The Nāṣirī Generations 246: The Mughal or Mughal I-mak.

246

This I-mak was ruled over by nine persons, and from this circumstance the number nine is held in great veneration by the Mughals. The first was,
I. Mughal — or Mughul — Khan, second son of Alinjah, who was a chieftain of great dignity. It must be remembered, however, that nearly every one of the writers named at the head of this account wrote for, or under the reigns of, the Mughal sovereigns, and, consequently, nothing good is said of the Tattars. Mughal Khan had four sons:— 1. Kara Khan — 2. Awar, Awur, or Aor Khan — 3. Kin Khan — and, 4. Kur, or Gur Khan — also written Kur or Gur — With respect to the second and fourth sons' names, particularly with regard to the second, considerable difference exists in these Histories. Some call him Azar or Agur — perhaps Azar or Azur — is meant, others, Awaz or Awuz — Awas or Awus — And the fourth son is called Kuz, or Kawaz, Guz or Gawuz — and Kuz or Guz — &c., according to the vowel points, that may be used with the word when not marked in the original.
II. Kara Khan, eldest son of Mughal Khan, succeeded his father, and, in his time, most of the descendants of Turk were idol-worshippers, and but few followed the faith of their ancestors. During his reign a movement took place among his people, and he made subject the parts about Kara-Kuram, and the tracts lying between those two lofty mountain ranges which they call Ur-Tak — or Ur-Tak — and Kar-Tak — and some, War-Tak — and Kar-Tak, or, as — k is interchangeable with gh in Turkish words, it may be more correctly written Ur-Tagh or Ur-Tagh, and Kar-Tagh, or War-Tagh and Kar-Tagh — Tagh, in Turkish, signifying a range of mountains — and therein took up his yūrt — encamping Kara Khan was a tyrannical and odious infidel, and greatly feared and avoided. During his sovereignty he had a son born to him by his chief khatun, who received the name of Aghuz, which name refers to his refusal of nourishment from his mother's breast for three days and nights, according to the Mughal tradition—but I have not space to detail it here—because she too had become an infidel, the word Aghuz being said to mean the sound of milk taken from an ewe which has recently had young. It was usual among the Mughals not to name their offspring until they were a year old; but Aghuz turned out to be a most remarkable infant, and so he named himself, to the surprise of his parents, who were consulting upon what name to give him, crying out from his cradle; "My name is Aghuz."
Aghuz Khan grew up in the true faith, which his mother returned to, and his father, Kara Khan, discovering this, resolved to put him to death, and to take advantage of such time as Aghuz should be following the diversion of hunting in order to carry it out. Aghuz was married, in succession, to three daughters of his three uncles, one of whom adopted the true faith, and she gave him intimation of his father's design, and he, being in consequence joined by numerous partisans, kept aloof from his father. At last, however, a conflict ensued between the father and son, and Aghuz slew his parent. Abu-l-Ghazi says the father "was killed" during the rout of his followers.