In this year A. H. 756, Amyr Kezān Sultān, son of Sūr Aghlān, held the
standard of sovereignty over the tribe of Chagtai,[40] and for fifteen
years had extended the hand of oppression over the people of
Maveralnaher, and placed his feet out of the path of justice and equity:
in consequence of his tyranny, his subjects were in a state of despair,
confining themselves to their houses, and praying for his death.
I was also much incensed by his bad conduct, and felt every inclination
to rebel against him, and take revenge of his cruelty, but I could not
find any body of consequence to join me; nor until I had distributed all
my wealth among them, could I prevail upon any person to unite with me,
whilst I was very much affected at the sight of their oppressed state.
At length Amyr Kūrgen, who was one of the greatest chiefs of the tribe
of Jagtay, rebelled against him, and in the year 746, (A. D. 1345)
fought with him in the desert of Derreh Zengy, but was defeated.
The tyrant having been successful, renewed his oppressions, and returned
to Kershy; this astonished the people, who expected that Providence
would have interfered in their behalf.
In consequence of such evil conduct, a Syed of Termuz said, “that as
long as Amyr Kezān retains these habits, he will never be conquered;”
the people therefore began openly to curse him, which only stimulated
him to fresh acts of injustice. Some of the effects of the malconduct of
this worthless monarch were:
1stly. A very severe frost, which destroyed the cattle.
2ndly. A total want of rain, in consequence of which the cultivation was
quite dried up, and the fruits were annihilated.
3rdly. A famine which swept off the people.
During the following year, Amyr Kūrgen having again recruited his army,
advanced towards Kershy, and having engaged the tyrant, defeated and
took him prisoner; he at first confined him, but at the end of two years
put him to death, and relieved the kingdom of Maveralnaher from his
oppressions.[41]
Amyr Kūrgen then took possession of the kingdom, restored much of the
property that had been unlawfully seized, and conducted himself with
equity; but as the nobles would not acknowledge his authority, I had
some intention of taking the sovereignty upon myself;[42] however the
chiefs anticipated my design, and raised Danishmundchē Aghlān, one of
the descendants of Jengyz Khān, to the dignity of _Khān_, to whom they
vowed fidelity, and made him monarch of all Maveralnaher.
Amyr Kūrgen, with the title of Commander, ruled the kingdom in the name
of Danishmundchē Khān, for the term of ten years, with great propriety;
re-established the laws, and gave encouragement to the Muhammedan
religion.
[Sidenote: A. D. 1356.]
When I had attained my twenty-first year, I wished to have united all
the tribe of Berlās, and to have rebelled; I was joined by forty of my
school-fellows, and we consulted upon taking possession of the mountain
of Kāān; but at this time my mother was called to the divine mercy, and
my sister Tūrkān Akā took charge of my household; I was for some time
very melancholy, and gave up my ambitious intentions. After the days of
mourning for my mother were accomplished, my father betrothed me to the
daughter of Amyr Jakū Berlās. About this time, my father deputed me to
Amyr Kūrgen, on some business respecting our tribe and clan, by which
means I became acquainted with the Amyr, who took a great liking to me,
adopted me as his son, and gave me one of his grand-daughters in
marriage, with great honour and much wealth, and seated me near himself
in the assembly.
After the death of the Amyr, as his son was not equal to the duties (of
Vizier), I had some wish to take the office myself, and had got the
consent of several of the chiefs; but recollecting my debt of gratitude
to the father, I said to myself, “better be patient,” and took patience.
In this year, I one day went into the desert to hunt, when we came to
the hunting ground, a violent storm of both snow and rain came on;
afterwards the snow being very deep, I lost my road, and wandered about;
at length I saw something dark, when I approached it, I found it was a
hill, at the bottom of which there was a great cave, in which some
families of the Arlāt clan had taken shelter from the inclemency of the
weather, had formed chambers in the rocks of the cave, and had pitched
their tents in its vicinity; as I was nearly dead with cold, I got off
my horse, and entered the cave without ceremony; I there saw a good
fire, with a pot well filled with broth hanging thereon; as I was very
hungry, the sight of it delighted me; the owner of the room was very
kind, he pulled off my coat and boots which were wet through; he also
unbound my quiver, and bringing some horse rugs, made a bed for me; he
then brought the hot soup, of which I ate a quantity, and became warm
and refreshed: I passed the night there, and in return to the family for
their kindness, I took their eldest son home with me, and introduced him
to the Amyr.
Another time I went a hunting and met with a very serious accident; I
was pursuing a deer at full speed, when I unexpectedly came to a dry
well, the horse was very active, and attempted to jump the well, but
although his fore feet cleared it, his hind legs fell in; I vaulted from
the saddle, and tried to get over, but did not succeed, and both horse
and man went down; my companions thought I was killed; but when they
found me alive, they were much rejoiced, and made offerings for my lucky
escape, which was considered as a fortunate omen, and gained me many
followers.
[Sidenote: A. D. 1357.]
In the year 757, an army from Irāc invaded Maveralnaher, and collected
much plunder; I was then just twenty-one, and was sitting with Amyr
Kūrgen, when intelligence of the invasion was brought; he instantly
ordered me to take command of a detachment, and pursue the enemy; I
followed the Irakians twenty-three (Fersukh) parasangs, and having made
a forced march, came up with them at mid-day; the enemy were divided
into two parties, one of which protected the plunder, while the other
prepared to oppose me; my officers advised me to attack the plunder,
but, I said “no, let us defeat the fighting part, and the other will
soon disperse;” I then gave orders to charge, and putting spurs to my
horse, rushed on; the Irakians stood their ground, and we came to blows;
but after a few cuts on each side, they fled, upon which I took
possession of the plunder, and having restored it to the owners, waited
on the Amyr, who praised me exceedingly, presented me with his own
quiver, and appointed me (Beglerbeg) Commander of the tribe.
At this time, I was very anxious to rebel against the _Khān_, and to
assume the power myself; but when I mentioned it to Amyr Kūrgen, who was
then very busy, he said, “cannot you wait, it will be yours some time or
other:” I therefore relinquished my intention.
About this time, I went again to pay my respects to the _Kutb al Aktab_
Shaikh Zyn Addeen Shādy; at the time of my arrival, he was seated with
some of his disciples reading the Korān, and had just repeated the
verse, “Is not the conquest of the kingdom of Rūm (Anatolia) in my
power;” as soon as he perceived me, he compared the circumstance of my
arrival, with the moment of pronouncing the above verse, and finding a
great accordance between them, he received me with the utmost respect
and honour, and seated me opposite himself.
When he finished reading the prescribed portion of the holy book, he
said to me, “God hath decreed the downfall of Rūm, and as I perceive in
you the signs of royal dignity, perhaps you are to be its destined
conqueror;” he further added, “as the final letter of the word (Arz)
kingdom, signifies eight hundred, I predict that you will conquer Rūm in
the year 800.” I was very much encouraged, and rejoiced by this
auspicious prediction.
At another visit that I paid the Saint, he bound round my loins his own
shawl, put on my head his own cap, and presented me a cornelian, on
which was engraved (Rāsty va Rūsty) righteousness and salvation; I
considered this also as a fortunate omen, added my own name, and had it
made into a seal-ring; and from this time placed my entire confidence
and faith in the Shaikh.
[Here the Shaikh entertains him with a story of his having been very
ill, and that he had been directed in a vision to visit the tomb of Aly
Iben Mūsā, at Tūs, now Mushehed, in Khorasān; that he walked barefooted,
and was seven years on the pilgrimage, and got perfectly well as soon as
he arrived at the tomb; but the story being very prolix and not
interesting, I have passed it over.]
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Footnote 40:
See Note to page 28.
Footnote 41:
He was the last of the descendants of Jengyz Khān, who actually
reigned over Transoxiana, although several young men had the empty
title of Khān conferred on them, but they were mere puppets in the
hands of the powerful chiefs.
Footnote 42:
This was a boast of Timūr, as he was then very young; Aghlān signifies
both a boy and a Prince.