And a great man of the nobles of Nasír-Addín, who was the brother of his soul, together with several of his infant children, and servants and slaves removed to the mansion of eternity. And at last the Amír became very ill and confined to his bed. He entertained the hope of convales­cence and restoration, and became earnestly desirous of the water and the air of Ghazna, and sought healing and refreshment from the breezes of that region, but the decree of fate and the ordi­nation of God did not permit that, and his desire never received its fulfilment, and he resigned his soul to Paradise in one of the resting-houses on his road.

They transported his remains, in a litter, to Ghazna. And, amongst the peculiar occurrences and wonderful incidents relating to him, Utbi, in his book, cites the following: “I was in attendance upon the Amír Nasír-Addín before the occurrence of his illness, and he, in the course of conversation with the Shaikh Abul-Fath-Busti said, ‘We, in treating the diseases which occur to us and in esti­mating the maladies which happen to us, are like sheep— the first time that the sheep-shearer, in order to free them from their dirty wool, firmly binds their four feet, they see an action to which they have not been accustomed and are in a con­dition contrary to their usual wont, and they, therefore, in great trouble and in their extreme terror, cast themselves upon the ground and they are almost in despair of their life, and give themselves up for dead, until the shearer has com­pleted his business and released them: then repose finds its way into them and they feel rejoiced at the breath of life, and at the restoration of safety. But the second time that they fall into the hand of the shearer their condition is one between fear and hope, and as soon as they are released they forget that condition, and on that account their apprehension becomes less; so that at the third time they regard it as a usual established custom, and are perfectly quiet. And thus when the butcher takes hold of them, and binds them they by no means feel any terror or dread, but they remain in the weakest security, and in the most quiet and contented state, whilst he cuts through their neck-viens with the sword of violence, and casts their sweet life to the winds. We in our various maladies, vicissitudes of sicknesses, and attacks of disease, are deceived and gladdened with the hope of restoration and recovery, and we be­come deaf and careless to the summons of death, until the noose of fate falls upon the neck, and the chain of destiny becomes firmly fastened upon us.’ And between the utterance of this similitude, and the completion of the days of his life there did not intervene a space of forty days, and all men won­dered at the occurrence of this event, and at the surprising and unexpected verification of this saying, that the decree of the Almighty should be so thoroughly accomplished in this speech of his, and that this enlightened mind, which was the mirror of the secrets of mystery, and that blessed tongue which was the interpreter of the events of fortune, should so clearly express the appointments of destiny, and the certainty of the last hour, before the approach of his departure, or the time of his resting from the journey of life.”

And in the subsequent period, and in future times, a palace was built at the place where he died, and named Sahal-Abad,* and considerable sums were settled as an endowment for its support, and an entire acre of the plain was set out for the beautifying and adornment of the foundation, and for the columns to support that rare fabric and admirable structure; but on account of the troubled state of the times it never was completed, and his sons declined to undertake its accomplishment, and thus it happened that it fell to ruin, and the pains which had been devoted to its foundation and sup­port were wasted. And a certain learned man passed by this palace, and made the following verses upon its appearance (Verse)

And thus this unfortunate building, through the instability of earthly things and of deceitful fortune, became useless; like a child-devouring crocodile, and like the fox of fraud, and like the wolf of howling, and like the shifting shadow, and like the unprofitable desert-mist (Verse)

And the Shaik Abul-Falk-Basti, in his poem commending Násir-Addín, says thus (Verse)

And immediately after this event there arrived the news of the death of Fakhr-Addoulat-Alí-Búgali, and thus both were buried in the month Shabán, in the year 387. And the cause of the death of Fakhr-Addoulat (besides the decree of the Lord) was this; he was building the fortress of Tabarak, and when he had finished it he went into the fortress with some wine-bibbing comrades, and occupied himself in merriment, and he felt a wish for some roasted kababs of beef, and they brought an ox before him, and killed it, and made kababs of its flesh, and he exceeded very much in eating these; and he afterwards again drank some heavy cups of wine, and his bowels twisted, and a severe illness began, through which he resigned his life, and Abul-Faraj-Sawa, in his poem thus says (Verse)

And their subsequent condition, after the occurrence of these misfortunes, and the falling out of these sorrows, was this, that Ali, the son of Mahmúd, took his father’s place, and the army in­augurated him, and his authority extended beyond his own territory to Jurján and Khwarazm, and recovered its former stability. And the hereditary kingdom of Riza-Núh-’bn-Mansúr devolved upon his next heir, Abul-Harith-Mansúr-Ibn-Núh, and the oaths of the regiments of the army were taken to him as General and Sultán.* And he distributed amongst the body of the army his inherited money, and his stored-up valuables; and the senti­ments of all were unanimously favourable to under­take his service, and his obedience. And the Vízír Abul-Muzaffar-Baragshi became settled and con­firmed upon the cushion of office.

Now Násir-Addín in his lifetime, had nomi­nated his son Ismaïl as his heir, and his will con­fided his children and his family to his care. And when the will of God brought it to pass (that he died), the whole assembly of the chiefs and of the people hastened to engage in his service, and be­came submissive unto the guiding string of obe­dience, and devotion unto him and the will of the late Amír respecting obedience to his authority was effectually performed, and the assembled council of the officers of State agreed respecting the means of supplying maintenance to the various ranks of his Court.

And with regard to Fakhr-Addoulat the whole country of Dilám after his decease unanimously joined his son Majd-Addoulat-Abu-Talib-Rustám, and placed him upon the throne, and, by the authority of the Khalif, gave him the surname of Majd-Addoulat-wa-Kahf-Almillat.* And the complete history of both these personages shall be given in its proper place, please God. And the poet Thaálabí, in his account of these affairs and the wonders of this year, and the distresses of these times, has written a descriptive poem, and in truth that which Abu-Mansur-Thaálabí hath written is an enchanting production (Verse)

And when Abul-Harith-Mansur-’bn-Núh be­came adorned with his brilliant kingdom, and received this his extreme power, he was in the first dawn of life, and the first days of youth, and in the morning of perception. And the lights of generosity, and good-fellowship were evident upon his joyous face, and the marks of good fortune and prosperity were apparent in the firmness of his movements and carriage. The office of Vízír was confirmed to Abul-Mazaffar-Baragshí, and the reins of affairs and the general superintendence of all matters was conferred upon Fáík. And Nasír-Addín had obtained the release of Abdullah-’bn-Azíz from prison, and he had gone to the higher provinces of Mawaralnahr, when intelligence of the decease of the Prince Núh reached him; he thereupon incited Abu-Nasir-Ispahani to covet the administration of the army of Khurasán, and he advised him to obtain the aid of Ilek-Khán in this matter, and to ask men from him, and that he would conquer Khurasán for him. Both of them accordingly proceeded to Ilek-Khán for the settle­ment and the arrangement of this proposition; and Abú-Mansúr, with a body of chamberlains and their comrades, was then with Ilek-Khán, who had received them as guests, and their troops and attendants were occupied in arranging their en­campment, and pitching their tents. Ilek-Khán then seized Ispahani* and Ibn-Azíz, and put both in fetters, and sent a message to Fáík, and sum­moned him to his Court; and when he was coming to his presence he exhibited the greatest confidence in him, and received him with the utmost venera­tion and honour, and assigned him three thousand cavalry to form his escort, and sent him forward to the province of Bukhárá. And when Abúl-Harith received an intimation of these occurrences he be­came confused, and his mind, from a condition of steadiness and security, fell into a state of weak­ness, and he thought that it would be best for him to collect all his followers and to pass over the Jihún, and to leave his estate and his abode. And when Fáík came to Bukhárá he went before the throne, and kissed the ground, and stood in the place of the chamberlains, and testified much regret, and uttered lamentations at the removal of Abúl-Harith from the throne of royalty, and the dwelling of his kindred, and the residence of his ancestors, and he sent the senators of Bukhárá after him, who ex­pressed humility, and invited him to establish him­self again in the kingdom, and offered to assist in securing obedience and service to him. And when Abúl-Harith heard of these events he recovered confidence, and exhibited reliance upon Fáík, and dispatched to Fáík a royal letter full of praises of his efforts, and approbation of what had happened, and of gratification at all his loyalty, and the com­mencement of this royal document was as follows: “Thou who hast acted with sincerity, God is thy friend, He will extend thy bridle-cords. Thou who art a faithful adviser, God will make all straight before thee. Happy is his confidence where he hath fixed it. This man will pass his life commended wherever this (i. e., confidence) is current.”*

And Abúl-Harith was very cheerful under these circumstances, and he sent Yaktuzun,* the Lord Chamberlain, to Nishapúr, for the purpose of col­lecting the soldiers and the military stores, and gave to him the surname of Sinan-Addoulat,* and he set forward to Bukhárá, and Fáík went out with a deputation to meet him, and paid to him the usual compliments of service and respect; and he came to him upon his charger to the palace, and thus the fire of that quarrel became entirely extinct (Persian Verse)

And between Fáík and Begtúzun an old grudge existed, and a violent controversy had lasted long; but the Amír Abúl-Harith exerted himself in appeasing and removing it; and he reconstructed their friendship so that the words of both agreed in professing service to his Highness, and their foot became firm and stedfast in assisting the State. And Fáík relinquished his coldness, and displayed a readiness for agreement and concord. And the command of the army was settled upon Begtúzun, and he made the taxes of Khurasán profitable to the royal treasury, and he displayed zeal in procuring the regular payment of dues to the tribute. And the Amír thus possessed Khurasán without interruption or trouble, until the demon of strife found the means of interrupting this tranquillity of mind, and he rose up against his benefactor, and gave to the winds the ancient kingdom, and the noble house of the family of Sámán, and procured unto himself so bad a name that the blame of those deeds and the shame of those actions shall exist for ever.