and the patent of investiture was publicly read aloud. The amirs, meanwhile, proceeded on foot. Shortly thereafter the vizier Ibn Ḥadīdah was put to torture and his property seized; he fled, and for a time nothing was heard of him until word later reached the court that he was in Maragha.

The Armenians then raided the outskirts of Aleppo, burst into the army camp, and killed a number of soldiers. Al-Ẓāhir hurried out, advanced on Ibn Levon, and the latter fled to his strongholds.

Khwarazm-Shah surrendered the town of Termez to the Khitans as a ruse so that he might more easily take possession of Khurasan.

That same year a ram was found in Irbil whose face resembled that of a human being.

Īdighmish, the lord of Rayy, set out and captured five Ismaʿili fortresses; he resolved to seize Alamut and uproot them altogether, while Khurasan was awash with warfare.

Year 604 AH: Khwarazm-Shah marched against the Khitans with an immense army. The two sides met in several engagements; the Muslims were routed, many were killed, and the sultan himself, together with one of his amirs, was taken prisoner. The sultan pretended to be the amir’s mamluk, so their captor continued to honour the amir.

The amir said to the Khitan, “Impose a ransom on me and allow my mamluk here to go and fetch the money.” The Khitan was duped, released the mamluk, and sent escorts with him to Khwarazm. Thus the sultan escaped, the stratagem succeeded, and the realm burst into celebration.

Later the Khitan said to that amir, “Your sultan is lost.”

The amir asked, “Do you not recognise him?”

“No,” he replied.

“He is the mamluk who went off.”

The Khitan exclaimed, “Then lead us to serve him! Had you only told me, I myself would have served him!” (1)

By then Khwarazm-Shah Muḥammad had become exceedingly powerful: nations acknowledged his authority, and kings and provinces were under his hand.