Succeeded to the throne. Hakím Sanáí* was his panegyrist. Kalílah Damnah and many other books were composed in his reign and on the day of his accession Saiyyid Hasan Ghaznaví* declaimed an ode of which this is the opening couplet.
A shout went forth from the seven heavens, saying
“Bahrám Sháh is Lord of the world.”
And this ode he wrote in his honour, and despatched it from the sacred city of Mekka.
Should it ever be that I again behold the face of the king
40. I will apply, as a thank-offering, the dust of his feet to both my eyes
Bahrám Sháh for whom may the lives of emperors be the ransom.
May it be that their lives are even worthy of the king
The planets of the sky fall like meteors, if they but place a foot outside the boundary of fidelity to the king.
Bahrám Sháh from desire of whose sweet honied name
The young tree of the kingdom hereafter brings forth parrots, (poets).
And the Ḥadíqatu-l-Ḥaqíqat* of Shaikh Sanáí is written in honour of Bahrám Sháh, it was written during his imprisonment, the reason of which imprisonment was Ghaznévide fanaticism with regard to Sunni doctrine, when this book having reached the capital of Baghdád received the imprimatur of the chief men and nobles, it attested the reality of his faith, and they wrote a memorandum which led to his being released. A short time subsequently he departed this life. It is said that when they accused the worthy Shaikh Sanáí of heresy after he composed the Ḥadíqat, he wrote the following letter to the Sulán Bahrám Sháh.
In the name of God the merciful, the compassionate:
Praise be to God the Lord of the worlds, and blessings upon the best of His created beings, Muḥammad, his family and companions all of them. To proceed, it is said in certain traditionary sayings, that two things tend to prolong life, and to cause rain to fall and trees to grow, one of these is to assist the oppressed — the other to repress the tyrannical. An argument which they have advanced in support of this is that the prophet, may the peace and blessing of God be upon him, declared that the heavens are established by righteousness (equity). Equity is like the bird* which, wherever it casts its shadow, secures an amplitude of wealth, and the place where it builds its nest becomes the centre of durability, and rain falls from the heaven, while tyranny and 41. oppression is as a bird* which, wherever it flies, leads to famine and life and modesty are lost from among mankind. And God, may He be glorified and exalted, preserves the Emperor of Islám, and the just king Bahrám Sháh ibn Mas‘úd Sháh ibn Ibráhím Sháh ibn Mas‘úd Sháh ibn Mahmúd Sháh, from iniquity and oppression, and although the whole world should combine to write and describe the stock and supply of grateful acknowledgment of this slave's heart, they would have no power to express it, and the tree which the king of the kingdom planted* for the discovery of the secrets of the unseen, even Gabriel and Michäel* were precluded from having any share therein: it is certain that in all circumstances the just man is happy and the tyrant is miserable, and the worst of all oppression is this that a small party should read a subject and not understand it, but become arrogant with regard to it and loosen the tongue of censure against the learned. Hence it is that our prophet, may the peace and blessing of God be upon him, said, Pity three people, a rich man who has become poor, the great man of a tribe who is disgraced, and a wise man among fools.* A book which is written in the language of the learned in the knowledge of God, demands an acute and discriminating mind such as that of Báyazíd* and Shiblí:* these men of wisdom who read that book and appreciate that which is written in it, but who have not the slightest trace of religious knowledge, it must be from spite and ignorance that they find fault with the book, and this is a proof of their blindness of heart that they call the Ál-i-Marwán contemptible, and carry their eulogy of the elect family, may the peace and blessing of God be upon it, beyond bounds while they exalt the commander of the faithful ‘Alí, may God be merciful to him, above the other companions, may God be graciously pleased with them, and they do not see that he has been placed below Síddíq* and Fárúq* and Zú‘Núrain* on the ground of descent 42. and rightful succession, and there is a true story related of the Lord of the Created beings Muḥammad Muṣafá, may the peace and blessing of God be upon him, with reference to the vices of the Ál-i-Marwán and the virtues of the Ál-i-Muḥammad Muṣafá, may the peace and blessing of God be upon him. If it is a lie, and most people believe it to be so, reason tells us that it is true, and the word of the true God is this, “Oh God, adorn the world with those learned men who fear thee or who reverence thy people, and do not make me to suffer at the hands of those who are wanderers from the path of thy love, for thy mercy's sake and for thy bounty and beneficence oh Thou most merciful,” and this verse is from the Ḥadíqat.
If the earth is a fit place for any court
It is for the court of Bahrám Sháh that it is fitted.
Then Sulán Bahrám Sháh brought up several armies against Hindustán and conquered the cities which his forefathers had not taken, and leaving one of his Amírs of high rank in Hindustán returned to Ghaznín. That Amír revolted, and fought a severe battle with the Sulán in the vicinity of Multán, and a bitter conflict ensued; in the end the Sulán's enemy fell a prisoner into his hands and was put to death, and a second time the country of Hindustán came into his possession, and ‘Aláu-d-Dín Ḥasan ibn Ḥusain Súrí who is one of the kings of Ghor revolted against him and proceeded to Ghaznín. Bahrám Sháh fled and ‘Aláu-d-Dín left his brother Saifu-d-Dín Súrí in Ghaznín. Bahrám Sháh returned and retook Ghaznín, and having seated Saifu-d-Dín upon a cow, and having exposed him to public ridicule, killed him in the worst possible way. ‘Aláu-d-Dín upon hearing this news was 43. most distressed and made for Ghaznín with a huge army—before his arrival however Bahrám Sháh had reached the other world and his son was on the throne in his stead.* ‘Aláu-d-Dín by way of avenging his brother carried several loads of the earth of Ghaznín to Ghor* and set rivers of blood flowing, he is accordingly famous in his own country. Bahrám Sháh left this world in the year 547 H. (1152 A.D.) the period of his reign was thirty two years.
Mas‘úd S‘ad Salmán wrote the following hexastich in praise of Bahrám Sháh.
Bahrám Sháh became the world conquering king.
He became the Sun of the Age, and the shadow of the glory of God.
His canopy which was auspicious became the glory of the humá.* God be He exalted and glorified became his guide.
That polished dagger became of increasing authority.
The face of his enemy became black like his canopy.
As long as the emperor of the world in his time sowed the seeds of justice,
Every criminal that he detected, he passed over his crime,
If the sky placed his praise upon the running water
The flowing water retained* his image like an engraving on stone.
He raised* true religion and justice to the zenith.
The Emperor, dispenser of justice, lover of truth, and defender of the faith.*