Sykes' History of Persia Vol 2 (pdf) - Heritage Institute

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LII THE SELJUK TURKS 103
lifetime Toghril chose Azud-u-Din, Abu Shuia Alp
son__oQmkiL-Eeg and younger broth erjjf Malik
^as his successor. After ToghriFs death, fQ?
his minister, unwisely supported julavmari.
nf fag jafe Tqasferj but in vain, and he himself was
put to death. His dying message to Alp Arslan ran :
" *
Say to the King, Lo, a fortunate service has your
service been to me for ; thy uncle gave me this world to
rule over, whilst thou, giving me the martyr's portion,
hast granted
me the other world ; so, by your service,
'
have I gained and that ! The " ijiis^world Conquering
Lion " to translate his title
mighty ruler though he
*was, is cruelly
remembered in connexion with Abu All
Hasan bin Ishak, famous in history ^as jhe^Nizam^T^
born at Radkan, some
"TOuIJ^'Tnls great. sXate.sm3.BL.was
fifty miles to the north of Meshed, and after enjoying a
good education attracted the favourable n
., -dtJC^J? Chaki-r
Beg. Having been recommended lo Alp Arslan, he
became his Viziex. He is
always looked upon
as the
model of a great mjn^fer., and some, at least, of his work
has endured ;
for the Persian sy^stem
of accounts which
prevails to-day is believed to have been originated by
him. Among his proteges was Omar Khayyam, the
Persian poet best known to Europeans and the famous
;
college which he founded at Baghdad became a school
of great men, among whom al-Ghazali, the eminent
"theologian, Reserves special mention.
_Undcr Alp Arslan the boundaries of the Seljuk
^Empire were- pYtended* Eastward he subdued Herat,
and later on Jand in Transoxiana ;
he also successfully
checked the ambitions of his brother Kaward, as already
related. In Arabia he overcame the Fatimids^and gained
Mecca and Medina, thereby mucH augmenting
his
prestige. In A.H. j^^J^qj^ he defeated a vastly
superior
in
Byzantine army western Asia Minor and took
prisoner the Emperor Diogenes Roman us. The story is
told that when Romanus, who had fought heroically, was
brought to Alp Arslan he was asked what treatment he
expected. He replied
either death or to be paraded
1
So called from Kumlur in the Turshiz district.