Modern Hiftory: BEING A CONTINUATION OF THE Univerfal History. BOOK I. CHA P. II. The Hiftory of the Arabs to the taking of Baghdâd by the Tartars. W SECT. XLIII. HEN the Khalif Al Râdi expired, Yahcam, then Al MotEmir Al Omra, was at Cûfa; and, upon his re- taki fucceiving advice of that prince's death, he imme- ceeds AL diately difpatched one of his fecretaries to Bagh- Râdi in dâd, with orders to Abu'l Kafem Soliman, the nominal Vifir, the Khato convoke the defcendants of Ali, the judges, the houfe lifat. of Al Abbas, and all the principal officers of the empire, to elect a new Khalif. They had not been long affembled, before they pitched upon Ibrahim Abu'l Ishak Ebn Al Moktader, furnamed afterwards Al Mottaki, or Al Mottaki Bi'llah, whom they unanimoufly faluted emperor of the Moflems. Al Mottaki, after his inauguration, fent a fumptuous veft and a banner, or standard, to Yahcam at Wâfet, and continued him in the fublime poft of Emir Al Omrâ. He alfo confirmed Abu'l Kafem Soliman, on whom that poft had been conferred by his predeceffor, before his death, in the office of Vifir, though he had then not the leaft authority in the ftate; the empire being abfolutely governed by Yahcam's principal M. HIST. VOL, III. Ms. fecre A fecretary, Abu Abdallah, who was a native of Cufa. Salama Al Tolini was made the Hajeb, or chamberlain, by Al Mottaki, at the recommendation of Yahcam. The new Khalif, whofe mother's name was Halût, or Halúta, was proclaimed the 17th of the former Rabî; and, on the 20th of the fame. month, the grandees of the empire took the oath of allegiance to him. 'Tis remarkable, that Al Makîn, if we can depend upon Erpenius's edition of that author, calls this Khalif Al Moktafi; though he is named Al Motaki, or Al Mottaki, by Abu'l-Faraj, Ebn Shobnah, Khondemir, and other oriental hiftorians 2. THIS year, Mahcân Ebn Mâli, Ma'hcân Ebn Mâli, or Macan Ebn Cali, as he is called by the learned M. Reifke, in his Latin verfion of part of Abu'lfeda's Chronicon, was driven out of Forjan, of which he had taken poffeffion fome time before, by Abu Ali Ebn Mohammed Ebn Modhaffer Ebn Al Mohtaj, one of Al Emir Sa'id Nafr Ebn Ahmed Al Sammâni's generals. This Mahcân, Ma'hean, or Macan, according to fome of the oriental writers, was king, or prince, of Deylam, and received an overthrow from Nafr, who made war upon him; but whether or no this was the defeat hinted at by Abulfeda, in the place here referred to, we cannot take upon us to determine. Be that, however, as it will, Mahcân, finding himself obliged to abandon Jorján, retired into Tabreftan, and from thence marched at the head of his forces to join Wapmakin, whom Abu Ali, after his late victory, was then advancing against with a powerful army, in order to expel him from Ray, and the diftrict appertaining to it. After the junction of thefe two Deylamite princes, they moved against Abu Ali with all their forces, and gave him battle; but were overthrown with very great flaughter, and loft the most confiderable part of their troops, the reft being fo intirely difperfed, that they could never afterwards be rallied. As for Mahcân Ebn Máli himself, he was killed in the action; having been shot through the head by an arrow, that pierced his helmet, and laid him dead upon the spot. After this defeat, Wafhmakin fled into Tabreftân, and left Ray to the mercy of the victor; which immediately fubmitted to him, the place at that time not being in any pofture of defence. The victory gained on this occafion was very glorious to the arms of Al Emir Sa'id Nafr Ebn Ahmed Al Sammâni, and enabled Abu Ali Ebn Mohammed to annex a large extent of territory to the dominions of that prince. a AL MAKIN, ubi fup. p. 209, 210. GREG. ABU'L-FARAJ, ubi fup. p. 304. EBN SHOHNAH, KHONDEMIR, ISM. ABU'LFED, &C. Vide etiam Jo. JAC. REISKE, in Abu'lfed. annal. Moflemic. &c. p. 261, 262. Lipfiæ, 1754. bISM. ABU'LFED. in chron. ad THE ann. Hej. 329. THE fame year, that is, the 329th of the Hejra, a party Yahcam of Gurds, according to Abu'l-Faraj, affaffinated Yahcam, as he is assassi was hunting on the banks of the Jaur, the 24th of the month nated by a Rajeb, after he had poffeffed the charge of Emir Al Omra two party of years, eight months, and nine days. Of this unexpected event Curds. Abu'lfeda has handed down to us the following particulars. Yahcam, or, as he is called in the Leyden MS. of that author's Chronicon, Bahcam, having fent a body of troops from Wafet to reduce Abu Abdallah, or, as he is denominated in this MS., Obeid'allah, Al Barîdi, fet out from that city, to take the command of these troops upon him. But he was met upon the road by an exprefs, who informed him, that his forces had already proved fuperior to the enemy, and obliged Al Baridi to betake himself to flight. Upon this, Yahcam directed his course towards the banks of the Faur, or, as it is named in the above-mentioned MS. of Abu'lfeda, the Khûr, or Khaur, hunting through all the tract he traversed. Being arrived near the faur, he made an incurfion, with a small party, into a diftrict bordering upon that river, inhabited by a rich and numerous tribe of Curds, in order to pillage them. Having furprised this people, who by no means expected fuch a vifit, he killed feveral of them, and dispersed many of the reft. However, a young Curd, obferving the barbarity and rapacity of this plunderer, whom he did not know to be Yahcam, made directly at him, and ran him through with his lance; upon which, he fell inftantly to the ground, and foon after expired. The Khalif, receiving advice of what had happened to Yahcam, immediately took poffeffion of his palace, where he found immenfe treasures, buried under ground; all which he feized, and gave orders to have them expended in the fervice of the ftate. He also found there the rich tapestry, and other valuable furniture, of which Yahcam had caused the imperial palace to be ftript, immediately before the elevation of Al Mottaki to the Moflem throne. After Yahcam's death, the Khalif conferred the poft of Emir Al Omrâ upon Cûrtakîn the Deylamite; but not being pleased with his conduct, he soon difmiffed him, and appointed Abu Becr Mohammed Ebn Râyek,who came from his refidence in Syria to Baghdad for that purpose, to fucceed him. Before the difmiffion of Cúrtakin, Abu Abdallah Al Baridi, prince of the city of Bafra, and its dependencies, who had poffeffed himself of those territories and Ahwaz in the Khalifat of, Al Râdi, and had been lately defeated by Yahcam, afpired to the dignity of generaliffimo of the Khalif's forces, entered Baghdad, and demanded of Al Mottaki the fum of five hundred thoufand dinars, to diftribute amongst his troops. With this demand the Khalif was at laft obliged to comply But Al Baridi having got the money into his comp A 2 hands, hands, refused to beftow any part of it upon the foldiery; who thereupon mutinied for their pay, drove him, his brother, fon, and many of his attendants, out of Baghdad, and forced them all to go by water to Wafet. About this time, fo grievous a famine raged in feveral parts of Sicily, that many of the towns and villages of that fruitful ifland were thereby intirely depopulated. Nay, we are told, that parents were fo preffed with hunger on this melancholy occafion, that they were obliged to feed upon their own children, in order to preferve themfelves alive. The Khalif of Kairwân's forces, under the command of Khalil, made themselves mafters of Calata BelLotta and Gergenti, in Sicily, before the clofe of the present year. The latter of thofe cities had been befieged about four years by the Magrebian troops. Soon after it had furrendered, Khalil fent a confiderable number of its inhabitants, who had been the most active in the late revolt, prifoners to Africa; but before they had reached the African coast, the ship, in obedience to a private order Khalil had received from Al Kayem, was funk, and all the wretches on board it drowned. It may not be improper to remark, that Yahcam's (A) fucceffor is named Cúrtakin, or Kúrtakîn, in (A) We muft beg leave to obferve here, that the different pofitions, and omiflions, of the diacritical points, in the Arabic proper names, as they appear in different manufcripts, render it difficult to determine of what letters fuch proper names were originally formed. Thus, for example, the word Yahcam, in the MSS. of Al Makin and Abu'lFaraj, is written Bahcam, in the Leyden MS. of Abu'lfeda's Chronicon, or general history, as may be inferred from the learned M. Reifke's Latin (1) verfion of part of that celebrated piece. So Al Akhfbid's fon is denominated, in one or (2) both the MSS. of Abu'l Faraj, followed by Dr. Pocock, Abu faur, or Abu Jawr; in that of Al Makin, tranflated into Latin by Erpenius, and publifhed by Golius, Abu Hûr, or Abu Dr. Hawr; and, in the Leyden MS. of Abu'lfeda's Chronicon, Anûjûr, as we learn from (3) M. Reifke. To mention only one proper name more, though many might be offered, the fame Emir AlOmra is called, in the above-mentioned MS, or MSS. of Abu'l-Faroj, Túzûn; in that of Al Makin, Bûzún; and, in the Leyden MS. of Abu'lfeda's general hifiory, according to (4) M. Reifke, Türün. All which orthographical differences arise from the different pofitions, and an omiffion of fome of the diacritical points. For, in the firft inftance, the fame character, only a little diverfified by the diacritical points, forms the Arabic letters Ya and Ba, or Y and B; in the fecond, Ba and Nun, Hha and Gim, or rather fim, that is, B and N, Hand 7, are reprefented by the (1) Abulfed, annal. Moflem. Latin. ex Arab. falt. à Jo. Jac. Reifke, p. 262. Liphe, 3754. (2) Edv. Poc. præf. ad lector. p. 5. fub fin. Far. Reifke, ubi fup. p. 2,0. (4) Id. ibid. p. 264. & in præfat. p (3) J. Name |