The Nāṣirī Generations 139.10

139.10

“In the year 401 H., Sultan Mahmud went on an expedition into Ghur against the infidels of that part, by way of Zamin-i-Dawar, taking along with him his two sons, Mas’ud and Muhammad, both at that time in their fourteenth year [they were not twins], and also their uncle [Mahmud’s youngest brother], Yusuf, then seventeen. “These three young Princes were left in Zamin-i-Dawar, with the heavy materiel and baggage, and Mahmud left them there because he considered that district auspicious, it having been the first territory entrusted to him by his father, Amir Sabuk-Tigin. The narrator of the preceding and following events, ’Abd-ul-Ghaffar, says, ‘my grandfather, who related this, was at that time in the service of Batikin, the Zamin-Dawari [i. e. of Zamin-i-Dawar], who was governor of that district on the part of Sultan Mahmud, and he [my grandfather] was directed to remain in attendance on the Princes.’ [There is not the slightest allusion either to Suri or his son here, although it is the year in which his son Muhammad is said to have been made captive by Mahmud] * * * * In 405 H., Mahmud began to make raids upon Khawanin, which is a tract of Ghur, adjoining Bust and Zamin-i-Dawar, in which were infidels exceedingly tall and strong, and they held many passes and strong fortresses. On this occasion the Sultan had taken along with him his son Mas’ud, and he then greatly distinguished himself, and showed many proofs of his manhood and valour.