The Rashīdī History 104.1

104.1

At the time of my birth, which was in 905, and for which the chronogram Nur Chashm Shah has been found, the power of the Moghul Khakans was, compared with former times, on the increase; but at this period, the towns of Moghulistan (which is another name for Kara Khitai) fell into ruin, till in the beginning of the year 889, when Yunus Khan, [who affected] towns and cultivation, came into power. Most of the Moghuls had never possessed or even lived in a village — nay, had never even seen cultivation. They were as wild as the beasts of the mountains. The explanation of this is that the country of Shash, together with its dependencies, was under the rule of the Moghuls, as were also all the deserts of Moghulistán. It would be tedious to relate this here, but, God willing, it will be mentioned in the First Part of this history. My father was Muhammad Husain Kurkán, son of Muhammad Haidar Kurkán, son of the Amir, Lord of the Sword and the Throne, Sayyid Ali Kurkán, son of Amir Sayyid Ahmad, son of Amir Khudáidád, son of Amir Buláji. It was this Amir Buláji that introduced Islám, and changed the darkness of unbelief into the light of faith.