batch.motif.sufi-omar-khayyam-sufistic-quatrains-gutenberg-l10912-l11004
---
record_id: batch.motif.sufi-omar-khayyam-sufistic-quatrains-gutenberg-l10912-l11004
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
passage_locator:
label: QUATRAINS OF OMAR KHAYYAM / QUATRAINS OF OMAR KHAYYAM / MONSIEUR J.B. NICOLAS
/ THE QUATRAINS OF KHAYYAM; lines 10912-11004
start: '10912'
end: '11004'
translation: The Sufistic Quatrains of Omar Khayyam
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: Nizam-el-Moulk, at the height of power, is approached by Khayyam and Hassan-Sebbah,
who recall a prior contract among the three. Khayyam asks only for the revenues
of his native village so he may live as a Sufi, write poetry, and contemplate
the Creator; Hassan asks for a court position. Nizam grants both requests. Hassan
then gains royal favor and tries to supplant Nizam by accusing him of neglecting
the royal finances. Alp-Arslan orders an accounting. Hassan obtains charge of
the financial archives and claims he can complete the account in forty days. Nizam
counters by using money and a trusted favorite to win over Hassan's confidant.
On the appointed day, the favorite gains access to Hassan's bundle of financial
leaflets and disrupts their order before the official presentation.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Nizam-el-Moulk's two friends come to remind him of a contract previously concluded
among them.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Khayyam asks for the revenues of his native village and describes himself
as a Sufi who is not ambitious.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Khayyam says he wants to live under his paternal roof, away from worldly fetters,
to cultivate poetry and contemplate the works of the Creator.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Hassan-Sebbah asks Nizam-el-Moulk for a place at Court.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The minister grants the requests; Khayyam returns to his village and becomes
its chief, while Hassan-Sebbah takes his place at Court.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Hassan-Sebbah gains favor with the monarch and then works to overturn and
supplant Nizam-el-Moulk.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: Hassan-Sebbah tells Alp-Arslan that the royal finances are in poor condition
because Nizam-el-Moulk has neglected tax collection and accounting.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: Alp-Arslan summons Nizam-el-Moulk before dignitaries and asks for a full account
of uncollected taxes and the finances of state.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: Nizam-el-Moulk asks for six months to prepare the financial account.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: Hassan-Sebbah argues that the requested delay proves the minister's incapacity
and offers to finish the work in forty days.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: Alp-Arslan orders the financial archives and administrative details to be
placed at Hassan-Sebbah's disposal.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:12
text: Nizam-el-Moulk responds by giving large sums of money to a faithful favorite
for use in a plan against Hassan-Sebbah.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:13
text: The favorite uses the money to gain the confidence of Hassan-Sebbah's confidant
and report information to Nizam-el-Moulk.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:14
text: On the appointed day, Nizam-el-Moulk gives the favorite final instructions
intended to confuse Hassan-Sebbah.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:15
text: Hassan-Sebbah's confidant hands over the defter, described as a bundle of
detached leaflets forming the record.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:16
text: The favorite disorders the leaves of the defter in a brief moment, as Nizam-el-Moulk
had instructed.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:17
text: Alp-Arslan later receives ministers and officers in grand audience for Hassan-Sebbah's
solemn presentation of the financial accounting.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Nizam-el-Moulk
description: A minister at the height of power who grants the requests of Khayyam
and Hassan-Sebbah, is challenged over state finances, and arranges a counter-scheme
against Hassan-Sebbah.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:9
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Khayyam
description: One of Nizam-el-Moulk's two friends; he asks for village revenues,
identifies himself as a Sufi, and returns to his village as chief.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Hassan-Sebbah
description: One of Nizam-el-Moulk's two friends; he asks for a court position,
gains favor with the monarch, accuses Nizam over finances, and prepares a forty-day
accounting.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:10
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Alp-Arslan
description: The prince or monarch who hears Hassan-Sebbah's accusations, questions
Nizam-el-Moulk, gives Hassan charge of the financial records, and receives the
official audience.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:11
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Hassan-Sebbah's confidant
description: A weak and interested confidant entrusted with Hassan-Sebbah's work;
he is won over with gifts and hands the defter to Nizam-el-Moulk's favorite.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:10
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Nizam-el-Moulk's favorite
description: A faithful and adroit servitor who uses money to gain the confidant's
trust, gathers information, and disorders the leaves of the defter.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
roles:
- id: role:1
label: minister and benefactor
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Nizam-el-Moulk holds ministerial power, grants the requests of his two friends,
and is described as Hassan-Sebbah's benefactor.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:2
label: Sufi poet seeking withdrawal
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Khayyam identifies himself as a Sufi, rejects ambition, and asks for support
to live away from worldly fetters while writing poetry and contemplating the Creator.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: court aspirant
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Hassan-Sebbah asks for a place at Court and then gains the monarch's favor.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: ambitious antagonist
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The passage describes Hassan-Sebbah as envious and says he works to overturn
and supplant Nizam-el-Moulk.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: ruler and judge of administrative competence
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Alp-Arslan hears accusations, demands an accounting from Nizam-el-Moulk,
and transfers the financial archives to Hassan-Sebbah for the task.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:6
label: counter-schemer
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Nizam-el-Moulk plans to frustrate Hassan-Sebbah's projects by using money
and a trusted favorite.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:9
- id: role:7
label: corruptible intermediary
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The confidant is described as weak, interested, and susceptible to gifts;
he gives access to the defter.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:10
- id: role:8
label: faithful agent
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The favorite is described as faithful, safe, and adroit, and he carries out
Nizam-el-Moulk's instructions against the defter.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:10
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: contract among friends
literal_form: A prior contract recalled by Khayyam and Hassan-Sebbah before Nizam-el-Moulk.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: native village and paternal roof
literal_form: Khayyam's native village and paternal roof, requested as the place
for poetic and contemplative life.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: Court
literal_form: The royal Court, where Hassan-Sebbah asks to be placed and later gains
influence.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:4
label: financial archives
literal_form: Archives of the finances, moustofis, and administrative details placed
at Hassan-Sebbah's disposal.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:5
label: money and gifts
literal_form: Large sums of money and gifts used to gain the confidant's cooperation.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: sym:6
label: defter of detached leaves
literal_form: A bundle of detached leaflets forming Hassan-Sebbah's financial record,
whose leaves are disordered.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: sym:7
label: grand audience
literal_form: The official royal audience at which the financial accounting is to
be presented.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Friends recall a contract and make requests
summary: At the height of Nizam-el-Moulk's power, Khayyam and Hassan-Sebbah recall
a prior contract. Khayyam requests village revenues for a Sufi, poetic, contemplative
life; Hassan requests a court position.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:2
label: Hassan-Sebbah rises at court and attacks Nizam-el-Moulk
summary: After receiving a court post, Hassan-Sebbah gains favor with the monarch
and moves to supplant Nizam-el-Moulk by alleging failures in royal finances and
tax accounting.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:3
label: The ruler orders a financial accounting
summary: Alp-Arslan questions Nizam-el-Moulk before dignitaries. Nizam asks for
six months; Hassan-Sebbah claims he can complete the account in forty days and
receives access to the financial archives.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:4
label: Nizam-el-Moulk arranges a counter-plan
summary: Nizam-el-Moulk recognizes the danger, uses large sums of money through
a faithful favorite, and gains information from Hassan-Sebbah's confidant.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: scene:5
label: The defter is disordered before presentation
summary: On the appointed day, Nizam-el-Moulk's favorite obtains the defter from
Hassan-Sebbah's confidant and disrupts the order of its detached leaves before
the official audience.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:11
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Contractual favor exchange among companions
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: The plot begins when two friends recall an earlier contract, make requests
of Nizam-el-Moulk, and receive what they ask for.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage presents a social-political contract rather than an explicitly
sacred exchange; the taxonomy reference is approximate.
- id: motif:2
label: Withdrawal from worldly entanglement for contemplative life
taxonomy_refs:
- mystical_quest
basis: Khayyam asks only for village revenues so he may live away from worldly fetters,
cultivate poetry, and contemplate the Creator.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage describes an expressed ideal of Sufi withdrawal, not a developed
quest narrative.
- id: motif:3
label: Ambitious courtier betrays benefactor
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Hassan-Sebbah receives aid from Nizam-el-Moulk, rises at court, and then
seeks to overturn and supplant him by accusing him before the ruler.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: No available taxonomy reference directly matches courtly betrayal.
- id: motif:4
label: Scheme answered by counter-scheme through a corrupted intermediary
taxonomy_refs:
- trickster_boundary
basis: Nizam-el-Moulk counters Hassan-Sebbah's administrative challenge by using
money and a trusted agent to gain the confidant's cooperation and disorder the
defter.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy reference is tentative; the passage features deception and
stratagem but does not identify a mythic trickster figure.
- id: motif:5
label: Disordered document ruins official presentation
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: A bundle of detached financial leaves is secretly put out of order immediately
before a royal audience for its presentation.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:11
confidence: high
cautions: This is a narrative device in a court-intrigue episode and has no direct
available taxonomy reference.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 10912-10916
quote_or_summary: Nizam-el-Moulk's two friends come to recall the contract concluded
among them, and he asks what they demand of him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 10917-10924
quote_or_summary: Khayyam asks to enjoy the revenues of his native village, says
he is a Sufi and not ambitious, and describes a desired life of poetry and contemplation
of the Creator away from worldly fetters.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 10925-10930
quote_or_summary: Hassan-Sebbah asks for a place at Court. The minister grants everything;
Khayyam returns to his village as chief, and Hassan-Sebbah takes his place at
Court.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 10930-10938
quote_or_summary: Hassan-Sebbah, described as a crafty courtier with an envious
and zealous mind, gains royal favor but seeks to overturn and supplant his benefactor
Nizam-el-Moulk.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 10939-10953
quote_or_summary: Hassan-Sebbah insinuates to Alp-Arslan that the royal finances
are poor because Nizam-el-Moulk neglected tax collection and accounting. Alp-Arslan
summons Nizam before dignitaries and asks for a full account; Nizam asks for six
months.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 10954-10966
quote_or_summary: After Nizam leaves, Hassan-Sebbah says the requested delay proves
incapacity. He offers to complete the work in forty days, and the ruler orders
the financial archives and administrative details put at his disposal.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 10967-10980
quote_or_summary: Hassan-Sebbah thinks Nizam's ruin is assured. Nizam realizes the
danger, plans to counter the scheme, and gives large sums of money to a faithful
favorite, relying on the corruptibility of Hassan's confidant.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 10981-10989
quote_or_summary: The minister's favorite uses the money to win the good graces
of Hassan-Sebbah's weak and interested confidant, gaining information for Nizam
before the forty-day deadline.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 10990-10996
quote_or_summary: On the appointed day, when Hassan's voluminous record is to be
presented, Nizam gives his favorite final instructions intended to throw Hassan
into confusion.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 10996-11001
quote_or_summary: The favorite asks to see the financial statement. Hassan's confidant
hands over the defter, a bundle of detached leaflets; the favorite secretly confounds
the order of the leaves and then praises Hassan and the confidant.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: lines 11002-11004
quote_or_summary: Alp-Arslan receives ministers and officers in grand audience for
the solemn presentation of Hassan-Sebbah's financial accounting.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The court-intrigue sequence, figures, and objects are explicit. Motif taxonomy
links are limited because the passage is biographical-narrative and only partly
overlaps the supplied motif families.
reviewer_status:
status: needs_review
reviewer: ''
reviewed_at: ''
notes: Machine-generated draft from OpenAI Batch; not human-reviewed.
extracted_by: openai_batch:gpt-5.5
extracted_at: '2026-04-28'
notes: |-
No comparison claims were added because the passage itself does not make or directly support a comparison to another named tradition, text, or motif family beyond internal candidate motif classification.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:sufi-omar-khayyam-sufistic-quatrains-gutenberg__l10912-l11004
passage_sha256=35c4fa6b69c3418c4389df22ec04762b91003293d4cd9909ef46c0f60cf7d070