201. At the dawn the angels are supposed to hover on the verge of the first heaven, the lunar sphere, that nearest to the earth, and the Author here implies that they send down to him dainties of poetry.
“In deprecation”; lit., “in (saying) ‘I ask pardon of God.’”
202. “Your breath” means “your words, your poetry”, revivifying as the breath of the Messiah.
The “tree of Mary” was a withered date-palm under which Jesus is said to have come into the world, for which reason it became green, and always when shaken let fall dates.
203. i.e., you have become fortunate in scattering the inexhaustible dates of your learning.
204. In the heading to this section Qizil Arslān is given as the name, or rather an additional agnomen, of the king to whom the poem was dedicated, and in Beale and Keene’s Oriental Biographical Dictionary the same name is given. The king, however, who is generally understood by the name of Qizil Arslān (Red Lion), King of Āẕarbāijān, died in A.H. 587 (A.D. 1191), and the poem was not finished till A.H. 593 (A.D. 1197). That it was not begun even in the life-time of Qizil Arslān is fairly probable from the fact that the author had not finished his “Sikandar-nāma” till shortly after the death of that prince, and that he dedicated it to his successor, Nuṣratu ’d-Dīn, King of Āẕarbāijān.
In Sachau and Ethé’s Catalogue of the Persian MSS. in the Bodleian Library we read, the poem was “dedicated probably to the Atâbeg Nûr-aldîn Arslân (who ascended the throne of Mauṣil in A.H. 589).”
Dr. Bacher, in his Nizâmî’s Leben und Werke, gives the name as Nuṣratu ’d-Dīn, the king of Āẕarbāijān mentioned above. He says: “Es ist schon erwähnt worden, das der Fürst von Âderbeigân ähnlich wie einst jener von Schirwân Nizâmî zu neuer poetischer Thätigkeit aufmunterte; jedoch während Letzterer ihm den Stoff angezeigt hatte, liess ihm Nasrat-addîn (sic) die Wahl frei.”
It is, however, evident from what Nizāmī himself says in this section and the next that the prince to whom the poem was dedicated was the Khvārazm-Shāh, ‘Alā´u ’d-Dīn Tekish Khān, the ruler of Khvārazm (Chorasmia), the modern Khanate of Khiva. This country which lay along both banks of the lower Oxus extended to the Sea of Aral. In the time of this ruler, however, Khvārazm was by no means the limit of the territory of the Khvārazm-Shāhs, for before the end of the twelfth century they were masters not only of all Transoxiana, part of the Fifth Clime, according to the Dictionaries, but also, to the west, of the country which extended to the provinces then still subject to the Abbāside Khalifs.
In the next section, “A humble address,” Nizāmī speaks of the dedicatee as the ruler of Persia, and, as a matter of fact, Tekish Khān became supreme master of that country after having in A.H. 591 defeated Toghrul III., the last Seljūqide ruler of it.
We read in The Caliphate of Sir William Muir: “At last, the Kharizm Shah, Takash, at his instigation (i.e., the instigation of the Khalif Nāṣir) attacked the Seljuk forces, and defeated them, leaving Toghril, last of his race, upon the field . . . Takash, recognized now as supreme ruler of the East, conferred on the Caliph certain provinces of Persia hitherto held by the Seljuks.”
Schefer, in his translation of the Relation de l´Ambassade au Kharezm, Introduction, pp. ix., x., says: “Telle était au commencement du XIIIe siècle, la situation du Kharezm, auquel les princes de la dynastie des Kharezm Châh avaient annexé les États voisins. Ils avaient donné à leur empire une telle extension que les frontières en touchaient, à l´est, à la Mongolie, au sud, à l´Inde, et, à l´ouest, aux provinces qui restaient encore sous l´autorité chancelante des Khalifes Abbassides. Le Khanat de Khiva est aujourd’hui tout ce qui subsiste d´un si puissant État.”
Before coming under the rule of the Khvārazm-Shāhs Khvārazm was subject to the Seljūqides and before them to the Ghaznavides. Of the rise and fall of the Khvārazm-Shāhs, who succeeded the former, Schefer speaks (Introduction, pp. xi., xii.) as follows: “Le Kharezm passa, en 432 (1040) sous la domination des Seljouqides. Alp Arslan en confia le gouvernement à son fils Arslan Châh. Sous le règne de Malik Châh, Abou Thahir, gouverneur de Samarqand, fut chargé de l´administration de la province qui, après lui, fut confiée à Izz oul Moulk, le fils du célèbre ministre Nizham oul Moulk. Le Kharezm fut ensuite donné par le même prince à Anouchtekin, esclave de l´Emir Melkatekin qui l´avait acheté à un homme du Ghardjistan. Il était devenu Ibriqdar ou chargé de l´aiguière de Melik Châh, et il percevait, à ce titre, les revenus du Kharezm.
“Barkiarouk, successeur de Melik Châh, désigna Aqindjy pour succéder à Anouchtekin. Aqindjy fut assassiné à Merv par les émirs Qoudan et Yaraqtach, qui essayèrent de s´emparer du Kharezm. Mais ils furent mis en déroute par les troupes envoyées contre eux, et le fils d´Anouchtekin, Mohammed, fut investi du gouvernement avec le titre de Kharezm Châh, 490 (1096).
“À la chute de l´empire des Seljouqides, le Kharezm Châh proclama son indépendance. La dynastie qu´il fonda compte sept princes, qui régnèrent de 490 (1096) à 628 (1230).
“La conduite altière et imprudente de Mohammed Châh (the last king but one) provoqua l´invasion de Djenguiz Khan, qui couvrit l´Asie de ruines et porta au Kharezm un coup dont il ne s´est jamais relevé.
“Mohammed Châh, abandonné des siens, alla se réfugier dans l’île d´Abiskoun (in the Caspian) ou il mourut. Son fils, le vaillant Djelal oud Din Mangouberty, essaya de ressaisir le royaume de ses ancêtres; mais il périt assassiné par un Kurde dans les montagnes d´Amid ou il s’était réfugié 628 (1230). En lui s’éteignit la race des souverains qui avaient rangé sous leurs lois toute l´Asie centrale, et manacé l´existence du Khalifat des Abbassides.”
Thus Muhammad, the son of Anūshtegin, the ibrīq-dār, or ewer-bearer, to Malik Shāh, was the first king of Khvārazm, but Tekish Khān was the first independent king. The rulers of the Khvārazm-Shāhī dynasty are as follows:—
From the following considerations, added to the above, it is quite clear that the person to whom the poem was dedicated was ‘Alā´u ’d-Dīn Tekish Khān, the Khvārazm-Shāh:
Nizāmī in this section addresses a person named ‘Alā´u ’d-Dīn, and not Nūru ’d-Dīn, or Nuṣratu ’d-Dīn.
In addition to this he plays upon the meaning of the name ‘Alā, which means “sublimity, exaltitude, height”.
Later he speaks of two sons of the above king, one named Muḥammad, the other, Aḥmad. The latter he praises as a scholar, the former as one full of princely ambition. As a matter of fact, Muḥammad, who succeeded Tekish Khān in the empire, became a famous warrior. His agnomen, as given by Nizāmī, was Nuṣratu ’d-Dīn, whereas that of Nūru ’d-Dīn’s son was ‘Izzu ’d-Dīn.
Mīrkvānd gives Quṭbu ’d-Dīn as the honorific title of Muḥammad, but it was a common thing for a distinguished man to have more than one.
In the next section Nizāmī says, “Through you the Fifth Clime is in prosperous state.” Now a part of the Fifth Clime is Transoxiana, of which Tekish Khān was ruler; Nūru ’d-Dīn being ruler of Mauṣil, and Nuṣratu ’d-Dīn of Āẕarbāijān.
From the fact that ‘Alā´u ’d-Dīn Tekish Khān, the son of Īl Arslān, was undoubtedly the person to whom the poem was dedicated it does not seem improbable that the distichs in which the name Qizil Arslān is given or alluded to may be spurious. It is not impossible, however, that ‘Alā´u ’d-Dīn may have had the honorific title or additional agnomen of Qizil Arslān (Red Lion), or that he may have been called so as bin Arslān, “the son or grandson of Arslān.” Arslān in fact was a title of honour commonly given to a king of Turkish race, whether it was his name or not.
It is true, though unlikely, that the poem may have been begun in the life-time of Qizil Arslān, and the lines which early in the poem refer to him have been retained; but nearly at the end of the poem there is also a line referring to the dedicatee as “Lion”, and since Qizil Arslān died in 1191 and the poem was not finished till 1197, we should have to conclude that it was dedicated when finished to a dead Lion, which is highly improbable, the more so that the poet evidently expected a reward from the dedicatee.
The original of the distich in which the name Qizil Arslān occurs explicitly is as follows:—
“Shah Qizil Arslān-i kishvar-gīr; bih zi Alp Arslān ba-tāj-u sarīr.” (See also Notes 213 and 2,086.)
205. By “range” is meant the poem.
“The division, Spring”; i.e., Spring as a division of the year.
The Author by saying that his real aim in writing the book is to praise God, the Prophet, and the king, and to give the latter advice, means probably to pay a compliment to the king.
Or, it is quite possible that he includes under “advice to the king” the whole of the work after the first three divisions or sections mentioned.
206. “This ancient coinage” is possibly “the world”, which Muḥammad’s advent made young.
Or, the Author may be referring to Judaism and Christianity, and be implying that Muḥammad superseded them by Islām.
207. “The Seven Climes” are the seven divisions or zones into which Oriental geographers divided the whole earth as known to them.
According to the Persian geographer, Jurjānī (about A.D. 1460), they are as follows:—
There is a discrepancy in my MS. of Jurjānī, which gives 43° 30' to 47° 15', and then 47° 30' to 50° 30'.
The Climes of Idrīsī (about A.D. 1153) extend farther north than Jurjānī’s, but he does not explicitly define them.
The dictionary Burhān-i Qāṭi‘, taking a more popular view, enumerates the Seven Climes as follows:—
But other popular divisions are also found, no one of which agrees with that of Nizāmī, who makes an arbitrary division of his own. (See also Notes 1,146 and 1,147.) By the distich it is implied that the king is monarch of the whole world.
208. i.e., generous to the rulers subject to him.
209. Āq Sunqur, according to Vullers, who takes his account from the Burhān-i Qāṭi‘, is “cognomen regum Turcarum”, by which is presumably meant a cognomen of the rulers not only of Turkistan but also of all the countries of central Asia inhabited by people of Turkish race. So the race of the Āq Sunqurs would, of course, include the family of the Khvārazm-Shāh himself. In the Encyclopœdia of Islām three persons with the special cognomen (perhaps rather agnomen) of Āq Sunqur, “White Falcon” (falco gyrfalco), are mentioned, but I do not think that the family or race of any one of these is meant by Nizāmī.
210. “This resting place”; i.e., the earth.
211. i.e., the dynasty or sovereignty has reached perfection in him.
212. Rustam, the most famous of the legendary heroes of Persia, was lord of Sīstān or Nīmrūz, and Zābulistān, the highlands in the north of it. We gather from Lieut.-Colonel Yate’s Khurāsān and Sīstān that names and legends relating to Rustam are found in that country at the present day.
Part of Sīstān is on the east frontier of Persia, and part of it in Afghanistan.
A long account of Rustam’s life and exploits is found in Firdausī’s Shāh-nāma. (See also Notes 1,035 and 2,078.)
213. Unless this distich be spurious or corrupted, we must, I think, take it that he is called “lion in name” either as having the honorific title or additional agnomen Arslān, or as being bin Arslān, “the son or grandson of Arslān”; arslān, a Turkish word, meaning “lion”. (See also Notes 204 and 2,086.) The B. edition of 1328 has, however:—
Ham-pay-ī shīr-u ham-payām-i hizhabr:
“The companion of the lion and the bringer of the same message as the lion.”
214. i.e., simply, when the world came into existence.
215. “A Gem,” or “an Essence”, i.e., the Universal Spirit, the first creation, or the first emanation from the Deity; though considering it in its two-fold aspect of Universal Intellect and Universal Soul, the former is the first emanation, and the latter the second. Auwalu mā khalaqa ’llāhu ’l-‘Aql: “The first thing which God created was the Intellect.”
The Universal Soul by its formative faculty fashioned the phenomenal world upon “matter” taken in the philosophical sense, and is the Soul of that world. At the same time, the individual phases of the Universal Soul inclined to particular forms and became the individual souls of them.
216. An allusion to the king’s generosity.
217. Since this verse is applicable only to one whose name is Qizil (Arslān), Red (Lion), and the person addressed here was not at all events the Qizil Arslān, it may possibly be spurious. (But see Notes 204, 213, and 2,086.)
Surkh-rū (lit., “red-faced”) means “honourable, glorious”, and since the sultan is “surkh-rū”, his face is supposed poetically to cast a red tint upon the sign-manual, which the latter is predisposed to take from its including the word “Qizil”, which in Turkish means “red”, and is part of the name Qizil Arslān.
218. Lit., “is red-faced.” (See the preceding Note.)
It must be concluded that if the preceding distich be spurious, this one is so, too. (But see Notes 204, 213, and 2,086.)
219. An allusion to the martial valour of the king.
Another translation may be: “The surface or book of the sky is full of leaves from his expositions.” This would be an allusion to the king’s learning.
220. In this hemistich it is implied that the sea cannot compete with him in bounty; that before his bounty it perspires with shame.
221. i.e., the mind fails to compass it.
222. An allusion to the king’s name, ‘Alā´u ’d-Dīn, which signifies “Sublimity of the Faith”.
223. A pun upon the name, “Sublimity of the Faith.”
“In this last,” i.e., in sublimity (Sublimity).
224. Means presumably that his enemies are as women compared with him.
225. Āb, “water,” has also the senses “brilliancy, lustre, splendour”.
226. “Excites fire in the mind”; i.e., arouses admiration.
In the distich the four elements are introduced; thus the word meaning “brilliancy”, āb, has also the sense of “water”, and that meaning “body”, khāk, signifies also “earth”.
227. Lit., “where the lion scratches its tail.”
228. Ba-sar āmadan, lit., “to come to (its) head,” means also “to come to an end, to be finished”.
229. “Fire” is the “wine”; “frozen water” is the “crystal cup”.
230. A common expression in Persian for a great disturbance.
231. See Note on the next distich.
232. i.e., whatever he gains with effort he gives away freely and carelessly. Cf. the idiom ba-sar-i tāziyāna giriftan, “to take a thing, or gain a victory, by the whip alone, without using the sword.” For the second hemistich of the preceding distich contrast the effort and the impetuosity of the flow of the sea with the ease and gentleness of its ebb.
233. i.e., possibly, by his prosperity and victorious power he overcomes all malign influences as Jupiter may those of Saturn.
234. This and the preceding distich do not balance very well, since in the first, “lion” is apparently an allusion to “the king”, and in the second to his “horse”. The metaphorical sense of “dragon” in the second is “warrior”, and “burning the dragon” is “vanquishing that warrior”. He also kills real dragons in the chase.
“Mounted on a lion” in this second distich is to a certain extent in harmony with “sun” in the first, since one of its meanings is “sun” in his quality of being the ruler of the zodiacal sign Leo.
In this second distich the king is certainly, as it were, “upon a dragon” as vanquishing it, but his horse is alluded to as the “lion” and not he.
In the same distich by “dragon” there may be a sub-allusion to the constellation Draco which is extinguished, as it were, by the sun.
235. “Dragon” means here both the constellation Draco and also “warrior”.
“As a snake”; i.e., as if it were only a simple snake.
236. Tangī, rendered “closeness”, means also “narrowness, nearness”, and the word is contrasted with the word “widens”, which follows. Maṭraḥ, rendered “aim”, means literally “the place to which a thing is thrown”.
The absolutely literal sense is “his nearness (of aim) to the thing aimed at”.
237. i.e., he has beaten the sword in roughness.
238. Shīr-gīrī, “lion-taking,” is the third degree of drunkenness. “A lion-taker” means metaphorically “a strong, brave man”.
239. Lit., “By the circle of (his) lasso.” I.O. MS. 402 has ba-kūh-i samand, “by the mountain, (his) steed.”
I.O. MS. 1168 has ba-gird-i samand, “by the circle of (his) steed.”
I.O. MS. 1491, and the I.O. Bombay edition have ba-gurz-u kamand, “by (his) mace and lasso.”
From these I think we may plausibly conjecture ba-gird-i kamand, “by the circle or loop of (his) lasso.”
240. i.e., through awe at the king’s prowess.
241. i.e., his arrows have killed so many wolves and leopards that the onager has scarcely room to move over the plain.
242. The meaning is that the king kills so many wolves and leopards that the hunting-ground becomes a fuming, raging sea composed of their blood, and completely covered sometimes by the floating bodies of the wolves, and sometimes by those of the leopards. Thus the hunting-ground, in a way, at times puts on a wolf’s skin, at times a leopard’s skin.
243. i.e., the stag is shot dead and is buried, as it were, in its hide.
244. Lit., “as though the sky brought up smoke from the earth.”
245. i.e., as the reed has the musky (in this case black) ink, and the beauties (lit., rubies) which it forms, so the king’s character has its musky fragrance and the precious and brilliant qualities which are displayed by that character.
246. See the last Note.
247. An allusion to the king’s greatness and to his protection of all.
248. “The Nine-handled Bow” is the sky in its quality of having nine divisions. (See Note 30.) The meaning is that the nine-fold sky is only as the smallest bolt for the king’s bow.
249. “(The) four stars,” chār gauhar. The term chār gauhar usually means “the four elements”, but here it must signify the four large stars in Ursa Major that stand in the form of a square. Ursa Major as a whole is called Haft Aurang, “The Seven Thrones.”
250. i.e., his enemies are eradicated and destroyed before him.