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36 A HISTORY OF SHARVAN AND DARBAND
1066 the Turk Qara-tegin came to Sharvan for the second time, being
accompanied by Mamlan b. Yazld b, Muhammad, paternal uncle of the
sharvanshah, Qara-tegin pitched his tents at the gate of Yazldiya and
laid siege to it. Then he raided its lowlands and highlands, devastated the
country, wrought great slaughter among the population, drove away
cattle and took away women and children, making of Sharvan "a desolate
plain" (Qor'an, XX, 106). Thence he descended upon Bakuya and
acted there as in Yazldiya. When the position became difficult the
sharvanshah sent his studs (hashar dawabUM!} consisting of over 4,000
mares to Masqat.
In Safar 459/January 1067 the sharvanshah seized a number of the
people of Yazldiya with the hajib of Lashkari b. R.hman1 and crucified
some of them.
Then the behaviour of Qara-tegin became a succession, of looting,
crucifying, murdering, destroying and burning on the tract stretching
from Bakuya towards Shabaran (B 728) and he encamped in the neighbourhood
(of the latter). He sent his army to raid the villages and they
made prisoner both Muslims and (their) allies (mu^ahidm], kidnapped
their women and children and burnt their homes. The Turks went to the
hills and then swooped down on Masqat; they drove away the studs (?)
of the sharvanshah and returned to Shabaran.
Then Qara-tegin went back to besiege Yazldiya for the second time.
Matters grew difficult for the sharvanshah because reinforcements consisting
of some 2,000 Turkish warriors had reached Qara-tegin. Wishing
to hoodwink the sharvanshah they sent a message to him saying: "the
Sultan has sent us to help thee and to drive Qara-tegin from thee'.
Outwardly, they arrested Qara-tegin and Mamlan and requested the
sharvanshah to come out to them, so that (A 1055b) they might hand
over the two prisoners to Mm, However, he did not fall into the trap
and did not come out. Then they freed those two and united against the
sharvanshah.
The latter devised a means for repelling them. He secretly sent
(someone) to the hajib of the Sultan, who (meanwhile) had arrived a
second time, and gave him 6,000 dinars that he should hand over to
him his uncle Mamlan b. Yazid whom he wished to kill. The (hajib)
agreed to the plan and invited Mamlan to a feast. Mamlan was in
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