the mind of the Khan of Kharesm, but his forces were insufficient to enable him to avenge it, and he sustained a severe defeat from the troops of the Shah.
But the results of the rebellion of the chiefs of Khorassan did not end with the discomfiture of their ally. The most powerful of these chiefs was Isaak Khan, Karai, a man who had raised himself from the lowest rank of life to the position which he now occupied. In his youth he had held the office of mace-bearer to the chief of Kara Tartar, and had been entrusted by his master with a considerable sum of money, to be expended in building a caravanserai, which he converted into a fort,[1] where he afforded shelter to all the discontented individuals of the tribe to which he was attached. In the troubled condition to which the country was reduced he had, by the exercise of courage and prudence, contrived to consolidate his rising power, and had in time attained to the foremost place amongst the proud leaders of the mailed horsemen of Khorassan. His possessions extended on the north of the gates of Meshed for the distance of a hundred miles, whilst they stretched as far to the south in the direction of Khaf. His revenue was considerable. His force included six thousand men. Whilst this extraordinary man never failed in his efforts to conciliate the good opinion of his superiors, he was dreaded and hated by his equals, and greatly beloved by his subjects, who, under his watchful sway, lived free from all oppression. This chief added to the character of a petty ruler that of a merchant prince, and under his sagacious sway, Turbat, his place of residence, rose from the condition of a village to that of a considerable city, where his
- ↑ History of Persia, by Sir J. Malcolm.
