Abul-Kasim, after his separation from Abú-Alí, remained retired in a corner, until the flag of Nasír-Addín reached Khurasán. Then he betook himself to his service and requested to be allowed the happiness of following his standard. His pro­posal met with the most favourable reception pos­sible from Nasír-Addín, and he fully supplied him with those marks of generosity and of respect which were due to his efficiency. And he wrote a despatch to the Prince, and enlarged upon his worth, and requested for him the gift of the province of Kohistan, which had been an ancient part of the territories of the family of Simjúr. And the Prince fully complied with this request, and he sent to him an ornamented royal dispatch, containing the grant of the province of Kohistan, adding various honourable titles and valuable dresses of honour, and he accepted his services and his obedience with an eye of favour and with expressions of praise. And he took up his resi­dence in his province with comfort of mind and quietness of heart, until the time when Nasír-Addín called upon him to repress the assemblage and to humble the numbers, and to conquer the pretensions and the excesses of the enemies of the State; but he, through suspicion, and fear, and alarm at consequences, and on account of his con­nexion, as a kinsman, with the affairs of his brother, excused himself, and sought for pretexts for holding back, and exhibited repugnance from complying with that request. But, although he knew that an opposition to the judgment and a hesitation in coalescing with the majority would be attended with a noxious issue and an evil result, he engaged with the rebels, and, because he found the plain of Khurasán empty, he proceeded to Nishapúr. Here Abú-Nasr-’bn-Mahmúd, the Chamberlain, joined him, and both of them together betook themselves to crimes and malice, and to seek for money, and to annoy the tax-col­lectors, and to knead the provinces (in exactions) and to torment the subjects. And when Nasír-Addín received intelligence of these proceedings he wrote to Saif-Addoulat that he should set forward to Nishapúr, and he sent his brother with suitable forces to his assistance, in order that they might examine into the state of affairs, and, before their wickedness became of serious consequence, and before the fire which they lighted should burst into a flame, might effectually put a stop to that cause of anxiety. He was not content with setting them in motion and sending them, but he himself marched forth from Balkh and went in their rear. Saif-Addoulat dispatched Begrajak-Beg* to run after them, and Abul-Kasim, from dread of those forces, and alarm at that army, and fear at those two warriors, drew over his back the shield of flight, and took the road of retreat, and came to the confines of Jurján. And Saif-Addoulat, having completely recovered himself from this dif­ficulty, respecting Abul-Kasim and his companion, and having enabled Khurasán to become quite free from the effects of their malice, came with Beg­rajak to the Court of Nasír-Addín, and they devoted themselves anew to his service.

And at the time of the stay of Nasír-Addín at Balkh there arrived messengers, on the part of Fakhr-Addoulat, who thus entered upon the com­mencement of writing correspondence, and sought a favourable reception, by means of many gifts and presents, and various kinds of the commodities of Irák, and exhibited an earnest zeal for affection, sincerity, and kindness. And the Amír Nasír-Addín, in order to requite these benefits, doubly performed various acts of kindness, and sent Abd-Allah, the scribe, on a journey to Fakhr-Addoulat, and conveyed unto him large packages of the valuable goods of Khurasán, with six elephants of a perfect shape. But some intimated unto Fakhr-Addoulat, by way of exciting his suspicion, that Abd-Allah, the scribe, was occupied in the Court in spying into affairs and in making himself acquainted with proceedings, and in stirring up strife with the chiefs of the army, and he thus incurred an unfavourable opinion, and he wrote an uncivil reply to Nasír-Addín, and said, “A mes­senger ought to be the interpreter of thy mind and of thy royal Court, but the messenger whom thou has sent hither appears to be a speaker of hypocrisy and an agent in discord, and, just like a serpent, he has shown himself to be a most conspicuous perpetrator of malice, and his craftiness in drinking up benefits, and his readiness both to speak and to act wickedness in a corner, hath become notorious in the palace.” And these words were undoubtedly written in reference to his disposition, namely, “He is one who wishes not to recognize that a royal throne is not maintained in the secrecies of earth, but by using force against force, and power against power.”

And Násir-Addín was vexed with these words, and the novelty of this state of affairs began to fade, and the foundations of that affection which they had began to rear up became broken.

But, afterwards there arrived another messen­ger, on the part of Fakhr-Addoulat who brought certain writings, containing propositions for the commencement of friendship, and for the extension of the principles of concord, saying thus: “The Prince Núh, with regard to us, holds generously open the gates of regard, and the ways of bounty and he exhibits great zeal for an alliance, and for ties of affinity with his Highness. And we desire that the arrangement of this friendship, and the settlement of this alliance may be effected with the concurrence and consent of Násir-Addín, and that on both sides the paths of friendship and the high-road of deliverance from the vicissitudes of time and confusion of change may exist, since on our part we should regret nothing which we could do that might be possible and effectual for the preser­vation of the welfare and for the settlement of the prosperity of his Highness. And on account of the clear intellect, and the solid understanding, and the pure mind, and the unbounded generosity of Násir-Addín we feel confident that the families may be­come one, and the way of intercourse may be placed on unity, and that both our faults and our merits may be treated with sincere love and true affection, in order that we may become fixed and settled in friendship, and that the foundations of kindred and affection may cohere in duty and right.” And Násir-Addín heard these excellent professions with pleasure, and drew the mirror of sincerity over the face of the petitioner; and in the weakness of his sincerity he returned this regard and kindness doubly, and their relations, fixed upon the foundation of the building of regard, and upon the well-arranged pillars of kindred, became free from and divested of doubt and offence.

And when Abúl-Kasim-Ibn-Simjur, in his dis­tress, fled to the compassion of Fakhr-Addoulat, and took refuge in his dominions, and withdrew his tooth from the confines of Khurasán, he sum­moned him to the borders of Damg-han and Koms, and Jurján, and gave unto him the revenues of those provinces for wages and maintenance for himself and his army; but the conclusion of all his transactions, and his wealth, and his condition shall be unfolded in its proper place, please God.

And after the affair of Nasr-Ibn-Zaid the Prince Núh sent a servant unto the court of Násir-Addín, and consulted him upon conferring the office of Vízír upon some efficient person of the province, who should possess a persevering mind, addicted to the regulation of affairs. Násir-Addín presented the right of making the selection to the (common) judgment of the kingdom; and making use of the services of every one of the Vízírs attached to his Court, whose judgment might make the election, the choice fell upon Abul-Muzaffar-Bargashi, and he was accordingly honoured by his Highness with the robe which was fit for that good fortune, and suitable to his efficiency, and he, in the dress of that office, displayed the marks of fortitude and the evidences of good sense, and established good regulations, and was the happy occupant of that employment, until the close of the life of the Prince Núh. And the Amír Nasír-Addín came to Balkh, and the Amír Saif-Addoulat went to Nishapúr, and Abul-Hasan-’bn-Abi-Ali-’bn Simjúr, established himself in the coasts of Káín, and when intelligence of the flight of his father to Tús came to him he went to Ray, and had recourse unto the care of Fakhr-Addoulat; and Fakhr-Addoulat in his behalf was forward in opening the gates of kindness and favour, and every month he paid in his name fifty thousand dirhems, by way of monthly (pay), and he continually maintained him with in­creased marks of generosity and honour, and acts of favour, and deeds of kindness. And he paid continual attention to him, partly in order to honour his noble descent, and partly in order to show forth that such a personage as the son of Simjúr was in his service; and he passed a long time before him upon the carpet of prosperity and the abode of comfort, until the star of misfortune arose, and the miseries of evil luck cast him down from the canopy of safety and the roof of peace into the pit of grief and the noose of perplexity; for, on account of the inclination which he felt for the object in view,* he went to Nishapúr, and he attached him­self to the imagination that he might be able to proceed by gentle degrees to his object, under the curtain of concealment and under the speech of secrecy; but they quickly stripped off from him the skirt of concealment, and drew him forth infa­mous and mortified, and sent him to Bukhárá. And thus the decree of God reached its full accom­plishment with respect to him, and thus his condi­tion came to its end, by reason of the reputation of his father, and Um-Salmah, in his poem, writes these two verses, with veritable judgment (Verse)

And the petty Amír of Tús remained in his rank amongst the body of the soldiers of Saif-Addoulat until he had fulfilled his designs respect­ing Máwaralnahr, and until the Turkish affair was effectually settled; and, in the midst of this affair, he (Saif-Addoulat) was so involved in alarm and terror from a dream, that he seized him (of Tús), and the end of his history partook of the nature of the question of Abú-Alí and his other colleagues.*

And when Nasír-Addín returned from the affair of Tús, and had taken up his residence tran­quilly at Balkh, he there received intelligence of the affairs of Abú-Alí and his comrades. And immediately after this news an assemblage of mis­fortunes amongst the Princes and great men of Irak and Khurasán rapidly followed and succeeded one another on every side (Verse)

The meaning of this expression is as follows: namely, that Mamún-Ibn-Muhammad, whilst at an entertainment given by the general of his troops, was killed by the hand of his guards. And on the thirteenth day of the month Rajab, in the year 387, A.H., the Prince Núh, after an illness of two or three days, went to God, and in the flower of his youth departed unto the residence of the grave. And they gave this Prince the surname of Amir-Riza, (or Ridha), (i. e.), Lord of Kindness.