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5*2 , SECOND DISCOURSE. ON POETS
Dm Mohammad 1
the son' of , MaliksHah, at the gates of
Hamadan, on the occasion of the rebellion of his son-in-law
(may God make fragrant their dust, and exalt tiieir station f tn f
"
Raradise Amir !), Shihabu'd-Din Qutu^mush Alp Ghazi, It is
the sign of a malicious hpart to keep a foe imprisoned for one
;
of two things, either he is loyal or seditious. Then, if the former,
it is an injustice to keep him in prison^; and if the latter,
it is
again an injustice to suffer an ill-doer to live." (ti) In short that
misery of Mas'ud passed, while this ill repute will endure till the
Resurrection. c
ANECDOTE XIX. a
In the time of Sultan Khidr ibn Ibrahirfc 2 the power of the
Khaqani's 3 was at its most flourishing period, while the strength
of their administration and the respect in which it was held were
such as could not be surpassed.
Now he was a wise and just ruler and an ornament to the
throne, and to him appertained the dominion of Transoxiana ancj
Turkistan, while he enjoyed the most complete security on the
side of Khurasan, wherewith he was allied by friendly relations,
kinship, and firm treaties and covenants. And of the splendour
maintained by him one detail was this, that when he rode out
they carried before his horse, besides other arms, seven hundred
maces of gold and silver. He was, moreover, a great patron of
poets, and in his service were Amir 'Am'aq 4 Master ,
Rashidi,
Najjar-i-Sagharchi, 'All Pam'dhi, the son of Darghush, the son
of Isfarayini, 'AH Sipihri and Najibi of Farghana, all of whom
obtained rich rewards, and vast honours. The Poet-Laureate was
Amir 'Am'aq, who had profited abundantly by that dynasty and
obtained the most ample circumstance, comprising Turkish slaves,
fair damsels, well-paced horses, golden vessels, sumptuous apparel,
and servants, biped and quadruped 5
, innumerable. He was greatly
honoured at the King's Court, so that of necessity the other poets
1 The seventh Saljuq king, who reigned A.H. 498-511 (A,D. 1104-1117). There
is, as pointed out by Mirza Muhammad (pp. *AC \Ai of the Persian notes) an extra-
ordinary confusion of dates and persons in this story. See also Note XXI tit the end.
2 Sultan Khidr Khan ibn Tafghaj Khan Ibrahim ibn Nasr Arslan (known as Ilak)
ibn 'Ali ibn Musa ibn Sutuq succeeded his brother Shamsu'1-Mulk Nasr ibn Ibrahim
in A.H. 474 (A.D. 1081-2), but died shortly afterwards. See Ibnu'l-Athir sub anno
A.H. 408, and the To? rikh-i-Jahdn-drd (Or. 141 of the* British Museum, f. i33 a ).,
3 This Turkish Muslim dynasty, also known as Khaniyya, Ilak Khans, and Al-i-
Afrasiyab, reigned for about 230 lunar years (A.H. 380-609 = A.D. 990-1212) in
Transoxiana, and was finally overthrown by the Khw arazmshahs. See S. LaAe-Poole's
Muhammadan Dynasties, pp. 134-135; Note XXII at the end; and pp. \At-\Ai
of the Persian notes. . f
4 Mention has already been made of all these poets on p. f A of the text ( =
of this translation) with the exception of "the son of Isfarayini." See pp'. v> \ \
of the Persian notes, and Note XIV at the end. c
5 Literally, "speaking and silent," or "articulate and dumb."