Šāh-nāmah - The Šahnama of Firdausi, Volume 8

Bahrám Chúbína's Letter to the Khán and how he coined Money with the Name of Khusrau Parwíz and sent it to Hurmuzd

Whenas the rising sun shot forth its beams,
And darksome night turned sickly at the glow,
The chief Bahrám Chúbína, that bold Wolf,
Bade the archscribe attend. They wrote the Khán
A letter that was worthy of the Artang,
¹⁷² Perfumed^172a , illuminate and illustrate:—
“For grief, while asking pardon for mine acts,
My heart is full of sighing and remorse.
Henceforth I will not hurt thy country, land,
Or marches through regard for thee; and I,
If I become the monarch of the world,
Will be to thee as 'twere a younger brother.
Wash vengeance from thy heart and thou shalt know
No difference between Írán and Chín.
Take not to heart the past for God forgiveth
His slave. A thousand blessings on thy helm,
Upon thy sword and thy world-conquering hand.”
He spake much to the same effect. The envoy
Was in amaze at him, then trod earth's face,
And bore the message to the Khán of Chín

This matter done, Bahrám Chúbína

Formed other plans, unlocked his hoarded treasures,
Gave his troops drachms, steeds, slaves, and privily
Aimed at the seat of sovereignty. He chose
Among the host a paladin, one fit
To be the prince of Khurásán, bestowed
That land on him with Nishápúr and Balkh,
Marv and Harát, and troops withal, then went,
From Balkh to Rai, full of solicitude,
Upon the glorious Khurdád of Dai;
Took thought of great and small, then bade his men
Set up a mint and issue coins that bore
The superscription of Khusrau Parwíz.
He gave to merchants shrewd and plausible
Of speech, and fitted for the ticklish task,
Sacks of these new-coined drachms and said: “Buy up
Whatever ye can get in Taisafún
Of costly Rúm brocade with silken figures
Upon a ground of gold.”

He meant to bring

That coinage to the notice of the king.

Bahrám Chúbína chose a prudent envoy,
Strong as the blest Surúsh.¹⁷³ He wrote withal
A blustering letter and discoursed at large
About Parmúda and king Sáwa's host,
How he and his own troops had fought, the gift
That had been given to him by the Sháh—
That woman's coif and that black distaff-case—
Then said thus: “Thou wilt never more behold me
E'en in a dream so draw thy fish-hook up.
¹⁷⁴ While thine illustrious, high-fortuned son,
Khusrau Parwíz, is seated on the throne
At his command will I make mountains plains,
And deserts like Jíhún with foemen's blood.
Young though he be still he is fit to rule,
And faithful, not a faithless one like thee.
I have accepted him as king of kings,
And will henceforth be man to none beside.”
His wish was that the king should put to death
The son though innocent^174a because he feared
Khusrau Parwíz, a young and charming prince.
^174b

That ambitious lord

Thus answered him: “May none prevail without thee.”
They called one privily by night and set him
Before the Sháh who said: “Perform my bidding,
And rid earth's surface of Khusrau Parwíz.”
He said: “I will, and charm love from my heart,
So let the Sháh assign me from his store
Bane, and some dark night when Khusrau Parwíz
Is drunken I will drug his wine. This way
Is better than to shed his blood.”

The son,

Unwitting that his ruin was proposed,
¹⁷⁵ Sat in his palace gloriously, intent
On charming Idols and on pleasant wine,
And ignorant of all. A chamberlain
Heard of the plot, banned appetite and sleep,
Sped to Khusrau Parwíz and made all clear.
He, hearing that the monarch of the world
Was plotting secretly to slay him, fared
From Taisafún by night, and thou hadst said:—
“He vanished from the world.” He did not give
His priceless head away but reached apace
Ázar Ábádagán. When tidings came
To all the chiefs—the marchlords of that province:—

The warriors, when they heard

His words, all set forth for Ázargashasp.
They took the oath that he desired, protesting:—
“We hold thy love as precious as our eyes.”
Assured about the chiefs he secretly
Sent agents everywhere to learn what said
His father of his flight and purposed next.
The Sháh, on hearing that Khusrau Parwíz
Had fled, sent hastily to put Bandwí
And Gustaham in bondage as suspects;
Both were the uncles of Khusrau Parwíz
Upon the mother's side and heroes bold.
All others of his kin beside these two
They also haled to ward without to-do.

How Hurmuzd sent Áyín Gashasp with an Army to fight Bahrám Chúbína and how he was slain by his Comrade

Then to Áyín Gashasp thus spake the Sháh:—
“I lack advice and sorrow is my mate.
Now that my son hath gone how shall we treat
Bahrám Chúbína, that slight, self-willed slave?”
Áyín Gashasp sought an expedient
To make his counsel gracious and replied:—
“Exalted Sháh! Bahrám Chúbína oft
Hath spoken of me and of all things he
Desireth most my blood for I was first
To vex him privily, and to dispatch me
In fetters to him may prove serviceable.”
The Sháh made answer: “This is not my work,
But miscreant Áhriman's. I will dispatch
A host; be thou its leader and prevail;
But send him first one of our counsellors
To learn his purpose. Fortune, if he seeketh
Power, crown, and throne, will turn from him at last,
While if he shall remain a loyal liege
'Twill be the better for him in the end.
Him will I give a portion of the world,
And set upon his head the heroes' crown.
The world hath scarcely such a warrior,
But, though like Rustam, he is still my thrall.
Inform me of his doings every whit;
Proceed with diligence; cut short the way.”
The order given by the prudent Sháh
Áyín Gashasp obeyed.

There was a captive,

And fellow-citizen of his, within
The royal prison, eager for release.
On hearing that Áyín Gashasp, the horseman,
Was going to the war he sent to say:—
“O battle-loving warrior! I am
Thy fellow-citizen and now in prison.
Thou art acquainted with my quality.
I, if thou wilt but beg me from the king,
Will fare with thee on this campaign and risk
My life before thee when I am released
From this strait prison-house.”

Áyín Gashasp

Thereat sent to the monarch of the world
A man in haste to say: “There is in bonds
A fellow-citizen of mine in fear
And peril who will go with me if now
The Sháh will grant him pardon for my sake.”

All replied:—

Our readers of the stars shall come before thee,
And earn thy praise.”

An old, officious townsman

Came bustling up and said: “There is a dame
Both old and rich here, and thou mightest say:—
‘She is the stars' eye.’ What she saith is so;
Her prophecies will surely come to pass.”
Áyín Gashasp, on hearing this, dispatched
One with a horse for her and when she came
He asked her how the Sháh fared and of him
Who led the host, then added: “Bring thy lips
Close to mine ear and tell me if my soul
Will quit my swarthy body in its bed,
Or wounded by the weapon of a foe?”
While thus he spake of secrets to the crone
With voice so low that none could overhear them
The man for whom he had obtained release,
And taken as companion on the journey,
Approached and, as he passed by that sage dame,
Looked at the general and went his way.
The ancient dame inquired: “What man is that?
A blow of his will make one weep for thee.
Thy dear life lieth in his hand, and may
He perish, skin and marrow!”

At her words

Áyín Gashasp recalled a former presage,
Which he had heard from readers of the stars
But had forgotten. Thus it ran: “Thy fate
Shall be in thy companion's hand—a man
Both mean and poor—who will go far with thee,
And in return for friendship shed thy blood.”
He gave her presents and dismissed her quickly,
But could not sleep or eat for care. He wrote
A letter to the Sháh: “The man whom I
Send back should not have been released for he
Is worse than dragon's spawn, and so the Sháh
Informed his slave who lacked the imperial Grace.
¹⁷⁹

He wrote and set

His seal thereon. When it was dry he called
His fellow-citizen, much lauded him,
Bestowing gifts and many hearty blessings,
Then said: “Convey this letter unperceived
And quickly to the monarch of the world.
Bring his reply to me with all dispatch,
And see that thou remain not with the king.”
The young man took the letter from the chief;
His mind was all surmises at that mission,
And thus he said: “I have endured enough
Of prison, heavy bonds, and want of food;
But God delivered me from my distress,
From grief, affliction, and mine evil fortune;
Yet now that I return to Taisafún
My blood and marrow seethe.”

He journeyed sadly

Awhile, then broke the letter open, read it,
And marvelled at the process of the world.
He said: “My neighbour begged my life and urged:—
‘The act is worthy of the prince,’ so how
Should he be now insistent for my blood
Unless some dream hath moved him to this ill?
But now to bloodshed he shall see the way,
And rest from travail and endeavouring!”
He turned back musing, went as swift as wind,
And on arrival found the chief alone.
Áyín Gashasp was seated in his tent,
Without attendant, scimitar, and steed
Absorbed in thinking on the king and all
That fortune might inflict upon himself.
Now when his neighbour came within his tent
Áyín Gashasp knew that he proposed bloodshed.
The murderer drew his scimitar; the chief
Implored him much and said: “Deluded one!
Did not I beg thy lost life from the Sháh?”
The other answered: “Granted. What have I
Done that thou shouldst deal ill with me?”

He smote

That noble chief across the neck, determined
His fighting and his feasting, and bore off
His bloody head unnoticed from the tent.
Let him that seeketh honour never be
Alone, in war-time more especially.
The miscreant left the murdered in his blood,
¹⁸¹ Sped to Bahrám Chúbína and exclaimed:—
“See thy foe's head—the man's who sought to harm thee!
He marched against thee, knowing not thy purpose.”

He said: “Áyín Gashasp,

The cavalier, who left the court for war.”
Bahrám Chúbína said: “The man was good,
And he had come from court to reconcile
The Sháh and us, and thou hast ta'en his head
While sleeping! Now will I requite thee so
That folk shall sore bewail thee.”

He bade set

A gallows at the door in sight of all,
And gibbeted the wretch alive, thus rousing
The hearts of evil-doers. Many horsemen
Brought by Áyín Gashasp from court sought out
Bahrám Chúbína when their chief had perished,
While many others sought Khusrau Parwíz,
And some the Sháh. A flock will stray just so
Un-herded on a day of wind and snow.

When tidings reached the king of that famed hero,
Áyín Gashasp, he shut the gate of audience
For grief; none saw him too with wine in hand;
He could not rest or eat or sleep; his eyes
Were full of tears. At court the talk ran much
Upon the Sháh and his secluded state.
One said: “Bahrám Chúbína seeketh fight,
Desirous of the throne of majesty.”
Another said: “Aggrieved against the Sháh
Khusrau Parwíz is marching on Írán.”
Confounded at the case the warriors
Each held a different view, and as the bruit
Arose from Taisafún the monarchy
Lost credit while its servants' heads were full
Of grief and wrath, preferring curse to blessing.
Few troops remained about the gate; the world
Grew strait to the Sháh's heart.

Then tidings reached

Bandwí and Gustaham: “The Grace of kingship
Is darkened.”

All the captives loosed their bonds,

And sent forth one to ascertain and learn
What warriors' kept the portal of the Sháh,

Then Gustaham sent to Ázargashasp
One with two roadsters to Khusrau Parwíz
In haste by night with tidings from Írán.
The messenger approached the youthful Sháh
(The moon was one night old) and told what he
Had heard of or had seen in that revolt.
The young prince paled like flower of fenugreek,
And cried: “Whoever quitteth wisdom's ways,
Obeying impulse through his lack of knowledge,
And fearless of the process of high heaven,
His life will profit not. If I found pleasure
In this thy tale of ill my food and sleep
Would turn to fire, but though, what time my father
Set hand to blood, I could no longer dwell
Within Írán yet I am still his slave,
And hearken to his words.”

All seared at heart

He marched his host as swift as fire for fear
Lest that world-winner, great Bahrám Chúbína,
Should get the start of him, and so he led
His men from Barda' and from Ardabíl,
Troop after troop, while from Armenia
A power sped with the Sháh's son swift as wind.
As soon as tidings of him reached Baghdád:—
“The claimant of the throne of might hath come,”
The folk were all contented, and thereby
The atheling accomplished his desire.
The great men of the city—those that shared
The general joy—went out to welcome him,
Then going to the dwelling of the Sháh
Discoursed at large, and he approved their words.
They set an ivory throne upon the dais
With golden torque and with a sumptuous crown
That many a Sháh had worn: it had beheld
No lack upon the state. Khusrau Parwíz
Made entry of the city mournfully,
And visited his father with a sigh.¹⁸⁵

The deposition of Hurmuzd leaves Khusrau Parwíz and Bahrám Chúbína rivals for the throne. After abortive negotiations Khusrau Parwíz is compelled to flee to Rúm and Hurmuzd is put to death. On the way to Rúm Khusrau Parwíz is saved from capture by the devotion of his maternal uncle Bandwí. Bahrám Chúbína assumes the crown and frustrates a plot against himself. Khusrau Parwíz is well received in Rúm, is given Cæsar's daughter in marriage, and returns to Írán with a Rúman army. He is joined by Bandwí and others. After a severe struggle Bahrám Chúbína is forced to take refuge with the Khán of Chín in whose service he greatly distinguishes himself but as he is preparing to invade Irán his death is compassed by Kharrád, son of Barzín, at the instigation of Khusrau Parwíz. The Khán avenges Bahrám Chúbína whose sister, Gurdya, he asks in marriage. Gurdya escapes with her brother's partisans to Írán. Khusrau Parwíz to avenge his father puts to death Bandwí whose brother Gustaham rebels and marries Gurdya. She murders her husband at the instigation of Khusrau Parwíz who marries her himself and accords pardon to her adherents. He treats the city of Rai harshly but relents at her request. He organizes the realm. Maryam, Cæsar's daughter, gives birth to Shírwí (Kubád) on which occasion Cæsar asks for the return of the True Cross but is refused. The poet then tells of the case of the fair Shírín, who murders Maryam, and that of Bárbad, the minstrel, and of the greatness of Khusráu Parwíz. Shírwí is imprisoned, but the troops at length revolt and release him. Khusrau Parwíz is dethroned and put in ward.

Khusrau Parwíz (Chosroes II, A.D. 590–628) was contemporary with three Eastern Roman Emperors—Maurice (A.D. 582–602), Phocas (A.D. 602–610), and Heraclius (A.D. 610– 642). The word “Parwíz” seems to be a variant of the Persian word “Pírúz” which means “victorious.” Certainly Khusrau Parwíz did more to justify such a title than any Sháh since the days of Darius Hystaspis. Egypt and the whole of the Roman possessions in Asia fell into his hands, and Persian troops were encamped wthin a mile of Constantinople. The genius of Heraclius, however, at length turned the tide. On all these great events the Sháhnáma is silent and the bulk of the material of the reign is made up from the Romance of Bahrám Chúbína¹⁸⁷ which leaves his sister, Gurdya, firmly established in the favour of Khusrau Parwíz though with Shírín in the neighbourhood it seems doubtful whether she would be allowed to retain her position long.^187a The reign is the last great one of the poem and towards the end of it

§ 4. Tabarí also states that the meeting between Khusrau Parwíz and Bahrám Chúbína took place on the Nahrawán.^187b

§ 5. The proverb is in the Persian Tabarí but is spoken by Khusrau Parwíz when about to combat with three Turks.^187c See below.

§§ 6–7. In the Persian Tabarí the three Turks are encountered by Khusrau Parwíz after his return from Rúm,^187d not as here and in Tabari.^187e

§ 8. “Thou shalt not kill, but need'st not strive
Officiously to keep alive.”

probably about represents the share of responsibility that Khusrau Parwíz had in his father's murder. Bandwí and Gustaham were his maternal uncles.

§ 9. According to the Persian Tabarí Bahrám, the son of Siyáwush, had married Bahrám Chúbína's niece.^187f

Firdausí's description of Khusrau Parwíz' place of refuge is somewhat grandiloquent. It appears to have been a hermitage ^187g or monastery.^187h

§§ 12. For the wife of Bahrám, son of Siyáwush, see above.

Mausíl, prince of Músh, was a member of the Mamigonian family, celebrated in Armenian history.¹⁸⁸

§ 13. Khusrau Parwíz, on quitting Ctesiphon in his flight, crossed the Euphrates and went to Ambar, thence followed the course of the stream and recrossing it reached the Roman frontier-station of Circesium. Subsequently at the invitation of the Emperor Maurice he took up his residence at Hierapolis.^188a

According to the Persian Tabarí the Arab was Ijás, son of Kabísa. He was one of the chiefs of the Baní Tayy tribe^188b famous for its hospitality. He was made governor of Híra by Khusrau Parwíz after the execution of Nu'mán, the last prince of the dynasty, and commanded the Persians at the battle of Dhú Kár.^188c The Persian Tabarí omits the meeting with the merchant.

Kársán looks like a Persian form of Circesium but is a shortened form of Káristán, a busy place. The miracle is not in the Persian Tabarí.

Warígh, as appears from the account in the Persian Tabarí,^188d was Rakka (Nicephorium, Callinicus) now in ruins. Some miles to the south-west of it lay the city of Reseph or Rasafa, also now in ruins, in which was the shrine of the celebrated Saint Sergius who with his consort Saint Bacchus suffered martyrdom under Maximian. The town was in consequence known as Sergiopolis. Either from a genuine but temporary impulse or from policy Khusrau Parwíz during his exile in Rúm much affected Christianity, adopted Sergius as his patron Saint and after recovering his throne still continued to send gifts to, and ask favours of, that shrine. Tabarí makes Sergius the leader of the Roman army that effected the restoration of Khusrau Parwíz.^188e In the Sháhnáma the hermit=Sergius.

§ 17. The terms on which the Emperor Maurice agreed to help Khusrau Parwíz included the cession of Dárá, Martyro-polis, and perhaps Nisibis.^188f Western authorities are silent about the marriage of the Emperor's daughter Maryam to Khusrau Parwíz, but Nöldeke points out that Shírwí's preeminence at the Persian court is best explained by the assumption that his mother was a princess. Shírín, who naturally was antagonistic to him in the interests of her own son, Mar-dánsháh, was unable to prevail against him.¹⁸⁹

§§ 19–20. These are not in the Persian Tabarí.

§ 21. The army lent to Khusrau Parwíz by the Emperor was commanded by Narses, a Persian in the Roman service, an able general who was afterwards cruelly put to death by Phocas.^189a Niyátús (Theodosius) was the seven years old son, and so described in the Persian Tabarí,^189b of Maurice and had already been crowned by the Emperor. He may have accompanied Narses.^189c

§ 23. The mission of Dárá Panáh is not in the Persian Tabarí.

§§ 24–26. Historically the events of the campaign seem to have been briefly as follows:—Khusrau Parwíz with his Roman allies marched to the lesser Zab in order to effect a junction with his native and Armenian supporters with whom were his two uncles and Mausíl. Bahrám Chúbína vainly tried to prevent this. He then offered battle with his back to the Zagros mountains but was compelled to retreat to higher ground where Khusrau Parwíz attacked him against the opinion of Narses, who, however, with his Roman troops saved the situation when Khusrau Parwíz was in imminent danger of disaster. This incident appears as the intervention of Surúsh in the Sháhnáma.^189d In the meantime a detachment of the allied forces had occupied Seleucia and Ctesiphon. The outcome of the situation was that Bahrám Chúbína retreated through the mountains in his rear to the neighbourhood of Takht-i-Sulaimán in order to maintain his communications with Rai and eastern Irán generally. He was pursued and after a further retirement was defeated decisively and escaped with the remnant of his forces by way of Rai and Dámaghán to the Turks.

§ 27. The Persian Tabarí lays the scene with the carline in the neighbourhood of Hamadán. Thence Bahrám Chúbína proceeds to Rai and Dámaghán. He then defeats a mountain-chief named Káran and takes him prisoner but releases him.^189e

§ 30. According to Sásánian usage Khusrau Parwíz inaugurates his reign by visiting the Fire-temple at Shíz.¹⁹⁰

§ 31. The death of Firdausí's son took place apparently about A.D. 1004.

§ 32. In the Persian Tabarí the name of the chief that domineered over the Khán was Paighú—the word used for the races of the north in Dakíkí's portion of the Sháhnáma.^190a He was the Khán's brother and claimed to have a better title to the throne.^190b

§ 34. In the Persian Tabarí it is a bear that carries off the Khán's daughter and Bahrám Chúbína rescues her.^190c

§ 37. In the Persian Tabarí the queen is concerned directly in the murder of Bahrám Chúbína. She is heavily bribed and provides the assassin.^190d So too in Tabarí.^190e

§ 39. The crafty Kharrád, son of Barzín, as Firdausí calls him, but whose real name was Hurmuzd Garabzín or Galab-zín, may be identical with the chief who commanded one of the Persian wings at the battle of Dhú Kár^190f and was killed,^190g but according to the Sháhnáma he was alive at the accession of Kubád (Shírwí).

The battle of Dhú Kár, though the forces engaged in it do not appear to have been large, was a very memorable affair. The events that led up to it are given at length in Tabarí. It will be sufficient to say here that a long series of intrigues resulted in the execution of Nu'mán bin Munzír by order of Khusrau Parwíz. This ended the dynasty of the princes of Híra, and Ijás bin Kabísa^190h was appointed the Persian governor by the Sháh who ordered him to collect and dispatch to the Persian court all Nu'mán's effects. The Arab chief, Háni bin Mas'úd, who had been entrusted with them refused to give them up. Khusrau Parwiz instructed Ijás to enforce compliance, and the battle of Dhú Kár, in which the Persians were overthrown, followed. Where Dhú Kár was is not clear but it was not far from the Euphrates and Kúfa, and had an all the year round water-supply which made it a great resort of the Arab tribes in the summer at which season the battle was fought. The Arabs celebrated their victory with songs of triumph, and its results and those of the Persian policy that led up to it were very important. The destruction of the dynasty of the princes of Híra, which had formed a buffer-state between the Persians and the Arabs, was a political blunder. The defeat was a display of weakness on the part of the Persians in a region at no great distance from their own capital. It gave the Arabs independence, encouraged them to make raids into Persian territory, and was a glorious and stimulating memory with which tradition soon associated Muhammad himself when the time came for the great Arab invasion of Írán. For these reasons the battle called for some notice here although there is no mention of it in the Sháhnáma. It was fought some time between A.D. 604–610.¹⁹¹

§§ 40–42. According to Tabarí the Khán wished to marry Gurdya to his brother who pursues and is killed by her.^191a

§§ 44–47. On these see NT, p. 478 seq. The story of the revolt of Gustaham seems only to be known from various versions of the Romance of Bahrám Chúbína. Bandwí appears to have been killed early in the reign about the year A.D. 591. Gustaham rebelled shortly afterwards and held out till about A.D. 595.

§ 52. Shírwí seems to have been Khusrau Parwíz' eldest son but who his real mother was is unknown.^191b His troubles with his father sprang from Shírín's ambition on behalf of her own son, Mardánsháh.^191c

§§ 53–54. According to the Sháhnáma the Cross had been long indeed in the possession of the Persians. Here the carrying off is attributed to Ardshír not Dáráb.^191d Historically they took it when they captured Jerusalem in A.D. 614.^191e It was given back as one of the terms of peace between Heraclius and Kubád (Shírwí) in A.D. 628.

The statement that Jesus laughed upon the Cross is a corollary from the notion, common among the Gnostics, that he was not really crucified but some one in his stead. The more accurate form of the statement would be that quoted in Photius from a work called “The Journeys (or Circuits) of the Apostles” (*)aposto/lwn *peri/odoi) viz. that Christ was not crucified but another in his place, and that therefore he laughed at the crucifiers (*to\n *xristo\n mh\ staurwqh=nai a)ll) e(/teron a)nt) a)uto=u, kai/ katagela=|n dia\ to=uto tw=n staurou/ntw/n).^191f Muhammad in the Kurán adopted this view which of course became the belief of his followers:—“They slew him not and they crucified him not, but they had only his likeness.”¹⁹²

§ 56. Shírín has been described by different authorities as of Roman, Greek, Armenian, and Persian descent. She has been identified also with Maryam, the problematical wife of Khusrau Parwíz—a view that receives no support from the Sháhnáma. There is a general agreement that she was a Christian.^192a According to the Sháhnáma the association of Khusrau Parwíz with Shírín began during his father's lifetime. This is affirmed also in some accounts quoted by Mír Khánd according to which Shírín was in the service of a Persian noble at whose house Khusrau Parwíz in his youth occasionally visited. There he saw Shírín, fell in love with her, and gave her a ring. The noble got to know of what was going on and ordered a servant to drown her. She saved herself, however, with the servant's connivance and took refuge with a hermit. After Khusrau Parwíz became Sháh she got the ring conveyed to him, and he carried her off to Madá'in in great state.^192b If Shírín really managed to retain her influence over Khusrau Parwíz for the best part of a lifetime she must have been possessed of a very exceptional personality. The devotion to her of her lover, Farhád, is celebrated in Nizámí's poem of “Khusrau and Shírín” (A.D. 1180). Farhád, famous for his architectural and engineering skill, seems to be an historical character. To him with some probability may be attributed the responsibility for Khusrau Parwíz' triumphal arch at Takht-i-Bústán^192c near Kirmánsháh and his palace at Mashíta (Mashetta) some twenty-five miles due east of the northern end of the Dead Sea. The date of the construction of this palace, of which the exquisitely carved stone façade is now in the Kaiser Friedrich Museum at Berlin, however, is still disputed.^192d Farhád is not mentioned in the Sháhnáma. In the Persian Tabarí Shírín is stated to have been a Greek, to have predeceased Khusrau Parwíz, and to have been loved by Farhád, but it is not said that she was in love with him.^192e Firdausí does not suggest that she was of other than Persian origin, and she is said to have been a native of Khúzistán.¹⁹³ Her name is derived from the Persian word for milk “shír” and so comes to mean “sweet.”

§ 57. A somewhat similar story is told of the Egyptian Amasis by Herodotus.^193a

§ 58. The murder of Maryam by Shírín is on the face of it a poetical fiction suggested by the known enmity felt by Shírín with regard to Shírwí who, as a parricide to be, is here represented in an unfavourable light. His imprisonment probably was brought about by Shírín in the interests of her own son Mardánsháh and nearly had the effect desired.^193b

§ 60. In the Persian Tabarí Sarkash is called Sergius.^193c

§ 61. The palace here referred to must be the Takht-i-Khusrau whose façade and vast hall on the left bank of the Tigris some twenty-five miles below Baghdád form the finest remains of Sásánian architecture. The palace, however, seems to have been built not in the days of Khusrau Parwíz but in those of his grandfather Núshírwán and, as Firdausi states, a Rúman architect may have been employed.^193d Khusrau Par-wíz from about the time of the outbreak of the Roman war (A.D. 603), after the murder of the Emperor Maurice by Phocas till nearly the end of his reign, held his court at Dastagird not at Ctesiphon.^193e

§§ 63–65. The reign of Khusrau Parwíz bears a considerable resemblance to that of Assurbanipal (B.C. 668–626). Their seats of government were on the same historic stream—Dasta-gird and Madá'in in the former case, Nineveh and Chalah in the latter. Both reigns were long and the last great ones of their respective dynasties. The wars of both monarchs covered much the same ground—Syria, Armenia, Asia Minor and Egypt. In both cases a season of military brilliancy and territorial expansion was followed by one of cumulative disaster. In both cases the national resources were over-strained and in both cases the subsequent collapse came with startling suddenness.

The account given by Firdausí of the causes that led to the fall of Khusrau Parwíz and of the fall itself may be amplified from other authorities thus:—In A.D. 626 the Sásánian Empire, though it had suffered shrewd blows in the previous campaigns of Heraclius, was still after nearly a quarter of a century of warfare far from being worsted. It was not Khusrau Parwíz but Heraclius that made several vain attempts to bring about peace. The Persian army under Shahrbaráz (the Guráz of Firdausí) still occupied Chalcedon, divided only by a mile, but an impassable mile, of sea from Constantinople. The Persians had good cause to deplore their lack of sea-power. To get over this difficulty they made arrangements for a mixed horde of Avars, Slavs, and other tribes, who had no straits to cross, to attack Constantinople. That city was besieged accordingly but proved impregnable to the resources of the barbarians. Heraclius, meanwhile, contented himself with operations in Lazica but his brother, Theodore, worsted the Persians in Asia Minor. In this connexion we have an instance of the way in which Khusrau Parwíz treated his unsuccessful generals. The defeat of the Persians on the occasion in question seems largely to have been due to the effects of a severe hail-storm. Khusrau Parwíz, however, was very wroth and when the Persian commander died of despondency shortly afterwards he had the body embalmed and sent to him to be maltreated.¹⁹⁴ In A.D. 627 Heraclius determined on a Winter-campaign against his enemy's capital. He defeated the Persians near Nineveh on December 12th and then marched on Dastagird, some seventy miles above Ctesiphon, where Khusrau Parwíz had held his court for the previous twenty years in consequence, it is said, of a prediction made to him when besieging Dárá in the days of the Emperor Phocas that he would perish on the next occasion that he entered Ctesiphon.^194a Nevertheless he retreated thither, abandoning Dastagird to its fate, and then crossed the Tigris to Bih-Ardshír (Seleucia), taking with him Shírín, two sons of his by her, and three daughter-wives.^194b His eldest son, Shírwí, and his other sons were in internment at 'Akr Bábil, a state-prison near Babylon.^194c At Bih-Ardshír the Sháh armed his personal attendants etc. and sent them to reinforce the defeated Persian army which had made no effective stand since the battle of Nineveh. These combined forces, with two hundred elephants, took up their position on the river Arba, a short distance from Ctesiphon and broke down the bridges.^194d On January 7th A.D. 628 Heraclius advanced from Dastagird, which he had devastated, and three days later encamped within twelve miles of the Arba. He sent George, the leader of the Armenian contingent, to reconnoitre the Persian position and on his report retreated northwards to the neighbourhood of Lake Urumiah where he passed the rest of the Winter. Shortly before he had made another of his appeals to Khusrau Parwíz for an accommodation: “I follow thee and am instant for peace, for I do not of mine own will consume Persia with fire but because I am forced thereto by thee. Now therefore let us throw down our arms and welcome peace. Let us put out the fire before all is burned.” The Sháh refused the offer to the exasperation of his people¹⁹⁵ with whom he was already very unpopular because, according to Tabarí, he despised them and treated their great men without regard, had given the barbarian Farruk-hánzád, son of Sumai, power over them, and ordered the execution of the captives, and intended to put to death the Persian troops defeated by Heraclius.^195a He had also, it seems, sent instructions for the putting to death of the Persian general Shahrbaráz, but the bearer of the letter was taken by the Romans. Heraclius informed Shahrbaráz who falsified the letter by making the order apply to forty other chiefs as well as to himself and read out the dispatch as altered to the assembled Persian leaders. In their wrath they renounced their allegiance to Khusrau Parwíz, made terms of peace with Heraclius, and decided to quit Chalcedon and return home.^195b Khusrau Parwíz also had managed to offend his native Christian subjects. In earlier days he had been disposed favourably towards them, and we have seen how he placed himself under the special protection of S. Sergius,^195c while his wife, Shírín, was a Christian of the Nestorian persuasion. She was, however, lured over to the Monophysites and used her influence against the Nestorians who in consequence were not allowed to choose a Catholicus. A very highly esteemed Nestorian named Yazdín was chief tax-collector. After his death Khus-rau Parwíz seized his property and did not bestow by way of compensation the vacant post on Yazdín's son, Shamtá, who also was a Nestorian and afterwards took a prominent part in the revolt against the Sháh. Towards the end of the reign the Monophysites also had cause for complaint against Khusrau Parwíz. Generally speaking, too, all Christians must have been horrified at the sack of Jerusalem and the carrying off of the True Cross.¹⁹⁶ There was therefore no lack of discontent throughout the army and nation generally. The retreat of Heraclius, however, at a moment when the state seemed threatened with imminent peril, might have staved off matters for a while had it not been for the question of the succession. It is said that Khusrau Parwíz when he fled from Dastagird to Ctesiphon was suffering from dysentery and wished to secure the crown for his son Mardasas (Mardánsháh), the offspring of Shírín.^196a Shírwí, the Sháh's eldest son, who was in internment with many of his brothers, was therefore in a situation of imminent peril. A conspiracy was formed to make him Sháh and rescue the captives in the prisons. Among the conspirators were two sons of Shahrbaráz, Shamtá, son of Yazdín, and Mihr Hurmuzd, the son of a former governor of Nímrúz who had fallen a victim to Khusrau Parwíz' jealous suspicions.^196b A party of the nobles hastened to 'Akr Bábil and brought Shírwí by night to Bih-Ardshír (Seleucia) where, at the bridge of boats, which it would be important to seize, he was met by others of the conspirators. The prisons were thrown open, and that night Khusrau Parwíz heard the shouts that hailed Shírwí as “Kubád Sháhánsháh.” When the rebels approached the palace in the early morning the royal bodyguard fled and Khusrau Parwíz escaped into his garden which was called “The Garden of the Indians” but was discovered shortly and taken prisoner. The date, according to our reckoning, was February 25th, A.D. 628.^196c

Of heaven's dome revolving rapidly,
And ever restless in its instancy,
What shall I say? It giveth one a crown,
Another to the fishes in the sea;

The end of both, ensnared in bale's dark net,
Is in the dust, and had the sage ne'er set
Eyes on the world, nor passed through days of strife
As lord or liege, his lot were happier yet.

I treat the matter of Khusrau Parwíz,
And proffer to the reader novelties.
¹⁹⁷

Whenas Khusrau Parwíz sat on the throne
Of gold the men of noble birth repaired
To him. They summoned all the chiefs and showered
Gems over that new crown. He thus addressed
The archmages: “No one save the fortunate
Can win this crown and throne. May mine employ
Be right alone for from injustice cometh
All loss. We purpose well to all. Our head
Is void of evil-doing. This new throne,
And this new fortune bright and opulent,
Are mine from God. Do ye withal incline
Your hearts to obey and covenant with us
To observe three things in all contingencies:
To harm not holy men, not to rebel,
And to abstain from others' goods forwhy
The pang will pass to him that did the wrong,
Whene'er it chanced, and sold his heart for naught.
Now must your hands be washed from things like these,
The path of right ensued. Moreover wisdom
Approveth what accordeth best to manhood.
I have no difference with any one
Although such sought my crown and signet-ring.
The man of high birth and of noble nature
Will speak but right. Your safety is assured:
I will not work the works of Áhriman.”
All those that heard the Sháh blessed crown and throne,
And going forth rejoicing praised his fortune,
While he descended from the throne of might
Right glad and mused upon Hurmuzd all night.

Now when the ebon Veil had disappeared,
And in the distance cock-crow reached the ear,
The winner of the world with stricken heart,
And deeply sorrowful, approached his sire,
On seeing him lamented, did obeisance,
And tarried long with him. Khusrau Parwíz,
Beholding his sire's face, sighed deeply, kissed
His eyes and head and feet, then said to him
With full heart and with face all wet with tears:—
“My father, fortune's mate, thou memory
Of Núshírwán! thou know'st that none had pricked
Thy finger had I been but there to help thee.
See what thou wilt command me; grief hath come
Upon thee and my heart is full. If now
Thou biddest I am at thy gate a slave
To guard thy head. I seek not crown, I want
Not host, and lay my head before thy throne.”
Hurmuzd replied: “O prudent one! my day
Of misery will pass from me, and he
That perpetrated this will soon be gone:
Both trouble and delight are transient.
I ask three things of thee, no more, and one
Is that each morning at the break of day
Thou wilt delight mine ears with thine own voice;
The second is that thou wilt send to me
Some noble cavalier scarred with long fight
To talk to me of warfare and the chase,
And some old sage to hold discourse of kings,
And bring to me the records to abate
My pain and misery; and my third wish
Is that thy mother's brothers, who are not
Thine equals but thy slaves, shall never see
The world henceforth: discharge thy wrath on them
For all this grief.”

“O king!” he made reply,

“May that man perish who deploreth not
Thine eyes and be thy foes, though their ill deeds
Be secret, banished from the world, but still
Consider in that lucid mind of thine:
Bahrám Chúbína hath been paladin
While with him there are countless forces—horsemen
And gallant sworders—and if we lay hand
On Gustaham no refuge will be left us;

He spake,

And left the presence weeping but reserved.
The son was kindlier-tempered than the king
In which regard a man of wisdom said:—
“A bland youth, sweet-tongued, is a better friend
Than some fierce warrior ageing to his end,
Yet at the last dust is the common lot
Of one of parts and one that hath them not;
Albeit to learn of one there is no need,
Who saith that wits and fools are of one breed,
For knowledge will ensure thy fair surcease,
And heaven in Paradise will give thee peace.
As victuals serve to keep the body whole,
So knowledge is all needful for the soul.
Cry to the Holy and Supreme in all,
And be all undismayed at great or small.”

How Bahrám Chúbína heard of the Blinding of Sháh Hurmuzd and how he led his Troops against Khusrau Parwíz

Bahrám Chúbína heard how fortune dealt
With that famed king: “They set the searing irons
To his bright eyes, and those two Lamps, those twin
Narcissi of his garth, are dead, his son
Is seated on his throne and his high fortune
Is trodden underfoot.”

Bahrám Chúbína,

The hero, was amazed, grew wan, and pondered.
He said: “The time for me to fight hath come;
By daring I will seize the world.”

He bade

To bear forth to the field the kettledrums
And flag of majesty. He packed the baggage,
He called his warriors to horse and spake
Of waging war against Khusrau Parwíz.
His host, as 'twere a moving mountain, marched
Audaciously as far as Nahrawán.

Now when Gurdwí,

Dármán, the monarch of Armenia,
Shápúr and Andamán, shrewd chiefs and fighters,
Were set in secret conclave with the Sháh
He thus addressed them: “Mighty warriors!
When wisdom is a light within the brain
Then knowledge is the body's coat of mail,
Which naught except the sword of death will sever,
A sword whereto a steel helm is as wax.
I am but young to you so cannot walk
The world aright; instruct me what to do.
Who suffereth from these wounds?”

An archmage said:—

“Thou wilt be happy and the Grace and provand

All the leaders

Assented to his scheme, the great applauded,
And hailed him king of earth; all said: “Oh! be
The ills of fortune far from thee, O king!
Be victory, Grace, majesty, and crown
Of king of kings thine own.”

He answered thus:—

“So be it; enough. May none of us behold
Disunion or defeat.”

Then from Baghdád,

And with new camp-enclosures, he marched forth
Upon the plain. As the two powers drew near
Upon the march, the captain of the host's
On that side and on this the Sháh's, and when
The world's light had been taken in the toils,
And pitchy night had shaken out its locks,
Scouts went forth from both hosts to guard the approaches;
And when night, frighted by the sword of day
Had fled dry-lipped and quaking, rose the din
Of tymbals from both camps and Sol led forth
To war. Then at the Sháh's command Bandwí
And Gustaham put on their iron helms,

On one side

There was Khusrau Parwíz and on the other
The paladin, between was Nahrawán,
While on both sides the armies watched them meet,
And how the paladin the Sháh would greet.

Bahrám Chúbína and Khusrau Parwíz
Thus met, one cheerful and the other grim.
The world-lord rode an ivory grey and wore
A gold and jewelled crown; his robe from Chín
Was of brocade of gold. Gurdwí as guide
Preceded him, Bandwí and Gustaham
Were at his side, and therewithal Kharrád,
Son of Barzín, who wore a helm of gold.
They all were clad in iron, gold, and silver;
Their golden girdles were occult with gems.
Bahrám Chúbína paled with rage on seeing
The king of kings and thus addressed his chiefs:—
“This whoreson miscreant from low estate
And boorish manner hath attained to manhood,
Grown powerful and girt himself for action.
The writing of the down is manifest
Upon the ivory rondure of his face;
So now he hath become Sháh Farídún
With mace and crown and caught the imperial style,
But speedily will this world end for him.
This dark-souled bastard leadeth on his troops
Like Núshírwán. Scan thoroughly his host
To see if there be of it one of name.

He spake and spurred

His pied steed, thou hadst said: “His flying eagle.”
He chose himself a narrow battlefield,
The troops in wonder watching him, and thence
Went on to Nahrawán and there confronted
The glorious Great with certain of Írán,
Armed for the conflict with Khusrau Parwíz,
Who said: “O noble chiefs! who recogniseth
Bahrám Chúbína?”

Said Gurdwí: “O king!

Observe the warrior on the piebald steed,
With white juppon, black baldrick, and who rideth
About among the troops.”

He recognised

The man at sight and said: “Yon lengthy one,
Smoke-hued and riding on the noble piebald?”
Gurdwí replied: “The same and bent on ill.”
“If thou shouldst question,” said Khusrau Parwíz,
“That crook-back he would answer churlishly;
With that hooked nose and half shut eyes ‘he hath,’
Thou wouldest say, ‘a wrathful heart.’ Thou seest
That he is wicked by his looks, God's foe.
I mark naught of submission in his head,
And that none will command him.”

To Bandwí

And Gustaham he said thereafter: “I
Will give an illustration of this saw:—
‘If ‘neath the load the donkey will not pass
Then take the weighty burden to the ass.’
If some bold dív hath gulled Bahrám Chúbína
How should he see God's way? All hearts that ache
With greed are helped not by the advice of wisdom.
When thou goest forth to war debate is over.
We must consider all from first to last:
Who knoweth which will conquer in the fight,
Which host be doleful or illustrious?
Considering those troops so well arrayed,
And with a leader eager for the fray,
Such as Bahrám Chúbína is—a man
Grim as a lusty dív—and militants

“O king!”

Said Gustaham, “live happily while time
Shall last. Thou scatterest gems in talk and art
More wise. Do what thou willest. Thou art just,
And yon slave is unjust; thy head is full
Of brains and his of wind.”

Khusrau Parwíz,

On hearing this, advanced before his troops,
Held distant parle with brave Bahrám Chúbína,
And sought for feast in war-time. Thus he said:—
“Illustrious man! what business hast thou here
Upon the battlefield? Thou art as though
The jewel of the court, the wealth of throne
And diadem, the army's prop in war-time,
And as a bright light at our festivals.
Thou art ambitious, brave, and servest God;
Ne'er may the Almighty take His hand from thee.
I have considered of thy case, approved
Thine acts, will entertain thee and thy troops,
And make my soul glad by the sight of thee.
I will appoint thee general of Írán,
As is but right, and I will pray to God
For thee.”

When brave Bahrám Chúbína heard

He gave his black-tailed, piebald steed the rein,
Saluted from his seat, paused, and replied:—
“In good case, blithe, and fortunate am I,
And may the day of greatness ne'er be thine,
Who knowest not kingship whether just or not.
The Aláns' king in the conduct of his kingship
Is being helped by the unfortunate!
I have considered of thy case and suppled
A lasso for thy sake. I will erect
Forthwith a lofty gibbet, make thy hands
Fast in the coils, and hang thee up thereon
As thou deservest, giving thee a glimpse
Of fortune's bitterness.”

Khusrau Parwíz

Heard and his cheeks became like fenugreek.

Said Bahrám Chúbína: “Wretch,

And mad in deed and word! first, for thy talk
Of guests: thou art thyself new-fangled though
Thy talk is of the past. What have the words
Of Sháhs to do with thee? Thou art no sage,
Or valiant cavalier. Thou wast the Aláns' king,
And now though thou art chief thou art withal
Inferior to the slave of slaves. Thou art
A fruitless evil-doer in the world;
No Sháh art thou or fit to lead the mighty;
But me men bless as Sháh. I will not let thee
Set foot on earth. Moreover, when I said:—
‘Thou art ill-starred, unfit for rule and kingship,’
I said it, worthless Sháh! and may the state
Be never thine! because the Íránians
Are foes of thine, will struggle to uproot thee,
Will rend thee, skin and veins, and give the dogs
Thy bones to eat.”

Khusrau Parwíz replied:—

“Knave! why so fierce and haughty, for foul words
Disgrace a man? But from the very first
Thy disposition hath been thus; clear wisdom
Is severed from thy brain. Blest is the noble
That eateth wisdom's fruits! Fey dívs discourse
At large. I would not have a paladin
Like thee made weak and ruined by his temper.

Khusrau Parwíz

Replied: “May his sire's woe ne'er joy this slave.
Thus was it written and what was to be
Hath been; how long wilt thou add word to word?

“Valiant one!”

Rejoined Bahrám Chúbína, “he is worthy
That carried off from thee the sovereignty.
When, from the daughter of Pápak, Ardshír
Was born, and the Ashkánians had the sway,
Grew he not mighty and slew Ardawán,
Whose throne he won? And now five hundred years
Have passed by and Sásánian heads and crowns
Are waxing cold. Now is my day for throne
And diadem; the headship and the work,
Allied with conquering fortune, are for me.
When I behold thy fortune, face, and troops,
Thy crown and throne, like some led lion roused
Will I abolish the Sásánians,
Erase them from the roll and trample down
Sásán, both head and crown. The power should be
The Ashkánians' if the wise would hear aright.”
Khusrau Parwíz replied: “Contentious fool!
If kingship is for those of royal race
What dost thou in their midst? What are the folk
Of Rai but double-faced? And what as men?
But few at first they joined Sikandar's host,
And arming on the Rúmans' side soon won
The Kaian throne. It did not please the Maker,
And ruin came upon them from themselves;
The Judge that giveth succour crowned Ardshír,
And he was worthy of the royal crown
Although he had no treasure and dínárs.
Those great men's work hath passed away, our words
Are wind. God choosing him for sovereignty
Saw naught but good in him. Now who deserveth
The government and who shall be the lord
Of this unstable world? Inform me truly,
Choose the good path and shun perversity.”
Bahrám Chúbína hearing changed his ground,
And said: “I am Bahrám, the warrior,
The rooter up of kings.”

Khusrau Parwíz

Made answer: “Thou hast heard the sage's saw:—
‘The equipage of greatness ne'er commit
To mean or wayward folk of little wit,
For they, when they have got it from thee, take
Their ease and if thou ask it back they quake.’

Khusrau Parwíz replied: “Thou luckless!
Why not be mindful of Gurgín at Rai,
Whom fortune never succoured in the world,
And who had not throne, majesty, and state?
None knew thy name; thou wast obscure and poor.
The great Mihrán Sitád came and informed
The monarch of the age about thee, thus
Exalting thee from darksome dust, but thou
Hast lost sight of that day! He furnished thee
With treasures, arms, and troops, and Rustam's banner
Resplendent as the moon. God did not will
That Turkmans out of Chín should waste Írán,
And helped thee in the fight with them; thy helm
Rose cloudward since the Lord of circling heaven
Willed the Great King success; but thou dost take
The merit to thyself who never sawest
The great and good. If kingship is to quit
The Kaian race why girdest thou thy loins?
'Twill need one like Sikandar to obscure
The fortune of the king of kings. Mayst thou
With thy dív's face and dusty hue attain
To naught except a ditch. Thy waywardness
And conduct dimmed the Sháh's days. Thou hast put
My name on drachms and striven to ruin me.
Thou art ill's source in this world and supreme
Among transgressors. Whereso blood is shed
The guilt is thine. Thou wilt not find by night
In slumber what thou seekest for all day
Beneath the sun. O luckless and unjust!
Give not thy whole time to perversity,
Inflict not rashly outrage on thyself,
And so remain unjust and miserable.
Think how to gain God's favour and make wisdom
And truth thy task for what is mine and thine
Will pass; time reckoneth our every breath.
Who will declare, when thou hast decked thy heart
With guile, that guile is better than the right?
At thy behest whate'er thou wilt is thine,
Thine to one half the realm. Then in this world
Thou wilt be happy, all at ease, and far

Bahrám Chúbína said:—

“Thou miscreant! rightly art thou from Sásán,
Who was a shepherd and was shepherd-born;
Pápak was not the first to make him one.”
^219a Khusrau Parwíz replied: “Thou evil-doer!
Thine arrogance is not Sásán's. Thy words
Are wholly lies, and falsehood is no honour.
Thou comest of bad-natured, worthless men,
And spring'st not from Sásán.”

“The shepherdship,”

Bahrám Chúbína answered, “of Sásán
Ne'er will be hidden.”

Said Khusrau Parwíz:—

“Dárá, when dying, gave not to Sásán
The crown of majesty. Though lost was fortune
Was lineage lost? No talk will turn injustice
To justice. Seek'st thou, having for thine own
Such prudence, rede, and Grace, the imperial throne?”

How Bahrám Chúbína and Khusrau Parwíz returned, how Gurdya advised Bahrám Chúbína, and how Khusrau Parwíz told his Purpose to the Íránians

He spake and smiled, turned from Bahrám Chúbína,
And set his face towards his host. Of those
Three valiant Turks who served the Khán of Chín,
Were savage as a wolf and had assured
Bahrám Chúbína: “We, to win renown,
Will on the day of battle bring to thee
The person of the Sháh alive or dead
Before the troops,”²²⁰ one impious horseman, strong,
Fierce, fearless, rushed forth seeking fight and grim
With sixty coils of lasso on his arm,
And drawing near that steed of ivory,
And aiming at the splendid crown, flung forth
His lasso coiled, and caught the Sháh's crowned head;
But Gustaham clave with his sword the lasso,

His wise sister

Replied: “O shrewd, ambitious chief! if I
Say much thou wilt not hear me but display
Ill-temper and ill-nature. Call to mind
The saying of the aphorist of Balkh:—
‘When any one shall truth from hiding bring,
And tell thy faults, truth is a bitter thing.’
Think not to waste thy country for thou hast
Thy share of earth. A very wise man said:—
‘To have an ox's horn an ass once tried,
And lost forthwith his ears on either side.’
Court not the world's reproach; none of thy race
Hath worn the crown. Had this youth intervened not
I had not been thus seared and dark of soul;
But as it is his sire is living, the throne
Of sovereignty is still in place yet thou
Must interfere! How it will end I know not,
But all night long mine eyes are filled with blood.
Thine only aim is pain and malison;
Thou sniffest rashly at a poison-flower.
How folk will call Chúbína infamous,
The name Bahrám disfame! God will be wroth
Withal and Hell the prison of thy soul.
The world is not for every one, my brother!
And naught abideth save a fair renown.

Bahrám Chúbína

Made answer: “'Tis all true and holy God
Is witness, but the thing hath gone too far;
My heart and brain are sick with greed and I
Must grow whole or resign my head to death,
Which pierceth helms of steel. If I am stricken
By this young Sháh my troops will take from him
His throne and, black at heart with vengeance, set
Another there.”

The youthful king for his part

Recrossed the bridge of Nahrawán, rejoicing,
Called all the captains of the host, set those
Entitled by their rank beside the throne
Of sovereignty, and said: “Good-hearted chiefs,
Adept and veteran! of this my kingship
This is my primal act—a mere essay—
And none doth owe us praise though our intent
Be good, and ye have had no good from us
While we must now augment your toils and griefs.
Ye served mine ancestors and have seen much
Of this world's salts and sours. I will disclose
My purpose, hidden from the host, to you;
My words must go no further, that would mar
My scheme if it were published to the troops.
I mean to lead the host to-night to battle,
For I have parleyed with Bahrám Chúbína,
Who is an active, skilful cavalier,
Though I discerned no wisdom in his head,
Or in the heads of his illustrious troops.
His fight with Sáwa is his only theme,
He telleth o'er and o'er the same old tale.
He thinketh me a foolish youth and fain
Would frighten me with mace and scimitar,
Not knowing that I attack by night and so
Gain confidence. If ye will share the fray
With me I will not loiter but, when night
Shall steep her face in ambergris and loose
Her musky locks, do ye mount armed and grasping
The mace and scimitar.”

They all agreed

To do the Sháh's behest. When he had gone
Back to his tent he put all strangers forth.
He sent for Gustaham and for Bandwí,
And for Gurdwí, a veteran warrior,
And told his purpose of a night-attack
In hopes that they would aid. Said Gustaham:—

Gurdwí said: “All is over,

E'en as a wind that passeth o'er the plain.
Power, passion, treasury, and troops make err
A young man's head. Do not be thou to-night
Upon the field and suffer not the host
And treasure to be lost, because I doubt not
That all our secret plans and preparations
Will be reported to the other side;
Yield not thy head then to the enemy.”
Pleased with the rede Khusrau Parwíz assented,
Selected certain chiefs devoted to him
For good and ill—Kharrád, son of Barzín,
And Gustaham, the Lion, and Shápúr,
And Andiyán, the valorous, Bandwí,
Kharrád, withal, the Lustre of the host,
Nastúh, the chief and burner up of heroes,
And others who would serve to guard the troops,
The treasure and himself. They sought a hill
That would avail if fight were toward—a place
All grass and apt for feasts. Khusrau Parwíz
Thence viewed the host from far.

Bahrám Chúbína,

The brave, for his part mounted and when great
And small drew near he questioned of the chiefs:—
“What tidings have ye of your kith and kin?
Send to them, ye that have such—men at one
With you in word and Faith. If they will come
And do my will, and stake their lives as pledges
Of their sincerity, I will enrich them,
And they shall all be nobles like yourselves.
The troops from Barda' and from Ardabíl,
And slack Armenians—a band or two—
Remain. We fear them not in fight while those
From Barda' are but as a pinch of dust.”
The chieftains heard what brave Bahrám Chúbína
Proposed and chose a warrior from the host,

Now when Bahrám Chúbína was aware
That all the troops were well disposed to him
His host lit watch-fires and set lights ablaze
In every quarter. Then that Lion chose
A valiant band fit to subdue the world,
Six thousand Sabres as the leaders reckoned.
Bahrám Chúbína told them: “When the drum
Shall beat at cock-crow raise the battle-cry,
Attack and crown the nobles' heads with blood.”
Led by the three proud Turks the troops sped forth
At his command and full of spite and vengeance
Fell on the army of the king. Arose
A din of mace and sword and battle-ax,
The earth was iron and the clouds were dust.
The troops all asked: “Where is Khusrau Parwíz?
The day and victory to-day are ours.”
Khusrau Parwíz was on the hill in anguish,
His eyes were full of blood, his cheeks the hue
Of lapis-lazuli, and, till the shafts
Of dawn shot up, the clashing of the hosts
Confounded him, but when the dark night's skirt
Had vanished, and he saw the battlefield
All killed and wounded, to his chiefs he said:—
“Help and put forth your powers against the foe,
For God, the Victor, is mine aid and prop,
And now my work is blows and scimitar.”
He charged amain at those three Turks. Turks? Nay,
Three fierce and savage wolves. One closed with him,
Unsheathed his glittering glaive and sought to strike
The king upon the head; the royal rider

Bandwí made answer thus:—

“O noble prince! may this world yearn in love
For thee. Thy troops are gone, abide not thou,
For none is left to aid thee.”

To Gurdwí

Then said the king: “Haste with Tukhár and take
The tent-enclosure, treasure, and brocade,
Crown, captives, purses, and the ivory throne,
All that thou canst, and take a thousand horse
Of those still left.”

The nobles toiled to load,

And carry off, this treasure. Then appeared
A dragon-flag; the world turned violet.
Behind the flag rode brave Bahrám Chúbína,
Who robbed the world of lustre in the fray.
He and Khusrau Parwíz encountered, both
Redoubted warriors and savage lions.
Like elephants of war they raged and smote
Each other on the head. All lion-like
Bahrám Chúbína wheeled, his weapons failed
Against the foe, and thus till set of sun
The conflict passed all bounds. Then came Tukhár
To tell Khusrau Parwíz that he had drawn
The treasure and the baggage to the bridge,
Whereat the monarch said to Gustaham:—
“We have not any helpers in the fight;
We are but ten; this is a mighty host,
And led on by a valiant paladin.
Although we have the Grace upon our side
We lack for friends, so flee we. Timely flight
Is better than affray. I may not tarry,
For I am all alone.”

The unpractised youth

Fared till he reached the bridge of Nahrawán,
Pursued all hotly by Bahrám Chúbína,
His head all vengeance and his heart all strife.
Khusrau Parwíz, when he perceived this, stopped
Upon the bridge and summoned to his presence
The veteran Gustaham. “Bring me my bow,”
He said; “'tis mine interpreter in war.”
The treasurer, who was Gustaham himself,

Thence weeping blood and liver-pierced he went
Before his sire, gave greeting, tarried long,
And said: “The cavalier, the paladin,
Whom thou didst choose, O king! came as do Sháhs
That have the Grace and brought a numerous host.
I counselled him but 'twas of no avail,
He only cared for war and conflict. Never
Be his name current! All against my will
Was fought a great fight, and the stars brought scath
On many. All my troops deserted me;
Thou wouldst have said they saw and passed me by,
And, not reflecting, hailed Bahrám Chúbína
As Sháh. Pursuing me he led his troops,
As 'twere a moving mountain, to the bridge

“This is ill-advised,”

Replied Hurmuzd, “for now thou hast no standing.
To go to them is labour lost, for we
Possess not men, or arbalists or treasure.
The Arabs will not help when there is naught
To gain or lose but in despite and dudgeon
Will sell thee to thy foes, yet God will aid,
And smiling fortune side with thee. If thou
Wouldst quit this land depart with speed for Rúm,
And tell to Cæsar what this slave in straits
Hath said. He will assist thee with his treasure
And troops. In that land are both men and stores,
And arms and host arrayed. Moreover all
That spring from Farídún are kin to thee,
And will assist thee in thy need.”

Thereat

Khusrau Parwíz kissed earth and gave the praises
Due to the Great. Then to Bandwí, Gurdwí,
And Gustaham he said: “We must consort
With grief and toil. Take order, pack, and yield
Our country to the foe.”

Said Gustaham:—

“Ne'er mayst thou see ill hap, O king!”

He answered:—

“The circling heaven produceth wrath and love
By turns.”

With that the watchman cried: “O Sháh,

Just and auspicious! from the road hath risen
Dark dust. Amid a host a standard waveth
Charged with a dragon, and Bahrám Chúbína
Raised it beside the Nahrawán.”

Thereat

Khusrau Parwíz gat on his steed like smoke,
And fled like flying dust with that blue banner
Behind him. Turning him about he saw
Bandwí and Gustaham proceeding slowly,
And shouted to them in an angry tone:—
“O villains! what hath happened that yon foes
Become like friends to you? If 'tis not so
Why ride at leisure with Bahrám Chúbína
Hard on your backs?”

Bandwí replied: “O king!

Be not concerned at him; he will not see

When he had gone the two

Unjust ones turned back eager for revenge.
Arrived, they sought the palace of the Sháh,
All dudgeon and with hearts prepared for crime.
When they had passed the gate and reached the throne
They straightway took the string from off a bow,
Flung it forthwith around the monarch's neck,
And hung his honoured person. Passed that crown
And throne of king of kings: thou wouldst have said:—
“Hurmuzd was never in the world at all.”
The custom of revolving time it is
To furnish sometimes sweets and sometimes bane;
Seek not for profit from a stock like this
Because the quest will bring thee naught but pain.
When thus Hurmuzd's days ended and the throne,
That happy seat, remained unfilled, forthwith
Arose a sound of drums; those murderers' cheeks
Became like sandarac. Upon the road
Bahrám Chúbína's standard came in sight
Amid his troops, and that outrageous pair—
Bandwí and Gustaham—fled from the palace,
And hasted till they reached Khusrau Parwíz,
Who, seeing their wan looks, knew that their hearts
Contained some secret, else would they have quitted

How Bahrám Chúbína sent Troops after Khusrau Parwíz and how Bandwí contrived to rescue him from their Hands

On entering the palace of the Sháh
Bahrám Chúbína chose from his fierce host
Six thousand wielders of the scimitar,
Mailed, to pursue the king, and put Bahrám,
The son of Siyáwush, in charge of those
Famed, warlike troops, while on the other part
Khusrau Parwíz took to the waste to 'scape
His foes with life, and reached at length a hold
With battlements of viewless height. Folk called it
“The House of God”—a shrine, a blesséd spot,
With bishops and a metropolitan,
A place for penitents. He there addressed
A holy man: “What food is there to hand?”
A bishop said: “There are unleavened loaves
And watercress, my lord! If such thou needest
Let it be none save ours.”

The king forthwith

Alighted with his escort. That aspirant
With his two courtiers took in hand for prayer
The sacred twigs, then on the soft, blue²³⁴ sand
They sat and ate in haste of what there was.
Thereafter he addressed the bishop thus:
“Hast thou no wine, old sir whose steps are blest?”
He said: “We manufacture wine from dates;
We make it in the heat of summer-time.
There is a little left, clear as rose-water,
And red as coral in the sun.”

Forthwith

He brought a cup thereof and it eclipsed
The hue of Sol. Khusrau Parwíz drank three,
Partook of barley-bread and, when his wits
Were warmed with ruddy wine, slept with his head
Laid on Bandwí's lap on the yielding sand,
All sorrowful of soul and liver-pierced.
Just as he slept the senior bishop came.

Said Khusrau Parwíz: “Good friend!

Direct us in the matter.”

He rejoined:—

“I will devise escape for thee, O king!
In this strait, though I shall have sacrificed
My life to save the monarch of the world.”
Khusrau Parwíz replied: “A sage of Chín
Hath uttered better things in this regard:—
‘In Paradise shall be his future state
Who here hath tilled about a monarch's gate.
The plastering can not abide in place
When city-walls are levelled to their base.
When mighty cities perish out of hand.
Let not the hospitals be left to stand.’
If shift thou knowest use it; holy God
Will save thee from the need of other help.”
Bandwí said: “Let me have the crown of gold,
The earrings, girdle, and the robe from Chín,
Gold-woven and tulip-hued, and while I don them
Abide not thou. Go with thy troops apace
As sailors speed a vessel o'er the deep.”
The youth did as Bandwí advised and thence
Companioned with the wind. When he had made
Shift thus to flee, Bandwí, the veteran,
Turned to the bishop, saying: “Ye must tarry
Unseen of all upon the mountain-top,”
Then went himself dust-swift within the shrine,
And with all speed shut fast the iron door,
Assumed the gold-embroidered robe and donned
The royal crown. He went upon the roof,
And thence unwillingly beheld a host
On every side. He waited till they came
Up to the hold to fight. At sight of him
With gold crown, earrings, torque, and belt all cried:—
It is Khusrau Parwíz with his new crown
And robes.”

Bandwí, when certain that the troops

Had taken him to be the Sháh himself,
Went from the roof, donned his own clothes with speed,
Then fearlessly returned and said: “Young braves!
To whom shall I address me as your chief
Because I have a message from the Sháh
To give in presence of the mighty men?”

“This may prove a trifle,”

Bahrám said to his chiefs, “or else of moment.
If we shall press him much he may be wroth
And fall on us. He is a host himself,
A world-aspirant, shrewd and valorous.
If he be slain in fight Bahrám Chúbína
Will send too dust from us. 'Tis best to wait
To-day, although our stores are running low,
To see if he will yield without contention.”
Thus was it till the night rose o'er the mountains,
And her host gathered, then both far and wide
The troops spread, kindling fires on every side.

When earth grew sun-hued eloquent Bandwí
Went to the roof and thus addressed Bahrám:—
“Experienced one! when dust rose from the plain
Khusrau Parwíz at sight of you departed,
He and his troops, in haste toward Rúm, and now,
Wert thou to wing it eagle-like and soar
Above the sun, thou wouldst not spy the Sháh
Unless in Rúm where he hath aged by now;
But if ye grant me quarter I will come
Forth to thy valiant chief and I will answer
All questions asked of me about ourselves,
But if not I will arm and send the dust
In combat to the sun.”

The youth's heart aged

With grief when he heard this. “What will it profit,”
He asked his comrades, “if I send the reek
Up from Bandwí? The better course will be
To take him as he is with mind unclouded
Before the paladin to tell whatever
He knoweth of the Sháh and either lose
His head or keep his crown.’

Then to Bandwí:—

“Discuss this question with Bahrám Chúbína,
Thou evil schemer!”

Then Bandwí, the Lion,

Came down and went back with the valiant chiefs.
Bahrám Chúbína heard of their return,
And that Khusrau Parwíz bent on revenge
Had gone to Rúm, and vehemently raged
Against the son of Siyáwush, exclaiming:—
“Thou luckless miscreant! thou hast disobeyed.
Fool that I am! I have approved a fool!”
He summoned next Bandwí, the ambitious one,
And turned the wrath on him: “Thou miscreant knave!
Blame-worthy liar who hast been so foolish
As thus to gull my troops! Thou couldst not rest
Through thine ill nature and hast now become
One with accursed Khusrau Parwíz, hast made
A youth a veteran and hast come to boast:—
‘I will renew this outworn age.’”

Bandwí

Replied: “Exalted chief! look but for right
From me and be not fierce. Know that the king
Of kings is of my kin, his majesty
And greatness are mine own, and I have given,
As was my duty, mine own life for his.
If thou'rt a chieftain act straightforwardly.”

How Bahrám Chúbína summoned the Magnates of Írán, how they discussed his Pretensions to the Kingship, and how he acceded to the Throne

When Sol unsheathed its sword, and when its veil
Of yellow showed, Bahrám Chúbína sent
And called the magnates, seating them upon
The dais of the kings on golden seats,
Which he had ranged around, and sat in joy
As conquering monarchs do. Thereafter he
Spake with a mighty utterance thus and said:—
“Ye that are worshipful! now make response
In full assurance and auspiciously
Advise upon my words. Give them all heed,
And note my prompt dispatch. Ye will not find
A worse Sháh than Zahhák, search as ye may,
Who slew his sire for kingship's sake, whereby
Írán fell to his hands;²³⁹ and now again
Khusrau Parwíz, a man unjust and cursed,
Hath slain his father and hath gone to Rúm;
And so till one of royal race appeareth,
One fit to claim the throne and make crown, girdle,
And fortune his who, think ye, is the man
To gird him at this present to restore
The precedents of kings? I swear by Him,
Who is the Master of the sun on high,
That I will give you aidance in the quest.”
The nobles heard the famous chieftain's words,
And none dissented. Then an elder rose—
Shahrán Guráz, a hoary warrior,
A chieftain eminent—and answered thus:—
“Thou art a benefactor to the world,
Illustrious prince! Hadst thou not been at Rai
No one had matched king Sáwa when he reached
Our coast with forces to enslave the Free;
But bravely thou didst arm thee and that trouble
Passed from the Íránians, and a host equipped,

He spake, ceased, and resumed his seat.

Then Farrukhzád stood up. “O helpful chief!”
He said, “just speech is better than mishap.
If justice then is better perish he
That joyeth in unjust words.”

Then he spake

Thus to Bahrám Chúbína: “Blest be thou,
And may the sight of thee sustain the world.
If these my words find favour and if God,
The Conqueror, assist us live for ever
As our blest Sháh, and be the hands and tongues
Of bad men far from thee.”

That valiant man

Sat down and Khazarwán, son of Khusrau,
Came forward lion-like and said: “Although
Both young and old talk much yet in the end,
If thou wouldst follow right, dispatch like wind
A cameleer and tarry not until
Khusrau Parwíz, the exalted one, shall tread
The longsome road a victim to injustice.
Excuse thy late behaviour and approach not
The throne thus boldly, for no general
Is worthy of it while the world-lord liveth.
If thou art fearful of Khusrau Parwíz
Break off thy love for Párs and Taisafún,

Now when

Bahrám Chúbína saw the scimitars
Drawn he did what was just and right, and said:—
“If any one shall leave his seat and touch
His scimitar I will cut off his hand
Forthwith and sober him.”

This said, he left

The nobles for the pleasance. That great conclave
Dispersed with faces lined and broken hearts.
Whenas the pitch-hued, star-illumined Veil
Appeared, and watchmen's calls were heard, he asked
For pen and paper, and a noble scribe,
And wise, approached, to whom he handed pen
And inkstand, saying: “Write out on this silk
This declaration from the Íránians:—
^242b ‘Bahrám Chúbína is the Sháh, triumphant,
Deserving crown, adorning throne, and seeking
Right publicly and privily.’”

This written

They lighted links and passed an anxious night,
But when the Veil of lapis-lazuli
Had passed away and when the world was sun-gilt,
One fortune-favoured came and set a state
Within the palace of Bahrám Chúbína;
Upon that golden state they placed a seat,
And oped the court. He took his place as Sháh,
And donned the royal crown. The scribe then brought
The declaration of his sovereignty
Inscribed upon the costly painted silk,
And each chief testified: “Bahrám Chúbína
Is monarch of the world.”

When they had signed

He sealed it with his golden seal and said:—
“All-holy God will testify to you
That now this realm is mine and may its kings
Be of my lineage for a thousand years,

'Twas on the day

Khurshíd of month Ázar that thus the Lion
Gave up the Onager's back.²⁴⁴ Bahrám Chúbína
Thereafter thus harangued the Íránians:—
“Revengeful strife hath risen in our midst.
Whoe'er accepteth not this settlement,
Be he an honest man or not, shall spend
But three days in Írán and on the fourth,
What time the world's Light mounteth to the sky,
Shall go to join Khusrau Parwíz and sleep not
In our dominions longer.”

Blessing him,

Not from their hearts, men said: “May earth ne'er lack thee.”
Heart-broken that Bahrám Chúbína reigned
Those loyal to the kingdom's rightful lord
Departed Rúm-ward and dispersed abroad.

How Bandwí plotted with Bahrám, the Son of Siyáwush, to slay Bahrám Chúbína, and how Bandwí fled from Bond

For seventy days Bandwí, like cheetah bound,
Was in the prison of Bahrám Chúbína,
Watched by Bahrám, the son of Siyáwush—
A most unwilling jailor—whom Bandwí,
Still scheming though in bondage, thus beguiled:—
“Despair not of the monarch of Írán;
Though night be dark 'twill turn to day and though
His fortune, like the fortune of Pírúz
With Khúshnawáz, shall tarry long. The Maker
Restored him in the person of Kubád,
²⁴⁵ And gave him back the world. Bahrám Chúbína
In like wise will retain not crown and throne.
Doth he himself, this man of fortune, think it?
Nay, perish any rustic who thus giveth
Himself in folly to the wind. Count thou
Two months upon thy fingers and thou'lt see
Troops from Írán in Rúm, and they will cast
Fire on this crown and throne, and break the jewels
On this man's head.”

Bahrám said: “If the king

Will grant me quarter I will deck my soul
With thine advice and do thy will in all,
But I must have a great oath sworn to me
By moon, Ázargashasp, by throne and crown,
That if Khusrau Parwíz come to our coasts,
And bring a host from Cæsar and from Rúm,

Thereat Bahrám's face brightened,

And he removed the fetters.

When night's veil,

Musk-hued, turned bright and dawn laid hand thereon
Bahrám said to Bandwí: “If my heart fail not,
What time Bahrám Chúbína playeth polo
To-day I have engaged me with five friends
To slay him.”

Calling for a coat of mail

He donned it 'neath his dress and rode away.
Bahrám, the warrior, had a wicked wife
Who wished him hewn to pieces. In her heart
She was enamoured of Bahrám Chúbína,
While hatred of her husband filled her soul;
So to Bahrám Chúbína she dispatched
Some one to say: “O thou that succourest!
Protect thyself because Bahrám hath donned
His mail beneath his robe and buckled it.

Bandwí the while

With his small band sped on like rushing wind.
Each carried with him what he could toward where
Mausíl, the Armenian, dwelt along a road
Infested by wild beasts and waterless.
Bandwí perceived a camp-enclosure pitched,
Saw that it was Mausíl's, found streams and food,
And hurried forward to that fertile spot
Alone, beheld Mausíl, did him obeisance,
And told him privily the case, who said:—
“Stay here, for here the latest news will reach thee
Of what Khusrau Parwíz doth in fair Rúm,
And if he contemplateth peace or war.”
Thereat Bandwí was minded to remain,
And called up his companions from the plain.

How Khusrau Parwíz went toward Rúm by the Desert-route and how a Hermit told him of the Past and Future

Khusrau Parwíz led on in haste where guide,
And grass and water, were not. Slack of rein
They went in dudgeon till they reached Bábil,
Where all the well-disposed among the chiefs
Went forth to welcome him. As he drew near
He made his men dismount outside the city,
And scarce had done so when a courier came
Out of Írán in haste. He bore a letter
Concealed upon him from Bahrám Chúbína,
And written to the ruler of Bábil:—
“Detain a company if one shall come;
My troops pursue and will arrive anon.”
The ruler, seeing the letter's purport, sought
Khusrau Parwíz in haste, who looked and read,
Astounded at the process of the world.
He feared pursuit and mourned his own fatigue,

The Arab said:—

“Stay; I am one with thee, share, soul, and body.”
In his affection for the Sháh he brought
A fatted cow; they slaughtered her and lit
A fire by kindling sticks both green and dry.
He grilled kabáb; the comrades of the Sháh
Were eager to partake, consuming much,
But had no bread. Each chieftain then made ready
A sleeping-place. They slept awhile, then rose
And offered up their orisons anew
To that just Judge who made the world, made mighty
And weak alike, and then the Sháh addressed
His comrades thus: “The most in fault are they
That are my noblest and most famous subjects:
Still those that have done worst, rebelled, and left
God's way, may trust with confidence to me.
See that ye give to them the fairest hopes.”
His comrades blessed him, saying: “O thou pure
Of heart and Faith! bright be thy heart and jocund
Thy lot, and may the just Judge give thee back
The throne. He hath bestowed on thee such Grace
And mien that love and justice are increased
For every one: thou art the sum of wisdom,
For thou replacest ill by good.”

The Sháh,

Though pleased at this acclaim, was in his heart
Concerned about his route and asked the Arab:—
“What is it like? How shall I fare with troops?”

Khusrau Parwíz

Replied: “There is no other course, for this
Will furnish provand and a guide.”

The Aráb

Dispatched a cameleer to fare before
The troops. He hurried over waste and mountain,
All care and travail, with that company.
Withal afar another caravan
Appeared upon the route before the troops.
A wealthy merchant sought the king, who asked:—
“Say, whence art thou and whither hastening?”
He said: “I am a merchant and a scribe,
And I have come from Khurra-i-Ardshír.”
“How did thy father name thee?” said the Sháh.
The merchantman replied: “Mihrán Sitád.”
The king requested of the man supplies
Because the leader of his troops had said:—
“He hath, O Sháh! provisions past compute,
But may not be best pleased.”

“To find a host

Upon the way is so much to the good,”
The Sháh replied. The merchant loosed his bales
Of cheap and costly wares, brought provand forth,
And sat himself upon the ground, invoking
A blessing on the king. The eating done,
The hospitable merchant brought the Sháh
The water for his hands, but when Kharrád,
Son of Barzín, saw that he rose, ran up,
Took the warm water from the merchant's hand,
That no respect toward the Sháh might fail,
And when the merchantman made haste to bring
Wine lucent as rose-water then again
Kharrád, son of Barzín, took from his hand
The goblet and presented it himself.
In due observance servants profit find,
For all such service is repaid in kind.
“Which is the army's route,” the Sháh then asked
The merchant, “and, O hospitable man!
Where dwellest thou in Khurra-i-Ardshír?”
He said: “O Sháh! live in prosperity.
I of these traffickers am from Káraz.”
²⁵² The Sháh enjoined Rúzbih, the scribe, to note
The young man's name and village. “Go thy ways,
And be at heart the warp and woof of wisdom,”
He said. The army left that verdant spot,
And hurrying toward the Rúman marches reached
The town which Cæsar named Kársán. The Christians,

He stayed three days,

And on the fourth when Sol, the world's light, rose,
And thrust its bright sword through the clouds, departed
Toward Warígh;^253b it was a city's name,
And had the true Cross^253c and a hospital.

They made reply:—

“An ancient man grown wan with many years,
A skilled astrologer; there is not aught
Concealed from him, and what he saith will be.”
The Sháh drew nigh the door forthwith and cried:—
“Be thine to worship God, and may He bless thee
If thou wilt come forth from thine ancient cell.”
Forthwith the hermit, when he heard the words,
Descended from his cell and seeing the Sháh
Said: “Of a truth thou art Khusrau Parwíz
Brought by the hand of an ill-doing slave,
Impure, Armenian-like, a servitor,
To this affliction for thy father's throne.”
He spake at large; Khusrau Parwíz became
Cheered in his heart through all that kindliness,
And all in wonder at the words invoked
The blessings of the Maker on the man,
The devotee, and, mounted, greeted him
With outstretched hand, whereat the man of God
Did reverence and spake long. By way of proof
The Sháh said: “Of the Íránian host am I,
A subject, bearing a dispatch to Cæsar,
And I shall carry to my lord his answer.
See if my journey will be prosperous,
And how result.”

He answered: “Say not so;

Thou art the Sháh, make not thyself a courtier.
I told thee all at sight so never prove me.
Thy Faith alloweth no falsehood, and deceit
Is not thy way and wont. Thou hast endured
Much toil and suffered, and at last hast fled
Before thy slave.”

Astounded and confused

Khusrau Parwíz began to make excuse.
The hermit said: “Forbear, and question me
Of what will be. As to thy coming hither
Be glad and confident, and to the world
A fruitful bough for God will satisfy thee,
And give to thee high fortune and high place,
While thou wilt have from Cæsar arms and troops,
And daughter worthy of the crown of state.
The World-lord, who ne'er sleepeth, will assist thee
In battle with thy slaves, while in the end
The miscreant will flee and oft recall

Khusrau Parwíz replied:—

“God grant it, ancient sage! but tell me this:
Will it be long ere I obtain the kingship?”
He said: “Twelve months and thou wilt have the throne,
Then fifteen days and thou wilt light the world
As king of kings.”

“Who of this company,”

The Sháh inquired, “will bear most toil and care
On mine account?”

The hermit said: “Bistám,²⁵⁵

A lofty spirit and a prosperous,
And thy maternal uncle who, thou knowest,
Hath made thy lifetime pleasant; but be ware
Of that unprofitable man, the source
Of all thy plaints, affliction, and mishap.”
The Sháh was wroth and said to Gustaham:—
“Thy name revealeth thee! Thy mother called thee
Bistám but thou proclaimest in the fight
Thyself a Gustaham!”

Then to the hermit:—

“This is mine uncle on my mother's side.”
The hermit answered: “Yea, it is the same;
Thou wilt see pain and strife through Gustaham.”
“And after,” said the Sháh, “what will ensue,
My counsellor?”

He answered: “Heed not that,

For thenceforth thou wilt have but praise; no ill
E'er will befall thee, and if hardship cometh
'Twill be from God. This rebel will disturb
Thy peace, but after thou wilt be content,
And, bad as this malicious one may prove,
His fate is in thy hands.”

“Be not concerned

Hereat, O king!” said Gustaham. “By God,
The Holy One, the Maker of the moon,
Who made a Sháh like thee to rule the world;
By sun, by moon, and by Ázargashasp,
And by the life and head of our famed Sháh,
While Gustaham shall live he shall not seek
Aught but the right or knock at evil's door;
And if he should be minded otherwise
Then may the soul of Gustaham depart.
No human being since the World-lord made
The world hath looked upon His secret's key;
Why shouldst thou credit then a Christian's words,
And heed his idle talk? Suspect me not
Through speech of his, and seek not for a pretext
Against me now that I have sworn to thee.”
Khusrau Parwíz made answer: “Holy men

From that hermitage

He went like levin flashing from a cloud
Toward the city of Warígh, and thence
There met him those of worth and eminence.

How a Cavalier of Cæsar came to Khusrau Parwíz and how Khusrau Parwíz sent a Letter by Gusta-ham, Bálwí, Andiyán, Kharrád, Son of Barzín, and Shápúr to Cæsar

When he arrived there came from noble Cæsar
A cavalier to say: “Ask what thou wilt
Within our coasts and see that thou refrain not
Thy will from kings, for though this realm is mine
I hold thee as mine equal. Stay secure,
And happy in yon city, apprehending
No ill. All Rúmans, haughty though they are
And chiefs, shall serve thee, and I will not seek
Food, sleep or rest till I have furnished thee
With arms and troops.”

The Sháh heard and rejoiced;

His soul was eased; he bade call Gustaham,
Bálwí, aspiring Andiyán, Kharrád,
Son of Barzín, and lion Shápúr, and thus
Spake that brave monarch: “Saddle up at dawn
With golden saddles on the horses led,
Put on your tunics gold-inwoven from Chín,
Be one in heart and honesty, depart,
And parle with Cæsar. Be ye wary, shrewd,
Attentive, bland, and courteous. If he goeth
Upon the Ground for archery or polo
Exert you to the utmost 'gainst his chiefs,
For ye must not be worsted: let him know
That horsemanship proceedeth from Írán,
While from its Lions there come might and valour.”
The Sháh then bade Kharrád, son of Barzín:—
“Bring hither silk from Chín and black musk; I
Must write a letter like resplendent Sol
In jocund Paradise to Cæsar, brief

Those ardent, veteran warriors

Heard the instructions of that glorious youth,
And blessed him saying: “May none wear the crown
But thou.”

They fared with cheerful hearts to Cæsar,

Who when he heard: “Some nobles of Írán,
The envoys of the monarch of the world,
Have reached Yúnán,” sent many troops to meet them.
He decked a palace with brocade of Rúm,
The pattern jewelled on a ground of gold,
And sitting on the famous ivory throne
Assumed the heart-illuming crown and bade
Withdraw the curtain and to introduce
The envoys from the vestibule, rejoicing.
First came the noble Gustaham, behind
There were Bálwí and brave Shápúr, Kharrád,
Son of Barzín, and valiant Andiyán,
All crowned and girdle-girt. They came anear
To Cæsar and on seeing did obeisance,
With one consent called blessings down on him,
And on that golden throne besprinkled gems.
He first inquired about the Sháh, Írán,
The host and toilsome journey. Hearing this,
Kharrád, son of Barzín, approached the throne,
And brought the letter of the Sháh. They set,
By order of that noble sovereign,
Four golden seats, and of the envoys three,
Men of illustrious rank and well advised,
Sat down, but still Kharrád, son of Barzín,
Stood. Cæsar said: “A traveller should sit.”
“The Sháh hath not conferred on me the right,”
He answered, “in thy presence while I hold

When Cæsar heard

His cheeks became like bloom of fenugreek;
That bloom of fenugreek grew charged with hail,
And from his tongue and soul there burst a wail.”