When of Írán and of the Íránian king
News reached the Khán of Chín, and of the joy
Wherewith his child had been received, and how
The alliance caused good cheer and happiness,
He gave up Sughd and Samarkand and Chách,
And sent his crown on to Káchár Báshí.
Now when the hosts of Chín had left these states
The Sháh sent marchlords thither. He renewed
The world by equity, and old and young
Could sleep upon their backs. All everywhere
Called blessings down on him with hands upraised
To heaven: “O Ruler over space and time!
Keep in Sháh Núshírwán this justice still,
And turn the ills of fortune from his life,
For by his Grace divine and majesty
Both public ills and private have been banned.
What time he reached Gurgán to hunt none saw
The Khán's face smile; the cavaliers of Chín
Forwent their food and sleep, and none off-saddled;
Three hundred thousand Turkman troops dispersed
Instead of striving and of combating;
There is no need to string the bow, for none
Of Chín, or small or great, remaineth here,
Such were the Grace divine and royal mien
Wherewith the savage Lion sought the chase;
Such were his reputation and his star
That fortune was the comrade of his throne.”
Then from the regions lying 'twixt Ámwí,
Chách, and Khutan, the nobles met and said:—
“These spacious regions full of pleasances,
Of riding-grounds, of palaces, and halls,
From Chách and the Tarak to Samarkand
And Sughd*

are wholly waste—the home of owls.
They of Chaghán, Shiknán, Khatlán, and Balkh,
Have all experienced dark and bitter days.
Great are our pain and sorrow when we name
Bukhárá and Kharazm, Ámwí and Zam.
Once none gat rest and sleep, so tyrannous
And cruel was Afrásiyáb! Howbeit
We found deliverance when Kai Khusrau
Came, and the world had peace from bickering.
Then when Arjásp gained lustihead these marches
Were filled with anguish and calamity,
But when Gushtásp marched from Írán to battle
Arjásp perceived no tarrying-place, and then

The world had quiet from his enterprises.
May heaven ne'er befriend him! Afterwards,
What time Narsí became the chief, these coasts
Were full of misery, but when Shápúr,
Son of Urmuzd, usurped, and when Narsí
Discerned not hand from foot, the world found justice,
And quiet, and the hand of Áhriman
Was stayed from evil. When the Khán bore off
The world from Yazdagird, and had acquired
Dexterity in ill, there came the world-lord,
Bahrám Gúr, to afflict and trouble him,
To make the states like Paradise with justice,
And scatter the unseemly and the foul.
So Khúshnawáz, what time Pírúz was Sháh,
Filled all the world with bloodshed, heat, and anguish,
And perish Faghánísh that son of his
With all his unjust kith and kin! And now
The world-lord Núshírwán hath occupied
Our marches and hath made us rich indeed!
For ever may his policy endure,
And may the whole world be at one with him.
Now that the earth beholdeth justice we
Will contemplate no travail, shed no blood.”*

Then from the Haitálians, Turkmans, and Khutan
The people met by the Gulzaryún
From every quarter where some shrewd priest lived,
Or other potentate good, learned, and wise,
While all the Turkmans that were well advised
Drew to the Sháh—a mighty company.
It was the policy of all these troops
To come before the Sháh with offerings,
And when they came before him, when they came,
All with one heart and tongue, the monarch's court
Was so fulfilled with people that they barred
The way to ant and gnat! All louted low,
Called praises down upon the Sháh, and said:—
“O Sháh! we are thy slaves and live to do
Thy bidding in the world. We all of us
Are nobles dight for war and rend the hides
Of leopards on the field.”

The king of kings

Received their gifts, and then they left the presence,
Their leader Faghánísh. Behind him came
A troop of youthful warriors. When thus
They had found favour in the monarch's sight
The chamberlain went to the palace-gate
With formal greetings and with compliments,
And lodged them through the city. Afterwards
The king of kings, that worshipper of God,
Passed from the audience-chamber to the dust,
And offered up thanksgivings to the Almighty:—
“O Thou above vicissitudes of fortune!
Thou gav'st me Grace, accomplishment, and counsel,
And art my Guide in all things good and ill,

For all that hear of me seek not thereafter
The crown of majesty, but all submit
To be my lieges. None hath pluck to fight.
Birds on the mountains, fishes in the water,
Remain awake to watch what time I slumber;
All the wild creatures are my sentinels,
The mighty of the world mine underlings;
No abject he whom Thou dost choose who art
The world's sole Lord and giv'st me strength therein
That not an ant may sleep aggrieved by me.”
'Twas thus he spake with many tears to God:
Canst find within the world a king like him?
Then from his place of prayer he sought his throne,
And they prepared to quit Gurgán. The blast
Of trumpets and the din of brazen cymbals
Ascended from the court. He called to horse,
And loaded up, invoking the All-giver.
He took dínárs, brocade, crowns, belts, and treasures
Of drachms and gems, steeds, female slaves, and
crowns,
The turquoise litter and the ivory throne.
The heart-alluring handmaids and the thralls
Of all deseriptions mounted on the saddle.
The Sháh dispatched them all to Taisafún,
Preceded by the women-folk of Chín,
Who fared auspiciously and cheerfully
Surrounded by the eunuchs. As high priest,
Mihrán Sitád accompanied the queen,
The daughter of the Khán, and thus the treasures
And baggage went toward Taisafún. A band
Composed of warriors only—all the best
And noblest of the mighty men—approached
Afoot Ázar Ábádagán while troops
Came from each province, soldiers from Gílán
And Dílamán,*

the mountains of Balúch,
And deserts of Sarúch, and warriors
From Lúch, all came with gifts and offerings
Before the tent-enclosure of the king,
Whereat the famous chiefs rejoiced and thought:—
“The wolf's claws grow too short to reach the sheep!”
World without end strife with Balúch had raged,
And filled the cities with distress and anguish,
But by the Grace of Núshírwán the sky
Had changed its use and favour.*

Wheresoever
The host was wont to pass it did not use
To harm a crop, to ask for bread and water,
But made its sleeping-quarters on its route.
The Sháh on this wise went about the world,
Surveying every place, both field and waste.
He saw that all the world was full of crops,
While sheep and oxen filled the hills and plains.

A region ne'er before inhabited,
Where none had looked on sowing and on reaping,
He now surveyed and found it bearing fruit,
Found too a family in every house.
The trees were laden through the Grace divine
Of that victorious master of the world.
At one stage of the progress of the Sháh
The ambassador of Cæsar came with presents,
With silver and withal a throne of gold,
And Rúman jewels and brocade—a gift
That covered all the surface of the ground:
So great a tribute ne'er had come from Rúm.
Ten ox-hides had been filled up with dínárs—
The tribute and the taxes of three years—
And with the presents Cáesar had dispatched
A letter to the famous king. They set
The envoy in the presence, and the Sháh
Was all attention while they read the letter.
'Twas full of warm expressions of good will
About the gifts that had been sent to him:—
“Hereafter will I send thee greater gifts,
For these are merely meant for largessing.”
The Sháh received them, mounted on his steed,
And sought the temple of Ázargashasp.
When, still afar, he saw the place of worship
His cheeks were hidden by his tears. He lighted
Down from his steed and, sacred twigs*

in hand,
Made prayer with bated breath;*

then drawing near
The Fire he worshipped and adored the Maker.
He gave the temple-bursar all the gold,
And all the many gems that he had brought,
And showered gold and silver on the archmages,
Bestowing on them likewise gems and raiment.
All were enriched by him and sought the Fire
To offer up their thanks in muttered tones,*

And blessed withal the righteous judge of earth.
He parted thence for Taisafún; the host
Made earth a Mount Bístún. That righteous Sháh,
On reaching any city, used to give
Much gold and silver to the mendicants.
Through all the wealth that he disposed of thus
The realm was stuffed with treasure and with drachms.
From Taisafún he drew toward Madá'in,
For there he wont to keep his treasuries' key.
He took the Rose of Chín*

and forty more
Withal. Mihrán Sitád fared on before.