Chroniclers state that when Ardeshir prevailed over the realms of Erân, he followed the advice of his grandfather Sâsân, and killed the whole progeny of the Mulûk-ut-touâif; others relate that the cause of this proceeding must be ascribed to the astrologers, who had predicted that the dominions of Ardeshir would be inherited by the children of Ashak. After having extirpated the just-mentioned princes and princesses, Ardeshir happened one day to perceive a very handsome girl in his interior apartments, who informed him that she was one of the attendants in the harem. The king fell in love with this maid, had sexual connection with her, and when their familiarity had greatly increased, she informed him that she was of the progeny of Aulâd Bin Ashak. This information so distressed Ardeshir, that he called for his wazir, and said to him, ‘Lodge her underground,’ which words amounted to an order for capital execution. When the wazir had taken the woman home, and was about to kill her, she informed him of her pregnancy by his majesty. Accordingly midwives were called to examine her, and these confirmed her statement. In this dilemma the prime minister resorted to the expedient of preparing a subterraneous apartment, of installing the lady therein, and of amputating his own sexual organ, which he then preserved in a casket. After that he waited on Ardeshir, and spoke as follows: ‘I have executed your majesty’s orders, and have lodged her in the bowels of the earth. In this casket I bring a pledge, which I request to be sealed with the royal signet, and deposited in the treasury.’ The king assented, the wazir returned home with a tranquil mind, and in due time the lady gave birth to a son, who shed rays, foreboding grandeur. Unwilling to give a name to the child without the king’s orders, the wazir called him Shâpûr, i.e., ‘royal scion,’ and waited for an opportunity to inform his majesty of what had taken place. Several years elapsed, however, until the king happened to fall into a deep state of melancholy, and said one day to the wazir: ‘I have conquered the inhabited world, but have no son to succeed me in the government.’ The wazir replied: ‘Let your majesty not be dismayed on this account, for your majesty has a noble son in my charge.’ The king was astonished at this piece of news, but the wazir refused to give any information unless the casket was produced, and his own person examined. The king agreed to both these conditions, and his amazement became still greater when he discovered that his prime minister had become a eunuch, and that his sexual organ was in the casket. The wazir then explained that when the lady had informed him of her condition, he thought proper to spare her life, and to emasculate himself, in order to avoid all possible suspicions about the paternity of the infant. The wazir continued as follows: ‘When the astrologers were consulted and had taken the horoscope of the prince, they said, “From the position of the heavenly bodies it appears that this child will become a powerful and just king, and that he will inherit the realms of Kaiomarth, the Peshdâdian;” accordingly, I offered thanks to God, and cherished the prince, who is at present in the best condition.’ The king was so delighted with this piece of information that he ordered Shâpûr to be brought to his presence, in the company of one thousand children of his own age, and dressed in the same garments. This having been done, the king was able immediately to pick out his own son, and the tongue of the circumstances uttered the following distich in conformity with the scene:
To-day the king of the assembly of darlings is one;
If there be a thousand darlings, the heart-ravisher is but one.
The king then ordered a Chugân* to be given to each boy to play in the adjoining premises. The children obeyed, but when the ball happened to fall into one of the royal halls, none of them ventured to go and fetch it except Shâpûr, whom Ardeshir immediately adopted as his son, and who proved to be a just and benevolent sovereign when he attained the royal dignity, praised and beloved by everybody. In the beginning of his reign he said: ‘Whenever I make a statement on any subject, no one is to oppose it before earnestly considering its advantageous or disadvantageous consequences.’ It is related that, after spreading out the carpet of justice and beneficence, he attacked and subdued with his army all his opponents, and one of his conquests during his reign was the taking of the fortress of Khazar.