Al-Baihaki, the chronicler of the court at Bagdad, shows us that the zeal for the faith was often accompanied by a reckless disregard for the law of Islam as regards the use of fermented liquor. Not only the soldiers and their officers had drunken brawls, but the Sultan Mas ud used to enjoy regular bouts in which he frequently saw his fellow topers " under the table." Here is a scene repre
sented as having taken place at Ghazni, the capital
of Khorasan province. " Fifty goblets and flagons
of wine were brought from the pavilion into the
garden, and the cups began to go round. Fair
measure/ said the amir, and equal cups let us
drink fair/ They grew merry and the minstrels
sang. One of the courtiers had finished five tank
ards each held nearly a pint of wine but the
sixth confused him, the seventh bereft him of his
senses, and at the eighth he was consigned to his
servants. The doctor was carried off at his fifth
cup; Khalil Dawud managed ten, Siyabiruz nine,
and then they were taken home; everybody rolled
or was rolled away, till only the Sultan and the
Khwaja Abd-ar-Razzak remained. The Khwaja
finished eighteen goblets and then rose, saying,
If your slave has any more he will lose both his
wits and his respect for your Majesty. Mas ud went on alone, and after he had drunk twenty-seven full cups, he too arose, called for water and
prayer-carpet, washed, and recited the belated noon
and sunset prayers together as soberly as if he had
