METHUSALAH.

Methusalah was the son of Enoch. He had many children, so that it is difficult to enumerate them. After his father, he was the head of his tribe and called men to Divine worship. When he was 900, he had a son whom he called Lamech. After that he lived 290 years.

LAMECH.

Lamech was the unique of his time for lofty character and exalted virtue. After his father, he became firmly seated on the throne. The period of his life was 780 years. And some call him Lamkān, Lāmak, and Lāmakh.

NOAH (NŪḤ).

Noah, the son of Lamech, was born under the Sign of Leo, 126 years after Adam's death. He was strong in the ways of reli­gion and firmly based on the foundation of justice. The story of his calling* mankind to the worship of God, the disobedience of his people and the event of the Flood, etc., are well-known.

Historians have mentioned three floods. First, a flood which occurred before our Adam came into existence. Thus* the very learned Shahrazūrī says, “Adam belongs to the first cycle which commenced after the world had been devastated by the first flood.” The second flood was in the time of Noah and began at Kūfa, in the oven* of Noah's house. It lasted six months, and there were eighty persons in the Ark (kish). On this account the place where they disembarked and settled was called the Eighty-Market* (Sūqu--amānīn). The third* flood was in the time of Moses and was confined to the Egyptians. Although romancing historians,* in treating of the floods, make the last two also extend over the whole world, it is evident that this was not so, for in India,* where they have books many thousand years old, there is not even a trace of these two floods. To be brief, in a short space of time, all the eighty occupants of the Ark died except seven, viz., Noah, his three sons, Japheth, Shem and Ham, and their wives. Noah assigned Syria, Mesopotamia, ‘Irāq and Khurāsān to Shem; the western countries, and Abyssinia, Indian, Scinde and the Sūdān* to Ham; and China, Sclavonia* and Turkistān to Japheth. And in the opinion of historians, the aboriginal inhabitants of those countries at the present day, are descended from these three, and the lineage of mankind from the days of the Flood is derived from them. Noah died when he was either 1600 or 1300 years old. There are other stories too about his age, such as that he lived for 250 or 350 years after the Flood and that he was born either 126 years after Adam's death or in Adam's last days, and that he sat upon the throne of guidance, (i.e., became a prophet) when he was 50, or 150, or 250, or 350 years old, and that he was a guide to mortals for 950 years.

Ham* had nine sons, viz., Hind, Sind, Ẕanj (Zanzibar), Nūba, Canaan, Kush, Qab (copt),* Berber, Ḥabsh (Abyssinia), and some have written that Ham had six sons. They omit Sind and Canaan and make Nūba the son of Ḥabsh.

Shem also had nine sons, viz., (1) Arfakhshad,* (2) Kayūmar who is the progenitor of the kings of Persia, (3) Asūd* who founded Madā'in* (the twin-cities of Seleucia and Ctesiphon), etc., Ahwāz* and Pahlū (? Peleg) are his sons and Fārs is the son of Pahlū, (4) Īghan* the father of Shām (Syria) and Rūm (Asia Minor), (5) Būraj,* of whom historians tell nothing except the name, (6) Lāüz (? Lud) from whom the Pharoahs of Egypt are descended, (7) Elam who built the cities of Khuzistān; Khurāsān and Tambāl* are his sons, and ‘Irāq is the son of Khurāsān, and Kirmān (Carmania) and Makrān* are sons of Tambāl, (8) Aram from whom the tribe of ‘Ād is descended, (9) Būẕar whose sons are Āẕarbaijān, Arān, Arman and Farghān.

Some say that Shem too had only six sons and omit Kayūmar, Būraj and Lāüz. In short, there is much discrepancy about the descendants of those two (Shem and Ham).

JAPHETH. (YĀFI.)

Japheth was the most just of Noah's sons. The lofty line of his Majesty, the king of kings, is linked with him, and the Khāns of the eastern cities and of Turkistān all derive from him. He is called the Father of Turk (Abū-l-turk), and some historians call him Alūnja Khān. When Japheth left Sūqu--amānīn with his wife and family, to go to the eastern and northern countries which had been assigned to him, he begged his father to teach him a prayer by which he might have rain whenever he wanted it. Noah gave him a stone which had the property of bringing rain, and indicated that he had pronounced over it the Ineffable Name* (lit. Great Name) with the design that the foolish should not comprehend the matter and transgress his precepts, or perhaps he really recited the Ineffable Name over it. And at present there are many of these stones among the Turks which they call yedatāsh. The Persians call them sang-i-yada* and the Arabs ḥajaru-l-maar, (rain-stone). And Japheth, on going to those regions, became a dweller in deserts, and whenever he wished, the cloud of God's bounty, came down in rain through the virtue of that stone. In course of time, children were born to Japheth and he established excellent laws among them, which were at once comforting to the short-thoughted and joy-increasing to lofty minds. He left eleven sons, viz., 1, Turk, 2, Cīn, 3, Ṣaqlāb, 4, Mansaj,* also called Mansak, 5, Kamārī,* also called Kaimāl, 6, Khalaj, 7, Khazan, 8, Rūs, 9, Sadsān, 10, Ghaz,* 11, Yāraj.* Some books mention only eight sons, omitting Khalaj, Sadsān and Ghaz.

TURK.

Turk was the eldest son of Japheth, and the Turks call him Yāfi Ōghlān.* He excelled all his brothers in wisdom, management and care for his subjects. On his father's death, he sat upon the throne of sovereignty and dispensed gentleness, manliness and relief of the oppressed. He settled in a place which the Turks call Sīl-ūk* or Salīkāī and which had hot and cold springs and delightful meadows. He made dwellings of grass and wood and constructed tents, and made clothes by sewing together the skins (and furs) of beasts of burden and of prey. Salt* was discovered in his time. One of his laws was that the son should inherit naught but a sword and that whatever was wanted should go to the daughter. They say he was contemporary with Kayūmar, and that as the latter was the first king of Persia, so Turk was the first sultan of Turkistān. He lived to the age of 240.

ALINJA KHĀN.*

Alinja Khān was the best of Turk's sons. When the measure of Turk's years was fulfilled, Alinja Khān was placed on the throne by the will of the chiefs. He made far-sighted wisdom his rule, and spent his days in the administration of justice. When he became old, he went into retirement (i.e., became a hermit).

DĪB BĀQŪĪ.*

Dīb Bāqūī became king on his father's retirement and in accordance with his appointment.

KĪYŪK KHĀN.

Kīyūk was the worthy son of Dīb Bāqūi. When the father bade adieu to the world, he made over the throne of the Khānate to Kiyūk who, knowing the duties of sove eignty, acted up to them.

ALINJA KHĀN.

Alinja Khān was the son of Kīyūk and became heir-apparent in the end of his father's days. He was extravagant in his liberalities, and in his reign the Turks became intoxicated* by the world and strayed from the path of wisdom. After a long time, twin-sons were born to him. One was named Mughul and the other Tātār. When they came to years of discretion, he divided his kingdom into two portions and gave one half to Mughul and one half to Tātār. When their illus­trious father died, each of the two sons reigned in his own territory, in harmony with one other.

As this lofty line (Akbar's) has no connection with Tātār and his eightfold* branches (i.e., generations) I pass them over and proceed to relate the history of Mughul and his noble descendants.

MUGHUL KHĀN.

Mughul Khān was a wise prince. He so conducted himself that the hearts of his subjects were attached and obedient to him and all tried to serve him properly. The generations of the Mughuls are nine in number, beginning with Mughul Khān and ending with Īl* Khān. The Mughuls have taken the usage of Tuqūz* (nine) from this, and they consider this number most excellent in all matters. The Creator bestowed on Mughul Khān four sons, Qarā Khān, Āẕar Khān, Kar Khān and Ūz Khān.