Part Three: The Samanids

[Chapter Twelve Concerning] the Rule and the Lineage of the Samanids

The occasion of the Samanids’ rise to power was as follows. Sāmān Khudā b. Ḥām.tān, after whom all this family is named, was a Magian (mugh) and followed the religion of Zoroaster. His genealogy was Sāmān Khudāh b. Khām.tā b. Nūsh b. Ṭamghāsb b. Shād.l b. Bahrām Chūbīn b. Bahrām [H 146] Ḥ.sīs b. Kūz.k b. Athfiyān b. Kirdār b. Dīrkār b. Jam b. J.y.r b. B.stār b. Kh.dād b. R.n.jhān b. F.y.r b. F.rāw.l b. Sīm b. Bahrām b. Shās.b b. Kūz.k b. J.r.dād b. S.f.r.s.b b. K.r.k.y.n b. M.y.lād b. M.r.s (?Narsī) b. Marzwān b. Mihrān b. Fādhān b. K.sh.rād b. Sād.sād b. Bishdād (Pishdād) b. Akhshīn (? Afshīn) b. Fardīn b. W.mām b. Ar.sāṭīn b. D.w.s.r Manūchihr b. Kūz.k b. Īraj b. Afrīdūn b. Athfiyān S.k. M.n S.k b. S.w.rkāw b. Ikhshīd Kāwā b. R.s.d.kāw b. Dīr.kāw b. R.y.m.n.kāw b. B.y.furūsh b. Jamshīd b. Dīw.n.k.hān b. ’.s.k.h.d b. Hūshang b. F.rāwak b. M.n.shī b. Kayūmarth, the first ruler on earth.¹

During that period when Muḥammad al-Amīn was caliph at Baghdad and [N 20] Ma’mūn was at Merv, the latter was governor of Khurasan. This Sāmān Khudāh came and joined Ma’mūn’s entourage and became a Muslim at his instigation. He had a son called Asad. Ma’mūn used to look very favourably on this Asad, who had four sons, Nūḥ, Aḥmad, Yaḥyā and Ilyās. Ma’mūn showed favour to them all and they formed part of his entourage because they were men of ancient, noble lineage.

When Ma’mūn went to Baghdad, assumed the caliphate and appointed Ghassān b. ՙAbbād governor of Khurasan, Ma’mūn commended them to him. Hence Ghassān appointed Nūḥ b. Asad governor of Samarqand, Aḥmad b. Asad over Farghāna, Yaḥyā b. Asad over Chāch and Usrūshana, [M 215] and Ilyās b. Asad over Herat.²

When Ṭāhir b. al-Ḥusayn came to Khurasan on Ghassān’s dismissal, he retained them in these same offices. Out of all these sons, [H 147] Aḥmad was the most useful and experienced. When he died, he left behind two sons, Naṣr and Ismāՙīl. During the time of the Tahirids, they held Samarqand and Bukhara: Naṣr held Samarqand and Ismāՙīl Bukhara. There used to be good relations between the two of them until backbiters incited them against each other and brought about a breach in relations between them. They kept on fanning the flames of that breach until it took firm shape and became permanently established. In the end, they became embroiled in warfare; they marshalled their armies and went out to give battle with each other. In the year 275 [/888–9] they came to blows: Ismāՙīl was victorious over Naṣr, the latter was taken prisoner and he was brought before Ismāՙīl. When he beheld Ismāՙīl, he went before him on foot, kissed his hand and sought his pardon. Ismāՙīl sent him back to Samarqand in a handsome fashion, accompanied by all his court troops and retainers (ḥasham wa ḥāshiyat). After that episode, Ismāՙīl made Naṣr his deputy over the whole of Transoxania, and things went smoothly and amicably.³

When ՙAmr b. al-Layth sought a grant of Transoxania from Muՙtaḍid and received a favourable answer, he led an expedition against Ismāՙīl. [N 21] Ismāՙīl deployed his army, advanced on ՙAmr and disposed of him once and for all, and he sent ՙAmr to Baghdad, as has been related.

Ismāՙīl b. Aḥmad (I) b. Asad b. Sāmān

When the governorship of Khurasan passed into Ismāՙīl’s hands and Muՙtaḍid’s investiture diploma and standard arrived, Ismāՙīl b. Aḥmad sent Muḥammad b. Hārūn to take over Gurgān and Ṭabaristān. The latter captured Muḥammad b. Zayd b. Muḥammad and sent him to Ismāՙīl, and the latter bestowed on Muḥammad b. Hārūn the governorship of Gurgān and Ṭabaristān. After a certain period of time had elapsed, Muḥammad b. Hārūn rebelled. Ismāՙīl led an expedition against him and marched to Ray. Ögretmish⁴ was killed and Muḥammad b. Hārūn, with his two sons, was captured. This victory [M 216] was on 17 Rajab of the year 289 [/27 June 902]. Ismāՙīl returned and came to Nishapur, and he left Aḥmad b. Sahl in charge of those regions.

At this point, Muՙtaḍid died and Muktafī succeeded to the caliphate. He sent for Ismāՙīl, and after him, for his son Aḥmad, an investiture diploma for Khurasan by the hand of Muḥammad b. ՙAbd al-Ṣamad, together with a diploma for the governorship of Ray, Qazwīn and Zanjān, which he had joined to that of Khurasan. When Muḥammad b. ՙAbd al-Ṣamad reached Nishapur, Ismāՙīl treated him with great honour and presented him with a gift of 300,000 dirhams, sending him back with numerous presents. Then Ismāՙīl bestowed the governorship of Ray on Abū Ṣāliḥ Manṣūr b. Isḥāq, and Manṣūr gave command of the army there (sarhangi) to Aḥmad b. Sahl and made him responsible for his, Manṣūr’s, personal guard (ḥaras). Ismāՙīl gave orders that he himself would be responsible for paying the living allowances of the entire body of troops so that Manṣūr should not have the worry of this.

Ismāՙīl entrusted Gurgān to his son Aḥmad [N 22] and Ṭabaristān to Abu ’l-ՙAbbās ՙAbdallāh b. Muḥammad [b. Nūḥ b. Asad]. He ordered his son to work harmoniously with ՙAbdallāh [H 148] in all affairs and never to oppose him in anything. But subsequently he dismissed his son from the governorship of Gurgān because he had not led a military expedition against Justān.⁵ However, Nūḥ’s son (i.e. Abu ’l-ՙAbbās ՙAbdallāh) defeated Justān, and he entrusted Gurgān to Bārs,⁶ his Commander-in-Chief. Ismāՙīl b. Aḥmad died during the night of Tuesday–Wednesday, 14 Ṣafar of the year 295 [/24 November 907] and received the [posthumous] honorific title of ‘The Incisive [Amir]’ (māḍī).⁷

The Martyred One (al-shahīd), Abū Naṣr Aḥmad (II) b. Ismāՙīl

When Ismāՙīl was dying, he made his son Aḥmad his covenanted successor (walī ՙahd) over Khurasan.⁸ Muktafī sent an investiture diploma for Aḥmad to succeed in Khurasan by the hand of Ṭāhir b. ՙAlī, and the latter raised the standard sent by the caliph with his own hand. When he reached Bukhara, Aḥmad b. Ismāՙīl lodged him handsomely, received him cordially and bestowed on him great sums of money.

In Dhu ’l-Qaՙda of the year 295 [/August 908], Muktafī died and Muqtadir succeeded in the caliphate. [M 217] Aḥmad b. Ismāՙīl continued to hold the governorship of Khurasan. When he had got the situation at Bukhara fully under control, he formed the intention of going to Ray and of bringing that province likewise under control and putting its affairs in order. Ibrāhīm b. Zaydūya advised him, ‘First of all, proceed to Samarqand and seize your paternal uncle Isḥāq b. Aḥmad lest he stir up trouble for you in Khurasan, since he has got delusions of power into his head.’ Aḥmad b. Ismāՙīl proceeded to Samarqand, clapped Isḥāq in bonds and sent him to Bukhara. Then in the year 296 [/908–9] he went to Ray, where the investiture diploma sent by Muqtadir reached him.⁹ Aḥmad then appointed Abū Jaՙfar Ṣuՙlūk as his deputy at Ray, and [N 23] himself went back homewards in the year 297 [/909–10].

He came to Herat, and from there sent against Sistan Ḥusayn b, ՙAlī al-Marwazī, together with Aḥmad b. Sahl, Muḥammad b. al-Muẓaffar, Ibrāhīm and Yāhyā the sons of Zaydūya, and Aḥmad b. ՙAbdallāh. They besieged Muՙaddal b. [ՙAlī b.] al-Layth in the citadel (i.e. of the capital Zarang).¹⁰ Muՙaddal despatched Abū ՙAlī b. ՙAlī b. al-Layth to Bust and Rukhwad/Rukhūd in order to collect taxation from there and send it back to Muՙaddal. But ՙAlī assembled an army and brought along the wealth and the materials of war, and set out for Sistan. Aḥmad b. Ismāՙīl got news of this, led an expedition from Herat and defeated that army, capturing Abū ՙAlī and seizing all his wealth and materials of war, and despatching him to Baghdad. Ḥusayn b. ՙAlī was meanwhile continuously engaged in warfare with Muՙaddal. [H 149] When Muՙaddal received news of his brother Abū ՙAlī’s capture, he made peace, handed over Sistan to Manṣūr b. Isḥāq and himself went back with Ḥusayn b. ՙAlī to Bukhara.

There was a certain man from Aḥmad b. Ismāՙīl’s body of troops called Muḥammad b. Hurmuz, known as Mawlā Ṣandalī, who held the tenets of the Khārijites. He was an old and much-experienced man. One day he came to the review ground (ՙarḍ-gāh) for his regular pay allotment (waẓīfat) and got into an argument with the Head of the Army Department Abu ’l-Ḥasan ՙAlī b. Muḥammad. The latter told him, ‘It would be better if you retired to a ribāṭ since you’ve grown old [M 218] and become useless’. Muḥammad b. Hurmuz became filled with anger. He sought from the Amir permission to depart and went to Sistan. He established himself there and gathered together from the highways all the common people and riff-raff of Sistan. He led a rebellion against Manṣūr b. Isḥāq and secretly gave allegiance to ՙAmr b. Yaՙqūb b. Muḥammad b. ՙAmr b. al-Layth.¹¹ The commander of the rebels was Muḥammad b. al-ՙAbbās, known as ‘Son of the Grave-Digger’ (pisar-i ḥaffār). They captured Manṣūr b. Isḥāq, placed him in bonds, [N 24] held him in jail and made the khuṭba for ՙAmr b. Yaՙqūb.

When Aḥmad b. Ismāՙīl got news of this, he sent Ḥusayn b. ՙAlī to Sistan a second time and fighting between the two sides ensued. The warfare went on continuously for nine months. Subsequently, this old man known as Mawlā Ṣandalī came out onto one of the angles of the citadel (i.e. of the capital Zarang) and called down, ‘Tell the ՙārid. Abu ’l-Ḥasan that I’ve fulfilled his command and taken a stronghold (ribāṭ) – what else does he ordain?’ ՙAmr b. Yaՙqūb and the Son of the Grave-Digger then sought a guarantee of safe conduct from Ḥusayn [b. ՙAlī]. He granted them this and they released Manṣūr b. Isḥāq. Ḥusayn made the Son of the Grave-Digger one of his close circle and used to treat him in a handsome fashion. But then, one day, ՙAmr b. Yaՙqūb and the Son of the Grave-Digger came into his presence, and he arrested them and placed them in bonds. Ḥusayn understood that Aḥmad [b. Ismāՙīl] was going to entrust the governorship of Sistan to him. But Aḥmad then gave it to the Keeper of the Inkstand (dawīt-dār) Sīmjūr¹² and ordered Ḥusayn to return with those persons who had been granted safe conduct. Ḥusayn brought ՙAmr b. Yaՙqūb and the Son of the Grave-Digger to Bukhara in the year 300 [/912–13].¹³

It is related that Aḥmad b. Ismāՙīl was extremely fond of hunting. He had gone for a while to Firabr¹⁴ for hunting. When he returned to Bukhara, he gave orders that the army encampment should be set on fire. Whilst he was on the road, a letter from Abu ’l-ՙAbbās [Muḥammad] Ṣuՙlūk, the governor of Ṭabaristān, arrived with the news that Ḥasan b. ՙAlī b. Ḥasan b. ՙUmar b. ՙAlī b. al-Ḥusayn b. ՙAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, may God be pleased with them all, who was known as Ḥasan Uṭrūsh, had rebelled.¹⁵ [H 150] When he read the letter, he became perturbed and very downcast. He raised his head towards the heavens and cried, ‘O Lord! If Your pre-ordained judgement and the fixed decree of the heavens have so prescribed that this kingly power should pass from me, [M 219] take my soul unto Yourself!’ From there he went to the army encampment but found that it had been set on fire, [N 25] and he took that as an unfavourable omen.

There used to be a lion on guard every night at Aḥmad b. Ismāՙīl’s door so that no-one should be able to make an attempt on his life. That night they did not bring that lion and there were, moreover, none of his retainers sleeping at his door. During the course of the night, a band of his personal ghulāms burst in and cut his throat. This took place on Thursday, 21 Jumādā II of the year 301 [/22 January 914]. He was brought back from there to Bukhara and buried, and a detachment of troops was sent after those ghulāms, some of whom were captured and killed. The secretary Abu ’l-Ḥasan Naṣr b. Isḥāq was suspected of having colluded with the ghulāms in killing the Martyred Amir, and he was seized and executed. Aḥmad b. Ismāՙīl was given the honorific title of ‘The Martyred Amir’.¹⁶

The Fortunate One (al-saՙīd), Naṣr (II) b. Aḥmad (II)

The Fortunate One Naṣr b. Aḥmad then succeeded to the governorship of Khurasan on 21 Jumādā II of the year 301 [/22 January 914], being eight years old at the time, and he was Amir of Khurasan for thirty years and three months. When the Martyred Amir was killed, the senior religious leaders and court troops came together in Bukhara and agreed upon the succession of his son Naṣr b. Aḥmad. The eunuch (khādim) Saՙd placed him on his shoulders and brought him forth so that formal allegiance could be given to him.¹⁷

The official exercising administrative authority on his behalf was Abū ՙAbdallāh Muḥammad b. Aḥmad al-Jayhānī, who took up the reins of government in a laudable fashion and was running affairs. Abū ՙAbdallāh Jayhānī was a knowledgeable person, very intelligent, strong-willed and virtuous, and he showed percipience and foresight in all matters. He was the author of many compositions in every genre and branch of learning. When he assumed the vizierate, he wrote letters to all the lands of the world and asked for accounts to be written concerning the customs and practices of every court and every government office. [N 26] These accounts were written out and brought to him, including those from such lands as those of Byzantium, Turkestan, [M 220] India, China, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, the land of the Zanj, Zābul, Kabul, Sind and the land of the Arabs. All these customs and practices of the world were brought to him and all those written accounts set down before him. He examined them very closely, and he selected every custom and practice that was specially good and commendable but set aside the less praiseworthy ones. He adopted those good customs and practices, and gave orders that all the personnel of the court and central Dīwān at Bukhara should employ them. Thanks to Jayhānī’s good judgement and statesmanship, all affairs of the realm now ran on orderly lineṣ¹⁸

Various rebels (khawārijiyān) reared their heads. He sent an army against each of them, and all the armies came back victorious and triumphant. He never embarked on any affair without accomplishing his aim. When Naṣr b. Aḥmad assumed office as Amir, the first person to show himself as a rebel was his father’s paternal uncle Isḥāq b. Aḥmad at Samarqand. [H 151] His son Ilyās b. Isḥāq assumed command of the army, and the army marched against Bukhara. Naṣr sent Ḥamụya b. ՙAlī against him. The two armies met at Khartang¹⁹ and clashed in battle in the month of Ramaḍān of the year 301 [/April 914]. It was not long before Isḥāq was defeated and fell back on Samarqand. Ḥamūya b. ՙAlī followed him in pursuit. Isḥāq’s situation became constricted such that daily existence became disturbed and uncertain for him. When he was reduced to really desperate straits, he sent a message asking for a guarantee of personal safety, and this was accorded him. He came to Bukhara, was well treated during that time and remained there till his death.

When Ḥusayn b. ՙAlī had conquered Sistan, he was anxious for the governorship of Sistan to be given to him, but this was refused. Because of this he became discontented and was watching out for an opportunity to wreak mischief in Aḥmad’s rule. When Aḥmad died, Ḥusayn rebelled at Herat, and he kept up his rebellion for some considerable time. One day [N 27] he mustered his army and led an attack on Nishapur. Aḥmad b. Sahl was sent out from Bukhara to engage him in battle. He came to Herat and conquered it, and Manṣūr b. ՙAlī, Ḥusayn’s brother, [M 221] sought a guarantee of safety, and they (i.e. Manṣūr and his entourage?) came to Aḥmad, son of Sahl. Aḥmad then came to Nishapur in the month of Rabīՙ I of the year 306 [/August–September 918]. He launched an attack on Ḥusayn b. ՙAlī, in which he took Ḥusayn prisoner, and he established his base at Nishapur. Muḥammad b. Ajhad,²⁰ commander of the police guard (ṣāḥib-i shuraṭ) at Bukhara, was at Merv. He came to Aḥmad b. Sahl, together with Muḥammad b. al-Muhallab b. Zurāra²¹ al-Marwazī, and from there they turned back and went to Bukhara.

This Aḥmad b. Sahl stemmed from one of the noble families of the Persians. He was a descendant of Yazdajird, son of Shahriyār,²² and came from one of the landholding families (dihqān) of Jīranj,²³ one of the large villages of Merv. Aḥmad’s forefather was called Kāmgār, and there is at Merv a rose which they still call the ‘Kāmgārī rose’, said to be a deep red colour. This Kāmgārī family was in the service of the Tahirids. Aḥmad’s brothers, Faḍl, Ḥusayn and Muḥammad, were all secretaries and experts in astrology, their father Sahl b. Hāshim having been very knowledgeable about the science of astrology. One day, Sahl was asked, ‘How is it that you don’t look at the horoscopes (lit. ‘rising stars’) of your sons to see what their future fates will be?’ He replied, ‘What does it matter if I look, since all three of them are going to be killed on the same day in the course of the factional fighting (taՙaṣṣub) of the Arabs,’ and it happened exactly thus.

When Aḥmad grew to manhood, he sought to avenge his brothers’ blood. A thousand men rallied round him. ՙAmr b. al-Layth sent a body of troops against him, and Aḥmad grew fearful. The person who went in pursuit of him was continually engaging him in fighting but without success. ՙAmr b. al-Layth at that point offered him a guarantee of protection and summoned him to his presence. [N 28] When Aḥmad appeared before ՙAmr, the latter had him seized and consigned him to prison in Sistan (i.e. at the capital Zarang). Aḥmad’s sister Ḥafṣa continued to be with Aḥmad during this time. ՙAmr commanded Aḥmad, son of Sahl, to give his sister [in marriage] to his ghulām Sebük-eri²⁴ and ordered that Aḥmad should be sent to Merv. [H 152] Aḥmad refused to give up his sister but was afraid that ՙAmr would take vengeance on him. So he then had recourse to a stratagem. He told his sister to be assiduous in attendance on ՙAmr’s daughter. Aḥmad’s sister then interceded with ՙAmr’s daughter that Aḥmad should be given permission to go to the bathhouse [M 222] since his hair had grown long. When he received this permission he went along to the bathhouse and kicked up a great deal of fuss regarding his head and his beard. He came out looking like a youth with ringlets and forelocks, put on unfamiliar clothes and went out without any of the keepers of the bathhouse recognising him, and came out into the city of Sistan thus disguised.

Abū Jaՙfar Ṣuՙlūk then sought pardon for him from ՙAmr; the latter granted this and Aḥmad came out into the open in his own guise. ՙAmr laid upon him the condition that he should not don a cap and wear boots (i.e. assume the uniform of a military commander) and Aḥmad promised to adhere to these conditions. Aḥmad secretly fitted out swift riding-camels, left Sistan and came to Merv. He gathered together a force of troops and seized and bound Abū Jaՙfar Ghūrī, ՙAmr’s representative there. He sought a guarantee of protection from Ismāՙīl b. Aḥmad and went to Bukhara. Ismāՙīl received him in a hospitable fashion, and mighty deeds were done by Aḥmad and fine victories achieved by him. Aḥmad, son of Sahl, was a man with sound judgement, wily, knowledgeable and shrewd. Since he found a good reception at Ismāՙīl b. Aḥmad’s court, he took up residence there. He performed various manly deeds so that he rose higher in the Amir’s favour each day. He remained in this favoured position all through the Martyred Amir’s reign and [N 29] in the time of the Fortunate Amir was governor of Nishapur.

Then, however, he rebelled at Nishapur and dropped the Fortunate Amir’s name from the khuṭba. Qarategin, who was governor in Gurgān,²⁵ led an expedition against him. Aḥmad abandoned Nishapur and went to Merv, constructed there a secure fortress and shut himself within it. When the news reached Bukhara, the Amir despatched Ḥamụya b. ՙAlī to combat him. When the latter’s troops entered [the town of] Merv, Ḥamūya ordered the senior officers of his army to enter into an exchange of correspondence with Aḥmad and give themselves out as inclining to his side. When the letters reached Aḥmad, he was taken in by them and dropped his guard. He marched out of Merv (i.e. out of the security of his fortress there) to attack Ḥamūya. The two opposing forces met together at Ḥawzān on the banks of the river.²⁶ After a time Ḥamūya’s forces put Aḥmad’s army to flight, and only Aḥmad himself remained. The fighting continued for as long as [M 223] his mount had strength. When his horse collapsed to the ground, he dismounted and fought the opposing troops on foot. In the end, they captured him, bound him and sent him to Bukhara. The Fortunate Amir ordered him to be imprisoned, and he died in jail in Dhu ’l-Ḥijja of the year 307 [/April–May 920].²⁷

In the year 317 [/929] the Fortunate Amir went from Bukhara to Nishapur. He kept his brothers Ibrāhīm, Yaḥyā and Manṣūr captive in the citadel of Bukhara, and ordered that their daily sustenance should continue to be supplied there. There was a cook called Abū Bakr b. ՙ.m.y (ՙAmr, ՙUmar?) al-Khabbāz (‘The Baker’) who used to supply them with this sustenance. He was somewhat stupid and used always to say that the Fortunate Amir was going to experience something unpleasant from him, but people used to laugh at his slow wits. This Abū Bakr acted as an intermediary between the Fortunate Amir’s brothers on one side and disruptive elements (fuḍūliyān) in Bukhara and the army on the other. One day, they made an agreement amongst themselves and issued forth. They seized the custodian of the citadel, [N 30] released Aḥmad’s brothers and everyone who was incarcerated in the citadel and took control of Bukhara. Yaḥyā gave this Abū Bakr the Baker the military command and made him part of his close entourage. [H 153]

When the Fortunate [Amir] got news of this, he came back from Nishapur and led an expedition against Bukhara. Yaḥyā sent Abū Bakr the Baker with his cavalry force to the Oxus bank in order to secure the way and prevent anyone from crossing. He sent with him Ḥusayn b. ՙAlī al-Marwazī’s son. When they reached the bank of the Oxus, Muḥammad b. ՙUbaydallāh al-Balՙami²⁸ sent a message to Ḥusayn’s son, and the latter seized Abū Bakr the Baker and placed him in bonds. The Fortunate Amir was able to cross the river; he came to Bukhara and ordered that Abū Bakr should be flogged to death. Then his body was placed in an oven to be roasted. He was roasted in it overnight. The next day his body was pulled out, but none of his limbs had been burnt at all; everyone marvelled at this.²⁹

The Fortunate Amir’s brothers scattered in various directions. Yaḥyā went to Samarqand and from there to Balkh, thence to Nishapur and finally to Baghdad, where he died. His coffin [M 224] was brought back to Isfijāb.³⁰

In the year 320 [/932] al-Qāhir bi’llāh succeeded to the caliphate. The Fortunate Amir came to Nishapur, and he put the affairs of Gurgān in order. When he had finished restoring order there, he gave command of the army in Khurasan to Abū Bakr Muḥammad b. al-Muẓaffar [b. Muḥtāj Chaghānī].³¹ When he came back to Bukhara . . .³² Then al-Rāḍī bi ‘llāh succeeded to the caliphate. He sent to Naṣr b. Aḥmad an investiture diploma for Khurasan by the hands of ՙAbbās b. Shaqīq (Shafīq?).

At this moment, Muḥammad b. al-Muẓaffar was at Nishapur and Mardāwīz at Ray. Mardāwīz planned to go from Ray to Isfahan. En route he went into a bathhouse, and there in the year 323 [/935] the ghulāms killed him, Bajkam Mākānī [N 31] being the commander of those ghulāms.³³ Muḥammad b. al-Muẓaffar returned to Nishapur ill and suffering, and his sickness became serious. The Fortunate Amir then sent Abū ՙAlī Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. al-Muẓaffar [Chaghānī] to Nishapur and recalled Muḥammad [b. al-Muẓaffar]. In Muḥarram of the year 328 [/October–November 939] [Abū ՙAlī] Aḥmad proceeded to Gurgān and besieged Mākān in the town. Mākān’s position became constricted, and all his followers sought guarantees of protection from Abū ՙAlī, since supplies of food and fodder had run low. Mākān himself fled to Ṭabaristān, and Abū ՙAlī moved to Qūmis in the year 329 [/940–1] and from there marched against Ray. Wushmgīr b. Ziyār was there, and sought help from Mākān. Mākān came from Ṭabaristān, and a battle took place at the gates of Ray. Abū ՙAlī put them to flight and killed large numbers of their troops. Mākān was killed in the battle. [H 154] Abū ՙAlī sent his head to Bukhara, and the Amir sent it on to Baghdad in the charge of ՙAbbās b. Shaqīq.³⁴

Abū ՙAlī freed Mākān’s son and 900 Daylamī soldiers of note who had been taken captive in the campaign, set them on camels and sent them to Bukhara. They were kept detained in the Bukhara prison until Wushmgīr came to Bukhara offering his submission; he asked for their release, and he (sc. the Amir) granted the captives to him. [M 225]

Then al-Muttaqī succeeded to the caliphate in the year 329 [/940–1], and he sent an investiture diploma for Khurasan to the Fortunate Amir. Ahmad b. Muḥammad, son of Muẓaffar, was at Ray and Wushmgīr was in Ṭabaristān. The latter had taken refuge in the citadel of Sārī. When Aḥmad attacked him, his position became parlous. Aḥmad overran all his province. Winter drew on and the rains became continuous. They entered into negotiations for peace and made an agreement by the terms of which Wushmgīr was to stick to his promised obedience. Abū ՙAlī Aḥmad b. Muḥammad returned to [N 32] Gurgān in Jumādā II of the year [3]31 [/February–March 943], the same month in which the Fortunate Amir passed away.³⁵

On his death, none of those executive officials (mudabbirān) and secretaries who had worked at his court remained, and a sharp division and two parties emerged within his army.³⁶ The direction of affairs passed from [Abu ’l-Faḍl] Muḥammad b. ՙUbaydallāh al-Balՙamī to Abū ՙAlī Muḥammad b. Muḥammad al-Jayhānī.³⁷ Muḥammad b. Ḥātim al-Muṣՙabī showed opposition and affairs were in chaos.

The Praiseworthy One (al-ḥamīd) Abū Muḥammad Nūḥ (I) b. Naṣr (II)

The Praiseworthy Amir succeeded to the governorship of Khurasan in Shaՙbān of the year 331[/April–May 943]. He reigned for twelve years and three months and then died in the month of Rabīՙ I of the year 343 [/July–August 954]. When he assumed power, he entrusted the vizierate and the conduct of government to Abu ’l-Faḍl Muḥammad b. Muḥammad [b. Aḥmad] al-Ḥākim, who was known as ‘The Exalted Administrator’ (ḥākim-i jalīl).³⁸ The Amir made him responsible for paying out the army’s salaries and allowances, and Abu ’l-Faḍl put in place laudable procedures. Abu ’l-ՙAbbās Aḥmad b. Ḥamūya was fearful of the Praiseworthy Amir, since the Fortunate Amir had, during his own lifetime, appointed as his covenanted successor Ismāՙīl b. Naṣr, and Aḥmad b. Ḥamūya was the latter’s adviser and executive. Hostile elements had stirred up trouble between Ismāՙīl and Nūḥ, the sons of Naṣr. Ismāՙīl died before Naṣr (i.e. before Naṣr’s accession to the throne), but that feeling of anger had remained in the Praiseworthy Amir’s heart. Aḥmad b. Ḥamūya continued to be apprehensive; the Fortunate Amir had told him, ‘If anything should happen to me, [M 226] Nūḥ won’t treat you well’. When the Praiseworthy Amir succeeded in the amirate, [N 33] Aḥmad b. Ḥamūya crossed over the Oxus and came to Āmūy, keeping all the time in concealment. [H 155]

After a year had passed, a general accounting was made. [The Vizier] Ḥākim had paid out six million odd dirhams to the army, but everyone was dissatisfied, the treasuries were empty and the troops full of complaints. The Vizier was revealed as feeble and lacking in judgement.

The region of Nasā suffered an earthquake in Dhu ’l-Ḥijja of the year 331 [/August 943]; it destroyed many villages and over 5,000 people were crushed beneath the rubble.

Treasonable words uttered by the Ḥājib Muḥammad b. Ṭoghān³⁹ were brought to the Praiseworthy Amir’s attention, and he gave orders that he and his son should be killed. When Amir Nūḥ reached Merv in the year 332 [/943–4], Aḥmad b. Ḥamūya was taken unawares. He went out of his house on the spur of the moment, but was seized and brought before Nūḥ. When the latter saw Aḥmad, he did not ill-treat him but, on the contrary, spoke kindly words and encouraged him to look for favourable treatment in the future. He questioned him in an amicable fashion, and gave orders for a monthly salary to be allotted him on the grounds that he had been of service to the state.

Amir Aḥmad then proceeded from Merv to Nishapur in Rajab of the year 333 [/February–March 945] and stayed there for fifty days. A deputation from the subjects there came along and complained about Abū ՙAlī [Aḥmad Chaghānī]’s evil behaviour and the tyrannical measures of his subordinates. Hence the Praiseworthy Amir dismissed him and appointed in his place Ibrāhīm b. Sīmjūr, himself returning to Bukhara.

In the year 334 [/945–6] Mustakfī succeeded to the caliphate.

The army at Ray rose up against Amir Nūḥ and broke out in rebellion. When news of this reached Amir Nūḥ, he left there (i.e. Bukhara) for Merv. [The Vizier] Ḥākim made slanderous accusations and told the Amir, ‘All this is Aḥmad b. Ḥamūya’s doing, with the aim of causing trouble for you.’ He went on speaking in this vein until Nūḥ became roused against Aḥmad b. Ḥamūya; he issued orders and Aḥmad was beaten to death in Ḥākim’s presence in the year 335 [/946–7]. [N 34, M 227] The troops came into Merv⁴⁰ and raised complaints about Muḥammad b. Muḥammad al-Ḥākim, alleging that ‘He doesn’t attend to the army’s concerns, he doesn’t show any solicitude for them and doesn’t pay their salaries. He has stirred up disaffection towards you, he has driven Abū ՙAlī to rebellion and he has rendered the troops disaffected.’ (Abū ՙAlī had exercised his wiles,⁴¹ and had won over to his own side large sections of the troops.) The soldiers demanded that the Amir should put an end to the Vizier’s tyrannical practices against them; if not, they would abandon his service. The Praiseworthy Amir commanded that Ḥākim should be dragged from where he was on his face. He was brought to the gate of the palace and there he was killed on the Amir’s orders. This was in the year 335, two months after the execution of the Son of Ḥamūya.

Then Abū ՙAlī Chaghānī came to Nishapur with Ibrāhīm, the Praiseworthy Amir’s paternal uncle, and with an army. Ibrāhīm b. Sīmjūr, together with Manṣūr b. Qarategin and his cavalry force, withdrew and went to join Nūḥ at Merv. Abū ՙAlī sallied forth from Nishapur at the end of the month of Rabīՙ I of the year 335 [/29 October 946] and came to Sarakhs, and from there decided to march against Merv. When he reached the village of Ayqān,⁴² there arrived letters from a considerable number of persons, these being adherents and senior officers of Nūḥ, having shown an inclination to Abū ՙAlī’s side. Abū ՙAlī encamped at the village of Sing⁴³ a parasang away from Merv, whilst Nūḥ fell back on Bukhara. Abū ՙAlī entered Merv and stayed there for some time, and then set out for Bukhara, crossing the Oxus. [H 156]

Nūḥ withdrew to Samarqand, and Abū ՙAlī made the khuṭba (sc. at Bukhara) for Ibrāhīm b. Aḥmad and remained there for some time. The people of Bukhara laid plans for seizing Abū ՙAlī and all his entourage. When he got news of this, he left the city next day and ordered all his troops to leave also. They carried off all the cotton and linen cloth and sets of clothing, and left [N 35] with the intention of setting the city on fire. The leading citizens came forth and sought the intercession of God, He is Mighty and Exalted. They instilled fear into Abū ՙAlī and he desisted. When he perceived that the feelings of the citizens were unfavourable to him, he set up Abū Jaՙfar (i.e. Nūḥ’s brother Muḥammad b. Naṣr b. Aḥmad) as ruler, made appointments to all departments of the Dīwān, and himself departed by the R.khna⁴⁴ road. [M 228] He gave out that he was making for Samarqand, but [actually] went to Nakhshab. He then sent back all his senior officers and troops (i.e. to Khurasan) and himself went to Chaghāniyān.

When Abū ՙAlī departed, Ibrāhīm and Abū Jaՙfar Muḥammad b. Naṣr sent a messenger to Amir Nūḥ seeking from him a guarantee of protection; he granted them this and accepted their excuses. He returned to Bukhara in person in the month of Ramaḍān of the year 335 [/March–April 947].

In this same year, Muṭīՙ succeeded to the caliphate.

The Praiseworthy Amir appointed Manṣūr b. Qarategin as commander-in-chief in Khurasan. From Bukhara, Manṣūr arrived in Merv, where was Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. ՙAlī al-Qazwīnī. He came into Manṣūr’s presence and rendered to him service. Manṣūr proceeded from there to Nishapur, whilst Abū ՙAlī was during all this time in Chaghāniyān. Abū ՙAlī then got word that Amir Nūḥ had got together an army and was planning to attack him. Abū ՙAlī acted decisively, came to Balkh and remained there for some time. He then set out with his army for Bukhara. The Praiseworthy Amir and all his troops fell back before him. At Kharjang⁴⁵ the two sides came together in Jumādā I of the year 336 [/November–December 947] and a battle ensued that lasted from the time of the afternoon worship till the close of day. Nūḥ and his senior commanders returned to Bukhara. Abu ’l-Ḥārith b. Abu ’l-Qāsim, the treasurer Qut-tegin,⁴⁶ Abū ՙAlī b. Isḥāq and Aḥmad the brother of Bārs were stationed [N 36] there confronting Abū ՙAlī till the morning. Ibrāhīm b. Abu ’l-Ḥasan was taken prisoner, together with several others of Abū ՙAli’s followers. Abū Isḥāq Ruzgāni⁴⁷ sought a guarantee of protection and came over with a numerous force of Daylamīs. Abū ՙAlī retreated in flight to Chaghāniyān. The General Bāyjūr (?) was killed in the battle. ՙAlī b. Aḥmad b. ՙAbdallāh was captured in the environs of Samarqand and Aḥmad b. al-Ḥusayn/al-Ḥasan al-ՙUtbī at Nakhshab; they were set on camels and brought into Bukhara by day. [H 157] They were brought to the city gate and each of them was beaten with a hundred strokes, was put in fetters and forcibly made to disgorge his wealth (muṣādara). Abu ’l-ՙAbbās Muḥammad b. Aḥmad [M 229] died in the course of this, but Aḥmad b. al-Ḥusayn/al-Ḥasan was released after enduring these tortures for a considerable time.

Abū ՙAlī now sought help from the Amir of Khuttalān. He himself gathered together an army, marched on Tirmidh, and crossed the Oxus and came to Balkh. From there he headed for Gūzgānān and, according to the preconceived arrangement, met up with the Amir of Khuttalān at Simingān. When he reached Tukhāristān, the news came that the army of Bukhara had invaded Chaghāniyān, had burnt the Iron Gate (dar-i āhanīn)⁴⁸ and had devastated the whole of Abū ՙAlī’s property and possessions. He immediately took the Mīla road and crossed the Oxus back again. He sent out separate detachments of troops in all directions and blocked the way for the army of Bukhara. Their position became parlous, and they had no access to any food and fodder. When Abū ՙAlī reached the village of K.m.kānān (?), it being at a distance of two parasangs from [the town of] Chaghāniyān, a battle took place there in the month of Rabīՙ I of the year 336 [/September–October 947]. The Praiseworthy Amir’s army secured the victory over Abū ՙAlī, and he retreated to Shūmān, twelve parasangs beyond Chaghāniyān [town]. The army of Bukhara entered Chaghāniyān and plundered the town, including Abū ՙAlī’s palaces and residences. At this point, Abū ՙAlī received reinforcements from the Kumījīs and from the Amir of Zhāsht⁴⁹ Jaՙfar b. Sh.mānīqwā (?) and the army of Īlāq, and, in the space of a day, they came to Wāshgird.⁵⁰ The Amir of Khuttalān, Aḥmad b. Jaՙfar, [N 37] also sent his commander-in-chief Bajkam with a numerous army, and the way for the army of Bukhara was now blocked and their communications with the capital severed. Peace negotiations were opened up and a contractual agreement (muwāḍaՙat) was reached that Abū ՙAlī should send his son Abu ’l-Muẓaffar ՙAbdallāh b. Aḥmad to Bukhara as a hostage, and this was done. This happened in Jumādā II of the year 337 [/December 948].

When Abu ’l-Muẓaffar came to Bukhara, the Praiseworthy Amir ordered that the city should be decked out in a festive manner, and he was escorted into the city with pomp and ceremony. The Amir further ordered that he should be lodged in the palace; he invited him to the royal table and ordered him to be given a special robe of honour, including the donning of a cap. [H 158, M 230]

A self-styled prophet (mutanabbī) from the region of Chaghāniyān and the district of Bāsand⁵¹ had led an uprising, and he headed for the Iron Gate. He styled himself the Mahdī and a prophet. He had first publicly made his claims in the year 322 [/934], and considerable numbers of people had gone to join him and adopted his doctrines. This Mahdī used to have a sword in his belt, and with it would attack anyone who opposed him. He was a crafty individual and up to tricks of all kinds. Thus he would put this hand into a cistern filled with water and bring out from it a fistful of dinars. A great number of people used to eat at his table, but it never made any diminution in the amount of food there. People would drink water from his goblet till their thirst was quenched, but that goblet never became empty. Each person from his circle of retainers would eat just a single date per day, and that would be enough for him. When news of this spread through those regions, large numbers of the ignorant common people flocked to join him.⁵²

A letter reached Abū ՙAlī Chaghānī from Bukhara instructing him to deal with the matter of that self-styled prophet. Abū ՙAlī despatched Abū Ṭalḥa Jaՙfar b. Mardānshāh. This Mahdī [N 38] was at the village of Wardī.⁵³ He retreated into the mountains, but an attack was launched against him which dislodged him from the mountains. His head was chopped off, and Abū Ṭalḥa sent it to Abū ՙAlī in a horse’s nosebag. Abū ՙAlī was at that moment in Shūmān, and he gave orders that the head should be publicly displayed to all the persons who had followed the would-be prophet, and then he forwarded it to Bukhara.

Abu ’l-Muẓaffar was meanwhile residing at Bukhara. One day he mounted his horse and was riding on, but inadvertently the horse threw him. His head landed against a stone, his brains were spattered out and he died. The Praiseworthy Amir was distressed and gave orders that the dead man should be enshrouded in a handsome fashion, and he sent his funeral bier back to Chaghāniyān, with the Royal Purveyor of Drinks (sharāb-dār) Naṣr being charged with performing the rites of mourning and consolation with Abū ՙAlī.

Only two months after Abu ’l-Muẓaffar’s death, Manṣūr b. Qarategin died at Nishapur. The Praiseworthy Amir bestowed the office of commander-in-chief of Khurasan on Abū ՙAlī Chaghānī and sent him an investiture diploma and a standard. He gave him all the lands south of the Oxus (mā dūn al-nahr) and bestowed Chaghāniyān and Tirmidh on his son Abū Manṣūr Naṣr b. Aḥmad. [M 231] Abū ՙAlī came to Nishapur in Dhu ’l-Ḥijja of the year 340 [/May 952], and in the year 341 [/952–3] all affairs in Khurasan were peaceful and orderly.

In the year 342 [/953–4] Abū ՙAlī marched on Ray and besieged Ḥasan-i Būya⁵⁴ in the town. Wushmgīr b. Ziyār sent reinforcements for Ḥasan-i Būya. The besiegers were unable to make any headway. At this point, the riding beasts at Ray were hit by a fatal murrain and only a few beasts survived. Negotiators from each side met together and made peace on the basis that [Ḥasan-i] Būya should pay an annual tribute of 200,000 dinars and that Abū ՙAlī should withdraw. Ḥasan sent to him ՙAbbās b. Dāwūd as surety for this sum of money.

Abū ՙAlī returned to Nishapur. However, the Praiseworthy Amir became suspicious that Abū ՙAlī might perhaps have colluded with al-Ḥasan-i Būya. Abū ՙAlī [N 39, H 159] sent emissaries and explained what he had been doing, but the feeling of rancour was not dispelled from the Praiseworthy Amir’s mind. Abū ՙAlī Chaghānī then sent a deputation of shaykhs, professional attesters and leading citizens of Nishapur to Bukhara so that they might set forth the justification for his action and explain that he was guiltless of the suspicions the Praiseworthy Amir held. But before this group of trustworthy persons from Nishapur [attesting Abū ՙAlī’s innocence] could reach Bukhara, the Praiseworthy Amir fell ill. His sickness became acute, and in the month of Rabīՙ II of the year 343[/August 954] he died from it.⁵⁵

The Rightly-Guided One (al-rashīd) Abu ’l-Fawāris ՙAbd al-Malik (I) b. Nūḥ (I)

Nūḥ b. Naṣr had four sons: ՙAbd al-Malik, Aḥmad, Naṣr and ՙAbd al-ՙAzīz. He had had allegiance done to them as his covenanted heir in that successive order, ՙAbd al-Malik being the oldest. ՙAbd al-Malik succeeded to power in the month of Rabīՙ II of the year 343 [/December 954]. He appointed as his vizier Abū Manṣūr Muḥammad b. ՙUzayr, and as his commander-in-chief Abū Saՙīd Bakr b. Mālik. The latter came to Nishapur in Shaՙbān of the year 343 and established there a benevolent and just regime. [M 232]

Then the news arrived that Muṭīՙ had given the governorship of Khurasan to Abū ՙAlī Chaghānī. This information enraged Bakr b. Mālik. He marched out with his army and encamped at the village of Āzādwār in the rural district of Juwayn, and formulated the plan of moving on from there with his army to give battle. His commanders, however, objected that ‘Fodder is in short supply, the army is without provisions and it’s not possible to engage in battle.’ So Bakr b. Mālik wrote a letter to the Rightly-Guided Amir ՙAbd al-Malik b. Nūḥ explaining this state of affairs and seeking money from him. The Rightly-Guided Amir sent back [to him] Ismāՙīl b. Ṭoghān (text, t.gh.yān) but did not send the required money. [N 40] When this news reached Khurasan, the province was plunged into a disturbed state. Taking advantage of this, Ḥasan Būya sent Abu ’l-Faḍl⁵⁶ Ibn al-ՙAmīd against Isfahan, and Ibn al-ՙAmīd engaged in warfare, seized the Son of Mākān and consigned him to the fortress of Arrajān, after which no-one ever saw him again. This conquest of Isfahan took place in the month of Rabīՙ I of the year 344 [/June–July 955].

Ḥasan-i Būya now marched against Gurgān. News of this reached Bakr b. Mālik, and Ḥasan [b.] Fīrūzān moved to the confines of Jājarm. When ՙAbd al-Malik b. Nūḥ heard about these happenings, he gathered together military forces and despatched them to Bakr b. Mālik at Āzādwār. Ḥasan-i Būya and Abū ՙAlī did not stay to deliver battle to Bakr, but retreated to Ṭabaristān. Abū Saՙīd [Bakr b.] Mālik summoned Abu ’l-Ḥasan Muḥammad b. Ibrāhīm b. Sīmjūr to be military governor (shiḥna) at Nishapur. A letter from Ḥasan-i Būya and Abū ՙAlī Chaghānī reached ՙAlī b. al-Marzubān seeking a peace settlement with Abū Saՙīd Bakr b. Mālik. Ḥasan engaged [H 160] that he would regularly send an annual tribute of 200,000 dinars from Ray and the districts of Jibāl plus additional presents, and would provide hospitality and feasting (?),⁵⁷ and he would not molest Wushmgīr in regard to Ṭabaristān. ՙAlī b. al-Marzubān acted as an intermediary, and on this basis peace was made. Ḥasan sent the tribute and the presents stipulated in the peace agreement. The danger of bloodshed was averted and the causes of emnity removed, and affairs in Khurasan became settled and ran smoothly. [M 233]

Muṭīՙ wrote a letter to Ḥasan-i Būya. This peace made on the basis of a contractual agreement was displeasing to him, and he said, ‘That’s the pay allotment for the army of Khurasan due each year according to the agreement made in the year 344 [/955–56].’ Abū ՙAlī fell ill and died at the end of Rajab of the year 344 [/19 November 955] and his bier was carried back to Chaghāniyān.

Bakr b. Mālik used to treat his troops with disdain and [N 41] used to stint them in what was their due until they grew to hate him. They returned to Bukhara and laid their complaints before ՙAbd al-Malik. Bakr b. Mālik came to the royal court at Bukhara in Ramaḍān of the year 345[/December 956–January 957] because he, in company with thirty-seven other commanders, was going to be invested with a robe of honour, so that they might then go back to Farghāna. When Bakr b. Mālik came along, performed the due obeisance and sought an answer (i.e. to his request for entry to the palace), Qut-tegin the treasurer was on his right and the Ḥājib Alptegin on his left. He requested that he might mount, but the Ḥājib Alptegin knocked him to the ground. They attacked him with their swords and spears and killed him at the Gate of the Government Headquarters (dar-i sulṭān), and carried off his [severed] head. They clapped in bonds Abū Manṣūr b. ՙUzayr and set up Abū Jaՙfar b. Muḥammad [b.] al-Ḥusayn [ՙUtbī]⁵⁸ in the vizierate, whilst Abu ’l-Ḥasan Muḥammad b. Ibrāhīm [Sīmjūrī] was appointed commander-in-chief of Khurasan. The Ḥājib Ibrāhīm b. Alptegin was sent to Abu ’l-Ḥasan with the investiture diploma and standard for a commander-in-chief in the year 347 [/958–9].

Abū Jaՙfar ՙUtbī was continually alighting on sources of wealth that he could appropriate for himself and exerting himself to the utmost in searching out money for the treasuries, until people complained volubly about him, and in the months of the year 348 [/959–60] Abū Jaՙfar was deprived of the vizierate, which was now given instead to Abū Manṣūr Yūsuf b. Isḥāq.

At Nishapur, the Amir Abu ’l-Ḥasan Muḥammad b. Ibrāhīm committed numerous oppressive acts, and complaints about his tyranny were continually reaching the court in Bukhara. Hence in Jumādā II of the year 349 [/August 960] he was dismissed and the post of commander-in-chief given to Abū Manṣūr Muḥammad b. ՙAbd al-Razzāq. Abū Naṣr Manṣūr b. Bāyqarā was sent to him with an investiture diploma, a standard and a robe of honour. [H 161, M 234]

When that investiture diploma reached Abū Manṣūr b. ՙAbd al-Razzāq, he got a firm grip on the Cis-Oxanian lands (wilāyat-i mā dūn al-nahr) and established laudable practices. [N 42] He held sessions for hearing complaints of injustice, personally acted as an arbiter between opposing parties and dispensed justice in cases between the subjects. Abū Manṣūr was an upright man, knowledgeable about customs and conventions, pleasant company and characterised by an abundance of good deeds.⁵⁹

At the court, the Ḥājib Alptegin always acknowledged Abū Manṣūr’s suitability⁶⁰ for his post. But Alptegin spoke up about Yūsuf b. Isḥāq’s mismanagement of affairs until the latter was deprived of the vizierate, which was given to Abū ՙAlī Muḥammad b. Muḥammad al-Balՙamī.⁶¹ After some time, Alptegin perceived that ՙAbd al-Malik’s attitude towards him had changed. He was now less and less⁶² rendering service and participating in court life. ՙAbd al-Malik ordered him to go to Balkh (i.e. as governor there). Alptegin protested, ‘In no way will I become a mere local governor and tax collector after having been the Chief Ḥājib.’ So he was given the post of commander-in-chief in Khurasan, with Abū Manṣūr dismissed from that office. Abū Manṣūr went to Ṭūs and Alptegin came to Nishapur on 20 Dhu ’l-Ḥijja of the year 349 [/10 February 961]. Alptegin’s vizier was Abū ՙAbdallāh Muḥammad b. Aḥmad al-Shiblī.

There was an agreement between Alptegin and Abū ՙAlī Balՙamī that each would act as the other’s representative, and Balՙamī used never to do anything without Alptegin’s knowledge and counsel. Alptegin had sent some presents for the Rightly-Guided Amir ՙAbd al-Malik, included amongst them being some horses and other things. They were brought into the Amir’s presence after the noon worship. ՙAbd al-Malik was an enthusiast for polo-playing in the open parade ground. He had drunk a certain amount of wine, and he successively mounted the horses which had been given to him as presents. One of them bucked when ՙAbd al-Malik was on him and threw him off, and his head and neck were smashed to pieces. They bore away his corpse, and they gave him the honorific title of ‘The Rightly-Guided One’.⁶³

The Upright One (al-sadīd) Abū Ṣāliḥ Manṣūr (I) b. Nūḥ (I)

The Rightly-Guided One and the Upright One were sons of the Praiseworthy Amir Nūḥ. When that accident befell the Rightly-Guided One, Abū ՙAlī Balՙamī immediately wrote a letter to [M 235] Alptegin with the news of what had happened to the Rightly-Guided One and asking him who, in his view, was the most suitable candidate for the throne. Alptegin wrote back in reply that out of the Rightly-Guided One’s sons, one was particularly suitable to succeed.⁶⁴ When this reply had gone off, a letter arrived with the information that the members of the Samanid family and the army were all agreed that Manṣūr should be raised to the throne.

When Alptegin read the letter, swift-running camel riders had already crossed the river (i.e. the Oxus). Alptegin then sent a messenger⁶⁵ to Abū Manṣūr ՙAbd al-Razzāq with the instructions, ‘Get a firm grip on affairs in Khurasan and act according to the friendship which exists between the two of us, as I am firmly convinced you will do.’ Alptegin’s envoy was still with Abū Manṣūr when a letter arrived from Bukhara dismissing Alptegin and appointing Abū Manṣūr as governor in his place. Abū Manṣūr had also been ordered, ‘Don’t allow Alptegin to cross the river, but launch an attack on him, and the post of commander-in-chief at Nishapur is yours’, and further hopes of favour were offered to him. [H 162]

Alptegin left Nishapur in Dhu ’l-Qaՙda of the year 350 [/December 961–January 962]. Abū Manṣūr despatched an army by the Ṭābarān and Nūqān Gate to Jāha (?).⁶⁶ Alptegin had already left. They came upon a certain amount of the remnants of his baggage, which the ‘ayyārs and sarhangs plundered, carrying off everything that was there. Following in Alptegin’s tracks, Abū Manṣūr came to Jāha, but Alptegin had already reached the bank of the Oxuṣ Letters sent from Bukhara by the Amir, the Vizier and the head of the palace household (wakīl-i dar) reached Alptegin’s senior officers (sarhangān) denouncing Alptegin for acting wrongfully. When Alptegin saw what the situation was, he set fire to the army camp until the whole of it was consumed. Then he told his personal ghulāms, [N 44] ‘You all see what lies before us – sword blows, imprisonment and the violent extortion of wealth – and behind us – killing, captivity and the sword. The right course is that we should make for Balkh.’ He went from there to Balkh and then left that city by the Khulm road.

When the Upright One got news of Alptegin’s flight, he sent against him B.b.dāḥ (?),⁶⁷ and B.b.dāḥ caught up with Alptegin at the pass (dara) leading to Khulm. Alptegin had with him 700 ghulāms, and they gave battle to 12,000 opponents, killing the greater part of them. In the end, B.b.dāḥ turned and fled back to Bukhara. Alptegin went to Tukhāristān and from there to Ghaznin. He remained there for a period of time and it was there that he died.⁶⁸ [M 236]

Abū Manṣūr b. ՙAbd al-Razzāq knew that he would not be left in that post (i.e. of commander-in-chief) and that he would be dismissed. He returned to Merv, but the sarhangs of Merv shut the gates of the town in his face. He passed on from there and [now] allowed his troops full licence. The troops were indulging in plundering and seizing people’s wealth, and in this fashion he headed for Nasā and Bāvard. The headman (ra’īs) of Nasā had just died; Abū Manṣūr arrested his heirs and seized the wealth. He sent a letter to Ḥasan b. Būya seeking an agreement with him; he invited him to Gurgān, and Ḥasan-i Būya set out from where he was.

Wushmgīr gave the physician Yuḥannā 1,000 dinars in gold, and he administered poison to Abū Manṣūr. That unjust and violent behaviour on Abū Manṣūr’s part redounded on his own head;⁶⁹ the poison worked in him and he perished as a result of it. The post of commander-in-chief (i.e. of Khurasan) was given to Abu ’l-Ḥasan Muḥammad b. Ibrāhīm [Sīmjūrī] for a second time, in Dhu ’l-Ḥijja of the year 350 [/January–February 962]. Abu ’l-Ḥasan took up his post and treated the subjects very benevolently, spread widely his justice, followed beneficent governmental ways and put into practice laudable policies. He used always to cultivate the learned classes, and turned completely away from those evil ways that he had previously followed and from which the subjects had much suffered; he now conciliated people, put aside that evil disposition and [N 45] abandoned reprehensible practices.

The order reached Abu ’l-Ḥasan to attack Abū Manṣūr b. ՙAbd al-Razzāq. When Amir Abu ’l-Ḥasan sallied forth to engage him in battle, he came upon Ḥasan-i Būya’s army at N.m.kh.k.n⁷⁰ and Khabūshān. Abu ’l-Ḥasan came up in pursuit of him, and battle was joined by the two sides. [H 163] That poison administered to Abū Manṣūr had done its work and he was in an afflicted state, with his eyesight also badly affected. Abu ’l-Ḥasan’s army proved victorious and Abū Manṣūr’s troops fled. In the course of this flight, Abū Manṣūr said to his troops, ‘I’ve got to dismount.’ They replied, ‘There’s no time for that.’ He repeated, ‘I’ve got to take a rest.’ They left him there alone and went off, and he himself dismounted. Straightway, a cavalry troop of Aḥmad b. Manṣūr b. Qarategin arrived; a Ṣaqlābī ghulām came upon him, severed Abū Manṣūr b. ՙAbd al-Razzāq’s head and pulled off his signet ring, and laid them before his master. [M 237]

Amir Abu ’l-Ḥasan was now in a firm, settled position. He remained at Nishapur for five years and did not go anywhere else. Then he received a letter from Bukhara instructing him to go to Ray and campaign there. Wushmgīr sent his secretary ՙAlī Dāmghānī, and he himself followed on after him. During the journey, he went out hunting. A wild boar felled him to the ground, he was badly injured and died on the spot. He was brought to Gurgān on 14–15 Dhu ’l-Ḥijja of the year 356[/20–1 November 967].

With Wushmgīr dead, there was no point in going to Ray. The army of Khurasan clamoured for its pay. Amir Abu ’l-Ḥasan sent a letter to Manṣūr b. Nūḥ asking for money; Manṣūr replied that the army’s pay would have to be taken from Bīsutūn, son of Wushmgīr. When Bīsutūn heard this, he headed for Ṭabaristān, on the plea that his money was laid up there. But he secretly concerted a plan of action with Ḥasan-i Būya. The latter sent his ՙārid. ՙAlī b. al-Qāsim to Āmul, [N 46] Bīsutūn then arrived there and he made that arrangement between them firm.

The robe of honour sent by Muṭīՙ reached Bīsutūn, together with a standard for the governorship of Ṭabaristān, Gurgān, Sālūs and Rūyān, and he had awarded him the honorific title of Ẓahīr al-Dawla ‘Upholder of the State’. Amir Abu ’l-Ḥasan returned to Nishapur, and he was now accused of impotence and weakness. Sālār b. Shīrdil and Shahriyār b. Zarrin-kamar had come to Amir Abu ’l-Ḥasan’s court, and he welcomed and treated them handsomely. Then Bīsutūn died at Astarābād in Rajab of the year 367 [/February–March 978]. Signs of weakness in Abu ’l-Ḥasan’s grip on state affairs became apparent to the ruling authority (sulṭān), one of the manifestations of this being that Gurgān, Qūmis, Sālūs and Rūyān slipped from his control.

Manṣūr b. Nūḥ then sent Ashՙath b. Muḥammad al-Yashkurī to Nasā so that he might proceed from there to Gurgān, and he despatched Naṣr b. Mālik to Gurgānj⁷¹ so that he might conquer it. He was also putting into effect plans regarding Abu ’l-Ḥasan. When [news of this] reached Abu ’l-Ḥasan, he got busy devising stratagems. He came to Bukhara, and through the intimates of Manṣūr secured intercession, and as a result he was able to dispel that rancour from Manṣūr’s heart and fend off from himself that intended harm. The function of vizier had come to be shared between Abū ՙAlī Balՙamī and Abū Jaՙfar ՙUtbī over a certain period, but then Abū ՙAlī Balՙamī died in Jumādā II of the year 363 [/March 974].⁷² [H 164, M 238]

Amir Abu ’l-Ḥasan was a very crafty and ingenious person, and he now brought into play stratagems. He returned to Nishapur with the post of commander-in-chief [and] as holder of the governorship of Merv. A sarhang from the province of Herat, a certain Abū ՙAlī Muḥammad b. al-ՙAbbās Tūlakī, raised a rebellion. He put in order and garrisoned the fortress of Tūlak,⁷³ and a body of troops gathered round him. Amir Abu ’l-Ḥasan appointed Abū Jaՙfar Ziyādī to go and attack Tūlakī. Abū Jaՙfar found Tūlakī in the fortress of Tūlak. Tūlakī then came forth under a guarantee of protection, and Abū Jaՙfar brought him back to Nishapur. This same Abū Jaՙfar Ziyādī marched into Ghūr and [N 47] conquered several of the fortresses there.⁷⁴ In the year 369 [/979–80] he went on to Sistan in order to aid Ḥusayn b. ՙAlī b. Ṭāhir al-Tamīmī, who was engaged in continuous warfare with Khalaf b. Aḥmad.⁷⁵ Amir Abu ’l-Ḥasan also proceeded there, following after him; they engaged in warfare for some time and then they returned (i.e. to Khurasan) in the year 373 [/983–4].

The Commander of the Faithful al-Ṭā’iՙ li’llāh succeeded to the caliphate in the year 374 [/984–5].⁷⁶ Abū Jaՙfar ՙUtbī entered into correspondence with Abu ’l-Fatḥ⁷⁷ Ibn al-ՙAmīd. Abu ’l-Fatḥ was delighted at this, and the two viziers engaged in negotiations and cleared up the causes of emnity between the Buyids and Samanids. The sequence of hostile acts was ended, warfare ceased, and affairs became orderly and settled. The Buyid house acknowledged its obedience to Manṣūr b. Nūḥ and put a stop to acts of provocation. The land was no longer plagued by acts of violence and the populace now enjoyed peace. Each year the stipulated tribute of 200,000 dinars and the additional presents were brought to Khurasan from Ray and the districts of Jibāl.

Ḥasan-i Būya eventually fell ill. He bestowed his kingdom on his sons. Abū Shujāՙ [ՙAḍud al-Dawla] Fanākhusraw had a private meeting with him, and Ḥasan passed on to him all his secrets. He died at Ray on 5 Muḥarram of the year 366 [/3 September 976].

Abū Jaՙfar ՙUtbī did laudable things in Khurasan. Yūsuf [b. Isḥāq] was brought back again and appointed vizier, but died in Dhu ’l-Qaՙda of the year 363 [/July–August 974],⁷⁸ and the vizierate was then given to Abū ՙAbdallāh [M 239] Aḥmad b. Muḥammad al-Jayhānī in the year 365 [/975–76]. At this time Manṣūr b. Nūḥ fell ill. The malady grew worse and he died of it on 11 Shawwāl of the year 365 [/12 June 976]. He was given [posthumously] the honorific title of ‘The Upright One’.⁷⁹ [N 48]

The Well-Pleasing One (al-raḍī, al-riḍā) Abu ’l-Qāsim Nūḥ (II) b. Manṣūr (I)

When Nūḥ b. Manṣūr succeeded to power, he had not yet attained mature years. He reigned for twenty-one years and nine months. He made his close intimates the Amir Abu ’l-Ḥasan [Sīmjūrī] [H 165] and Abu ’l-Ḥārith Muḥammad b. Aḥmad b. Farīghūn,⁸⁰ and through them he acquired strong backing. He entrusted his affairs to Fā’iq of the royal guard (al-khāṣṣa) and the Ḥājib Tāsh. When he assumed power, he sent Abū ՙAbdallāh b. Ḥafṣ, the commander (sālār) of the Bukhara ghāzīs, on a mission to the Amir Abu ’l-Ḥasan and awarded him (i.e. Abu ’l-Ḥasan Sīmjūrī) the honorific title of Nāṣir al-Dawla (‘The One who Renders the State Victorious’).⁸¹ He further sent him an investiture patent and robe of honour for the post of commander-in-chief and for the levying and collection of regular and extraordinary taxation (ՙamal-i maՙūnat wa aḥdāth) at Nishapur and Herat and in Quhistān. By the agency of [Abū] ՙAbdallāh the Ghāzī he sent to him the following verbal message:

We have raised you to a higher level of closeness in our service than you expected, since we have discerned in you signs of trustworthiness and indications of right conduct; take care not to do anything to spoil our good opinion of you. We have bestowed on you three things that none of our predecessors ever granted. One is that we have made you one of our circle of intimates, and this will be an indication of the firmness of our confidence in you and what has impelled us to increase your noble status and high rank. Second is a further allocation of territory for your governorship, and this will be an indication of how highly we value your position and achievements. Third is the award of honorific titles for you, to be used when you are formally addressed and in correspondence, so that you will have an exalted status amongst your contemporaries and peers.

When this investiture patent, robe of honour and message reached Abu ’l-Ḥasan, he was overjoyed. He entertained the envoy lavishly and sent presents for the royal princes, according to their statuses. Then he despatched Abū ՙAbdallāh the Ghāzī homewards.

Abu ’l-Ḥusayn ՙAbdallāh b. Aḥmad ՙUtbī was appointed vizier in Rabīՙ II of the year 367 [/November–December 977]. When the Well-Pleasing Amir [N 49] expressed his desire to appoint Abu ’l-Ḥusayn ՙUtbī as his vizier, [M 240] he sent a letter to Amir Abu ’l-Ḥasan seeking his advice. The latter sent back a reply that Abu ’l-Ḥusayn was too young for the post.⁸² When Abu ’l-Ḥusayn heard these contemptuous and deprecatory words of Amir Abu ’l-Ḥasan, he sought his revenge. He started spreading tales about Amir Abu ’l-Ḥasan’s defects and reprehensible actions. He kept on saying continually that ‘Abu ’l-Ḥasan is useless and will never achieve anything. He has brought Khurasan to ruin. All he cares about is mulcting people and extracting taxation with violence. To make an intimate counsellor of him is n.m.w.ḥ.t.’⁸³ He said so much in this vein that the Well-Pleasing Amir dismissed Abu ’l-Ḥasan and sent him a letter terminating his appointment.

Abu ’l-Ḥusayn ՙUtbī ordered the envoy to communicate the letter dismissing Abu ’l-Ḥasan publicly and in a loud voice. When the envoy reached Nishapur, Amir Abu ’l-Ḥasan had at the time taken up his position amongst his array of troops. The envoy read out this message in accordance with the vizier’s instructions. Amir Abu ’l-Ḥasan became indignant and filled with anger, and said, ‘I’m the governor of Khurasan and the commander-in-chief of the army is my son Abū ՙAlī. By God, I’ll make them see stars!’,⁸⁴ and he had the drums beaten and brought out his army for action.

When news of this reached Abu ’l-Ḥusayn ՙUtbī, he became despairing and repented of what he had said. He kept worrying whether the Amir would be pleased with him or would charge him with responsibility for this reprehensible action, clap him in bonds and imprison him. The next day, a letter brought by an agent of the postal and intelligence service arrived with the information that Abu ’l-Ḥasan had regretted his initial reaction and had accepted what was decreed regarding his governorship and his dismissal. Amir Abu ’l-Ḥasan sent a group of trusted citizens of Nishapur with Bū Naṣr Aḥmad b. ՙAlī Mīkālī,⁸⁵ seeking the Vizier’s pardon for his action. Abu ’l-Ḥusayn was filled with joy. Amir Abu ’l-Ḥasan summoned into his presence Aḥmad [H 166] b. al-Ḥusayn, who had come on the mission (i.e. to Nishapur); he sought pardon and sent him back in a handsome fashion.

The Well-Pleasing Amir Nūḥ then gave the post of commander-in-chief of the army to the Ḥājib Abu ’l-ՙAbbās Tāsh and awarded him the honorific title of Ḥusām al-Dawla (‘Sword of the State’). Tāsh reached Nishapur in mid-Shaՙbān of the year 371 [/14–15 February 982] and remained there for a year. Abu ’l-Ḥusayn ՙUtbī [N 50] showed favour for Tāsh and solicitude because the latter had been one of his father’s ghulāms. Abu ’l-Ḥusayn sent Fā’iq, Qābūs [b. Wushmgīr]⁸⁶ and several [M 241] other senior commanders to Gurgān in order to combat Būya (i.e. Mu’ayyid al-Dawla), and himself set off on the road to B.y.h (?).

ՙAlī b. al-Ḥasan b. Būya (i.e. Mu’ayyid al-Dawla) prepared to launch a military campaign on behalf of his brother (i.e ՙAḍud al-Dawla). First of all, he attacked ՙAlī [b.] Kāma and put him to flight, and himself proceeded to Astarābād. The Khurasanian troops were busy plundering. Tāsh recalled ՙAlī [b.] Kāma. Abū Shujāՙ Fanā-Khusraw (i.e. ՙAḍud al-Dawla) sent reinforcements for his brother [Mu’ayyid al-Dawla] Būya to the number of 7,000 men, 4,000 of them coming from one direction and 3,000 from another direction. When the Buyid reinforcements arrived, they engaged Tāsh’s forces and put them to flight. Tāsh went to his army camp and gave orders that it should be set on fire, and himself departed. Just when the army of Būya b. al-Ḥasan was about to pursue the fugitives into Khurasan, the news reached them of Fanā-Khusraw’s death. The Buyid army halted and did not invade Khurasan; if this [death] had not occurred, they would have destroyed Khurasan and Tāsh.

A letter reached Amir Abu ’l-Ḥasan from Bukhara telling him to put on a durrāՙa and remain at home.⁸⁷ He did this, and gave command of the army to his son Amir Abū ՙAlī and sent him to reinforce Ḥusayn b. Ṭāhir in Sistan. The Amir of Khurasan made over to him Pūshang, and Abū ՙAlī departed. When this news reached Amir Khalaf in Sistan, he designated the ghulāms formerly of the following of Bāytūz and the free troops, amounting to 4,000 cavalrymen, plus four elephants, to attack Amir Abū ՙAlī.⁸⁸ The latter had [only] 1,000 cavalrymen. Battle was joined and large numbers of persons killed, and those four elephants were captured.

When this news reached Bukhara, praises were heaped on Abū ՙAlī, and he was further awarded the province of Bādghīs. A reconciliation between him and Tāsh was effected. Amir Abu ’l-Ḥasan had written to Fā’iq with complaints about Abu ’l-Ḥusayn ՙUtbī and recounting the story of that uttering of abuses and displaying of contempt. [H 167] Fā’iq replied, ‘I’ll devise some stratagem to deal with this.’ [N 51] He then suborned a group of those royal ghulāms who had no fear of God [M 242] and gave each one of them money. They murdered Abu ’l-Ḥusayn ՙUtbī, and he was buried at the side of his father. Things fell into disarray. Tāsh was summoned back to the capital. He set out for there with the intention of wreaking vengeance for the death of Abu ’l-Ḥusayn ՙUtbī, but found no opportunity for this.⁸⁹

Abu ’l-Ḥusayn Muḥammad b. Muḥammad al-Muzanī was then appointed vizier, and affairs settled down. Amir Abū ՙAlī sought from Tāsh the office of deputy for him at Nishapur, and Tāsh gave it to him; but Tāsh’s action here proved to be a mistake. On Abu ’l-Ḥusayn ՙUtbī’s death, Tāsh’s position became weak. Fā’iq and Abu ’l-Ḥasan moved against him, and they incited people so that they were continually complaining of Tāsh’s tyrannical deeds. Fā’iq, Abū ՙAlī and Abu ’l-Ḥasan conspired together; Abū ՙAlī seized Tāsh’s tax officials and confiscated large sums of money from them.

Abu ’l-Ḥusayn Muzanī was arrested; he very soon fell ill and died. Abū Muḥammad ՙAbd al-Raḥmān b. Aḥmad al-Fārisī was made vizier. The ascendancy in the state of Abū ՙAlī and Fā’iq grew very strong. In the end, they decided that Tāsh should have Nishapur; Fā’iq should have Balkh; Abū ՙAlī should have Herat; and Abu ’l-Ḥasan should have Bādghīs, Ganj Rustāq and Quhistān.

Tāsh went to Nishapur, but his detractors took the opportunity to denigrate him, and they kept on making provocations, stirring up trouble and bringing false testimonies until Tāsh was dismissed from office. ՙAbd al-Raḥmān was deprived of the vizierate in the month of Rabīՙ I of the year 376 [/July–August 986]. The post of commander-in-chief in Khurasan was given to Amir Abu ’l-Ḥasan, and Nasā and Bāvard given to Tāsh. When the latter heard the news of his dismissal (i.e. from the supreme command in Khurasan), he remained at Sarakhs and made no move as yet to go to Nasā. Abū Saՙīd Shaybī and ՙAbdallāh b. Muḥammad b. ՙAbd al-Razzāq were at Nishapur.

When Amir Abu ’l-Ḥasan [N 52] arrived, they decorated the town. They went to Tāsh, and . . . they saw how well set-up and arrayed he was. Amir Abu ’l-Ḥasan entered Nishapur. Tāsh came along and shut himself up in the citadel. ՙAlī b. Ḥasan b. Būya (i.e. Fakhr al-Dawla) sent military help to Tāsh. Fighting broke out. Abu ’l-Ḥasan abandoned the town and fell back to Quhistān. He (sc. Tāsh) sought help from Abu ’l-Fawāris b. Abī Shujāՙ (i.e. Sharaf al-Dawla Shīrzīl b. ՙAḍud al-Dawla), [M 243] who sent a force of 2,000 men. Fā’iq now arrived. They proceeded to Nishapur, and they defeated Tāsh, this defeat being on 7 Shaՙbān of the year 377 [/2 December 987].

They took prisoner large numbers of Daylamīs. Manṣūr b. Muḥammad b. ՙAbd al-Razzāq was involved, and he was taken captive also. All were sent to Khurasan. Manṣūr was set on an ox and brought into Bukhara by day. Tāsh fled to Gurgān. ՙAlī b. al-Ḥasan b. Būya received him handsomely and bestowed many presents on him, and himself returned to Ray, entrusting Gurgān, with its harvest of grain and its taxation, to Tāsh. Tāsh died in Gurgān in the year 378 [/988–9].

Abū ՙAlī Muḥammad b. ՙĪsā al-Dāmghānī was then appointed vizier on 10 Rabīՙ II of the year 378 [/28 July 988]. [H 168] The royal guard now favoured Abū Naṣr [b. Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b.] Abū Zayd, but in the end Bū ՙAlī Dāmghānī was given the vizierate for a second time. He functioned thus as vizier until the Khān (i.e. Hārūn or Ḥasan Bughrā Khān, the Qarakhanid Ilig Khān) came to Bukhara. When the Khān left, he took Dāmghānī with him. He passed away at Samarqand on 1 Rajab of the year 382 [/2 September 992].

One day, Amir Abu ’l-Ḥasan went to the Khurramak Garden. He was enamoured of a slave girl and slept with her. He had fallen asleep across her abdomen and then died, this being in Dhu ’l-Ḥijja of the year 378 [/March–April 989]. Amir Abū ՙAlī was at that time at Herat, whilst [his brother] Abu ’l-Qāsim was in charge of Nishapur. Troublemakers sowed dissension between the brothers. When Abu ’l-Qāsim learnt of this, he came from Nishapur to Herat in the year 379 [/989–90], bringing Amir Abu ’l-Ḥasan’s treasury and ghulāms to Abū ՙAlī there. [N 53]

Nūḥ b. Manṣūr now in the year 381 [/991–2] appointed Abū ՙAlī commander-in-chief, sent him an investiture patent, a standard and a robe of honour, and gave him the honorific title of ՙImād al-Dawla (‘Pillar of the State’). Fā’iq came back to Bukhara without having received any permission for this. The Ḥājib Inanch⁹⁰ (? text ’.n.j) and Begtuzūn engaged in battle with him; they defeated Fā’iq and he fled to Balkh. Chaghāniyān was bestowed on Abu ’l-Ḥasan Ṭāhir b. al-Fad. l. [M 244]

Amir Ṭāhir b. al-Faḍl came forth, and Abu ’l-Muẓaffar [Muḥammad b. Aḥmad] went to Fā’iq, who provided him with military assistance. He engaged in battle with Ṭāhir b. al-Faḍl, and in the course of that battle Ṭāhir was killed. When Abū Mūsā Hārūn, son of the Ilig Khān,⁹¹ came from Turkistan to Ispījāb there was a military engagement. He captured Fā’iq’s senior commanders at Khartang.⁹² Fā’iq sought the Khān’s protection and entered Bukhara with him. Nūḥ b. Manṣūr went into hiding. Fā’iq sought a grant of Balkh from the Khān. The Khān gave it to him and himself went back.

Amir Abū ՙAlī possessed numerous troops and weapons and an ample treasury. He intervened in the territory of the Amir of Khurasan and seized control of the whole of the lands this side of the Oxus. He took possession of the proceeds of the land-tax, the tolls on local trade (ajlāb), the regular taxes and extraordinary levies (maՙāwin wa aḥdāth) and the revenues from crown lands, and he inflicted every humiliation possible on Amir Nūḥ. He assumed unilaterally the honorific title of Amīr al-Umarā’ al-Mu’ayyad min al-Samā’ (‘Supreme Commander, the Divinely-Aided One’), whilst retaining the name of Nūḥ in the khuṭba made from the mosque pulpits.⁹³

When the Ilig came to Ispījāb, Abū ՙAlī sent a message to him and offered him his support. The Ilig came to Bukhara and encamped at the Jūy-i Mūliyān⁹⁴ in Rabīՙ I of the year 382 [/May–June 992]. Nūḥ wrote a letter and sent it with an envoy to Abū ՙAlī, instructing him to to come, since the Khān had appeared; Abū ՙAlī paid no heed at all to that letter. Nūḥ sought troops from him, but he did not respond. The Khān fell ill for a while with haemorrhoids and turned back homewards. On leaving, he entrusted the realm to ՙAbd al-ՙAzīz b. Nūḥ b. Naṣr, to whom a splendid robe of honour was awarded; the Khān said to him, ‘We have deprived Nūḥ of his realm and have entrusted it to you.’⁹⁵ The Ilig reached Quchqār-bāshī⁹⁶ [H 169] and there died. Nūḥ had exiled to Khwarazm from his kingdom ՙAbdallāh b. Muḥammad b. ՙUzayr. When Nūḥ came to Āmūy, he recalled him and restored to him his former office. On several occasions Nūḥ sent letters to Abū ՙAlī, summoning him and seeking financial help and troops, but Abū ՙAlī made no reply whatever, and displayed overweening pride and rebelliousness until the day when God, He is Exalted and Magnified, showed favour for Nūḥ’s cause and, [M 245] without the latter’s having to seek help from anyone, vouchsafed His favourable intervention. Nūḥ returned to Bukhara.⁹⁷

Amir Abū Manṣūr Sebüktegin, following on after the Ḥājib Alptegin, had established his control over Ghazna, Gardīz, Parwān, Kabul, Bust and those regions which Qarategin’s ghulāms held.⁹⁸ Amir Sebüktegin’s role and status became exalted and he became renowned. When Abū ՙAlī’s harsh and contemptuous treatment of the Well-Pleasing Amir increased in intensity, Amir Nūḥ wrote a letter to Sebüktegin, may God have mercy on him, embodying his complaints about Abū ՙAlī and summoning him (i.e. to furnish aid). Amir Sebüktegin proceeded to Kish and Nakhshab, and made all the required pledges [to Nūḥ]. Abū ՙAlī moved from Merv to Nishapur in Rajab of the year 383 [/August–September 993]. Letters reached him from Amir Sebüktegin filled with a mixture of promises and menaces, but these were of no avail. Abū ՙAlī obstinately stood his ground and maintained his disregard for authority. However much he was proffered copious advice, his pride and rebelliousness only increased.

When Abū ՙAlī went beyond bounds in his rebelliousness, it was impossible to tolerate this any further. Nūḥ moved from Bukhara to Merv and from there to Herat with his army, of which Amir Sebüktegin was commander. Abū ՙAlī moved from Nishapur to Herat. Outside the town, he set up his army camp with his brothers, Fā’iq and other amirs, and envoys appeared with the aim of making peace between the opposing sides. However, Abū ՙAlī’s senior commanders opposed this and said, ‘Nūḥ and Sebüktegin are convinced⁹⁹ that we shall be victorious.’ [N 55] The next day, Nūḥ’s and Sebüktegin’s troops seized the source of the water supply for Herat (? sar-i ՙayn- Harāt).

When Abū ՙAlī and his troops saw what was happening, they repented of their decision, but it was too late. Abū ՙAlī had an intelligence agent (ṣāḥib-khabar) (i.e. in Sebüktegin’s camp); Amir Sebüktegin was fully aware of this man’s presence, but since he deemed it expedient not to expose him, he revealed nothing. One day, a trusty messenger arrived and told Amir Sebüktegin, ‘Dārā b. Qābūs¹⁰⁰ is intending to come over to your side when on the battlefield; I will go and escort him back.’ Amir Sebüktegin was delighted at this news. He summoned that spy on pretext of giving him orders about some matter, and then spoke with one of the boon-companions of his entourage, in such a way that the spy would overhear, saying that ‘Abu ’l-Qāsim Sīmjūr, Fā’iq and Dārā are all planning to come over to our side, [M 246] and one of them has undertaken to arrest Abū ՙAlī and hand him over to us,’ after which the Just Amir (i.e. Sebüktegin) turned his attention to something else.

The spy reported back to Abū ՙAlī. The latter became fearful and now desired a peace agreement, after not having [previously] given any reply. He hoped that someone might come offering a peace agreement, but no-one came. Next morning, signs of treachery and betrayal became apparent within his army, and he was convinced that they would flee the battlefield. Contingents of ghulāms and banners came into view from every side, and there were so many enraged elephants, cavalrymen and infantrymen that the actual earth’s surface could not be seen. Abū ՙAlī had taken up his position on an eminence. He saw that Dārā had gone over to the other side. He realised that the spy’s information had been correct, and his fearfulness grew stronger. [H 170]

Then there arose the sound of drums, trumpets, barrel-shaped drums and kettledrums,¹⁰¹ trumpets with tapered tubes (gāv-dum), cymbals, the jangling ornaments and bells of elephants, deep-toned trumpets (karranāy) and conches (sapīd-muhra), together with the shouting of warriors and the noise of horses, to such a pitch that the world grew dark. The wind arose, with dust and stones swirling in it. Abū ՙAlī fled with a body of his ghulāms, abandoning everything left there in his encampment. This battle took place in the year 384 [/994].

Then the Amir of Khurasan [N 56] and Sebüktegin’s troops joined forces and fell upon Abū ՙAlī’s army camp, plundering all the valuables and impedimenta there. Abū ՙAlī and his forces fled and entered Nishapur by night. The Well-Pleasing Amir Nūḥ awarded Amir Sebüktegin the honorific title of Nāṣir al-Dīn wa ’l-Dawla (‘The One who Secures Victory for the Faith and the State’) and his son Abu ’l-Qāsim Maḥmūd b. Nāṣir al-Dawla the title of Sayf al-Dawla (‘Sword of the State’).¹⁰² Amir Maḥmūd remained for some time at Herat with Amir Nūḥ in order to finish those items of business there, and from Herat proceeded back to Nishapur.

When Abū ՙAlī Sīmjūrī realised his own wretched and humiliating position, he came forward offering his apologies, but these were not accepted, and in despair he left for Gurgān. In the year 385 [/995] the Ṣāḥib Abu ’l-Qāsim [Ismāՙīl] Ibn ՙAbbād¹⁰³ died at Ray. Amir Nūḥ went back to Bukhara, Amir Sebüktegin was at Herat and Pūshang, whilst Amir Maḥmūd was at Nishapur engaged in getting a firm grip [M 247] on affairs in that region.

Abū ՙAlī and Fā’iq came with a powerful army in the year 385. Amir Maḥmūd moved to Herat and joined up with his father, and they sought reinforcements from all quarters. Abū Naṣr [Aḥmad b.] Abū Zayd was despatched as an envoy to the ruler of Sistan Khalaf b. Aḥmad. Khalaf came with a fully equipped army, and the Amir [Abu ’l-Ḥārith Muḥammad b. Aḥmad b.] Farīghūn came from Gūzgānān. The Khalaj Turks¹⁰⁴ were likewise summoned. Khalaf was left at Pūshang, and his son Tāhir was taken along with the army. A battle took place in the region of Ṭūs at the village of Andarikh. Abū ՙAlī was routed, the prisoners he had taken were now released and his army camp was plundered.

Abū ՙAlī went to Ray via the Ṭabas road. ՙAlī b. al-Ḥasan b. Būya welcomed and made much of him, allotting him a monthly stipend [H 171] of 50,000 dirhams. Whenever he was invited to a feast, a horse with fine accoutrements would be sent along, and all that would be left for him to retain. Subsequently, Abū ՙAlī became discontented with his lot [N 57] and came back to Nishapur in disguise on account of a love affair with a woman. Amir Maḥmūd arrested and imprisoned him, but he managed to escape from his bonds and headed for Khwārazm. When he reached Hazārasp he encamped in a garden. The Khwārazm Shāh Abū ՙAbdallāh’s stewards came, and set out fitting hospitality and food for Abū ՙAlī, and it was said that the Khwārazm Shāh was coming in person the next day.¹⁰⁵ Whilst everyone was asleep, the Khwarazmians came in and Abū ՙAlī was seized, placed in bonds, taken back to Khwarazm and imprisoned.¹⁰⁶

There was a long-standing animosity (taՙaṣṣub) between the people of Gurgānj and those of Khwarazm (i.e. of the city of Kāth or Madīnat Khwārazm). The Amir of Gurgānj Ma’mūn sent an army. A battle ensued at [Madīnat] Khwārazm and the Khwārazm Shāh Abū ՙAbdallāh was taken prisoner. Abū ՙAlī Sīmjūrī was released from his jail. All were brought back to Gurgānj, and Abū ՙAlī al-Ma’mūn was hailed as Khwārazm Shāh. Ma’mūn was continually showing great favour to Abū ՙAlī [M 248] and gave him rich presents of money, and Abū ՙAlī’s position now improved.¹⁰⁷

Nūḥ’s envoy came to Abū ՙAlī with many attractive words and promises of favour, and had invited him back. Abū ՙAlī went to Bukhara. ՙAbdallāh b. [Muḥammad b.] ՙUzayr and Begtuzūn¹⁰⁸ met and came back with him, but when they were inside Nūḥ’s palace, Abū ՙAlī was seized, together with eighteen of his brothers and senior commanders, fettered and consigned to the citadel, this in the year 386 [/996].

When Amir Sebüktegin heard this news about Abū ՙAlī, he made a request to the Well-Pleasing Amir Nūḥ for him to be handed over. So Nūḥ sent Abū ՙAlī, his ghulām Il-Mengü, Amīrak Ṭūsī and Abū ՙAlī’s son Abu ’l-Ḥusayn to Amir Sebüktegin in Shaՙbān of the year 386 [/August–September 996]. Sebüktegin then despatched these four persons to the fortress of Gardīz, which was a highly secure place, and imprisoned them there, and in the year 389 [/999] all four of them were killed. The Well-Pleasing Amir Abu ’l-Qāsim Nūḥ fell ill, and passed away on Friday, 14 Rajab of the year 387¹⁰⁹ [/23 July 997].¹¹⁰

In Shaՙbān of this year [/August–September 997], Abu ’l-Ḥasan [Fakhr al-Dawla ՙAlī b. Ḥasan] b. Būya also died. Amir Sebüktegin fell sick at Balkh. He set out for Ghaznīn but died en route, this event taking place in Shaՙbān of the year 387. When the Well-Pleasing Amir Nūḥ died, they gave him this designation of ‘The Well-Pleasing One’.

Abu ’l-Ḥārith Manṣūr (II) b. Nūḥ (II)

The Well-Pleasing Amir Nūḥ b. Manṣūr had made his son Manṣūr the designated heir, and when Nūḥ died, Manṣūr succeeded to his throne when he had not yet achieved the age of maturity. His vizier was Abu ’l-Muẓaffar Muḥammad b. Ibrāhīm al-Barghashi. Fā’iq was in control of everything else. [H 172]

Al-Qādir bi’llāh Abu ’l-ՙAbbās Aḥmad b. Isḥāq b. al-Muqtadir succeeded to the caliphate and invested Abu ’l-Ḥārith with rule over Khurasan. Abū Manṣūr ՙAbdallāh b. Muḥammad b. ՙUzayr [M 249] said to Abū Manṣūr Muḥammad b. al-Ḥusayn b. Mut, ‘. . .¹¹¹ with me so that the supreme military command over the lands south of the Oxus may be entrusted to you’ (i.e. they were planning a revolt). They also summoned the aid of the Ilig,¹¹² who came to them bringing military assistance and encamped at the gate of Samarqand. Abū Manṣūr came out to meet the Ilig with a small detachment of troops and brought him back to his camping place. When the Ilig’s cavalrymen arrived, the Ilig ordered that Abū Manṣūr [ՙAbdallāh b. Muḥammad] b. ՙUzayr should be seized and placed in bonds. He summoned Fā’iq from Samarqand, placed him over the vanguard of his troops [N 59] and ordered him to go to Bukhara.

When Amir Abu ’l-Ḥārith got news of these events, he went to Āmūy. When Fā’iq arrived, he reproached Abu ’l-Ḥārith for the loss of the kingdom. Abu ’l-Ḥārith then appointed Begtūzūn commander-in-chief in Khurasan. He despatched him thither and himself returned to Bukhara. Fā’iq came out one stage to meet him, and they entered Bukhara together.

At this time, Amir Maḥmūd was at Nishapur. He heard about the death of his father and also that his brother Ismāՙīl b. Nāṣir al-Dīn had appropriated his father’s legacy and position, including the governorship of Ghaznīn. Amir Maḥmūd set out for Ghaznīn. He and his brother clashed in a battle at the gate of Ghaznīn. He defeated his brother and took him prisoner, routed his army and occupied the town of Ghaznīn.¹¹³

Abu ’l-Qāsim Sīmjūrī had inflicted a defeat on the Turks.¹¹⁴ He then formed the intention of attacking Begtuzūn, and proceeded to Nishapur. Begtuzūn marched out and gave battle in the month of Rabīՙ I of the year 388 [/March 998], defeated Abu ’l-Qāsim, and seized his wealth and possessions. Abu ’l-Muẓaffar Barghashī was deprived of the vizierate at Bukhara, and in his place Abu ’l-Qāsim al-ՙAbbās b. Muḥammad Barmakī was set up provisionally until someone properly qualified should appear.

When Abu ’l-Qāsim was killed, Abu ’l-Ḥusayn b. Muḥammad b. ՙAlī al-Ḥamūlī was set up provisionally until someone properly qualified should appear. Abu ’l-Ḥusayn proved useless, so the vizierate was given to Abu ’l-Faḍl Muḥammad b. Aḥmad al-Khunāmatī¹¹⁵ – this place Khunāmat is one of the villages of the Bukhara region¹¹⁶ – and he was confirmed in the vizierate. [M 250]

When Amir Maḥmūd had cleared up affairs at Ghaznīn, he got his forces ready and set out for Nishapur. Begtuzūn realised that he could not prevail against Maḥmūd, and withdrew to Nasā and Bāvard. Amir Abu ’l-Ḥārith [N 60] moved against him, but Begtuzūn and Fā’iq joined together, deposed Abu ’l-Ḥārith and blinded him at Sarakhs on Wednesday, 12 Ṣafar of the year 389 [/2 February 999].¹¹⁷ [H 173]

Abu ’l-Fawāris ՙAbd al-Malik (II) b. Nūḥ (II)

Begtuzūn, Fā’iq and a section of the royal guard came together and set Abu ’l-Ḥārith’s brother ՙAbd al-Malik b. Nūḥ on the throne. They sought from him an accession payment (māl-i bayՙat) and he handed it over. At this juncture, Amir Maḥmūd, may God have mercy on him, came to Merv seeking to avenge Abu ’l-Ḥārith and to engage in war. Envoys met together and a peace agreement was made on the basis that Maḥmūd should have Herat and Balkh with all their revenues and treasuries. Amir Maḥmūd, may God have mercy on him, distributed 2,000 dinars in alms for the poor, and went back according to the terms of the peace agreement. He rendered thanks to God, He is Mighty and Exalted, that no blood had been shed.

Whilst Amir Maḥmūd was on the way back, the royal ghulāms attacked and plundered his baggage train, this being at the instigation and prompting of Dārā b. Qābūs. The Amir Naṣr b. Nāṣir al-Dīn, the commander-in-chief, who was the brother of Amir Maḥmūd, may God have mercy on them, came back and engaged in war. Begtuzūn was routed and returned to Bukhara in a wretched condition. Fā’iq died in Shaՙbān of the year 389 [/July–August 999] and Begtuzūn was left in a state of deep regretfulness (i.e. for his actions).

The Ilig Abu ’l-Ḥasan b. Naṣr,¹¹⁸ the [Great] Khān’s brother, came to the gate of Bukhara. He kept giving out that everything he did was out of friendship for ՙAbd al-Malik b. Nūḥ, but in reality meant the opposite, and the sons of Nūḥ were fearful of his evil intentions. The next morning they went to greet him, and they were arrested. He made them prisoners, put them in bonds and transported them to Uzgend,¹¹⁹ and he seized all their wealth and possessions. Their period of power came to an end and the age of their rule [N 61] passed away. [M 251]

The Ilig entered Bukhara on Monday, 10 Dhu ’l-Qaՙda of the year 389 [/23 October 999] and established himself in the government headquarters. Abu ’l-Fawāris ՙAbd al-Malik had gone into hiding. The Ilig ordered that a search for him should be made and he was brought forth. A veil was thrown over his head, and in that guise they brought him out of Bukhara into the Ilig’s presence. The latter ordered that he should be placed in bonds and transported to Uzgend. It was there, in the captivity of the Ilig, that he passed away.¹²⁰ God is Most High and Exalted! [M 252]