He told Turkhán:—
“Exalted chief! speed forth with troops for fight.
Take thou ten thousand of the garrison,
All men of name and battle-loving swordsmen,
Discover who are our antagonists,
And why it is that they attack us thus.”
Turkhán, the chief, with an interpreter
Went in all haste to that side of the hold.
He saw a host equipped with arms and armour,
Their flag a leopard on a sable ground.
The words distressed the heart of king Arjásp,
Because the old feud had revived again.
He gave the Turkmans orders: “Go ye forth
Upon the plain in mass, surround the foe,
The soldiers marched away
With wounded hearts and eager for the fray.