assuaged when he recalled what the philosopher had said. Those who
have read the story of the ring known as the Isma'ili, would wonder why
Ayarun was unable to have the crystal piece brought out of the water, although he had at his beck and command expert engineers and men of
craft called makhaniqunat.
Manalaus has written a book upon the weights of unknown bodies
and has described how their weights can be determined without separating them from the adulterant. He has written that Ayarun, the king of
Sicily and Rome, was presented a crown that was studded with jewels
and made with great craft. He wanted to have it weighed, but he did not
wish that it should undergo any change for the worse. Arshimidas was
able to determine how much gold it contained and how much of it was
adulterated. Arshimidas is the same person who had the ships of the invaders of an island of Barbar burnt. The same thing has been said about
an island of Persia.
Alexander saved himself from the shock which Ayarun had sustained.
He was presented a set of beautiful crystal vessels. He expressed his appreciation for them and then ordered that they should be dashed to
pieces. When he was asked why he gave this command, he said: "I knew
that each of them would break at the hands of the servants and everytime I would be furious. I, therefore, chose to sustain grief only once
and saved myself from the sorrow which I would have felt on each occasion and the servants from the whip of my fury."
Probably a similar idea passed through the mind of 'Abbadi. He was
driving an ass laden with wine goblets. Someone asked him what it contained. 'Abbadi replied: "If the ass trips over, there will be nothing."
Ya'qub bin Layth went a step ahead and said something even better.
He attacked Nishapur and having had Muhammad bin Tahir, the ruler of
Khurasan, arrested sans his trousers, he made the latter make a round of
his treasures, asking for the details of each item. He told Ya'qub about
each item till they both reached the room where rare pieces were kept.
Muhammad told Ya'qub the cost of crystal vessels and uncut quartz
pieces. Ya'qub ordered all these pieces to be broken and then sent for
his own cup, from which he quaffed water. It was made of isped-ruyah
(brass) and was as thick as the little finger of the hand. Having drunk his
drink of water, he dashed it to the ground. The cup clanged and rolled.
Then he addressed Muhammad bin Tahir as follows: "O son of an
adulteress! What didst thou gain by lavishing money on all these vessels?
I have drunk water without them. Had thou not better collect people
through thy wealth, people who could stave me off?" He had Muhammad
imprisoned in a trunk and took him to 'Iraq where he kept him till he
was fainally defeated by Muwaffaq, the 'Abbasid.
When we consider the character of Ya'qub bin Layth, we find that
