriage with him. He became
known as Jalal-ad-Din the Neo-Moslem and during his reign
his followers were called Neo-Moslems.
He gave orders for the building of mosques in his territories
and sent for doctors of the canon law from Khorasan and Iraq,
whom he treated with honour and respect and who were then
engaged as cadis, preachers and other religious officials through-
out his kingdom.
The people of Qazvin at first refused to accept Jalal-ad-Din
and his followers as Moslems. This was because of their piety
and the strictness of their faith and also because, owing to their
proximity to the Heretics, they were only too well aware of their
fabrications and frauds ; they had suffered pain and hurt at their
hands, there had been battles between the two sides and the
hostility between them was deep-rooted. Consequently their
cadis and imams [244] made investigations, and held deliberations,
and demanded proofs and evidence of the truth of that claim.
However, after their conversion had been acknowledged in the
fatwas issued in Baghdad and by the imams in other Moslem
countries, Jalal-ad-Din went to great lengths to win over [the
people of Qazvin]. He sought the favour of the leading men
[of the town] and prevailed on them to send several notables
to Alamut to inspect the libraries of Hasan-i-Sabbah and Jalal-
ad-Din's own ancestors and extract therefrom great quantities
of treatises written by his father and grandfather and Hasan-i-
Sabbah as also other books dealing with the creed of heresy and
atheism and contrary to the beliefs of the Moslems. Jalal-ad-
Din ordered these works to be burnt in the very presence of
those Qazvinis and at their prompting; and he uttered curses
and maledictions against his forefathers and the authors of that
propaganda. I have seen a letter in the hands of the notables
and cadis of Qazvin, which had been dictated by Jalal-ad-Din
Hasan and in which he spoke of his adoption of Islam, and
acceptance of the rites of the Shari'at, and deliverance from the
heresy and belief of his forefathers and ancestors. And Jalal-
ad-Din had written a few words in his own handwriting upon
the front of that letter and in mentioning his deliverance from
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their religion (mazhab), when he came to the names of his father
and ancestors, he added the curse : ' May God Jill their graves
with fae ! *
In this manner, then, was the conversion of Jalal-ad-Din and
his followers made known, and the Moslems came to be on fairly
friendly terms with them, and the Caliph of the time and the
sultans of the age forbade their subjects to attack or kill them.
Jalal-ad-Din's mother, who was a Moslem woman, went on
the Pilgrimage in the year 609/1212-13, and Jalal-ad-Din sent
a sabil with her. In Baghdad she was treated with honour and
respect and on the Pilgrimage route her sabil was placed in front
of those of [other] rulers (muluk-i-atrdf). 28
[245] Jalal-ad-Din became extremely friendly with the atabeg
Muzaffar-ad-Din Oz-Beg, who was king of Arran and Azer-
baijan ; and what he did for other rulers he did even more for
him. Nasir-ad-Din Mengli, 29 the ruler (mutamallik) of Iraq, was
on hostile terms with the atobeg, and his troops were planning
an attack on the lands of Jalal-ad-Din. The atabeg and Jalal-
ad-Din concluded an alliance and in 610/1213-14 Jalal-ad-Din
entered Azerbaijan to render aid to the atabeg and make war on
Mengli. During the year and a half that Jalal-ad-Din was in
his kingdom the atabeg treated him with great consideration and
there was a brotherly feeling between them. The atabeg used to
send him abundant supplies of provisions and excessive quantities
of money, so much so that after meeting the requirements of
Jalal-ad-Din in the way of rations (anzal u *ulufat) of every kind
and after dispensing the gifts and robes of honour which he
showered not only upon his great officers but also upon the
generality of his troops he would still every day send 1,000
parpara 30 gold dinars to his treasury for [246] current expenses
(hav8*ij-babS).
Jalal-ad-Din remained for some time in Bailaqan with the
28 See above, p. 364.
29 On Nasir-ad-Din Mengli, one of the * Slave Kings * who ruled Persian
Iraq in the period between the collapse of the Seljuqs and the coming of the
Mongols, see M.Q., III, 407-8.
30 The Byzantine byperperon, the yperpera of Carpini and Rubruck. See
Rockhill, 90, n. i.
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THE HISTORY OF
atobtg Oz-Beg, and they sent joint ambassadors to Baghdad,
Syria and the other lands to seek assistance in expelling Mengli
from Iraq. From Baghdad there was sent Muzaffar-ad-Din
Wajh-as-Sabu e 31 with a large army to their aid, and orders were
given that Muzaffar-ad-Din Kok-Bori, 32 the son of Zain-ad-Din
*Ali Kuchiik, 33 should join them with an army from Irbil on
the understanding that on the day of battle they should act in
accordance with his counsel and plan and submit themselves to
his command and disposition. An army was likewise sent to
their assistance from Syria.
In the year 611/1214-15 they defeated Nasir-ad-Din Mengli.
The account of this is well-known and to introduce it here
would not conform to the arrangement of this history. Saif-ad-
Din Ighlamish 34 was set over Iraq in place of Mengli [247]
and Abhar and Zanjan were given to Jalal-ad-Din as a reward
for his trouble ; and for some years these two towns and districts
were held by his commissioners (gumas\)tagan).
After residing for a year and a half in Iraq, Arran and Azer-
baijan Jalal-ad-Din now returned to Alamut. During these
journeyings and in the course of his residence in those countries
his claim to be a Moslem had been more widely accepted and
Moslems now mixed with him more freely. He asked the emirs
of Gilan for the hands of their women in marriage. They held
back and refused to agree without the sanction of Baghdad.
Thereupon Jalal-ad-Din sent a messenger thither, and the Com-
mander of the Faithful an-Nasir li-Din- Allah granted his request
and gave permission for the emirs of Gilan to ally themselves
in marriage with him in accordance with the laws of Islam.
By virtue of this sentence Jalal-ad-Din took four wives from the
31 See above, p. 469, n. 8.
32 See above, p. 422, n. 4, also the following note.
^kucbiflt in Turkish means * young dog*. (Houtsma, Glossar, 96.) Cf.
the name of his son Kok-Bori, i.e. * Blue Wolf*.
34 Ighlamish, originally a slave of the ataktgs of Azerbaijan, afterwards entered
the service of Sultan Muhammad Khorazm-Shah. His death at the hands
of the Assassins (see above, p. 391) must, as M.Q. has shown, III, 415-17,
have occurred in the beginning of 614 A.H., i.e. in the spring or summer of
1217, On the meaning of his name see above, p. 391, n. 6.
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daughters of the emirs of Gilan, the first of whom was the sister
of Kai-Ka'us, who is still alive and ruler (mutamallik) of the
district of Kutum. 35 Jalal-ad-Din's son, 'Ala-ad-Din Muham-
mad, was born of this [248] wife.
They 3G said that when the World-Emperor Chingiz-Khan
set out from Turkestan, before he came to the countries of Islam,
Jalal-ad-Din had in secret sent couriers to him and written
letters tendering his submission and allegiance. This was
alleged by the Heretics and the truth is not clear, but this much
is evident, that when the armies of the World- Conquering
Emperor Chingiz-Khan entered the countries of Islam, the first
ruler on this side of the Oxus to send ambassadors, and present
his duty, and accept allegiance was Jalal-ad-Din.
He adopted the course of rectitude and laid the foundation of
righteousness, but after his death his ignorant son and bemused
followers in their wretchedness and stupidity did not set about
strengthening and completing that foundation, but by their evil
counsel, nay, by irresistible ill fortune they proceeded to undo
that project, until they saw that which they saw. f The plotting
of evil shall only enmesh those who make use of it.' 37
The Commander of the Faithful c Ali, the son of Abu-Talib,
(upon whom he peace !) once spoke in a sermon of certain rebels
who had suffered the ill consequences of their wicked plans.
A word or two of what he said are applicable to the above-
mentioned people and to what has just been recorded regarding
them : ' They sowed iniquity and watered it with pride, and they have
reaped perdition!
[249] 'Ala-ad-Din was 9 years old when he succeeded Jalal-
ad-Din, who died in the middle of Ramazan, 618 [beginning
of November, 1221]. He had only the one son, the aforesaid
'Ala-ad-Din.
The disease of which Jalal-ad-Din died was dysentery and it
35 Kutum is the present-day Kuhdum, a district of Gilan lying to the west
of the Safid-Rud, between Manjil on the south and Resht on the north. See
M.Q., III, 418-25, Minorsky, HufaA, 390.
36 Evidently the Isma*ilis are meant.
37 Koran, xxxv, 41.
703
THE HISTORY OF
was suspected that he had been poisoned by his wives in con-
nivance with his sister and some of his kinsmen. The vizier,
who by virtue of his will was administrator of the kingdom and
tutor of his son 'Ala-ad-Din, put to death a great number of his
relations, his sister, wives and intimates and confidants on this
suspicion; and some he burnt.
Now *Ala-ad-Din was but a child and had received no educa-
tion, for according to their false creed and counterfeit belief
their Imam is basically the same, whether an infant, a youth or
an old man, and whatever he says or does, in whatever condition
he may be, must be right, and to obey his command is the
religion of that people without religion. Accordingly, whatever
course *Ala-ad-Din might take no mortal could express dis-
approval thereof, and because of their wicked beliefs they would
not allow him to be chastised, advised or guided aright. As
a consequence they neglected their spiritual and temporal duties,
the observance of the laws which they had adopted with Islam
and the conduct of affairs of state ; and the ignorant child whom
they had placed in charge of spiritual and temporal matters and
constituted the guardian of their interests
Whoso takes the crow for a guide, the burial-ground of
the Magtans is Us place of siesta 38
used to play and sport with a group of other children and keep
camels and breed sheep, whilst the administration of affairs fell
to the decision of women, and the foundations his father had
laid were overthrown, [250] and his plans, which were on the
way to fulfilment, frustrated. And first of all, those who for
fear of his father had adopted the Shari'at and Islam but in their
foul hearts and murky minds still believed in the wicked creed
of his grandfather ' and they were made to drink down the calf into
their hearts ' 39 seeing now no one to prevent and deter them
from the commission of forbidden sins and abominations and
to urge and impel them to follow the laws and practices [of the
True Faith] and comply with the traditions of righteousness and
orthodoxy, returned once more to their heresy and irreligion and
38 See above, p. 382 and n. 62. 39 Koran, ii, 87.
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when a little time had elapsed had recovered their power and
strength. And the rest, who had accepted Islam from conviction
and wished to continue in that faith, took fright lest they should
be attacked and overwhelmed by the Heretics and for fear of
their lives again concealed the fact that they were Moslems ; and
the Heresy (may God never suffer it to return again I) prevailed for
the second time amongst that accursed people and luckless crew.
And on this account the interests of religion and state and the
concerns of this world and the next were neglected and faced
complete ruin.
After this child had reigned for some five or six years a physician
whom they employed, acting contrary to instructions and advice
and without the child's being ill or there being any other reason,
opened a vein and took away an excessive quantity of blood.
His brain was affected, apparitions appeared in front of him
and in a short while he was overcome with the disease of
melancholia. No one had the courage to suggest that he should
follow a regimen or undergo some kind of treatment, and the
physicians there and those who had some sense and knowledge
did not dare to say that he was suffering from melancholia or
some such malady, otherwise the vulgar of that sect would have
sought their blood, for such a disease, connected as it was with
deficiency of sense and decline of intelligence, [251] might not
be attributed to the Imam, otherwise some of his commands and
actions might be ascribed to disturbance of the mind or cor-
ruption of the constitution and brain. Consequently the disease
grew daily worse until it completely overpowered him. During
the last few years of his reign the effects of this malady, in addition
to his natural lack of intelligence and the want of education in
his youth, turned the witless 'Ala-ad-Din into a madman fit
only to be kept in bonds and chains. (Since this occurred in
the present age and everyone knows about his evil habits, his
depraved imagination, his indifference and derangement, his
utter madness and his obnoxious customs, there is no need to
mention these matters here: to recount them in detail would
take too long, indeed the account of but a hundredth part of
them could not be written down in [many] volumes.) [To
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THE HISTORY OF
these things] were added the pride of kingship and the arrogance
of a man whose followers and supporters had from his childhood
till the end of his life been but ignorant wretches, who because
of their vain imaginings and foolish fancies had fixed it in his
brain and firmly implanted it in his murky heart and blundering
mind that everything that he thought he had read from the
inscriptions on the ' Preserved Tablet *, 40 that everything that he
said he said through divine inspiration and that any mistake or
error in his thought or speech was not possible. And finally
he too was deceived thereby, being already in error, and used to
relate about past events [252] lies which appeared [to them]
marvels and also to give mysterious reports about the future, all
of which was hitting in the dark, and talking at random, and
downright lying, and utter shamelessness ; and in uttering these
ravings he recked not how the intelligent might give him the lie.
Because of his lack of breeding and experience he was so ill-
natured and short-tempered that no one dared contradict him
or mention in his presence some point in the administration of
his kingdom that he was a little annoyed about : without any
doubt the reply to such a person would have been immediate
execution with torture consisting of shameful mutilation and the
amputation of his limbs. As a result all reports on affairs inside
and outside his realm and on the doings of friend or foe were
kept hidden from him so much so that the ambassadors whom
he sent to the courts of kings, when they returned, would never
repeat to him the reply which the kings had given to his request
and speech because it was not to his liking. Although he
realized this he kept it to himself; and no adviser ever dared
breathe a word of it to him. Now all such messages to the
kings were nothing but a pack of lies and a tissue of falsehoods ;
but he thought that these fabrications which his own foolish
followers either from ignorance or from fear affected to believe
would find acceptance at the courts of kings and that intelligent
persons would be taken in by them.
Theft, highway robbery and assault were daily occurrences in
his kingdom with and without his connivance ; and he thought
40 c. of God's decrees to the end
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he could excuse such conduct with false words and the bestowal
of money. And when these things had passed all bounds his
life, wives, children, home, kingdom and wealth were forfeited
to that madness and insanity. This is a matter on which there
is no need to expatiate it being so [253] clear and evident.
Rukn-ad-Din Khur-Shah was the eldest son of c Ala-ad-Din
and when he was a child c Ala-ad-Din himself was but a youth,
for in age there were only 18 years between them. While Rukn-
ad-Din was still a child 'Ala-ad-Din used to say to himself that
he would be Imam and was his heir-apparent. When he grew
older their wretched followers made no difference between him
and his father in rank or in the respect accorded to them ; and
his word was law in the same way as his father's. 'Ala-ad-Din
became hostile to him and now used to say that another son
would be his heir. Their followers, in accordance with their
tenets, refused to accept this and said that only the first designation
was valid.
e Ala-ad-Din was always annoying Rukn-ad-Din. In his
insanity and melancholy madness he would constantly torment,
and persecute, and punish him without cause. He always had
to stay with the womenfolk in a room adjoining his father's and
did not dare to come out in the daytime. Whenever his father
was drunk, or had gone, as was his custom, to his flock of sheep,
or was employed in some other way and so was unaware [of
his son's activities], Rukn-ad-Din would leave his room to drink
wine or to go wherever he wished.
In the year 653/1255-56 'Ala-ad-Din's insanity grew worse
and, because of celestial causes and conjunctions to mention
which would lead to prolixity and which are not suitable for
inclusion in this history, his displeasure with Rukn-ad-Din
increased, he scolded and tormented him continuously; -and his
attacks and threats were more frequent than ever. Rukn-ad-Din
felt that his life was not safe with him and indeed used to say :
* My life is not safe with my father.' And on this account he
was planning to flee from him, go to the castles in Syria and
gain possession of them ; or else to seize Alamut, Maimun-Diz
and some of the [other] castles of Rudbar, which were full
z n. 707
THE HISTORY OF
of treasure and stores, and seceding from his father rise in
rebellion.
It so happened that in that year most of the ministers and chief
men in 'Ala-ad-Din's kingdom had become apprehensive of
him, for none was sure of his life. Some of them had been
accused by him of following Rukn-ad-Din and he was angry
with them on this account; against others, with his crooked
mind and disordered brain, he had made other charges, and he
was constantly annoying and tormenting them. And although
in their fear they said nothing to one another and overtly con-
tinued in their former hypocrisy, high and low were all weary
of him and perceived that the measures he had adopted when
the symptoms of adversity appeared upon his affairs would not
preserve the kingdom.
Rukn-ad-Din used the following argument as a decoy.
* Because/ he said, * of my father's evil behaviour the Mongol
army intends to attack this kingdom, and my father is concerned
about nothing. I shall secede from him and send messengers
to the Emperor of the Face of the Earth and to the servants of
his Court and accept submission and allegiance. And hence-
forth I shall allow no one in my kingdom to commit an evil
act [and so ensure] that land and people may survive/
For these reasons most of the leading men, the ministers and
the soldiers swore allegiance to him and allied themselves with
him on the understanding that wherever he went they should
accompany him and defend him against his father's troops and
followers, giving their lives for him ; except that if his father
[himself] came against him they would not strike a blow at him
or raise a hand against him.
A month having passed since this consultation Rukn-ad-Din
fell ill and took to his bed and so was unable to take any action.
[255] One day his father drank wine and fell into a drunken
sleep in the very place where he had been drinking, a hut made
of wood and reeds adjoining his sheep-fold. Several gbulams,
shepherds, camel-drivers and other like scum and rabble lay
down to sleep all round him. At midnight he was found
murdered, his head having been severed with a single blow of
708
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an axe. 41 An Indian and a Turcoman who lay asleep beside
him had also been wounded: the Turcoman afterwards died
but the Indian recovered. This event occurred on the last day
of Shawal, 653 [ist of December, 1255], in a place which they
call Shirkuh 42 and which ? Ala-ad-Din often frequented.
c Ala-ad-Din's sons and family accused several persons of the
murder and acting on that suspicion they put to death several
of his courtiers and retainers who had been seen in the night
standing guard near the place of the murder. Indeed they had
opened the road of suspicion and fantasy to far and near, so
much so that some said that two or three unknown persons had
come from Qazvin, made their way to 'Ala-ad-Din's bedside,
killed him, with the agreement and connivance of his favourites
and chief officials and under their guidance, and then returned
from whence they had come, likewise under the protection and
with the consent of those favourites. And in their suspicions
and surmises they accused everyone of so conniving with them
and acting as guides to them. However, after a week had
passed the clarity of the signs and indications caused it to be
decided on the evidence of events and unanimously agreed that
Hasan of Mazandaran, who was 'Ala-ad-Din's chief favourite
and [256] his inseparable companion night and day and the
repository of all his secrets, was the person who had killed him.
It was said too that Hasan's wife, who was c Ala~ad-Din's
mistress and from whom Hasan had not concealed the facts of
the murder, had revealed that secret to Rukn-ad-Din. Be that
as it may, after a week had passed, Hasan was put to death,
his body burnt and several of his children, two daughters and
a son, likewise burnt ; and Rukn-ad-Din reigned in his father's
stead.
41 Lit. ' an axe having been struck at his neck, and with that one blow his
affair had been settled '. Cf. the phrase gardan zadan ' to behead ', lit. * to strike
the neck*. This is how d'Ohsson, III, 188, understood the passage: *. . . sa
tete etait s^paree du tronc . . .*
42 Shirkuh or Shira-Kuh is the name of a mountain and valley in the western
part of the district of Alamut. It is in this valley that the Alamut river flows
together with the Talaqan river to form the Shah-Rud proper. Shirkuh is
also the name of a village in the valley. (M.Q.)
709
THE HISTORY OF
Hasan of Mazandaran had been carried off from that province
in his childhood by the Mongol army; he had escaped from
them in Iraq and gone to the kingdom of 'Ala-ad-Din. He was
a handsome lad and 'Ala-ad-Din, when he saw him, took a
liking to him and attached him to his person. He enjoyed the
complete confidence of c Ala-ad-Din, who held him in extreme
honour and allowed him great freedom of speech ; and yet in
his madness and evil nature was constantly imagining pretexts
to torment him and used to deal him cruel blows. Most of his
teeth had been broken and a piece had been cut off the instrument
of his virility. When his beard had grown and to the very end,
when there were some signs of grey in his hair, *Ala-ad~Din
still had eyes for no one else and preferred him to beardless
boys and such loves. He had given a maidservant of his, who
was his mistress, to Hasan as wife, and though Hasan had
several children by her he did not dare enter his own house or
sleep with his wife without c Ala-ad-Din's leave. And while
'Ala-ad-Din had commerce with Hasan's wife he did not avoid
Hasan. Now when craving boons or reporting events, as also
in the case of other matters, nay even [257] affairs of state (masalih)
the viziers and chief officials of c Ala-ad-Din and all his subjects
used to seek to gain Hasan's ear, for no other could speak as
freely to *Ala-ad-Din and no affair was so promoted by another's
words as it was advanced by his. And often in reply to a
request Hasan would himself issue a warrant (parvana) and give
orders without consulting 'Ala-ad-Din; and all such instruc-
tions would be put into effect. From the perquisites he thus
obtained 43 he had amassed a large fortune which he was unable
to enjoy and which he kept concealed from 'Ala-ad-Din. His
clothes were made of wool and coarse linen and were generally
old and tattered like those of his evil master, c Ala-ad~Din ; for
he had always to live like e Ala-ad-Din in food, clothing and
everything and used constantly to follow the flocks of sheep with
him on foot, and only rarely enjoyed the luxury of riding a
donkey. If he had worn better clothes or if 'Ala-ad-Din
43 mafakhil. On the subject of such indirect earnings (which he calls mudakhfl)
see Curzon, Persia and the Persian Question, I, 440-5.
710
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had had any suspicion of his wealth, he would have been
subjected to cruel blows, and violent tortures, and shameful
mutilations.
For these reasons he bore many a grudge against 'Ala-ad-Din
and one cause of anger had been joined to another. Moreover
he was a Moslem and although he had lived for years with
Ala-ad-Din, the love of Islam and the hatred of heresy were
firmly implanted in his mind and faith. There were certain
Moslems in the service of c Ala-ad-Din who were obliged to
remain as prisoners in his kingdom ; and with these, as fellow-
exiles and co-religionists, Hasan was on terms of intimacy and
friendship : whenever he had the chance of conversing with
them he would do nothing but expectorate a recital of the woes
and hardships of his life together with an account of the vices and
a propagation of the crimes and enormities of c Ala-ad-Din. For
these reasons Success was his constant companion until he became
a gbazi by slaying c Ala-ad- Din and in that holy war imperilled
life and soul God reward him for his gooi intent !
[258] There were some who said that Rukn-ad-Din Khur-
Shah had killed his father, but this was contrary to the facts,
for on that night he was in a fever and confined to his bed and
had been unable to stir for some days past. However, for the
reasons previously mentioned and in view of the circumstances
of the case it can be assumed that his father's death was not
distasteful or unwelcome to him and that Hasan did what he
did with his consent. That Hasan had a prior arrangement with
Rukn-ad-Din and committed that act in consultation and
agreement with him is possible, because when it was reported
that he had killed 'Ala-ad-Din Rukn-ad-Din did not arrest
him or institute inquiries as to who had been his accomplice
in the deed and from whence the instigation had come. Instead
he had recourse to the pretext of sending him to see to the Royal
flock of sheep left behind by 'Ala-ad-Din, with orders to examine
the sheep and see to their wants. He then sent a trusty follower
after him, who catching Hasan unawares struck off his head
with an axe and killed him in such a way that he did not know
that he was being attacked [259] and was unable to utter a word.
711
THE HISTORY OF
Because of such indications people said that Rukn-ad-Din had
been in a conspiracy with Hasan to murder his father and had
been afraid lest, if an investigation was held, Hasan might speak
of his knowledge and sanction of the deed or even of his having
commanded and requested it. And Rukn-ad-Din's mother and
brothers during the one year that he reigned as his father's suc-
cessor, whenever they were annoyed with him or took him to
task, used to accuse him of the murder of c Ala-ad-Din and
count that as one of his faults. And they implicated with him
such as had been considered his friends and favourites during
'Ala-ad-Din's lifetime and whom Rukn-ad-Din, upon his
accession, had honoured and made his personal attendants
(khassan) ; nay, they said that Rukn-ad-Din had either sanctioned
or commanded his father's death and that he had done so at
their suggestion and instigation. ' And God knows lest what is
hidden and secret.'
[XIV]
OF THE HISTORY OF RUKN-AD-DIN KHUR-SHAH
AFTER HIS FATHER'S DEATH
THREE days later, having completed the mourning ceremonies
and succeeded his father, he dispatched the army which the
latter had ordered to attack Shal-Rud x in the district of Khal-
khal : [260] they took the castle and looted and massacred. He
then sent messengers to Gilan and the other neighbouring
countries to announce his father's death ; and acting contrary to
his father's disposition he began to lay the foundations of friend-
ship with those people. He likewise sent messengers to all his
provinces ordering the people to behave as Moslems and keep
the roads secure.
And he sent an elcbi to Yasa'ur 2 Noyan in Hamadan to say
1 Perhaps identical with Shal, one of the ' boroughs ' of Gilan. See Minorsky,
Hudud, 391.
2 On the spelling of the name see above, i. 46, n. 13.
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that now that it was his turn to reign he would tread the path
of submission and scrape the dust of disaffection from the
countenance of loyalty. Yasa'ur Noyan sent a reply to say that
the retinue of Prince Hiilegu was on the point of arriving and
that it was advisable for him to come out in person; and he
strongly urged him to take this course. After [further] exchange
of messengers Rukn-ad-Din sent a message agreeing to send his
brother Shahanshah on in advance to set out together with
Yasa'ur Noyan. He accordingly dispatched Shahanshah with
a number of court officials on the ist of Jumada I. 3 Shahanshah
reached Yasa'ur Noyan near Qazvin and Yasa'ur sent his son
Moraqa 4 to accompany him to the King.
On the loth of that month [5th of June, 1256] Yasa'ur
entered the Rudbar of Alamut at the head of Mongol and Tazik
troops. [261] Rukn-ad-Din's soldiers and jftfcn> assembled on
Siyalan-Kuh 5 above Alamut. The Mongol army ascended
from beneath and engaged in a great battle, but since the hilltop
was strongly fortified and the garrison large, they withdrew,
destroying the crops and laying the district waste. Meanwhile
the elchis who had been sent from the World-King at Ustu 6
after the arrival of Shahanshah reached Rukn-ad-Din at the end
of Jumada II [second half of June, 1256] and delivered ^yarligb
full of encouragement and [262] benevolence to the effect that
since Rukn-ad-Din had sent his brother and had demonstrated
his submission and loyalty and still did so, the King had forgiven
the crimes committed by his father and by their people during
his father's reign. As for Rukn-ad-Din himself he had com-
mitted no crime in the period since he had succeeded his father.
He should destroy his castles and come to do homage, and the
armies would then not lay waste his territories. Rukn-ad-Din
declared his allegiance and destroyed some castles, but in the
case of Alamut, Maimun-Diz and Lammasar he simply removed
3 Sc. 654. (M.Q.) I.e. the 27th May, 1256.
4 MWRAQA. Cf. the Moroqa of the Secret History ( 202).
5 Reading SYALAN, as M.Q. suggests, for the SYALAN of the text
(which is based on O.) This mountain, which Miss Stark in The Valleys of
the Assassins calls Syalan, lies to the north-east of Alamut.
6 Ustu, i.e. Ustuva, on which see above, i. 173, n. 10.
713
THE HISTORY OF
the gates and demolished some of the battlements (sar-dlvdr) and
turrets (kmgra). 7
In obedience to the King's decree just mentioned Yasa'ur
Noyan and the armies withdrew from the region. And a
member of the King's retinue accompanied by Sadr-ad-Din
proceeded to the King to announce this state of affairs and ask
for a iasqaq : they also asked for a year's grace before Rukn-ad-
Din presented himself. And some elcbis remained there for the
purpose of destroying the remainder of the castles. In the begin-
ning of Sha'ban [end of August to beginning of September]
the King's ekbi and Sadr-ad-Din, having reached the King at
Shuqan, 8 [263] returned from the ordu and delivered a yarligh
intended [at once] to encourage and intimidate. They were
accompanied by Ttikel 9 Bahadur and their instructions were
that if Rukn-ad-Din accepted allegiance he should, in accordance
with the decree, present himself [before the King] and Tukel
would then protect the country in his absence as lafqaq.
However, since Rukn-ad-Din in his shortsightedness was
delaying his departure somewhat and was rather afraid, he
hesitated a little, and the dust of procrastination arose. He sent
his vizier Shams-ad-Din Gilaki and his second cousin 10 Saif-
ad-Din Sultan Malik, the son of Kiya Bu-Mansur, to accompany
the elcbis to the King on the I7th of Sha'ban [9th of September] ;
and he again repeated his excuses and asked for a period of
grace. He likewise sent two mandates (misal) to the effect that
his lieutenants in Girdkuh and Quhistan should present them-
selves before the King and give expression to their loyalty and
submission. The two aforesaid persons reached the King near
Ray, and since the royal standards had been borne into the
7 Cf. above, p. 618, also Rubruck's description of Darband: 'It has very
strong walls without moats and towers of great dressed (politis) stones : but
the Tartars have destroyed the tops of the towers and the parapets of the walls,
making the towers even with the walls.' (Rockhill, 262.)
8 As M.Q. has shown, III, 425-8, the YYQAQ of the text must be a cor-
ruption of an original SQAN, i.e. Shuqan, now Shughan or Shughan, the
name of a village (formerly a medium-sized town) between Bujnurd and Jajarm.
9 Reading TWKAL for the TWLAK of the text. The corresponding
passage in Rashid-ad-Din (ed. Quatremere, 148) has TWKL.
10 Son of his father's paternal uncle.
714
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
district of Lar and Damavand Shams-ad-Din Gilaki was dis-
patched from thence [264] to Girdkuh to bring the governor
before the King ; another companion of the vizier was sent to
Quhistan to fetch the governor of that region. As for Saif-ad-
Din Sultan Malik himself he was sent back to Rukn-ad-Din
with the message that the World-Bang had halted at Damavand
and Rukn-ad-Din should present himself before him there:
should he be delayed up to five days by his preparations he
should send on his son in advance. They 11 arrived at the foot
of Maimun-Diz on the ist of Ramazan [22nd of September].
With the news of the approach of the world-conquering banners
to that region and of the Royal command that had been delivered
Rukn-ad-Din and his people were thrown into confusion, and
fear and dread overcame him. He said he would send his son.
This he did at the suggestion of his advisers and counsellors, 12
and they began to make the preparations. However, in secret,
on the advice of women and shortsighted persons he was resorting
to fraud and misrepresentation. There was a child of the same
age as his own son, born of a Kurdish woman who had been
a servant in his father's household, and who, when her pregnancy
became noticeable, had been sent back by 'Ala-ad-Din to her
father's house. When the child was born none had dared to say
that it was c Ala-ad-Din's and no attention had been paid to it.
Rukn-ad-Din now used this child as a decoy. Deceiving and
misleading his ministers and advisers he pretended that he was
sending his own son and actually dispatched this child in
the company of the elchis on the xyth of Ramazan [8th of
October].
The King's banners having reached the borders of Rukn-ad-
Din's country, how could the truth be hidden ? It was clear
that he had sent a spurious son, but nothing was said on behalf
of the King 13 when the fraud was discovered; it was ignored
11 I.e. Hiilegti's envoys. (M.Q.)
12 One of these was the celebrated philosopher Nasir-ad-DIn Tusi, who
according to Ibn-Isfandiyar (tr. Browne, 259) had been forcibly detained by
'Ala-ad-Din in Alamut and made to serve as his vizier.
13 az hazrat-i-padsbah . , . na-farmudand.
715
THE HISTORY OF
and concealed. 14 Two days later the false son was sent back
with a message to the effect that he was still but a child: if
Rukn-ad-Din [265] could not come till later he should first
send another brother ; and Shahanshah, who had for some time
been in attendance at the ordu, would be sent back to Rukn-ad-
Din, as he had requested. The false son reached Rukn-ad-Din
on the 22nd of Ramazan [i3th of October].
Meanwhile the distance between the Rudbar of Alamut and
the King's ordu being but slight, elchis were constantly passing
to and fro bearing messages from the King, promises and threats,
encouragement and admonition. On the 5th of Shavval [26th
of October] Rukn-ad-Din sent another brother, Shiran-Shah
by name, to the King, before whom he arrived on the 7th of
Shawal [28th of October] in a district called Fiskir, 15 one of
the dependencies of Ray. At the same time the vizier Gilaki
had returned from Girdkuh and brought the governor of Girdkuh,
the Cadi Taj-ad-Din Mardan-Shah, before the World-King.
On the 9th of Shawal (joth of October] Rukn-ad-Din's
brother was sent back with the message that if Rukn-ad-Din
destroyed the castle of Maimun-Diz and came to present himself
in person before the King, he would, in accordance with His
Majesty's gracious custom, be received with kindness and honour ;
but that if he failed to consider the consequences of his actions,
God alone knew [what would then befall him]. 16
Whilst [266] these discussions were proceeding and elchis had
been passing to and fro it was nearly a month since Buqa-Temur
and Koke-Ilgei had set out from the direction of Ustundar with
large forces, and from the sea-coast, which lay to the rear of Rukn-
ad-Din's kingdom, and in particular Maimun-Diz, his fortress
and stronghold, they were drawing near and surrounding their
castles and dwelling-places.
14 Cf. above, p. 620. * Evidently Hulagu privately suspected that this was
not his real son an opinion which Juwayni adopted, writing in Hulagu's
lifetime, in spite of unanimous Isma'ili testimony; but which Rashid ad-Din
rejected.' (Hodgson, The Order of Assassins, 267.)
15 M.Q., HI, 428-9, identifies Fiskir (FSKR) or Piskir (PSKR) with the
previously mentioned BYSKLH DZ, i.e. Pishkil-Dara. See above, p. 620,
n. 8. 16 The usual formula. See above, i. 26 and n. 4.
716
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
In the middle of Shavval [beginning of November] the World-
King set out from Piskir 17 for Rukn-ad-Din*s country by way
of Talaqan and on the iyth of the month [yth of November]
encamped at the foot of Maimun-Diz ; the other armies con-
verged from every side and surrounded the castle.
Since Rukn-ad-Din delayed and procrastinated following his
star and entering the road of his own good, he refused to come
down from the castle, and for two or three days some of the
King's forces who were near to the castle, skirmished and fought
with the mountain-dwellers ; and those mountain-dwellers and
soldiers of Rukn-ad-Din gained some victories and for a time 18
were immune from the dread and fury of [267] the Royal might.
On the 25th of Shawal [i5th of November] there was a battle
with a Sultan, than whom there can be no greater nor more
dreadful. Rukn-ad-Din now saw what he had to expect and
realized that he could not resist. The next day he sent out his
son, his only one, and another brother called Iran-Shah with a
delegation of notables, officials and leaders of his people ; while
on Sunday the 2pth of Shawal [ipth of November] he came
in person before the World-King and had the good fortune of
waiting upon him. He brought all his family and dependents
(muttasilan) out of Maimun-Diz and offered his treasures as a
token of his allegiance. These were not so splendid as fame had
reported them but, such as they were, they were brought out of
the castle. The greater part thereof was distributed by the King
among his troops. The castle was taken and Rukn-ad-Din's
other castles likewise. The destruction of these castles and the sub-
jugation of the country will be more clearly explained in the sequel.
The murder of c Ala-ad-Din, the father of Rukn-ad-Din Khur-
Shah, occurred on the last of Shawal, 653 [ist of December,
1255], and he himself began to hold sway over that people, who
are their followers and adherents, on the last of Shavval ; and it
was on the last of Shavval, 654 [ipth of November, 1256] that
he came out of Maimun-Diz and stood obediently in the presence
of the King. He had reigned in succession to his father for one
full year.
17 See above, p. 716, n, 15. 18 Reading muddati with most of the MSS.
717
THE HISTORY OF
[XV]
[268] OF RUKN-AD-DIN' s CASTLES
AFTER HIS COMING DOWN
SINCE Fortune still smiled on Rukn-ad-Din he came down
from the castle, and of the emirs Tamgha, 1 who was one of the
emirs of Court, accompanied him as protector with some others.
Meanwhile Rukn-ad-Din had sent his trusted men together with
elcbis to demolish and destroy the castles. They razed some 40
castles and the inmates, dogs of the Heresy that they were, came
down upon command, except in the castles of Alamut and
Lammasar, where they prevaricated and asked [to be allowed]
to come down when the King's army approached Alamut.
Two or three days later the King set out ; and passing again
through the Shahrak 2 of Rudbar they encamped there. In the
Days of Ignorance before Islam and also under Islam before the
rise of the Heresy this Shahrak had been the residence of the
kings of Dailam, and during the reign of e Ala~ad-Din a garden
and a villa (kushk) had been built there, which were their place
of recreation. Here the Mongols feasted for nine days in celebra-
tion of their victory and then made their way to the foot of
Alamut, where they halted for one day, sending Rukn-ad-Din
to the foot of the castle [269] to speak with the garrison and call
on them [to surrender]. The commander of the castle, one
Muqaddim, 3 was refractory and refused to come down. The
King left Prince Balaghai with a large force to encompass and
besiege the castle, while he himself set out for Lammasar.
The people of Alamut now entered by the gate of discretion
and closed the road of rebellion: they sent messenger after mes-
senger to Rukn-ad-Din, [who was now] at the foot of Lammasar,
1 See above, p. 625, n. 21.
2 The present-day village of Shahrak in the Andij-Rud sub-district of the
district of Alamut. According to Muqaddasi and the author of the Ta'rikb-i-
Sdlthl the residence of the Justanids (see below, p. 720, n. 12) was called Shah-
ristan, and this, M.Q. suggests, was the official, whilst Shahrak was the popular,
name of their capital. See M.Q., III, 430-1 and 434-8.
3 In the corresponding passage of Rashid-ad-Din he is called Muqaddim-
ad-Din. (M.Q.)
718
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
until he interceded with the King and obtained pardon for their
offences. He received a yarligh of safe-conduct and proceeded
thither. Muqaddim came down from the castle, and a party of
Mongols went up, Rukn-ad-Din also receiving permission to
go up to the castle. The Mongols broke up the mangonels and
removed the gates. The inmates asked for three days' grace and
set about removing such goods and chattels as were [still there].
On the fourth day the whole force of soldiers and levies went
up and plundered such scraps as were left.
Alamut is a mountain which resembles a kneeling camel with
its neck resting on the ground. (Now when I was at the foot
of Lammasar, being desirous of inspecting the library, the fame
of which had spread throughout the world, [270] I suggested
to the King that the valuable books in Alamut ought not to
be destroyed. He approved my words and gave the necessary
orders ; and I went to examine the library, from which I
extracted whatever I found in the way of copies of the Koran
and [other] choice books after the manner of e He brought forth
the living from the dead'.* I likewise picked out the astronomical
instruments such as kursfcf armillary spheres, 6 complete and
partial astrolabes 7 and other 8 . . . that were there. As for the
remaining books, which related to their heresy and error and
were neither founded on tradition nor supported by reason, I
burnt them all. And although the treasuries were copious and
gold and silver goods without limit I recited over them the
words : ' O yellow, be yellow and O white, be white ! ) 9 and
4 Koran, xxx, 18.
5 The kurst is a part of the astrolabe. See Biruni, The Book of Instruction in
the Element! of the Art of Astrology, 194 and I95a. On the other hand, Professor
Willy Hartner in a letter dated the 8th October, 1956, suggests that, in this
context, kurst, lit. c throne " or ' chair *, may have some such general meaning as
* stand * or ' support '.
6 zat-alr-haty. 1 See Biruni, op. dt., 197.
8 The text has ash-sbtfa^ which does not make sense. Some such word as
' instruments " seems indicated, and such is in fact the reading of two inferior
MSS., D (alat) and I (ahtba-yi).
9 An exclamation said to have been made by the Caliph 'Ali upon beholding
the riches of the public treasury at Basra. See Mas'udi, Les Prairies J'Or, IV,
236. (M.Q.)
719
THE HISTORY OF
magnanimously shook my sleeve upon them. Now whilst
examining this library I found the history of Jil 10 and Dailam
that was written for Fakhr-ad-Daula [271] the Buyid. 11 In the
section on Alamut it is stated that one of the kings of Dailam,
whom they called * Al-i-Justan, 12 began to construct a castle on
this mountain in the year 246/860-1. It was the pride of the
kings of Dailam and a source of encouragement to the sect of
the Isma'ilis. In the history of Sallami 13 it is stated that at the
time of the Dailamis' domination of Iraq the governor (kutval)
of that place was called So-and-So Siyah-Chashm, 14 a convert
of the Isma'ilis of Egypt. How Hasan-i-Sabbah 15 came to
occupy the castle has been described in the relevant chapter.)
[272] In truth it was a castle whereof the entries and exits, the
ascents and approaches had been so strengthened by plastered
walls and lead-covered ramparts (bunyan) that when it was being
demolished it was as though the iron struck its head on a stone,
and it had nothing in its hand and yet still resisted. And in
the cavities of these rocks they had constructed several long, wide
and tall galleries (sabat) and deep tanks, dispensing with the
use of stone and mortar, as in the verse : ' And hew out houses
in the hills/ 16 So too they had dug magazines and tanks for
wine, vinegar, honey and all sorts of liquids and solids. [And
the art of] f the Satans, every builder and diver V 7 which is explained
and expounded in the Qisas, IB was seen in this structure as the
handiwork of men. When the stores therein were being pillaged
10 I.e. Gilan. Cf. Barthold, Turkestan, 8. n 976-97.
12 Reading AL JSTAN for the ARJSTAN of the text, as M.Q. suggests.
On the Al-i-Justan or Justanids, who reigned in Dailam from the beginning
of the ninth till the middle of the tenth century, see M.Q., III, 432-45.
13 On Abu-' All al-Husain b. Ahmad b. Muhammad as-Sallami, whose
'book undoubtedly served as the main source for those authors in whose works
we find the most detailed accounts of the history of Khurasan and Transoxiana,
namely Gardrzl and Ibn al-Athir*, see Barthold, Turkestan, 10-11, M.Q., HI,
14 The son of Malik, according to Ibn-al-Athir sub anno 316/928-9; and he
was called Siyah-Chashm (' Black Eye *) because he had a black spot in one
of his eyes. (M.Q.)
15 Following M.Q/s suggestion. The text has simply u ' he '.
ld Koran, vii, 72. xr j% xxxviii, 36.
18 I.e. the Qfsas~al-Anbiya. See above, i. 17, n. 41.
720
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
and removed a man waded in the honey tank without realizing
how deep it was and before he was aware he was immersed in
the honey like Jonah e had not favour from his Lord reached him,
cast forth would he have been on the naked shore, overwhelmed with
shame \ 12 And from the river * Bahru 20 they had brought a
conduit to the foot of the castle and from thence a conduit was
cut in the rock halfway round (bar madar-i-ntma) the castle [273]
and ocean-like tanks, also of rock, constructed beneath so that
the water would be stored in them by its own impetus 21 and
was continually flowing on. Most of these stores of liquids and
solids, which they had been laying down from the time of
Hasan-i-Sabbah, that is over a period of more than 170 years,
showed no sign of deterioration and this they regarded as a
result of Hasan's sanctity. 22 The remainder of the description
of the implements of war and stores is more than can be inserted
in a book without tedium. 23
The King appointed an emir with a large force of soldiers
and levies to demolish the castle. Picks were of no use : they
set fire to the buildings and then broke them up, and this occupied
them for a long time.
The King took up his abode in Lammasar, 24 which was the
winter quarters of that region. He gave the Satans of the place
some days' grace in case they might abandon their error and that
serpent 25 -like people might by a charm be induced to come out
of their holes. It was of no avail. He left Tayir-Buqa to
besiege it with an army of Mongols and Taziks [274] and
19 Koran, Ixviii, 49. I quote the whole verse with some MSS.
20 BAHRW, which M.Q. thinks may be a corruption of SAHRWD,
i.e. Shah-Rud. Perhaps the name was erroneously applied to a tributary of
the Shah-Rud.
21 Lit. * on its own feet \
22 In view of Hasan's strict teetotalism and his treatment of his son (see above,
p. 680) it is to be presumed that the stores of wine were laid down at some later
date !
23 On the water-supply arrangements in Lammasar see Freya Stark, The
Valleys of the Assassins, 247-8.
24 Not of course in the castle, which was still holding out and continued
to hold out for another year.
25 sill : a kind of snake that cannot be charmed.
721
THE HISTORY OF
auspiciously returned in triumph on the i6th of Zul-Hijja, 654
[2nd of January, 1257].
Rukn-ad-Din's personal belongings (buna) with his domestics
and animals were placed in Qazvin, his army was divided up
amongst the emirs and Rukn-ad-Din himself accompanied the
King to his ordu, which was in the region of Hamadan. He
sent two or three trusted men to the castles in Syria together with
the King's elctis in order to fetch the commanders, 26 take an
inventory of the treasuries and guard those castles as subjects of
the King until, when the Heaven-residing parasol of the King
should reach those regions, a command should be issued as to
their fate.
As for Rukn-ad-Din he was viewed with attention and kind-
ness by the King. In the midst of all these events he became
enamoured of one of the daughters of the vilest Turks 27 and
Maj nun-like offered his kingdom in exchange for her love ; and
in the end, at the King's command, she was bestowed upon him.
One day at a wine party he called upon the minstrel to sing the
following quatrain:
O king, I am come to thy door seeking protection.
And I am come filled with shame at my deeds.
Thy fortune dragged me hither by the hair
Otherwise to what court am I come and on what errand ?
And in the cauldron of his fancy he cooked a mania for
stallion Bactrian camels and was always discussing them with
any one who had any knowledge about them. One day
accordingly, the King gave him a hundred head of female
camels. He refused to accept them saying, e How can I wait
for them to breed ? ' And he asked for 30 stallions because of
his mania for watching camels fighting. [275]
After the consummation of his marriage he asked the King
So several MSS. The text has kittval-i-an 'the commander
thereof*.
27 I.e. a Mongol girl, as is clear from the corresponding passage in Rashid-
ad-Din. See Hodgson, The Order of Assassins, 269 and n. 8. The two authorities
are not, as Hodgson implies, in disagreement, since the term Atrak ' Turks *
embraces both the Turks proper and the Mongols.
722
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
to send him to the Court of Mengii Qa'an. The King approved
his request and on the ist of Rabi c I, 655 [9th of March, 1257]
he set out for Court with nine companions accompanied by
elcbis led by [Bujrai]. 28
[XVI]
OF RUKN-AD-DIN'S FATE AND THE END OF THAT PEOPLE
WHEN, at his request, the King was about to send him on his
way to the Court of the World-Emperor Mengii Qa'an, he
undertook to serve the King, when he came to Girdkuh, by
bringing down those wretches from the summit. When he set
out the King appointed a party of Mongols led by Bujrai * to
guard and attend upon him. When they came to the foot of
Girdkuh he overtly ordered the garrison to come down but
secretly told them not to do so. Departing from thence they
came to Bokhara, where, following his whim, he fell out with
the elchis and they came to blows.
Now it had been laid down in the original yasa of Chingiz-
Khan and also in the decree of Mengii Qa'an that none of that
people should be spared, not even the babe in its cradle. And
all his followers in their thousands and hundreds had been
guarded by shrewd supervisors (muvakkal) and they had spoken
words and committed deeds such as [276] called for haste and
occasioned the shedding of their blood. The command was
therefore issued for elchtt to depart to all the armies with orders
for each unit to put to death the men entrusted to it. And
Qaraqai 2 Bitikchi went to Qazvin with the order that Rukn-ad-
Din's sons and daughters, brothers and sisters and all of his
seed and family should be laid on the fire of annihilation. Two
28 There is a blank in the text. On Bujrai see below.
1 B WjRAY.
2 QRAQAY. Cf. the Caragai of Carpini (Wyngaert, 67). On the other
hand, it may be a corrupt form of QRATAY, i.e. Qaratai, as the name is spelt
in Rashid-ad-Din ed. Quatremere, 264, See also the English Introduction to
Vol. I of the text, xxviii.
A A II, 723
THE HISTORY OF
or three of them were handed over to Bukghan 3 to be slain in
vengeance for his father Chaghatai 4 who had been stabbed to
death by the f dais ; and none of their race was spared.
Orders were also sent to Otegii-China, 5 the commander of
the army of Khorasan [277], who was dealing with Quhistan,
that he too should drive out such of those people as were
obstinately attached to the Heresy on the pretext of raising a
levy ; and in this way 12,000 persons were put to death. And
so they destroyed them wherever they were.
As for Rukn-ad-Din, upon his arrival in Qara-Qprum, the
World-Emperor Mengii Qa'an said : * It was unnecessary to
bring him on so long a journey. Our ancient yasa is well
known.' He would not allow him to offer presents but issued
the following command to him : * Seeing that thou claimest to
be tf, 6 why hast thou not destroyed certain castles such as Girdkuh
and Lammasar ? Thou must go back and when thou hast
dismantled those castles thou shalt again have the honour of
tiktihmishi.' 7
With this hope he was dismissed. When they came to the
edge of the * Qanghai 8 the elchis led him away from the road
on the pretext of a feast they had prepared for him, and then
caused him to taste the punishment for all that his forefathers
had done to the people of God. He and his followers were
kicked to a pulp and then put to the sword ; and of him and
3 BLIAN 'Sable'. The Qara-Bulaghan (QRA BWLFAN), 'Black
Sable', of Rashid-ad-Din (Khetagurov, 100).
4 On Chaghatai, a commander of a thousand in the army of Chormaghun,
see Khetagurov, loc, at. He belonged to the Arulat or Arlat tribe and was a
kinsman of Borji, the early friend of Chingiz-Khan. Rashid-ad-Din calls
him Chaghatai 'the Great*, presumably to distinguish him from Chaghatai
'the Little* or Sonitei, on whom see Khetagurov, loc. at., Grigor, 303, also
my article, On the Titles Given in Juvdnl to Certain Mongolian Princes, 153-4,
n. 39. He must be identical with the * (S'ayatay, who was surnamed Khan
(Grigor, loc. dt.), whom Cleaves, The Mongolian Names, 417, takes to be the
second son of Chingiz-Khan.
5 AWTAKWjYNA. In Mongol 'Old Wolf'. On otegu see Pdliot-
Hambis, Campagnes, 85.
6 See above, p. 610, n. 14,
7 See above, p. 579, n. 87.
8 I.e. the Khangai range. See above, p. 609, n. 9.
724
THE WORLD-CONQUEROR
his stock no trace was left, and he and his kindred became but
a tale on men's lips and a tradition in the world.
[278] So was the world cleansed which had been polluted
by their evil. Wayfarers now ply to and fro without fear or
dread or the inconvenience of paying a toll 9 and pray for the
[continued] fortune of the happy King who uprooted their
foundations and left no trace of any one of them. And in truth
that act was the balm of Moslem wounds and the cure to the
disorders of the Faith. Let those who shall come after this age
and era know the extent of the mischief they wrought and the
confusion they cast into the hearts of men. Such as were on
terms of agreement with them, whether kings of former times
or contemporary rulers, went in fear and trembling [for their
lives] and [such as were] hostile to them were day and night
in the straits of prison for dread of their scoundrelly minions.
It was a cup that had been filled to overflowing ; it seemed as
a wind that had died. ' This is a warning for those who reflect,' 10
and may God do likewise unto all tyrants !
9 See above, p. 682. 10 Koran, vi, 116.
THE HISTORY OF
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GENERAL INDEX
aba,
Abachi, ii, 588.
Abadan, ii, 560/1.
Abarquh, ii, 472^.
Abaqa, xxiii-xxiv, 40/1.; ii, 612.
Abaskun, 155 ; ii, 385, 399, 4 6 9-
c Abbadan, ii, 560.
c Abbas b. Tamim, ii, 663.
c Abbasabad, ii, 620.
f AbbasI, ii, 477.
'Abdallah, son of Maimun Qaddah,
ii, 647, 649, 651.
c Abdallah, son of Mu^awiya, ii, 642.
e Abdallah Aftah, ii, 642-4.
'Abdallah b. Salim of Basra, ii, 651.
'Abdallah al-Mahdi. See Mahdi.
c Abd-al-Malik, son of c Attash, ii, 668.
c Abd-ar~Rahman, 243.
Abhar, ii, 702.
Ab-i-Vakhan, 6jn.
Abivard, 151, 159, 3i9 325 ; ii, 503,
543-
Abkhaz, ii, 432, 439-
Abraha, 323^., 332.
Abraham, ii, 646, 647, 693, 894.
Abscissor, ii, 362/1.
Abu-* Abdallah al-Baidawi, ii, 660.
Abu-Bakr, atabeg of Shkaz, 234^. ; ii,
366, 419.
Abu-Bakr, the first Caliph, ii, 428.
Abu-Bakr (Pahlavan), 158.
Abu-Hafs, 112.
Abu-Hanifa, 162.
Abu-Hamld al-Isfarayini, ii, 660,
Abu-Lahab, ii, 536.
Abul- c Ala, ii, 621.
Abul-Fazl (the raV), ii, 677-8.
Abul-Fazl BaihaqI, 313.
Abul-Hasan Jauhar, ii, 652.
Abul-Hasan al-Qudurl, ii, 660.
Abul-Hasan Sa'idi (the Cadi), ii, 692.
Abul-Khattab, ii, 647.
Abul-Ma'all Nahhas of Ray, 278.
Abu-Muhammad b. al-Afkani, ii>
660.
Abu-Muslim, ii, 63 5., 642/1.
Abu-Nasr Qairawam, ii, 653.
Abu-Turab, 173.
Abu-Yazid, ii, 651-2.
Acomat Soldan, xxiv.
f Ad, 17 ; ii, 4^7, p8.
Adam, 29, 152 ; ii, 529, 530, 645.
Adib Sabir, 282.
'Adid, the Fatimid Caliph, ii, 66j~$.
Adkan, 146.
Aesop, 41 n.
Afghans, 168.
Afrasiyab, xxxii., 54, 81, 209, 355 >
ii, 406, 409, 454-
Africa (Ifriqiya), ii, 650.
Aghlabids, ii, 650.
Ahangaran, 64^.
Ahar, ii, 453^.
Ahmad, i.e. the Prophet Mohammed,
ii> 589.
Ahmad, i.e. Tegiider the Il-Khan,
xxiv.
Ahmad (the Emir), ii, 522.
Ahmad of Dunbavand, ii, 679-80.
Ahmad of Jam, 296^.
Ahmad of Khojend, 72.
Ahmad, son of the vizier NJzam-al-
Mulk, ii, 678.
Ahmad Bitikchi, ii, 615.
Ahmad-i-Badill, 295-6.
Ahnaf, 201.
Ai tengride qut bulmish alp bilge,
54*.
e Ain-al-Mulk, ii, 413-14.
daafr ii, 499, 5 8 9.
Ai-tsung, 192^.
A'jami, 305 ; ii, 465.
731
GENERAL INDEX
Akar, ii, 414.
Akhash Malik, ii, 410.
Akhlat, xxi ; ii, 435-6, 443~9 45*-
Ala Kul, 43.
e Ala-ad~DIn, Muhammad III of Ala-
mut, 250; ii, 471, 627, 703-12,
7*5*
'Ala-ad-DIn (Sayyid), the'Alid, 337-
*Ala~ad-DIn Kai-Qubad, 229; ii,
450.
'Ala-ad-DIn Khorazm-Shah. See
Muhammad Khorazm-Shah.
c Ala~ad-DIn Muhammad of Khotan,
66,70-3.
f Ala-ad-Daula, the otoktg of Yezd, ii,
481.
* Ala-ad-Daula of Hamadan, 147, 148.
*Ala-al~Mulk of Qunduz, ii, 464.
'Ala-al-Mulk of Tirrniz, ii, 365.
Alajin Beki, 47-8.
Al-Altun, 47.
f Alam-Dar Bitikchi, ii, 566.
Alamut, xxi, 250, 258, 312 ; ii, 471-2,
618, 619, 627, 636-7, 666, 669-70,
674-5, 678, 679, 680-1, 683, 688,
692, 700, 707, 713, 718-21.
Alan(s), 259., 267; ii, 438, 553.
Alan Qo'a, 41 n.
Alaodin, 250^.
Alaq, 46., 91.
Ala-Qamaq, 263-4, 2(5 7; " 557-
Ak-Taq, xxiv.
Ala-Tau mountains, 263^.
A-k-tVhu-la-wu, 263 .
Alau, xxi, 34,
* Ala Zikrihi VSalam, ii, 697.
Albania, 148^.
Ai~Buiruq, 45/1.
Alchi, 268.
Alchi Giiregen, 175^.
Alchidai, i84., 580^.
Alchu, i75.
Aleppo, 221, 250, 257 ; ii, 450, 597,
669.
Alexander, 24.
Alexandria, ii, 662-3.
Alexandropol, ii, 429/1.
c Ali, brother of Mahmud Tarabi, 114,
'All, the Caliph, ii, 527, 537, 628, 647,
659, 703,7*9^
c Ali, son of Ismail, ii, 645.
c All ar-Riza, 244 ; ii, 644, 647.
c Ali b. e lsi b. Mahan, 232.
f All Durughinl, 124.
f All Khoja of Emil, 246-7.
C A1I Khoja of Qizhduvan, 90.
c Aliabad (castle of), ii, 431.
'Alid, descendant of the Caliph "All,
petfshn.
Al-i-Justan, ii, 720.
Alinja, ii, 425.
'AllamaofKerman, 331-^-
Alghin-Tetniir, 45 .
Almali'gh, xviii, xk, 29, 43, 64, 65,
74-7, 82, 271 ; ii, 481, 513, 612.
Alp Khan, 121.
Alp-Arslan, ii, 450.
Alp-Direk, 309.
Alp-ErKhan, 118.
Alp-Ghazi, 320-1.
Alp~Tegin, 277.
Alp-Tegin Mu c izzi, ii, 653.
Altai, ii, 595.
d-tamgfa, 145, 148, 150, 215, 256; ii,
487, 488, 511, 606.
Altan Beki, 470.
Ala-Bars, 343^.
Altun Beki, 47.
Altun-Khan, 39, 192, 195.
dub-amut, ii, 669.
Aluh-Nishln, ii, 626.
Amalric J, ii, 664.
Amid, ii, 459.
? Amid Buzurg, 122.
"AmTd Hajib, ii, 468.
r Amid-al-Mulk Sharaf-ad-DIn of Bis-
tam, ii, 497.
Amin, the *Abbasid Caliph, 232.
Amin Malik, i36; ii, 404-5, 406-7,
409-10, 460-3.
Amin-ad-Dln. See Amin Malik.
Amln-ad-DIn of Dihistan, 341.
Amir, the Fatimid Caliph, ii, 663 n.
Amir Khan, ii, 415.
Amlra Zarrab, ii, 667.
Amir-al-Juyush, ii, 668-9.
732
GENERAL INDEX
Amlrdad Habashl. See Dadbeg
Habashi.
amir-i-majlis> 172 ; ii, 474.
Amul, xviii, 146; ii, 511, 542.
Amuya, 90, 158, 286, 289, 294; ii,
Anareta, ii, 362, 568, 624.
Anbar, xxii.
Andij, ii, 680.
Andij-Rud, ii, 669, 670.
Andkhud, 324, 357.
Angren, 647*.
Anhalwara, ii, 41 6.
Anvari, 282 ; ii, 616.
apa, I48., 343.
Aparnoi, 29 in.
0^,266; ii, 557, 561, 586.
Aqash, ii, 410^.
Aq-Malik, 166-7.
Aqsam (the Emir), ii, 448.
Aq-Sultan, ii, 401, 402-3.
Aq-Tagh, 57.
Aquila, ii, $6$n.
Arabuccha, ii, 518^.
Arachan, 174^.
c Arafat, ii, 391.
Arajen, 174^.
Ardahn, ii, 3 87.
Ardistan, ii, 675.
Arghasun, ii, 587.
Arghiyan, ii, 487.
Arghun, son of Abaqa, xxii, xxv.
Arghun (the Emir), xviii-xx, 100, 243,
249, 257 ; ii, 494, 503, 55~25, 538,
540, 543, 544 614, 6i 6.
Arigh, ii, 5i8#.
Arigh Boke, 2310. ; ii, 518, 519, 550,
558, 571, 610, 6i in.
Aris, 46^.
Armak, 225.
Armalec, 29.
Armenia, xxiv; ii, 438, 446, 621,
Armenians, ii, 438.
Arran, xxv, 148 ; ii, 424, 434, 501,
518, 521, 597, 683, 701-2.
Arslan, 167.
Arslan, son of Toghril I, 312.
Arslan-Gushai, 312-13.
Arslan-Khan, 74-5, 76, 82.
Arslan-Khan Mahmud, 284.
Arslan-Khan Muhammad b. Sulai-
man, 279^.
Arslan-Shah, 305.
Arslan-Tash, ii, 674-5.
Arulat, ii, 724^.
Arzan (ruler of), ii, 448.
Arzanqabad, ii, 510.
Arzinjan, ii, 551^.
As, 259, 267, 268-70; ii, 553.
Asadabad, xxiv, 304.
Asan, 87.
Asanas, 87^.
Ashes (Tower of), in Herat, 335.
Ashkabad, i$in.
Ashkabus, ii, 442.
Ashkanavan, ii, 366.
Ashkavar, ii, 637, 671.
Ashnas, 87.
Ashtaqar, 136.
Asil of Rughad, ii, 502-5.
Asiya-yi-Hafs, 293.
Askanaba'd, ii, 366^.
Astarabad, ii, 487, 495, 542.
<?fa%, the guardian of a Seljuq prince,
also the title of the rulers of Azerbai-
jan and Fars, passim.
At-Kiraq, 45/7.
Atli'gh, 280.
Atsi'z, the Khorazm-Shah, 278-87,
Aulie-Ata, 322^.
f auz, ii, 496.
^avamm, 112, 113, 114, 167.
f avariz, ii, 599.
*avarizat 9 1 6, 30, 97; ii, 539, 606.
c Ayyar Beg, 289.
Ayyubids, ii, 663-5.
Azadvar, xv, 299.
A'zam Malik, 462-4.
azan, the muezzin's call to prayer,
passim.
Azerbaijan, 250, 257, 308 ; ii, 166,
424, 455, 501, 507, 508, 511, 518,
521, 597, 683, 701-2.
c Aziz, the Fatimid Caliph, ii, 653-4.
733
GENERAL INDEX
e Aziz Yalavach, i.e. Mahmud Yala-
vach, 195.
e Aziz-ad-DIn Tughra'i, 286.
aznaw, ii, 441-2.
*Azra, 345-
Azud-ad-Daula, ii, 658-9.
Ba'arin, 84/7., gin.
Bacr/aw, ii, 508^.
Bachman, ii, 553-4.
Bach r u, ii, 507/1.
Bada, 37.
Badakhshan, 67-8, 129-30, 207.
Badghls, 321 ; ii, 485, 512, 590, 621.
BadT-az-Zaman, 12.
Badr-ad-DIn Chaghlr, 301, 325,
331.
Badr-ad-DIn Lu'lu', 250 ; ii, 468/2.
Bagh, 151.
Baghdad, xxi-xxii, xxiii-xxiv, xxv,
xxviii, 34 2 33, 258, 305, 307, 3ii;
ii, 366,441,644, 669,683.
Bagh-i-Khurram, 125.
Baghlan, 139.
Baghshur, 151.
Baha-ad-Daula, the Buyid, ii, 658-9.
Baha-ad-DIn of Baghdad, the Scribe,
294* 299.
Baha-ad-DIn of Su'luk, ii, 486-7, 488,
492.
Baha-ad-DIn Marghlnani, 273-6.
Baha-ad-DIn Muhammad b. C A1I,
Juvaini's great-grandfather, xv, xvi,
299-300.
Baha-ad-DIn Muhammad b. Mu-
hammad, Juvaini's father, xvi-xx, 7,
9, 170; ii, 484, 487-8, 493, 512,
519, 520-1.
Baha-al-Mulk, 153-4, 157-8.
fabadur, 143/1., 335.
Bahman, ii, 564.
Bahrain, ii, 648.
Bahrain Gur, 23 1.
Bahram-Shah, 279.
*Bahru, ii, 721.
Baichu, 26. ; ii, 507, 609.
Baidar, 249, 269.
Baihaq, 151.
Baiju, ii, 507-8/1.
Bailaqan, 148 ; ii, 701.
Bakar, ii, 414.
Bakharz, 222, 298.
Bala of the Jalayir, 14211.
Bala Bitikchi, 48, 50-3.
Bala Khan, 118.
Bala Murghab, 167.
Bala the yarghucb'f, ii, 590.
Balaghai, ii, 608, 612, 618, 627, 636,
718.
Balaghay, ii, 6o8.
Balakhay, ii, 6o8.
Balak, ii, 412, 414, 415.
Balaqan, ii, 6o8.
bdaqasun, 191 .
Baksaqun, 58, 64^., 355, 3<5o.
Balchikh (Ahmad), 77-8.
Balis, ii, 462^.
Msb, 23, 206-33, 259; ii, 480, 552,
601, 605.
Baljuan, i29.
Baljuna, 37-
Balkh, I3., 130-1, 144, 151, 169, 170,
329-31; ii, 376, 377, 5^8.
Bamiyan, 132-3, 139, 273, 327, 330;
ii, 4^3.
Banakat, 46^, 64.
Banask, 340.
fanat~an-na sh> ii, 458, 625/1.
Band-i-Panba pass, ii, 430.
Baql,ii, 643.
bamq, ii, 41 jn.
Baraq Hajib, ios. ; ii, 417-18, 431,
469, 472-3, 47<5-8o.
Barbad, 252.
barbandj ii, 441.
Barca, i84.
Barchin, 83.
Barchuq, 44, 47/1., 52/1.
Bardasir, ii, 41 jn*
Bardesanians, ii, 65 gn.
Barduya, ii, 404.
Barhebraeus, xxviii.
Barlshmas Khan, 121.
bariz> 32., 202.
Barjligh, 93-
Barjli'gh-Kent, 83, 87, 93, 124.
734
GENERAL INDEX
Barligh, ii, 489.
Barlugh, ii, 489^.
Barmas, 163-4-
Barskhan, 29., 356.
Baruan, I39-
Bashghird, 270.
Basmil, 44/2.
lasqat, 44., 105, no, 35^; ii> 4 8l
482, 483, 484, 506, 508, 511, 714.
Basra, ii, 644.
*Basta, ii, 407.
Batirus. See Isma'ilis.
toft 335.
Batu, 94, 183, 199, 243, M9, 26m,
262-6, 266-8, 269, 270-1, 274; ii,
483, 488, 491, 494 498-9, 57, 513,
521, 523, 534 538, 553, 557-^3,
588, 590, 594. 608.
Bavard, 151/1., 157.
bavurchi, ii, 596/1., 610.
Bayat, 34.
Baya'ut, ii, 465/1.
Bayezid, the Ottoman Sultan, 2850.
Bazh, i76.
Bechac, 269/1.
Beeston (Professor A. F. L.), 141/1.
Beg-Tegin Silahdar, 147.
Beki, i.e. Sorqotani Beki, 52, 251, 255 ;
ii,5i3,5i9,588.
Bekrin, 21 in.
Belgrade, 269^.
Belgiitei, 184.
Benal, 90.
Benetnasch, ii, 625 .
Berca, 184^.
Berke, 184, 249, 266; ii, 563, 568,
573, 594-
Berkecher, 184, 249, 266.
Berk-Yaruq, 278 ; ii, 678-9.
Besh-Baligh, xix, xxxiii, 47, 48, 50,
51, 52, 61, 62, 63, 82, 246, 261, 271,
356; ii, 396, 489, 515, 585, 589, 609.
Besh-Qulach, ii, 491.
Besiit, i42.
Bezobdal Pass, ii, 429^.
Bichac, 269/7.
Ufa, ii, 636., 639, 651, 671, 674, 696,
698.
Bi'ghu Khan, 288.
Bighu Sipahsalar-i-Samani, 308.
Bilge, 44.
Bilge Qut, 48/1.
Bilge Quti, 48, 49, 5 1 *
Bilge-Tegin, 277-
Birjand, 314/1.
Bishkin, ii, 453.
Bistam, 293, 316.
Bisiitun (Mount), 137 ; ii, 44^-
6/tifeW, in Turkish ' secretary', passim.
Bizhan, 54, 81, 303-
Bo'al, 266., 6o8.
bocca, 262H.
Bochek, 269; ii, 554 571, <5i2.
loge, ii, 518^.
Boghal, 266.
bogbtagh, 6in., 262.
Boghra-Khan, ii, 392.
Bohtan, ii, 446/1.
feffe (tote), ii, 5i8.
Bokhara, xxx, xxxiii, 43, 9$-$, 97~
115, 164, 207, 288, 34*- 2 ' ii 369,
378, 495-6, 552, 723.
lolad, 50.
Bolat, 74.
Bolmish, 49.
Bolmish-Buqa, 48, 49^., 51.
Bolnisi, ii, 43 9-
Boniface VIII, I90.
Bo'ol, 266.
Bo'orchu, 1431.
Boqal, 143 .
Boraqchin, 268.
Borchala, ii, 429/1.
Borji, I43W. ; ii, 724-
Borjigin, 35-
Borke, 175/1.
Borkei Noyan, 175.
low, 268w.
Boro-Tal, 74^.
Borte, 38., 40/1., 136/1., 272/1.; ii,
.
Ba- Abdallah Sufi Muhtasib, ii, 649-
650.
Bu- All of Dihistan. See Dihdar
Bu- c Ali.
*Buchi Pahlavan, ii, 401.
735
GENERAL INDEX
Buchier (William), 2690. ; ii, 496*.,
.
*Bughatai Qprchi, ii, 587.
Biigii, 54*., 56*.
Biigush-Ish Aighuch'i, 45/1.
Buiruq, 62.
Biijek, 2690.
Bujrai, ii, 723.
hikbar, 98.
Bukghan, ii, 724*
Bulgai, ii,
Bulgan,
Bulghai, ii, 515, 57^, 605, 608.
Bulghar, 42, 190, 249, 267, 268-70;
ii, 553, 557-
Bulmi'sh, 490.
Bul-Qasim, the son of Haushab, ii,
649.
Bumijkath, 98.
Bu-Muslim RazI, ii, 669.
Bu-Najm. Sarraj, ii, 668.
Buqa, the Mongol emii, ii, 481, 508.
Buqa, the Turcoman, 154.
Buqatai, ii, 587^,
Buqa-Temur, 274/1. ; ii, 608, 618, 622,
626, 716.
' -
Buqu Khan, the first king of the
Uighur, 54, 56-61, 236.
Buqu Khan, a follower of Sultan
Jalal-ad-DIn, ii, 454-5-
Buraq, ii, 4i7., 433, 434 ^3-
Burhati-ad-DIn, 112.
Burhan-ad-Din Abu-Sa'id, 295 297-
Buri, 247^., 249, 269; ii, 586, 587,
588.
Buri Boko, ii, 5180.
Burilgidei, 246-7^.
*Biirilgitei, 246; ii, 585, 587.
Bu-Ri-za, 340.
Burke, 1757*.
Burtana, 343^*
Bust, I36. ; ii, 462.
, .
Bu-Tahir Arrani, ii, 676-7.
but-parasti, S9tt. ii, 505^.
Buya, ii, 698.
BuyaKatur, 136.
Buyids, ii, 391, 659^., <59$.
Buzar, 65^.
Buzurg-Umid, ii, 679, 682-5.
Bznunik c , ii, 43 5.
Caesars, 5, 23 ; ii, 607.
Cailac, 42/2.
Cairo, ii, 652, 655, 664.
Camadi, ii, 477/2.
Camel-Drivers (Gate of the), Nisha-
pur, 177.
Camul, ii, 37i-
Camus, 2620.
Cangitae, 91^.
Cangle, gin.
Carachoco, 45^.
Caragai, ii, 723.
Caramoran, igin.
Carmathians, ii, 648.
Carpini (John de Piano), 250^.
Cathay, 2i.
Catholicos, ii, 426.
Cha'adai, 40^.
cbadur, a veil or mantle worn by women
to cover their whole person and
dress, passim.
Chaghan, 256^.
Chaghatai, father of Bulaghan, ii, 724.
Chaghatai 'the Little', 190/1.; ii,
724/1.
Chaghatai, son of Chingiz-Khan, 40,
46, 83, 124-8, 134* 136, 140, I4 r
1 80, i8i., 184, 187, 191, 205,
21 1/*., 255,271-3 J ii, 468,483,608.
Chaghri-Khan, 288.
Chah-i- c Arab, 315-
ch<tm y zin.
Ch c an, ii,
Chanet, ii, 439.
Changarak, 177.
Changgi, ii, 580/1.
Chargh, 224.
Charjui, pon.
Chatisar, ii, 416.
Ch c awrmaghan,
Ch^awrman, i8i.
736
GENERAL INDEX
Chechegeyin, ii, 506^.
Checheken, 274. ; ii, 506, 608, 6u.
Cherikov, 148;?.
Chiaaday, 40^.
Mang-chtin, I92n.
cbien-kuo, 44^.
Chigin Qorchi, 114.
Chih-lu-ku, 357., 36i.
Chilger Boko, ii, 518;?.
cbilgb&za, 2i., 55.
Chimkent, ii, 396.
Chin dynasty, 35^., 39^., 191-5-
Chin, 201 ; ii, 387, 607.
cbm, 88.
China. See Chin, Khitai tf(7 Manzi.
Chinanch-Kath, 45 .
Chinashk, ii, 669.
Chingay, 241^.
Chinggis, ion.
Chingis, ion.
Chingiz-Khan, xxx, xxxii, xxxiii, 10,
16, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23-47, 63, 66,
68-70, 75-81, 96, 98-107, 115-23,
123-4, 128-41, 180-3, 189, 225;
ii, 368, 406, 409-11, 413, 461, 463,
467-8, 593 -4 638, 703.
Chinqai, xxvi, 241, 245, 259, 265 ; ii,
479, 498, 500. S04..S3S. 587-8.
Chin-Temiir, xvi-xvii, 88-9 ; ii, 460,
491,492-8,532-4.
Chinuch, 64.
Chirpodan, 190/1.
Chorasmia, 42^.
Chormaghun, 190, 227 ; ii, 452, 454,
456, 468, 482-4, 485, 507, 532, 609.
Chorman, I90.
Chormaqan, ipo.
Chosroes, 5, 20, 23, 24; ii, 607.
Chu, 58^., 74.
Chuguchak, 43 n.
Ciban, I66.
Cielstan, ii, 38s.
Cleaves (Professor F. W.), 47^., 48.,
52., 62., I9i., I92., I96., 246-
^47; ii,
Coirchan,
Comans, 9
cosmos, 20 8.
Crimea (Khans of the),
Cuyuc, 43 .
Cyngis, ion.
Cyrpodan,
Dabus, 102.
Dabusiya, i02., 107, 117.
Dabuye, ii, 385.
Dadbeg Habashi, 278 ; ii, 670, 679.
Dahae, 291^.
Dai, ii, 366, 564, 633.
dff, Isma e ili missionary, passim.
Da c i, ii, 642.
Dailam, Dailaman, ii, 637, 662, 669,
670, 697, 7i8, 720.
Daisan, ii, 659.
Dajjal, ii, 530, 532, 651.
Dalan-Turqaq, 174^.
Damascus, ii, 435, 443, 45, 5 6 9-
Damavand, ii, 645, 715.
Damghan, 146; ii, 365, 542, 669,
670-1, 679.
Damrila, ii, 416.
Damyak, 326*?.
Dana, 340.
Danishmand Hajib, 99, 205-6, 217,
230; ii, 493-
Daquq, ii, 422.
Dara, ii, 676.
Darazukhan, 6yn.
Darbai, 45^.
Darband, 149 ; ii, 521, 714^.
Dargham, ii, 369.
Daritai, 272^.
Darke, 175;?.
Darra-yi-*Dirazi, 67.
darugba, darughacbi(n), 44^., 105^.
Dastagird, I59.
Dastajird, 159.
Dastan, i.e. Zal, the father of Rustam,
ii f 431, 640.
Aavat-iivan, ii, 682.
David the Elder, i.e. David V of
Georgia, 250/1., 257; ii, 525.
David Malik, i.e. David IV of Geor-
gia, 2500., 257; ii, 524.
Davids (the two), 250, 257.
737
GENERAL INDEX
Dayir, loon.
Dayirkei Kiiregen,
Dayir-Osiin, i8o., 240/1.
Debdeba-Ousaqoun, I4i
Debeda ii, 429/2., 43 1.
Debul, ii, 416^.
Dei Sechen, 272**.
Delhi, I38., 328 ; ii, 4 I 3-*4-
Delilah, 245.
Deval, ii, 416, 417.
DhahabI, xv, xxv.
dharma, 6on.
Dhul-Qarnain. See Zul-Qarnain,
Dickson (H. R. P.). u, 45 3-
Dihdar Bu- c Ali, ii, 675, 682, 694-
Dihistan, 291 ; ii, 466, 507, 538, 616.
Dihkhuda, ii, 670.
dibqan, landed proprietor, passim.
Dlna, ii, 469.
DInavar, ^04.
Dinkot, 134/1.
Jiraz-itutbal, ii, 412, 543.
direk, 309.
&v 9 demon, devil, passim.
Divan, government department, passim.
Diyar-Bekr, ii, 446, 454.
Dizmar, ii, 451.
Dokhan, ii, 383.
Dorbei Doqshin, 141/1.
Doregene, 239.
Dormegei, i8o.
Dunbavand, ii, 669.
Durbai, 45^,
Dunin, I5i.
Dushambe, I29.
duvin, ii, 495.
Duvin, ii, 428.
Dvin, ii, 428
Edgu-Temur, 88. ; ii, 494-500*
Egrigaia, 2250.
Egypt, ii, 446, 652-63, 668.
Ekinchi, son of Qochqar, 278.
Ektag, 57*.
El-Aldun, 47#.
Elcheltay, 2560.
debt, envoy, ambassador, passim.
Elchi Pahlavan, ii, 421, 437-
Elchidei, ii, 580^.
Elchitei, nephew of Chingiz-Khan,
184,249; ii, 5<58.
Elchitei, one of the conspirators against
Mongke, ii, 580, 583-
Elghan, ii, 632,
Eljigidei, i84.
Eljigitei, xviii, xxvi, 256-7; ii, 512,
590.
El-Qadun, 47.
Emil, 43, 63, 184, 246, 26l., 262; ii,
396, 587-
Equius, 29.
Erak, ii, 382^.
Er-Buqa Pahlavan, 124.
Erbiiz, 356.
ErbiizKhan, 308, 311.
Erevan, ii, 427^.
Eriqaya, 225^.
erke'un, ii, 599
Erviiz, 308/1.
Erzerum (Sultan of), 250 ; ii, 450.
Erzincan, ii, 45 in.
Etil, 267; ii, 553-4-
Etilia, 267^.
Euphrates, ii, 446.
Facfur, 24^.
Fadl, the commander of the Fatimid
f Aziz's army, ii, 653.
Fadl, the son of ar-Rabf, xv.
fagbfur, 24 ; ii, 634.
Fakhr-ad-Daula the Buyid, ii, 720.
Fakhr-ad-DIn, chief cadi of Baghdad,
250.
Fakhr-ad-DIn 'Abd-al- Aziz of Kufa,
295, 297-
Fakhr-ad-DIn Bihishtl, ii, 507, 5^9,
512, 513, 5*5 519, 5^ 5^3-
Fakhr-ad-DIn Salari, ii, 416.
Fakhr-al-Mulk, son of Nizam~al-Mulk,
ii, 678.
Fakhr-al-Mulk (the Emir), ii, 605.
Fakk-al-Mulk Nizam-ad-Dm Abul-
Ma^all Katib Jami, 172.
Fakhr-al-Mulk Nizam-ad-Dm Farld
of Jam, 349.
738
GENERAL INDEX
Fanakat, 64, 83, 9t-2, 140, 343 35L
352; ii, 396.
Farab, 46^.
Farghana, 94* 356; ii, 396, 597.
Farid-ad-Din, 145.
Farid-ad-Din of Baihaq, ii, 472.
Faridun, 4.
Faridun Ghun, 125.
/r,ii, 389*
farrasb, carpet-spreader, tent-pitcher,
passim.
Farrazin, ii, 382.
Fars, 250, 257; ii, 383, 57, 597-
Farshavar, 138^.
Farvardin, the first month of the Per-
sian solar year, commencing at the
vernal equinox, 248.
Fasa, ii, 41 8.
Fathi, ii, 644.
Fatima Khatun, 243, 244-7 ; ii, 504.
Fatimids, ii, 648-65.
fatwa, a ruling on a disputed point of
Islamic law, passim.
JMa't, the term applied to the emissaries
of the Isma c ilis, the Assassins, passim.
Firdaus, 3I4. ; ii, 6i5.
Firdaus of Samarqand, 323.
Firdausi, 130; ii, 472.
Firrim, ii, 669.
Firuzkuh, the capital of the Ghurids,
293, 328,332, 35^-3.
Firuzkuh, the castle in Damavand,
311; ii, 475-6, 619.
Firuzkuh, the present-day name of
Gharchistan, 277/1.
Fiskir, ii, 716.
Franks, 250, 270 ; ii, 602, 640,664, 669.
Frederick II, zon.
Fulad, 74, 75.
fu~ma, 2$on.
Fuma, 290, 292.
Fustat, ii, 652.
Garmslr, 136; ii, 461.
Garni, ii, 427,
gav-mabi, ii, 447/1,
Genghis Khan, ion. See Chingiz-
Khan.
Georgia, 257; ii, 428-32, 438-43,
507, 508, 521, 524-5, 597, 609.
Georgians, ii, 426-32, 435* 438-443*
449-
gbada, ii, 45 3 ,
Ghadaq, 46, 118.
Ghadaqan Qorchi, ii, 590.
Ghaimish, 49, 275 ; ii, 588. See also
Oghul-Ghaimish.
gbaliya, 170 ; ii, 565.
Ghang-Kidan, ii, 581^.
Gharchistan, 277, 354.
Ghayir-Khan, 79-80, 82-6 ; ii, 367.
gbazal, a kind of ode, passim,
gbazi, xxxiii; ii, 589^., 711.
Ghazna, Ghaznln, 133-4, 135, 142,
313, 328, 353 ; ii, 403, 404-5 408,
413, 461-3.
Ghiyas-ad-DIn, brother of Sultan
Jalal-ad-Din Khorazm-Shah, ii,
417, 420, 436-7, 468-73.
Ghiyas-ad-DIn Muhammad, the
Ghurid, 291^., 292, 294, 315-19.
Ghlzil-Sarigh, ii, 675.
Ghul, ii, 6o8.
gbulam, 289, 293, 353 ; ii, 4i2., 708.
Ghumsghur, 26i.
Ghur, 291, 352-4; iii 45-
Ghur (Sultans of), 291, 298, 315-18.
Ghurls, ii, 461-5.
Ghuz-Bali'gh, 355.
Ghuzz, 90. 285, 286, 292-3, 294.
Gibari, I36., 138^.
Gllan, ii, 385,712.
Gllan (the emirs of), ii, 385, 702-3.
Glran, ii, 452, 454.
Girdkuh, 146; ii, 481, 542, 619, 637,
670, 679, 680, 714, 716, 723, 724-
Girl, 136^., I38.
Girit (Castle of), 148.
Gog, 347; iii 625.
Greeks, ii, 640.
Guchen, xix, 47/7.
Gumri, ii, 429^.
Gunabad, 3i6.
#ir, 62n.
Giirbesu, 62.
Gurganj, I23.
B B II.
739
GENERAL INDEX
Gurgln, ii, 454.
gur-kban, 62-4, 74-5, 322, 342-3, 35 1 *
354-61 ; ii, 393-6.
Giir-Khan, 62., I03.
Gurzivan, 132.
Gurzuvan, 33i-
Gushtasp, n6n.
gfisbtj, ii, 450#., 569^.
Guvashir, ii, 475.
Giiyuk, xviii, 43, 192, 199, 236, 240,
243, 248-62, 269 ; ii, 5<H 59, 5 11 *
512, 551-2, 587*.
Habash c Amid, 272-5 ; ii, 468.
al-Hadi, ii, 695.
Utb 9 tradition of the Prophet Moham-
med, passim.
Hafiz, the Fadmid Caliph, ii, 663.
hajib, chamberlain, passim.
Hajib 'All, ii, 435.
Hajjaj,ii,543.
Hajjilar, 35111.
Hakim, the Fadmid Caliph, ii, 651,
654-60.
Hamadan, xxiv, 147, 304, 305, 307,
308; ii, 366, 542, 683, 712, 722.
Hamdan Qarmat, ii, 6470., 648.
Hami, ii, 37i.
Hamid-ad c DIn ^Ariz of Zuzan, 314.
Hammad Rawiya, 232.
Hanafite, Orthodox (Mohammedan),
passim.
Han-chiang, 247^.
Harda, xv.
Harq, ii, 477.
Harqasun, ii, 587^.
Hartner (Professor Willy), ii, 7i9.
Harun ar-Rashid, xv, 23 2.
Hasan, the Isma c ili ruler of Alamut, ii,
686-97.
Hasan of Mazandaran, ii, 709-12.
Hasan, son of Adam of Qasran, ii,
682.
Hasan, son of the Caliph c Ali, 88 ; ii,
646.
Hasan, son of Namavar, ii, 697.
Hasan b. Ahmad Qarmati, ii, 653.
Hasan b. Bashar, ii, 653-4.
Hasan Hajjl, 87, 88.
Hasan Qattan, 280.
Hasan-i-Sabbah, xxi; ii, 626, 629,
637, 662, 666-83, 694, 720, 721.
hasbam, 285, 289; ii, 382, 454, 613.
hasbtr, 85, 92, 97, 107; ii, 517, 5M
620.
hashv, 32., 202.
Hatim of Tayyi', 107, 201 ; ii, 604.
Hazar-Asf (Hazar-Asp), 282-3, 323.
Hazar-Asf (the mWt). See Nusrat-
ad-DIn Hazar-Asf.
Hazar-Cham, ii, 626.
Hejaz, ii, 652, 653.
Heng-seng-yi-erh, 26 in.
Henning (Professor W. B.), zin.
Henry III of England, 20.
Herat, xxvi, ij., 151, 152, 294, 316,
317, 3i8, 320-1, 328-9, 331, 333~6,
354; ii, 518.
Heretics, i.e. the Isma'ilis of Alamut,
xxi, 256, 312, 313-14, 316; ii, 481,
542, 596, 617-40, 662-3, 666-725.
Het c um I, 250^., 2617*.
Himyar, ii, 667.
Hindu-Khan, 317.
Hindu-Shah, 309.
to, ii, 417, 477, 478, 503 .
Hobogetiir, 192/1.
Ho-chung fu, I90.
Ho'eliin, I36.
Holawu, 34.
Holy Shrine (the), i.e. Meshed, 244-5.
Ho-rni ch c eng, ii, 37i.
Hordu, 183, 249, 251, 266, 269.
Horghma, 274^.
Howarth, (Dr. W. O.), 2i.
Hsiao p c u-ku-chih,
Hsieh-ch c e, ii,
Huang Ho,
buang-bou, 62.
Hud, 17.
Hui-li River, 370., 373^.
Hujir,272; ii, 441.
hujjat, ii, 646^., 689, 690.
Hulawu, 34.
740
GENERAL INDEX
Hiilegii, xx-xxii, 34,
ii, 468, 482, 518, 521-2, 524, 525,
576, 596, 607-40, 666, 681, 713-23.
Hiile'ii, 34^.
Hululis, ii, 647.
buma, 19; ii, 389, 591.
Human, 303.
Humayun Sipahsalar, 166.
Hungary, 59^., 270-1.
Husain, the son of the Caliph e All, ii,
641.
Husain (the Emir), secretary of the Emir
Arghun, ii, 507, 512.
Husain (the son of the Emir), the mer-
chant, 77.
Husain of Qa'in, ii, 674, 679.
Husam-ad-Din Amir Husain, ii, 523.
Husam-ad-DIn Qaimari, ii, 451.
Huzaifa b. al-Yarnan, 95.
hyperperon, ii, 70 in.
iam, 30,
lankint, 90^.
iascot, 23.
ibaha, ibahat, ii, 639, 648, 696, 698.
Ibn-al-Athir, xvi, xxix-xxx.
Ibn-Dawwas, ii, 656-8.
Ibn-Daya, 135.
Ibn-Funduq al-Baihaqi, 277.
Ibn-Killis, ii, 653-4.
Ibn-at-Tiqtaqa, ii, 456/7.
Ibn-Zabarij, ii, 654.
f fd~i-azha, ii, 614.
e ti~i-ftr t ii, 600.
tfaqut, 44-53, 82, 86.; ii, 490, 589-
590.
Idkech, 49.
Idu'ut, 44.
ighlamish, u, 391, 702.
Ighnaq, 350.
Ighraq, 131, 137; ii, 45 4<>-8
462-4.
ikbrSjSt, 30; ii, 512, 517, 524.
Ikhtiyar-ad-DIn, the mdik of Amuya,
Ikhtiyar-ad-DIn of Abivard, ii, 497,
503, 5^0, 543.
Iki-Oguz, 29., 55.
//, 203 ; ii, 6 ro, 724.
Ila, 272.
Hal, ii, 466-7.
llamish, 344.
Il-Arslan, Khorazm-Shah, 285, 286,
287-9.
Ildegiz, 299.
Il-Direk, ii, 403-4.
Ildiz Noyan, 114.
Iletgii Malik, 91.
/te5, 282. ; ii, 662, 696.
Ili, 29^., 272^.
Ilig, ii, 392.
lllg *turkniett t 355.
Ilig Turkmen, 288-9.
Il-Khan, ii, 632, 636.
Il-Tutmish, 138^., 328 ; ^,413-14.
ilzam, ii, 672, 686.
e Imad-ad-Dm, governor of Balkh, 329-
330; ii, 462.
c Imad-ad-DIn Ahmad b. Abu-Bakr
Qamaj, 286.
Imad-al-Mulk (the Emir), ii, 605.
e Imad-al-Mulk of Sava, ii, 376, 377,
383, 474-5-
e Imad-al-Mulk Muhammad of Kho-
tan, 242.
c lmadl of Zuzan, 298.
imam, the leader in public prayer, passim.
Imam, the imam of the whole commun-
ity, whether the Caliph or one of the
seven or twelve Imams of the Shiites,
passim,
mal, 79.
Inalchi, ii, 506.
Inalchuq, 79.
Inanch-Khan, 158^1.
India, 59, 214, 325-6, 328; ii, 411-
17. 597-
Indian(s), 37 79, 137, 168, 219, 326 ;
ii, 709.
Indus, 133-4, *4*~ 2 326.; ii, 409-
4H4I4;
//, 266; ii, 561.
Innocent IV, 26/1.
iqamat, the second call of the muezzin,
passim.
741
GENERAL INDEX
Iram (Garden of), 197. 2 4 8 2,71 ; ii,
571-
Iraq, i.e. Arab Iraq, ii, 648, 649.
Iraq, i.e. Persian Iraq, 96, 147, *90,
310-11 ; ii, 365, 366, 376, 436, 455,
501, 507, 520-1, 522, 590, 597, 618,
644, 662, 683, 701-2.
Iraqs (the two), 13, 207.
Irbll, ii, 422.
Irghiz, ii, 37111.
e lsa b. Nestorius, ii, 654.
Isbijab, ii, 396.
Isfahan, 304, 308, 311* 3*3; ii, 4 20 ,
' 433, 436-8, 471, 475, 5*8, 54 2 > 668
669, 677.
isfd&ai, 338, 351; ii, 486-7.
Isfandiyar, 116, 134.
Isfarayin,i46; ii, 38I,486,54 2 -3
Isfijab, ii, 396.
Ishmael, ii, 647, 693.
Ismail, son of Ja f far, ii, 642-5.
Isma c llis, ii, 641-725.
Istakhr, ii, 365-6.
Istemi, 57.
Ittihadis, ii, 647.
Ivane, the comrade of Shalva, ii, 427-9.
Ivane, i.e. Ivane Mkhargrdzeli, ii, 440,
445-
Tzz-ad-DIn of Qazvin, ii, 445.
7zz-ad-DIn Ai-Beg, ii, 444-5* 44 8 >
451.
e !zz-ad-DIn Husain, son of Kharmil,
328-9, 332, 333-4-
Tzz-ad-DIn Marghazi, 318.
Izz-ad-DInd Nassaba, 163-4.
c Izz-ad-Dm Sokmez, ii, 419.
lzz-ad-DIn Tahir, ii, 519-20, 523-4,
616.
Jabala, son of Aiham, ii, 408.
Jacob, 72.
jada, 193 n.
Jadwalls, ii, 642.
JaTar Sadiq, ii, 642-5, 647, 651.
Ja c far Tayyar, ii, 642.
Ja-Gambu, io8.
Jagha, 256^. ; ii, 592.
Jaghan, 256.
Jaghatai, xv,
Jtfyun, 326. ; ii, 43 2.
Jajarrn, 151, 293 ; ii, 4^7, 54 2 -
Jalalabad, ii, 464^.
Jalal-ad-DIn, Khorazm-Shah, xvi,
xxk-xxx, 69, 130, 132, 133-5, 136,
171-2, 190, 3545 " 37^, 376-7,
387, 396-460, 470-1, 478-9.
Jalal-ad-DIn 'All b. al-Hasan Zaidi,
104.
Jalal-ad-Dm C AH b. al-Husain, Khan
of Samarqand, 288.
Jalal-ad-Dm Hasan, the Isma c ili ruler
of Alamut, ii, 364, 391, 698-703.
Jalayirtai, I90., I96.
Jalnabad, ii, 634.
Jam, 145, 222, 298.
Jamalabad, ii, 621.
Jamal al-Qarshi, 65^.
Jamal-ad-DIn, one of the mams of
Merv, 1 61.
Jamal-ad-DIn Elhass-Hajib, xx; il,
521-3.
Jamal-ad-DIn Ai-Aba, 148.
Jamal-ad-Dm 'All of Tafrish, ii, 545.
Jamal-al-Milla vad-DIn al-jill, ii, 541.
Jamal-al-Milla vad-Dm Mahmud of
Khojend, ii, 600-1.
Jambul, xviii, 322.
Jamshid, 122 ; ii, 578, 6i2., 629.
Jamuqa, 34., 62., 84^., 9itf-, 103 .
Jand, 83, 86-90, 93, 124, 154, 284-5,
288, 289, 305, 308, 350; ii, 370,
597-
Jandab, 234.
Janggi, ii, 5800.
Jangi, ii, 580.
Jarallah, i.e. Zamakhsharl, 17.
Jarir, I56.
Jaristan, ii, 483.
Jaunal, ii, 580^.
Jawamf-al-Ulum, 277.
Jaxartes, 344-
Jebe, ioi., i42., 373 n. See Yeme.
Jedei Noyan, 86.
Jesus, 1 10 ; ii, 517.
Jews, ii, 599, 640.
Jhelum, 326.
742
GENERAL INDEX
Jibal, ii, 645.
Jil, i.e, Gllan, ii, 720.
Jinh-al-Fuqara, ii, 616.
Jira, ii, 469/7.
ji% 126.
Jirgin, 35*1.
Jtrjls, 72.
Jirqo'adai, 142^.
Jiruft, ii, 477.
Job, 72.
Jb'chi, xxxi, 40/1., 83^., 86, ; ii,
370-i See Tushi.
Jochi-Qasar, 184/7.
Joinviile, 262/7.
Joseph, 72, 252 ; ii, 393.
Jud (the Mountains of), ii, 414, 415.
Judi (Mount), ii, 446.
Jumghar, ii, 611.
Jumghur, Jumqur, 61 in.
Junabid, 316.
Ju-nan, 195/7.
Jurbad, ii, 487, 542.
Jtirchedei, i8o., i8rw.
Jiirchen, 39., 44.
Jiirchetei, 180, i8i.
Jurjan, 316, 340; ii, 621, 642, 669.
Jurjaniya, 123.
Jurzuvan, 331.
Justanids, ii, 7i8.
Juvain, xv, xvi, 145, 151, 299 ; ii, 487,
*4 2 -
Juvainl, the historian, xv~xxxv, 4-5,
8-11, 54, 59, 100, no, 275 ; ii, 481,
489-90, 512, 513, 519, 522, 598. f
614, 615, 617, 623, 631, 66(5, 700,
719-20.
Juvaini's Eitfcry of the World-Conqueror,
10 ; 11,631.
Juvashir, ii, 417-18, 469, 477-
Jfiy-i-Arziz, 121 ; ii, 627*
Kaakha, i$in.
Kabud-Jama, 338., 351 ; &, 486, 487,
54^' .
Kabul, ii, 462.
Kafan, ii, 45 3 H,
fafir, ii, <56o,
Kafur, ii, 652.
K^ai-feng, 195/1.
Kai-Ka'us, one of the emirs of Gilan,
703-
Kai-Qubad, ii, 619.
Kaisanis, ii, 641-2, 643,
Kalar Dasht, ii, 626.
Kalat, ii, 378.
Kalat-i-Nadirl, 158/1.
Kalif, 128.
Kalka, ioi,
Kamadl, ii, 477,
Kamal-ad-Dm, ruler of Jand, 284-5,
Kamal-ad-DIn Ismail, the poet, 303,
308. ; ii, 420-1, 434.
kman-t-gav, ii, 631.
Kangurt, 129.
Kan-i-Gul, ii, 612.
Kapan, ii, 453/1.
Kara Kum, 89^.
Karakitai, 44^.
Karakul, 140^.
Kara~Tau, 87^.
Karman, 136; 11,408,519.
Karminiya, 114,
Kars, ii, 429.
Karshi, 129^.
Kashan, ii, 437^,, 518, 542.
Kashghar, 64-8, 70, 350 ; ii, 597 <577.
Kasbsbaf, 17.
Katama tribe, ii, 649-50.
Katta-Kurgan, inn.
Kaus, i.e. Kai-Ka*us, the legendary
king of Persia, ii, 374.
Kava, 349.
kavak, 263 .
Kazalinsk, 9o.
Kazan (Khans of), 184^.
MttiA, 226., 273.
Ked-Buqa, ii, 596, 610, 615, 618, 619,
622, 627.
Keiken (the Greater and the Lesser)
29.
Keler, 199, 270-1.
Keliiren, 184; ii, 566.
Kem, 69. ; ii, 585^.
Kemchihiid, ii, 585.
Kemchik, 69;?. ; ii, 5850.
Kem-Kemchik, 69/1.
743
GENERAL INDEX
Kem-Kemchi'ut, ii, 585^.
Kenchek, ii, 512.
Kennedy (Professor E. S.), ii, 362^.
Kent, i.e. Yangi-Kent, 90, 94.
Kerei Malik, xx ; ii, 522, 614.
Kereit, 35*
Kerel, I99-
Kerkha, 34^.
Kerman, 22, 250, 257, 294. 337; ii
417, 433, 4^8-9, 475> 476-92, 597,
626, 669, 678.
Kermine, 114.
Kerulen, 37^., 184^.
Keshik, ii, 574-6, 595.
Keshli-Khan, 103.
Kesmes, 47, 48.
Keuchan, 43^.
Khabaran, ii, 378, 522.
Khabushan, xxi, 145 ; ii, 617.
Khaf(Khwaf),i5i; ii, 615.
Khaibar, xxxiv; ii, 638.
Khail-i-Buzurg, ii, 365.
Khalaj Turks, I33., 168 ; ii, 462-5.
Khalkhal, ii, 712.
Khamid-Bur, 103 ; ii, 476.
Khamush, 148; ii, 511.
Khangai, 35, 4 r - J &> 5%$**., 6O9.
Khan-Sultan, ii, 395, 396.
Khaqani, 308.
Khar (Plain of), 147^.
Khara-Davan, i860.
Kharang. See Muhammad Kharang.
Kharkam, ii, 637.
Kharmil. See c !zz-ad-DIn Husain,
son of Kharmil.
Khar-Pust, ii, 461.
Itbarvar, a dry measure equivalent to 100
maunds, 113 ; ii, 574.
Khass-Khan, ii, 416.
Khavls, ii, 480.
Khawarnaq, 231.
Khidr, ii, 404, 646.
Khifchakh, i83.
Khitai, i.e. Northern China, 21, 29,
39, 4^ 43, 55> 59, 190, 191-6,207 ; ii,
506, 523 , 549, 590, 596, 600, 607, 608.
Khitai, i.e. Qara-Khitai, 280, 289,
292-3, 324*
Khitai-Khan, 286.
Khitan, 39^., 44.
Khitayans, 57, 139-
Khitayans, i.e. Qara-Khkayans,
65.
Khiva, 42., 322^.
Khivaq, 322.
Khiwch c akh, i8s.
Khlat e , ii, 435.
Khoi, ii, 425, 428, 435, 45*-
Khoja, son of Giiyiik, 246, 263-6 ; ii,
566, 585-6, 587, 592.
*Khojanfu Balaqasun, 191.
Khojend, 72, 83, 92, 94. m-
Khokars, 326^. ; ii, 414^.
Khorasan, xxx, 6, 13, 96, 144, 150-2,
190, 207, 294, 309 J ii, 482-8, 491-
493, 507, 519, 5^2, 523-4 532-3,
597, <500, 609, 644, 645, 662, 697.
Khorazm (Khwarazm), often synony-
mous with Gurganj, 42, 90, 94, 123-
128,278,280, 292, 294, 300, 321-2,
356; ii, 401-2, 482, 597-
Khorazm (malik of), ii, 531-2.
Khorazm-Shahs, 277-354, 356-60;
ii, 362-460.
Khotan, 65-6, 68, 70, 73, 74 "9,
350;^ii, 597,
Khuch'akh, i83.
Khul, ii, 6o8.
Khumar-Tegin, 124, 126.
Khurqan, ii, 618.
Khurramabad, ii, 42 in.
Khusrau Parvlz, ii, 564.
Khusrau-Kushk, 177.
Khushufaghn, ui.
Khutlan, ii, 667.
Khuvar of Ray, 147; ii, 618, 669.
Khuzdar, ii, 462/1.
Khuzistan, xxii, 34^., 278 ; ii, 469,
471, 472, 669.
Khwarazm, 427*. See Khorazm.
Khwch c agh, i83.
Kimach, ii, 37i.
Kimek, ii, 465^.
Kinchat, ii,
Kinda, 295.
kirdly,
744
GENERAL INDEX
Kirghiz, zin.
Kish, xx ; ii, 521.
Kishlik, 37.
KishUq, 37.
klya, 640.
Kiya Ba-JaTar, ii, 682.
Kiya Bu-Mansur, ii, 714.
Kiyat, 35/1.
Kobdo, ii, s85.
kobe'un, 26n.
Kochii, 251*1.; ii, 588.
KodeVAral, 1840.
Kodon, 241 n.
Koh-payah, I3<5.
Kokchii, 39/1., 91 n.
Kokedei, 1900.
Koke-Hgei, ii, 615, 618, 626, 716,
Koketei, 190.
Kok-Khan, 103, io<5.
Kokochii, 84^.
Kok-Saghir, 288.
Kok-Sarai, 86, 117,
M, 237, 271.
Kblgen, 180, 269; ii, 568,
Kolomna, i8o.
Kopal, 42.
Kopek Khatun, ii, 61 in.
Korah, 82.
Korgiiz, xvii-xviii, 243; ii, 483,
487-8, 489-505* 50<5-~7 534-9-
Kotayk', ii, 432/1.
Koten, 241-2, 245, 249, 251 ; ii, 568.
Koyiten, I42.
KozH, 335. 336-9.
kozlu, 335-
Kuban, ii, 634^.
Kucha, 62.
Kuch-Ai Tegtn, ii, 401.
Kiich-Bugha Khan, 147.
Kiichliig, xxxiii-xxxiv, 45, 61-8,
70-4, 81, 350, 35* 359-61,; ii,
368, 39<5.
Kuchltig-Kban, 63, 359.
Kiich-Tegin Pahkvan, 153^.
Kuei-te, 195^.
Kufa, xxii, 295 ; ii, 648, 667.
fettfr, ii, 66o.
Kuhdum, ii, 703 n.
Kuh-i-Bara, ii, 675.
Kuh-i-Dlna, ii, 469/2.
Kuhna-Urganch, 123/1.
Kujur, ii, 626.
Kujuran, ii, 462.
Kukrukh, ^,483.
kul, 62H.
Kiil Chor, 62.
Kill Tigin, 62.
kuldh, a kind of conical hat, passim,
kulak-hand, ii, 497.
kulah-ddr, ii, 550.
Kul-Bolat, xvii, 88w. ; ii, 483, 486
487, 489, 492-3, 484-6-
Kulja, xix, 29.
KiSmish,
al-Kunas, 295.
Kiin-Er-Direk, 310, 311.
Kuakurat, 38.
Kunya-Urgench, I23.
kuo-wang, 356.
Kur, ii, 428.
tor, 62.
Kurds, 304; ii, 423, 459, 621.
kuregen, I74~$.
Kuregen Kiiregen,
Kiirin Badu[r], ii,
kur-khan, 62w.
Kurram Agency,
kursi, ii, 719.
kusbt, ii,
Kushkak, ii, 667.
Kushlii, IO3.
Kushliig, 62M.
Kiish-Tegin Pahlavan, 153, 164-6.
Kutum, ii, 703.
kutval, 318; ii, 638, 722.
Kuyang, 35^
Kiiyiik, 43 n.
Kuznetsk, 22^.
Kzyl Orda, 83.
Lachi'n Beg, 288.
Lachm the Khitayan, ii, 416.
Lahore, 142, 328,
745
GENERAL INDEX
Laila, 345 J ii, 390.
Lakz, ii, 438.
Lai, ii, 619.
Lammasar, ii, 619, 679, 68 1, 682, 697,
713, 718, 719, 7^* 7^4-
Lar, ii, 715-
Larijan, ii, 466.
al-Lat, 13.
hqab, honorific epithet, title or nick-
name, passim.
Latham (Dr. J. D.) ii-, 453.
Laz, ii, 439.
Leninabad, 72*?.
Leninakan, ii, 429,, 430/1.
Lewis (Professor Bernard), ii, 682.
Lezghians, ii, 43 8.
Liao, 39.
Liegnitz (Battle of), 195^.
Logar, ii, 405^.
Lori, ii, 429*1., 43O.
Lot, 194.
Loudon, 21 .
Louis IX, xxvi, 256^,, z62n.
Lur, 250, 257; ii, 382, 422, 423, 597-
Luristan, ii, 383, 437, 481.
Lyra, ii, 565/2.
Ma* add, i.e. the Fatimid Caliph
Mu c izz, ii, 659.
Mablzhanabad, ii, 404.
Machln, 10, 201 ; ii, 607.
Madrasa-yi-Khani, 108.
Madrasa~yi-Mas*udlya, 108.
Magas, 267, 269-70.
Maghrib, ii, 644, 645, 649-50, 652,
653, 669.
Magians, ii, 641.
Magog, 347 J ii, 625.
Mahdl, the c Alid, ii, 669-71.
Mahdi, the Fatimid Caliph, ii, 648-
651.
Mahdiya, ii, 650, 651.
Mahlabad (Garden of), 155.
Mahmud (the Emir), governor of
Karman and Sanquran, ii, 519.
Mahmud (the Emir or Sultan), son of
Shihab-ad-DIn the Ghurid, 328,
331-2, 333, 352.
Mahmud (Sultan), the Ghaznavid,
354; ii, 387*.
Mahmud Khan. See Rukn-ad-Din
Mahmud Khan.
Mahmud Shah of Sabzavar, ii, 488,
537,542-
Mahmud Tai, 357-8, 360.
Mahmud TarabI, 109-14.
Mahmud Yalavach, 97, 107-8, nr,
115,215,218,241-2,257; ii, 480,
5p4, 509, 517, 544, 570, 597-
Maidan-i-Sabz, ii, 405,
Maimun Qaddah, ii, 647.
Maimun-Diz, ii, 621, 624, 627-8, 707,
713,716,717.
Majd-ad-DIn, 272.
Majd-ad-DIn of Tabriz, ii, 521.
Majd-al-Mulk, xxii-xxiv.
majlis4^dM > ii, 500,
Majnun, 345 ; ii, 7^^.
malahida, 2560.
Malazjird, ii, 450.
walik, title of the hereditary governor of
a territory, paxim.
Malik Ashraf, ii, 435, 444, 450.
Malik the Basin-Holder, ii, 428-9.
Malik Dinar, 292-3, 294.
Malik Salih, ii, 468.
Malik Shir, ii, 462-3.
Malika, daughter of the atckeg Sa f d, ii,
Malika, wife of the ttcbtg Oz-Beg, ii,
424-5, 428, 435, 445-
MaHk-as-Salam, ii, 646, 693.
Malik-as-Sidq, ii, 646.
Malikfur, ii, 413.
MaHk-Shah, the Seljuq, ii, 669, 674-6,
677-8.
Malik-Shah, son of Tekish. See
Nasir-ad-DIn Malik-Shah.
Malm, 222.
Mama Yalavach, 133.
Ma'mun, the c Abbasid Caliph, 232 ;
ii, 644.
Manazkert, ii, 450/1.
Manfi mosques, 339.
Mangu, 4.
Manji, io.
GENERAL INDEX
al-Mansur Ismail, ii, 652.
Mansuriya, castle in the Talaqan area,
ii, 626.
Mansuriya, palace in Tus, ii, 510, 571,
616.
Manqut, 86.
Manzl, row., 256; ii, 596.
Maqsura* the part of a mosque appro-
priated to the imam, 103.
Maragha, 148 ; ii, 684, 685.
Marand, ii, 428.
Marauzik, 272.
Margha, 154, 165, 319.
Man, I3.
Markab (valley of), ii, 429.
Maruchaq, 15 in.
Maruchuq, 151, 154,
Marv-ar-Rud, 167, 298, 318, 325.
Marwan II, ii, 6350.
Mary, no.
Masalsky (Prince), 1400.
Masbarii-at-Tajarib, 277.
mast, ii, 6i3.
Mas e ud (Sultan), the Ghaznavid, ii,
614.
Mas c ud (Sultan), the nephew of San-
jar, ii, 683-5, 68 6-
Mas f ud Beg (the Emir), 97, 108, 243,
249,257; ii, 515, 597, 612,
Matthew of Paris, 20.
Ma'u-Bali'gh, 54, 133, 236.
Mauci, 558.
mauUm> ii, 640.
Mayanchuq, 304, 307, 310-11.
Mazandaran, 146, 297, 310, 340-1;
ii, 385, 4<><>-7, 4^, 485, 486, 493,
507, 5II 519. 5^2, 533, 597, 618.
Mazandaranis, ii, 497.
Mazdaqan, 307/1.
Mecca, 6 ; ii, 648.
Mecca (ruler of), ii, 391.
Medina, ii, 643, 644.
Meget, 2<57.
Mekrit, 63.
Mela, 144^.
Melchizedec Melech Sholem, ii, 646,
693.
Melik, son of Ogedei, 244^. ; ii, 573,
595.
Menander Protector, 57^.
Menesha, ii, 654.
Meng-Burni, ii, 434.
Menges (Dr. K. H.), 354^.
Mengeser Noyan, 51 ; ii, 572, 578-81,
588, 605.
Mengli (Melik), son of Ogedei, 244.
Mengli (Nasir-ad-DIn), 340; ii,
701-2.
Mengli Beg, 294-5, ^96-7.
Mengu, 4.
Mengii Qa'an, 4, 16, 23, 42, 48, 50,
77, 100, 198-9, 239, 246-7, 255,
264, 266, 268, 269, 274 ; ii, 468, 480,
481, 513, 5I4-I9, 5^3, 550, 552,
553-607, 610-11, 622-3, 638, 681,
723, 724. See also Mongke.
Mengii-Bolad, 50, 88, ; ii, 511, 513.
Merkit, 34^., 63 .
Merv, I3., 90, 151, 153-68, 280, 293,
^94> 301, 304, 308, 316, 317, 318,
319; ii, 510, 514, 616.
Meshed, 170^., 319; ii, 644/1. See ttho
underHoly Shrine and Tus (Shrine of).
Metiken, 132^., 273.
Mexico, 89^.
Mihran, ii, 448^.
Mil-i-Bailaqan, 148/1.
milse, 6zn.
Mindor, ii, 439.
Mingqadur, ii, 6o8.
Minquli Boke, 231.
Miran Bitikchi, ii, 588.
Mishkan, ii, 453.
Mlhedk', 2 57 .
Moal, ii, 404/1.
Mochi, ii, 558, 608.
Mo'etiiken, i33.
Moge, son of Tolui, ii, 518, 558, 561,
571.
Moge Khatun, 211, 212, 218, 240.
Moghd, ii, 404^.
Moghan Steppe, i47.
Mogbol, ii, 404^.
Moghol Hajib, 124.
747
GENERAL INDEX
Mohammed, the Prophet, 17, 208 ; ii,
673.
Mohi, 27i#.
Molar, ii, 405 n.
Molghor, ii, 405.
MonggM, ii, 404*1.
mongke, 4.
Mongke, xix, xxxiii, 4. See Mengii
Qa'an.
MongHk, 91 .
Mongolia, 20-3.
Mongols, 15, 19-23, 25-44 53, 59,
77, 204-5; ii, 490, 533-
Moraqa, ii, 713.
Moroqa, ii, 71 3.
Moses, ii, 646.
Mosul, 250, 257; ii, 507, 597, 658-
659.
mi/an, 16, 30, 97J 4 539, 596, 598,
599, 606, 654.
muattil, ii, 66on.
Mu'ayyid Ai-Aba, 289, 290-1.
Mu*ayyid-ad~DIn Ibn-al~Qassab, 304.
mufrad, 117, 165, 297; ii, 4 12 , 445
456, 469, 470.
Mughan, xxv, 147; ii, 453.
Muhazzib-ad-DIn DashtabadI, 164.
Muhammad, brother of Mahmud
TarabI, 114.
Muhammad, brother of Zaid, ii, 641.
Muhammad, son of Hasan-i-Sabbah,
ii, 680.
Muhammad, son of Khaqan, ii, 691.
Muhammad, son of Malik-Shah, ii,
637, 678, 68o~r.
Muhammad, son of the Hanaf lya, ii,
641.
Muhammad, son of Isma c ll, ii, 645,
647.
Muhammad, son of *Miqdat, ii, 612-
613.
Muhammad I of Alamut, ii, 685-8,
692, 693-4-
Muhammad n of Alamut, ii, 697-9.
Muhammad BustI, ii, 689.
Muhammad DIbaj, ii, 642, 644.
Muhammad Jahan-Pahlavan, 299.
Muhammad Kharang, 316, 319-20.
Muhammad Khorazm-Shah, xvi,
xxxi, 46, 63-4, 69-70, 116, 118,
142-3, 147, i53~4, 169-72, 304,
3I5~54 357-60 ; ii, 362-99, 465-6,
699-
Muhammadabad, ii, 645.
Muhammad-i~Bashir, 353.
Muhammad-Shah, 228.
al-Muhtadl, ii, 695*
muhtasbam, 250, 337J ii, 619, 640,
680.
Mu c izz, the Fatimid Caliph, 652-3.
Mujir-ad-Din, ii, 444, 448, 451.
Mujir-al-Mulk Kafi Rukhkhl, 145,
172, 176; ii, 379-80.
Mujir-al-Mulk Sharaf-ad-Dm Muza-
far, 153, 155, 661.
Mujtaba (Sayyid), ii, 540.
Mular, ii, 405^.
Mulhedk e , 257^.
mulhid, 3, 256^. ; ii, 66o.
Mulidet, 25 7.
Multan, 142, 328 ; ii, 415.
Mu'min, ii, 668.
Mu'minabad, ii, 676, 691.
Muntajab-ad-DIn Badf al-Kadb, xvi,
283.
Munkar, ii, 440.
Muqaddim, ii, 718, 719.
Muqali, ii, 625^.
Muqanna c , ii, 520.
Muqtafl, the c Abbasid Caliph, ii,
686.
al-Murtada, ii, 660.
Murtaza (Sayyid), 347.
Musa, son of JaTar, ii, 642-4, 647.
musalla, place for public prayer outside
a town, 107.
musamma, ii, 539, 540.
Mush, ii, 450.
must, ii, 613 .
MustadI, the c Abbasid Caliph, ii, 665*?.
Musta c kwis, ii, 662-3.
Musta'll, ii, 662-3, 668.
Mustansir, the Fatimid Caliph, ii,
660-2, 668, 674, 691, 692.
al-Mustansir billah, the c Abbasid
Caliph, ii, 443, 451.
748
GENERAL INDEX
Mustarshid, the c Abbasid Caliph, ii,
39i, 683-5.
nwtauft, state accountant, passim.
Mutalammis, 156.
Mu'tamid, the "Abbasid CaHph, ii,
648.
Mu c tamid~ad-Daula Abu-Manf Qir-
wash, ii, 658-9.
mutasarrif, local administrator, passim.
Mutawakkil, the c Abbasid Caliph, ii,
455-
mu'tinat, ii, 599.
muvaza f a, ii, 600.
Muzaffar (the ra'ts), ii, 691.
Muzaffar Mustaufi (the ra'is), ii, 670-1,
679, 680.
Muzaffar-ad-Din Kok-Bori, ii, 422-4,
702.
Muzaffar-ad-Din Wajh-as-Sabu e , ii,
469, 702.
Muzdaqan, 307.
Nahrwala, ii, 416.
naib, ii, 674.
Naiman, 34., 35., 41, 64, 19 3.
Naimatai, xix; ii, 518, 520.
Najaf, xxii.
Najib-ad-DIn Qissa-Dar, 153,
Najm-ad-DIn c Aii of Jilabad, ii, 514,
521, 523.
Nakhchivan, 148 ; ii, 424, 425.
Nakhichevan, 148/1.
Nakhshab, 129, 166; ii, 375.
nat-bab$ 9 ii, 41 5.
Namging, 195.
namus, 680.
Nan-ching, I95.
Nandana, 141.
nagfb, 154, 304.
Naqu, a kinsman of the Emir Arghun,
ii, 514, 519.
Naqu, son of Giiyuk, 263-6 ; ii, 566-
5<57, 574. 583, 591-2.
Nasa, 151/1.
Nasawl, xvi. See also Nur-ad-Dln
MunshL
msic,
nasfcb,
nasij,2i&; ii, 612, 616.
an~Nasir li-DIn-Allah, the "Abbasid
Caliph, 303 ; ii, 364, 390-2, 422,
665, 699.
Nasir-ad-Dm, the vizier of Muhammad
Khorazm-Shah and Terken Kha-
tun, ii, 466-8.
Nasir-ad-DIn c Ali Malik, ii, 513, 518.
Nasir-ad-DIn MaHk-Shah, 297, 301-2,
304, 305, 308-9.
Nasir-ad-DIn TusI, xxii ; 11,7150.
Nasir Salah-ad-DIn Yusuf, 250^.
wsnds, ii, 529, 628.
nau-labar, 130.
Naughan, 146^.
tuwkar, ii, 506/1.
Nauruz, 124,
navtr, 370.
Naya'a, 84^., gin.
Nekiider, 192/7.
wrff, 28 ; ii, 554, 585, 613, 627.
Neugebauer (Professor O.), ii, 362.
Nihavand, ii, 677.
Nikala, ii, 412, 414, 415.
Nikudar, ii, 6o8.
Nimrod, ii, 528,
Ning-hsia, 225^.
Ningrahar, ii, 464.
Nisa, 151, I75., 286, 297, 34 8 J **
402, 483.
Nishapur, I3., 145, 146/1., 151, 169-
178, 287, 289, 291, 293, 301, 304,
306, 308, 316; ii, 369, 378, 379-81,
437, 483-4.
Nizak, ii, 62 in.
Nizam-ad-Dln, brother of Baha-ad-
Din of Su c luk, ii, 486, 487.
Nizam-ad-DIn, deputy to Baha-ad-
Dm Juvaini, ii, 487.
Nizam-ad-DIn of Isfarayin, ii, 497,
543-
Nizam-ad-DIn 'All as-Sadid of
Baihaq, ii, 489.
Nizam-ad-Dm Shah, ii, 497, 501, 507,
511, 512.
Nizam-al-Mulk, the vizier of Malik-
Shah, ii, 669, 676-7, 678.
749
GENERAL INDEX
Nizam-al-Mulk Ahmad, son of the
vizier Nizam-al-Mulk, ii, 680.
Nizam-al-Mulk Mas f tid, 303, 309,
3I3-I4-
Nizar, ii, 661-3, 668, 690, 691, 692.
Nizarls, ii, 662-3.
Noah, 1 6.
Nogai, 266.
noger, ii, 506^.
n$ker, ii, 506, 518, 590, 598.
nokb'r, ii, 506/7.
nom, 60.
Noqai, 266.
Nosal, ii, 483, 488-9, 492^3, 534-
noyan, in Mongol * military chief,
passim.
Nuh Jandar, ii, 464.
nuntuq, 86.
Nuqan, 146, 176.
Nur, 100-2.
Nur-ad-Dm Mahmud b. Zangi, ii,
664-5.
Nur-ad-DIn Munshl, ii, 420-1, 445.
See also Nasawi.
Nurata, ioo.
Nurin, ii, 498^.
Nurke, 175^.
Nushirvan, 4 ; ii, 604.
Nush-Tegin Gharcha, 277-8.
Nush-Tegin Shlr-Gir, ii, 68 1.
Nusrat, 167.
Nusrat (Malik), ii, 470-1.
Nusrat-ad-DIn, the isfabbad of Kabud-
Jama, ii, 486-7.
Nusrat-ad-Din (the atakg), ii, 511.
Nusrat-ad-DIn Hazar-Asf, ii, 382-4,
471.
Nusrat-Kuh, 132.
nuzl 9 102, 145 ; ii, 502.
Nuzvar, 322.
Occoday, 40^.
Ogedej, xvii, xxxi, xxxii-xxxiii, 29.
See Ogetei and Qa'an.
Ogetei, 29., 40* 43, 46, 83, 124-8,
I34 135, 140, 1 80; ii, 549. See
also Qa'an.
oghul, 26n.
Oghul Hajib, 158, 159 ; ii, 401, 402^.,
4<59-
Oghul Malik. See Oghul Hajib.
Oghul-Beg, 287.
Oghul-Ghaimish, xviii, 49., 262-6;
ii, 566, 585. See also Ghaimish.
Ogodei, 40.
Ogunch, 52, 53.
d'Ohsson, xxviii, xxxiv.
Oirat, 38,235; ii, 505-<5, 608.
Okodei, 40^.
Oman, 22 ; ii, 434.
Oman (Sea of), 214.
Omar Khayyam, 164; ii, 467^
Omyl, 43., 246/1.
Onan-Keliiren, ii, 562.
Onankerule, ii, 562^.
Onggiran, ii, 585^.
Onggirat, 38^.
Ong-Khan, 35-8, 40, 61 ; ii, 550.
Ongiit, 88.
Onqon-Dalan-Quduq, 1 8 1.
Oqul-Qaimish, 262.
Or Tegin, 56, 57.
Oran, 305 ; ii, 379-
Orchan, 180, 25 6n.
Orchaqan, i8i., 256.
Orda, i83.
ordu, residence of a Mongol prince,
passim.
Ordu, i83.
Ordii, i83.
Ordu-Baligh, 54, 58, 236.
Organum, 274**.
Orkhan, ii, 409, 4^, 43 1, 45^~7-
Orkhon, 35^., 54/7., 55^.
Orqi'na, 274; ii, 6n., 612,
Orqon, 54, 57, 236.
orfej, 209, 220 ; ii, 598, 599, 600, 605,
606.
Osh, 94.
Ossetes, 259^. ; ii, 553#.
Otegin, brother of Chingiz-Khan,
39., 42, 184, 187, 244, 248, 249,
255 ; ii, 568.
Otegin, brother of Sultan c Usman, ii,
..395-
Otegii-China, ii, 724.
750
GENERAL INDEX
Otrar, 46, 79, 81-6, 347-8; ii, 597-
Oxus, 22, 67/1., 103, 139, 3^2 ; ii, 452,
460, 466, 499.
Ozar Khan, 65, 74/2., 75-6.
Oz-Beg, the atoktg of Azerbaijan, 148^.,
299., 308 ; ii, 366, 424-6, 701-2.
Oz-Beg Tai, ii, 414-15.
Ozkend, 64, 77, 87.
Pahlavan, 167.
Pahlavan Fila, 227-8.
p*aiteu, 1580.
paiza, xvii, xix, 158, 255, 257 ; ii, 487,
488, 499, 50. 508-9, 519-20, 523,
551, 598, 606.
Pa-lu-wan, I39.
Pambak Mountains, ii, 429/7.
Pamir River, 67-8*1.
panja, ii, 628.
Panja, 6jn.
Panjab, 144; ii, 378, 380.
Panj-Dih, 167, 298.
Panjshir, ii, 405/1.
Parch f in, 83.
parpara, ii, 701.
Parshavar, 138/1.
Parvan, inn. ; ii, 4 5~7 4 6 3
Pasa, ii, 418.
Parasravar, ii, 415.
Pasrur, ii, 415/1.
Patan, ii, 416/1.
Payghu, 238^.
Perovsk, 83.
Peshawar, 131, I33-, 138, I39 3^8
ii, 462, 463.
Pharaoh(s), 23 ; ii, 528, 607, 627.
Plr-Shah, ii, 468.
pisar, 26n.
Pishkil-Dara, ii, 620, 621, 71 6.
Piskir, ii, 717.
Pi-yin, i8i.
Pococke, xxviii.
Polovtsi', i83.
Porus, ii, 634.
Prester John, 350., 9<5.
Pul-i-Ahangaran, I36.
Purushapura, 138/7.
pusbish, i55.
Pushkil-Dara, ii, 620.
P c u-su-wan, the Empress Ch'eng-
P c u-chou,
Pulad, 74
Qa'an, 29, 47, 54 94* 107, 115, 178-
239, M 8 ; ii, 45^ 4 68 , 479-80, 482,
483, 485. 486-7, 491-2, 493, 49<5-
500, 506, 535, 549-51* 553, 595-
See also Ogetei.
Qaban, 166 ; ii, 506.
Qaban, 11,453.
Qabiha, 232.
Qabilan Gate, 125.
Qachi'un, 184^.
Qada, 192^.
Qadaghan, 269; ii, 558, 5<>3, 573,
595. See also Qadaqan.
Qadai Rengii, 192.
Qada-Kiirin, ii, 5800.
Qadan, 94-, I8i.
Qadaq, 245, 259, 263-4, 266 5 " 5U
566, 583-5-
Qadaq Ba'atur, Afon.
Qadaqach, ii, 588.
Qadaqan, 94-5, 1 8 in. See also Qada-
ghan.
qalir, 79., 305.
al-Qadir billah, the c Abbasid Caliph,
ii, 651, 658-9.
Qadir-Buqu, 309-10, 311, 349- See
also Qay'ir-Buqu.
al-Qahir li-Quwwat-Allah, ii, 695.
Qahqa, 15 in.
Qaili, ii, 370.
Qa'im, the Fatimid Caliph, ii, 650,
651-2.
Qaimich, ii, 370.
Qa'in, 31411.
Qairawan, ii, 649.
QaFaWali, 33i-
Qafa-yi-Ahangaran, ii6n.
Qal c a-yi~Bist, 136^.; ii, 462.
Qara-yi-Dabus, I02.
Qal c a-yi-Kalat, 158.
Qal e a-yi-Mor,
751
GENERAL INDEX
QaTa-yi-Nau, 158.
QaTa-yi-Qahira, 312.
Qalqaljit-Elet, 37^.
qm, 55. f 59, 251, 265.
Qamar Nekiider, 192.
Qamar-ad-Din Karrnanl, 141.
Qamar-ad-Din Tamar Khan Qiran,
Qamil, ii,
Qam-Kemchik, 69.
Qamlanchu, 55.
garni, a subterranean channel for the
supply of water, xxi, 617.
Qandahar, i.e. Ghandhara, ii, 645.
*Qanghai, ii, 585, 609, 7^4-
Qangfi, 8p., 91, 107, 121, 193, 355,
356; ji,J70, 4 6 5> 574-
Qangqai, ii, 609.
*Qan-Khitai, ii, 580.
Qar, 176.
Qara, 243, 255, 273-4; ii, 505. See
also Qara-Hiilegu.
Qara-Alp Oran, 305**., 309
Qara-Balghasun, 54^., 55.
Qara-Bukghan, ii, 724*1.
Qaracha, emir of Sultan Jalal-ad-DIn,
ii, 483-5-
Qaracha Khass-Hajib, 82-4.
Qaracha Noyan, 165-6, 168.
Qara-Hiilegii, xviii, 243 . ; ii, 558,
573, 586, 588-9, 595- See also
Qara.
Qara-Khitai, 44-5, 65-7, ^88, 290,
322, 341-7, 349-60. See also under
KhitaL
Qara-Khoja, 45.
Qara-Kol, 140, 288.
Qara-Miiren, 191.
Qaraqai Bitikchi, ii, 723.
Qara-Qorum, xvii, xix, xxv, xxxiv,
54 55. 89-f 198, 212, 213, 217, 223,
236, 244; ii, 468, 495, 557, 584*
585, 609, 610, 614, 724.
Qara-Qum, 89, 90 ; ii, 370*
Qara-Qush (the Emir), 293.
Qara-Qush (Tower of), 174, 177.
Qaratai, ii,
Qara-Tal, 356^.
Qara-Tash, 225.
qarindash khan, ii, 418.
Qarligh, 355-
Qarlugh, Qarluq, 49^., 74^ 75,
288-9, 355-
Qarmatls, ii, 648.
qarn, 361.
Qarshi, 219.
Qarshi-Suri, 2i9., 237.
Qarun, 82, 360.
Qarun (castle of), ii, 382, 384, 469.
qasida, a kind of panegyric poem, pas-
sim.
qasts, ii, 428.
Qasr Musanna, xxiv.
Qasran, ii, 619.
Qata Noyan, 272/1.
*Qata-Kiirin, ii, 580, 583.
Qataqash, ii, 588^.
Qatavan, 96.
qaya, 45.
Qayaligh, 42, 63, 74~7, 82; ii, 557,
585, 587.
qayir, 79-, 305.
Qayir-Buqu, 305. See also Qadi'r
Buqu.
Qazvm, 147, 311; ii, 540-2, 638,
669, 670, 675, 700, 709, 713, 7^2,
723.
Qazvlni (Muhammad), xiv, xxvi-
xxviii.
Qifchaq, 183, 190, 199, 206, 267; ii,
438, 440, 553.
Qifchaq (Plain of the), 139, 140, 149.
Qittj, ii, 419-20.
Qimaq, ii, 37i.
Qlpchaq, 9i., 183^. See also Qif-
chaq.
Qirqi'z, 21, 57, 355, 356; ii, 585.
Qisas~al-Anbiya t 17; ii, 720.
Qi'shli'q, 37^.
qimat, ii, 5i7., 600.
gissa-clar, 15 3.
gifa, lit. * fragment ', a kind of poem,
passim.
Qiyat, 35.
752
GENERAL INDEX
Qizhduvan, 90.
Qizil Arvat, 1510.
Qizil-Arslan, 299^.
QMl-Buqa, ii, 483.
Qiz-Malik, 257 ; ii, 428.
Qobaq, 43, 184, 262.
Qocha, ii, 592/1.
Qocho, 45.
Qodon-Orchan, i8o.
Qodu, 6i., 69^., 240^.
Qodun-Orchang, i8i.
Qoja, 247.
Qomul, ii, 37i.
Qonghuran, ii, 585.
Qongqiran, ii, 585^.
Qongqiyat, 350.
Qongqotan, 9in.
Qonqi'rat, s8. ; ii, 585/2.
Qonqurat, 38.
Qonqurtaqai Noyan, ii, 557.
b, ii, 6o8.
Qori-Tumat,
qosbigbun, ii, 51 3 w.
4<tf%, ii, 513, 514-
Qoton-Orchang, i8i.
Qotur Tegin, 56, 57.
Qubacha, I4i., 142/7., 328 ; ii, 414-
416, 470.
Qubilai, general of Chingiz-Khan,
77-
Qubilai, son of Tolui, ii, 518, 550, 571,
592, 596, 607.
Quchan, xxi, 146/1.
Quhistan, 314. 3i6; ii, 617, 619, 637,
674, 675, 681, 691, 697, 7I4 715,
724.
Quhistam, 238.
Qulan (Princess), i8o.
Qukn-Bashi, 140, 266; ii, 514.
Quli, ii, 608.
Qul-Toghan, 6i., 69.
Qum, ii, 518, 542, 667.
QQmish, 146 ; ii, 662, 682.
qumiz, 208; ii, 571, 573.
Qum-Sengir, 261 ; ii, 585.
Qum-Shinggir, 26i.
Qunqu, 62., 64^.
r, 30, 34 J u 517.
Quraish (Graveyard of), ii, 644.
Qurbagha Elchi, Qurbaqa, 243 ; ii,
494 503, 506, 507.
quriltai, assembly of the Mongol princes,
passim.
Qurwnsbi, 97 .
Qusdar, ii, 462.
qusbcbt, ii, 574^.
Qush-Temiir, emir in the service of the
Caliph an-Nasir U-DIn-Allah, ii,
422.
Qush-Temiir, officer in the service of
the Mongols, 173, 175.
0KWJ, 21, 55.
Qut-Almi'sh-Qaya, 45,
Qutb-ad-DIn of Kerman, ii, 480-2.
Qutb-ad-DIn AiBeg, 328.
Qutb-ad-Din Muhammad, 278.
Qutb-ad-DIn Muhammad, i.e. Mu-
hammad Khorazm-Shah, 301, 309-
310, 314-15-
Qutlugh, 271.
Qutlugh-Bali'gh, 100.
Qutlugh-Inanch, 299, 300, 302-3,
304, 307.
qutkgb-kban, ii, 414, 476.
Qutlugh-Khan, 88.
Qutlugh-Khatun, 300^.
qutlugh-sultan, ii, 479, 480.
Qutuqu Beki, ii, 506/1.
Qutuqu Noyan, 135, 166. See also
Shigi-Qutuqu.
Quyas, 29, 43, 75, * 8 4 2 7i-
Quyash, 29/1.
Quz-Baligh, 58.
Quz-Ordu, 58., 355-
Quz-Ulush, 58.
Rabf MaUk, 112.
Radi, the hidden Imam, ii, 651.
ar-Radl, of the family of Musa, the son
of JaTar, ii, 660.
Radkan, 146, 298, 299, 3i8 ; ii, 510,
616.
rafaiu Zaidan, ii, 642.
Rafidis, ii, 642, 643.
753
GENERAL INDEX
rafiq, ii, 639.
Rai Kokar Sankin, ii, 414.
ra'it, H2H. ; ii, 670.
Rakhsh, Rustam's horse, ii, 625.
Rana, 137-
Rana*Shatra, 1378.
Rang, i32.
ar-Rashid billah, the" Abbasid Caliph,
ii, 686.
Rashid Sudagar, 221.
Rashid-ad-DIn, the historian, xxvii,
xxviii.
Rashid-ad-DIn Vatvat, 280, 281, Sabi, ii, 683.
Rum, i.e. Asia Minor, 229, 250, 257 ;
11,438,443, 507, 508, 609.
Rumls, ii, 439-
runui, 87, 112, 113, 146; ii, 412, 483,
615.
Rus, 259, 267, 268-70 ; ii, 553.
Rustam, the hero of the National Epic,
xxxii, 92, ri6., 117, 135; ii, 640.
Rustamdar, u, 385^., 626.
Rusudani, 257^. See Qiz-Malik.
Saba (people of), 345.
282-3, 284-5, 287, 290.
sain, ii, 364, 391, 701.
Ray, 147, 300, 302-3, 304, 307; ii, Sabzavar, 175-6, ^95 ; ii, 503, 537-
365, 382, 384, 385, 420, 436, 469, Sa'd, the atokg of Shiraz, ii, 365, 418,
475, 542, 645, 667, 668, 669, 675,
713-
RazI, 277.
RazI-al-Mulk, ii, 462.
Sadid-i-A c var Shamir, 273.
Sadir, 231.
sadr 9 title of a religious dignitary, passim.
Resurrection (Propaganda of the), ii, Sadr-ad-DIn, envoy of Rukn-ad-DIn
695 ~<5 698.
Rhages, 147/1.
rikati, ii, 491.
rul\ 146.
Rudbar, on the Syr Darya, 284.
Rudbar of Alamdt, 312 ; ii, 639, 675, Sadusan, ii, 416.
679, 680-1, 707-
rud-khana, ii, 636.
Rughad, ii, 502.
Rukhkh,
Khur-Shah, ii, 714.
Sadr-ad-Din, the historian, 312.
Sadr-ad-DIn (the maliK), ii, 511, 515,
518.
Sadr-Jahan, 112.
sagh'ir, 28 8.
Saghun, 490.
sahib-divan, xv, xvi, xvii, xix, xxii, 7;
ii, 487, 499-
Rukn-ad-DIn, i.e. Qilij-Arslan IV, Sahna, ii, 677.
250, 257. Saifabad, 323.
Rukn-ad-DIn *AlI b. Ibrahim al- Saif-ad-DIn (the Emir), 49-50; ii,
Mughlsi, 176, 337. 617, 622.
Rukn-ad-DIn Ghur-Sanji, ii, 368, Saif-ad-DIn of Bakharz, ii, 552.
376, 382, 474-6. Saif-ad-DIn Mardan-Shlr the Table-
Rukn-ad-DIn Imamzada, 104. Decker, 294.
Rukn-ad-DIn Jahanshah, 250/1.; ii, Saif-ad-DIn Sultan Malik, ^,714,71 5,
450. Sain-Malik-Shah, ii, 495.
Rukn-ad-DIn Kart, 121 ; ii, 6i3. St. George, 72/1.
Rukn-ad-DIn Khoja Mubarak, ii, Sairam, ii, 396.
479-82. Sairam (Lake), 74^.
Rukn-ad-DIn Khur-Shah, xxi; ii, Saladin, ii, 664.
617-38, 707-25. Salah-ad-DIn of Nisa, ii, 461-2.
Rukn-ad-DIn Mahmud Khan, 286-8, Salah-ad-DIn Yusuf, ii, 664-5.
289. Salam, 334^.
rukni, 23 ; ii, 501, 519. Salami, 334.
754
GENERAL INDEX
Salar Ahmad, 136, I37.
Salghur-Shah, ii, 418.
Salih, i7., 72 ; ii, 574.
Salindi, 48.
Saljuq-Shah, ii, 41 8.
SallamI, ii, 720.
Salmas, ii, 428.
Salumak, 334.
Salurnid, 334.
Sam, the grandfather of Rustam, ii, 43 1 .
Samarqand, 43, 95~6, 107, 115-123,
271, 288-9, 34 2 ~3, 350; ii, 3<59-70,
373, 375 378, 395-6, 505, <*I2.
Samnan, 146, 302; ii, 618.
San c a, ii, 616.
Sana'i, 12.
Sangan, 152^.
Sangbast, 165.
sang-i~yaraqan, ii, 496^.
Sanjan, 152.
Sanjar (Sultan), 96/1., 153, 278-88;
ii, 681-2.
Sanjar-Malik, in, 341.
Sanjar-Shah, 294, 306-7.
Sanquran, 136; ii, 408, 519.
*Saqiyat, 35.
Saqiz, 35.
Saqsi'n, 42, 190, 249 ; ii, 557-
Saqun, 48, 49w., 53-
Sarab, ii, 453.
Sarai, 267.
Sarakhs, 152, 155, 156, 158, 159, 162,
164, 165, 292-3, 299, 301, 3I7 319,
335> 337; ii, 5"-
Sarchahan, ii, 385.
Sar-Guzasbt-i-Sayyidna, ii, 666, 667.
Sarhadd, ii, 669.
sarhang, 340 ; ii, 470.
Sarigh Chupan, 67^.
Sarigh-Chopan, 67.
Sarigh-Kol, 68w.
Sarikol, 67/2.
Sar-i-Pul, in, 117.
Sariq-Qol, 670.
Sariq-Qun, 67^.
Sarir, ii, 438.
Sarmajan Gate, 155.
Sarsi'gh Khan, 121.
Sartaq, 268.
Sartaq-Kiije'iir, ii, 502/7.
satr, ii, 647.
Say6, 27i.
sayyid, the title given to descendants of
c All in the line of Husain, passim.
Sebiik-Tegin, 277.
Selenga, 2i., 55.
Selenge, Selengei, 21, 55.
Seljuqs, ii, 391.
Sempad (the Constable), 250*?.
senggm^ 192*1.
Senggiim, 84^.
Seroctan, io8.
Sevan (Lake), u, 430.
Sevinch Khan, 103.
Shabur, ii, 664-5.
Shabur-Khast (Khwast), ii, 421.
Shaddad, I97.
Shadyakh, 173, 176, 289, 291, 295,
297, 305, 309, 3i6, 317, 329, 335
336-8, 347; ii, 4 2 -
ShafTi, 162.
Shafurqan, ii, 614.
Shahanshah, ii, 617, 620, 713.
Shah-Dad, 480^.
Shahdiz, ii, 619.
Shah-Ghazi, 340.
dwjwa, 44, 74, 94. i" i^, 144* i4 6
150, 154, 155, 164, 173, 278, 316,
348, 357J ii, 393, 55* 596,
Shahrak, ii, 718.
Shahr-i-Bilqls, 146^.
Shahr-i-Nau, 222.
Shahristan, i.e. Shahrak, ii, 71 8.
Shahristan, i.e. Shahristana, 157^.
Shahristan Gate, in Merv, 161.
Shahristana, 94, 157, 286 ; ii, 483, 500.
Shahryar-Kuh, ii, 669.
Shaiban, i84.
shaikh, a religious dignitary, passim.
Shaikh-Khan, 118, 158-9.
shaikb~al-Islam, ' the sbMb of Islam', a
high religious dignitary.
Shaknavan, ii, ^66n.
Shalanba, ii, 645.
Shalozan, I36.
Shal-Rud, ii, 712.
CC II.
755
GENERAL INDEX
Shalva, ii, 427-9.
Shamakha, I49.
Shams-ad-DIn, cadi of Sarakhs, 158.
Shams-ad-DIn, Ismalll governor in
Quhistan, 250; ii, 637*
Shams-ad~DIn, son of Pahlavan Abu-
BakrDivana, 164.
Shams-ad-DIn (Sultan). See II-
Tutmish.
Shams-ad-DIn 'All, son of Muham-
mad, 347-
Shams-ad-DIn ' All (the Emir), 155.
Shams-ad-DIn Gilaki, ii, 714, 71 5
716.
Shams-ad-DIn HarisI, 154.
Shams-ad-DIn Juvaini, the brother of
the historian, xv-xvi, xxii-xxiii, xxv.
Shams-ad-DIn Kamargar, ii, 494, 506.
Shams-ad-DIn Mahbubl, no, 112.
Shams-ad-DIn Mas f ud of Herat, 162.
Shams-ad-DIn Muhammad Kart, ii,
518-19-
Shams - ad - Din Sahib - ad - Divan,
grandfather of Juvaini, xvi, 170.
Shams-al-Mulk Shihab-ad-DIn of
Sarakhs, ii, 461-3.
Shamur Tayangu, 75.
Shankavan, ii, 3<56.
sbao-cbien, 44/1., 48 n.
Sharaf-ad-DIn, the Emir of the As-
sembly, 172 ; ii, 474.
Shara-ad-DIn of Khorazm, xxx ; ii,
487, 494, 495* 497, 499-5 5 02 ~4
507-8, 525~4 6 -
Shara-ad~DIn c All of Tabrish, ii, 459.
Sharaf-al-Mulk. See Yulduzchi.
Sharaf-al-Mulk, the vizier of Nishapur,
337, 338; ii, 379-
Sharfat, the Moslem Canon Law,
passim,
sbctrff, the title given to descendants of
ff Ali in the line of Hasan, passim.
Shaukem, 44.
Shawar, ii, 664*1.
Shayaqan (Hill of), ii, 402.
Shehrizur, 153/1.
sher, 2$jn. ; ii,
Shere Khan,
Shiban, 184/1.
Shibarkhan, ii,
Shi'b-i-Bawan, ii,
Shf b-i-Salman, ii, 469^.
Shigi-Qutuqu, I35. ; 11,406.
Shihab-ad-DIn, Isma c ili governor in
Quhistan, 250 ; ii, 637.
Shihab-ad-DIn, i.e. Sultan Muham-
mad Ghur, 29i., 315-26, 353,
357; ii 390.
Shihab-ad-DIn the Grand Chamber-
lain, 294, 314-
Shihab-ad-DInofKhlvaq, 322.
Shihabl college, Merv, 167.
Shilermin Bitikchi, ii, 566, 586.
Shinggii Kuregen, I75.
shir, 2$jn.\ ii, 6is.
Shlra, 245.
Shira-Ordu, 239.
Shiran-Shah, ii, 620, 716.
Shlraz, 215, 234; 11,418.
Shiremiin, 25 in.
Shlrkuh, the uncle of Saladin, ii,
664-5.
Shlrkuh, a valley in the Alamut dis-
trict, ii, 709.
Shirvan, 149, 250, 257.
Shrine (the), i.e. Meshed, ii, 543 .
Shui Ta-ta, 196^.
Shuja c -ad-DIn Abul-Qasim, ii, 469,
477-
Shulistan, ii, 383.
Shuman, 129.
Shuman, 129/7.
Shuqan, ii, 714.
Shusha, 14^?.
Shustar, s4. See Tustar.
Siban, i8i., 184^., 249.
Sibaqan, i8r., 184, 266, 270-1 ; ii,
608.
Sibi, ii, 462^.
Sibijab, ii, 396.
Si-ching, i8i.
Sicily, ii, 650.
Sijilmasa, ii, 649.
Sijistan, 152.
Simak, 225 ; ii, 625.
stmurgb, 243.
756
GENERAL INDEX
Sind, ii, 645.
sipahsalar, commander-in-chief, 124.
Siqat-al-Mulk, 122.
Si'qnaq, 86.
Si'qnaq Tegin, 76, 77, 82.
Siraj-ad-Din of Tus, 173.
Siraj-ad-Din Shuja e i, ii, 513, 519,
5980.
Siramun, 25 in.
Sira-Orda, 2390.
Sira-Ordu, 239/1.
Siraqchin Elchi, ii, 507.
sirat-i-qiyamat, ii, 626.
Siremiin, grandson of Ogedei, 251;
ii, 557, 5^6-7, 574 5^3, 5^7, 591-2.
Siremiin, son of Chormaghun, 258.
Sir-i-kol, 68.
Sistan, i.e. Zaranj, ii, 479, 485, 518.
Sitt-al-Mulk, ii, 656-8.
Sivistan, ii, 462.
Siyah-Chashm, ii, 720.
Siyalan-Kuh, ii, 713.
Sodom, 234.
Sogetii, general of Chingiz-Khan, 91 ;
ii,477-
Sogetii, son of Tolui, ii, 571, 6i2.
Sogedu, ii, 57.
Solanga, 190^.
Sokngai, 190, 196, 256; ii, 592,
596.
Solangi, I90.
Solangqas, I90.
Solomon, 308.
Somnat, 313-
Sonidei, I90.
Sonitei, I90. ; ii, 724^.
Sonqur Tegin, 56, 57.
Sorghan, ii, 580.
sorqan, io8.
Sorqan Shira, 242/1. ; ii, 624^.
sorqaq, io8.
Sorqaqtani, io8.
Sorqatu, io8w.
Sorqoqtani Beki (Princess Sorqoqtani),
xxxiii, 52., io8w. See Sorqotani
Beki and Beki.
Sorqoqtu, io8w,
Sorqotani Beki, 108, 244, 249, 254,
26o., 262; ii, 483, 550-3, 563.
See aho Beki.
soyurgbamisht, 94, 207 ; ii, 492, 500.
Stalinabad, 129^.
Stepanavan, ii, 43 on.
Stican, 184/2.
Siibe'etei, ioi.
Siibetei, the famous general, 101, 118,
142-9, 190, 256, 269; ii, 370-
373M 380,467.
Siibetei, son of Tolui, ii, 571, 607, 612.
Suburni, 291.
Sufi-Khana Gate, in Otrar, 84.
Sughd River, 288.
Sughnaq, S6n.
Sughunchaq, xxii ; ii, 624/1.
Suhrab, ii, 406, 452.
Sujas, 147.
Sulaiman b. Muhammad, nephew of
Sanjar, 280.
Sulaiman-Shah, ruler of the Ive Turco-
mans, ii, 421.
Sulaiman-Shah, younger brother of II-
Arslan, 287.
Suldiis, 9i. ; ii, 624.
Sultanabad, ii, 382/1.
Sultan-Duvm, ii, 495.
Sultan-Shah, 289-301.
Su c luk, one of the emirs of Gilan, ii,
' 385.
Su c luk (castle of), 155.
suhfc 230.
Suman Qorchi, ii, 588.
Su-Moal, i96w.
Su-Moghol, 196.
Sumongol, 196/1.
Sunak-Kurgan, 86.
Sunchaq, ii, 624/1.
Suolstan, ii, 383/1.
Suqnaq, 64/1., 86-7, 284, 305.
Suqunchaq, ii, 624.
sura, chapter of the Koran, passim.
Sura, ii, 461.
Siiyiketii Cherbi, 91 n.
stiyiirmisbi, 205 ; ii, 612.
Svan, ii, 438.
Syban, 184/1,
757
GENERAL INDEX
Syr Darya, 46**., 64*1., 8?.
Syra-Orda, 2390-
Syria, 13, 25, 94, *oi; ii, 438, 446,
508, 525, 602, 645, 648, 662, 668,
669, 702, 723-
Syrians, ii, 439, 45-
Tabaiak (castle of), 300, 302.
Tabaran, I45.
talarkhun, 217.
talarrttz, ii, 529/1.
Tabas, 337-
Tabghach, 279*1.
Tabriz, xviii, xxv, 148, 207, 4 2 4"5
426, 428, 435* 436, 507-8, 511-12,
5i3,525.538-4-
ttfriqa, 113 ; ii, 436.
t f agawor, 250^.
Taghai Khan, 121.
tagbar, ii, 512,, 609, 621, 622,
T'agudar, ii, 608 n.
Tahamtan, brother of the doktg Abu-
Bakr of Shiraz, 234,
Tahir b. al-Husain, 232.
tot, 3S7*t*
at-JaT billih. S<reTayi r .
Taianfu, 2io.
Tal-Buqa, 62.
Taican, n8.
Taichu, ii, 505.
Taimas, ii, 436, 454, 456.
*Tainal, ii, 497.
Tainal Noyan, 90 ; ii, 436, 471.
Taisi, 144, 163, 172-
Taiwara, 328.
Tai-yiian iu, 2io.
Taj-ad-Din' Ali-Shah, 313, 3i6, 324,
3 ^ 2 ~ 3 "
Taj-ad-Din Farizani, xvii ; ii, 484.
Taj-ad-DIn Ilduz, 328, 353.
Taj-ad-Din Karlm-ash-Sharq, ii, 469.
Taj-ad-Din Khalaj, 3 19 ; ii, 414.
Taj-ad-Dm Mardan-Shah, ii, 716.
Taj-ad-DIn Toghan, ii, 382.
Taj-ad-Din Zangi, 325.
Tajarib-al-Umam, 277.
Tajik, n6.
Takavor, 250, 257.
fdfe&?r, recitation of the formula Allah
akbar (* God is greatest '), passim.
Takht-i-Khatun, 3 3 1-
Talaqan, between Balkh and Marv-ar-
" Rud, ii8 M 132, 152, 167, 168, 318,
325; 11,408,461,463.
Talaqan, district near Qazvln, n8.;
ii, 625, 626, 675.
Talaqan, the present-day Talikhan, 118.
Talas, xviii, xix, 322^. See Taraz.
Talikhan, n8.
tcflim, ii, 671-3.
Tamagha, ii, 625.
Tamerlane, 46/1., I37-
Tamgha, ii, 625, 718.
Tamghach, 279^.
Tamghach (the Emk), 300, 302,
Tamghach-Khan, 279.
Tamsha, in.
T f amt c a, ii,43i., 445-
tanasub,
Tang-i~*BalQ, ii, 383.
Tangqut, i84.
tofijwj, ii, 497-
Tangut, the country and people, 21,
46, 57, 137, I38., 139, 180, 196,
225,256; ii,596.
Tangut, son of Tushi (Jochi), 184, 266,
269 ; ii, 500.
Tanura, 125.
fao-jen, 14*1.
T c a-pu-yen, the Empress Kan-t^ien,
758
Taq, i.
Taqai, 91.
Taqi, the hidden Imam, ii, 651.
Taq-i-Yazir, 154, 157-
Taqi-ad-DIn, ii, 448, 451.
Tarab, 108-11.
Taraz, 322, 343. 35<5 36o; ii, 514.
Tarbai, 45.
Ta'rikh-t-Nasirit 313-
Tarikh-i-Ttji, ii, 683.
tarkfan,i7; ii, 595-
Tarq, 319.
Tartar, synonym of Mongol, 2o.
Q
GENERAL INDEX
Tarum, 313; ii, 637-
Tarz, ii, 669.
Ta-sbib, n6n.
Tashir, ii, 43 on.
Tashkent, ii, 296^.
tasbt-dar, 278.
Tatar, 20., 34^.
Ta-t f ung, i8i.
Tauk, ii, 422^.
Taunal, ii, 580, 583.
Taunal the Younger, ii, 580.
Tausha Basqaq, 107.
Tavghach, 279^.
ta'vfl, ii, 646, 671.
Tayanfu, 210.
Tayang-Khan, 62.
tayangu, 75/1., 322.
Tayangu of Taraz, 322, 343~5 349,
360.
Tayaqan, ii8.
Tayi c , the c Abbasid Caliph, ii, 391,
653.
Tayichi'iit, 84^.
Tayir Bahadur, 100, 101 ; ii, 479,
485-6.
Tayir-Buqa, ii, 721.
tazf, ii6.
Tazik(s), 37, 92, ir<5, 121, 178, 199,
227-8, 256, 272, 318, 337; ii, 477,
615, 621, 638, 713, 721.
Teb-Tengri, 39, 9i.
tegin, 56#., 27771.
Teginabad, 136/2. ; ii, 462.
Tegish, 49.
Tegmish, 49-5 1, 53.
Tegiider, brother of Abaqa, xxiv; ii,
6o8.
Tegiider, son of Mochi, ii, 608, 618.
Tekechiik, 132, 133 ; ii, 405, 464.
Tekish, Khorazm-Shah, xv, 49^., 162,
277, 289-315* 339, 357; ii, 390.
Tekshi, ii, 586.
Termige-Otchigin, 39^., 42.
Temiijin, io., 35 39-
Temiijin-Uke, 35., 40/1.
Temiir Elchi, ii, 494-5, 502.
Terniir Malik, 91-5 ; ii, 401.
Temiir Noyan, 264 ; ii, 558.
Temiirjin, 35^.
T c enal Nuin, 90^.
Teng-chou, 247^.
Tengiz-Khan, ion.
Tergen, 79^.
Terken, daughter of Sultan Jalal-ad-
Din, ii, 468.
Terken, mother of Sultan-Shah, 289.
Terken Khatun, mother of Sultan
Muhammad Khorazm-Shah, 79,
124, 339, 349, 358 ; ii, 394 4 6 5~8.
Termez, 129^. See Tirrniz.
TVris-tsikhe, ii, 429/1.
Teval, 266.
Tha'labi, ijn.
Thamud, 17, 72 ; ii, 528.
Thuatemur, 184^.
Tibet, 190.
Tibetans, 21, 57, 196.
T^ien Shan, 57^,
Tiflis, ii, 429, 431, 432, 433, 434 435,
524.
tigm, 56., ii4.
ftlw, 345-
tikisbmisbi, ii, 515, 579, 636, 724.
TIrah, ii, 407.
tirek, 309.
Tirrniz, 129, 143, 153, 286, 330-1;
ii, 378, 462.
Tiumen (Tsars of), 1840.
togba, 249.
Toghachar Kiiregen, 174-5, 177.
togban, 6in.
Toghan, ii, 580.
Toghan Khan, 275.
Toghan-Shah, 291, 293-4.
Toghan-Toghdi, 308.
Toghashi, ii, 587.
Togha-Temiir, 184; ii, 594. See
also Toqa-Temiir.
togbra, monogram, royal signature, 154,
329.
togbraq, 263 n.
Toghril, i.e. Wang-Khan, 35^.
Toghril II, the Seljuq, xv, 299, 302-3 ;
ii, 424.
Tokmak, 58^.
Tolan Cherbi, 82. ; ii, 476.
cc* ii.
759
GENERAL INDEX
toll, 40rt.
Toll, 40, 43, 98, 103, 131-2, 150-2,
160-2, 176-8. See also Ulugh-Noyan.
Tolui, xxxi, 40. See Toll and Ulugh-
Noyan.
Tonquz, ii, 494, 500.
To'oril, 35.
T c o-pa, 279tf.
toq, 6i.
Toqashl, ii, 586, 588.
Toqa-Termir, 249; ii, 563, 568. See
also Togha-Temiir.
Toq-Buqa, 6i.
Toqochar, 174-5/1.
Toqta, 6m.
Toqtamish, 6in.
Toq-Temiir, 6in.
Toqto'a Beki, 6i., 62., 69^.
Toq-Toghan, 61, 69, 81 ; ii, 370.
Toquchar, 174/2.
Toquz-Temiir, 343
Torah, ii, 646.
Torbei, 46, 166.
Torbei Toqshin, 46/1., 139, 141-2 ; ii,
413.
Toregene, xviii, 48, 239-44* 245, 248,
251 ; ^504, 507, 538.
Torelchi, ii, 506/1., 6o8., 6ri.
Tort-Aba, 343, 349, 35*-
Tossuc, 400.
Tosuccan, 40/7.
tofit, 14, 59-60, 225 ; ii, 599.
toz, 55.
Transoxiana, 9, 13, 44 95-7 I0 9,
341-9, 35<5; ii, 375 ~<5 597 600.
Ts c ai-chou, 195^.
Tuatemur, i84.
Tiibe'ut, ii, 48 8.
Tu-chueh (Western), 57^.
Tughla, 55.
Tuini, 14^.
Tiikel Bahadur, ii, 714.
Tukel Tegin, 56.
Tula, 35-> 55-
Tulak, 317.
Tumeliin, 174 ~5., i77.
tiimen, 31, i3, 192, 254; ii, 511, 518,
585> 595-
Tiimen, ii, 498, 500.
Tumen-Aryk, 86.
Tun, 3i4. ; ii, 615.
Tunakabun, ii, 626tf.
Tungat, ii, 609.
Tunocain, 314; ii,
Turan, xxxii, 54^.
Turbat-i-Haidarl,
Turbat-i-Shaikh Jam, I45., 222.,
Turcoman(s), 90, 154, 158-60; ii,
446, 462-5, 709.
Turfan, 45 .
Turghai, ii, 371/1.
Turkestan, ' the land of the Turks ', 10,
25, 44, 58, 109 ; ii, 597, 609, 703.
Turkmen Bitikchi, ii, 586-7.
turqaq, 226.
Turshiz, 314-15^337-
turumtai, 242^. ; ii, 518^.
Turumtai, ii, 518, 521.
Tus, 145, 151, 173-4, 175-6, 293, 304,
316, 319; ii, 484, 501, 508, 518,
523, 536-7, 542, 616, 644.
Tus (Shrine of), i.e. Meshed, 170, 337-
Tushi (Jochi), 40, 42, 69, 76, 83, 86.,
124, 139, 140, 266; ii, 482, 491.
See also Ulush-Idi.
*Tushi, envoy of Qara-Khitai, 342.
Tustar, 34; ^, 421, 47i-
T e u-su-hu ch c eng, 21 3.
Tutar, ii, 608, 612, 618, 627.
Tut c ar, ii, 6o8.
Tuthar, ii, 6o8.
tutmach, ii, 505.
tuz$u 9 102, 130, 144, 158, 213, 218;
ii, 500, 609, 616.
Tuzghu-Baligh, 213.
u, I02.
? Ubaidallah al-Mahdl. See MahdI.
Ubchiqtai Giirin Ba'atur, ii, 581^.
ubna, 59.
ucb, 64.
Ucha, 328; ii, 414, 415.
Uchagan, 256/7.
Uduyit-Merkit, 240/1.
"Uguriinchi, 52.
760
GENERAL INDEX
Uhatai, ii, 558. ttstukban-kbar (u$tukbwan-khwar)> ii, 389.
Uhaz-MerHt, 239^ ; ii, 558. Ustunavand, ii, 475.
Uighur, 7, 21, 25, 43, 44-61, 223-4 ; Ustundar, ii, 385, 460, 626, 716.
ii, 490, 597. Ustuva, 173; ii, 402, 543. See aha
t)ke, 4o. Ustu.
ukgb, 30 ; ii, 524, 599, 606, 621. 'Utbi, ii, 393-
Ulagh Khan, 121. c Uthman, the third Caliph, xv.
Ulaghchi, 268. Utuqa, 140.
Ulan Bator, 335**. Uzbeg Khans, 184^.
*uliifa, 144, 145, 173 ; ii, 502, 599, 609, Uzkend, 6^n.
622. Uzlaq-Sultan, ii, 401, 402-3.
e uluftt 9 30; ii, 617. al- c Uzza, 13.
ulugb-kitlkcbi, ii, 507, 509, 523.
Ulugh-Ef, ii, 504, 507, 536, 538, 563, Vaihind, ii, 645^.
586, 612. Vakhsh, 46, 118.
Ulugh-Noyan, 150, 180, 184, 186, Valishtan, ii, 462^.
187, 191-3 ; ii, 549-50. See d$o Valiyan, ii, 405.
Toli (Tolui). Vamiq, 345.
ulugb-sultan, ii, 421. Varkuh, ii, 472.
Ulugh-Taq, ii, 585. Vassaf, xxix.
ulus, 44., 86. Vazidan, in.
Ulus-Idi, 86. vaktl-khrj\ ii, 502.
ulttsb, 58. Victoria (Lake), 67-8^.
Ulush-Idi, 44., 86-90, 93. See also Victory (Gate of ), in Merv, 160.
Tushi (Jochi). vibara, 98^., 130/1.
e Umar of Kruzkuh, 293- Volga, 42/1., 2670. See Etil.
c Umar Oghul, 45. Voltaire, io.
e Umar-i-Khayyam. See Omar Khay-
'iSSiKd-Mutt. ii, 4 fe. J?? ^ ^ Imain ' "' 651 '
TT __ ,. Walian Koul, u, 405.
LJ nc, 35
T T tr wan?, 3 5#
unc Jxan, 35^.
c Unsuri, 312.
c Uraid, ii, 643. yabgku, 288w.
Urga, 335. Yafmch, 356.
Urganch, 123 ; ii, 491. Yaghan-Sonqur, ii, 483.
Uriangqat, 100. yai t 193.
Urmlya, ii, 428, 455. ydchi, 194.
urugh, 16; ii, 558, 560, 562, 577, 594. Yakubovsky (A.), I09.
Urungu, 26i. Yalavach. See Mahmud Yalavach.
Ushnu, ii, 428, 455. yarn, 30, 33, 34; ii, 501, 524, 599.
Ushturan-Kuh, ii, 383. Yama, I22.
Usman, Sultan of Samarqand, 324, Yarrun Malik. See Amin Malik.
342-3, 348-9, 350, 358, 359; ii, YanM, i.e. Tcfrildt-al-YmM, ii, 393.
392-6. yank, 30^.
Ustad Husain, ii, 679-80. Yangi-Kent, 83., 90.
Ustavand, ii, 680. Yao-U, 37i.
Ustu, ii, 617, 713. See also Ustuva. Yaqut, xv, 95^.
761
GENERAL INDEX
yarghu, 50 ; ii, 497 498, 499, 54 5 I 3>
523.
yargbucbi, ii, 581, 584.
yartigb, xvii, xix, xxi, 121, 145, 255,
264 ; ii, 482, 485, 487, 488, 491.
yasa, (Mongol) custom, law, ordinance,
passim.
Yasa'ur, one of Chingiz-Khan's com-
manders, 46, 1 1 8.
Yasa'ur, one of the conspirators against
Mongke, ii, 580.
Yasa'ur, one of Hulegii's commanders,
ii, 712-13.
Yashmut, ii, 612.
yastuq, 2$n.
yasun, ii, 574-
Yatmas, ii, 43 6n.
Yazdajird, 340.
Yazid I, the Umayyad Caliph, ii, 528,
641.
Yazir, 151, I<58, 338 ; ii, 483, 616.
Yegii, i84.
Yeh-lii Liu~ku, ii, 370-10.
Yeh-lii Ta-shih, 290^., 354- 355-
Yeke, ii, 483, 585-
Yeke-Noyan, I50.
Yekii, 184.
Yeme, ioi., 118, 142-9, 158, 173 ;
ii, 380, 385. See also Jebe.
Yemek, ii, 465/1.
Yemen, ii, 649, 667.
Yenisei, 2i., 69.
Yesu, 249, 251, 255, 265, 273-4; ii-
587, 588, 590. See also Yesii-
Mengii.
Yesii-Buqa, ii, 558.
Yesu-Mengii, 249/1. ; ii, 566, 586.
See also Yesu.
Yesu Mongke, 247^., 249^.
Yesiiliin, 272.
yestin, 24.91*1.
Yesiingei, 184.
Yesiingge, 184^.
Yesiinjin, 40.
Yesiin-To'a, 249^.
Yesiinto'e, 249.
Yesiin-Toqa, 249 ; ^566,583,591-2.
Yesiinte'e, 249^.
Yezd, ii, 520, 621, 626, 669.
Yighnaq, 35-
Yi-lieh (the Emperor), 290^., 357.
Yima, i22.
yperpera, ii, 70 in.
Yughank, 350.
Yulduzchi, ii, 435, 439, 454-
Yunis Khan, 304, 305, 307.
yurt, i.e. apanage of Mongol prince,
4*~3-
yurt, i.e. felt tent, 113.
Yiiriin-Tash, ii, 674.
Yusuf, brother of Bu-'Abdallah Sufi
Muhtasib, ii, 650.
Zabulistan, 328^.
Zafir, the Fatimid Caliph, ii, 663.
Zahhak, 4^., I22., 349-
Zahid-i-Ahu-Push, 283-4.
Zahir, the Fatimid Caliph, ii, 657-8.
Zahlr-i-Faryabi, ii, 599.
Zaid, the son of f All, ii, 641.
Zaid Hasani, ii, 679-80.
Zain~ad-DIn f Ali Kuchiik, ii, 702.
Zal, the father of Rustam, 243. ; ii,
402,411, 593-
Zamakhsharl, ijn.
zamharir, 366.
Zandan, 77^.
Zandana, 77^.
zandamcbt, 77.
ZangI (the atoleg), ii, 365.
Zanjan, ii, 702.
az-Zaqqum, 6in.
Zarnuq, 98-100.
Zarqa of Yamama, 100-1.
Zava, 144; ii, 615.
Zavulistan, 328.
Zemarchus, 57^.
Zhukovsky (V. A.), 46.
Ziaddin, I02.
zindfq, ii, 66o.
Zir-i-Pul, 298.
Ziya-ad~Din, official of the Ghurids,
' 316.
Ziya-ad-DIn c All, 163-5.
Ziya-ad-DIn Farsi, 346.
Ziya-al-Mulk Zuzam, 145, 172.
762
GENERAL INDEX
Zoroaster, 540., n6n. Zurabad, 152.
Zub4at-at-Tawarfkh t 312. Zurabad, 152^.
Zuhrabad, 152^. Zufnukh, 98.
Zujaji, ii, 545. Zuvara, ii, 675.
Zulalkha, 252^. ; ii, 393. Zuzan, ii, 404.
Zul-Fiqar, ii, 427. Zuzan (the malik of), 3351 "* 365, 469,
Zul-Qarnain, 347 ; ii, 646. 475.
763
124384
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