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Genghis Khan. The officer advised them, too, to send out presents to
Genghis Khan as an additional means of propitiating him and inducing
him to spare the town.

The inhabitants yielded to this advice. The gates were thrown open.
All the young men who were capable of bearing arms were marshaled and
marched out to the Mongul camp. They were accompanied by the older men
among the inhabitants, who took with them the best that the town
contained, for presents. Genghis Khan accepted the presents, ordered
the young men to be enrolled in his army, and then, dismissing the
older ones in peace, he resumed his march and went on his way.

He next came to a town named Nur. One of the men from Zarnuk served as
a guide to show the detachment which was sent to summon the city a
near way to reach it. Nur was a sort of sacred town, having many holy
places in it which were resorted to by many pilgrims and other
devotees.

The people of Nur shut the gates and for some time refused to
surrender. But at last, finding that it was useless to attempt to
resist, they opened the gates and allowed the Monguls to come in.
Genghis Khan, to punish the inhabitants, as he said, for even thinking
of resisting him, set aside a supply of cattle and other provisions to
keep them from starving, and then gave up all the rest of the property
found in the town to be divided among his soldiers as plunder.

At length the army reached the great plain in which Bokhara was
situated, and encamped before the town. Bokhara was very large and
very populous, as may well be supposed from its outer wall of thirty
miles in circuit, and Genghis Khan did not expect to make himself
master of it without considerable difficulty and delay. He was,
however, very intent on besieging and taking it, not only on account
of the general wealth and importance of the place, but also because he
supposed that the sultan himself was at this time within the walls. He
had heard that the sultan had retreated there with his flying
squadron, taking with him all his treasure.

This was, however, a mistake. The sultan was not there. He had gone
there, it is true, at first, and had taken with him the most valuable
of his treasures, but before Genghis Khan arrived he had secretly
withdrawn to Samarcand, thinking that he might be safer there.

In truth, the sultan was beginning to be very much disheartened and
discouraged. Among other things which occurred to disturb his mind,
certain lett