After Hormuz had departed to the abode of eternity, without leaving a child who might become the heir of the kingdom, the Erânians became apprehensive that the realm would fall into the hands of strangers. They nevertheless did not give up all hopes, but inquired whether any of the ladies of the royal harem were pregnant. Being examined, the mother of Shâpûr said: ‘I am in a state of pregnancy, and I believe that my infant will be a male, because it is extremely light, does not remain quiet, and moves on the right side of my body.’ When the grandees of Persia were made aware of these circumstances, they suspended the royal diadem above the head of the mother of Shâpûr, and girded, according to custom, their loins in her service. Some assert that Hormuz was aware of the pregnancy of the lady, and that the astrologers and soothsayers had spoken thus to him: ‘From thy loins a son will issue, who will inherit the kingdom, will subdue potentates and rebels, and will for a long time administer civil and military affairs.’ On this account Hormuz is said to have left instructions to the ministers of the country to pay allegiance to his promised son.
In short, only a brief time had elapsed after the demise of Hormuz, when a brilliant star, endued with a countenance like the sun, and a mind like Jupiter, made its appearance on the firmament of nobility. That glorious infant was, with the consent of the grandees and nobles of the kingdom, named Shâpûr; the coins were struck, and the Khutbah was read [in mosques] in his name. The Amirs and nobles, as well as the officers of the army, went daily twice to the palace, and the wazirs administered the government as usual. On that occasion the rumour spread in the surrounding countries that, there being no sovereign in Persia, the inhabitants are the subjects of an infant, who is as yet in the cradle. Therefore the rulers of adjacent countries coveted the realm of Erân. Arrogant leaders among the Arabs, Rûmis and Turks, but more especially the tribe of A’bdulqais, began, on account of its vicinity, to plunder the country, so that the flame of the wickedness of the Arabs was for some time blazing in Persia; but when Shâpûr had attained the age of [only] five years, his intelligence and generosity began to manifest themselves.
The details of this statement are as follows: When the royal prince happened at that time [i.e., the age of five years] one night to be awakened by the noise of a crowd, he asked for the reason of the tumult, and was told that it arose on account of passengers from opposite directions meeting each other on the bridge. Shâpûr remarked: ‘This may be easily remedied. Let another bridge be built, so that those who come may use one, and those who go the other.’ The Mobeds who had heard these words of the royal prince drew their [favourable] conclusions. When he was between six and seven years of age, he became fond of riding on horseback, and of playing chugân.* At the age of eight years he made himself acquainted with the art of government, and began to reign [!]. When he was sixteen years old he took one thousand Persian warriors; but according to others he selected four thousand, and marched against a horde of Arabs who had invaded the frontiers of Persia, and were engaged in killing and plundering. He fell upon them like a sudden judgment, and slew every one of the invaders whom he was able to catch, so that only those who had escaped from his sword fled back to their country, no trace of them being left on the banks of the Euphrates and Tigris. Then he prepared boats, on which he embarked and reached Qotaif. In the country of Bahrain he made great havoc. Thence he marched to Hajar, where he killed so many of the Beni Tamim, and Bakr Bin Wâbel, and A’bdulqais, and of other tribes which were there, that he became tired of exterminating them, but ordered the shoulder-blades of the [captive] Arabs to be perforated, and strings to be drawn through them, wherefore he was surnamed Shâpûr Zullâktâf [Shâpûr of the shoulder-blades].
It is recorded in the ‘Meadows of Gold,’ that when the Beni Tamim fled from his wrath, they intended to carry with them also A’mru Bin Tamim, who had reached the age of three hundred years, but that he refused to comply, saying: ‘Leave me where I am, that I may liberate you from the ire of this king, who has overpowered the Arabs.’ The Beni Tamim accordingly abandoned him and departed. The next day, when the army arrived in the country of the Beni Tamim, none of the inhabitants could be found except A’mru. When he was brought to the presence of Shâpûr, the king took notice of his decrepitude, and asked: ‘Withered old man, who art thou?’ He replied: ‘I am A’mru Bin Tamim Bin Merâhum, and, as thou seest, I have lived a long time. When my people fled from thy great severity and slaughter, I refused to depart with them, and now I offer myself as a sacrifice for them. I hope the God of heaven and earth will instil mercy into thy heart, so that thou mayest cease to shed blood, and forgive the Arab people; but if thou wilt permit, I shall be so bold as to ask a question.’ Shâpûr replied: ‘Ask what thou wilt.’ A’mru queried: ‘What is the reason for this bloodshed?’ He replied: ‘Thy people have come to my country, and have greatly injured my subjects.’ A’mru continued: ‘At that time thou wast as yet a minor, but as soon as thou hadst mounted the throne my people abstained from those improper acts; some of them have, moreover, received the punishment which they deserved.’ Shâpûr rejoined: ‘All this zeal in killing the Arabs is the consequence of a prediction, which my learned men have uttered, to the effect that at some future time the Arabs will conquer our country and will dispose of our possessions.’ A’mru asked: ‘Is this event certain, or is it only a surmise which has induced thee to attempt to extirpate the Arabs?’ Shâpûr continued: ‘There is no doubt at all about the fact that ultimately the Arabs will conquer the countries of Erân, and will reign in Persia.’ A’mru rejoined: ‘If such be the case, your majesty ought to be kind and merciful towards them, so that when they obtain the victory they may remember the good treatment they have received, and may also be kind towards your subjects. But even supposing that the Arabs will never conquer the Persians, even in that case it will be proper for your majesty to put a stop to indiscriminate bloodshed, because it will bring on eternal punishment, and entails the destruction of subjects [of your own also].’ Shâpûr approved of the sentiments of A’mru, and continued: ‘Thou hast given me good advice, and not overstepped the bounds of moderation, and hast convinced me of the correctness of thy opinion.’ After that the king issued a proclamation to his army no longer to injure anyone, but to replace the scimitar of vengeance in its scabbard.
The author of the ‘Meadows of Gold’ states that the above-mentioned A’mru lived eighty years more after this conversation with Shâpûr; but Allah knows best. Books have been filled with descriptions of Shâpûr’s projects to invade Rûm after his expedition into Arabia. When he reached the frontiers of that country he wished to enter the metropolis of the Qaisar, disguised as a spy. Having examined and ascertained the position of the frontiers, he left his army in a suitable locality and proceeded in the direction of Qostantiniah [Constantinople], which is the metropolis of the Qaisar. After performing the journey he reached the term of it, and on the very day on which he entered the city the Qaisar happened to give a large banquet. A circumstance, however, which is curious enough, took place before Shâpûr had left his army; the Qaisar had, namely, despatched a painter to the camp of the sovereign of Persia to take his portrait and to bring it to Qostantiniah. The artist having well acquitted himself of his commission, the Qaisar ordered the portrait of Shâpûr to be drawn on vessels of gold and of silver, so that when Shâpûr took his seat on the day of the banquet at one of the tables occupied by soldiers, there happened to be on it also a bowl which contained his own portrait. Some courtiers, being struck by the resemblance between the figure on the cup and Shâpûr, immediately reported the circumstance to the Qaisar, and by order of the latter he was gently conveyed to his presence. Having been examined, Shâpûr stated that he had been intimately connected with the King of Persia, but that he had fled in consequence of some misdemeanour, and had come to this country. The Qaisar suspected, however, that to be a trumped-up story, and threatened Shâpûr with death, whereon he revealed the truth. The Qaisar then ordered him to be dressed in a cow-hide and imprisoned in a tower, where he was kept during the space of one year. When the Qaisar invaded Persia and E’râq, he caused Shâpûr to be brought down from the tower, and compelled him to run as a porter by the side of his horse on the march. The Qaisar made great havoc in the country of Erân, because through whatever province he passed, he either felled all the trees with the axe of unrighteousness, or pulled them up by the roots. When he arrived near the army of Shâpûr, in the country of Khuzestân, where he found the Persian nobles had garrisoned a fort, the Qaisar determined to lay siege to it. On a certain night, which appeared to be a festival of the Rûmis, but in reality became one of the Persians, the Qaisar and his chiefs were amusing themselves, and the guards of Shâpûr became remiss in their duties. The King of Persia beckoned to some of his fellow-prisoners who were near to free him from his bonds; they softened by means of warm oil the hide, which had become dry on his body, and he hastened to the gate of the town. The guards of the roads and towers recognised the voice of their king, admitted him into the fort, and were delighted with his arrival. Shâpûr then ordered the arsenal to be thrown open, and weapons to be given to brave and courageous men. Then he made a sally, and fell like a sudden judgment upon the Qaisar, whom the heroes of the army captured and brought to the presence of Shâpûr. Then the king ordered the Governor of Rûm to be imprisoned, and forced him during the time of his captivity to send men to Rûm to bring soil [sic] from that country, so that they repaired every damage they had caused in Erân; and having brought olive instead of date trees from Rûm, they planted them there.
When the realm of Shâpûr had again become cultivated as in former time, he allowed the Qaisar to depart; in some chronicles, however, it is related that Shâpûr caused the legs of the Qaisar to be amputated, and that, having perforated his nose and drawn a bridle through it, he was placed on a donkey and sent back to Rûm.
It is recorded in the Târikh Moa’jum that after the return of the Qaisar to the country of Rûm, a man from Qostantiniah, of the race of priests, a Christian, had taken possession of the city and of the surrounding country, so that even Shâpûr became apprehensive of him, knowing that he had a large army of brave soldiers, and that an encounter with him might entail his own defeat. He therefore found it convenient to retreat into one of the provinces of that kingdom, and to wait for some time, hoping to collect an army. He despatched letters to the adjacent kings, asking reinforcements, which, when they arrived, swelled his troops from hundreds to thousands. Then he attacked the enemy one fine morning, and fought a battle, which will be remembered till the day of the resurrection. Fortune, however, not having been propitious to him, he was put to flight, and wandered about for some time in the desert with a considerable number of his adherents, until destiny again favoured him, and forces gathered around him from all sides, all of which were accommodated under the shadow of the royal standard. Then Shâpûr began to march with all speed into Rûm, and sent a courier with the following message to the Qaisar: ‘I have again organized an army, have recited the praise, “Return is more praiseworthy,” and have tucked up my sleeves to avenge all the people of my country whom you have slain, imprisoned or robbed. I am ready to fight, but if you agree to pay blood-ransom for the killed, and restore the value of all the booty you have taken, making reimbursement from your treasury, and if you surrender the district of Nassibeen, which was in former times a portion of E’râq, but is now in your possession, I shall again sheath my scimitar and retrace my steps; but if you refuse to comply, the steel-hoofs of my cavalry will stamp out the name of Rûm from the list of kingdoms.’
After perusing this missive, the Governor of Rûm became so intimidated that he drew up a treaty of peace without any mental reservation, and surrendered the district of Nassibeen to the lieutenant of Shâpûr, who selected twelve thousand persons from Persia, from Espahân, and all the region of E’râq, and they departed with their families and relatives to establish themselves in the town [of Nassibeen] for the purpose of cultivating the land. From Rûm many slaves of the Turk and Qipchâk race, as well as arms and goods of all kinds, were sent in enormous quantities to Shâpûr as presents, who returned to his own kingdom, after making the necessary arrangements [for governing the district]. When he arrived in the country of E’râq he laid the foundations of the city of Madâyn, and having completed the building thereof in one year, made it the capital of his realm, where many nobles and grandees came to pay their respects to him.
He lived seventy-two years, during all of which he reigned. In the Mufâtih his cognomen is stated to have been Hûz, and his name Kashaf. Some of his sayings are as follows: ‘Who speaks concerning people what he does not know, people will speak about him what they do not know, and it is an old maxim that a thrust with the tongue is more dangerous than that with a spear.’ He also said: ‘There are words more profitable than rain, and others more cutting than the sword.’