________________
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[MARCH, 1885.
Our author tells us that he himself was at this went back to the time of Manuchihr and Arash, time living in the fortress of Tulak, while his his famous archer, so much spoken about in the brother was living in the city and fortress of Sháh Námah. In its upper part were chambers Firuzkôh. In that year a Mongol army attacked dug out of the solid rock, and called Arashi the fortress of Astiah, of Ghûr, for eleven days. and Amir Nasr, the Tulaki, sank a well in its It was then governed by the Amir and feuda- upper part, with a diameter of 20 ghax in the tory, Tâju'd-din, Habashi Abdu'l-Malik, Sar-i- solid rock. Its depth was immense, and it Zarad, who submitted to the invaders, whereapon showed no diminution, however much was they took him to Chinghiz Khân, and he gave him drawn from it." the title of khusrau, or prince of Ghûr. He Another fortress of Ghûr is said to have treated him with great honour, and sent him similarly submitted at this time: our authority back again in order to secure the other fort- being Mu'ainu'd-dîn, the historian of Herat, resses. When Chinghiz Khân retired north- who tells us how Ruknu'd-din, the lord of wards, after defeating the Sultan Jalálu'd-din Khaisar, and ancestor of the Kert dynasty of on the Indus, as we shall describe presently, Herat, succeeded in conciliating the great Tâju'd-dîn deserted the Mongols, and fought | conqueror, and was left in possession of his with them, and was killed.
fortress, The same year, says Minhaj-i-Saraj, the Juzbi The number of Mongols and renegades who Ukhlan appeared before the fort of Firuzkôh, were at that time in Ghur was about 20,000 the capital of Ghůr, and attacked it for twenty- horse, and during eight months a portion one days, but could not take it, and retired of them made continual advances up to the from it baffled." The fortress of Tulak was walls of Firuzkôh, and had encounters with then commanded by Habashi Nezah war, who the garrison, of which Minhaj-i-Saraj himself in early life was a maker of leather sacks, and was one, and he adds that trustworthy persons who was very skilled with the bow. When the had related that there were so many Musalman Noyan Fiku'approached it he agreed to captives in the hands of the Mongols that they become tributary to him, and came down from had selected for Chinghiz Khan himself 12,000 the fortress and did homage to him. The young virgins, who followed on foot." subsidy which the Habashi had agreed to pay The result of these various raids is summed to the Mongols he apportioned among the people up by Minhaj-i-Sarij where he says that the of Talak, and enforced its payment vigorously, whole of the cattle and flocks that were round which made him very unpopular, and the Khoja about the cities, towns, kasri, and villages of and Imam, Jamalu'd-din, the Khazanchi or Khorasan, Ghûr, and the Garmsir fell into the treasurer, made a verse about him, as follows: hands of the Mongols, and the country as I said: "Habashi, Nezah war, what is this far as the gate of Ghazni, the territories of wrong?
Takbâristân and the Garmsir was ravaged, and What have the Tulakis to do with sack and the greater part of the Musalman inhabitants prison P"
were slaughtered and made captive. He replied: "I am a leather-worker, and When the news of Jalâlu'd-dîn's arrival at Fiku (a dog);
Ghazni reached Chinghiz Khan at Tálikận he The dog knows and the leather-worker too despatched an army of observation, says Abu'lwhat the wallet contains."
gházi, towards Ghazni, Ghûristân, Zabul, and The people of Tulak presently revolted | Kábul. This was commanded by Shigi Kutuku against him, and gave up the fortress to Malik Noyan. Minhaj-i-Saraj calls him the Noyan Qutbu'd-dîn Husain, who kept him in con- Fiku. He is called Shigi Hutuku in the Yuanfinement for a while, and then let him go to ch'ao-pi-shi, and Hutuhu in the Yuan-shi. Fiwar, where he was put to death."
Kutuku was a Tartar by origin, and on the Tulak, we are told, was a very strong fortress destruction of his people had been saved as between Ghur and Khorasan, whose history & child in the cradle, and adopted by Burte,
* Tabakat-i-Naşirt, pp. 1006, 2007. 15 s.e. Siki Kutuku, vide infra. » Tabakat-i-Naşir, pp. 1059-1061.
20
d., P. 1059.
Ia. pp. 1057 and 1058. 1. Journ. Asiat., 5th Ser., XVII, p. 455 note. 10 Tabakåt-i-Nasirt, pp. 1008, 1007.
