THE poet, having offered up his praises to the Maker, goes on to tell of the wrath of Kai Khusrau with the host. Ultimately, however, at Rustam's request, he restores Tús to favour, and sends him against Túrán. Tús is again unsuccessful, and is beleaguered on a mountain. The news reaches Kai Khusrau, who dispatches Rustam with reinforcements, while Afrásiyáb sends Kámús of Kashán and the Khán of Chín with vast hosts to assist his general Pírán. Fierce fighting follows, and Kámús is slain by Rustam.

In its earlier scenes this campaign is a variant of the preceding one. In both Tús commands the Íránians and is defeated, in both the Gúdarzians suffer great losses, in both there are a snow­storm and a night-attack, and in both the Íránians take refuge on a mountain. Naturally the details vary, but the general similarity is unmistakable. Nothing but the existence of a variant can account for the fact that Tús is put in command again after his behaviour in the first campaign, and there is a legend, probably known to Firdausí, which puts a different com­plexion on the matter.*

In the poem the difficulty is got over by the intervention of Rustam, who begs the culprit off, as he does later on in the case of Gurgín.*

In the second night-attack, in which the positions of assailants and defenders are reversed, Húmán takes just the part that Gív is represented as taking on the first occasion.

If we are content to regard the account given in the poem of the latter part of this campaign merely as Firdausí has pre­sented it, perhaps we may identify the Kashán with which Kámús' name is associated as that mentioned by Tabarí*

and situated in Ferghána, which is now a province of Russian Turkistán. We ought not, however, to overlook the probability that reminiscences of the Parthian civil wars of the days of Gotarzes and Vardanes have been embodied in the story. In this case, as in that of the wars of Gushtásp and Arjásp later on, what in reality were civil broils came in time to be looked back upon as wars between Írán and Túrán. With the historical fact of the great Persian satraps ranging themselves in opposing camps before us, there seems no reason why the Kashán originally intended may not have been the one in Persia on the highroad between Ispahán and Tihrán. Firdausí's account, however, clearly favours that in Turkistán, and we must not forget that the nomads took part in the con­tention between the rival Parthian princes.*

§ 28. The story of Rustam's fight with Ashkabús is famous both on account of its own merits and for the curious legend told in connexion with it. One day, it is said, at the court of Mahmúd a discussion arose as to the merits of Firdausí as a poet, and it was arranged between his supporters and detractors in the presence of the Sultán that he should put one of the legends, of which nothing but the bare facts remained, into verse the same day, to ascertain how far his version could be considered an improvement on the original. The story chosen was that of Rustam's fight with Ashkabús of Kashán. Firdausí's rendering of the episode delighted the assembly, the lines about the string­ing and discharging of the bow especially fascinating Mahmúd, who repeated them several times and praised them highly. That night Firdausí dreamed that he met Rustam at the gate of Makná Bád. The here was on foot, fully armed, of terrible aspect, and with how in hand, just as the poet had described him. Rustam greeted the poet graciously, but wept and said: “I desire to pay my debt to thee, but have not power to do so. However, when I took the torque from the neck of the fee, and desired not to retain it, I made a hole in the ground yonder with the head of my spear, and buried the torque there. Go now and take it up.” He pointed out a little hillock on the sand, and, having placed an arrow upon his bow, shot at it. Firdausí remembered the dream and, some time afterward, happening to pass by Makná Bád in attendance on the Sultán, he made the story known. The mound was excavated, and several torques of red gold were discovered. The Sultán gave them to Firdausí, who refused to keep them for himself, and distributed them among the other court poets.*