The Nāṣirī Generations 271.2.3

271.2.3

Howorth’s version of it is as follows: “The story of Raschid about the man standing on his head is explained by D’Ohsson who says, that, when the Mongols slaughtered a large number of people, in order to mark the number of the slain, a census in which they gloried, they put a corpse on its head on some elevated point for every thousand killed !” There is nothing like a bold translation perhaps when a person may be in doubt. At length, Shidarku, unable to make any further resistance, took to flight, much to the joy of the Mughals, who considered themselves fortunate in obtaining this success, and shut himself up in his stronghold, the city of Iriq or Irkia, but which Abu-l-Ghazi, Bahadur, in the Kazan edition of his work, styles Kachti. The Chingiz Khan remarked that, as Shidarku had been so utterly defeated in this battle, and his territory devastated, he would have no more strength left to him, since great part of his troops had been slain. So, holding him of little importance, and passing his city without molesting it [he must have left a force to watch it], but plundering, slaughtering, and devastating the territory of Kashin, the Chingiz Khan turned his face towards Khita, and, when spring came round, he determined to move against the territories of Tingnash—and Siurjah—but, before he could carry out his intentions respecting them, he had an awful dream which warned him that his end was near, and he became very much agitated in mind in consequence.