And the army of TUGHREL BAG went and laid waste the country of NISIBIS, and MAIPERKAT, and SHIGHAR (SINJAR), and HABURA, and 'AMID, and ZIRAK its governor was killed. And they also came to MAWSIL, and they demanded from MU'TAMID AD-DAWLAH, the governor of MAWSIL, fifty thousand dinars to leave [the city] and go away. And when he ignored their [demand] they made themselves masters of the city. And MU'TAMID AD-DAWLAH fled by a gate which was underground by the river TIGRIS. And the GHUZZAYE went in and they carried off from the palace a vast amount of stuff [worth] two hundred thousand dinars, and they divided seventeen wives, who were ARABS and KURDS, among them, and a great number of handmaidens. And they looted the city, all except the quarter of the SHAHARSUI BAZAR, the owner of which gave them fifteen thousand dinars in the place of their houses. And the fathers of the wives of the governor also bought them back.
And the GHUZZAYE left governors in MAWSIL, and they went and pitched their camp by the city of BALADH, but they were not able to capture it. And after a few days a certain man of the GHUZZAYE was fighting with a young man who was a native of MAWSIL, and he smote him with a spear (i.e. speared him). Then the mother of the young man. who was a noisy and loquacious woman, smeared the blood [of her son] over her face, and she shrieked out in the bazars, 'The GHUZZAYE have killed my son and my daughter'. And she stirred up a tumult with her voice, and she inflamed the ARABS with her words. and they rose up against the GHUZZAYE and killed them. And when the GHUZZAYE who were in BALADH heard [this], they came back again to MAWSIL and killed two thousand people, old and young. And they remained there for twelve days plundering and killing. And to every one whom they seized they said, 'Purchase (i.e. ransom) thyself'. And thus they took all the silver, both that in circulation and that hidden, which there was in MAWSIL, and at the last they made peace. And they made the peasants go out to their villages and commanded them to till their lands. And after a little MU'TAMID became strong, and he collected the MA'DAYE (NOMADS) and conquered the GHUZZAYE, and made a great slaughter of them; and those who remained fled to 'ADHORBIJAN.
And in the year which was the year thirteen hundred and fifty-five of the GREEKS (A.D. 1044), at the end of the month of the FIRST TESHRIN, ABU AL-FARAJ, an upright Nestorian monk, died; he was an able and capable man and a philosopher. This man interpreted [227] (or, translated) the Old and the New Testaments into the Arabic language and also the Books of ARISTOTLE. And he charged the chief officials of their Church with being ignorant in matters of ecclesiastical doctrines and other subjects. Personally I think that he was weak in his knowledge of Syriac lexicography, for I have found blunders in various places in his interpretations. Of these the following is an example from [the Book of] JOB, dhe harteh wa-laitaw where h has the vowel a and the t has the hardening point over it, the form being derived from hawra, that is hzaya, 'vision'. But he understood the word to be hartheh, and he gave h the short vowel a and softened the t into th as if the form was taken from hartheh, 'the end'.
And in this year a great army of SCLAVS, that is to say RUSSIANS, came against the royal city by sea and by 1and. And God helped the RHOMAYE, and they set fire to their ships and burned them on the sea, and the greater number of them were burned and sunk. And similarly they made prisoners of many of those who had come by land, and they cut off their right hands; and the RHOMAYE obtained a great victory. And at the time when there were many aliens, ARMENIANS, and ARABS, and JEWS, in the royal city, a great tumult broke out against CONSTANTlNE the king. And the peoples gathered together at the gate of the palace and cried out, 'This CONSTANTINE hath killed two of our kings', and they were seeking for an excuse (or, reason) for looting the palace and the mansions of the nobles. Then king CONSTANTINE gathered together the nobles, and he brought out THEODORA and ZAI (ZOAI) arrayed in gorgeous royal apparel. And when the agitators saw them they became quiet. And the king having inquired into the cause of the tumult, he was told that the aliens had made the tumult so that they might loot the city. Then the king commanded that there should not remain in it anyone who had entered it during the last thirty years, and that the man who stayed should have his eyes gouged out. Then there went out about one hundred thousand souls.
And in the year four hundred and thirty-six of the ARABS (A.D. 1044) an envoy was sent by KAIM, the Khalifah, to TUGHREL BAG, and his message was built on four stipulations.
I. The Amir of the Faithful (or, Believers) saith unto thee: O Amir TUGHREL BAG MAHAMMAD, the countries which thou bast taken are sufficient for thee, and thou shalt not hanker after the countries of the rest of the governors of the ARABS; and thou shalt not harm them.
II. Thou shalt hold thyself in strict subjection, inasmuch as thou art our vassal. And thou shalt swear unto us legal oaths concerning the divorce of thy wives, and the freeing of thy slaves, and undertake to give dues [228] of all thy possessions, if thou resistest our command.
III. And thou shalt act righteously, and not deceitfully, and thou shalt not set men of error (i.e. unbelievers) over the members of the flock [of the Faithful].
IV. Thou shalt send each year the tribute of the countries which thou hast taken, according to the custom of thy predecessors. If thou wilt do these things thou shalt be decorated with robes [of honour], and shalt be addressed with the honorific titles which [men] may legally apply to thy kingship. And thou shalt not be a tyrant.
And when TUGHREL BAG had heard the message of the envoy he said in answer to the FIRST POINT, 'My troops are very many, and these countries are not sufficient for them'. The envoy replied, 'That is because thou bast laid them waste. And if thou didst take the whole earth and lay it waste it would not suffice thee and thy people.'
And in answer to the SECOND POINT he said, 'As to these various kinds of oaths, perhaps the scribes may understand them, [but I do not]. And as for myself, how is it possible for me to keep careful watch that I do not make a mistake, even in some very small matter, in my actions?' And the envoy said: 'If thou wilt show with all thy heart that thou art in subjection. and wilt do what is right, thou wilt never make a mistake'.
And in answer to the THIRD POINT TUGHREL BAG said, "How can I? I take care to be upright. And if some of the hungry men who are with me act wickedly, what am I to do?'
And in answer to the FOURTH POINT he said, 'As to the tribute about which thou hast spoken; show me how much it is, and if I am able I will not keep it back'.
What is certain is this--that TUGHREL BAG did not accept even one of the [four] stipulations.
And in the year thirteen hundred and fifty-six of the GREEKS (A.D. 1045) the city of 'ARZENGAN was submerged by the waters, and only the monastery of the sons of CYRIACUS, by race SYRIANS, was saved, although it was entirely surrounded by a lake of water. Now there were merciful men and doers of good deeds to every man.
And in the year four hundred and thirty-eight of the ARABS (A.D. 1046) the GHUZZAYE captured the city of HULWAN and burntit, and they tortured the men until they brought out all their hidden treasures and gave them to them. And they committed fornication with their wives before their eyes, and they also deflowered their virgins.
And in this year the Nestorian Metropolitan of SAMARKAND sent a letter to the Catholicus, which was also read in the palace of the Khalifah,saying, 'A people who are like unto the locusts in their swarms have made a gap in the mountain between TEBIT and KHUTAN [229], the which ancient writers say that ALEXANDER the Great closed up, and they have sallied out and gone as far as KASHGHAR. There are seven kings, and with each king are seven hundred thousand horsemen. And the name of their great king is "NASARATH", which is interpreted, "Ruling by the command of God". They are black like the INDIANS, and they neither wash their faces nor dress their hair, but they plait it like a cloth and it serveth as a shield for them. They shoot with the bow accurately. And they eat poor and miserable food. And they are merciful and just. And their horses eat meat.'
And when they had read the letter one of the Arab nobles said, 'One I thing at !least is an impossibility, that a horse should eat flesh, forsooth!' And another ^ replied, 'Do not be astonished at this, for I myself have seen with my own eyes an Arab horse which ate flesh and cooked fish'. I, however, say that it is probable that they dry the flesh and chop it up like straw, and feed the horses with it. For there is much game in that country and very little grass.
And in the year four hundred and thirty-nine of the ARABS (A.D. 1047) a certain man who was a native of RAS'AIN and whose name was 'ASFAR, declared concerning himself that of him it was said in the KUR'AN that he should triumph over the Faith of the ARABS. And he went twice into the territory of the RHOMAYE on thievish expeditions, and he carried off much spoil and went forth. Then the king of the RHOMAYE wrote to BAR MARWAN, the governor, saying, 'Between us and thee there is peace. If this thief be one of thy subjects it is right that thou shouldst restrain him; if he is not, inform us and we will act for ourselves.' Then BAR MARWAN called the Amirs of the nomad ARABS, and he said, 'This 'AFSAR will provoke to wrath the RHOMAYE against us, and if they come out there will be no rest either for us or for you. Therefore it is right for you to make a plan and to seize him.' Then the nomad ARABS went to him and praised his solicitude for the triumph of Islam. And he rejoicing in them rode with them. And they began to exercise the horses and to exhibit feats of athletics until they were at a distance from the villages, and then they laid their hands upon him and took him and brought him to BAR MARWAN. And he put him in fetters and shut him up in prison, and peace with the RHOMAYE was confirmed.
And in this year sickness increased, and the pestilence (or, plague) became so severe in all the Fourth Clime [230] that one blossom of the water-lily was sold in BAGHDAD for one zuza, and a small dove for two white zuze. As for wheat and barley no man saw them at all in BAGHDAD. But in MAWSIL, in addition to the sickness and the pestilence, there was also a famine, which was caused by the locusts, and a kora of wheat was sold for sixty dinars.
And in the year four hundred and forty~two of the ARABS (A.D. 1048), which is the year thirteen hundred and sixty-one of the GREEKS (A.D. 1050), Sultan TUGHREL BAG sent an envoy to BAR MARWAN, governor of ARMENIA, ordering him to submit himself and to become subject unto him. And BAR MARWAN received the envoy with alacrity, and he gave him thirty bales of rich stuffs, and five hundred dinars, and hangings and curtains for tents, and ten mules loaded with goods, and an Arab horse, and a certain prisoner who was a RHOMAYA noble, for whose price the RHOMAYE would have given thirty thousand dinars, and he would not sell him. And he said, 'Besides this noble I have nothing which is suitable (i.e. useful) for Sultan TUGHREL BAG. And TUGHREL BAG having received these things made peace happily with BAR MARWAN.
Then CONSTANTINE, the king of the RHOMAYE, sent to BAR MARWAN, saying, 'I entreat thee to exert thyself for the deliverance of that [prisoner] the Patrician. I know that Sultan, TUGHREL BAG is magnanimous, and he will not detain him if thou wilt beg him from him by my mouth (i.e. in my name).' And when BAR MARWAN made known the words of the king of the RHOMAYE to TUGHREL BAG, he showed magnanimity, and sent the Patrician with his own envoy to the king, without demanding any payment or anything in exchange. Then the king of the RHOMAYE restored the great Mosque of the ARABS which was in the royal city, and hung lamps therein. And he appointed Arab praying-men thereto, and appointed regular wages for them. And he sent to TUGHREL BAG one thousand bales of silken cloth, and five hundred pieces of various other kinds of stuff, and five hundred horses, and three hundred Egyptian asses, and a thousand goats, with black eyes and horns, which were very nearly as large as asses.
And in this year the natives of the city of ISFAHAN being sorely afflicted by the imprisonment with which TUGHREL BAG had imprisoned them--now he had sat down by them for nine months--sent to the Khalifah asking him to entreat TUGHREL BAG on their behalf. And the Khalifah (because for a long time past TUGHREL BAG had been asking him to honour him (i.e. TUGHREL) with names (i.e. titles) which befitted [231] his kingship) would not consent. Then he agreed and he wrote [a letter] to him and called, him 'Lawful king', and 'Asylum of the Muslims', and 'RUKN AD-DIN SULTAN TUGHREL BAG', and he entreated him on behalf of the natives of ISFAHAN. And he sent [the letter] with an envoy.
Now TUGHREL BAG was expecting this [appeal], and he accepted the Khalifah's entreaty, and sent in return for these things twenty thousand dinars to the Treasury of KAIM the Khalifah, and two thousand dinars to the administrators of the kingdom. And from this time Sultan TUGHREL BAG began to inscribe the figure or a bow at the top of his sea1, and inside it were these titles. And that sign was called 'TUGHRA', and he who wrote [it] being commanded, [was called] 'TUGHRAI'.
And in the year four hundred and forty-three of the ARABS (A.D. 1051) an envoy from CONSTANTINE, king of the RHOMAYE, came to KAIM the Khalifah, who was in BAGHDAD, and with him was a letter (written in] the RHOMAYA language, and between the lines was an Arabic translation written in letters of gold upon purple paper (vellum?), which [read] thus: 'CONSTANTINE, the believing king, the exalted one, who hath gotten power by Christ God; AUGUSTUS, Only One, in the kingdom of the RHOMAYE, Monomachus, to [his] beloved and honourable friend ABU JA'FAR KAIM, the Head of the Muslims and the Amir of the Believers', and other words of love (or, affection).
And in the year four hundred and forty-six of the ARABS (A.D. 1054), all the countries of the PERSIANS being in subjection to RUKN AD-DIN TUGHREL BAG, he set his face towards the countries of the RHOMAYE. And he attacked the Fort of MINASGERD, and sat down by it for a long time, but he was unable to take it; and he seized the country district [round about]. And he came and seized also the country of 'ARZAN AR-RUM, which up to that time had been under the RHOMAYE. And he turned back to pass the winter in 'ADHORBIJAN so that he might return to the territory of the RHOMAYE.
And in the year thirteen hundred and sixty-five [of the GREEKS = A.D. 1054], CONSTANTINE, king of the RHOMAYE, the husband of queen THEODORA, died in the month of the LATTER KANON (JANUARY). And the queen governed for one year. And she sent an envoy to BAGHDAD, to the Khalifah, and she strengthened the peace by means of the tribute which she had received for herself. And in (that] year Sultan RUKN AD-DIN TUGHREL BAG sent an envoy to the Khalifah and said, 'I wish to come so that I may be glorified (or, honoured) by the service of the Prophet [MAHAMMAD] [232] and be blessed. And I would also go and worship and pray in MAKKAH. And I wish to make peaceful (i.e. safe) the roads of those who pray (i.e. pilgrims), and I will remove the crowds of the MA'DAYE (nomads) who rob them on the highways. From there I will go to the war of the rebels, the SYRIANS, and the erring EGYPTIANS, if God will.' Then the Khalifah, although unwilling, through sheer necessity wrote and praised his solicitude and his zeal in respect of the Faith, and he urged him not to delay in coming to BAGHDAD.
Now the DAILOMITES and the TURKS who were in BAGHDAD, and their chiefs, objected strongly to this arrangement, and they said, 'That the GHUZZAYE should come to BAGHDAD is impossible, but if they do come we shall make ourselves ready for the sword'. And as their excuse benefited them in no wise, the troops of the GHUZZAYE burst forth after a few days, and they came to the frontier of BAGHDAD. And the Prince of the princes, and the chief of the judges, and many of the native magnates who were in BAGHDAD went forth to meet the Sultan, and they drew nigh to the place where he had camped. And they spoke to him words of admonition on the part of the Khalifah, so that he might not give an occasion to his troops to work destruction in the land of BAGHDAD; 'because it is the throne of the Arab peoplcs, and the Law of the Faith existeth in it'. And the Sultan received their words with love, and consented to accept their counsel.
And when he arrived and encamped at the gate which is called 'MESHAM-MASHANITHA' (i.e. 'the Servant Gate'), the DAILOMITES, and the TURKS, and some of the peoples of BAGHDAD quarrelled uproariously, and they drew their swords on the GHUZZAYE who were going into the city to buy food for themselves, and straw and hay for their horses. And the Amirs of the GHUZZAYE mounted their horses and went into BAGHDAD, and they killed many of the DAILOMITES, and the TURKS, and the pagans, and they seized their chiefs and carried them to the Sultan. And he commanded and they were shut up in tents near him, being bound with fetters. And the Sultan sent to the Khalifah and complained about the quarrel which the people of BAGHDAD had provoked, and he informed [him] that certain of the DAILOMITES in his service had been found killed, and others have not been found at all, and if I did not honour thee I would have destroyed all BAGHDAD with the edge of the sword. And the Khalifah being comforted with such [words] as these, fear departed from his heart, and he sent gifts with his eunuchs and nobles to the Sultan. And as soon as ever they arrived in the neighbourhood of the Camp, the Sultan commanded, and they were all put in bonds, and everything which they had with them was looted.
And in the morning of the [following] day the GHUZZAYE went into BAGHDAD, [233] and many of the MA'DAYE (NOMADS) whom they found there they drowned in the TIGRIS. And many men fled from their houses and took refuge in the buildings round about the palace of the Khalifah, and the GHUZZAYE camped in their houses. And the Khalifah sent a letter to the Sultan saying, 'This was not my expectation at all, for I imagined that my glory would be increased by thy coming, and that the Faith would be triumphant through thy nearness to me. Although I have suffered the very reverse of these things my trust is on God.' And the Sultan replied, 'I am subject to thy command. And as to these things which have taken place, thou knowest full well that they have happened because of the evil TURKS who were in thy service. I myself am not blameworthy.' Then the Sultan commanded, and [his slaves] sent the elephants which were with him against the ten TURKS who had made the fight, and they trampled on them and killed them. And the Sultan was master of BAGHDAD, and he appointed governors and tax-gatherers from among his own people. And of the TURKS who had been in BAGHDAD at an earlier period, some were bakers, and some were sellers of vegetables, and others were stokers of the fires for the baths. And the GHUZZAYE became masters of the country, and they laid it waste. Agriculture came to an end, and an ox for ploughing was sold for twenty zuze, and an ass for ten zuze. And they struck money, zuze and dinars, in the name of the Sultan. And the Sutan increased the grant which had been formerly given to the Khalifah at the time when the Dailomite and Turkish slaves held authority-fifty thousand dinars and five hundred kor(s) of wheat. And the Sultan swore an oath and said, 'If it were not for the very many troops who are with me, and who are a help to Arabdom, I would restore to the Khalifah everything which those TURKS took away from him'. And the heart of the Khalifah was glad and he wished to contract affinity with the ARABS, and 'ARSLAN KHATON, a Saljuk princess, the daughter of JAGHRI BAG, the brother of Sultan TUGHREL BAG, was given to him. And the Sultan built a great house by the side of tbe palace of the Khalifah. And the Khalifah sent [to him] a golden throne, inlaid with precious stones, and he set it in [the building]. And the Sultan sat upon it, and the nobles used to go to do homage to him.
And in the year four hundred and forty-eight of the ARABS (A.D. 1056) sickness and a great famine came upon BAGHDAD. One pomegranate was sold for a dinar, and herbs (or, drugs for medicines) were not to be found, and there came great swarms [234] of flies which polluted the air, and more than one-third of the population perished. And thus also was it in SYRIA, and in EGYPT, and especially in PERSIA. In the city of BUKHARA eighteen thousand biers of the dead went out [of the city] in one day. And those who died, in a short time, that is during a period of three months, were a thousand thousand and six hundred and fifty thousand people. And in SAMARKAND, within two months, two hundred and thirty-six thousand people died. It was said that from the beginning of the world there never was such a plague as this.
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