The Kankali Turks and the Kipchaks had been closely connected with the reigning Kwaresmian family by marriages; because of this fact, Jinghis Khan had attacked both those peoples inflexibly, and Jelal now sought their friendship with growing endeavor. After his Ispahan failure the Sultan sent to get men and aid from the Kankalis. They agreed, as it seems, with much readiness to give them. Kur Khan, one of their leaders, embarked with three hundred men on the Caspian and passed the next winter with the Sultan on the plain of Mughan, a rich pasture land in that season. It was decided that Jelal was to gain the strong fort at Derbend with its one narrow pass and retain it. By this pass alone could large armies go south of the Caucasus from Kipchak. A force of fifty thousand from the north was to aid in securing this road near the sea, while Jelal was to give the prince ruling Derbend other fiefs in payment for it. The plan failed, however. Jelal secured now the district Gushtasfi between the rivers Kur (Cyrus) and Araxes. This land was a part of the Shirvan Shah’s kingdom, and he had given it to his son Jelal ud din Sultan Shah and sent him to Georgia to marry the daughter of Rusudan, the famous and beautiful queen of that country. Detained there perforce he was freed when Jelal took Tiflis and laid waste the country. Jelal claimed tribute now from the Shirvan Shah for all his possessions. This was done, since Jalal’s house had succeeded the Seljuks, to whom when in power those Shirvan Shahs had paid tribute. The unquiet ambition of Jelal had forced many people of the Caucasus to a league with the Georgians against him. An army made up from nine nations and forty thousand in number had gathered north of Arran. The Sultan marched against this army and pitched his camp at Mendur. Since his forces were greatly inferior in number to those of the enemy, Sherif ul Mulk, his vizir, advised at a council to limit all action to stopping provisions and meeting the enemy with advantage when want came. This advice enraged Jelal so seriously that he struck his vizir on the head with a writing case. “They are mere sheep; would a lion be troubled by the number of such weak little animals?” cried he, and he fined the vizir fifty thousand dinars for daring to offer such counsel. Next day the armies were facing each other. The Sultan, to encourage his men, gave them presents, and shared with some his best horses. From the top of a hill he saw two tumans of Kipchaks who had come to give aid to the Georgians. By an officer he sent bread and salt to those Kipchaks and told them that he had saved the lives of many of their people taken captive by his father. “Will you now raise the sword to repay me with bloodshed?” asked he.