The Nāṣirī Generations 59: SECTION XII. · The Dynasty of the Saljukiah.
Tabakat-i-Nasiri 59
- Language
- English
SECTION XII. · The Dynasty of the Saljukiah.
59.1
The author of the Tarikh-i-Sani, who was Ibn Haisam, has thus related ; that when the victorious Sultan, Mahmud-i-Sabuk-Tigin, crossed the Jihun, and the territory of Mawar-un-Nahr was left clear in his hands, Kadr Khan, who was the brother of the late I-lak [Khan], and of the Afrasiyabi dynasty, entered into negotiation with the Sultan. Between the two potentates treaties of alliance and amity were entered into, and confirmed and cemented, and an interview took place between them. After Kadr Khan had been received by the Sultan, the latter commanded, after the public reception, that the privy apartment should be cleared ; and they held private conference together, and consulted confidentially on all the affairs of Iran and Turan. Kadr Khan preferred many requests to the Sultan, one of which was that he would remove the son of Saljuk, the Turkman, with his followers and dependents, from the country of Mawar-un-Nahr and Turkistan into Khurasan. These followers and dependents of Saljuk and his son were a tribe whose dwelling-place was the Nur of Bukhara, and they were all subject and obedient to the Samani dynasty.
59.2
At the period in question the son of Saljuk had attained to man’s estate, and, on account of his prowess and valour, his arrow and his sword, all the Maliks of Turkistan and the Afrasiyabi rulers were continually in fear. Not a bird in the air nor a deer of the plain escaped his arrow; and, like a whirlwind and a thunder-cloud, he was wont to enter the chase or the conflict, and used to vanquish every man who entered into a personal contest with him. Upon this occasion when Kadr Khan joined and accompanied Sultan Mahmud, and all were in attendance at his stirrup, and proceeding towards the Sultan’s own tents, the son of Saljuk continued to ride on before them all, a Turkman cap placed jauntily on one side of his head, and bestriding a horse like the spur of a mountain, galloping about like a roaring lion, or the flickering lightning, in such wise that the forces of Turan and Iran were amazed at his agility and horsemanship. As Kadr Khan had requested of the Sultan, so it was carried out; and, at the very time that Kadr Khan set out on his return [to his own territory], they brought a mandate [from the Sultan] to the son of Saljuk to remain in his tent, and gave orders that his followers, with his and their effects, should cross the river Jihun into the confines of Khurasan in company with the Mahmudi forces. Agents were directed to take care of them, and look after them; and, when they reached the bank of the Jihun, they crossed the river along with servants of the Sultan.
59.3
At the time the command was issued that the son of Saljuk, along with his followers and dependents, should embark on boats, and pass over the Jihun with their property and effects, the Hajib, Arsalan Khan, who was the Amir [Governor] of Khurasan, and the greatest of the retainers of Sultan Mahmud, made a representation to that monarch, saying: “This which your Majesty has commanded is far from the cautious counsel of your servant, for, with your own hand, you have placed power in the hands of the enemies of your country, over the dominion of your descendants ; and, in the end, by this tribe, disorder and tumult will be brought upon the empire.” The Sultan, in reply, said: “What is your opinion in this matter?” The Hajib, Arsalan, answered: “My advice is this, that the whole of them be commanded to re-embark on board the boats, and then to sink them in the river; or otherwise to have their thumbs cut off, so as to render them incapable of discharging arrows in future.” Sultan Mahmud answered: “Arsalan, thou art a hard-hearted man, indeed ! To break one’s promise, and slay the helpless, are not acts becoming a sovereign who possesses any feelings of honour, or a man who has any magnanimity in his nature ;
59.4
and, moreover, destiny cannot be averted by perfidy any more than by valour.” However, after the son of Saljuk had been conveyed across the Jihun, it was commanded that he should be brought to Multan, while his kinsmen, and his other followers and dependents were assigned pasture-lands for their flocks and cattle in the territory of Khurasan, such as Nisa, Nishapur, Baward and other tracts in Upper Khurasan. As the Almighty had willed that, subsequently, this race should become great and powerful, and that from their posterity should spring puissant and mighty monarchs and rulers, notwithstanding Sultan Mahmud afterwards regretted what he had done, still regret was of no avail, for regret cannot avert destiny. Imam Abu-l-Fazl-i-Baihaki states in his Ta'rikh-i-Nasiri that, at the time that Sultan Mahmud carried across the Jihun four thousand Saljuk families, their Mihtars, or chiefs, were four persons, Yagh-mur Bukah, Kuk-tash, and Kazil, and in different parts of Khurasan pasture-lands were assigned to them, and they were made over to [the guardianship of] the great nobles of Khurasan, and instructions were given to them that the Saljuks should, in no way, and on no account, be permitted to carry arms. Their chief, who was the eldest son of Saljuk, and famous for his manhood, was sent to Multan, along with two of his sons likewise; and at Multan, after some time had passed away, they also died.
59.5
The remainder of the Saljuk tribe, who had remained behind in Mawar-un-Nahr, were in the habit every year of migrating from Nur of Bukhara to Darghan of Khwarazm to the pasture-lands therein. They entertained innate enmity towards the Malik [chief] of Jund, whose name was Shah; and, in the reign of Sultan Mas’ud, the Martyr, the Amir [Governor] of Khwarazm, the son of Altun-Tash, rebelled against the Sultan’s authority. The Saljuks joined him in that outbreak; and, in the year 425 H., he bestowed upon them a tract of country belonging to the territory of Khwarazm, which they call Rabat-i-Masah, as grazing ground for their flocks and herds. The chief of Jund, having received information as to their situation, made a raid upon them, and slew about eight thousand of the males, and but few of them remained, and they became totally at a loss as to what they should do in this state of affairs. The Governor of Khwarazm, Harun, the rebel, the son of Altun-Tash [with whom the Saljuks had sided, as before stated] had [lately] been killed, and they found it impossible to continue to dwell in the territory of Khwarazm; and, through fear of the sons of ’Ali Tigin, the late ruler of Bukhara, who was one of the Afrasiyabi Khans, or chieftains, they were unable to enter that territory. Out of necessity, therefore, they moved towards Nisa and Marw — in all about seven hundred horsemen — with their property, and their families and dependents.
59.6
Yagh-mur, who was one of their chiefs, had died previously to this, and a son of his remained; and, when that portion of the tribe [who had escaped the sword of the Malik of Jund] came towards Nisa and Marw from Khwarazm, the son of Yagh-mur was unable to cope with them, for, although they were weak in numbers themselves, other tribes, such as the Nialis and others, had joined them. The son of Yagh-mur [with his tribe, who had first crossed the Jihun] retired before them, and entered ’Irak, and seized upon Rai; and the Saljuks took up their residence in the grazing lands on the border of the desert [in the districts of Nisa and Marw]. The Almighty gave them strength and power, so that they possessed themselves of the territories of Khurasan; and the east, and the west, and whatever the dominions of Islam were, wholly and completely came under the sway of their descendants, in such wise that their fame will remain upon the records of time unto the judgment day.