Thereafter tidings reached the conquering Sháh:—
“A Turkman host hath marched upon Írán.
Afrásiyáb, that tyrant-miscreant,
Can neither rest nor slumber in his vengeance,
But fain would raise his head from its disgrace,
And from all sides hath sent forth troops to war;
He rubbeth poison on his lance's point,
If so he may turn rein upon Írán.

Three hundred thousand warlike cavaliers
Will cross Jíhún and thence send up the dust
In battle-time to heaven. The warriors
Can sleep not at his court for tymbal-din.
What with the blare of brass and clang of bell
Thou wouldst have said: ‘Men's hearts are in their
mouths!’
If that host cometh to Írán for battle
No lion, lusty though he be, will meet them.
Pírán is posted by Afrásiyáb
With no small army on the Íránian coasts,
While fifty thousand girded for the fight
Have marched toward the borders of Khárazm.
Their chief is Shída of the lion-heart,
Whose scimitar will pluck the core from fire.
The troops resemble maddened elephants,
Such as would level mountains in the strife.”
The monarch at the news sat full of thought,
Then said: “Ye wise! the archimages say:—
‘The Turkman moon, when heaven's height is won,
Shall meet disaster from the Íránian sun.
Strike the black snake that cometh from its bed
Toward the cudgel with uplifted head.
The king that shall unjustly plant a tree
Will lose his fortune and his sovereignty.’”
Then, having summoned all the archimages,
He laid before them that which he had heard.
The great men and the warlike sages sat
In secret with the monarch of Írán,
As Zál and Rustam, as Gúdarz and Gív,
Shídúsh, Farhád, and brave Ruhhám, Bízhan,
Ashkash and Gustaham, Gurgín and Zanga,
And Gazhdaham, great Tús, son of Naudar,
And Faríburz, blest scion of Káús,
With all the other nobles of the host,
Who were the worldlord's flock. He thus addressed
The paladins: “The Turkmans seek to war
Against my throne, so we too must prepare.”
He gave command and at his palace-gate
The trumpets blared and brazen cymbals clashed.
He went forth from the palace to the plain.
They set his throne upon an elephant;
He mounted, dropped the ball within the cup,
And “smeared earth,” thou hadst said, “with indigo,”
Such was earth's hue; the air was black with dust;
The brave troops of the host resembled leopards,
With maces in their claws and war at heart;
The land heaved like a sea with warriors.
A proclamation went forth from the court:—
“Ye paladins of the Íránian host!
None that can ply the stirrup and the rein
May now abide at home in idleness.”
The monarch gave command: “We need,” he said,
“Three hundred thousand warlike cavaliers,
With warriors and mighty men from Rúm
And Hind, and gallant Arabs of the desert,
Accoutred well—fierce Lions girdle-girt.
Those that reach not the presence of the Sháh
In forty days shall not obtain a crown.”
They sent out horsemen with the royal letters
On all sides. Two weeks passed; throughout the realm
Troops were in motion at the Sháh's command,
And battle-cries went up from all the world.
One morn at cock-crow rose the tymbals' din
On all sides, and the chiefs of provinces
Arrayed their troops before the monarch's gate.
He oped his ancient treasures and bestowed
Such largess that all heads were crowned with gold,
While with horse-armour and men's coats of mail
The massed array looked like a hill of iron.
As soon as this equipment was complete
The Sháh made choice among the cavaliers
Of thirty thousand armed with scimitars,
Put them in Rustam's charge, and said: “Famed hero!
Lead these toward Sístán and Hindústán.
When at Ghaznín make for the upper road,*

So thou mayst win a signet, crown, and throne;
But when thou hast achieved the sovereignty,
And pard and sheep are drinking at one trough,
Give Farámarz the signet and the crown
Together with such troops as he may choose;
Then sound the kettledrums, the horns, and pipes,
And stay not in Kashmír or in Kábul,
Because this war against Afrásiyáb
Depriveth me of provand, rest, and sleep.”
He gave the Aláns and Gharcha to Luhrásp,*

And said: “O hero of illustrious race!
Go with a mountain-like array. Select it
Out of the host, and lead thy seasoned horsemen
To rob the Turkmans of the breath of life.”
He bade Ashkash march forth with thirty thousand—
Impetuous Lions, brandishers of spears,
An army that was like a ravening wolf—
Toward Khárazm with mighty kettledrums,
Set up his place hard by the entering in,
And challenge Shída to the battlefield.
He gave a fourth host to Gúdarz and said:—
“O hero of a race of paladins!
Go with the great men of Írán, with Zanga,
Gurgín and Gustaham, Shídúsh, Farhád,
Kharrád and Gív, the general Guráza,
And brave Ruhhám.”

He bade them arm for war,

And hasten to the marches of Túrán.
Gúdarz, son of Kishwád, the general,
The paladins and nobles, all obeyed

And mounted, and Gúdarz assumed command.
The Sháh then bade him: “Thou art bound for battle;
See that thou do not aught injuriously:
Destroy no house that is inhabited,
And see that no non-combatant be harmed
Since God approveth not our evil deeds;
Here we have no abiding but pass on.
In leading forth the host toward Túrán
Keep head and heart both cool. Be not agog
Like Tús, mount not the drums on all occasions.
Be just to every one in every thing,
Remembering God—the Source of good. Dispatch
Some wise and heedful veteran to Pírán,
Thus by much counsel gain that general's ear,
And clothe him in the raiment of good will.”
The captain of the host said to the Sháh:—
“Thy hest is higher than the orbèd moon.
I will go even as thou biddest me,
For thou art worldlord and I am a slave.”
Then from the portal of the paladin
Shouts rose; the earth rocked with the din of drums;
The soldiers trooped to camp, and all the scene
Grew dark with horsemen's dust. Before the host
Three score fierce elephants weighed down the world,
And of those mighty elephants of war
Four were caparisoned for royal use;
Upon their backs was placed a throne of gold
Whereon a Sháh might sit encrowned in state,
But there the monarch bade Gúdarz to sit,
And, as he urged the elephants, the dust
Suggested this conceit of happy presage:—
“Pírán's soul will we make go up in smoke
As these beasts send the dust up with their feet.”
Then by the Sháh's command the host moved on
From stage to stage, inflicting harm on none.