the continuance of worldly prosperity and dominion, and the permanence of authority and rule depend upon the assistance given to truth and righteousness and the extirpation of the evils caused by idolatry and unbelief from the earth, in the expectation of blessing and reward, we, therefore, hope that your Majesty and the nobles of your realm will agree with us in these matters and join us in strengthening the foundations of the established law.” The other letter, written in Persian, makes a more direct appeal, without the rhetorical embellishments of the Arabic:—“The Most High God, having in the depth of His wisdom and the perfection of His power created Adam (peace be upon him!), made some of his sons prophets and apostles and sent them among men to summon them to the truth. To certain of these prophets, such as Abraham, Moses, David and Muḥammad (peace be upon them!) He gave a book and taught a law, and He bade the people of their time follow the law and the religion of each of them. All these apostles invited men to faith in the unity and to the worship of God and forbade the adoration of the sun, moon and stars, of kings and idols; and though each one of these apostles had a separate law, yet they were all agreed in the doctrine of the unity of the Most High God. At length, when the apostolic and prophetic office devolved on the Apostle Muḥammad Muṣṭafạ̄ (the peace and blessing of God be upon him!) all other systems of law were abrogated. He was the apostle and the prophet of the latter age, and it behoves the whole world—lords and kings and ministers, rich and poor, small and great,—to observe his law and forsake all past creeds and laws. This is the true and perfect faith and is called Islam. Some years ago, Chingīz Khān took up arms and sent his sons into various countries and kingdoms—Jūjī Khān to the confines of Sarāy, Qrim and Dasht Qafchāq, where some monarchs, such as Ūzbek Khān, Chānī Khān and Urus Khān, became Musalmans and observed the law of Muḥammad (peace be upon him!). Hūlāgū Khān was set over Khurāsān, ʻIrāq and the neighbouring countries, and some of his sons who succeeded him received into their hearts the light of the law of Muḥammad (peace be upon him!), and in like manner became Musalmans, and honoured with the blessedness of Islam passed into the other world, such as the truthful king, Ghāzān, and Uljāytū Sulṭān and the fortunate king, Abū Saʻīd Bahādur, until my honoured father, Amīr Tīmūr Gūrgān, succeeded to the throne. He too observed the law of Muḥammad (peace be upon him!) in all the countries under his rule, and throughout his reign the followers of the faith of Islam enjoyed complete prosperity. Now that by the goodness and favour of God this Kingdom of Khurāsān, ʻIrāq, Mā-warāʼ-al-nahr, etc., has passed into my hands, the administration is carried on throughout the whole kingdom in accordance with the pure law of the Prophet; righteousness is enjoined and wrong