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34
by the voice of these Ulamas (the learned). The
Turks tried in vain to satisfy the Ulama's that
the alliance with Russia was dictated by
necessity, and that Ashraff had placed himself
in the position of an enemy by refusing to
acknowledge the supremacy of the Turkish
Emperor as the religious head of all the Muslims.
They asserted that if Ashraff was a true Muslim,
he should come forward and tender his allegiance
to the Porte.
Soon after the Afghan deputies left Con-
stantinople, hostilities began. Ahmad Pasha,
who by now had made himself master of
Maragha and Kazwin, advanced towards Isfahan.
When Ashraff learnt that in spite of his protests
a large Turkish army was heading towards
Isfahan, he laid waste the country through which
the Turks were advancing. Then collecting all
the forces that he could command, he moved in
that direction with the avowed object of impeding
their progress. A detachment of 2,000 Turks,
who had lost its way, came face to face with the
main Afghan force, led by Ashraff himself. The
Turks were all cut to pieces before any substantial
help could reach them. This success gave
Roughly two thirds of characters agree with a modern printed edition of the same text. Much of the disagreement is editorial, not misreading. Treat the transcription as a finding aid and read the page image before quoting. How this was measured.