The Nāṣirī Generations 256.7
Tabakat-i-Nasiri 256.7
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256.7.1
On the death of I-yal-Arsalan, there were two claimants to the throne—his two sons, Jalal-ud-Din, Sultan Shah, and ’Imad-ud-Din, Takish Khan, who was the eldest son; but he, not being sufficiently powerful to oust the former, who, with his mother — a strong-minded woman — was in possession of the capital, and being at that time absent in charge of the territory of Jand, which his father had taken from Kamal-ud-Din, Arsalan Khan, son of Mahmud, and annexed, entered the territory of the third Gur Khan, and sought her help to recover his patrimony. She agreed to aid him, on the stipulation that, on his being put in possession of Khwarazm, he should pay over a certain amount of treasure, and a yearly tribute afterwards. A large army was accordingly despatched to support Sultan Takish, and put him in possession, under the command of her husband, Raima or Farmae, — had caused the overthrow of the forces of Khita. and, in by name, who conducted the affairs of her empire. In the Jami’-ut-Tawarikh he is styled Farmae Aka. Sultan Shah and his mother fled, and Takish was put in possession of the capital, in Rabi’-ul-Akhir, 568 H. [the end of December A.D. 1172].
256.7.2
It is evident, from this, that this female Gur Khan must have reigned a considerable time, since she was, at this period, living, and lived for a considerable time subsequently, for, not long after, the Kara-Khita-i ruler sent to demand more tribute from Sultan Takish than had been previously stipulated, and, her envoy having behaved in a manner it was impossible to overlook, Takish put him to death, notwithstanding he was one of the most distinguished of the Khita-is. On this, hostilities broke out between Takish and the Gur Khan, which the former's brother, Sultan Shah, taking advantage of, left Ghur, where he then was, and hastened to the presence of the Gur Khan, and sought assistance from her. This was in 569 H. Our author distinctly states that the Ghurian Sultans treated Sultan Shah with honour, but plainly refused to aid him against Takish with whom they were in alliance [see page 245, and also note 2, page 239, para. 2], and our author was certainly well acquainted with Ghurian affairs generally. Mr. Howorth [Journal Ro. As. Soc.], in the article before referred to, quotes Visdelu, but, if Visdelu ever styled Mu’ayyid-ud-Din — which title signifies "The Aider of the Faith" — the A’inah-dar, or Mirror-Bearer, by the impossible and meaningless names of Umayyid i Aimakdur" the value of his authority is clearly indicated.
256.7.3
The assistance sought by Sultan Shah was granted by her [the Gur Khan] in 574-5 H. [A.D. 1178-9], and again Farmae was sent with an army, but the success was only partial. The particulars will be found in note, page 239, and note, page 246. According to the authorities from which I take this account, the female Gur Khan now began to violate the laws and ordinances of the state, and to abandon herself to sensual desires, until matters went so far that the late Gur Khan’s brother, and the chief men in the empire resolved to rid themselves of her, and they put her to death along with her paramour.
256.7.4
It is very evident, from this, that she must have reigned many years, for, from the date of the first Gur Khan’s death, viz. 537 H., to the year in which she rendered aid to Sultan Shah, 574-5 H., is no less than thirty-eight years nearly, and therefore, had this been his wife, she must have been a very old woman, and her desires must have cooled. It appears to me, therefore — although all the Musalman writers, without exception, mention but three persons, two males and a female, as composing this dynasty, which lasted altogether ninety-five years, and has greater credit for its mighty power than it is entitled to — that the first Gur Khan must have been succeeded first, by his wife, and then by his daughter, Konik or Konayik. The date of her being put to death is not given, and, I fear, not to be discovered. Having put Konik or Konayik Khatun to death, they [the chief personages in the empire] chose one of the two brothers of the first Gur Khan, who were then alive, to succeed her, and the other, who was wont to embarrass and obstruct the affairs of the empire, was passed over. - - - Some authors state that it was the brother of the late Gur Khan — named Koman or Kuman — who accused her of living a dissolute life and thus brought about her destruction, and that he became the Gur Khan himself.
256.7.5
On his — Koman, or Kuman — becoming established in the sove- [one of] those battles, the Sipah-salar, Khar-jam, had reignty, he sent out Shahnahs [Intendants] into different parts, and appointed persons, with due discrimination, according to their different capacities, to various offices. Sultan Takish, Khwarazm Shah, had, on his deathbed, enjoined his son and successor, on no account to embroil himself with the Gur Khan if he desired to preserve the integrity and safety of his dominions, because, he said, he was a strong barrier between very powerful enemies, which should by no means be broken down. This refers to the Chingiz Khan, who, at this period, was becoming very powerful. When Sultan Muhammad, Khwarazm Shah, came to the throne, he continued for some time to transmit the tribute regularly as before, and friendship continued to subsist between him and the Gur Khan; and, when Sultan Mu’izz-ud-Din, Muhammad-i-Sam, Sultan of Ghur, became hostile to Sultan Muhammad, and invaded his dominions in 601 H., the Gur Khan despatched 10,000 men to the Sultan’s assistance under Baniko of Taraz [see pages 474 to 481 for our author’s account of it]; and before the gate of Andkhud [Andakhud] the Khita-is fought an engagement with the Ghuris, and overthrew them. On this occasion, Sultan ’Usman of Samrkand, the last of the Afrasiyabis, was present, as a vassal, with the Khita-i army: he had not, at that time, withdrawn his allegiance from the Gur Khan.
256.7.6
Now it was that Sultan Muhammad, Khwarazm Shah, being successful in all his affairs, considered it time to throw off the yoke of the Gur Khan, to pay tribute to whom, as an infidel, he considered a blot upon his sovereignty, more especially since the insolence of the Kara-Khita-is had reached such a pitch, that their envoy, who is styled Tonshi or Tunshi — and, by some, Tushi — probably Taishi, was his title [See also page 732, and note at page 866], presumed to seat himself upon the throne along with the Sultan. He accordingly withheld the tribute for two or three years, and manifested great tardiness in paying it. At length, the Gur Khan despatched, as his envoy, his Wazir, Muhammad-i-Tae, and others, to demand payment, including all arrears. When the Kara-Khita-i envoy reached Khwarazm [the site of this famous capital has for centuries been known as Urganj-i-Kubra — at which place the Russians have erected a fortress to protect their trade routes. Khiwak, anglicized Khiva, as it appears in Col. Walker’s last map is not Khwarazm. What appears there as “Kunia Urganj,” correctly, Kuhnah — old, ancient — Urganj, is the place], the Sultan had made his preparations for an expedition into Khifchak [our author, at page 254, says the Sultan’s mother was the daughter of Kadr Khan of Khifchak — other authors style her tribe Uranian — but he does not refer, in the least, to this expedition;
256.7.7
and, at page 260, calls the Gur Khan, by mistake evidently, Kulij Khan — unless Kulij was another of his titles, or an error for Koman — of Khitae, whose general was Baniko of Taraz], and was unwilling, at the same time, to disobey his late father’s last request, and, moreover, did not wish to give the Kara-Khita-is a pretext or an opportunity for molesting his dominions during his absence in Khifchak, while he felt it a disgrace even to acknowledge his liability to pay the tribute. On this account he had terms on the subject, but left the affair in the hands of his mother — the celebrated Turkan Khatun, whose subsequent misfortunes are so pitiable — and set out on his expedition into Khifchak, the particulars respecting which expedition are not related by any author with whom I am acquainted. attained martyrdom. The last of their armies which The Gur Khan took the bait, conferred great honours upon him, and gave him the title of Khan — Kojlak Khan.
256.7.8
Kojlak having departed, the Gur Khan, when too late, repented of having let him go, and sent out commands to have him recalled, but without effect. Kojlak assembled around him all the scattered Naeman tribe, and his fame became noised abroad: all, who were in any way connected with him in the Gur forces, also joined him, and he found himself at the head of a large army. On reaching I-mil, and Kaialik, he was joined by Tuk-Tughan, more respecting whom will be found farther on, the Amir or Chief of the Makrit Mughals of the Kaiat division, who had fled on hearing of the power of the Chingiz Khan; and, in concert, they began to plunder and devastate the country; and the Tumats, another Mughal tribe, dwelling near the frontier of Khita, also joined in the outbreak. The Chingiz Khan had to despatch troops against them, the details respecting which, not being connected with the fate of the Gur Khan, I reserve for their proper place farther on.