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, 74
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THIRD DISCOURSE.
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ON ASTROLOGERS
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and send it to Khurasan, and see what khwa'ja Imam 'Umar-i-
Khayyami says."
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The King saw that the poor wretches did not speak amiss.
He therefore summoned one of his accomplished courtiers and
said, "Hold a wine-party *at your house to-morrow. Invite this
astrologer of Ghazna, giye him wine., and, when he is overcome
with wine, enquire of him, saying, '
That moment determined by
thee was not good, and the astrologers find fault with it Tell me
the secret of this.' "
Then, the courtier tlid so, and, when his guest was drunk,
made this enquiry of him. The Ghaznawi answered, " I knew
that one of two things must happen either that ;
army would be
defeated, or this one. If the former, then I should be* loaded with
concern himself about me?"
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honours; and if the latter, who would
Next day th.e courtier reported this conversation to the King,
who ordered the Gkaznawi sooth-sayer to be expelled, saying,
"
Such a man holding such views about good Musulmans is
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unlucky." Then 1 he summoned his own astrologers and restored
his confidence to them, saying, u I myself held this sooth-sayer
to be an enemy, because he never said his prayers, and one who
agrees not with our Holy Law, agrees not with us."
ANECDOTE XXXI. o
In the year A.H. 547 (A.D. 1 1 52-3)2 a battle was fought between
the King of the World Sanjar ibn (11) Malikshah and my lord
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the King 'Ala'u'd-Dunya wa'd-Din at the Gates of Awba and
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the army of Ghur was defeated, and my lord the King of the
East (may God perpetuate his reign !) was taken prisoner, and
my lord's son the Just King Shafnsu'd-Dawla wa'd-Din Muhammad
ibn Mas'ud 4 was taken captive at the hands of the
Comma.nder-m-Chief(Amtr-i-stflahsa/ar)YaranqushHan\va. The
ransom was fixed at fifty thousand dinars, and a messenger from
him was to go to the court at Bamiyan to press for this sum ;
and when it reached Herat the Prince was to be released, being
already accorded his liberty by the Lord of the World (>anjar) 8 ,
who, moreover, at the time of his departure from Hera'i, granted
him a robe of honour. It was under these circumstances that
I arrived to wait upon him.
1 A. adds: "they killed him, and...."
2 This is the correct date, but the Tefrikk-i-Guzida gives A.H. 544 (A.D.' 1149-
1150). c
- 3 A village near Hera"t.
4 The second of the Kings of Shansab or Ghur who ruled over Bamiyani and the
son of Fakhru'd-Din Mas'iid. See p. IV of the Persian notes and Nbte'I at the^nd.
8 The meaning appears to be that a ransom was demanded by the Amir Yaranqush,
the Prince's actual captor, but not by his over-lord Sanjar.
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