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28
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,' SECOND DISCOURSE. ON POETS P
1"
become Amir of Khurasan ? " " He replied, One day
1
reading the,Di'wan of Hanzala of Badghi's
jistan, when I chanced on these two couplets :
, in Badghi's
3 j
*
If lordship lies -within the lion's jaws,
Go, risk it, andfrom those dreadportals seize
Such straight-confronting death as men desire,
Or riches, greatness, rank and lasting ease.'
I was
of Khu-
An impulse stirred within
,.
me swch that I< could* in no wise
remain content with that condition wherein I was. I therefore
sold my asses, bought a horse, and, quitting my country, entered
the service of All ibri Layth, the brother of Ya'qub and 'Amr. (w)
At that time the falcon of fortune of the Saffarids 2 still hovered
at the highest zenith of its prosperity. Of the three brothers,
'All was the youngest, and Ya'qub and 'Amr'had complete precedence
over him. When Ya'qub came from Khurasan to Ghazna
over the mountains, 'All ibn Layth sent me back from Ribdt-i-
Sangtn* ('the Stone Rest-house') to act as agent to his feudal
estates in Khurasan. I had a hundred horsemen of that army
oh the road, and had with me besides some twenty horsemen of
my own. Now of the estates held in fief by 'All ibn Layth one
was Karukh 4 of Herat, a second Khwaf 5 of Nishapur. When
I reached Karukh, I produced my warrant, and what wats paid
to me I divided amongst the army and gave to the soldiers.
My horsemen now numbered 1
three hundred. When I reached
Khwaf 5 and , again produced my warrant, the burghers of Khwaf
contested it, saying, ' We
Want a prefect with [a body-guard
of only] ten jmen.' I therefore decided to, renounce ,my allegiance
to the Saffaris, looted Khwaf, proceeded to the village
i
of Busht 6
,
'Abdu'llah al-Khujistani, who revolted at Nishapur and died i, 1 ! 264/877-8." (Barbier
de Meynard's Diet. GJogr., Hist., et Lift, de la Perse, p. 197.*) The editor points out
(Persian notes, p. \W, and Note XIII at the end) that, according to Ibnu'l-Athir,
Ahmad was assassinated in Shawwal, 2,68/882, after having reigned at Nishapur six
six years. See \hejournal Asiatiqne for 1845, pp. 345 et seqq. of the second half.
1
See Ethe's R&dagfs Vorldufer und Zeitgenossen, gp. 38-40, where these verses
and others by the same poet are cited.
2 The short-lived Saffarid dynasty was founded by Ya'qub ibn Layth in 1154/867.
On his death in 265/878 he was succeeded by his brother 'Amr, who was overthrow.n
by Isma'il the Samanid in 287/900 and was subsequently put to death.
3 This place, evidently situated between Ghazna and Khurasf.n, has not been
identified, unless, as Muhammad Iqbal suggests, it be identical with the Ribdt-i-Sangbast
twice mentioned by Dawlatshah (pp. \ VI and -1 of my edition). v.
4 A town situated at ten parasangs from Herat. See Barbier de MeyAard's Diet.
Geogr., Hist*, et' Lift, de la Perse, p. 487, and p. 33 infra.
5
Ibid., pp f 213-214.
6 Busht or Pusht is also in the district of Nishapur.
*
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