This act made all the Yomuts enemies of Mehemmed Emin; allying themselves secretly with the Tekke, they were, a little later, the cause of his death. At this time Medemin had collected a force of 40,000 horsemen, consisting of Özbegs and other tributary nomads; of these he despatched a part against the Russians, who were then approaching Khiva, and marching from the eastern shore of the Sea of Aral upon the entrenchments of Khodja Niyazbay. He proceeded with the rest of his forces to Merv, with the intention of putting an end by a decisive blow to the never-ceasing disorders amongst the Turkomans. He speedily took Karayap, and was preparing to assail Sarakhs {358} (the ancient Syrinx), when one day, whilst resting in his tent, pitched on a hill in the vicinity of Merv, [Footnote 123 ] in the very centre of his camp, he was surprised by some daring hostile horsemen, and in spite of his cry, 'Men Hazret em' (I am the Khan), his head was struck off, without any of his retinue having had time to hasten to his rescue. At the sight of the severed head, which the Turkomans sent as a present to the Shah of Persia, [Footnote 124] a panic seized his troops, who retired nevertheless in good order, and whilst on their way called to the throne Abdullah Khan. [Footnote 123: With respect to this hill we are told that it was here also that Ebu Muslim, the mighty vassal and afterwards enemy of the Kahlifs of Bagdad, met with his death.] [Footnote 124: The Shah, who had reason to dread Medemin--for after the fall of Sarakhs, he would certainly have assailed Meshed--respected the gory head of his enemy, and had a small chapel built for it before the gate (D. Dowlet). But he afterwards had it demolished because it was said that pious Shiites might mistake it for the tomb of an Imamzade, a holy Shiite, and it might so give occasion to a sinful act.] 7. _Abdullah Khan_ (1855-6).