The Nāṣirī Generations 149.3
Tabakat-i-Nasiri 149.3
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149.3.1
Sultan Sanjar made him one of his associates and boon companions, and there was no pleasure-party without the presence of ’Ala-ud-Din, until one day, during a banquet, the sight of ’Ala-ud-Din fell upon the sole of Sultan Sanjar’s foot, who, seated on his throne, had extended one of his legs, upon the sole of the foot of which there was a large mole. He arose, kissed the mole, and improvised the following lines : — “Verily the dust at the gate of thy palace is [my] diadem. And [this], the collar of thy service, is my adornment. In the same manner as I kiss the mole on the sole of thy foot, Even so good fortune [likewise] salutes my head.”
149.3.2
This anecdote has been already related in the account of Sultan Sanjar’s reign. The latter gave him back again the throne of Ghur, and he commanded that stores, treasure, all his herds of horses and camels and cattle, and flocks of sheep, his own personal property, should be made over to ’Ala-ud-Din ; and Sultan Sanjar said : — ’Ala-ud-Din, thou art in the condition of a brother to me. Return, and take all these things — cattle and treasure — along with thee, and remove them to the country of Ghur. If the divine decree should in such wise will, that this host of Ghuzz should be overcome, and we should obtain the victory, when these things shall be demanded of thee, send them back to me ; but otherwise, if it should turn out that my dominion shall have come to an end, and the thread of the empire’s regularity shall have been severed, it is far better that these things should remain with thee than that they should fall into the hands of the Ghuzz.
149.3.3
During this period of Sultan ’Ala-ud-Din’s absence from the capital of the kingdom of Ghur, a number of the Amirs, Maliks, and the great men and judges of the Jibal [mountain tracts] and of the territory of Ghur, had agreed together to bring Malik Nasir-ud-Din, Husain, son of Muhammad, of Madin, who was the brother’s son of ’Ala-ud-Din, and place him upon the throne of Firuz-koh. A body of disobedient persons of the territory of Kashi, who excel all the rest of the people of Ghur in arrogance and obstinacy, had committed great violence, and by their turbulence and clamour, under pretence of grants, gifts, alms, and robes of distinction, had appropriated the royal treasure and property. When Sultan ’Ala-ud-Din came towards Ghur from Khurasan with all that treasure, cattle, and wealth [conferred upon him by Sultan Sanjar], he first proceeded in the direction of the territory of Kashi, destroyed the whole of their Kushks [fortified villages], which exceeded a thousand Kasrs in number, and every one of which, in strength and height, was such, that the decision of conjecture and conception could not admit a plan of it.
149.3.4
After having taken vengeance upon the rebels of the Kashi territory and other mountain tracts, he [’Ala-ud-Din] returned to the capital Firuz-koh, and, before his reaching it, they had killed Malik Nasir-ud-Din-i-Muhammad, as will, subsequently, be recorded. When Sultan ’Ala-ud-Din arrived at Firuz-koh, and [again] seated himself on the throne of his ancestors, he turned his attention to the making of fresh conquests. He brought under his sway the districts of Bamian and Tukharistan, and seized the districts of Dawar, Jarum, and Bust also; and, of Khurasan, took the fortress of Tulak, which is situated in the mountains in the vicinity of Hirat, after a period of six years. There was a poet within the fortress of Tulak, whom they called by the name of ’Umr-i-Saraj; and, when hostilities were about to come to an end, and the fortress of Tulak was about to be gained possession of by terms of accommodation, he composed some verses, two lines of which, which were deserving [of insertion], are here brought in:— Seated on horseback, galloping up-hill and down, Thy object is Tulak: lo! there is Tulak.” In their language, galloping up-hill and down-dale is called “Wurlak-Fulak.” “The mercy of God be upon them!”
149.3.5
From that place ’Ala-ud-Din turned his face to the conquest of Gharjistan; and took to wife the lady Hur Malikah, who was the daughter of the Shar, Shah [by name], son of Ibrahim, Shar, son of Ardashir, one of the Maliks of Gharjistan; and the valley of the Murghab river and [its] fortresses came into his possession. The fortress of Sabekji [or Sabegji], however, held out, and carried on hostilities [against him] for six years; and of this time, for a period of three years, he sat down continually before it, until it was given up to him. Towards the end of Sultan ’Ala-ud-Din’s life, Mulahidah emissaries came to him from Alamut, and he treated them with great reverence; and in every place in Ghur they sought, secretly, to make proselytes. The Mulahidah [heretic] of Alamut had set his ambition on subjecting the people of Ghur [to his heresy], and making them submissive. This fact became defilement which adhered to the train of the ’Ala-i robe of sovereignty. Of his life, however, but a short period remained, and he died, and they buried him by the side of his ancestors and his brethren. The Almighty forgive him!