And when Tásh came to Bukhárá, from Jurján, Muwayyad-Addoulat died; and, before that war which has been described broke out, there had arrived intelligence of the death of Azd-Addoulat, and Tásh, from dread of the insults of his enemies, and in order to avoid dispiriting the soldiers, kept this intelligence secret. And the chiefs of the State of Dilám entered into a consultation, respecting the choice of some one out of the great families of the kingdom, who might be regent of the State. The election fell upon Fakhr-Addoulat, who was of a high rank in the family of Buwayyah and of eminence in the royal household, and dis­tinguished in the counsels of the State, as well as of rank, superiority, and eminent merit. And the Lord Kafí-Ismail-Ibn-Abbad dispatched couriers and wrote letters to him, and, under pretext of condoling with him upon the decease of his brothers, they congratulated him upon the acqui­sition of his kingdom and its remarkable freedom from all things causing anxiety or blame, and from all the consequences of war. And they nominated his brother, Khusrú-Firúz to the office of lieutenant and viceroy, in order that, during the vacancy of the dignity, the affairs and the comfort of the royal throne might not again receive injury. And Fakhr-Addoulat hastened and turned from Nish­apúr to Jurján, in a short time, and the whole body of the troops set forward to meet his stirrup; and they became well settled on the string of obe­dience and service to him, in true inclination and regard, and he thus returned to the possession of his own kingdom, by the right of justice and of a last will, and the provinces of his brother were restored unto him, by right of inheritance, accord­ing to that (which is said in the Kúrán) “He giveth the kingdom unto whomsoever He willeth and He removeth it from whomsoever He willeth, for He worketh that which He pleaseth.” And Abu-Bakr-Kháwarizmí, in that complete Kasidah which he composed, as an elegy upon Muwayyad-Addoulat, and as a poem of condolence and con­gratulation to Fakhr-Addoulat, thus saith (Verse)

Abu-Alfaraj, his friend, also composed a Kasidah, as an elegy upon Muwayyad-Addoulat, some of the verses found in which are as follows (Verse)

And a messenger was sent by Fakhr-Addoulat to Tásh, with a letter, to this effect: “I, with the assistance of my army and by God’s help, have effected, by mild and gentle means, such an arrangement that the days of misfortune and the times of distress have passed away, and affairs have become settled and arranged, upon a footing of firmness and stability, and this hereditary kingdom hath become freed from strife and from the wounds of contention.” And Tásh wrote a reply and congratulated him upon his success in his objects of pursuit, and upon his meeting with his unshaken dignity, and upon the diminution of the period of misfortune, and upon the arrival of the fortunate days of the State, and upon the arrival of the bride of royalty, and upon his meeting with the object of his wishes. And in the replies to these letters he (moreover) represented the history of his affairs, the craftiness of the envious, the neglect of duties, the favouritism and the ruin which had proceeded from His Highness of Bukhárá, through the calumnies of enemies, and how their success depended upon the overthrow of prosperity, and how his government had become extravagantly wasteful and unbecoming his august position. Fakhr-Addoulat, in answer to this, wrote a very bulky epistle, and used the most perfect words and the most high-flown language, in setting forth his special affection and the sin­cerity of his attachment and alliance, and said, Whatsoever God may have given of His bounteous free-will, in kingdoms, and riches, and treasures, and such things, he should consider His Excellency as a partner in these, and with regard to whatso­ever treasure, rank, stores, or army which he sup­plicated, there would exist no difficulty, and that he must keep to the well-defined road of unity and free intercourse, and would be happily settled upon the ground of stability. But he found it needful, for various powerful considerations, to request that His Excellency should not forget to grant unto us the favours, and the assistance, and the acknowledgment, and the attention which were given in the time of our former highnesses. And he further said, “If I should devote all my life in fulness for this benefit, and in the accomplishment of the duty due to this generosity, and if I should expend my possessions in acts (of gratitude) unto His Excellency, I should notwithstanding regard myself as deficient and wanting.” And he treated Abu-Said-Shibi, who had arrived with the letter from His Excellency Fakhr-Addoulat, with the most perfect generosity and respect, and sent, as a fitting troop to accompany him, near a thousand Turkish and Arabian cavalry, by way of assistance. And when they arrived at Nishapúr Abd-Allah-Ibn-Abd-Arrazák, who was one of the officers of the army of Khurasán, joined him, and both of them united in offering friendship and service to Tásh,* and Tásh proceeded towards Nishapúr, and when he came near Abúl-Husain-Simjoúri had proceeded forward and had gone into the city, and had taken up his residence in the castle. When Tásh arrived Abu-Said-Shíbí and all who were eminent in Nishapur joined him, and came down on the western side of the city. And for several days battles took place and the armies joined in fight. And in the end two thousand more cavalry of the army of Dilám arrived, as a reinforcement, men of action, well provided with provisions and arms. And when Abul-Hasan received intelli­gence of their arrival, and became aware of their strength and magnificence, and became acquainted with their skill and power, in storming difficult passes and taking possession of fortified cities, as well as the good order of their affairs, and the success of their sieges, he came out of the city in the middle of the night, and, under the veil of darkness, took the road of flight. And the army informed Tásh and they pursued upon their rear, and, on account of their heavy accoutrements and baggage, a considerable booty was obtained. And Tásh came to the city and entered at the west side. And Abú-Mansur-Thalabí says, on that event (Verse)

Then Tásh dispatched letters from Nishapúr, to His Highness of Bukhárá, and humbly entreated the rectification of his condition and the conferring of forgiveness upon him, and the permission to explain his apologies. And he begged to be allowed to speak, for the purpose of the setting aside his errors, and offering an entreaty for favour and for pardon of all past mistakes. And he said “Our refuge is in God.” If we have committed offences unto whom is the way of forgiveness closed? according to this sentiment (Verse)

And Abd-Allah-Ibn-Azíz* took the course of neglecting and becoming deaf to these apologies and representations, contained in the volume of these great chronicles.* And he much employed artful and entangling language, in his communications with Núh and his mother, who was regent of the kingdom, and assured the prince thus: “Tásh hath fled from Dilám and you have given him an asylum in a portion of this State; but he is sharp­ening his teeth to set forward in this direction; and if he goes on in this contemptuous manner and you do not, in good time, command concerning him that which is good and proper, you will assuredly lament for the loss of this kingdom, and you must cut off all wish for retaining these provinces, whilst you are deceived with his false gilding, his studied letters, his boldness, and his deceit.” And they said that they ought to transfer the reins of this business from his hand and restrain him from (the power of effecting) any measure, evil or good. Utbi says: “I now remember that I extracted, for the sake of friendship, two verses from Ibn-Almutara (Verse)

Utbi says those verses do not contain the strongest expressions, in regard to the state of affairs and to their applicability to the times, there are two other verses composed in this measure (Verse)

Truly, as regards the beauty of these verses there is nothing deficient, and that which he hath said he hath said with the utmost perspicuity and with the perfection of intelligence, and the nicety of judgment, and he is a rule for those who are possessed of acumen, and an excellent judge of the right way of choosing and examining. But it is impossible that the affection afforded to a nurse should be equivalent unto that given to a mother, or that the compassion and favour felt towards a kinsman should equal that felt for a father, or that the attachment to a hireling should resemble that towards a friend, or that a vizír, however distin­guished for efficiency, in the rules for governing and guarding a kingdom, could surpass a king, although he be naturally efficient and remarkable for firmness and gravity. And Tásh neglected the affair of Abul-Hasan-Simjúr, and took no further trouble upon the subject of his strife-causing sword, for he waited for His Highness of Bukhárá, in order that that fire might perchance be suppressed by no other means than by separation and by con­trivance. And His Excellency (Tásh) gave his utmost assistance and effected a settlement of affairs, and a remedy for those transactions and fiery disputes which had recently occurred, and by every possible means endeavoured to give content­ment to Núh. Nevertheless the wound which had been inflicted upon hearts was not yet perfectly healed, and the dust (of strife) which had settled upon the border of minds became increased still more and adhered more firmly. And they* watched for an opportunity to depress him and to obtain the mastery over him. And he was occu­pied in settling his affairs, and in gathering and forming the army. And Abúl-Hasán-Simjúr sent to Karmán and requested an army from the Amír Abúl-Fawáras-Ibn-Azd-Addoulat. And he sent unto him two thousand select cavalry, composed of his Arabs of the Nejd, and Fáík joined him, and so great an army assembled that neither mountains or plains might turn them aside (Verse)

And they by common consent set forward to Nishapúr, in order that they might take possession of it again. Tásh, with his army, returned back in front of them, and they put their hand to the sword and they filled the air, as far as the hearing extended, with flame, from the collision of their battleaxes, and they drew an ornamented page upon the preface of the earth, with the blood of warriors (Persian verse)

And the army of Tásh, on account of its remaining a long time at Nishapúr, was reduced to extremity, from scarcity of provisions and debility, and the want of the necessaries of life, and began to be reduced to fear, and to be contented with the path of cowardice and flight, if that by any means they might cast themselves from that whirlpool of misery upon the shore of safety, and save themselves from the confinement of that distressing condition, into the free plain (of liberty). And Tásh resolved to make one more attack, which should be the seal of the affair, and to make other and successful onsets on his flank. And Abúl-Hasan-Simjur and his son, Abú-Alí, closed foot to foot, and, with firm front and strong determination, exerted themselves in repulsing this charge; and Tásh betook himself to his tents, and the greater part of his army were dispersed, and reduced to difficulty and weakness, and the army of the enemy came upon his rear and gave him one charge, and he was scattered with loss and departed, being put to the rout, and the army of Dilám departed from his alliance, and the people of Khurasán came upon them, whilst dispersed, and put many of them to the sword and conducted the remainder in the chain of slavery, and sent them to Bukhárá; and when they came to the presence they brought them to the midst of Buk­hárá, with the utmost cruelty and the greatest contempt, and the buffoons of the city came before them, pointing at them and jeering them, and used insulting expressions towards them, and addressed to them derisive jokes, and severe songs and vitu­perations. Afterwards they imprisoned them in the fortress of Kahandaz, until some perished of cruel treatment and some obtained their freedom; but God knows.