The Nāṣirī Generations 104: X. MALIK TAJ-UD-DIN, BINAL-TIGIN, KHWARAZMI.

104

Malik Taj-ud-Din, Binal-Tigin, was of the same family as the Maliks [sovereigns] of Khwarazm, and was a son of one of the maternal uncles of Sultan, Khwarazm Shah; and, at the period that the Sultans of Ghur took Nishapur, Taj-ud-Din, Binal-Tigin, with his cousin, Malik Firuz-i-I-yal-timish, came into Hindustan.
At the time of the irruption of the infidels of Chin, and consequent calamities, this Taj-ud-Din was in the service of Bahram Shah. of Malik Karim-ud-Din, Hamzah, at Nag-awr of Siwalikh. All at once he sought an opportunity, slew Khwajah Najib-ud-Din; and an elephant, which was there, he sent on in advance, and then set out towards Uchchah, and joined Malik Nasir-ud-Din, Kubajah. When Sultan Jalal-ud-Din, Mangabarni, Khwarazm Shah, reached the territory of Sind, Taj-ud-Din, Binal-Tigin, left Uchchah and went and joined Sultan Jalal-ud-Din. He accompanied him into the territory of Kirman; and, in that country, the district of Khuk and Luk was entrusted to his charge. As the rival Maliks of Nimroz were struggling against each other, the grandson of Nasir-ud-Din, ’Usman, whom they styled by the name of Shah, sought assistance from the Malik of Kirman, who was the chamberlain, Burak, Khita’i. He despatched Malik Taj-ud-Din, Binal-Tigin, to Neh, to his aid, in the year 623 H., and, when he reached that place, he rendered him assistance, and assumed the authority himself, and took possession of the territory and city of Neh on his own account.
A body of people from the city of Sistan presented themselves before him, and sought his help and assistance, saying that, as they had killed Malik Shihab-ud-Din, and Sistan remained without a ruler, he should take Shah 'Usman to Sistan and set him up there. Taj-ud-Din, Binal-Tigin, accordingly moved to Sistan, took possession of the city, and brought the territory of Nimroz under his own sway.
At this juncture, Malik Rukn-ud-Din, of Khaesar of Ghur, despatched this, his dependent, Minhaj-i-Saraj, from Ghur, on a mission to Malik Taj-ud-Din, Binal-Tigin. The author found him at the city of Farah, in Dawari, and waited on him; and a firm compact was concluded. After returning from thence, and reaching Ghur again, between Malik Taj-ud-Din and the Mulahidah heretics hostility arose, and an engagement ensued between them, and he was defeated. After this, he returned to Sistan again, and overthrew a body of Khariji schismatics who had revolted against him.
In the year 623 H., the author of this work was despatched a second time, and he proceeded again to his presence; and, after that, Taj-ud-Din came himself into Ghur, and took possession of the fortresses of Tulak and Isfirar; and, in this same year, after his return from Nimroz, the author had occasion to undertake a journey into Hind.
In the year 625 H., an army of Mughals advanced into the territory of Nimroz a second time; and Taj-ud-Din, Binal-Tigin, was invested within the walls of the fortress of Arg of Sistan. For a period of nineteen months he defended the place; and the whole of his followers with him in that stronghold, consisting of Ghuris, Tulakis, Sigizis, and Turks, all perished. Taj-ud-Din himself received an arrow in one of his eyes, and he straightway fell from the battlements to the ground, and became a captive to the Mughals.
The fortress was taken, and the remainder of the people within the walls were martyred; and Taj-ud-Din, Binal-Tigin, was brought from Sistan to the fortress of Safhed Koh, and at the foot of the walls of that castle they martyred him. The mercy of the Almighty be upon him!