O thou that singest in extreme old age!
Now let the Ashkánians' times thy thoughts engage.
What hath the author of the history
Still left to tell us from the legendry?
What mighty chieftains hath he to enthrone
Upon the world, Sikandar being gone?
The thane of Chách, mine author, saith that none
Thenceforward had the throne and crown, but princes,
Brave, headstrong, proud, and scions of Árash,
Each in his corner made himself a realm
Out of some portion of the provinces,
And when they sat rejoicing on their thrones
Folk called them “Tribal Kings.” Two centuries
passed,
And thou hadst said: “There is no Sháh.” These
princes
Regarded not each other, and earth rested,
Sikandar having ordered matters thus,
To guard the land of Rúm. The first was Ashk,
Sprung from Kubád, while others were Shápúr,
A royal warrior, Gúdarz the Ashkánian,
Bízhan of Kaian lineage, Narsí,
The great Urmuzd, Árash a warrior famed,
And after him the noble Ardawán,
Wise, prudent, and of ardent soul, for when
Bahrám, the Ashkánian, sat upon the throne
He lavished treasure on the poor, but folk
Were wont to call him Ardawán*

the Great
Because he kept the wolf's claws from the sheep.
He governed in Shíráz and Ispahán,
Which scholars call the “Marches of the princes.”
He set up in Istakhr Pápak*

as ruler,
Whose thumb-stall used to make the monsters*

yell.
How all these princes perished, root and branch,
Their time-worn chronicle narrateth not.
Naught have I heard of them except the name,
And in the Book of Kings seen but the same.