[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Dark Ages](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages) › [Delhi Sultanate (1206–1526)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.sultanate) › [Ṭabaqāt-i Nāṣirī](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.sultanate.tabaqat-i-nasiri) › [Tabakat-i-Nasiri](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.sultanate.tabaqat-i-nasiri~en-raverty) › 61 # The Nāṣirī Generations 61: II. MALIK DA'UD-I-JAGHAR BEG, SON OF MIKA'IL. Tabakat-i-Nasiri 61 - **Language:** English ### II. MALIK DA'UD-I-JAGHAR BEG, SON OF MIKA'IL. ### [61.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.sultanate.tabaqat-i-nasiri~en-raverty.61.1) When Da'ud, after leaving the presence of his brother Tughril, came for the purpose of taking possession of Marw and Sarakhs, Sultan Mas’ud was at Balkh, and he sent an agent to him \[Da’ud\] to see whether or not an accommodation could be brought about. At that time Da’ud was in the neighbourhood of Marw, with his forces, and it was he who was the mover in all this boldness and audacity. He advanced to the gate of Marw. It was at the dawn of the morning, and the Mu'azzin from the top of a Minarah was proclaiming this verse : — “ O Da’ud, verily we have made thee a sovereign prince on earth: judge therefore between men with truth.” Da'ud, hearing his own name, inquired of a learned person what was the meaning of this. The signification was explained to him, upon which he again drew his sword, and pressed forward after the troops of the Sultan, which were in Marw, and put the whole of them to the sword. At this period, when the Sultan's envoy from Balkh presented himself before him, a Mu’azzin at Marw was repeating this verse : — Thou givest dominion unto whom Thou wilt, and Thou takest away dominion from whom Thou wilt. ### [61.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.sultanate.tabaqat-i-nasiri~en-raverty.61.2) The envoy of Sultan Mas'ud perceived Da'ud, who had spread his felt saddle-cloth under him, seated on the ground, with his saddle placed on one side of him. Sometimes he would rest his head upon the saddle, and stretch himself out \[on the felt\] on the ground, and then again he would sit up, and support himself resting on his elbow. His quiver of arrows was placed near him, and at times he would draw forth an arrow from the quiver, and he would sharpen the head of the arrow, and then again he would smooth out the feathers of it. The envoy of the Sultan, having concluded his message, asked for an answer. Da’ud replied: — "What was this Mu'azzin calling out about 'Thou givest,’ 'Thou givest'? Write that down.” A scribe accordingly wrote down this verse on paper: — "Possessor of all power. Thou givest dominion unto whom Thou wilt, and Thou takest away dominion from whom Thou wilt; Thou exaltest whom Thou wilt, and Thou humblest whom Thou wilt,” &c., and gave it to the envoy. When the envoy reached the presence of Sultan Mas’ud, and made known to him the condition and mode of life of Da’ud, and placed before him the verse in reply to his message, he understood that the period of the sovereignty of the Mahmudi dynasty over the territory of Khurasan had come to an end, and, in his heart, he relinquished all hope of holding it. ### [61.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.sultanate.tabaqat-i-nasiri~en-raverty.61.3) The Saljuks having acquired Sarakhs and Marw, and being left in undisturbed possession of the whole of those districts, Da'ud determined to attack Upper Khurasan. Manifesting the utmost daring and boldness on that occasion, he again assembled together a force of 11,000 horse, and pushed on to the gates of Balkh, where the Sultan was at the time, with all his great nobles and his forces. An elephant was tied up in a place in the outskirts of the city, and an elephant-driver had fallen asleep upon the animal's back. Da’ud came during the night, unfastened the elephant, and drove it off, and, by the time the driver had awakened from his slumbers, the elephant had been taken away some five leagues, and the driver dared not utter a word. Da'ud \[then\] advanced with his forces from Shafurkan to 'Ali-abad of Balkh, and fought an engagement with the Sultan, but, notwithstanding all the efforts and endeavours of Da'ud, he was defeated. In the month of Shawwal of the year 439 H. the whole of the Saljuks assembled together, Tughril, Beghu, and Da'ud, and also the Nialts, and the Mas'udi and Mahmudi Turks, some of whom had joined the Saljuks. The Sultan marched from Balkh with his forces, and led them towards Marw and Sarakhs; and in the desert of Sarakhs an engagement ensued, which was contested from day-dawn until the time of afternoon prayer, when the Saljuks were overthrown. ### [61.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.sultanate.tabaqat-i-nasiri~en-raverty.61.4) The Sultan, after this, returned to Hirat; and the Saljuks, becoming aware of it, again sought an accommodation; and, as a matter of necessity \[on the part of the Sultan\], once more a peace was concluded. However, Sultan Mas’ud summoned troops, with all requisite stores and war-material, from Ghaznin; but, when those reinforcements reached him, famine prevailed in Khurasan, and there was a great scarcity of forage. The forces of the Sultan had become quite powerless and ineffective, and the horses and camels had grown weak and emaciated. The Sultan, with his whole army, advanced towards Tus; and Tughril retired from Nishapur, and fell back upon Sarakhs. ### [61.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.sultanate.tabaqat-i-nasiri~en-raverty.61.5) All the Saljuks now met together, and came to the unanimous conclusion, that they had no longer any power to oppose Sultan Mas’ud and his forces; and, as they had been defeated several times, that it was advisable to make terms with the Sultan, or otherwise to move towards the territory of ’Irak, and abandon Khurasan altogether. The lion-hearted Amir Da’ud, who had no compeer in loftiness of spirit and energy, said: — “Confidence is necessary in making conquests, even though it were necessary to devote \[one’s\] life a thousand times over. I have no means or appliances to depend upon save war; so — Sovereignty or destruction! — Victory or death!” When the Saljuk chieftains beheld this bold and intrepid bearing on the part of Da’ud, they coincided with him with one accord. Having come to this determination, they sent away all their families, and dependents, and effects, into the desert; while the horsemen, alone and unincumbered, took up a position on the skirt of the desert, at Dae-kan, prepared for war and conflict. When the Sultan reached the spot, the battle commenced; and for three days, from morning’s dawn to the setting of the sun, the conflict went on, until, on Friday, the 9th of the month of Ramazan, in the year 431 H., the troops of Sultan Mas’ud became hard pressed, and his own Turkish troops even began to give way legion after legion. Sultan Mas’ud was defeated; and the Saljuks gained the victory, and assumed independent sovereignty. ### [61.6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.sultanate.tabaqat-i-nasiri~en-raverty.61.6) After the battle was over, a throne was set up upon the battle-field itself, and Tughril became sovereign. Beghu proceeded to Marw, and Amir Da’ud led a force towards Tukharistan and Balkh, and subdued the territories of that region. Subsequently, Tughril and Da’ud marched into Khwarazm, and secured that country; and some time after they had brought those countries under subjection, Tughril died, and Da’ud entered into a treaty with the Mahmudis and the Sultans of Ghaznin, and became sovereign of Khurasan and the territories of ’Ajam, and the universe was given up to him. He reigned for a period of above twenty years, and died in the year 451 H., and the throne of sovereignty became adorned by the victorious Sultan, Alb-Arsalan, --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.sultanate.tabaqat-i-nasiri~en-raverty.61](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.sultanate.tabaqat-i-nasiri~en-raverty.61) · Pramāṇa