In the year A. H. 763, (A. D. 1362) I entered my twenty-seventh year, on
which occasion the great and the little, the chiefs of the villages of
the hordes and tribes of all Maveralnaher paid their respects to me, and
humbly represented that they had no monarch who would redress their
wrongs: for, in every district, and every town, there was some tyrant,
who unjustly plundered them, and seized on the property of the
Muselmāns; their patience was quite exhausted, and that they should
certainly abandon the country, unless some Sovereign was placed on the
throne, who would protect them. In consequence of this representation, I
wrote a letter to Amyr Hussyn (his brother-in-law) who was then in
possession of Badukhshān, asking him “if he had the courage to join me
in clearing the country of Maveralnaher from all its petty tyrants, and
in relieving the wretched servants of God from the hands of their brutal
oppressors, that if he would do so, we might then divide the kingdom in
a brotherly manner, and thereby gain great fame and celebrity.” He
promised to do so, but immediately began to enter into treacherous
schemes against me, wishing first to over-set me, and then to subdue the
other petty Princes. Finding Amyr Hussyn thus bent upon my ruin, and
that I had evident proofs of his treachery, I wrote a letter to Tugleck
Timūr Khān, (Prince of the Jetes, and a descendant of Jengyz Khān, who
was the absolute sovereign of Tartary) stating that “the country of
Maveralnaher was now desolate, and only inhabited by kites and crows,
but that if he would assist me, I would render it productive.”
[Sidenote: A. D. 1362.]
As soon as my letter reached the Khān, he drew out his forces and
marched with an innumerable army towards Maveralnaher; and when he
arrived on the bank of the (Sihūn) Khujend river, he sent me a letter,
stating, “that he was encamped with his innumerable and valiant army on
the banks of the Khujend, that I should join him, but in the mean time
inform him what further measures were advisable.” At this time Bāyezyd
Jelayr put on the girdle of loyalty, and advanced to pay his respects to
his sovereign, but leaving the city of Samerkund under charge of a
deputy: as soon as he was presented at Court, the keys of the city were
demanded from him, and as he delayed giving them up, the Khān ordered
that his head should be struck off; this was immediately carried into
execution, and the head was sent to Samerkund. Hajy Berlās, who at first
intended to oppose the Khān, was so terrified by the punishment of
Bāyezyd, that he took to flight, and sought refuge in the city of Kesh,
but sent orders to his horde and his dependants to leave the country. He
now repented of his conduct to me, acknowledged his folly, and asked my
forgiveness, and then went across the Jihūn.
At this time, Tugleck Timūr Khān detached a part of the army of Jetteh
to pursue the horde of Hajy Berlās, and a great battle took place
between the contending parties on the banks of the Jihūn: on this
occasion, Chughām Berlās, who was one of the Omrahs of that tribe,
highly distinguished himself, and so occupied the royal army as to
enable the tribe with their cattle, to cross the river in safety, except
himself, who while defending the rear guard, was cut down by some of the
soldiers of Jetteh. In the mean time, Hajy Berlās crossed the river in
safety, and marched the horde towards Khurasān; when he entered that
country, he behaved unkindly to the inhabitants, and began to be guilty
of oppression and injustice; he also exacted tribute from the wandering
tribes of Sebzwār, on which account several skirmishes took place, and
the villagers having by surprise seized Aydkū Behader, the brother of
Hajy Berlās, put him to death; they also seized the Hajy and put an end
to his existence. As I was at that period in possession of Khurasān, I
assigned the district of Jaser for the support of the dependants and
followers of the Hajy.[55]
When the letter of Tugleck Timūr, desiring my immediate presence,
reached me, it was also reported that Amyr Hamyd, who was the Khān’s
(chief counsellor) had said to him; “in every town and district of
Maveralnaher, there is a separate ruler, they have at least thirty
thousand cavalry among them, to oppose whom, we have been obliged to
make numerous detachments; it is, therefore, quite requisite that you
should prevail on Amyr Timūr to join you, for if he should unite with
these petty rulers, they will be too many for us; we must, therefore,
hasten his arrival, and as he is a very sensible man, let us consult him
on the best measures to be pursued.”
It was in consequence of this advice that the Khān wrote me a
brotherlike letter, which induced me to make immediate preparations for
joining him.
The determination that I made on the subject of visiting Tugleck Timūr,
was this; I resolved to write letters to all the principal inhabitants,
heads of villages, elders of the tribes and hordes of Maveralnaher,
stating to them, “that whoever wished to save his life and property from
being destroyed and plundered by the armies of Jetteh, should
immediately repair to me; but those who declined this offer, ought to
quit the country without loss of time.” In consequence of this
invitation, the greater number of the chiefs and principal inhabitants
came to me, bringing with them a number of curiosities and presents; as
soon as they were all assembled, I proceeded with them and all my own
soldiers and dependants, carrying various presents, and paid my respects
to the (Khān) Emperor on the banks of the Khujend river: he received me
most graciously, and when he saw the presents, his eyes were satiated;
he then consulted me what was requisite to be done, I told him “that I
had agreed for so many thousand _Durusts_,[56] as the revenue of
Maveralnaher, and that he had only to appoint collectors to realize the
portion of each district, and to punish those who refused payment.”
He approved of my advice, and after he had taken possession of the
throne of Maveralnaher, he again consulted me, on the best mode of
preserving his authority: I said to him, “sovereignty is like a tent,
the poles of which should be justice, the ropes equity, and the pins
philanthropy, in order that it may stand firm (against the blasts of
adversity);” he was much pleased with this metaphor, and I continued,
“you must secure the soldiers of this country in the bonds of kindness,
that if they survive the war, you may find them act like men, and if
killed, they may die in your service;” I further said, “the _good_ of
Maveralnaher are very good, and the _bad_ are very bad; do you reward
the good with goodness, and leave the bad alone, ‘for evil shall
overtake the wicked.’”
At this time, intelligence was brought, that the Amyr Hussyn had
collected a very large army in Badukhshān; on hearing this, the Khān was
ashamed of his former conduct to me, asked my pardon, and gave me the
entire command of all the country, and all the hordes of Maveralnaher,
with the city of Subz, and the Samerghānat, as far as the city of Balkh;
he also left me in full possession of all my hereditary rights over my
own tribe of Berlās, and other clans.
As it was now certain that Amyr Hussyn was resolved to oppose Tugleck
Timūr, and had boldly advanced as far as the river Vahesh for that
purpose, the Khān became thoughtful, and asked my advice. I said to him,
“the state of the case is this, as in addition to the forces of
Badukhshān, Amyr Hussyn has been joined by the rulers of Khutelān and
Bakelān, he therefore feels bold enough to contend with you, the best
plan is this, send the commission of Governor of the fortress of Shadmān
and of the district of Khutelān to Ky Khuseru, the chief who commands
the first line of Amyr Hussyn.” The Khān approved of this advice, sent
off the commission by a trusty messenger, and then marched towards the
enemy. When he reached the _Iron Gate_, and had pitched his camp, the
advance guard of Amyr Hussyn came in sight; the Khān immediately ordered
his advance under Beg Chuck, to oppose the enemy; but when the two
_Heravuls_ met, Ky Khuseru deserted with all his followers, and joined
the imperialists.
When Amyr Hussyn saw the state of his first line, he attempted to draw
out the remainder of his army, but his right and left wings being panic
struck, took to flight; thus Tugleck Timūr gained an easy victory, and
the army of Jetteh plundered all the hordes and tribes of those
districts, whilst Amyr Hussyn retreated towards Samerkund.[57] The mind
of the Khān being thus at ease with regard to Amyr Hussyn, he returned
to Samerkund, and having entered the city, put to death Myan Kūly
Selduz; and being now in possession of the whole kingdom of
Maveralnaher, all the chiefs of cities, and the heads of all the nomade
tribes were obliged to submit to his authority, whilst the rebellious,
and all the petty tyrants who reckoned themselves as _Sultāns_, were
annihilated; a few of them, who had not been guilty of any gross
impropriety, were taken into favour, and ordered to join my army.
[Sidenote: A. D. 1363.]
When the country of Maveralnaher was thus cleared of all the petty
tyrants, I returned thanks to God that what I had wished to do, was thus
effected by his decree, and all my adversaries punished.
At this time I deliberated with myself how I should induce Tugleck Timūr
to quit the country, and leave me in possession of it. I therefore
suggested to him that Khurasān would now be an easy conquest, that in
fact he had only to send his army across the river Amū, (Jihūn) and that
he would meet with no opposition. He approved much of my advice, and
agreed to leave me in charge of Maveralnaher, whilst he should proceed
to the conquest of Khurasān.
About this period, news was brought that in consequence of the Divine
decree, the chiefs of the Desht Kipchāk had rebelled, and had raised
Beishky Aghlān, another descendant of Jengyz to the Khānship. On this
occasion the Khān again consulted me; I said to him, “if you set out
immediately, and proceed to the Desht before the rebels have gained
strength, you may quell them easily, and preserve your authority over
all the country, but if you procrastinate, you will be overwhelmed in
misfortunes and calamities:” as he approved of my advice, he was lavish
in his praises of my merit, and gave me the entire management of
Maveralnaher, but appointed his son Alyas Khuajē the nominal governor.
When I objected to this proceeding, he shewed me the agreement between
our ancestors Kajūly Behader, and Kubel Khān.[58] In consequence of
which, I accepted the office of (Sepah Salar) Commander in Chief, and he
gave orders to all the officers of Jetteh, to be obedient to my
authority; after which, he set out to quell the mutiny of the troops in
the Desht Kipchāk.
As Alyas Khuajē had no talents for government, the troops of Jetteh soon
began to exercise cruelty and injustice over the inhabitants of
Maveralnaher, murdering and plundering the towns-people and farmers; I
therefore lost no time in reporting these circumstances to the Khān, and
complained to him of the malconduct of his soldiers: in reply to this,
he wrote an imperial edict, “that I should exercise my authority as
Commander in Chief; that I should put his son under any restraint I
liked; that any of the Jetteh officers who were disobedient to me, I
should severely punish, and that every person guilty of injustice should
be compelled to make retribution in proportion to his offence.” Finding
myself thus absolute ruler of all the country of Maveralnaher, as well
as of the nomade hordes and tribes, I forbade Alyas Khuajē, or any of
his officers from exercising authority over the natives: on this
account, the sinews of their enmity were excited against me, and anger
converted their hearts into blood; they therefore commenced practising
every kind of cruelty and injustice, and carried their tyranny to such a
degree, that they carried off four hundred virgins from the city of
Samerkund; they also made captives of seventy of the descendants of
Muhammed, belonging to Termuz, and converted them into slaves to wait on
them.
In consequence of these proceedings, the principal inhabitants of
Maveralnaher surrounded me, and said, “is it to be borne by Muselmāns
that these Jetes should carry off four hundred of their daughters from
Samerkund, and make slaves of them; but if this is not sufficiently
disgraceful, how much worse is it to permit them to seize the
descendants of the Prophet, (on whom and on his descendants be grace),
young men who are firm in their belief, that ‘there is no God but God,
and that Muhammed is the messenger of God,’ without any fault; shall we
who daily repeat his holy creed, and hope to be received through his
intercession into Paradise, and shall we suffer these scoundrel Jetes to
take them away without making any exertion for their delivery?”
On hearing these words, my Muselmān honour was roused, and I first sent
a message to Beg Chuck, who commanded the Jete troops, that he must
immediately return all the Syeds, and the children of all the Muselmāns,
that had been taken away. As this message had no effect, I spoke to
Alyas Khuajē on the subject; but as the Jetes would not pay any
attention to his orders, I put them to the proof, by mounting my
cavalry, and liberating the seventy Syeds.
In consequence of this pious act, I dreamt that night that I saw the
Prophet, who said to me, “in reward for this assistance that you have
given to my descendants, the Almighty God will cause seventy of your
descendants to occupy the throne of sovereignty.” I wrote this
circumstance to my _Peer_, who sent me the following answer; “that if
the gracious God bestowed on the posterity of Subuctageen such a reward
for his compassion to a deer, you who have assisted the descendants of
the Prophet, how much greater will be your reward even to the extent of
seventy of your descendants:” I was much rejoiced by this answer to my
letter, and I daily added to my respect and esteem for the posterity of
the Prophet, and I always illuminated my assemblies by the presence of
these illustrious personages. For my _Peer_ said, “in whatever horde or
town there are not any Syeds, and in whatever palace the learned have
not free entrance, there exists neither blessings, goodness, piety nor
chastity.”
As I had exerted myself in repelling the injustice and cruelty of the
Jetes, their chiefs bound round them the girdles of fraud and deceit,
and they wrote to Tugleck Timūr Khān, “that Timūr had raised the
standard of rebellion, and had taken possession of the whole province of
Maveralnaher, and intends to put your son Alyas Kuajē to death.” When
the letters of the chiefs, especially that of Beg Chuck, who considered
himself the Commander in Chief of the Jetteh forces, reached the Khān,
he believed their falsehoods to be truth; he issued an edict for my
being put to death; this was the third edict he had issued for my
murder.
On receipt of this order, the Jete chiefs consulted together, and laid
snares for my destruction; I was quite aware of their intentions, but
pretended ignorance, for I could place no reliance on the inhabitants of
Maveralnaher, to aid me against my foes; I therefore resolved to consult
my _Peer_, and wrote to him on the subject; he replied, in conformity
with the holy tradition of Muhammed, “Flee when its not safe to remain:”
I then consulted the Korān, and this verse opened, “the sun returns to
its resting place, such is the Divine decree of the Omniscient and
Omnipotent.”
I therefore left Samerkund, and repaired to the mountain of Salan, where
I remained eight days; at the end of that time, I received a hint from
(the Saint) Amyr Kelāl, that I should go towards the country of
Khuarizm.
-----
Footnote 55:
Hajy Berlās was his uncle.
Footnote 56:
A gold coin.
Footnote 57:
It has been before stated, that _kund_ signifies a town, Samer was one
of the ancient heroes of Persia. It is the Maracanda of the Greeks,
and is situated in Lat. 39,37 N. Longitude 64,9 E. See Edinburgh
Gazetteer.
Footnote 58:
See printed copy in the Institutes, page 25.