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NOTES ON THE THIRD DISCOURSE } 127
(2) The Td rikh-i-Jahdn-drd of the QadiAhmad-i-GharTari has a short
chapter on this dynasty 1
, which, though it adds little to the particulars
given by the above-mentioned historians, has the advantage of gathering
the details under one head and giving them a connected arrangement.
(3) A rare general history in Persian, of unknown authorship, entitled
on this
*, Majma'iSt'Tawdrfkh*, contains a chapter of, seven large pages
dynasty, here called "the House of Afrasiyab."
(4) A long note by Major H. G. Raverty on pp. 900-911 of his
Engjish translation of the Tabaqdt-i-Ndsiri (vol. ii, London, 1881).
(5) An article by Sir Henry Howorth on the Afrdsiydbi Tm'ks in the
J.R.A.S. for 1898, pp. 467-502. For this excellent article he obtained
new materials f?om a Turk! MS.'from Eastern Turkistan entitled Tadhkirai-Bnghrd
Khan.
(6) Scattered references in such special histories as,'Utbi's Tdrikh-i-
Yamini, \heTdrikh-i-Bayhaqi, Narshakhi's TJrikh-i-Bukhara, 'Imadu'd-
Qfn's and Abu Bakr ar-Rawandi's histories of the Saljtiqs, the Tdrikhi^/ahdngushdy
of Juwayni, 'Awfi's Lubdbu'l-Albdb and JawdnaMl-
Hikdydt, the Tabaqdt-i-Ndsiri, and this book, etc., the history of this
dynasty being intermixed to some extent with that of the Ghaznawis,
Saljdqs and Khwarazmshahs.
(7) The verses of certain contemporary poets who were their panegyrists,
such as Rashidi and Siizani of Samarqand, Mukhtari of Ghazna,
Radiyyu'd-Din of Nishaptir, 'Am'aq of Bukhara, Shams-i-Tabasi, etc.
In none of these books, however, except 'Awfi's Lubdb,
made of Qilij Tamghaj Khan Ibrahim, the last ruler but one of the
is mention
dynasty. He was a great patron of poetry and learning. Radiyyu'd-Dm,
the poet just mentioned, has especially celebrated his generosity to men
of letters, and several notable prose works were dedicated to him, amongst
others the Sindibdd-ndma* &n& the A'rddu r-Riydsatfi AghradCs-Siydsat*
of Baha'u'd-Din az-Zahiri of Samarqand, and another work by the same
author entitled Sam (
u'z-%ahirfi Jam'i'z-Zahir 5 .
j
Note J^XIII. Five notable Astronomers.
(Text, pp. 54-5; Persian notes, pp. 193-206.)
Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni (or Bertini
or Bayrurii} was born in a suburb or outer district (biruti) of Khwarazm
1 Or. 141 of the British Museum, ff. I32 a -i34 b .
2
Supf/1. Persan 1331 in the Bibl. Nationale of Paris, ff. 13^-136*.
' 3 See p. 125 supra.
4 See Hajji Khalifa, s.v., and 'Awfi's Lubdb, i, 91. There is a MS. of the work in
the Lejfrlen Library.
5 See H. Kh., s.v., and the Lubdb, i, 91.
*' Sachau quotes the Ansdb of as-Sam'ani in favour of this latter pronunciation, but
in the'facsimile of this work published by the " E. J. W. Gibb Memorial" (vol. xx,
f. 98 b ) the passage in question has bfl-kasri (with the i vowel) instead of bfl-fathi
(with the a vowel).
.,