[270]. From Davies’ version.
[271]. From Gladwin’s Translation.
[272]. A.D. 1388.
[273]. It is claimed that he used ninety thousand human heads in erecting pyramids to illustrate his horrible triumph.
[274]. Timur was also of Mongol origin, and a descendant of Genghis Khan.
[275]. Khizer was the prophet who, according to Oriental tradition, discovered and drank of the Fountain of Life, and it was he who bore the nectar to the waiting poet.
[276]. Most of the Asiatic poets are Sufis, and claim to prefer the meditations of mysticism to the pleasures of the world. Their fundamental tenets are that nothing exists, absolutely, except God, and that the human soul is an emanation from his essence, and will finally be restored to him.
[277]. Sidrah—Tree of Paradise.
[278]. Bichnel’s Trans.
[279]. Finished about A.D. 1575.