The Nāṣirī Generations 128.1.1

128.1.1

Sultan ’Ala-ud-Din, Muhammad, had five sons; the first, Har-roz Shah; the second, Ghuri Shanasti; the third, Jalal-ud-Din, Mang-barni ; the fourth, Arzalu Shah ; and the fifth, ‘Ali Sultan. He was a great and potent monarch, wise, valiant, munificent, a patron of the learned, a conqueror, and impetuous ; and, whatever qualifications it was desirable a great sovereign and just ruler should possess, the Almighty had endowed him with. During the lifetime of his father, he bore the title of Kutb-ud-Din ; and, when his brother, Malik Khan, died, his father conferred upon him the throne of Nishapur, and Malik Sharaf-ud-Din, Mas’ud-i-Hasan, was appointed to be his Ata-bak or governor ; and, after some time, the command of the forces of Khwarazm was conferred upon him. On the side of his mother, likewise, he was a prince of [the house of] Kifchak and very great, his mother being the daughter of Kadr Khan of Kifchak ; and, from the days of his boyhood, the marks of intelligence and cleverness shone clearly and conspicuously on his brow. Every expedition on which his father sent him, in the direction of Jund and Turkistan, he brought to such a successful issue as was desirable, in fact even a better than could have been anticipated.