Page:Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire vol 6 (1897).djvu/268

 246 THE DECLINE AND FALL from the sign of Aries to that of Pisces. The reign of Malek was illustrated by the Gelalcean aera ; and all errors, either past or future, were corrected by a computation of time, which sur- passes the Julian, and approaches the accuracy of the Gregorian, style.50 His death. In a pcriod when Europe was plunged in the deepest bar- barism, the light and splendour of Asia may be ascribed to the docility rather than the knowledge of the Turkish conquerors. An ample share of their wisdom and virtue is due to a Persian C^ios*- vizir, who ruled the empire under the reign of Alp Arslan and his son. Nizam, one of the most illustrious ministers of the East, was honoured by the caliph as an oracle of religion and science ; ^^ he was trusted by the sultan as the faithful vicegerent of his power and justice. After an administration of thirty years, the fame of the vizir, his wealth, and even his services, were transformed into crimes. He was overthrown by the insidious arts of a woman and a rival ; and his fall was hastened by a rash declaration that his cap and ink-horn, the badges of his office, were connected by the divine decree with the throne and diadem of the sultan. At the age of ninety- three years, the venerable statesman was dismissed by his master, accused by his enemies, and murdered by a fanatic : the last words of Nizam attested his innocence, and the remainder of Malek's life was short and inglorious. From Ispahan, the scene of this disgraceful transaction, the sultan moved to Bag- dad, with the design of transplanting the caliph, and of fixing his own residence in the capital of the Moslem world. The feeble successor of Mahomet obtained a respite of ten days ; and, before the expiration of the term, the bai-barian was summoned by the angel of death. His ambassadoi's at Constan- tinople had asked in marriage a Roman princess ; but the 5" The Gelalasan aera (Gelaleddin, Glory of the Faith, was one of the names or titles of Malek Shah) is fixed to the 15th of March, a.h. 471, A.D. 1079. Dr. Hyde has produced the original testimonies of the Persians and Arabians (de Religione veterum Persarum, c. 16, p. 200-211). [The reform of the calendar was the work of Malik's minister, Nizam al-Mulk.] 61 [Nizam has left a memorial of himself in the Siasset Nameh or " book of government," which has been published with a translation by Schefer. It throws great light on the history of the time and shows us how the Seljuks were already changing under the influence of Iranian civilisation and Islamism. In this respect it is very interesting to compare it with the Kudatker Bilik or Art of Government, a contemporary work (written c. 1069 at Kashgar) which shows the pure Turk spirit of central Asia. The comparison is drawn by Cahun {pp. cit. p. iZo. sqqX Among the Turks, for instance, women had great influence ; but in the Siasset Nameh " religion is much, woman is nothing". For a sketch of the vizierate of Nizam, see Mr. Stanley Lane-Poole's Saladin (1898), chap, i.]