Part Four: The Early Ghaznavids

[Chapter Thirteen Concerning the Historical Accounts of Yamīn al-Dawla and His House]

The person who has put this book together, Abū Saՙīd ՙAbd al-Ḥayy b. al-Ḍaḥḥāk b. Maḥmūd Gardīzī, relates: Since we have finished with the stories and historical narratives of the prophets, the kings of the Chaldaeans,¹ the kings of the Persians, the Islamic caliphs and the governors of Khurasan, we have set about relating the exploits of Yamīn al-Dawla, may God’s mercy be upon him, in a summary and condensed fashion. [This is] because of all the historical narratives that we have read, none have that important status that the reports about him have. For we have either heard those narratives through oral transmission or have read them in books. It may well be that authors and relaters of narratives handed down orally have set down less or more in those compositions and histories, and have said things out of an attempt to create a remarkable effect or to make the book more impressive. [H 174] But these historical narratives of ours are mainly based on what we have seen personally: what Amir Maḥmūd, may God have mercy on him, did in India; how he reduced fortresses in Nīmrūz (i.e. Sistan), Khurasan and ՙIrāq[-i ՙAjam] (i.e. Western Persia); how he traversed fearful deserts, mountains and tracks; how he undertook military campaigns there; how he subdued mighty monarchs – things the like of which no-one ever saw or heard about, for warfare and strategies like these may only be regarded as superhuman achievements.

In particular, it so happens that for this lord of the world, the exalted Sultan ՙIzz al-Dawla wa-Zayn al-Milla, Sayf Allāh, Muՙizz Dīn Allāh Abū Manṣūr ՙAbd al-Rashīd b. Yamīn al-Dawla wa-Amīn al-Milla Abi ’l-Qāsim Maḥmūd b. Nāṣir al-Dīn wa ’l-Dawla, [N 62] may God prolong his life and perpetuate his power, make firm his kingship and humble his enemies, royal power passed into his hands without any effort. Whenever he purposed anything he immediately achieved his desire without any hindrance or delay. So many thousands of people here became obedient and submissive to him without his shedding any blood, without any lusting for gain, without any pain or injury, without any great lapse of time, and without any trickery or deceitfulness. May his power be always firmly established, his banner always victorious and his enemy always brought low! [M 253] May his friend always be rendered joyful and all tribulations dispelled far from his sphere of life!

From all the historical narratives concerning the imperial power of this house, may God make perpetual its continuance, I have now chosen whatever is most pleasing and remarkable and have set it down here. I have kept it as brief and concise as possible; if I had been concerned with producing a commentary on events, it would have come out much fuller. I have then made a selection from those historical accounts, and have set it down here, with God Most High’s permission. [H 175]

The Reign of the Most Exalted Amir, Sayyid Yamīn al-Dawla wa-Amīn al-Milla wa-Kahf al-Islām Abu ’l-Qāsim Maḥmūd, Son of Nāṣir al-Dīn wa ’l-Dawla Sebüktegin, God’s Mercy upon Them!

Maḥmūd, may God have mercy on him, completed the conquest of Merv and became Amir of Khurasan. He came to Balkh, and was still there when an envoy from Baghdad sent by al-Qādir bi’llāh came to him with an investiture patent for Khurasan, a standard, a splendid robe of honour and a crown. Qādir also bestowed on him the honorific titles of Yamīn al-Dawla wa-Amīn al-Milla (“Right Hand of the State and Trusted One of the Religious Community”), Abu ’l-Qāsim Maḥmud, Friend (walī) of the Commander of the Faithful’. When the investiture patent and standard arrived, Amir Maḥmūd sat down on the throne of sovereignty, donned the robe of honour and placed the crown on his head, and held public audience for both high [N 63] and low, this being in Dhu ’l-Qaՙda of the year 389 [/October–November 999).²

Then in the year 390 [/1000] he left Balkh for Herat. From there he went to Sistan and besieged Khalaf b. Aḥmad in the fortress of Ispahbad. Khalaf sent envoys to negotiate and made peace with Amir Maḥmūd, promising to hand over 100,000 dinars as tribute and to make the khuṭba in Maḥmūd’s name.³

When Amir Maḥmūd had completed this task, he went on to Ghaznīn and from there to India, where he seized many fortresses.⁴ On his return from there, the Khān sent an envoy and made a marriage alliance with Maḥmūd. The two rulers came to a solemn agreement (muwāḍaՙat) that Transoxania should be held by the Khān (i.e. the Ilig Naṣr), whilst Amir Maḥmūd should have the lands south of the Oxus. Maḥmūd came to Nishapur at the end of Jumādā I of the year 391 [/27 April 1001].⁵ [M 254]

The Samanid Abū Ibrāhīm [Ismāՙīl al-Muntaṣir]⁶ attacked the commander-in-chief Amir Naṣr, son of Nāṣir al-Dīn [Sebüktegin], may God have mercy on the two of them. He put Amir Naṣr to flight and captured the Hindu youth (? hindū-bachcha),⁷ this on Wednesday, the last day of Rabīՙ I of the year 391 [/27 February 1001]. Abū Ibrāhīm consolidated his position at Nishapur, and Amir Maḥmūd, God’s mercy be upon him, led an expedition against him. Abū Ibrāhīm withdrew to Isfarā’in and Kirmān (?)⁸ and from there to Gurgān, but then came back to Nishapur a second time. Amir Naṣr marched out from Nishapur to Būzgān. [Abū] Ibrāhīm’s army came up after him, but the commander-in-chief Amir Naṣr put it to flight. The headman (ra’īs) of Sarakhs indicated to Abū Ibrāhīm that he would attack Amir Naṣr and that he, the headman, would provide him with military assistance. They both proceeded there and Amir Naṣr likewise, and they met in battle. Abū Ibrāhīm was defeated, and the Ḥājib Tūztāsh⁹ and Abu ’l-Qāsim Sīmjūrī were both captured.

Abū Ibrāhīm fell back to Bāvard, [N 64, H 176] and from there went to the Ghuzz Turks and was staying amongst them. The Turks agreed to march out with him to battle. Their chief, the Yabghu, became a Muslim and became linked to Abū Ibrāhīm through a marriage alliance.¹⁰ The two of them marched to Kūhak and gave battle to Sübāshītegin, defeating him. The Ilig came to Samarqand. They attacked him at that hill¹¹ and captured eighteen of his senior officers. The Ghuzz carried off the prisoners (i.e. for themselves).¹² Abū Ibrāhīm fell into despair. With a force of 300 cavalrymen and 400 infantrymen he went to the Oxus crossing-place at Darghān¹³ and crossed over, the ice being firm. A force came after him in pursuit and tried to cross over the river, but the ice broke and all of them were drowned. [Abū] Ibrāhīm dallied at Āmūy. He sent the troop commander (naqīb) Maris ¹⁴ to Amir Maḥmūd on a mission, with the message, ‘I am unable to prevent the ruin of the Samanid house except with your own help. Take thought about what you think will be the best course, and I’ll follow it.’ When the troop commander Maris set off, Abū Ibrāhīm went to Merv, and when he entered Kushmayhan,¹⁵ he sought help from his sister’s son, Abū Jaՙfar, but the latter refused this, treated the envoy with contempt and marched out to give battle to Abū Ibrāhīm and [M 255] defeated him, so that Abū Ibrāhīm fell back on Bāvard.

When Maris came into Amir Maḥmūd’s presence, the Amir treated him handsomely and lavished favour on him. He sent him back with a considerable sum of money and promised him whatever he wanted. He wrote a letter to Abū Jaՙfar ordering him to provide assistance as far as he could and to seek forgiveness (i.e. from Abū Ibrāhīm). Abū Ibrāhīm went to Bukhara and from there to Sogdia. The Son of the Standard-Bearer (pisar-i ՙalamdār), who was commander of the ՙayyārs of Samarqand with a force of 3,000 men, and the elders of Samarqand, rallied to him [with 300 ghulāms].¹⁶ The Great Khān came to combat him, but the allied forces defeated him in Shaՙbān of the year 394 [/May–June 1004]. The Son of [N 65] Surkhak defected from Abū Ibrāhīm’s camp to that of the Khān and joined his side.¹⁷ Then he wrote a letter to [Abū] Ibrāhīm containing many fine words and pledges to him; but all that was a tissue of lies which he had concocted together with the Khān.¹⁸ When the Khān received the news that the Samanid (i.e. Abū Ibrāhīm) had been defeated, he seized control of all the Oxus crossing-points and stationed men at them. When Abū Ibrāhīm heard this news, he fled with just eight men, and came to the encampment of the Son of Buḥayj, one of the Arabs nomadising in the desert around Merv. There was a local governor and tax collector (bundār) called Māhrūy, and he gave orders that a watch should be kept on Abū Ibrāhīm’s route [and when darkness fell, they killed him], this being in Rabīՙ II of the year 395 [/January–February 1005]. The rule of the Samanid house came to an end at one stroke.¹⁹

When Amir Maḥmūd heard about the killing of Abū Ibrāhīm, he immediately despatched Arslān Jādhib to plunder the Son of Buḥayj’s camp, [H 177] and Māhrūy and the Son of Buḥayj were killed in a most contemptible fashion.

When Amir Maḥmūd had reached Nishapur, the ghulāms had broken out in a revolt. He straightway got news of it and took steps energetically to deal with it. He made preparations to seize and punish them. They were filled with fear; some were captured and others fled. Amir Maḥmūd [M 256] pursued the fugitives; some he killed, some he took captive and some fled to join the Samanid (i.e. Muntaṣir). At this juncture, Abu ’l-Qāsim Sīmjūrī also took to flight [and joined up with] the Samanid.

Amir Maḥmūd returned to Herat on 5 Ramaḍān of the year 391 [/29 July 1001]. From there he proceeded to Ghaznīn, and from there on to India with a large army and encamped at the town of Peshawar with 10,000 ghāzīs. [N 66] The King of India Jaypāl (Jayapāla)²⁰ encamped with his army facing Amir Maḥmūd, having brought along for the battle 12,000 cavalrymen, 30,000 infantry and 300 elephants. The two sides deployed their forces in battle line and launched into the fight. God, He is Magnified and Exalted, vouchsafed His help to the Muslims, and Amir Maḥmūd emerged victorious. Jaypāl was vanquished and the unbelievers extirpated. In the course of that battle the Muslims killed 5,000 of the infidels and captured Jaypāl with fifteen of his sons and brothers. A vast amount of booty was taken, comprising money, slaves and beasts.

It is related that around Jaypāl’s neck was a necklace set with jewels, which experts valued at 180,000 dinars, and they found similar precious necklaces around the necks of other Indian senior commanders. This battle took place on Saturday, 8 Muḥarram of the year 393 [/17 November 1002]. From there Maḥmūd went to Wayhind and conquered the greater part of that region. When spring came along, Amir Maḥmūd returned [to] Ghaznīn.²¹

In Muḥarram of the year 393 [/November–December 1002] he went to Sistan. Khalaf b. Aḥmad shut himself up in the fortress of Ṭāq, which was a heavily fortified place. Amir Maḥmūd held back from battle, but when the right moment came along, he gave orders for the elephants to be hurled against the gate of the fortress of Ṭāq. Khalaf was filled with terror and asked for quarter. He came forth and laid all the keys of his treasuries before Amir Maḥmūd. The latter treated him handsomely and spoke kind words to him, asking him where he would like to be sent (i.e. exiled). Khalaf [M 257] replied, ‘To Gūzgānān’, so Maḥmūd despatched him thither. The death²² of Amir Khalaf took place at Dahak.²³

When Amir Maḥmūd returned to Ghaznīn, he led an expedition against Bhatinda (Bhāṭiya).²⁴ He marched by way of Wālishtān and [N 67] and Ḥiṣār, and reached Bhatinda. [H 178] He was engaged in fighting there for three days. Bajī Rāy²⁵ prepared an army at Bhatinda, and sent it to give battle to Amir Maḥmūd whilst he himself, with a numerous force, proceeded to the bank of the river Sāsind.²⁶ When Amir Maḥmūd received news of this, he despatched a numerous force of cavalry against him. When they made contact, they captured all that body of troops with Bajī Rāy. When Bajī Rāy saw what the situation was, he drew his short sword and killed himself. The victors carried off his head, and all those troops of his were taken prisoner and brought before Amir Maḥmūd. The latter was filled with great joy, and ordered that all the infidels should be put to the sword. Large numbers were killed, and 280 elephants captured.

When Amir Maḥmūd returned from Bhatinda, news arrived that the people of Sistan had broken out in rebellion. He set out for Sistan, and when he came to there, all the Sistani leaders took refuge in the fortress of Ūk.²⁷ The Amir launched an attack lasting just one day and captured the chief of the rebels. All the Sistanis offered their submission, and Maḥmūd returned to Ghaznīn victorious and triumphant.

From Ghaznīn he set off on an expedition against Multān. The Amir thought that, if he went by the direct road, Dāwūd, son of Naṣr, the Amir of Multān, would become aware of the attack and be ready to resist it, so he went by a different route. Jaypāl’s son Anandpāl (Ānandapāla) blocked the way and refused Amir Maḥmūd transit across his territory. Amir Maḥmūd gave his troops free rein, and they fell upon Anandpāl’s territories and busied themselves with seizing people and things, killing and plundering. Anandpāl fled into the mountains of Kashmir. Amir Maḥmūd took the main route into India to Multān and besieged that place for seven days, until negotiations took place between the two sides, and a peace agreement was reached on the basis that twenty [N 68] million dirhams would be handed over annually from the province of Multān. On these terms the peace agreement was concluded, and Amir Maḥmūd returned homewards. This took place in the year [3]96 [/1005–6].²⁸

Amir Maḥmūd then heard that the Turks (i.e. the troops of the Qarakhanids) had crossed the Oxus, had entered Khurasan and [M 258] had spread out through the land.²⁹ The Amir rushed back from Multān to Ghaznīn in double-quick time (ba-ՙahdī nazdīk). The Turk Sübāshītegin had come to Herat and taken possession of it, and had sent a cavalry force to Nishapur in order to seize control of that region. Amir Maḥmūd’s governor Arslān Jādhib had withdrawn from Nishapur. The Turks had not yet consolidated their position when the news came that Amir Maḥmūd had returned from India and had reached Balkh. The Khān’s troops pulled back in order to join up with the Khān himself, but Amir Maḥmūd’s agents had seized control of their intended routes. The Turks were filled with alarm and were retreating to the regions of Marv al-Rūd, Sarakhs, Nasā and Bāvard, with Arslān Jādhib all the time pursuing them from town to town. Those who fell into Arslān Jādhib’s hands he would either make captive or kill. [H 179]

Amir Maḥmūd sent the Ḥājib Altuntāsh to reinforce him. The Turks then sought a way out. Some of them went to the river crossing-place, and one group of them took a bold decision and tried to cross the Oxus, but the greater part of them was drowned. The Cis-Oxanian lands were thus cleared of them. Information reached Amir Maḥmūd that a substantial force of the Turks had proceeded to the bank of the Oxus but would not be able to cross (?).³⁰ Drums which were the signal for attack were beaten and elephant accoutrements jangled.³¹ When the Turks who had been left there heard that clamour, they threw themselves into the river out of terror and were drowned. Ghāzī, the master of the stables (ākhur-sālār), was killed there in . . . who fought.³² Amir Maḥmūd had the intention of engaging them, but since his troops had become exhausted from fighting, [N 69] he thought that, if his troops carried on combatting the enemy, the Turks might in desperation fight for their lives, and it might happen that some adverse effects might mar³³ this victory and triumph.

When Sübāshītegin came into the Ilig’s presence, the latter upbraided him violently, but the senior officers replied that it was impossible for anyone to withstand those elephants, weapons and matériel, and warriors. After these events, the Ilig sent agents to all parts of Transoxania and sought to assemble an army, and he ended up with a force of 40,000 cavalrymen. With that army he crossed the Oxus and reached Balkh. Amir Maḥmūd marched thither and the armies clashed on the plain of Katar.³⁴ When the armies [M 259] formed up in their battle lines, Amir Maḥmūd performed two rakՙats of the worship and prayed to God, He is Magnified and Exalted, for victory. Then he turned his attention to the battle. He gave orders that all the elephants should be enraged and sent forward in an attack. The Turks were immediately defeated, and Amir Maḥmūd’s army killed large numbers of them and took many captives. Those who fled were drowned in the Oxus, and their horses and weapons seized as booty. This victory took place on Sunday, 22 Rabīՙ II of the year 398 [/5 January 1008].³⁵

When Amir Maḥmūd had completed this campaign, news arrived that Shūkpāl (Sukhapāla), the king’s (i.e. Jaypāl’s) grandson, who had been held captive at Nishapur by Abū ՙAlī Sīmjūr and had become a Muslim, had now apostasised. Amir Maḥmūd set out to attack him, and captured him in the mountains of K.sh.n.w.r.³⁶ Shūkpāl offered to pay an indemnity of 400,000 dirhams. Amir Maḥmūd handed that sum over to Tegin³⁷ the Treasurer and held Shūkpāl in captivity until he died in it. From there he marched into India in the year 399 [/1008–9]. He attacked Anandpāl and defeated him, and he captured thirty elephants [H 180] whilst the army took much booty. From there he went to the fortress of Bhīmnagar [N 70] and besieged it. Fighting went on for three days until the defenders came out under a guarantee of safe conduct and opened the gate. Amir Maḥmūd and a detachment of his personal guard entered the fortress and seized the treasuries of gold, silver and diamonds and everything which had been deposited there in the time of Bhīm of the Pāndu’a dynasty. In that fortress they found quantities of wealth whose extent was hardly conceivable, and from there he returned to Ghaznīn. The throne made of gold and silver was set up at the palace gate, and he gave orders for all that wealth to be openly displayed and spread out for all the troops and the masses of people to see. This was in the year 400 [/1009–10].³⁸

When it was the year 401 [/1010–11], he led an attack from Ghaznīn on Multān. He proceeded there and annexed what remained of that province in its entirety. He seized the greater part of the Carmathians there: [M 260] some of these he killed, he cut off the hands of some and inflicted exemplary punishment, and some he imprisoned in various fortresses until they all died there. In this same year, he seized Dāwūd b. Naṣr, brought him back to Ghaznīn and from there consigned him to the fortress of Ghūrak, where he was held prisoner till he died.³⁹

Information reached Amir Maḥmūd that Thānesar was an important place with large numbers of idols there. The Indians accorded it an importance comparable to the position of Mecca for the Muslims, and they venerated the shrine highly. Within the city was a very ancient idol temple containing an idol which was called Chakraswāmī (j.k.r.s.w.m). When Amir Maḥmūd heard about this, he felt a strong desire to go there, conquer that region, destroy that idol temple and acquire a great [heavenly] reward for himself. So in the year 402 [/1011–12] he set out from Ghaznīn and [N 71] headed for Thānesar.

When the king of India Trilochanpāl (Trilochanapāla) heard about this, he became alarmed. He sent an envoy to Amir Maḥmūd promising that, if he would desist from his intention and not march against Thānesar, he would give him fifty choice elephants. Amir Maḥmūd paid no heed to those words and set out. He reached the encampment of Rām (Rāma). Rām’s troops advanced along the road in great force and took up positions at a place suitable for an ambush, and killed large numbers of the Muslims. When Maḥmūd reached Thānesar, he found that the town had been evacuated. The Muslim troops plundered whatever they found and smashed numerous idols. They carried off to Ghaznīn the idol Chakraswāmī. It was set up at the palace, and lots of people flocked round it to look at it.⁴⁰

In the year 403 [/1012–13] Maḥmūd conquered Gharchistān. He brought forth the Shēr (texts, Shār), ruler of Gharchistān, placed him in bonds and depatched him to the town of Mastang.⁴¹ [H 181]

When the year 403 reached its end (i.e. in July 1013), Abu ’l-Fawāris [Qawām al-Dawla] b. Bahā’ al-Dawla came from Kirman to Amir Maḥmūd at Bust seeking the Amir’s protection from his brother Abū Shujāՙ [Sulṭān al-Dawla], and was in Ghaznīn for three months. Amir [M 261] Maḥmūd wrote letters regarding this matter and admonished the two parties, and in the end they came to a peaceful solution of their differences, and Abu ’l-Fawāris’s brother further undertook not to engage in any more quarrelling and animosity with his brother. Abu ’l-Fawāris returned to Kirman and reassumed his rule there in security and peace.⁴²

Also in the course of this year, an envoy called Tāhartī arrived from the ruler of Egypt. When the envoy reached Khurasan, the jurists and theological scholars proclaimed that ‘This envoy is come to solicit allegiance to the ruler of Egypt, and he’s a Bāṭinī!’ When Maḥmūd heard about this, he refused to receive that envoy and ordered him to be handed over to Ḥasan b. Ṭāhir b. Muslim al-ՙAlawī, and Ḥasan personally executed Tāhartī at Bust.⁴³

In [N 72] the year 404 [/1013–14] Maḥmūd led an army against the fortress of Nandana.³⁶³ When the king of India Trilochanpāl heard about this, he garrisoned that fortress with battle-hardened warriors, giving instructions for its being held, whilst he himself set out for the pass leading into Kashmir and proceeded there. Amir Maḥmūd’s troops took up their positions before Nandana, and the sappers (ḥaffārān) began digging mines. The Turkish troops were firing arrows up to the top of the walls. When the defenders in the citadel saw warfare being conducted in this manner, they very quickly asked for a guarantee of safety and quarter, and yielded up the fortress. Amir Maḥmūd and a band of his personal guards entered the fortress, and they carried off the wealth and the weapons found there. Amir Maḥmūd appointed Sārïgh castellan of that fortress, and himself set out for the pass into Kashmir where Trilochanpāl was. On hearing of this, Trilochanpāl fled, and Amir Maḥmūd gave orders for all the fortresses along the pass into Kashmir to be seized and plundered. The troops gained from those fortresses large amounts of booty and many slaves, and many infidels became converts to Islam. In this same year, he gave orders for congregational mosques to be built in all the lands conquered from the infidels, and for teachers to be despatched to all places for inculcating in the Indians the rites and duties of Islam. He himself returned to Ghaznīn victorious and triumphant. This capture of Nandana was in the year 405 [/1014–15].⁴⁵ [M 262]

When it was the year [40]6 [/1015–16], he led an expedition against Kashmir. He set out for Kashmir from Ghaznīn, but when he reached the pass into Kashmir, the weather grew cold and winter set in. Within the pass there was a very strong and well-fortified castle called Lōhkōt – which means ‘Iron Fortress’ [N 73] – and this had a water supply and a numerous garrison. He stationed his army beneath that fortress and kept up continuous attacks on it. He was engaged in this for quite a while, but just when he discovered a means of conquering the fortress, extremely cold weather set in, it began to snow and everything became frozen up, so that nothing could be done on account of the cold. Reinforcements for the fortress’s garrison arrived from Kashmir by the road across the mountains from there, and [H 182] the garrison received an access of strength. Amir Maḥmūd took all these facts into account and concluded that his troops would not be able to make any headway, so he raised the siege and descended from those mountains and passes to the plain. He got back to Ghaznīn in the spring.⁴⁶

Also in the year 406, a letter arrived from Khwarazm sent by the Khwarazm Shah Abu ’l-ՙAbbās al-Ma’mūn (II) b. al-Ma’mūn (I) seeking the hand in marriage of Yamīn al-Dawla’s sister. Amir Maḥmūd agreed to this and gave his sister to the Shah, and she was brought to Khwarazm. Then in the year 407 [/1016–17] a group of intriguers and dregs of the Khwarazm population banded together and stirred up a revolt, in the course of which the Khwarazm Shah, Yamīn al-Dawla’s son-in-law, was killed. News of this reached the Amir Yamīn al-Dawla. He went from Ghaznīn to Balkh, and from there led an expedition to Khwarazm. On reaching Jakarband,⁴⁷ which is on the frontier with Khwarazm, he deployed his forces for battle. He sent forward Muḥammad b. Ibrāhīm al-Ṭā’ī in command of the army’s advance guard. Muḥammad al-Ṭā’ī encamped in a certain place with all his cavalry. At daybreak, the Muslim troops were all engaged in their ritual worship and ablutions when the Khwarazmian commander Khumārtāsh appeared from the desert with a numerous army, attacked them and killed some of Muḥammad al-Ṭā’ī’s cavalry.

Amir Maḥmūd was perturbed when he received news of this, and despatched a contingent of the palace ghulāms [M 263] to pursue Khumārtāsh These troops routed Khumārtāsh’s army completely and captured him [N 74] and brought him along. There was unparalleled slaughter and wounding. When they reached Hazārasp, the Khwarazmian army, in perfect battle order and armed to the teeth, advanced on Yamīn al-Dawla’s army. The latter was drawn up in battle lines, with the right and left, the centre and the wings, properly deployed, and battle was joined. It was not long before the Khwarazmian army was put to flight. The commander of the Khwarazmian army, Alptegin Bukhārī, was captured. Yamīn al-Dawla’s troops invaded Khwarazm and seized the [ancient] capital (shahr-i Khwārazm, i.e. Kāth).

The first thing that Yamīn al-Dawla did was to order that all the wrongdoers, including Alptegin Bukhārī and others, should be seized and brought before him. Then he ordained that fitting reprisals should be wrought on each one of them. Vengeance was exacted on behalf of those who had claims for revenge: some were chastised and punished, others were clapped in bonds and consigned to imprisonment.

Amir Maḥmūd appointed his Chief Ḥājib Altuntāsh as governor of Khwarazm (Khwārazm Shāh), with Khwarazm (i.e Kāth) and Gurgānj entrusted to him, and to the end of his life Altuntāsh acted as Khwarazm Shah, fully obedient and the faithful servant of Amir Maḥmūd and his house.⁴⁸ The decisive battle for Khwarazm took place on 5 Ṣafar of the year 408 [/3 July 1017]. From there, the Amir returned to Balkh and stayed there for some time.⁴⁹ Prince Masՙūd was summoned to Balkh, and when Masՙūd came into his presence he spoke cordially with him, appointed him governor of Herat and despatched him thither, having attached to him Abū Sahl Muḥammad b. al-Ḥusayn al-Zawzanī as his administrator and counsellor (kadkhudā), and he likewise sent him to Herat with Masՙūd. He conferred the governorship of Gūzgānān on Prince Muḥammad, in the same way giving him a robe of honour and speaking cordially with him, and despatched him to Gūzgānān with Abū Bakr Quhistānī (i.e. as his kadkhudā). [H 183]

When it was the year 409 [/1018–19], Amir Maḥmūd decided on [N 75] an expedition against [M 264] Qanawj. This was an extensive, populous and rich region, with numerous infidels. He crossed seven hazardous rivers, and when he reached the confines of Qanawj, he sent a letter to a certain K.w.ra (?), who was the ruler of the frontier region; he made his submission and asked for a grant of security and quarter, which the Amir extended to him. From there, he marched to the fortress of Baran (text, b.r.na),⁵⁰ whose prince was Hardat. The latter took flight and abandoned his followers. Hardat’s followers fortified themselves within the fortress, but when the army of Islam appeared on the scene and the defenders saw their splendid panoply of arms, they sent persons to negotiate and redeemed their freedom by handing over a million dirhams and thirty elephants.

From there, the army of Islam moved to Mahāban (text, m.hāw.n) where the commander of the fortress was Kulchandra (Kulachand). This fortress was situated on the banks of the river Jumna (text, j.w.n). When Kulchandra heard about the Amir Yamīn al-Dawla’s approach, he mounted an elephant, the choicest one out of all those he had, and tried to cross the river. Amir Maḥmūd became aware of this and ordered the ways of access to be closed off. When Kulchandra realised this, he slew himself with his own short sword. Yamīn al-Dawla’s troops entered the fortress, and they carried off 185 choice elephants and plundered inestimable amounts of wealth. From there, he marched on the fortress of Muttra (Mātūra), which is a great city and the idol temple of the Indians. It is said that the birthplace of Krishna (text, k.sh.n), son of Bāsdīv, whom the Indians consider as their prophet, was at this place Muttra.

When Amir Maḥmūd came to this region of Muttra, no-one came out to oppose him. He gave orders for his troops to enter that region, and whenever they came across an idol temple, they pulled it down and burnt it. They carried off all the wealth there as plunder. Amir Maḥmūd got wealth from the idol temples and treasuries of that region to an extent which could not be visualised, [N 76] including a sapphire (yāqūt-i kuḥlī) weighing 450 mithqāls (!). No-one had ever before seen such a jewel. There were also idols made of gold and silver, unlimited in number and in size. Amir Maḥmūd ordered one golden idol [M 265] to be broken up and the pieces weighed; 98,300 mithqāls of well-worked gold were obtained from it, and an equivalent amount of money and numerous jewels was gained from there. This conquest of Qanawj was on 8 Shaՙbān of the year 409 [/20 December 1018].⁵¹

When the Rajah (rāy) of Qanawj had been captured (?), Amir Maḥmūd speedily returned homewards from there. On the road from Qanawj to Ghaznīn, the treasury of Chandra (text, ch.n.d) Rāy was brought before him, containing an immense amount of wealth. There was also a celebrated elephant belonging to this Chandra Rāy, whose fame had become proverbial throughout India. Amir Yamīn al-Dawla had heard of that beast’s fame and had formed the intention that he must buy it at any price, since he was avid to get it; and if it were required to give fifty elephants in exchange for it, he would give them for that single elephant. By a fortunate concatenation of circumstances, the elephant stampeded along the road away from Chandra Rāy and, not having any elephant driver on it, went along until it reached the tented enclosure of Yamīn al-Dawla. When Amir Maḥmūd saw it, he gave thanks to God Most High, and he named the elephant Khudādād (‘God-Given One’), and from that place he gave orders for the return to Ghaznīn, victorious and triumphant and laden with a vast amount of plunder. [H 184]

Trustworthy authorities assert that they totalled up the amount of plunder brought back from the Qanawj expedition in that year by the Amir Yamīn al-Dawla, as amounting to twenty-odd million dirhams, 53,000 captives and over 350 elephants.

When it was the month of Tīr of the year 410 [/June–July 1019], Amir Yamīn al-Dawla led an expedition against Ganda (text, n.n.dā),⁵² who had killed Rājyapāl (Rājyapāla) the ruler of Qanawj, having reproached this last for having fled before Maḥmūd’s army, and who had undertaken to Trilochanpāl to provide him with assistance [N 77] and an army that would recover for him his kingdom. When news of Maḥmūd’s imminent approach reached those lands, Trilochanpāl crossed the Ganges and came to Bārī. Amir Yamīn al-Dawla crossed the river. All those troops clashed together. Trilochanpāl fled with a detachment of Indian troops, and they avoided further contact with Maḥmūd. An attack was then launched on the town of Bārī. The troops found that the inhabitants had fled and the town left empty; they burnt down all the idol temples [M 266] and plundered everything they could find.

From Bārī, the Amir’s army headed towards Ganda’s kingdom, crossing numerous wide rivers. Ganda had got news of the army of Islam’s approach and had got ready for war, assembling round himself extensive forces; it was reported that there were in his army 36,000 cavalrymen, 5,400⁵³ infantrymen and 640 elephants, together with weapons, treasuries and fodder commensurate for such numbers. When Amir Maḥmūd drew near to Ganda, he drew up his army in battle formation, and set out the right and left, the centre, the two wings, the vanguard and the rearguard, and he sent out scouts. He encamped with resolution and with careful precautions. Then he sent an envoy to Ganda, proffering wise counsel, expressing threats and rousing him to awareness of the situation. He sent verbal messages containing excuses (i.e for attacking him) and admonitions, exhorting Ganda to become a Muslim and thereby render himself immune from all this warfare, aggravation and destruction. Ganda replied, however, that there could be nothing but war between them.

I have heard from certain reliable sources that Amir Yamīn al-Dawla took up a position that day upon an eminence in order to view Ganda’s army. He saw a whole world of tents, pavilions and camp enclosures, with cavalry, infantry and elephants. His spirits drooped and he became gripped by regrets, so he sought help from God Most High, asking that He should vouchsafe him victory. That night, God Most High sowed fear and apprehension within Ganda’s heart; he got his army to move off and withdraw. The next day, Amir Maḥmūd sent an envoy. When [N 78] the emissary reached Ganda’s encampment, he could see no persons about; all military arms and equipment had been left as it was, but the troops had gone, and all the beasts and elephants had been driven off. The envoy went back and reported this to Amir Maḥ mūd, who ordered that possible ambushes should be investigated. They examined where the army had been encamped, but it had entirely departed. Amir Yamīn al-Dawla offered up thanks to God, He is Magnified and Exalted, and gave orders for Ganda’s encampment to be plundered. Great amounts of wealth and property of all kinds were carried off. From there he then returned to Ghaznīn victorious and triumphant. On the way back they came to a forest. The troops went into its depths and found there 580 of Ganda’s elephants, [H 185] all of which they drove off (sc. as booty) and [M 267] brought back to their own encampment.⁵⁴

News reached Amir Yamīn al-Dawla that there were two valleys, one called the Qīrāt and the other the Nūr, and these were highly defensible and the people there infidels and idol worshippers. Yamīn al-Dawla led an expedition against these valleys with his army, and he gave orders that numerous squads of artisans, including blacksmiths, carpenters and stonehewers, should accompany the troops, hack out roads, cut down trees and break up rocks. When they reached there, they first made for the Qīrāt valley. This is a pleasant place, whose inhabitants were worshippers of the lion, and with a cool environment and copious fruits grown there. When the ruler of the Qīrāt valley heard about this, he came forward and offered his submission, seeking a guarantee of quarter and security. Amir Maḥmūd received him and showed favour appropriate for his status. The ruler of Qīrāt became a Muslim, together with a large number of the people of his land who followed their ruler’s example. They accepted teachers and began to learn the duties and requirements of the faith and to observe the sharīՙat. The people of the Nūr valley, however, were refractory. Amir Maḥmūd ordered the Ḥājib ՙAlī b. Il Arslān al-Qarīb to proceed to Nūr. He conquered it, built there a fortress and appointed ՙAlī b. Qadïr Rāḥūq (?) as its castellan, commanding him to use force [N 79] and compulsion, and to impose Islam upon the people by the sword. They accepted that willy-nilly, and Islam spread over those lands. This conquest of the Nūr and Qīrāt valleys was in the year 411 [/1020–1].⁵⁵

When the year 412 [/1021–2] came round, he led an expedition against Kashmir, and he invested the fortress of Lōharkōt. He carried out operations against it for a whole month but was unable to make any headway because it was extremely impregnable and well fortified. During the course of this year, Amir Naṣr b. Nāṣir al-Dīn passed away and Amir Yūsuf b. Nāṣir al-Dīn had gone along with Yamīn al-Dawla. Since it proved impossible to reduce the fortress of Lōharkōt, he withdrew from that valley and proceeded to Lahore and Tākīshar.⁵⁶ The troops spread out over that piedmont region and were continually engaged in ghazw. Then when spring came along, [M 268] the Amir set out back to Ghaznīn.⁵⁷

When it was the year 413 [/1022–3], Amir Maḥmūd led an expedition against Ganda’s territories. When he reached the fortress of Gwalior, he invested it and besieged it. He ordered his troops to occupy all the surrounding territory, but since that fortress was so well fortified and impregnable, and was situated upon a rock of hard stone, sappers and miners and operators of ballistas were useless against it, and it was not possible to take it. Amir Maḥmūd remained there four days and nights until the commander of the fortress sent an envoy and sued for peace, offering thirty-five elephants.

In the end Yamīn al-Dawla’s army left Gwalior and marched against Kālanjar, Ganda’s own stronghold. Ganda was within that fortress with all his troops, personal retainers and family. Amir Maḥmūd [H 186] ordered his troops completely to surround the fortress, and he was deliberating and making plans since this fortress was a lofty and well-fortified place such that no stratagems or valorous deeds could avail to reduce it. Moreover, the fortress was built [N 80] on a hard rock so that there was no possibility of mining and tunnelling beneath it, and there seemed to be no other means of conquering it. The Amir sat down before it and remained there several days. But when Ganda looked out and saw that numerous army, that had seized all possible ways of access to the fortress, he sent out envoys to discuss peace terms. The terms arrived at involved Ganda’s paying tribute (jizya), sending the customary presents immediately and handing over 300 choice elephants. Ganda was pleased at this peace arrangement. He straightway ordered the 300 elephants to be driven out of the fortress without mahouts. Amir Maḥmūd gave orders, and the Turks and other warriors plunged into those elephants, secured them and mounted them; the defenders were meanwhile watching from the fortress, and were filled with great wonder at their intrepidness.

Ganda afterwards composed poetry in Hindi in praise of Amir Maḥmūd and sent it to him, and the latter ordered the verses to be recited in the presence of all his court poets – Indian, Persian and Arabic ones. All of them showed their approval and averred that no more eloquent and lofty poetry could be uttered. Amir Maḥmūd took great pride in it and ordered that an investiture patent conferring upon Ganda the governorship of fifteen [M 269] fortresses should be written out and sent to him. He added the words, ‘This is an award in return for that poetry you uttered about me,’ and he further sent with it many additional things – costly presents, jewels and robes of honour. Ganda sent back in return much wealth and jewels on a similar scale. Amir Maḥmūd returned from there victorious and triumphant, and came to Ghaznīn.⁵⁸

In the year 414 [/1023–4], he ordered a review of the army to be held. Fifty-four thousand cavalrymen paraded on the review ground at the plain of Shāhbahār, these in addition to those cavalrymen who were stationed in outlying parts of the realm and who were on garrison duty in the provinces. One thousand, three hundred elephants, with complete outfits of armour and other trappings, that had paraded in that review, came forth to be enumerated. The number of beasts, including camels and horses, was beyond comparison.⁵⁹ [N 81]

At the opening of the year 415 [/15 March 1024], Amir Maḥmūd decided to go to Balkh with the intention of going there and staying over the winter. When he reached Balkh, streams of persons complaining about ՙAlītegin were coming to him continually from Transoxania. They were complaining specifically about ՙAlītegin’s oppressive measures, that he was committing many inadmissible acts, afflicting people in various ways, and harming both the subjects and the military classes. When these complaints reached a high pitch, Amir Maḥmūd formed the intention of springing into action⁶⁰ and delivering those Muslims there from that distress and those tribulations. He wanted to cross the Oxus and reconnoitre those regions, and formulated firm plans for this. He said, ‘If we cross the river in boats, some calamity might occur.’ He spent some considerable time over the assembling of materials and equipment. What he did was to order the making of stout chains fitting into each other (lit. ‘male and female’, nar u māda), all of them two or three fathoms⁶¹ long. All the chains were encased in cow hides. Boats were brought along and these were fastened together spanning the width of the Oxus by means of those interlocking chains and on frameworks yoked together which had been constructed in the boats. Strong palm tree fibres had been brought from Sistan, [H 187] with each one transported on a camel’s back, and the boats were wrapped round with these fibres. The insides of the boats were stuffed with straw, rags, etc., so that cavalrymen, infantrymen, camels, mules and asses could pass over them easily.⁶² [M 270] He then brought the army across on that bridge of boats and himself crossed over.

When news of Yamīn al-Dawla’s actions reached Transoxania, a great buzz of excitement and perturbation arose amongst the people in those lands and the local princes became apprehensive. The first person to come and make obeisance to the Amir was the ruler of Chaghāniyān,⁶³ who brought all his troops, appeared before the Amir in person and rendered every form of service possible. After him there came to Amir Maḥmūd the Khwarazm Shah, the Ḥājib Altuntāsh, with all his troops. Amir Maḥmūd [N 82] then ordered a large tented enclosure (sarāy-parda) to be set up, one which would accommodate 10,000 cavalrymen. Another such tented enclosure, of crimson Shushtarī brocade, one with a canopy and domed roof of embroidered brocade, was erected for his personal use.

Then he ordered the army to be deployed in its formations, each with its right, left, centre and two wings, and with an armoury (zarrād-khāna) held behind each formation, and the elephants were stationed with their protective armour and saddles. He further ordered a simultaneous blowing of trumpets and beating of kettle drums, barrel-shaped drums and large drums. The elephants’ backs were draped with plates, elephant ornaments and white shells (i.e. for jangling); conches were blown, and drums and b.ḥūr (?)⁶⁴ beaten. Without exception every individual present was almost stricken deaf by such a din, men lost their senses, and all those persons from Turkestan and Transoxania present in that encampment were terrified (lit. ‘their gall bladders almost split’).⁶⁵

The Meeting of Yūsuf Qadïr Khān and Sultan Maḥmūd, God’s Mercy upon Them Both!

When Qadïr Khān, who was the leading figure in all Turkestan and the Great Khan, received news of Yamīn al-Dawla’s crossing the Oxus, he set out from Kashghar with the aim of arranging an encounter with Amir Maḥmūd, so that he might then go and meet with him face to face and renew their previous agreement. Leaving Kashghar, he came to Samarqand and travelled on from there, with peaceful and amicable intentions, until he came within a parasang of Amir Maḥmūd’s army and encamped there. He ordered a camp enclosure to be erected, and he sent envoys to acquaint Amir Maḥmūd [M 271] with his arrival and to express his keen desire for a meeting with him. Amir Maḥmūd sent back a correspondingly enthusiastic reply and named a place for their meeting. Then the Amir and Qadïr Khān, both accompanied by detachments of cavalry, [N 83] went to this place. When they came into view of each other, they both dismounted. Amir Maḥmūd had previously given a jewel of high value, wrapped up in a cloth, to his treasurer, instructing him to place it in Qadïr Khān’s hands. Qadïr Khān had similarly brought with him a jewel, but through the fear and agitation which had come over him had forgotten it. Only after he had left Maḥmūd’s presence did he remember it, so he sent it with one of his retainers, sought forgiveness (i.e. for his negligence) and returned to his camp. The next day, Amir Maḥmūd gave orders for a large tent of embroidered brocade to be erected and for an entertainment to be prepared, and he sent an envoy to Qadïr Khān inviting him as his guest.

A Description of the Celebration and the Feast

When Qadïr Khān arrived, Maḥmūd ordered trays of food to be set out as splendidly as possible, and the two monarchs sat down and ate at the same table. When they had finished the feast, they moved on to the place where music and other festive entertainments had been prepared. This had been magnificently decorated with rare and unusual sweet-smelling plants, luscious fruits and precious jewels. The hall had goblets of gold and crystal, remarkable mirrors and various rare objects so that Qadïr Khān remained in the midst of all this dazzled. They remained seated there for a good length of time. Qadïr Khān did not drink wine, since it was not customary for the monarchs of Transoxania, and especially the Turkish ones of them, to drink wine. They listened to music and singing for a while and then they arose.

Amir Maḥmūd then ordered a display of presents on a scale worthy of the occasion, to be brought in: gold and silver drinking vessels; costly jewels; unusual specialities imported from Baghdad; fine clothes; expensive arms; valuable horses with gold accoutrements and with goads studded with jewels; [M 272] ten female elephants with gold trappings and goads set with jewels; mules from Bardhaՙa with golden bells; litters for mules with girths, moon-like ornaments of gold and silver [N 84] and bells for their necks; litters covered with embroidered brocade and woven patterns; valuable carpets, including those from Armenia with raised patterns (maḥfūrī-hā) and uwaysī and particoloured rugs; pieces of woven and embroidered cloth; lengths of rose-coloured cloth from Ṭabaristān⁶⁶ with designs on them; Indian swords; aloes wood from Khmer; yellow-tinged⁶⁷ sandalwood; grey-flecked amber; she-asses; skins of Barbary panthers; hunting dogs; falcons and eagles trained to a high pitch for hunting down cranes; and gazelles and other game animals. He sent Qadïr Khān back homewards with great honour and magnificence, heaping favours on him and asking to be excused (i.e. for the inadequacy of the reception and the presents). [H 189]

When Qadïr Khān got back to his encampment and he saw that immense amount of precious objects, furnishings and carpets, weapons and wealth, he was filled with astonishment and did not know how he could requite Maḥmūd for them. He ordered his treasurer to open up the treasury door. He took out a great amount of wealth and sent it to Amir Maḥmūd, together with various items which were specialities of Turkestan, including fine horses with precious trappings and accoutrements of gold; Turkish slave boys with golden belts and quivers; falcons and hawks; pelts of sable (samūr), grey squirrel (sinjāb), ermine (qāqum) and fox (rūbāh); vessels made from leather skins; narwhal or walrus horn (? danīsha-yi khutuww);⁶⁸ delicate cloth and Chinese brocade; Chinese dārkhāshāk;⁶⁹ and suchlike.⁷⁰ The two monarchs parted from each other completely satisfied and in peace and benevolence.

When ՙAlītegin got news of this meeting, he fled into the desert. Amir Maḥmūd posted intelligence officers for the direction ՙAlītegin had taken. Then information arrived that [Arslān] Isrā’īl b. Seljuq had moved to a secret location. Yamīn al-Dawla despatched troops to ferret him out from there, and he sent him to Ghaznīn and thence to India, where he remained till the end of his life (i.e. in captivity).⁷¹

The news came that ՙAlītegin’s family and baggage were about to follow him into the desert. Amir Maḥmūd [N 85] sent the Ḥājib Bilgetegin in pursuit of them. Bilgetegin [M 273] set out and used various stratagems to capture ՙAlītegin’s wives, daughters and baggage, and forwarded them to Amir Maḥmūd. This was in the year 416 [/1025–6].

The Beginnings of the Seljuq Turks

At this time when Amir Maḥmūd was in Transoxania, a group of persons, comprising the military chiefs and leading men of Turkestan, came into his presence complaining of the tyranny exercised over them by their amirs and of the injurious treatment they were enduring at their hands. They said,

We number 4,000 families. If the lord were to issue a command and allow us to cross the Oxus and settle in Khurasan, he would be relieved of worrying about us [H 190] and there would be plenty of space for us in his realm, since we are steppe people and have extensive herds of sheep. Moreover, we would provide additional manpower for his army.⁷²

Amir Maḥmūd looked favourably on this request for them to cross the Oxus. He gave them encouragement and hopes of a good outcome, and ordered that they should be allowed to cross the Oxus. In accordance with his command, 4,000 families of them, men, women and children, and their baggage and their sheep, camels, horses and beasts of burden, crossed the river in their entirety, and they installed themselves in the desert of Sarakhs and the desert of Farāwa and Bāward, pitched their tents and made their home permanently there.

When Amir Maḥmūd crossed back from over the Oxus, the Amir of Ṭūs, Abu ’l-Ḥārith Arslān al-Jādhib,⁷³ came to him saying, ‘Why did you bring these Turkmens into your realm? You committed an error here! But now that you have admitted them, either kill them all or [at least] allow me to cut off their thumbs so that they won’t be able to shoot arrows.’ Amir Maḥmūd was astonished and accused him of being a pitiless and hard-hearted man. The Amir of Ṭūs replied, ‘If you don’t do it, you’ll much regret it!’ It happened exactly thus, and even to this present time, [N 79] there has been no satisfactory outcome of the problem.⁷⁴

Amir Maḥmūd came from Balkh to Ghaznīn and spent the summer there. When [M 274] winter began, he led a raiding expedition into India, as was his usual custom. A story had been related to him that there was a great city on the shores of the All-Encompassing Sea (sc. the Indian Ocean) called Somnath (Sūmnāt, Somanātha) which was venerated by the Indians just as the Muslims venerate Mecca. It contained numerous idols of gold and silver, and the idol Manāt, which had been transported from the Kaՙba by way of Aden in the time of the Lord of the World (i.e. Muḥammad), was there. It had been adorned with gold and set with jewels, and a vast amount of wealth had been laid up in the treasuries of that idol temple. However, the route to it was difficult and full of danger, containing many fearful places and extremely arduous.

When Amir Maḥmūd heard this account, he became gripped by the idea of marching against that city and destroying those idols and of embarking on a raiding expedition. He left northern India (Hindūstān) for Somnath by the route through Nahrawāla. When he reached the latter town, it had been completely evacuated and all its inhabitants had fled. He gave orders for his army to carry off food and fodder from there, and set out for Somnath.⁷⁵ When he drew near to the city, and the Shamanān⁷⁶ and Brahmans saw that army, they all busied themselves with worshipping and invoking the idols. The military commander of the city came forth, and then got into a boat with his family and baggage, and launched out across the sea. The boat hove to at an island, and all of them remained there as long as the army of Islam remained in that region, not budging from the island.

When the army of Islam approached the city, the inhabitants all retreated into the fortress and engaged in battle. It was not very long before the fortress was conquered, and Amir Maḥmūd’s troops poured into it and inflicted the most frightful slaughter, and large numbers of the infidels were killed. [H 191] Amir Maḥmūd gave orders, and the muezzin climbed to the top of the shrine (d.y.h.ra)⁷⁷ and gave the call to prayer. All the idols were smashed up, burnt and destroyed. The stone embodying Manāt was wrenched from its base and [N 87] smashed to pieces. Some of these pieces were loaded on to the backs of mules and brought to Ghaznīn, and to this day have been dumped by the gate of the mosque of Ghaznīn.

There was a treasure hoard beneath the idols, which they carried off. [M 275] The Amir acquired a vast amount of wealth from there, made up of silver idols and their jewels on one hand and of treasure plundered from other sources on the other. Then he returned home. The reason for this decision was that Bhīmdeva (b.h.y.m dīv), the king of the Indians, was blocking the way. Amir Maḥmūd said, ‘No stroke of ill fortune must mar this mighty victory!’ He did not take the direct route [homewards], but took a guide for the other route, and set off for Multan via the road to Manṣūra and the banks of the Indus river (Sayḥūn).⁷⁸ In the course of the journey, the troops suffered great tribulations, both on account of the parched desert conditions and also on account of the Jhats⁷⁹ of Sind and of every other sort of disaster. Great numbers of the troops of the army of Islam perished on that journey back, including the major part of the beasts of burden. They finally reached Multan and from there set out for Ghaznīn. Amir Maḥmūd entered Ghaznīn with his army in the year 417 [/1026].⁸⁰

During this same year, envoys arrived from Qitā Khān and Yughur Khān. They brought for Amir Maḥmūd messages couched in cordial terms and they performed the rites of obeisance before him. They came seeking a marriage alliance between the two sides. Amir Maḥmūd ordered that they should be fittingly lodged and entertained, but then sent a message in reply to them, ‘We are Muslims and you are unbelievers, and it would be inappropriate for us to offer you our sisters or daughters. But if you become Muslims, that can be arranged,’ and he sent the envoys back with an honourable provision.⁸¹

In Shawwāl of the year 417 [/November–December 1026], a letter came from al-Qādir bi’llāh with an investiture diploma and standard for Khurasan, India, Nīmrūz and Khwarazm, and there were honorific titles for Amir Maḥmūd, his sons and his brothers. For Amir Maḥmūd there was that of Kahf al-Dawla wa ’l-Islām (‘Refuge of the State and of Islam’); for Amir Masՙūd, those of Shihāb al-Dawla wa-Jamāl al-Milla (‘Shooting Star of the State and Adornment of the Religious Community’); for Amir Muḥammad, those of Jalāl al-Dawla [N 88] wa-Jamāl al-Milla (‘Eminence of the State and Adornment of the Religious Community’); and for Amir Yūsuf, those of ՙAḍud al-Dawla wa-Mu’ayyid al-Milla (‘Upper Arm of the State and Strengthener of the Religious Community’). A letter had also been written that said, ‘Appoint as your designated heir whomsoever you wish, and we will agree to your choice!’ [M 276] Qādir expressed his profuse thanks to Amir Maḥmūd for the raids and expeditions he had led and heaped many praises on him. This investiture diploma, and the standard and honorific titles, arrived at Balkh.⁸²

Amir Maḥmūd had an intense feeling of anger in his heart against the Jhats of Multan and Bhatinda (Bhātiya) on the Indus banks because of the harassment they had kept up when he was on the way back from Somnath, and he wished to retaliate for it and inflict punishment on them. So at the beginning of the year 418 [/February 1027], as the twelfth episode [of his campaigns into Hindustan],⁸³ he assembled the army and set out for Multan. When he arrived there, he gave orders for 1,400 boats⁸⁴ to be constructed in a stout fashion. He further ordered that each boat should be fitted with three strong, sharpened iron spikes, one projecting forward from the prow and two from each side of the boat. Each spike was to be extremely strongly made and sharp-pointed so that, whatever place the spike might strike, even if it were against something strong, it would rend, smash [H 192] and destroy that thing. He gave orders for the 1,400 boats to be launched on the banks of the Indus and that each boat should contain twenty soldiers with arrows and quivers, containers for hurling naphtha and the naphtha for them, and shields. When the Jhats heard about Amir Maḥmūd’s approach, they transported their baggage and families to distant islands in the river, and came just with their weapons, unencumbered by them. They launched 4,000 boats – some say 8,000 – each with a numerous complement of men, fully armed, and they prepared to fight. When the two forces came together and clashed, the army of Islam’s archers let fly a hail of arrows and the naphtha-throwers hurled containers of fire. Whenever [N 89] one of the boats of Maḥmūd’s fleet engaged closely one of the Jhats’ boats, the projecting spike would strike the Jhats’ boat and disable it, and it would be smashed to pieces and sink. The fighting continued in this manner until the Jhats’ boats were smashed up or sunk or were put to flight. Cavalry, infantry and elephants had been stationed on the Indus banks so that anyone who managed to scramble out of the river, those cavalrymen and infantrymen seized and killed him. From that point, the troops moved along the Indus banks in the same fashion [M 277] till they came upon the Jhats’ baggage and families; they plundered these and took many captives as slaves. From there, they set out back to Ghaznīn victorious and favoured by fortune.⁸⁵

When the year 4[1]8 approached its end [/January 1028], the people of Nasā, Bāward and Farāwa came to the court complaining about the Turkmens’ violent behaviour and the tyrannical acts they were continually perpetrating in those regions. Amir Maḥmūd ordered a letter to be written to the governor of Ṭūs, Abu ’l-Ḥārith Arslān al-Jādhib, instructing him to inflict punishment on those Turkmens and put a stop to their acts of tyranny against the subjects. In accordance with the instruction, the Amir of Ṭūs led an attack on the Turkmens, who had meanwhile grown in numbers. The Turkmens moved towards him and engaged in fighting, killing many people and wounding many others. The Amir of Ṭūs launched several attacks on them but could achieve nothing, and those complaints of oppression and cries for help sent to Amir Maḥmūd’s court were in no way halted. Amir Maḥmūd sent a further letter to the Amir of Ṭūs blaming him and imputing to him weakness. The Amir of Ṭūs wrote back in reply,

The Turkmens have become extremely strong, and the only way to suppress this mischief of theirs is through the exalted banner and stirrup (i.e. the Sultan’s personal presence). Unless the lord himself comes to repair this damage, they will become stronger and dealing with the problem will be even more difficult.

When Amir Maḥmūd read this letter, he became anxious and distressed. He lingered no longer but mobilised his army, and in the year 419 [/1028] left Ghaznīn and headed for Bust, and thence went to Ṭūs. The Amir of Ṭūs [N 90] came out to meet him and escort him back and rendered service. When Amir Maḥmūd asked him about the situation, he gave him a true and exact relation of what the Turkmens were up to. Amir Maḥmūd issued orders that a numerous military force, with several senior commanders, should accompany the Amir of Ṭūs and attack the Turkmens. When the Ghaznavid army reached the ribāṭ of Farāwa, the two sides confronted each other, the Turkmens having grown audacious and confident. Battle was joined. When the Ghaznavid forces showed themselves strong and resolute and vanquished the Turkmens, they put the Turkmens to the sword, killing 4,000 of their crack horsemen and [M 278] taking large numbers captive. The remnants fled to Balkhān [Kūh] and Dihistān, and their depredations in that region became less.⁸⁶ [H 193]

When Amir Maḥmūd felt happier in mind about the matter of the Turkmens, he led an expedition against Ray. He set out for Gurgān and reached it by taking the road through the defile of Dīnārzārī.⁸⁷ From there, he proceeded against Ray. A trusted authority informed me that Amir Maḥmūd sent from Nishapur against Ray the Ḥājib Īkūtegin⁸⁸ with a force of 2,000 cavalry but with no specific orders. When Īkūtegin had travelled two stages, the Amir sent him a message telling him to halt until the Ḥājib Ghāzī should catch up with him bringing a further 2,000 cavalry. He likewise gave Ghāzī no specific orders. When the two commanders had travelled onwards for five stages, the Amir sent them a message to halt till the Ḥājib ՙAlī should come up with them. He gave the Ḥājib ՙAlī orders and despatched him with 4,000 cavalry. When the Ḥājib reached that place (i.e. of rendezvous), he held a review of the army. He placed Īkūtegin over the right wing and the Ḥājib Ghāzī over the left wing whilst he himself took command of the centre. They proceeded onwards in that formation up to the gates of Ray.

When the news reached the Amir of Ray, the Shāhanshāh Majd al-Dawla Abū Ṭālib Rustam b. Fakhr al-Dawla, he thought that Amir Maḥmūd had come in person. He went forth (i.e. to greet him) with a force of a hundred cavalrymen drawn from his personal guard, retainers and attendants [N 91] and a numerous body of infantrymen, comprising those who ran alongside the horses, shield-bearers, lance/javelin bearers and suchlike. When the Ḥājib ՙAlī saw him, he sent a messenger with the instructions, ‘You must dismount whilst I deliver the message which I bear.’ Majd al-Dawla straightway came forward, and the Ghaznavid forces erected tents and a marquee and encamped there. The Ḥājib ՙAlī gave orders, and the gates of the city were seized and no-one allowed to leave. They did not permit anybody to go out from or to enter the city. Meanwhile, what had happened to Majd al-Dawla was kept quiet.

The Ḥājib ՙAlī kept Majd al-Dawla in that tent under arrest, and all the weapons that had been brought with him he confiscated. Abū Ṭālib was held captive in that tent for four days. The Ḥājib ՙAlī [M 279] wrote to Amir Yamīn al-Dawla giving news about the situation. A reply came back, and Abū Ṭālib and six other persons were then set on the backs of camels and despatched to Amir Maḥmūd. The latter ordered that Abū Ṭālib should be conveyed to Ghaznīn, and he remained there for the rest of his life. Amir Yamīn al-Dawla came to Ray and occupied the city unopposed and without any difficulty. The Buyids’ treasuries, which had been laid up there from a long time back, he carried off in their entirety. He found there wealth that seemed beyond any counting and limitless.

Information was brought to Amir Maḥmūd that there were large numbers of adherents of the Bāiniyya and Carmathians within the city of Ray and its environs. He gave orders that anybody suspected of holding that belief should be brought out and stoned to death. He killed large numbers of adherents of that belief, and some of them he placed in bonds and sent to Khurasan, where they were held in captivity in his castles and prisons till they died. He remained at Ray for some time until he had set in order all that kingdom’s affairs. He appointed officials, and he entrusted the governorship of Ray and Isfahan to Amir Masՙūd and himself returned to Ghaznīn. The conquest of Ray was in Jumādā I of the year 420 [/May–June 1029].⁸⁹ [N 92]

Amir Maḥmūd showed symptoms of the malady of consumption. It had been appearing over some considerable time, but it grew worse and every day he kept becoming weaker from it and at the same time suffering pain. He managed, with great effort and the use of various expedients, ostensibly to retain his strength, and he gave out to people that he had no sickness or pain. In this condition, he came to Khurasan. He went to Balkh and spent the winter there. When [H 194] spring came round, his illness became much worse. He set out for Ghaznīn and was there for several days. He tried many remedies but could not secure any relief for his condition. He became extremely weak, and death approached. He could not manage to sleep lying down on a bed but could only sit up, and in that state he yielded up the ghost, may God’s mercy be upon him and may He illuminate his tomb! Amir Maḥmūd’s passing was on Thursday, 23 Rabīՙ II [M 280] of the year 421 [/30 April 1030].⁹⁰ With his death, a whole world was brought to destruction; the vile became elevated and the great were brought low.

The Rule of Amir Jalāl al-Dawla wa-Jamāl al-Milla Abū Aḥmad Muḥammad b. Yamīn al-Dawla, God Most High’s Mercy upon Them Both!

When Amir Maḥmūd passed away, Amir Masՙūd was in Isfahan and Amir Muḥammad was in Gūzgānān. At that point, the Ḥājib ՙAlī [N 93] b. Il Arslān, who was Amir Maḥmūd’s kinsman, got a firm grip on affairs of state. He brought stability to the monarchy and did not allow anyone to use excessive measures against another person. The town of Ghaznīn became such that the wolf and the sheep lived peaceably side by side.

The Ḥājib ՙAlī sent an emissary and he brought back Amir Muḥammad, and he ascended the throne in his father’s place. The first thing Muḥammad did was to preside over sessions for hearing complaints of injustice and tyranny (maẓālim); he listened to the petitioners and arranged just settlements between the parties concerned. Then he ordered the registers and tax assessment books for the various regions to be brought out for examination. In regard to every place which had become laid waste and whose proprietors were excessively burdened because of the land-tax on it, he looked into that tax burden carefully and he looked after the interests of the subjects. He ordered the doors of the treasury to be thrown open, and he awarded robes of honour and presents of money for all the court troops and other soldiers, whether of lowly or exalted status, obscure or in the public eye. He appointed his paternal uncle Abū Yaՙqūb Yūsuf b. Nāṣir al-Dīn as commander-in-chief of the army, and gave him a splendid robe of honour and handsome financial rewards. He appointed Kh^wāja Abū Sahl Aḥmad b. al-Ḥasan al-Ḥamdawī as his vizier and followed his counsel in the running of affairs. The state of the kingdom became flourishing and expansive, and daily life became good for the populace. The level of prices was low, and the troops and the bazaar traders became universally contented. When news of Ghaznīn’s prosperity and ampleness of life reached other cities, merchants flocked to it from distant parts, bringing every conceivable variety of merchandise, textiles, etc., for trading. The level of prices became low and goods became cheap. [M 281]

Despite all this prosperity which Amir Muḥammad brought about for the mass of subjects and the soldiery alike, the troops and the subjects inclined to the side of Amir Shihāb al-Dawla Abū Saՙīd Masՙūd b. Yamīn al-Dawla and sought after him.

Fifty days after Amir Maḥmūd’s death, Amir Ayāz⁹¹ conspired with the [royal] ghulāms and took from them a sworn pledge for going over to Amir Masՙūd’s side; they all agreed to this and swore an oath over it. He sent an envoy to Abu ’l-Ḥasan ՙAlī b. ՙAbdallāh, who was known as ՙAlī Dāya,⁹² [N 94] and ՙAlī Dāya agreed to approach those troops. Next day, the palace ghulāms came out and went to the stables, brought forth horses and mounted them with a full array of arms. They rode out of the palace gates openly, and in this wise went along boldly and ready for action, heading for Bust. [H 195]

When Amir Muḥammad heard about this, he sent an army in pursuit of them. These troops included Suvendharāy, commander of the Indian division,⁹³ who went after them with a numerous force of cavalrymen. He caught up with them and attacked them. The ghulāms fought back and killed many of the Indians, including Suvendharāy. A large number of the palace ghulāms were also killed and their heads brought before Amir Muḥammad.

Abu ’l-Najm Ayāz b. Aymaq and ՙAlī Dāya, together with a numerous force of ghulāms, travelled along swiftly until they all reached Nishapur and appeared before Amir Masՙūd. When they saw the Amir, all of them made obeisance and rendered service, hailing him as king. He accepted their submission, spoke encouraging words to them, sought excuses [from them] and asked about their journey, giving them hopes of future favour.

Amir Muḥammad remained there in Ghaznīn, indulging in listening to music and singing, merry-making and busying himself with wine drinking, to the point that his close retainers told him,

All this you’re doing is a mistake. The mass of people have begun talking about you unfavourably and are blaming you for what you’re doing just now, saying that ‘Your enemy has come from Western Persia (ՙIrāq [-i ՙAjam]) and has mounted an attack upon you, yet you pay no heed to him [M 282] and have devoted yourself to wine drinking and self-satisfied behaviour.’ Unless you march out against him, this royal power will slip away from you.

When four months of his reign had elapsed, Amir Muḥammad made plans to march forth. He gave orders and the tented encampment was transported to the vicinity of Bust and set up. He handed out donatives to the troops and then marched out of Ghaznīn with a well-equipped and powerful army. But when he reached Tegīnābād, all the leading figures and army commanders came together in a conclave and sent a message to Amir Muḥammad,

You are leading us against an enemy [N 95] who has the entire population as his supporters and followers. We know for certain that you won’t be able to stand up to him. The wisest course is that you should remain here in this place so that we may go to him, seek pardon for our actions and convey your words [to him]. In this way, he might relent towards us and in the same way become favourably disposed to you and summon you to his presence, and both you and ourselves will thereby be in a secure relationship with him.

When Amir Muḥammad saw that the whole of his army had changed its allegiance, he realised that there was no means of retrieving the situation and that submission was the only remedy. He immediately acceded to their demands, and they brought him to the fortress of Rukhkhaj⁹⁴ and held him captive there. Amir Yūsuf, the Ḥājib ՙAlī and the leading figures and commanders seized the treasuries and the armoury, got the army moving in the direction of Amir Masՙūd and proceeded to Herat.⁹⁵ [H 196]

The Rule of Amir Nāṣir Dīn Allāh Ḥāfiẓ ՙIbād Allāh wa-Ẓahīr Khalīfat Allāh Abū Saՙīd Masՙūd b. Yamīn al-Dawla [Walī] Amīr al-Mu’minīn, God’s Mercy upon Them Both!

When Ayāz b. Aymāq and ՙAlī Dāya reached Nishapur, Amir Masՙūd became much heartened. He held a court and presided over maẓālim sessions, listening to the subjects’ complaints and meting out justice between contending parties. When several days had passed, the investiture diploma and standard sent by the Commander of the Faithful al-Qādir bi’llāh were brought in; Abū Sahl Mursil b. Manṣūr b. Aflaḥ Gardīzī [N 96] had fetched these (i.e. from Baghdad). Amir Masՙūd commended Mursil [M 283] and gave him hopes of future favour. He remained at Nishapur for a while and then from there came to Herat. When Amir Masՙūd had been at Herat for some days, the Ḥājib ՙAlī came into his presence. He took his hand in greeting and asked about his journey. ՙAlī’s brother Mengütirek had come to Amir Masՙūd before ՙAlī’s arrival. The Amir had bestowed on him the rank of Ḥājib and was treating him with great respect and consideration. When the Ḥājib ՙAlī came back from attendance on the Amir at court, he was borne along to a prison cell. Mengütirek put his hand to has sword hilt, but the Ḥājib ՙAlī expostulated with him, saying that Masՙūd was his lord, and the son of his lord, and that whatever he might ordain the two of them had to show obedience. Thereafter, no-one ever saw those two brothers again.⁹⁶

When the body of troops and the treasuries reached Amir Masՙūd, he set out from Herat for Balkh and spent the winter there. He brought a firm hand to the administration of the realm. His reign began in Shawwāl of the year 421 [/October 1030]. He made his first concern the appointment of a vizier, with a consideration of those who were the most suitable persons for the post. There was no-one more proficient in his job, more learned in adab and with a greater fund of knowledge than Kh^wāja Abu ’l-Qāsim Aḥmad b. Ḥasan Maymandī.⁹⁷ Kh^wāja Aḥmad had been held prisoner in the fortress of Jankī in India.⁹⁸ Amir Masՙūd now despatched someone, and he was brought back from that fortress. He appointed him as his vizier, giving him a fine robe of honour and entrusting to him all affairs relating to the organisation of the army.

Ḥasan b. Muḥammad al-Mikālī⁹⁹ had been arrested. The Amir gave orders that he was to be made forcibly to disgorge his gains, and wealth was obtained from him. Then the Amir ordered that he should be killed and gibbeted at Balkh. The reason for this was that Amir Ḥasanak had sought permission from Amir Maḥmūd [H 197] and had gone off on the Pilgrimage. He had returned from this by way of the Syrian route because the road across the [Arabian] desert [M 284] was disturbed. From Syria he had travelled to Egypt and had accepted a robe of honour from the ruler of Egypt.¹⁰⁰ [N 97] Suspicion had thereby been thrown on him that he was favourably disposed towards the ruler of Egypt and was thus liable to the penalty of stoning. Amir Masՙūd commanded that a helmet should be placed on Ḥasanak’s head and that he should be placed on the gallows platform and stoned. Afterwards his head was borne away and sent to Qādir in Baghdad.¹⁰¹

Every person who had opposed Amir Masՙūd or who had conspired with his enemies, he arrested and without exception inflicted punishment on them and brought them to destruction. He seized the treasurer Aḥmad [b.] Yïnāltegin, who had filled this office under Maḥmūd, and forced him to disgorge his gains, ordering a great amount of wealth to be exacted from him. When Aḥmad handed over the money, the Amir sent him to India and appointed him commander of the army there, despatching him thither in place of the Ḥājib Eryārūq.¹⁰² All that show of anger, the forcible confiscations, the ill-treatment and humiliations inflicted on Aḥmad [b.] Yïnāltegin remained lodged in his heart, and when he reached India he threw off obedience and rebelled.¹⁰³

Amir Nāṣir Dīn Allāh gave orders for Abū Ṭālib Rustam Majd al-Dawla to be brought back from India.¹⁰⁴ He summoned Majd al-Dawla to his court session and spoke with him in a cordial manner. He ordered a residence to be built for him in Ghaznīn and gave instructions that Majd al-Dawla should on all occasions be admitted to the court to offer his service. He remained in Ghaznīn till the end of his life.

At this time, the Amir of Makrān, Ḥusayn b. Maՙdān, came to the court and made complaint about his brother Abu ’l-ՙAskar, asserting that the latter had appropriated the royal power for himself, had deprived Ḥusayn of his rights and had refused to give him his due. So Amir Nāṣir Dīn Allāh issued orders for Tāsh Farrāsh to go back with Ḥusayn to Makrān, secure restitution from Abu ’l-ՙAskar for his brother and set Ḥusayn on the throne there as ruler.¹⁰⁵ [N 98]

Amir Masՙūd then left Balkh for Ghaznīn. When the people of Ghaznīn heard this news, they set about organising festivities. Everyone became busy preparing merry-making and rejoicings, the markets were decorated, and musicians and singers were stationed in positions outside the town. They were there for several days, with rejoicings going on continuously day and night, [M 285] in anticipation of Nāṣir Dīn Allāh’s arrival. The notables, prominent figures and community leaders of the town all went out to greet him, offering up their service, and laid on festivities and merry-making. When the Amir reached Ghaznīn, the townspeople scattered dirhams and dinars as a sign of rejoicing. Next day, the Amir sat down in state and held court. People came along continuously and were bringing presents, according to the accepted custom. Amir Masՙūd likewise showed his benevolence to everyone, speaking encouraging words and raising people’s hopes of future beneficence. All the people of Ghaznīn spontaneously and with one accord broke out in voice, addressed profuse praises to him, offered up prayers for divine favour and besought God, He is Exalted and Magnified, to grant him a long reign, made their obeisances and returned homewards.

Once the Amir had finished with affairs at Ghaznīn, he formed the intention of taking action regarding Āmul, Isfahan and Ray, and set out for those places. When he reached Herat, people from Sarakhs and Bāvard came with cries for help, complaining about the Turkmens. So Amir Masՙūd designated a commander with a large military force, and sent to accompany him Abū Saՙd ՙAbdūs b. ՙAbd al-ՙAzīz as adjutant and administrator (kadkhudā) and quartermaster for that army; this was in [H 198] the year 422 [/1031]. When the army made contact with the Turkmens at Farāwa, they launched an assault on them and engaged in battle. Many men were killed. The Turkmens removed their baggage and their families to Balkhān [Kūh], and their cavalrymen were then able to fight unencumbered by these impedimenta and dependents. Each day detachment after detachment kept coming on, and the fighting was continuous. After being thus engaged for a certain period of time, these warriors (i.e. the Ghaznavid forces) returned to base.¹⁰⁶

At the beginning of the year 423 [/December 1031–January 1032], Kh^wāja Aḥmad b. al-Ḥasan [N 99] passed away. The Martyr Amir took counsel with his advisers concerning a new vizier, and the names of various persons were passed in review. The decision fell on Kh^wāja Abū Naṣr Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. ՙAbd al-Ṣamad, who was a man of good character and a shrewd person, possessing a high degree of wisdom, perspicacious judgement and ability successfully to direct affairs. He had exercised the function of vizier in Khwarazm for a considerable time and had, through his clear-sighted exercise of authority and unerring judgement made that province flourishing and populous. The Martyr Amir wrote a letter summoning him back from Khwarazm. [M 286] He conferred on Kh^wāja Aḥmad the post of directing state affairs and awarded him a robe of honour appropriate to that position.¹⁰⁷ He then set out for Ghaznīn and returned to the seat of his power.

In the year 424 [/1033], he led an expedition into India. There was a fortress called Sarastī in the pass leading into Kashmir. He proceeded there and laid siege to it. Its defenders fought back vigorously. In the end, he captured it, and the [Ghaznavid] army acquired from the fortress a great booty of wealth and slaves. When it was spring, he set off back to Ghaznīn.¹⁰⁸

In the year 425 [/1034], he led an expedition to Āmul and Sārī. He mobilised his troops and proceeded there with a well-armed and fully equipped army. News of his approach had reached those lands, and all the people there had got ready for war. A large army of town-dwellers, mountain folk, Jīlīs and Daylamīs had been assembled and had taken up a position on the road, with detachments placed at intervals in ambushes in the thick forests and narrow places.¹⁰⁹ When the Ghaznavid army arrived there, the enemy poured forth from very direction and were engaging in fighting. The Martyr Amir was mounted on an elephant. Shahrākīm b. Sūriyal, the Amir of Astarābād, confronted him, armed to the teeth. An elephant was coming on; Shahrākīm made a spear thrust,¹¹⁰ [N 100] and the elephant was wounded in the side and fell down. When the Martyr Amir looked down from the back of his elephant and saw that, he hurled a javelin (zūbīn) which struck Shahrākīm’s face and felled him. The [Ghaznavid] troops came up and made him captive. Shahrākīm’s men had also entered the fray, and they engaged in fighting at Sārī. In the end, they were put to flight and the Martyr Amir captured the town. Impulsive elements of the troops plundered part of the town. The townspeople came forward and complained, saying that ‘We are traders, pious and God-fearing, and your troops are treating us with violence.’ He gave orders to the troops to desist from plundering and spoliation.

He had his tented enclosure erected at the gates of Āmul. Bā Kālījār, the Amir of Ṭabaristān,¹¹¹ sent messengers. [M 287] Representatives from both sides met together [H 199] and a peace agreement was made on the basis that Bā Kālījār should immediately convey 300,000 dinars as tribute, hand over taxation annually, make the khuṭba throughout Ṭabaristān in Amir Masՙūd’s name and give hostages for good behaviour. Bā Kālījār brought in this stipulated payment and delivered it to the Martyr Amir, and he sent his own son and the son of his brother Shahrū[ī] b. Surkhāb as hostages.¹¹²

When Āmul, Sārī and Ṭabaristān had passed under the Martyr Amir’s control, he departed from there heading for Ghaznīn. When he reached Nishapur, victims of oppression and wrongdoing came into his presence, complaining about the Turkmens. The Martyr Amir took counsel with his viziers, boon-companions and military commanders regarding the problem of the Turkmens, stating that their violent behaviour had become acute. All those present considered the matter and put forward their views. The Ḥājib Begtughdï said, ‘These acts of destruction arise from the fact of many commanders having been involved.¹¹³ If you send a single person with responsibility for dealing with this matter, he will necessarily give it his wholehearted attention and will deal with the problem successfully.’ The Martyr Amir told Begtughdï, ‘You must go and undertake the task, and Ḥusayn b. ՙAlī b. Mīkā’īl is to accompany you (i.e. as kadkhudā).’¹¹⁴ He then despatched them with a numerous army comprising Indians, Kurds, Arabs and Turks, and with them troops from every other ethnic group, and he also sent high-quality war elephants.

They set out from Nishapur [N 101] and came to Ṭūs. From there they went on to Nasā. When they arrived at a place called S.p.n.dānqān (?),¹¹⁵ envoys came from the Turkmens. Their verbal message was communicated to Begtughdï, it being couched in these terms: ‘We are slaves and are obedient. If you accept our presence and make available for us pasture grounds, we’ll stop our depredations and no-one will suffer any harm from us.’ Begtughdï expostulated violently with the envoy and used many rough words to him. He told the Turkmens, ‘Between me and you is the sword. If you are really obedient and carry out our commands, send an envoy of yours to King Masՙūd and seek to make your excuses to him. Bring back to us a letter (i.e. from the Amir) and we will turn away from confronting you in war; but if you don’t do this, we shall in no circumstances turn back.’ [M 288]

Begtughdï then sent the envoy back and deployed his army for battle. He appointed the treasurer Qut-tegin (?; text, ’.f.t.k.y.n) over the right, the Ḥājib Böri (text, p.y.r) over the left, and he himself took charge of the centre. He sent forward the Arab contingent¹¹⁶ as scouts together with 500 cavalrymen who formed the mounted element of the Arab contingent. When the contingent reached Mār.r.n.y (?), it gained a victory over the Turkmens’ advance troops; large numbers of them were killed and the Turkmens took to flight. Begtughdï’s army pursued them till his troops came upon the Turkmens’ baggage. They seized all of this as plunder and gained an immense amount of booty. They brought away the beasts and goods and returned to their army camp since that place was a constricted one.

At this period, the greater part of Begtughdï’s army was away, either engaged in attacking the enemy or else plundering. When Dāwūd (i.e. Chaghrï Beg), the Turkmen leader, got news of this, he and a strong military force emerged from the defiles and narrow places of the mountain, took up positions directly facing the Ghaznavid army and formed themselves into battle lines. The fighting continued for two days and nights, with the Turkmens gaining the upper hand. Begtughdï then said to Ḥusayn b. ՙAlī [b.] Mīkā’īl, [N 102] ‘There’s no possibility of holding our ground.’ The ra’īsḤusayn answered, ‘In no circumstances will I go back to the Amir as one who has fled the field; I’ll either emerge victorious or be killed.’

Begtughdï turned and fled, but Ḥusayn stood his ground and kept on fighting until all his troops took to flight and he was left there a lone figure. The Turkmens poured in, surrounded his elephant and forced him to dismount from it. They were about to kill him when Dāwūd got news of this and sent someone with instructions not to kill Ḥusayn. [H 200] They brought him into Dāwūd’s presence, bound him hand and foot and kept him captive in a tent, with several Turkmens detailed to guard him. Ḥusayn has remained there amongst the Turkmens until this present time. Begtughdï went back and entered the Martyr Amir’s presence. The Amir was in depair. Because of the fact that the Daylamī hostages and captives were with him,¹¹⁷ he was unable to remain there and went back to Ghaznīn, bringing the prisoners, who were sent to various fortresses and towns, in the month of Ramaḍān 426 [/July–August 1035].¹¹⁸ [M 289]

Reports were continuously arriving from India that Aḥmad [b. Yïnāltegin] was behaving oppressively within his Indian governorship, had arrested and imprisoned the tax-collecting officials, and was treacherously appropriating the money. The Martyr Amir sent Bānha b. Muḥammad b. M.l.l.y, the commander (sālār) of the Indians,¹¹⁹ with a large army. When the two opposing sides met, they clashed together and engaged in battle. Large numbers of troops from both sides were killed. Bānha was killed in the course of the fighting and his troops all put to flight. Aḥmad Yïnāltegin’s power thus became strong.

When the Martyr Amir heard the news of this, he despatched Tilak b. Jahlan,¹²⁰ the supreme commander (sipahsālār) of the Indian contingent [within the Ghaznavid army], and Tilak set off with a large army of Indian troops. He engaged in warfare with Aḥmad [b.] Yïnāltegin, and there were several clashes and battles between the two sides. Tilak was victorious on all these occasions. Aḥmad [b.] Yïnāltegin took to flight and his army was completely destroyed. All those soldiers of Aḥmad’s, the traders who had attached themselves to Aḥmad’s camp and were adherents of his, whom Tilak captured, he cut off one hand and their noses, [N 103] thus inflicting exemplary punishment, until he had dealt with a large number of persons in this way.

Aḥmad [b.] Yïnāltegin fled, and headed for Manṣūra and Sind. He tried to cross the Indus river, but unfortunately for him, a flood swept down and carried him away, and he suffered death by drowning. When the waters bore along his mutilated body, they threw it up at a certain spot. One of his soldiers and doughty warriors found his body and recognised it. He cut off the head and it was brought before Tilak. Tilak sent it to Balkh, and Amir Masՙūd gave orders for a column to be erected and the head to be set on it.¹²¹

At this time, i.e. in the year 427 [/1035–6], the New Palace at Ghaznīn was completed, together with the golden throne set with jewels that had been specially made for the palace. The Martyr Amir gave orders for that golden throne to be installed in the palace. A golden crown, which weighed seventy mans and was set with jewels, had been made, and this was suspended above the throne by golden chains. Amir Masՙūd then sat down on the throne and placed the suspended crown on his head, and he held a court session for his guards and retainers and the masses of people.¹²² [Also in this same year, the Amir awarded his son Mawdūd]¹²³ a ceremonial drum and standard and sent him [M 290] to Balkh.

In Dhu ’l-Qaՙda of the year 427 [/August–September 1036], he mobilised the army for campaigning in India. There was a fortress called Hānsī, considered impregnable, strongly fortified and with a numerous garrison of defenders.¹²⁴ The Martyr Amir led an attack on that fortress. When he arrived there, he ordered [H 201] his army to surround it. They launched an attack on it, whilst the defenders were fighting back from the upper parts of the fortress. The defending garrison believed that no-one would ever be able to conquer the fortress because of the strength of its defences. After six days of fighting, one wall of the fortress was demolished and it became exposed to attack (lit. ‘exposed to ravishment’, ՙawrat shūd).¹²⁵ The army of Islam poured in and sacked the fortress. They acquired a vast amount of wealth and plunder [N 104] and numerous captives.

From there they marched towards the fortress of Sūnīpat, the seat of Daypāl Hariyāna. When the latter learnt of their approach, he fled into the open plains and the forests, abandoning that fortress with all its wealth and goods. When the army of Islam arrived there, the Martyr Amir gave orders for the fortress to be sacked. They burnt down the idol temples and carried off as spoils all the gold and silver, the food stores and furnishings that they could find. Spies then arrived and brought the news that Daypāl Hariyāna was to be found in a certain stretch of forest. The Martyr Amir proceeded there until he drew near to Daypāl Hariyāna’s army. When Daypāl received information about this, he immediately fled, abandoning his army. The army of Islam fell upon the army of infidels, slew a great number of them, took many captives and seized innumerable slaves.

They went back from there and marched towards the seat¹²⁶ of Rām. When Rām heard of their approach, he despatched an emissary to the Martyr Amir seeking pardon (i.e. offering submission), saying, ‘I am an aged man, and have no strength to come and render service in person,’ but he sent a great sum of money by the hand of one of his retainers. The Martyr Amir accepted his submission and his offering. He went back from there and headed for Ghaznīn. Then he gave the governorship of Lahore to Amir Majdūd b. Masՙūd. [M 291] He awarded him a ceremonial drum and standard, and despatched him to Lahore with an army and his personal retainers, whilst he himself came back to Ghaznīn. The conquest of Hānsī was in the year 428 [/1036–7].¹²⁷

Once the Amir had established himself at Ghaznīn there was a continuous stream of petitioners and persons arriving from Khurasan crying for help and complaining about the Turkmens, and the intelligence agents and postmasters were continually sending letters with the information that the violence and evildoing of the Turkmens had gone beyond all measure.¹²⁸ Then, at the end of the year 428 [/October 1037], the Amir set out for Balkh with the plan of setting aright the affairs of Khurasan and of putting an end to the Turkmens’ violence and evildoing. When [N 105] he reached Balkh, a group of Turkmens who were in that vicinity moved away from their camping places, and the province of Balkh became free of them.

News was brought to the Martyr Amir that a disturbed situation had arisen in the Transoxanian region, caused by Böritegin and his troops, who were continually oppressing the local people.¹²⁹ The Martyr Amir decided to lead an expedition and suppress this evildoing. [It had all arisen] because the Great Khān Qadïr Khān had died and the local people had been put in fear of Böritegin. The Amir thought that he might be able to seize the opportunity and gain control of Transoxania for himself. So he commanded that a bridge should be thrown across the Oxus. He conveyed the army across the river and set off into Transoxania. All the magnates and leaders of Transoxania abandoned their seats of power and departed, and no-one came to join the Amir. When they had been in Transoxania for several days, a letter reached the Martyr Amir from the Vizier Khwāja Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. ՙAbd al-Ṣamad in Balkh with the news that the Turkmen leader Dāwūd, with all [H 202] his host, was planning to attack Balkh and that he himself lacked adequate soldiers, auxiliary troops and matériel to withstand them; unless the Amir returned, a disaster would occur. Amir Masՙūd returned fom Transoxania immediately and came to the Katar steppe.¹³⁰ He deployed his army for battle and got it ready to engage the Turkmens. On receiving information about the Amir’s crossing back over the river, the Turkmen chief Dāwūd straightway got his forces ready to move and left for Merv.¹³¹

When the Martyr Amir [M 292] heard about Dāwūd’s departure, he came to Balkh and then went on to Gūzgānān. Several people from that region came before him and laid complaints about the oppressive activities of ՙAlī Quhandizī. This ՙAlī Quhandizī was an ayyār and evildoer, and had been guilty of many tyrannical acts in these regions. The Martyr Amir issued orders for someone to be sent to this ՙAlī and that he should be summoned to the court. [N 106] When the envoy reached him he refused to come. In that region there was a fortress where he now sought refuge, moving his family and his belongings into it and fortifying it against a siege. The Martyr Amir gave commands for that fortress to be taken and laid waste. ՙAlī Quhandizī was brought down from it. When he was brought before the Martyr Amir, the latter forthwith ordered him to be executed. This happened in the year 429 [/1038].¹³²

When the Turkmens learnt about the Martyr Amir’s march towards Merv, they were filled with fear. They straightway sent an envoy to him, saying,

We are slaves and obedient to his commands. If the Amir will now admit us into his territories and allot us pasture lands, we will transfer our beasts and our baggage to those pasture lands and will devote ourselves exclusively to the Exalted Stirrup’s service, if the Amir should see his way to do this.

The Martyr Amir sent back a messenger, and the requisite formal agreement was made with Yabghu.¹³³ The latter was made to swear that he would not again be refractory, would remain fully obedient, would restrain his family and retainers and the whole tribe from these oppressive acts, and would opt for those pasture lands allotted to them by the Martyr Amir. They solemnly subscribed to all these conditions, pledged themselves to them and swore oaths. All the chiefs and commanders of the Turkmens agreed to that solemn agreement and gave guarantees that they would observe all its conditions.

The Martyr Amir set out from there towards Herat, but a Turkmen force attacked the baggage train of the Martyr Amir’s army en route for Herat, carried off much equipment and possessions, killed several persons and inflicted wounds on others. The Martyr Amir issued orders, and the army went in pursuit of the Turkmens. The army attacked them, killed a large number of them and took numerous prisoners. The captives, together with the heads of the slain, were brought before the Martyr Amir. He commanded that those heads should be loaded on [M 293] asses and delivered to Yabghu, with an accompanying message that, whoever broke his solemn agreement would, as his reward, suffer the same fate. When Yabghu [N 107] saw those heads, he sought pardon and heaped reproaches on the perpetrators of that attack. He gave the reply that ‘We knew nothing about this action; we only wish to do whatever the Amir himself is doing.’¹³⁴

The Martyr Amir spent several days in Herat and then set out for Nishapur. When he reached Ṭūs, a detachment of the Turkmen forces advanced towards him. Battle was given and a large number of Turkmens were killed. From there [H 203] he made for Nasā and Bāward, but those regions proved to be completely free of Turkmens. Information then reached the Martyr Amir that the people of Bāward had handed over their citadel to the Turkmens and had entered into friendly relations with them. He immediately marched to Bāward, and very soon afterwards the men garrisoning the citadel were brought before the Amir. He gave orders that the greater part of them should be put to death. His mind was relieved of that matter, and he came to Nishapur, where he spent the winter. This was in the year 430 [/1038–9].¹³⁵

When spring came round, he left Nishapur¹³⁶ and headed for Bāward, having received reports that the Turkmen chief Ṭoghrïl was there. When Ṭoghrïl heard of the Martyr Amir’s approach, he withdrew to N.z.n (?) of Bāward and avoided all contact with Amir Masՙūd. When the Martyr Amir found no trace of him,¹³⁷ he went to Sarakhs via the Mayhana road. The people of Sarakhs refused to hand over any taxation and fortified themselves within the town. The Amir gave orders, and the garrison was brought down from the citadel and the citadel itself demolished. Some of the defenders of the citadel were put to death whilst others had their hands cut off.¹³⁸

From there he went to L.stāna (?) and stayed in that place for a while, and then he set out from there for Dandānqān. When he arrived there, the army encamped. When morning dawned, the Turkmens had seized control of all the steppe lands and mountains and had blocked the ways for the army of Ghazna. When the Martyr Amir saw the situation, he gave orders that the troops should get ready for battle. The army took up its battle formation and the troops formed up into unbroken lines (ṣaffhā). [M 294] The Turkmens also set about preparing for battle and followed their usual practice in forming up for battle, since they fight in separate compact groups (kurdūs kurdūs), and they all deployed themselves thus. The two sides were engaged in fighting [N 108] and the Ghaznavid army gained the upper hand, but then a section of it turned away and went over to the enemy.¹³⁹ The Martyr Amir personally stood firm and felled to the ground a good number of battle-hardened warriors, some with his spear, some with his sword and some with his mace. He fought more fiercely on that day than any previous monarch had ever personally done. He sent a message to his army commanders ordering them to fight on, but they gave up the fight, turned away and took to flight. He himself kept on fighting in that fashion described above until there was hardly anyone left at his side. When he realised that the battle had ended in disaster, he turned and abandoned the field; however, none of the Turkmens dared to go after him because they had seen his prowess in the fray. This battle at Dandānqān was on Friday, 8 Ramaḍān of the year 431 [/23 May 1040].¹⁴⁰

The Martyr Amir set out from Dandānqān for Marw al-Rūd, and various stragglers from the army came to join him. From Marw [al-Rūd] he set off for Ghaznīn, travelling via the Ghūr road and reaching Ghaznīn. The first thing he did there was to take action against those three commanders who had disobeyed orders during the battle and had been negligent,¹⁴¹ such as the Commander-in-Chief ՙAlī Dāya, the Great Ḥājib Sübashï and also the Ḥājib Begtughdï. He had them seized and bound, he confiscated their wealth and property, and he consigned them to fortresses in India, where on the same day all three died.¹⁴² [H 204]

The Martyr Amir then formulated a plan how that situation might be retrieved. It was agreed that he should go to India, collect there a mighty army, come back and restore the position.¹⁴³ He appointed Amir Mawdūd governor of Balkh and despatched the Vizier Kh^wāja [Aḥmad b.] Muḥammad b. ՙAbd al-Ṣamad to Balkh to accompany him (i.e. as his kadkhudā). He also appointed as military commander for Mawdūd the Ḥājib Ertegin, [N 109] sending with him 4,000 cavalry. Mawdūd proceeded towards Balkh. [M 295] When Amir Mawdūd reached Hupyān, he took up his position there.¹⁴⁴ The Martyr Amir sent Amir Majdūd to Multan with 2,000 cavalry and Amir Īzad-yār to the mountain fringes (kūh-pāya) around Ghaznīn where there were Afghans and other rebellious elements, instructing him, ‘Keep a firm grip on that region lest any adverse situation arise there.’¹⁴⁵

He then gave orders for all the treasuries and stores of precious objects that Amir Maḥmūd had deposited in fortresses and at various places, such as the fortresses of Dīdī-Rū, Mandīsh, Nāy-Lāmān, Maranj and B.nāmad–Kōt (?),¹⁴⁶ should all be brought to Ghaznīn. Then all the wealth in the shape of jewels, gold, silver, clothing, carpets and hangings, and vessels, were loaded on to the backs of camels. He mobilised the army and set out for India with that treasury, his womenfolk and baggage. When en route, he sent an emissary with instructions that his brother Amir Muḥammad should be fetched from the fortress of Barghund¹⁴⁷ to the army camp.¹⁴⁸

When he drew near to the ribāṭ of Mārīkala,¹⁴⁹ the treasury was being t. borne along before him. A number of indisciplined royal ghulāms and soldiers, heedless of all consequences, came up with the treasury. They saw an immense string of camels and other beasts of burden all loaded with jewels, gold and silver. They fell upon them and carried off a quantity of them. The army became mutinous, and in one fell swoop carried away and pillaged all the treasuries. When they had acted in this mutinous manner, they realised that they would not get away with it except by raising to power a new amir. It happened that Amir Muḥammad came along at that moment, and a group of the criminals then came forward and hailed him as king.

When the Martyr Amir saw what had happened, and discerned no hope of punishing the rebels or of combatting them, he went and shut himself up in the ribāṭ of Mārīkala, remaining there that t. night. Next morning, he came forth and made strenuous efforts (i.e. to regain his authority), but the decree of Fate had come down and he could achieve nothing. [N 110, H 205] He went back inside the ribāṭ and fortified himself within t. it. But the army, comprising troops and elephants, surrounded it. A detachment of troops broke into it and brought out Amir Masՙūd. He was put in bonds and taken from there to the fortress of Gīrī. He remained there until [M 296] 11 Jumādā I of the year 432 [/17 January 1041]. Finally, that same group who had brought about his deposition conspired together in a plot. They sent an envoy to the castellan of Gīrī with a message purporting to come expressly from Amir Muḥammad; in fact, the latter knew nothing about it. [Acting on the message,] the castellan killed Masՙūd, and cut off his head and sent it to Amir Muḥammad. Amir Muḥammad wept copiously and heaped reproaches on those who had plotted Masՙūd’s death.¹⁵⁰

The Rule of Amir Shihāb al-Dīn wa ’l-Dawla wa-Quṭb al-Milla Abu ’l-Fatḥ Mawdūd b. Nāṣir Dīn Allāh Masՙūd b. Maḥmūd, God’s Mercy upon Them Both!

When news of the events at Mārīkala and the death of the Martyr Amir reached Amir Mawdūd, he turned back to Hupyān with the intention of travelling to that place (i.e Mārīkala), dealing with the situation and seeking vengeance for his father. However, Abū Naṣr Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. ՙAbd al-Ṣamad dissuaded him from this course of action, saying, ‘The soundest plan is that we should go to Ghaznīn in the first place and take possession of it. Once we have secured control of Ghaznīn, the army there will speedily rally to us.’

From Hupyān, Amir Mawdūd came to Ghaznīn with his army. The populace of Ghaznīn all flocked to him and expressed their grief and condolences. He fulfilled the requisite mourning ceremonies. When he had completed these, all the people of Ghaznīn came forward and offered their services. Amir Mawdūd [N 111] spoke encouraging words to them.

He spent the whole winter involved in preparations for war and in making plans. When spring came round, he mobilised his forces and set off to confront his uncle in battle. When he reached Dunpūr,¹⁵¹ Amir Muḥammad’s army had already arrived there. The lines of battle were drawn up, both armies assumed their fighting formations and battle was joined. [H 206] Fighting raged all through the day, until at nightfall the armies disengaged.

When Amir Mawdūd returned to his encampment, he summoned the Vizier and the army commanders for advice and consultations. Then he secretly sent an envoy to the Most Exalted Amir Sayyid Abū Manṣūr ՙAbd al-Rashīd b. [M 297] Yamīn al-Dawla, may God prolong his royal power,¹⁵² and conveyed to him the spoken message,

I know that you cannot straightway turn round and come to me, but if you can remain where you are and not get involved in any fighting until I can engage the enemy in battle and seek my vengeance on him, that would be a great act of favour on your part towards me. If I achieve my aim, I shall have the fame and glory for the victory, but you will have all the control of affairs and issuing of commands, and I will carry out your commands whenever you issue them.

He accordingly took firmly guaranteed oaths and gave solemn pledges that he would never try to misinterpret or evade them. The point was also raised that ‘There exists a covenanted agreement between you and my father the Martyr Amir that you will never do any harm to his sons.’

When the message reached the Most Exalted Amir (sc. ՙAbd al-Rashīd) and he saw the firm assurances, he became favourably disposed towards Amir Mawdūd, and he announced that ‘I will not engage in war nor draw my sword, but will remain where I am until this affair reaches a decisive conclusion.’ The next day, the armies drew up their lines of battle and set in place their right and left bodies of troops, their centres and their wings. The champions from each side were continuously engaged in single combat until late morning. The Most Exalted Amir ՙAbd al-Rashīd stood aside and took no part in the fighting.¹⁵³

When Amir Mawdūd saw what the situation was, he personally led an attack on the opposing army’s right. Many of the troops on this right fell. His own right attacked the enemy’s left, and his left the enemy’s centre, and with a single assault he put that army, despite its great size, [N 112] to flight. The Ḥājib Ertegin and the palace ghulāms rode into the enemy’s rear, killing, striking and taking captives, until large numbers of the enemy troops were either killed or taken prisoner. Amir Muḥammad was captured, together with his son Aḥmad, Sulaymān b. Yūsuf and a group of highly born members of the dynasty (dawlat). Amir Mawdūd ordered that the whole lot should be executed: some were killed by arrows shot at them, and some were tied to the tails of savage, refractory horses.¹⁵⁴