§ 19 How Afrásiyáb had Tidings of the Case of his Army

Thereafter tidings reached Afrásiyáb:—
“A Flame hath issued from the river Shahd,*


And in the persons of Kámús, Manshúr,
And of the Khán, Túrán hath been o'erthrown.
An army came forth from Írán to war
Such as left heaven scarce room to turn. The conflict
Continued forty days—days dark as night
Because the horsemen's dust concealed the sun.
Our fortune slept, no cavalier of all
Our countless host remained still serviceable;

V. 1017
Our mighty men and famous paladins
Have all been bound in heavy bonds and flung
Disgraced upon the backs of elephants
Encircled by a host that reached for miles.
The Khán of Chín too and the mighty men
By thousands have been carried to Írán;
There was no room upon the battlefield
To pass along, so many were the slain!
Pírán, who hath with him a noble army,
Hath marched toward Khutan, but none of Chín,
Kashán, or Hind is left who hath not read
The inscription on the scimitar of Rustam.
Now all the marches for two miles and more
Are full of blood, the earth is void of chiefs
And elephants, while an Íránian host,
Led on by matchless Rustam bent on war,
Approacheth. If they meet us in the fight
Account the hills as plains, the plains as hills.”
Heart-stricken and astound, Afrásiyáb
Called all his priests and nobles. “From Írán,”
He said, “a host hath met our chiefs in battle,
Our mighty army with its countless troops
And implements of war hath been o'erthrown,
While I am prostrate, thou mightst say, with grief
Both for Kámús and for the Khán of Chín.
Now that so many troops are slain or maimed,
The more part of the nobles bound in bonds,
What shall we do? What cure shall we apply?
We may not treat the matter with light hearts.
If Rustam is the chief he will not leave
A thorn or weed upon these fields and fells.
V. 1018
He was a reed-like stripling when I marched
On Rai, yet took me from my saddle so
That warriors wondered. Belt and button broke;
I tumbled from his grasp beneath his feet.*


Such was the prowess that I saw in him!
And I have heard reports of his exploits,
When single-handed with his massive mace,
Against the mighty of Mázandarán,
As well as of the havoc wrought by him
On our own chiefs in this last battlefield.”
The nobles rose and said: “Although the famous
Of Chín and of Sakláb have fought Írán
Our realm is scathless and our host intact.
Why stimulate the foe by fearing Rustam?
We all must die, our loins are girt not loosed,
And Rustam, if he trample on our land,
Shall pay the penalty, for when we arm
For vengeance no Íránian will survive.”
He heard, preferred those valiant with their tongues,
And called to him his chiefs, refrained from sleep,
Repose, and feast, unlocked his treasury
And gave out pay; his griefs inspired his soul.
Earth was so full of troops that one might say:—
“The starry sky hath come down to the fray.”