THE COSTLY AND RARE THINGS WHICH KHOSRU POSSESSED AND BY WHICH HE WAS DISTINGUISHED ABOVE THE KINGS OF PERSIA AND OTHERS.

Historians have related that Parviz possessed a throne named Taqdis, which was extremely high. In the con­struction of it one hundred and twenty masters, each of whom had thirty assistants, were engaged for two years by turns, without any intermission of the work. This throne contained one hundred and forty thousand nails, each of which weighed from sixty to a hundred mithqâls. It was divided into several parts, so that at each season the king sat on a different side. It was encrusted with precious gems, and one thousand golden balls were suspended from it, each of which weighed five hundred mithqâls. On this throne the twelve signs of the zodiac, the seven planets, with various dials, and several other things were delineated.

He possessed thirty thousand gold-embroidered saddles, and one hundred treasuries, each of which had its own special name. Thus, for instance, one of them was called ‘treasure brought by the wind,’ because the King of Rûm had for his own purposes loaded one thousand ships [!] with various costly things to be conveyed to a stronghold; but the winds drove the vessels to a place in charge of the agents of Khosru, who took possession of the treasures.

In his harem he kept twelve thousand girls of great beauty. He had twelve hundred elephants. He possessed a quantity of gold-bullion, which was so pliable that it could be moulded into any shape required without the aid of fires. In his stables five thousand horses were fed on oats, and twelve thousand camels were carrying the baggage of the king when he was moving about. The horse named Shabdiz, which excelled the wind in fleetness, is well known and celebrated. He possessed other rare things, the like of which could not be found in the whole world, and so many of them are mentioned in historical works that common sense refuses to give credit to the marvellous accounts.

Among his other peculiarities his connection with Shirin is worthy to be briefly noticed in this place. In some chronicles it is related that at first Shirin was a girl in the service of one of the grandees of Persia, and that in his youth Khosru occasionally visited the said grandee’s house, where he became acquainted with Shirin, and dallied with her. The master of the house warned Shirin not to have anything to do with Khosru; but she would not be restrained, until one day Khosru presented her with his ring, and her master having been informed of the fact ordered one of his attendants to drown her in the river Euphrates. When the man had brought her as far as the banks of the stream the girl besought him to spare her life. He replied that he could not act contrary to the orders of his master, but told her that he would throw her into the water at a spot where she could again get out; and this he did. After Shirin had thus escaped from a watery grave she presented herself at the cell of a hermit, who lived in the vicinity, and insinuated to him her wish to dedicate herself to the service of God, and to become the servant of the hermit. She remained for some time in that place until one day Parviz happened to pass that way, after having attained the royal dignity. Shirin then requested one of the officers who accompanied him to inform him of her whereabouts, and gave him the above-mentioned ring as a token to confirm her statement. As soon as the king had obtained this information he despatched a number of eunuchs and female attendants to the hermitage, who con­veyed Shirin with great pomp in a litter to Madâin. This statement agrees, however, neither with the Shâhnâmah nor with Tabari.

It is said that a woman, in order to be a perfect beauty, must be endowed with forty qualities, and that in those times they were not concentrated in any female, except in Shirin. It is related that after Khosru had been killed his son Shiruiah coveted Shirin, and that when his attentions to her had passed all bounds she induced him by a strata­gem to allow the door of the Dukhma [mausoleum] of Parviz to be opened. As soon as she entered the place she swallowed a violent poison, which immediately took effect, and killed her on the spot.