Livro V - Commencement Of The History, Capítulo VIII

About this time, A. H. 762, the Syeds, the prelates, and the learned, and other principal persons of Maveralnaher, waited upon me, and requested that I would permit them to read the (Khutbēh) royal proclamation in my name, but I desired them to postpone doing so, for I reflected within myself, that it was first requisite to clear the country from thieves and robbers, and bring all the nomade tribes into perfect subjection, after which it would be easy to have the Khutbēh read, and have the coin struck in my own name.

At this time I received a letter from (the Jete General) Amyr Khizer Yusury, informing me that he was coming with all his tribe to become my subjects; I was much rejoiced that he should thus voluntarily submit to my authority, and was convinced that the standard of my sovereignty was daily rising more and more.

[Sidenote: A. D. 1361.]

When in this year, I had attained the age of twenty-six, Amyr Hussyn, the grandson of Amyr Kūrgen, whom I had encouraged to the invasion of Badukhshān, attacked the fort of Shadmān, belonging to Myan Selduz, and requested my assistance: in consequence of our family connection, I agreed to assist him; I sent a division of troops, under the command of Khizer Yusury, to join him; a few days afterwards I marched with my own division. When Selduz was informed of my movements, finding himself unequal to contend against such a force, he evacuated the fortress of Shadmān, and fled into Badukhshān; when intelligence of these events reached Behāaddeen, (the legitimate Prince of that country) he fled to the mountains, and Amyr Hussyn with little difficulty got possession of all Badukhshān.

Amyr Hussyn was however jealous of my movement, and when I arrived at Shadmān, fearing that “I would take the Lion’s share,” he wrote me a letter of thanks, stating, “that owing to my assistance, he had gotten possession not only of the fortress, but also of all the plain country of Badukhshān; he, therefore, requested that I would not take the trouble of advancing any farther, and that I would have the goodness to return to my capital; but that I was master, and might do as I liked; that he should ever consider himself under the greatest obligations, and reckon Badukhshān as a gift from me.”

At this time, Kykubad, brother of Kykhūsrū Khutelāny, who was called the murderer of Kings, for he had put to death the King of Badukhshān, waited on me, and began to flatter me; but as I had no confidence in him, I put him to death.

When I received Amyr Hussyn’s letter, I acted in a friendly manner to him, but I appointed Khizer Yusury, whom I esteemed as my right arm, to the command of the fortress of Shadmān, and returned to my capital, which was the city of Subz, and there took up my abode.

Some time after this, I sent an invitation to Khizer Yusury, to come from Shadmān and visit me. After the course of a fortnight, he having previously received valuable presents from Amyr Hussyn, came to me; I received him as my guest, gave him a grand entertainment, and having attached him to me, sent him back to Shadmān.

About this time, an Ambassador came to me, sent by Amyr Hussyn, to represent that he was in great distress, and solicited my assistance, for that Myan Selduz had attacked him, that the people of Badukhshān had deserted him, that he feared every day being seized, and that his only chance of safety was my marching to his aid.

The sinews of my honour being thus touched, I ordered an army to march immediately from Subz towards Badukhshān, and I sent letters to Amyr Bāyezyd and Khizer Yusury, to proceed immediately to the assistance of Amyr Hussyn; the former delayed, but the other very shortly joined him. During this time, I proceeded towards Badukhshān, and when intelligence of my approach, and of Amyr Hussyn’s having advanced to meet me, was conveyed to Myan Selduz, he thought it more prudent to flee than to stay; Amyr Hussyn then waited on me, and entertained me hospitably; I having thus delivered him from his enemy, left him in possession of his country, and returned towards my capital.

When I arrived at (Derbund Ahēny) the iron gate, I received information that Hajy Berlās, (Timūr’s uncle) who through dread of Tugleck Timūr, had fled to Khurasān, had returned, had visited Bāyezyd Jelayr, (who had disobeyed my orders by not going to the assistance of Amyr Hussyn), and that they had not only agreed to seize upon my city of Kesh, but that he had actually done so.

When he received intelligence of my approach, he drew out his army, and prepared to oppose me: as I always considered Hajy Berlās as one of my own bones, I wrote him a letter;

(_Here follows the Tūrky letter_;)

reproaching him for his breach of friendship, and offering to give him the district of Kesh if he would rejoin me: but after the receipt of my letter, he gave orders for my destruction, and drew up his armies in battle-array, at a place called Akyār, so that I could not pass by. Finding them thus determined to annihilate me, I resolved to fight him in a regular engagement, hoping to conquer him by my superior skill in manœuvering.

The following is the arrangement I made for engaging Hajy Berlās: I divided my troops into seven divisions, and ordered each division to attack the enemy in succession, judging that by the time of the seventh charge, his troops would certainly give way. As my opponent still kept possession of Akyār, I drew out my army in the following order; I took the command of the centre (Ghul) myself, the right wing I gave in charge to Khizer Yusury, the left wing I consigned to Jakū Berlās, and divided the troops of Subz into four divisions. The first day was spent in manœuvering, the second day we made frequent charges on their line, and had a good deal of fighting: on the night preceding the third day, I asked the blessings of the religious personages, and as soon as the day broke, which might be considered as the dawn of my good fortune, I mounted my steed and advanced; but Hajy Berlās being terrified, fled to Samerkund, and took refuge with Bāyezyd Jelayr. After the victory, I made a new arrangement of the troops, and taking some of those of Subz and the Yusurians, under the command of their leader, I went in pursuit of Berlās, and over-ran the country even to the vicinity of Samerkund; but when we had arrived there, a part of the troops of Kesh, notwithstanding I had gained a victory, deserted me, and went and joined Berlās.

I also discovered that all the other troops were disaffected, that even Amyr Jakū, who was descended from my ancestor Kerachār Nuyān, forgetting our family connexion, and Khizer Yusury, whom I esteemed as my right arm, forsaking the path of rectitude, and seduced by the Devil, deserted me, and went and joined my enemies.

After my enemies were assembled, they consulted together, and came to the resolution of making a simultaneous attack, in order to deprive me of the city of Subz; at length they determined to proceed first to Samerkund, and there being joined by Bāyezyd Jelayr, they should then come out and annihilate me.

It is requisite to mention, that when these chiefs paid their compliments to Bāyezyd Jelayr, he received them all in the most gracious manner, entertained them with great hospitality, and endeavoured to ingratiate himself with them; they were however suspicions of his intentions, and fled from Samerkund. On hearing of this circumstance, I immediately wrote a letter to Khizer Yusury, persuading him to return to my service; but as he was afraid of me also, he would not put any confidence in my promises, and said, “the sword must decide our quarrel.” When this intelligence was brought me, I drew out my army, resolving at first to stand on the defensive, afterwards to make our attack on him, and if possible, take him prisoner.

In consequence of this determination, when Yusury drew out his army at a place named Serūs, I gave orders for my troops to remain on the defensive, till the enemy should have expended their fury, and exhausted their strength, when we should in our turn attack them. The next day I reviewed the troops of Subz, and having given them my own standard, ordered them to advance against the enemy; they accordingly did so, and skirmished with them. When Khizer Yusury saw my standard, he thought I was in the first line, and made a vigorous charge on it; the ground was warmly disputed by both parties, sometimes retreating, sometimes advancing, greatly fatiguing and wounding each other. During this time I was in the rear of the battle, and when I thought that the enemy were sufficiently exhausted, I ordered the trumpets to sound, and with my fresh troops made a vigorous charge, they were not able to withstand this attack, and took to flight.

When intelligence of this event was carried to Bāyezyd Jelayr, the governor of Samerkund, he immediately mounted the throne, and assumed the state of an absolute Prince, and being no longer jealous of me, he wrote me a letter, and again heated the chain of friendship. Hajy Berlās, who was also jealous of Yusury, being now satisfied, went and assumed the command of his own tribe. But notwithstanding all these circumstances, Bāyezyd and Berlās continued to intrigue against me, and entered into a private treaty, stating that as long as Timūr lived, they should consider peace and tranquillity impossible, and that they should therefore do every thing in their power to annihilate him.

In order to carry into effect this treacherous and cunning plan, they wrote me a joint letter, proposing that “we three should divide the kingdom of Maveralnaher in a brotherly manner; that whatever chief should quietly submit to us, we should treat him with kindness, but that whoever should oppose us, must be eradicated:” they also made several other advances to me of pretended friendship, with the intention of deceiving me.

Some time after this, Bāyezyd came out of Samerkund, and having joined Berlās, they encamped in the vicinity of Kesh, and made a great entertainment.

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Footnote 53:

The Muhammedans reckon the commencement of the day from Sun-set.