The Nāṣirī Generations 133: SECTION XVII. · THE SHANSABANIAH SULTANS, AND THE MALIKS OF GHUR.
Tabakat-i-Nasiri 133
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SECTION XVII. · THE SHANSABANIAH SULTANS, AND THE MALIKS OF GHUR.
133.1
Minhaj-i-Saraj, Jurjani, the servant hopeful of the Divine mercy — the Almighty guard him from negligence and inadvertency! — says, with respect to this account of the Shansabaniah Maliks of Ghur, after this manner: — That the following pages are illumined with the sun of the illustrious race of the Sultans of Ghur, together with that of the offset of the fragrant tree of the Maliks of Ghur — may the Almighty God render their dust fragrant, and assign to them a habitation in Paradise! — in the manner of a record, from the dawn of the morning of their dominion, and the noon-day splendour of their sovereignty, together with the genealogy of their family, until the expiration of the empire of that princely house, and the last of the Maliks of that kingly dynasty — the mercy of the Almighty be upon those among them who have passed away — in such wise as masters have, in histories, made mention of them, in order that the robe of this chronicle may be adorned with an account of them, and also, in order that this [their] servant, and his priestly family, may acquit themselves of some portion of the debt of gratitude for benefits received, due unto those Sultans — the light of the Almighty illumine their tombs! — and, in order that such as may inspect these pages may, please God, derive profit and instruction.
133.2
Be it known, that that master of eloquence, Maulana Fakhr-ud-Din, Mubarak Shah, of Marw-ar-rud — the light of the Almighty illumine his tomb! — has strung the genealogical pearls of the Sultans of this dynasty on the thread of poetry, and, having arranged those pearls in perfect order, has affixed the head pearl of that string to the oyster-shell of the illustrious dynasty of Zuhak, the Tazi; and, from the time of those Sultans up to the first commencement of the sovereignty of Zuhak, he has mentioned the whole of them, father by father. This book their servant, Minhaj-i-Saraj, inspected in the year 602 H., before the exalted throne in the sacred haram [private dwelling] of that lady, the Princess of the Universe, and the most excellent of her day and of the age, the glory of the world and of the faith, the sovereign of all good qualities among the race of mankind, Mah Malik, daughter of the august Sultan, Ghiyas-ud-Dunya wa ud-Din, Abi-ul-Fath, Muhammad, son of Sam, Kasim-i-Amir-ul-Muminin—may the light of the Almighty illumine them! This Queen of the Universe used to bestow her fostering care and protection upon this frail creature [Minhaj-i-Saraj], and, in her own princely hall, as though he had been a child of her own, he was brought up; and, in his younger years, he used, day and night, to dwell within her haram, and, under her blessed sight, he used to receive instruction.
133.3
That princess was possessed of many virtues and endowments. First: she departed from this transitory sphere, and passed to the eternal mansion, within the veil of maidenhood. Second: she knew the whole of God’s word [the Kur’an] by heart. Third: she was a depository of all the traditions of martyrdom. Fourth: she used, once a year, to devote a certain period to religious exercises, and would repeat the whole Kur’an in two genuflexions of prayer. Fifth: when her father, Sultan Ghiyas-ud-Din, Muhammad-i-Sam, went to the mercy of the Almighty, for a period of seven years the light of the sun and of day never shone upon her, and she continued in constant and solitary prayer. The mercy of the Almighty be upon her, and may her happiness and her reward be ample in heaven!
133.4
In short, that master of eloquence, Maulana Fakhr-ud-Din, Mubarak Shah, has composed that genealogical list in verse, in the name of Sultan 'Ala-ud-Din, Husain, Jahansoz; and, at the outset, I heard from the sacred lips of that most excellent of her time, and Khadijah of the age, the Malikah-i-Jalali that, when some portion of the book and chronicle in question had been composed in verse, through a change which had showed itself in the temperament of Fakhr-ud-Din, Mubarak Shah, this poem was neglected by him until the time when the throne of the kingdom became adorned and beautified with the majesty and august splendour of Sultan Ghiyas-ud-Din, Muhammad-i-Sam, when this chronicle became graced with his name and titles, and was brought to completion.
133.5
The Chronicler relates after this manner:—The Almighty knoweth the truth!—that this dynasty are called Shansabanian with reference to their paternal ancestor [Shansab by name], who, after the removal of the sons of Zuhak, grew up in the country of Ghur, and attained great authority, power, and superiority, and acquired a name. The great probability is, that this personage lived in the time of the Khilafat of the Lord of the Faithful, 'Ali—may God reward him!—and that he received conversion to the faith at the hand of 'Ali himself, and that he took, from that Khalifah, a mandate and a standard; and to every one of that family, who used to sit upon the throne, that covenant which the Lord of the Faithful, 'Ali, had written, used to be presented to him, and he would agree to abide by it, after which he would become [legally] king. The family likewise were among the clients of the Khalifah 'Ali; and affection towards the High Priests of the family of the Chosen One used to be a firm tenet in their creed.