The House of Seljúq were all fond of poetry, but none more so than Ṭughán Sháh b. Alp Arslán,*

whose con­versation and intercourse was entirely with poets, and whose favourite companions were almost all of this class— men such as Amír Abú 'Abdu'lláh Qurashí, Abú Bakr Azraqí,*

Abú Manṣúr, Abú Yúsuf, Shujá'í of Fasá, Aḥmad Badíhí,*

Ḥaqíqí and Nasímí, all of whom enjoyed a definite status, while many others kept coming and going, all departing with gifts and joyful countenances.

One day the King was playing backgammon with Aḥmad Badíhí. They were finishing a game for [a stake of] ten thousand [dínárs], and the Amír had two pieces in the sixth house and Aḥmad Badíhí two pieces in the first house*;

and it was the Amír's throw. He threw with the most deliberate care, in order to cast two sixes, instead of which he threw two ones, whereat he was mightily vexed and left the board, while his anger rose so high and reached such a pitch that each moment he was like to put his hand to his sword, and his courtiers trembled like the leaves of a tree, seeing that he was a king, and withal a boy angered at such spite of Fortune.

Then Abú Bakr Azraqí arose, and, approaching the minstrels, recited this quatrain:—

“Reproach not Fortune with discourteous tricks
If by the King, desiring double six,
Two ones were thrown; for whomsoe'er he calls
Face to the earth before him prostrate falls.”

When I was at Herát in the year A.H. 509 (A.D. 1115-1116), Abú Manṣúr and Abú Yúsuf related to me that the Amír Tughánsháh was so charmed and delighted with these two verses that he kissed Azraqí on the eyes, called for gold, and successively placed five hundred dínárs in his mouth, continuing thus to reward him so long as one gold piece was left. Thus did he recover his good humour and such largesse did he bestow, and the cause of all this was one quatrain. May God Almighty have mercy on both of them, by His Favour and Grace!