Another of the auspicious omens predicting my future greatness, was this: in a dream I saw the Prophet Muhammed, “on whom be the Grace of God,” who congratulated me and said, “in consequence of the support you have given to my descendants, the Almighty has decreed that seventy-two of your posterity shall sit on the throne of Sovereignty.” When I awoke, I wrote all the particulars of this dream to my Peer, he replied by letter, “I congratulate you on this “dream, your having seen the Prophet, (on whom be the grace of God) proves “that you will certainly obtain numerous victories, and that many happy con“sequences will arise from this dream.” As the Emperor Subuktageen, in “consequence of his pity to a doe, (whose fawn he had caught and released) “was honoured by a vision of the Prophet, who said to him, ‘in recompense of “the pity that you this day shewed to the animal, the Almighty will bestow “sovereignty on your posterity for many generations;’ how much more so will “he bestow on you, who through compassion to the Syeds and other inhabi“tants of Maveralnaher, have delivered them from the cruel hands and slavery “of the Jetes; doubtless your descendants shall reign for seventy-two gene“rations.” To elucidate the circumstance, it becomes requisite to mention, that, when Tugleck Timūr Khān invaded Maveralnaher a second time, he sent me a friendly invitation, I therefore went to meet him, but he broke his promise (of confirming me as Governor of the province), and gave the country to his son Alyas Khuajē, and made me his Commander in Chief (Sepah Salar); but when he saw that I was dissatisfied, he produced the agreement engraven on steel, between my ancestor Kajuly Behader and Kubyl Khān, wherein it was stipulated that the dignity of Khān should for ever continue in the posterity of Kubyl Khān, and that of Sepah Salar with the descendants of Kajuly Behader, and that they should never oppose each other;* when this agreement was read to me, in order to comply with its contents, I accepted the appointment of Commander in Chief; but as Alyas Khuajē had no talents for governing, and permitted his soldiers to extend the hand of rapine, the inhabitants of Maveralnaher came to me, and complained that the Jetes* had carried off nearly one thousand of their virgin daughters from Samerkand and its neighbourhood, and that the orders of Alyas Khuajē were not listened to by his followers; again a number of the Syeds of Termuz came and complained to me, that the Tūrkish soldiers had carried into captivity seventy of their brethren and children, all descendants of the Prophet (on whom be the grace of God): on hearing of this my honour was roused, I pursued the plunderers, defeated them, and recovered the captives; on this account the Jetes bound up the loins of animosity against me, and carried their complaints to Tugleck Timūr Khān, and wrote to him that I had raised the standard of rebellion, in consequence of which he issued an edict for putting me to death, which edict fell into my hands; it was at this time that I had the dream above mentioned.
Another happy omen was this, my Peer* wrote to me, he had seen in a vision, that the Almighty had appointed me his treasurer, and that the keys of the treasury would be consigned to me by his Vizier Mustafā; this good news exalted my ideas, and induced me to expect success from fate.
Another time when I was very much annoyed by the oppressions of the Jetes, and knew not what to do, I received the following letter from my Peer.
“The supported of the Lord, may God continue to protect him; I have seen “in a vision, the messenger of the Lord of all worlds, who has promised to make “you his vicegerent, and support you, and therefore be not afraid, nor despond, “for he is with you.”
I was much rejoiced by this letter, and became strong of heart, although I was in daily expectation of the arrival of Tugleck Timūr’s edict to put me to death; and when the edict did arrive, (the Saint) Amyr Kelan, sent me this verse of the traditions of the Prophet, “Flight is proper for him who has not the power to oppose.” I therefore fled to Khuarizm, with sixty horsemen, and wrote a description of my situation to my Peer, and received the following answer to my letter; “may God protect Abul Munsūr Timūr; let him lay down these four “rules for his conduct, that with the arm of magnanimity he may be successful “and prosperous through life, as is recorded in the traditions.
“1st. Be determined in whatever you undertake, place your undertakings “on faith in God, and do not relax your exertions.
“2nd. Invest yourself with the robe of honour, and permit not fornication or “adultery to be committed in your dominion: It is related that a Crane once saw “in her nest, a young Raven associating with her young ones, and for several “days and nights she permitted it to remain, at length a number of Cranes col“lected and tore the owner of the nest to pieces with their beaks and claws: the “honour of a man should far exceed that of birds, especially that of Princes, “which should ever protect the respectability and reputation of their subjects.
“3rd. Do not neglect consultation, prudence, and caution, for every dominion “which is void of these is soon overturned.
“4th. It is a tradition of the illustrious Khalifs, that stability is better than “perturbation, therefore endue yourself with bravery and magnanimity;—grace “be with him who follows the true direction.”*
Another presage of my good fortune was this, a celebrated Astrologer waited on me, and delivered a plan of my Horoscope, stating that at the time of my birth, the planets were in so favourable and auspicious conjunction as certainly to predict the stability and duration of my good fortune and Sovereignty; that I should be superior to all the Monarchs of the age; that whoever were my enemies should be subdued, and whoever were my friends should be prosperous; that I should be the protector of religion, the destroyer of idols, the father of my people; that my descendants should reign for many generations, and that they should be prosperous as long as they continued to support the Muhammedan religion, but if they should deviate therefrom, their dominion would soon be annihilated.