The Rashīdī History 197.2

197.2

One of these men was named Mazid, a person of evil ways, whom the Khan had at first favoured, but finding that he did not perform his duties in the posts to which he was appointed, the Khan deprived him of his rank. This person found it inconvenient to remain in Kashghar, so he approached Baba Sultan, and filled his ears with many idle tales, which Baba Sultan, from the vanity of youth, or rather from sheer ignorance, took for truth. Among other deceitful statements, he said to him: "It is a ruler of capability such as you, that Kashghar stands in need of, and everybody is seeking for a really good king. Wherever you go, the people accept you as Baba Shahi. Look, for example, at Sultan Avais in Khatlan-Hisar. Failing to find a good king, he set himself up on his own account, and now bows his head to no one. If you present yourself before him, he will make you king, while he himself will advance and take the whole of Badakhshan, and accomplish much that I cannot [now] explain. The truth of the matter is, that the sovereignty of Khorasan and Mavara-un-Nahr is far more important than that of Kashghar and Moghulistan [and you may attain it]." Such idle tales as these did he string together, and by persistence, made them appear reasonable. Thus was Baba Sultan duped by this man and one or two others of the same sort.