How Cæsar wrote a Letter to Khusrau Parwíz, sent Gifts, and asked for the Cross of Christ

Now Cæsar, when the letter reached him, saw
The superscription of Khusrau Parwíz,
And bade to blow the trumpet at his gate;
The realm resounded. They adorned the wastes
And ways in honour of Shírwí the son
Ot Sháh Khusrau Parwíz; the voice of minstrels
Rose from the state of Rúm from end to end.
Folk went with many Crosses to the court,
The scent of roses and sweet perfumes rose.
Thus for seven days they joyed with harp and wine

O'er prince Shírwí while Cæsar on the eighth
Bade drivers with their caravans attend.
He loaded up with drachms a hundred camels,
And fifty with dínárs by way of largess,
Two hundred with gold-woven brocade of Rúm,
Thou wouldst have said: “The fabric is all gold,”
With forty golden tables made with feet
Of coral, fitting for the use of kings,
With gold and silver effigies of beasts
With gems for eyes,* with robes of beaver-skins,
With silk from Chín, and with a golden laver
Adorned with emeralds. He sent Maryam
A peacock made of gold, and many gems.
He sent as tribute also forty million
Dínárs of Rúm with forty watchful Rúmans
To guard it led by Khánagí—a man
Unmatched in wisdom. Thus with cameleers
Ten caravans went laden with dínárs.
When tidings reached the conquering Sháh: “An envoy
From Cæsar draweth nigh,” he bade Farrukh,
A loyal marchlord, ruler of Nímrúz,
High-born, a warrior, and the army's Lustre,
To mount. With him went horsemen of the Sháh
With golden helms. When Khánagí descried
Those troops afar he boldly rode ahead
Until they reached the Sháh and that famed court.
On seeing his fair face and splendid throne
All louted to the ground and homaged him.
Then Khánagí, his face in dust, exclaimed:—
“O lord of justice, holy man! may God,
The All-conquering, bless thee, mayst thou ever be
The Sháh and glad.”

The chiefs arose and made

Room for him near the Sháh to whom he said:—
“Whose wisdom is like thine? Thou art more bright
Than Sol in heaven, more lasting than the soul
Of eloquence. May this world never lack
A king like thee, and may time bear him fruit.
May none behold the day whereon thy will
Is frustrate; be thy name writ on the sun.
May this world never lack thy head and crown,
This land thy host. From Cæsar salutation,
From us praise to this famous king of earth.

May all be dark to one that joyeth not,
In his alliance. We have come from Rúm
With gifts and tribute to this famous land,
Come with philosophers withal lest any
Should feel aggrieved at us. Let him accept
From Cæsar goods and tribute and moreover
His blessing.”

Smiled the Sháh upon that man

Of worship and they set for him a seat.
Khusrau Parwíz sent to the treasury
The gifts and said to him: “There needed not
Such pains;” then to Kharrád, son of Barzín:—
“Read out this letter to the company.”
The scribe, an eloquent and heedful man,
Scanned the address and said: “'Tis ‘to the great,
Exalt Khusrau Parwíz, that man of God,
The watchful ruler of a lovely land,
Whose crown and wisdom are God's gifts to him,
The world-lord and the son of Sháh Hurmuzd,
The glory of the crown and throne, from Cæsar,
The father of the mother of the prince
Of lion-name,* and may his fame and power
Endure. Be his height, Grace, and victory,
And may his days be all a New Year's Day.
May he rule o'er Írán and o'er Túrán,
In sovereignty without competitor,
For ever glad in heart and bright in soul,
For ever old in wit and young in fortune.
The noble monarchy of Gaiúmart,
The offspring of Húshang and Tahmúras,
Sire after sire, son after son, God grant
The stock ne'er fail. May holy God bless these,
The Mighty both in kingship and in Faith.
No horseman and no Spring is like to thee,
Like thee there is no picture in the halls;
Thou hast all manliness and uprightness,
And may thy spirit look not on defeat.
In all Írán, Túrán, and Hindústán
From Turkistán to Rúm, the sorcerers' land,
God hath giv'n thee high birth with purity:
No holy mother e'er bare such a son.
When Farídún gave to Íraj Írán,
And took supremacy from Rúm and Chín,
* He from the first acclaimed Íraj and purged
His heart from guile and gloom. Thou hast no want,
Thy fortune prospereth, and thou wouldst say
That God bestoweth majesty and charm
And manhood upon thee and robbeth others
Of their renown for manliness. As patrons
Of virtue, noble, bountiful, no member
Of their race e'er saw trouble. Tax and tribute
They laid on foes, and their ill-wishers bare,
As oxen do, their burdens. Since the days

Of Núshírwán (may wisdom make him young
For evermore!), whose peer hath never been,
And ne'er will be, as Sháh—the prudent king
By whom was reared a bulwark from the deep,
* So that they freed the whole wood of Nárwan
From Turkmans and the folk reposed, so freed
A vast expanse from enemies amid
The benisons of lords and underlings,
While Arabs, Indians, and Íránians
Girt up their loins before him—from the sea
Of Chín up to the land of the Khazars,
And from Armenia to the Eastern* gate,
The nobles of Haitál, Chách, Turkistán,
And Samarkand, although possessed of crowns,
Of Grace and splendour, all have been your lieges
Admittedly because the Sháhs were sprung
From Farídún and others had no right.
By this affinity that I have now
Contracted with thee, and increased thereby
My greatness by my wisdom, I rejoice
As those athirst, or herbs sun-parched, at water.
Let the shrewd world-lord make me glorious,
And answer me this day. I ask the king
To grant a wish of mine. It is a matter
Of no account to him. Among thy treasures
There is the Cross of Christ: observe and ye
Will find it so. It hath been there for long.
Now let the Sháh restore it and so doing
Confer a favour on us great and small;
Then all the world will bless him, saying thus:—
‘Let time and earth without him be no more.’
'Twill be a favour to me; I will pray
All day and three fourths of the night for him.
Let him accept the tribute, toll, and gifts
Sent by me to his folk, and in return
I will accept the Cross by way of thanks.
Ne'er may the wicked look upon thy face!
Our feasts and ritual will prove glorious,
Our Faith become resplendent in the world,
As will our holy day, our Sunday, God
Will everywhere be worshipped, and the sad
Will kiss the Cross and burn thereto much incense.
That time will be delightful to my heart,
For ye will purge your hearts of all the vengeance
That hath come down to us from Farídún,
And privily possessed both Salm and Túr;
Our realm will rest from forays and all feuds.
Our wives and children have been carried off,
In every way our hearts have been distressed,
But our affinity hath calmed the world,
And all insensate passions are appeased.
May the Creator bless thee and thy land.”
The Sháh heard Cæsar's letter to the end
With secret joy; the days of mighty kings
Had been restored in him. He gave great praise
To Khánagí and said: “Be thou no more
A stranger.”

They made ready for that worthy,

That man both shrewd and brave, as dwelling-place
Two halls delightsome, and provided him
With all things needful. Khánagí first viewed
The appointed dwelling, then rejoined the Sháh,
And companied that worshipper of God
At feast and entertainment, wine and chase.
On this wise with the Sháh a month they spent
In all good fellowship and much content.