Monguls. His men became rapidly thinned in number, some being killed,
and others getting separated from the main body in the confusion of
the flight, until, at last, Timur was left almost alone. At last he
was himself on the very point of being taken. There were three Monguls
closely pursuing him. He turned round and shot an arrow at the
foremost of the pursuers. The arrow struck the Mongul in the eye. The
agony which the wounded man felt was so great that the two others
stopped to assist him, and in the mean time Timur got out of the way.
In due time, and after meeting with some other hairbreadth escapes, he
reached the camp of the sultan, who received him very joyfully, loaded
him with praises for the indomitable spirit which he had evinced, and
immediately made him governor of another city.

In the mean time, some of the boats which had been abandoned by the
soldiers were got off by the men who had been left in charge of
them--one especially, which contained the family of Timur. This boat
went quietly down the river, and conveyed the family to a place of
safety.

The city of Kojend, from which Timur and his men had fled, was, of
course, now without any means of defense, and it surrendered the very
next day to the Monguls.

CHAPTER XXI.

DEATH OF THE SULTAN.

1220

Pursuit of the sultan.--The two ladies.--Character of the
queen-mother.--Khatun.--Her retirement.--Samarcand.--Fortifications
of the place.--Water-works.--Gates and towers.--Crowds of people
seeking refuge.--Encampment.--Arrival of the Monguls.--Dissensions
within the city.--A deputation.--Massacre.--Escape of the
governor.--Forlorn condition of the sultan.--The sultan sends away
his treasures.--His flight and his despondency.--Narrow escape.--Rage
of his pursuers.--Visit from his son Jalaloddin.--His dying
words.--Death and burial.--Khatun at Karazm.--Her cruelty to her
captives.--Dissension.--Khatun's escape.--Her obstinacy.--Cause of
her hatred of Jalaloddin.--The siege of the fortress.--The governor's
hopes.--Want of rain.--Great suffering.--The queen made captive.--Cruel
treatment of the queen-mother.

In the mean time, while Jughi and the other generals were ravaging the
country with their detachments, and besieging and capturing all the
secondary towns and fortresses that came in their way, as related in
the last chapter, Genghis Khan himself, with the main body of the
army, had advanced to Samarcand in pursuit of the sultan, who