the Bukhār Khudāh and the Arab intendant at Bukhārā, Wā_s_il b. ʿAmr. The former was mortally wounded, and succeeded by his son Qutayba, so named in honour of the conqueror. The incident is related also by Narshakhī with some additional details which profess to explain the assassination. The two narratives present such a remarkable similarity of phrase, however, even though they are in different languages, that it is rather more likely that the Persian version has elaborated the story than that _T_abarī deliberately suppressed any offensive statements, as argued by van Vloten[105]. Except for a possible second expedition to Farghāna, no other campaigns into Transoxania are recorded of Na_s_r, unless Balādhurī’s tradition (from Abū ʿUbayda) of an unsuccessful attack on Ushrūsana refers to a separate expedition. This is unlikely, and the account conflicts with that given in _T_abarī. Ushrūsana, however, was never really subdued until nearly a century later. _T_ukhāristān, if it had not already been recovered by Asad, may have made submission of its own accord. Since the defeat of the Türgesh and the flight of _H_ārith it had ceased to hold any menace to the Arabs, and Na_s_r had accordingly retransferred the capital to Merv on his appointment. The governor now turned his attention to restoring the prosperity of the country and developing a policy of co-operation with the subject peoples. Na_s_r was the first Arab ruler of Transoxania to realise that the government depended for support in the last resort on the middle classes and agriculturalists. Both these classes were of greater political importance perhaps in Transoxania, with its centuries of mercantile tradition, than any other were in the Empire. It was in the same way that in later years the _T_āhirids and Sāmānids established their ascendancy[106]. He was thus able not only to complete the work begun by Asad b. ʿAbdullah, but to settle it on more stable foundations. Shortly after his recapture of Samarqand he had sent an embassy to China. This was followed up in 126/744 by a much more elaborate embassy, obviously intended to regulate commercial relations in the most complete manner possible, in which the Arabs were accompanied by ambassadors not only from the Sogdian cities and _T_ukhāristān, but even from Zābulistān, Shāsh, and the Türgesh. Two other Arab embassies are also recorded in 745 and 747. There can be no doubt that it was not so much the justice of Na_s_r’s rule as his personal influence and honesty that reconciled the peoples of Transoxania. Even the _S_ughdian refugees, stranded after the dissolution of the Türgesh confederacy, trusted him to honour the conditions upon which they had agreed to return, and were not deceived although his concessions raised a storm of protest, and the Caliph himself was brought to confirm them only for the sake of restoring peace.