them.1 He, however, suffered a crushing defeat, and the prince of the Kara-Khitays, after imposing tribute on his vanquished enemies, returned to Kāshghar, which now became his capital.

Soon after his deliverance from these barbarians Kutb ed-Din died,3 and was succeeded by his son Atsiz. For many years the latter remained at the court of Merv, fulfilling the office of Grand Ewer-bearer to Sultan Sanjar; and so great was his influence with the Seljuk prince that he made himself many enemies at court, and on this account he asked permission to proceed to Khwārazm, which was then suffering from anarchy. In spite of the warnings of his ministers, Sanjar allowed Atsiz to depart. As soon as the governor reached his province he rose in open revolt against his master, who was compelled to march against his too powerful vassal. But the rebels were no match for the troops of Sanjar, who utterly defeated them.5 The province was restored to obedience, and Sulayman Shāh, Sanjar's nephew, was appointed as its governor. No sooner had Sanjar reached his capital than Atsiz, collecting the scattered remnants of his army, proceeded to attack Sulayman Shāh. This latter, with whom Sultan Sanjar had left but a had left but a few troops, deeming resistance useless, fled to his uncle, and thus the whole of Khwārazm again fell into the hands of Atsiz.

In the year A.H. 536 (1141) Ye-liu Ta-shi died with

1 Cf. De Guignes, iii. pt. ii. p. 253.

2 Some confusion exists as to whether Kåshghar or Balāsāghūn was his residence. It seems improbable that he should have changed in so short a space.

254.

3 A.H. 521 (1127).

5

A.H. 533 (1138).

Il-Kilij, the son of Atsiz, perished in the battle.

Cf. d'Herbelot, article "Atsiz"; and De Guignes, vol. ii. pt. ii. p.

out male issue, and the empire of the Kara-Khitāys fell to two princesses in succession,1 the daughter and the sister of the late ruler. It was in this year that Atsiz invited, or rather encouraged, the Kara-Khitays to push their conquests farther west into Transoxiana. Sanjar, hearing of their advance, crossed the Oxus at the head of 100,000 men to meet them.2 In the battle which ensued, in the valley of Dirgham, Sanjar met with the most crushing defeat which the Moslems had yet endured in their struggles against the infidels in the East. Sanjar himself, who had hitherto been invincible, fled to Khorāsān by way of Tirmiz, accompanied by the remnants of his huge army. Transoxiana

5

was now in the entire possession of the Kara-Khitays, and for the first time a Mohammedan community became subject to the enemies of their faith.* The Kara - Khitays, in the same year, pushed on as far as Sarakhs, Merv, and Nishāpūr, but they appear to have retired satisfied with the Oxus as their western boundary. Meanwhile Atsiz took advantage of Sanjar's fallen fortunes, and began to ravage Khorāsān. The Sultan, however, had mustered forces sufficient

1 Thus, according to Narshakhi (p. 243). The statements of historians are somewhat conflicting in this place. De Guignes, following Abulfidā, says that Ye-liu Ta-shi (whom he calls Taigir) died in 1136, when about to abandon Kashghar and return to his ancient settlements in Tartary. The Khitays then set upon the throne his infant son, Y-li, with his mother Liao-chi as queen-regent. Bretschneider has translated a Chinese work which gives a list of all the line of Kara-Khitay rulers, whose dynasty became extinct about 1203. We have not thought it necessary to reproduce a list of their names in this place. It may be mentioned, however, that Bretschneider's account does not agree with De Guignes.

'Cf. De Guignes, vol. iii. pt. i. p. 254; Muller, op. cit. vol. ii. p. 173. Rashid ud-Din tells us he had drawn auxiliaries from all parts of his dominions.

3 The Kara-Khitays were Buddhists.

Cf. Müller, loc. cit.

5A.H. 537 (1142).

to reassert his authority. He marched on the town of Khwārazm and invested it, whereon Atsiz bought him off with rich presents and assurances of good conduct in the future, A.H. 538 (1143). This truce was of short duration.

In the year A.H. 541 (1147) Sanjar again attacked Atsiz, but a permanent reconciliation was soon attained.? In A.H. 551 (1156) Atsiz died at the age of sixtyone, and was succeeded by his son Il-Arslan, with whom the independent dynasty of Khwārazm-Shāhs properly begins. Meanwhile the affairs of Sultan Sanjar were going from bad to worse, and the end of the last great Seljuk was as ignoble as his career had been glorious. Strange to say, his ultimate ruin was caused by a Turkish tribe who came of the same stock as the Seljūks themselves.

The domination of the Kara-Khitays in Transoxiana does not appear to have affected the condition of the dwellers in towns, the peaceful Tajiks, who were even allowed to appoint their own tax-collectors and other officials.4 The only classes who suffered at the hands of the invaders were the Ghuz Turks, who were nomads like the Kara-Khitays themselves, and occupied all the best pasture-grounds. They now found themselves forced to seek fresh fields. Crossing the Oxus, they obtained permission from Sanjar to settle in Khatlān, Chaghāniyān, and the environs of Balkh.5 They numbered, we are told, 40,000 families, and the tribute imposed upon them was an annual contribution to the royal kitchen of 24,000 sheep. These supplies were carried

1 Cf. De Guignes, loc. cit.; and Müller, ii. p. 174.

2 Cf. De Guignes, iii. pt. i. pp. 256, 257.

3 De Guignes (following Abulfidā) says A.H. 550 (1155).

4 Cf. Müller, op. cit. ii. 173.

5 Mirkhwand (ed. Vüllers, p. 183). Khwändamir (Habīb-us-Siyar) adds "Kunduz and Baklan" to the list.