that it was I who raised him to the command of his horde: that he had behaved ungratefully, deserted me, and joined Bayezyd Jelayr. But my words having no effect on him, and he proving unworthy of his Salt, I cursed him, and prepared for battle. Shykh Aly finding that his followers were more numerous than my soldiers, was puffed up with vanity, and advanced with boldness into the field. I formed my troops into three divisions, and made a rapid charge on the enemy; my first division fell among them like a stone among a flock of birds, and they all dispersed. After the flight of the chief, I easily took possession of the horde: whilst the fugitive Aly went and took refuge with Bayezyd Jelayr; in the end, God caused him to be a wanderer over the earth, till he came and begged my forgiveness. I pardoned him on account of his name (Aly), as it is a saying of the wise, "that when an enemy comes before you as a suppliant, and bends his knees, one should return thanks to God for having reduced him to his dilemma."

CHAPTER X.

In the year A. H. 763, (A.D. 1362) I entered my twenty-seventh year, on which occasion the great and the little, the chiefs of the villages of the hordes and tribes of all Maveralnaher paid their respects to me, and humbly represented that they had no monarch who would redress their wrongs: for, in every district, and every town, there was some tyrant, who unjustly plundered them, and seized on the property of the Muselmans; their patience was quite exhausted, and that they should certainly abandon the country, unless some Sovereign was placed on the throne, who would protect them. In consequence of this representation, I wrote a letter to Amyr Hussyn (his brother-in-law) who was then in possession of Badukhshān, asking him "if he had the courage to join me in clearing the country of Maveralnaher from all its petty tyrants, and in relieving the wretched servants of God from the hands of their brutal oppressors, that if he would do so, we might then divide the kingdom in a brotherly manner, and thereby gain great fame and celebrity." He promised to do so, but immediately began to enter into treacherous schemes against me, wishing first to over-set me, and then to subdue the other petty Princes. Finding Amyr Hussyn thus bent upon my ruin, and that I had evident proofs of his treachery, I wrote a letter to Tugleck Timur Khān, (Prince of the Jetes, and a descendant of Jengyz Khan, who was the absolute sovereign of Tartary) stating that "the country of Mave"ralnaher was now desolate, and only inhabited by kites and crows, but that if he would assist me, I would render it productive."

As soon as my letter reached the Khan, he drew out his forces and marched with an innumerable army towards Maveralnaher; and when he arrived on the

bank of the (Sihun) Khujend river, he sent me a letter, stating, " that he was encamped with his innumerable and valiant army on the banks of the Khujend, "that I should join him, but in the mean time inform him what further measures were advisable." At this time Bayezyd Jelayr put on the girdle of loyalty, and advanced to pay his respects to his sovereign, but leaving the city of Samerkund under charge of a deputy: as soon as he was presented at Court, the keys of the city were demanded from him, and as he delayed giving them up, the Khān ordered that his head should be struck off; this was immediately carried into execution, and the head was sent to Samerkund. Hajy Berlās, who at first intended to oppose the Khan, was so terrified by the punishment of Bayezyd, that he took to flight, and sought refuge in the city of Kesh, but sent orders to his horde and his dependants to leave the country. He now repented of his conduct to me, acknowledged his folly, and asked my forgiveness, and then went across the Jihun.

At this time, Tugleck Timur Khān detached a part of the army of Jetteh to pursue the horde of Hajy Berlās, and a great battle took place between the contending parties on the banks of the Jihun: on this occasion, Chugham Berlās, who was one of the Omrahs of that tribe, highly distinguished himself, and so occupied the royal army as to enable the tribe with their cattle, to cross the river in safety, except himself, who while defending the rear guard, was cut down by some of the soldiers of Jetteh. In the mean time, Hajy Berlas crossed the river in safety, and marched the horde towards Khurasan; when he entered that country, he behaved unkindly to the inhabitants, and began to be guilty of oppression and injustice; he also exacted tribute from the wandering tribes of Sebzwar, on which account several skirmishes took place, and the villagers having by surprise seized Aydku Behader, the brother of Hajy Berlās, put him to death; they also seized the Hajy and put an end to his existence. As I was at that period in possession of Khurasan, I assigned the district of Jaser for the support of the dependants and followers of the Hajy.*

When the letter of Tugleck Timur, desiring my immediate presence, reached me, it was also reported that Amyr Hamyd, who was the Khan's (chief counsellor) had said to him; "in every town and district of Maveralnaher, there is a separate ruler, they have at least thirty thousand cavalry among them, to oppose whom, we have been obliged to make numerous detachments; it is, therefore, quite requisite that you should prevail on Amyr Timur to join you, for if he should unite with these petty rulers, they will be too many for us; we must, therefore, hasten his arrival, and as he is a very sensible man, let us consult him on the best measures to be pursued."

* Hajy Berlas was his uncle.

It was in consequence of this advice that the Khan wrote me a brotherlike letter, which induced me to make immediate preparartions for joining him.

The determination that I made on the subject of visiting Tugleck Timur, was this; I resolved to write letters to all the principal inhabitants, heads of villages, elders of the tribes and hordes of Maveralnaher, stating to them, "that whoever wished to save his life and property from being destroyed and plundered by the armies of Jetteh, should immediately repair to me; but those who declined this offer, ought to quit the country without loss of time." In consequence of this invitation, the greater number of the chiefs and principal inhabitants came to me, bringing with them a number of curiosities and presents; as soon as they were all assembled, I proceeded with them and all my own soldiers and dependants, carrying various presents, and paid my respects to the (Khan) Emperor on the banks of the Khujend river: he received me most graciously, and when he saw the presents, his eyes were satiated; he then consulted me what was requisite to be done, I told him "that I had agreed for so many thousand Durusts,* as the revenue of Maveralnaher, and that he had only to appoint collectors to realize the portion of each district, and to punish those who refused payment."

He approved of my advice, and after he had taken possession of the throne of Maveralnaher, he again consulted me, on the best mode of preserving his authority; I said to him, "sovereignty is like a tent, the poles of which should be justice, the ropes equity, and the pins philanthrophy, in order that it may stand firm (against the blasts of adversity);" he was much pleased with this metaphor, and I continued, " you must secure the soldiers of this country in the bonds of kindness, that if they survive the war, you may find them act like men, and if killed, they may die in your service;" I further said, "the good of Maveralnaher are very good, and the bad are very bad; do you reward the good with goodness, and leave the bad alone, for evil shall overtake the wicked.'"

،

At this time, intelligence was brought, that the Amyr Hussyn had collected a very large army in Badukhshan; on hearing this, the Khan was ashamed of his former conduct to me, asked my pardon, and gave me the entire command of all the country, and all the hordes of Maveralnaher, with the city of Subz, and the Samerghanat, as far as the city of Balkh; he also left me in full possession of all my hereditary rights over my own tribe of Berlas, and other clans.

As it was now certain that Amyr Hussyn was resolved to oppose Tugleck Timur, and had boldly advanced as far as the river Vahesh for that purpose, the Khān became thoughtful, and asked my advice. I said to him, the state of the case is this, as in addition to the forces of Badukhshān, Amyr Hussyn has been joined

* A gold coin.

by the rulers of Khutelan and Bakelan, he therefore feels bold enough to contend with you, the best plan is this, send the commission of Governor of the fortress of Shadman and of the district of Khutelan to Ky Khuseru, the chief who commands the first line of Amyr Hussyn." The Khan approved of this advice, sent off the commission by a trusty messenger, and then marched towards the enemy. When he reached the Iron Gate, and had pitched his camp, the advance guard of Amyr Hussyn came in sight; the Khān immediately ordered his advance under Beg Chuck, to oppose the enemy; but when the two Heravuls met, Ky Khuseru deserted with all his followers, and joined the imperialists.

When Amyr Hussyn saw the state of his first line, he attempted to draw out the remainder of his army, but his right and left wings being panic struck, took to flight; thus Tugleck Timur gained an easy victory, and the army of Jetteh plundered all the hordes and tribes of those districts, whilst Amyr Hussyn retreated towards Samerkund.* The mind of the Khan being thus at ease with regard to Amyr Hussyn, he returned to Samerkund, and having entered the city, put to death Myan Kūly Selduz; and being now in possession of the whole kingdom of Maveralnaher, all the chiefs of cities, and the heads of all the nomade tribes were obliged to submit to his authority, whilst the rebellious, and all the petty tyrants who reckoned themselves as Sultāns, were annihilated: a few of them, who had not been guilty of any gross impropriety, were taken into favour, and ordered to join my army.

When the country of Maveralnaher was thus cleared of all the petty tyrants, I returned thanks to God that what I had wished to do, was thus effected by his decree, and all my adversaries punished.

At this time I deliberated with myself how I should induce Tugleck Timur to quit the country, and leave me in possession of it. I therefore suggested to him that Khurasan would now be an easy conquest, that in fact he had only to send his army across the river Amū, (Jihūn) and that he would meet with no opposition. He approved much of my advice, and agreed to leave me in charge of Maveralnaher, whilst he should proceed to the conquest of Khurasan.

About this period, news was brought that in consequence of the Divine decree, the chiefs of the Desht Kipchak had rebelled, and had raised Beishky Aghlān, another descendant of Jengyz to the Khanship. On this occasion the Khan again consulted me; I said to him, " if you set out immediately, and proceed to the Desht before the rebels have gained strength, you may quell them easily, and preserve your authority over all the country, but if you procrastinate, you will * It has been before stated, that kund signifies a town, Samer was one of the ancient heroes of Persia. It is the Maracanda of the Greeks, and is situated in Lat. 39,37 N. Longitude 64,9 E. See Edinburgh Gazetteer.

I

be overwhelmed in misfortunes and calamities :" as he approved of my advice, he was lavish in his praises of my merit, and gave me the entire management of Maveralnaher, but appointed his son Alyas Khuajē the nominal governor.

When I objected to this proceeding, he shewed me the agreement between our ancestors Kajuly Behader, and Kubel Khān.* In consequence of which, I accepted the office of (Sepah Salar) Commander in Chief, and he gave orders to all the officers of Jetteh, to be obedient to my authority; after which, he set out to quell the mutiny of the troops in the Desht Kipchak.

As Alyas Khuaje had no talents for government, the troops of Jetteh soon began to exercise cruelty and injustice over the inhabitants of Maveralnaher, murdering and plundering the towns-people and farmers; I therefore lost no time in reporting these circumstances to the Khan, and complained to him of the malconduct of his soldiers: in reply to this, he wrote an imperial edict," that I "should exercise my authority as Commander in Chief; that I should put his son "under any restraint I liked; that any of the Jetteh officers who were disobe"dient to me, I should severely punish, and that every person guilty of injustice "should be compelled to make retribution in proportion to his offence." Finding myself thus absolute ruler of all the country of Maveralnaher, as well as of the nomade hordes and tribes, I forbade Alyas Khuajē, or any of his officers from exercising authority over the natives: on this account, the sinews of their enmity were excited against me, and anger converted their hearts into blood; they therefore commenced practising every kind of cruelty and injustice, and carried their tyranny to such a degree, that they carried off four hundred virgins from the city of Samerkund; they also made captives of seventy of the descendants of Muhammed, belonging to Termuz, and converted them into slaves to wait on them.

In consequence of these proceedings, the principal inhabitants of Maveralnaher surrounded me, and said, " is it to be borne by Muselmans that these Jetes should carry off four hundred of their daughters from Samerkund, and make slaves of them; but if this is not sufficiently disgraceful, how much worse is it to permit them to seize the descendants of the Prophet, (on whom and on his descendants be grace), young men who are firm in their belief, that there is no God but God, and that Muhammed is the messenger of God,' without any fault; shall we who daily repeat his holy creed, and hope to be received through his intercession into Paradise, and shall we suffer these scoundrel Jetes to take them away without making any exertion for their delivery?"

On hearing these words, my Muselman honour was roused, and I first sent

* See printed copy in the Institutes, page 25.