Šāh-nāmah - The Šahnama of Firdausi, Volume 8

á as in “water”
í as in “pique”
ú as in “rude”
a as in “servant”
i as in “sin”
u as in “foot”
ai as in “time”
au as in “cloud”
g is always hard as in “give”
kh as ch in the German “buch”
zh as z in “azure”

Búzurjmihr, while in attendance upon the Sháh during a hunting-expedition, has a premonition of coming trouble and immediately afterwards falls under the Sháh's displeasure, and is disgraced. Conscious of his own rectitude he refuses to own that he is in fault and is treated with increasing rigour till the Sháh has need of his services to expound a problem proposed by Cæsar, but with his sight greatly impaired by his sufferings.

The rest of the Part is taken up with an account of the wisdom of Núshírwán as shown in his replies to questioners and in his letter of advice to his son Hurmuzd.

§ 2. We have other instances of such problems and “hard questions.” See Vol. vii., p. 5.

§§ 3 and 5. On Persian Wisdom-literature see Vol. vii., p. 278 seq.

§ 4. It is manifest from the account in the Sháhnáma, and it is probably true historically, that Núshírwán did his best to provide himself with a worthy successor.³ In addition to this letter of counsel we have in Part VI. the account of the examination that his son Hurmuzd had to pass,^3a and some final exhortations.^3b Unfortunately

“The best laid schemes o' mice an' men Gang aft a-gley.”

Consider now the case of Búzurjmihr,
Who from the dust rose to the circling sphere,
Which will exalt one to the clouds on high,
Then bring him down in sorry dust to lie!
⁴ It happened in those days that Núshírwán
Went forth from Madá'in to hunt. He chased
Along the wilderness the mountain-sheep
And the gazelles. The mountain-sheep dispersed.
The Sháh was left behind with Búzurjmihr,
Who followed both from duty and from love.
Then from the waste the monarch reached a meadow,
And saw trees, grass, and shade. The weary Sháh
Alighted from his steed to rest his eyes
Upon the grass. He saw no followers;
The one of goodly face remained, no more.
The Sháh reposed awhile upon the mead,
His head right lovingly upon the lap
Of Búzurjmihr. It was that wise king's wont
To wear a jewelled armlet. As it chanced
This clinging armlet snapped upon his arm,
And fell beside his couch. A sable bird
Swooped from the clouds to where he lay, looked round,
Beheld that armlet, brake the thread whereon
The gems were strung, then ate them each in turn,
The lustrous pearls and topazes alike,
Flew from the monarch's couch, and disappeared.
At that adventure Búzurjmihr aghast
Mused at the process of the turning sky.
He understood: “My fall, my day of wrath,
My season of dismay, are hard at hand!”
The Sháh awoke, marked how he bit his lips,
Scanned his own arm, beheld the jewels gone,
And seeing no one of his escort there
⁵ Conceived that while he slumbered Búzurjmihr
^5a Had gulped the armlet down, and said to him:—
“Thou dog! who said to thee: ‘'Tis possible
To hide one's natural bent?’”^5b

But Núshírwán

Fatigued with many words his tongue in vain;
He got no answer but a deep, cold sigh,
While Búzurjmihr stood withered by the Sháh,
And by the process of revolving heaven.
That wise man marked at once the ominous sign
Of downfall and remained struck dumb by fear.
The escort of the Sháh had gone about
The mead while Núshírwán was in its midst.
He mounted on his charger's back in wrath,
And noticed no one on his journey home,
But bit his lip at Búzurjmihr the while,
And muttering much alighted from his steed,
Bade smite the sage's face as 'twere an anvil,
And to imprison him in his own palace.
So Búzurjmihr abode there and beheld
A frowning sky. He had a kinsman, brave
And young, attending on Sháh Núshírwán
Within the palace day and night on terms
Of intimacy. Búzurjmihr one day
Asked that dependant of the sun-faced Sháh:—
“How dost thou wait upon him? Let me know
So that thou mayest be more serviceable.”
“Chief of archmages!” said the servitor,
“It chanced this very day that Núshírwán
Looked so on me, his bondslave, that I said:—
‘There is an end for me of food and sleep!’
I poured the water for him after meat,
Transgressing with the basin in the act,
And when the world-lord was offended at me
I let the basin fall.”

Then said the sage:—

“Arise! Fetch hither water and pour out
As thou wouldst pour it o'er the Sháh's own hands.”
The young man brought warm water which he poured
Upon the sage's hands with gentleness,
Who said: “Pour thus when he requireth it,
Avoiding any awkwardness, and when
The water shall perfume the basin's brim
Forbear to pour.”

The servitor took heed,

And on the next occasion, when he brought
The salver, poured the water as the sage
Enjoined with neither tardiness nor haste.
“O thou whose love increaseth!” said the Sháh,
“Who told thee this?”

He answered: “Búzurjmihr,

For he it was that taught to me the mode
Marked by the Sháh, the master of the world.”
The Sháh said: “Go and say thus to the sage:—
‘With all that high estate of thine and lustre
Why didst thou seek the worse and not the better
Through thine ill nature and misgovernance?’”
The attendant heard and coming quickly sought
The palace eagerly with stricken soul,
Gave Búzurjmihr the message of the Sháh,
And privily received this answer back:—

Now when the man

Returned with this reply the Sháh's face grew
All livid at the words. Out of the palace
He chose a truthful man and capable
Of comprehending what the sage should say,
Dispatched too with the messenger a swordsman,
Who acted as the exccutioner,
And said: “Go to this bad, ill-fortuned man,
And say: ‘If thy reply give pleasure, well;
If not the deathsman with his trenchant sword
Shall show thee Doomsday in that thou hast said
That jail and nails and cage, and pit and bonds
Are better than the throne of Núshírwán.’”
The envoy came apace to him and told
The words of Núshírwán. Said Búzurjmihr
To that good envoy: “Fortune ne'er hath shown us
Its face. None of us is exempt from change,
And verily all good and ill will end.
Enthroned and rich or grievously oppressed,
We have no choice, we all must pack and part.
To pass from durance is an easy thing;
The quaking is for them that wear the crown.”
That wise man and the executioner
Returned and, coming to the exalted Sháh,
Narrated everything that they had heard.
The fear of evil fortune came upon him.
They bore that righteous guide from that strait cage
Back to his palace with the Sháh's consent,

How the Ambassador of Cæsar came to Núshírwán with a locked Casket and how Búzurjmihr was set at large to declare its Contents

Now in those days it chanced that Cæsar sent
An envoy with a letter to the Sháh,
With gifts, with presents, and a padlocked casket,
And said: “O king of warriors and chiefs!
Thou hast no lack of holy archimages,
So let them tell, not tampering with the lock,
What is concealed therein. If they say right
We will send tribute and our wonted gifts;
But if thy clever archimages' hearts
Fail in this knowledge indispensable
The Sháh must not ask tribute at our hands,
Nor send an army to invade our realm.
Such is the message that hath come from Cæsar:
Make answer as it seemeth good to thee.”
The monarch of the world said to the envoy:—
“This thing is not a mystery to God,
And by His Grace divine I will achieve it,
Convoking holy men to give me aid.
Abide here for a se'nnight, cheered with wine,
Make merry in thy heart and be at ease.”
The matter proved perplexing to the Sháh:
He called to him the great men and the wise,
Who all examined it in every way
To find a means whereby to loose that coil,
Examined, as did all the archimages,
That casket and that lock whose key was lacking,
But could not tell and owned their ignorance.
Now when that concourse proved of no avail
The heart of Núshírwán, the Sháh, was grieved.
He said: “The intellect of Búzurjmihr
Will search this secret of the turning sky.”
The king of kings, in sore embarrassment,
Gave orders to his treasurer to provide
A change of raiment from the treasury,
And had a choice steed saddled royal wise.
He sent them to the sage. “Thou must forget,”
He said, “the hardships that thou hast endured
Because high heaven above us so ordained
That thou shouldst have affliction at our hands.

Said the lady:—

“I have a spouse and child withal at home.”
The sage on his white roadster, when he heard
Her answer, started. Then another woman
Appeared and, seeing her, his agent asked:—
“O woman hast thou got a child and spouse,
Or, being single, only wind in hand?”
“I have a husband if no child,” she said,
“Thou hast mine answer, suffer me to pass.”
Just then another woman came—the third.
Her too the friend approached. “My Fair!” said he,
“What mate hast thou who hast such goodly carriage
And daintiness?”

“I never had a husband,”

She said, “I would not one should see my face.”
Now mark the inference of Búzurjmihr
On hearing these replies. He hurried on

Thus was it at the time of Núshírwán:
He was at once the Sháh and paladin,
At once a warrior and archimage,
The Fire-priest and the captain of the host.
He had his emissaries everywhere,
And trusted not the world to ministers.

Another said:—

“Live happy evermore with archimages
To sit, to banquet, and repose with thee!
There is a famous chieftain present here,
Whose treasure passeth thine!”

The Sháh replied:—

“Yea, rightly, for he is our empire's crown.
I tender both his treasures and his life,
And toil to magnify him.”

Said another:—

“Great king! live ever and unscathed by ill!
Among the captives carried off from Rúm
Are many babes unweaned.”

He gave this sentence:—

“The little ones must not be reckoned captives.
We will dispatch them glad and in good case
To their own mothers.”

People wrote to him:—

“A hundred wealthy Rúmans offer ransom.”
“If they are doing it through fear,” he said,
“Sell each chief for a cup of wine and ask
No more because we do not lack their goods.
I will require their jewels, purses, slaves,
And gold and silver with the scimitar.”
They told him: “Of the rich men of the city
There are two merchants and they keep folk waking
The best part of the night with shouts of revel,
And twanging of the rebeck and the harp.”
He made them this reply: “No hardship this,
And do ye others that are wealthy too
Live like these twain in mirth and jollity;
Be inoffensive and live unaggrieved.”

Said the Sháh:—

“This is not well, so let the seller keep
Both price and land.”

“O Sháh,” another said,

“Imperious, far from blame and from reproach!
Thy heart was gentle once: why hath it grown
So overbearing and so choleric?”
He thus made answer: “I had no teeth then,
And fed on milk because I could no other,
But since my teeth came, and my back grew straight,
My quest is flesh because I have grown strong.”
Another said: “I own that thou art mighty,
Our better both in counsel and in knowledge,
But how hast thou surpassed the kings of kings,
And made the whole world watch thy policy?”
“My wisdom is a thing,” he thus replied,
“That is beyond their ken. Sense, knowledge, counsel—
These are my ministers, my treasury
Is earth, my treasurer thought.”

Another said:—

“O king! thy hawk in chase hath bound an eagle!”
Thus said he: “Beat its back; why should it fall
Upon its better? Gibbet it on high
To suffer in its turn, for e'en in fight
The subject may not seek to conquer kings.”
Another chief—one of the emissaries—
Said thus: “O monarch of the world! Barzín
At morn departed with the host and met
A reader of the stars who prophesied:—
‘None will behold again this haughty chief,
This mighty army, and its equipage,
When once their backs are turned upon the king!’”
The Sháh replied: “Revolving heaven hath shown
Barzín's designs a loving countenance,
And stars and sun and moon will not destroy
That chieftain with his treasure and his host.”
Another archmage said: “The king, one day,
Bade choose a man, illustrious by birth,
To make the circuit of the sovereignty
Both for the sake of justice and to send

One said:—

“The chief cook hath a grievance 'gainst the Sháh
And chiefs, and saith: ‘I dress his favourite meats,
And serve them at cross roads. He savoureth not,
Nor toucheth, them!’ That loyal servant quaketh.”
“Too much food may disgust,” the Sháh replied.
Another said: “All thoughtful people blame
The king of kings because he goeth forth
Without an ample escort, and the hearts
Of all his friends are full on that account
For fear some enemy with ill designs
May suppliant-wise contrive to get at him.”
He made this answer: “Equity and wisdom
Protect the great king's person. Right sufficeth
To guard the just judge though he be alone.”
Another said: “O wisdom's mate! the prince
Of Khurásán said on the riding-ground:—
‘I know not why the king recalled Garshásp.’”
The Sháh made answer: “He hath left undone
My bidding and ignored my purposes:
I ordered him to ope for good or ill
My treasury's portal to deserving folk.
The man that is a niggard in his gifts
Concealeth all the monarch's Grace divine.”
Another said: “The great king is a magnate
With all men, and munificent and holy.
What hath Mihrak, that ancient servant, done
To have his pay reduced, his visage wan?”
The Sháh replied: “Mihrak hath grown too bold,
Relying on his former services.
He came to court and took his seat bemused,
And he was never save with wine in hand.”
An archmage of the intelligencers said:—
“The Sháh, when marching to encounter Cæsar,
Called only the Iránians to the war,
And so Írán became hard pressed by Rúm.”
He answered: “This hostility is innate,
'Tis war with Áhriman.”

Another time

One ventured to observe: “The Sháh selecteth
Troops differing from those of former Sháhs.
What look'st thou for in charger-riding Lions,
Expert of hand, upon the day of battle?”

The king,

On hearing how the archimages claimed
The money from the officer, commanded:—
“Press not for what is spent: give him too somewhat
Out of the treasury.”

Another said:—

“A gallant cavalier was hurt and long
Disabled. Cured he charged the ranks of Rúm,
Fell, and hath left behind him little ones.”
The Sháh commanded: “Be four thousand drachms
Assigned to them out of the treasury,
Because when any one is slain in war,
And leaveth babes as his memorial,
Whene'er the scribe shall read out from the roll
His name, his children must have drachms, so pay
A thousand thus to them four times a year.”
Another said: “Be happy all thy days.
At Marv the captain of the host hath gathered
Much wealth in money but he spendeth not,
And people are abandoning the march.”
He thus made answer: “Give that wealth—the cause
Whereby the land is made depopulate—
Back to the folk from whom it hath been taken.
Make proclamation of the fact in Marv,
And bid erect a gibbet at his door,
In sight of all his province and his troops,
And hang alive the tyrant on the gallows,
Head-downward, that hereafter nobody
Among our paladins may turn aside
In heart and spirit from our ordinance.
Why must he bleed the poor to get him wealth,
And joy his body to his soul's destruction?”
Another said: “God-fearing Sháh! thy subjects
Throng in thy court, extol thine equity,
And praise the Maker for thee.”

He replied:—

“Thank God that we inspire alarm in none.
Be it ours to tender yet more carefully
Both innocent and guilty.”

Said another:—

“O Sháh endowed with Grace and understanding!
The world is full of joy, delight, and sweets,

“In us,” he answered,

“May small and great rejoice throughout the world.”
Another said: “O Sháh of power supreme!
Detractors speak with blame of thee and say:—
‘He squandereth vast treasures but he never
Hath felt the labour of amassing them.’”
He thus returned reply: “If I withhold
The wealth laid up within my treasury
From those deserving of it all my gain
Will turn to loss at last.”

Another said:—

“O thou exalted king! God grant that scath
May never come upon that soul of thine!
The Jews and Christians are thine enemies,
Are double-faced, and worship Áhriman.”
He answered thus: “A brave Sháh is not great
Save he be tolerant.”

“Mardwí²¹ hath spent,”

Another said, “three hundred thousand drachms,
Famed king! out of thy treasury and more
On mendicants, and chiefly on himself.”
He said thus: “Such withal is our command:
‘'Tis well for thee to give to the deserving.’”
Another said: “O Sháh that toilest not!
Much largess hath made void thy treasury.”
He thus returned reply: “The open hand
Doth start a man afresh, both leaf and bough.
The world-lord, when a worshipper of God,
Hath at his disposition all the world,
But we have seen it niggard to the mean,
And greed and harshness tempt not me.”

“O king!”

An archmage said, “shrewd Kurákhán hath wrung
From famous Balkh three hundred thousand drachms,
And handed them to us who laid them up
Among thy treasures.”

“We,” he made reply,

“Require not drachms through others' sufferings,
So give them back to those from whom they came,
With somewhat also from the treasury,
Because the world-lord that adoreth God
Hath no desire to vex his subjects' hearts.
Raze Kurákhán's fine palace and enrich
His roofs with clay. His palace shall be waste,
His profit toil and, after toil, distress
And malison. Take from our roll his name,
And hold of no account his likes at court.”
Another said: “O Sháh of glorious race!
Thy converse turneth greatly on Jamshíd
And on Káús.”

Thus Núshírwán replied:—

“Oh! may our knowledge keep them ever young!
I speak of them that mine own head and crown
May be remembered after I am dead.”
“Why hideth,” asked another man, “the Sháh
His secrets from the illustrious Bahman?”

“O Sháh

Of joyous nature! thou hast oft observed,”
One said, “before the chiefs: ‘What time the throne
Is destitute of king then Faith and wisdom
Are worthless.’ Once thou saidest: ‘I am fortune,
And fortune's pretext both for good and ill,
And when one uttereth praises in the world
The crop in secret cometh back to me.’”
He answered: “Yea, 'tis well. The great king's head
Is fortune's crown. The world is as the body;
Kings are its head and crowned accordingly.”
Another said: “O Sháh, the people's friend!
Be thine the sovereignty and length of days!
Five days have passed, O lustre of the soul!
Since last the high priest came before thy presence.”
He answered: “I am not concerned thereat,
For he is occupied on mine affairs.”
One said: “O Sháh of sunlike Grace to whom
Time will bring forth no peer! we see a suitor
Attending court each morn, and that affairs
Are wrong with him, but wot not of his grievance.”
He answered: “In Hijáz²⁴ thieves plundered him
Of countless goods. That he may not be troubled
I have replaced them from the treasury,
And keep him at the court on this account
To see if he can recognise the thieves.”
Another said: “O Sháh of glorious birth,
The lord of bounty and the lord of justice!

Now read the letter of Sháh Núshírwán,
And muse upon it in thine ardent soul.
He said: “This letter grateful to the heart,
Instructed, learned, well counselled, and abstruse,
Is from the Sháh exalted and sun-faced.
Great is he, heaven inclineth to his wish,
The world-lord he, just and beneficent,
Without reproach, the lavisher of treasure,
Increaser of Kubád's renown and throne,
Transmitter of the crown of state and justice,
Possessed of Grace and stature, fame and conduct,
And all that he could wish for from the crown
Of greatness, to Hurmuzd, our own pure son,
Who heartily accepteth all our counsels,
And is through God glad and victorious,
For evermore a world-lord crowned and throned.
This lucky month upon the day Khurdád,
With fair stars and world-brightening presages,
We set upon thy head the crown of gold,
As we ourselves received it from our sire,
And give thee too the blessings which Kubád,
The glorious, bestowed upon our crown.
Be vigilant and master of the world,
Be wise and noble and without offence,
Increase in knowledge and incline to God,
Because He is the Guider of thy soul.
We have inquired of one of good discourse,
One ancient both in wisdom and in years:—
‘What man of us approacheth nearest God?
Who goeth by the straitest path to Him?’
He gave reply: ‘Choose knowledge as thou wouldst
That people should bless thee because the sage

He placed the letter,

When written, in the treasury and abode
With fear and trembling in this Wayside Inn.

A king of kings well counselled, wise, and just,
Will strive to make his modesty unite
With strength of hand and gallantry in fight,
Be of pure Faith and put in God his trust.

See what man of these virtues is possest
And, seeing, him his meed of praise prefer,
Seek one that is as bright as Jupiter,
Aspiring, armed with sword, with mail on breast;

Who taketh from idolaters the sway,
Who with brocade of Faith his heart hath bound.
Yea verily the man himself is found:
Mahmúd is monarch of the world to-day.

The quest of battle and of banqueting
Are one to this world's lord. Abú'l Kásim!
God grant the age joy in the sight of him,
That open-handed and victorious king.

There was an elder versed in our old speech,
And antiquate with action and discourse,
Who from a volume in the ancient tongue
Saith that an archmage asked of Núshírwán:—
“In what way should the worshipper invoke
In secret prayer the Master of the world
That He may give an answer and bestow
Withal fair fortune on his suppliant?
A man, with arms outstretched toward the sky,
May make request before the Lord of time,

The archimage inquired:—

“Is knowledge better than the Grace of kings,
For Grace and majesty adorn the throne?”
“A sage possessed of Grace,” replied the Sháh,
Will take the whole world underneath his wing.
Thou needest wisdom, Grace, renown, and birth;
With these four heaven will keep thee still in mind.”
“In kingship who illustrateth the throne?”
The archmage said. “Who is unfortunate?”
And Núshírwán made answer: “One that seeketh
First for the aidance of the King, the World-lord,
³⁰ For bounty, knowledge, and right usages
Will make him tender toward the suppliant.
Next let him give authority to those,
Who merit such distinction by their worth.
Then let him see that nothing in the world
For good or evil is concealed from him.
He should distinguish, fourthly, foe from friend:
'Tis well that kings should be without offence.
When he hath Grace and wisdom, Faith and fortune,
Then he is worthy of the crown and graceth
The throne, while if thou findest such things lacking
Good sooth! thou wilt behold him lustreless;
He after death will leave an evil name,
And win not jocund Paradise at last.”
^30a

Thus the Sháh

Replied: “Can treasure satiate a man
Until he lieth underneath the dust?
The way of knowledge is more glorious
Than wealth, more precious in the sage's eyes.
Our words remain as our memorial:
Compare not wealth with knowledge.”

Said the archmage:—

“What with their learning and remembering
The sages cannot be but ancient men.”
The Sháh replied: “Although the man be old
His knowledge faileth not to keep him young.
Thou wilt prefer him to the foolish youth,
Whose dust is only valued for its tomb.”
The archmage asked: “It was thy wont to speak
About the fortune of the kings of kings
Before the Great,³² and more than ever now
Thou namest them but with a deep cold sigh?”
The Sháh said: “It was never in my heart
That I should praise a process such as this—
To govern this world with the scimitar
Of justice, then pass on and vilely die.”

Núshírwán

Made answer saying: “I have talked enough,
And now I purpose to depend on deeds.”
The archmage said: “Thy prayers in former times
Before the Fire were not so long as now.
Thy praises too are longer than they were,
Thy plaints and supplications more profuse.”
He gave this answer saying: “Holy God
Exalteth from the dust His worshipper,
Doth favourably dispose the sky toward him,
And maketh all the world to be his slave.
If this slave faileth to appreciate,
Let him not scape from hardship and distress.”
The archmage asked: “Since thou becamest king
What greater cause for thankfulness hast thou
Toward thy Maker? Hath that eminence
Increased thy joy and filled thy foemen's hearts
With blood?”

He answered thus: “Thanks be to God,

Our fortune hath been good. None in my presence
Hath ever sought for the supremacy,
But at my chastening washed his hands of ill.
My foemen have grown feeble in the fight
When they beheld mine onset and my mace.”
The priest went on: “When warring in the West
Thou wast both quick of clutch and valorous,
But when thou wast campaigning in the East
Thou wast long-suffering and deliberate.”
And Núshírwán made answer thus: “The youth
Accounteth not of pain and toil of mind,
But when a man hath come to sixty years
He must assume a gentler attitude.
Thanks to the World-lord who is all-providing,
The Author of the good and ill of fortune,
That I had prowess in my youthful days,
And recked not if my luck were good or bad.
Now knowledge, treasure, generosity,
And rede, accompany my days of age,
The world is 'neath my rule and usages,
And circling heaven my breastplate in the fight.”
Said the archmage: “The Sháhs of long ago
Desired to hold discourse on all affairs;
Thy words are briefer and thy secrets more,
Yet thou surpassest those famed men of old.”
He made this answer, saying: “Every king,
That doth believe in Him who giveth all,
Is not concerned about himself for He,
Who made the world, still watcheth over it.”
“I see the kings who should be glad of heart,”
The archmage said, “most anxious in our times.”
And Núshírwán replied: “The man of sense
Hath ever at his heart the fear of loss.”
The archimage rejoined: “The Sháhs of old
Allowed not care and fight to mar their feasts.”

“Which of us,”

Inquired the archmage, “hath most store of treasure?”
The Sháh made answer: “He that hath least toil.”
The archmage asked: “Which is the foulest fault,
One alien most from worth and Paradise?”
The Sháh made answer: “In the case of women
A strident voice and lack of modesty;
But, in the case of men, to be a fool,
And thus to spend a lifetime as in prison.”
The archmage asked: “Who hath most confidence?”
“He that hath least remorse,” replied the Sháh,
“And goeth soiled in body, and with heart
Black with iniquity, before his God.”
The archmage said: “Who is the upright man,
Whose heart is proven by his soul and wisdom?”
The Sháh thus answered: “He that toileth on
Through gain and loss and compasseth no ill.”
The archmage asked: “Who is the best of men,
The crown upon the head of all mankind?”
“The meek to whom a crown availeth naught,”
The Sháh replied; “not one intent on profit,
Not even though he be of lofty aims;
Next, he whose greatness is its own reward—
The generous man whose heart is purged from darkness—
And, thirdly, he that hath a zeal divine,
Proceeding from integrity and wisdom.”
“What,” said the archmage, “is the heart's chief dread?”
“The troubles that we bring upon ourselves,”
The Sháh replied.

“What giving is the best,”

The archmage said, “so that the man who giveth
May be exalt and great?”

“In gain and loss,”

The Sháh rejoined, “keep naught from the deserving.”
The archmage asked concerning this world's doings:—
“Declare its process open and concealed.
Whate'er the manner of that action be,
For loss or profit, shall we acquiesce?”

The poet tells of the last war of Núshírwán against Rúm and of the Sháh's transaction with a shoemaker, the appointment of his son Hurmuzd as his successor after that prince had been questioned by Búzurjmihr, the Sháh's testament and last counsels to his son, his dream of the advent of Muhammad, and the death of the Sháh and of Búzurjmihr.

§§ 1–3. After ten years of peace war again broke out between the Persian and Roman empires in A.D. 572. The Sháhnáma is correct in representing that the latter was to blame for the renewal of hostilities. The Emperor Justin II., who had succeeded his uncle Justinian in A.D. 565, wanted war. The scene of operations covered much the same ground as on the previous occasion. The Persians made a raid into Syria, recorded in the Sháhnáma by the mention of Halab (Chalybon-Beroea, Aleppo), and an unsuccessful attack on Antioch. The Romans, under Marcian (Bátarún), the prefect of the East, besieged Nisibis, held by the Persians ever since its cession to Shápúr, son of Urmuzd (Sapor II.), by Jovian in A.D. 363. Núshírwán raised the siege, drove the Romans into the stronghold of Dárá on the foot-hills of Mount Masius, and besieged them there. After a gallant defence the fortress fell late in A.D. 573.⁴¹ Mount Masius seems to be the Mount Sakíla of the Sháhnáma, the scene of one of Gushtásp's exploits during his exile in Rúm.^41a Justin on this resigned the direction of affairs to Tiberius who to gain time purchased a temporary suspension of hostilities from the Persians. This is represented in the Sháhnáma as the conclusion of peace and as a triumph for Núshírwán but historically the war was still in progress at the time of his death four years later, and the Great King, shortly before the end of his reign, had to make a somewhat hasty and ignominious retirement to Ctesiphon.⁴²

§ 2. We have already met with the cobbler or shoemaker, introduced as characteristic of a type, in the Sháhnáma.^42a

§§ 4–6. See p. 3.

§ 7. P. omits this section which of course comes from Muhammadan sources. Though interpolated into Persian story it does not seem to be an interpolation in Firdausí's Sháhnáma for there appears to be no good reason for supposing that the passage was written by a hand other than that poet's. A similar account appears both in the Persian and Arabic Tabarí.^42b

The ascent of two score degrees is intended to indicate that Muhammad was forty years old when he received his “call.”

Muhammad, having been challenged by idolaters to divide the moon in twain, is said to have pointed his finger at it, on which it was at once divided into two parts, one of which remained stationary while the other was concealed behind a mountain. Another tradition says that Mount Hirá intervened between the two halves. Travellers from a distance when questioned reported that they had observed the same phenomenon.^42c The passage in the Kurán on which the traditions are based runs as follows:—“The hour hath approached and the MOON hath been cleft:

But whenever they see a miracle they turn aside and say, This is well-devised magic.”^42d

The Súra in which the quotation occurs is known as “THE MOON.”

It is recorded in the ancient book
From the recital of a truthful sage
That when news came from Rúm to this fair land
For Núshírwán, the world-lord: “Mayst thou live,
For Cæsar is no more and to another
Hath yielded time and earth,” death filled his soul
With care; his ruddy countenance became
Like yellow leaves. He chose out of Írán
An envoy of experience and high birth,
And then dispatched him unto Cæsar's son,
Dispatched him to that fresh and fruitful Bough,
First charging him with many kindly words,
And saying: “'Tis an evil none can 'scape.”
He wrote a letter in distress and grief,
With eyes all tearful and cheeks sallow, thus:—
“God grant thee life and loving-kindliness
Now that thy sire is dead. No living thing
Is born unless to die. A Wayside Inn
Is this and we pass on. Although we handle
The crown or helm and casque we find no quittance
From death's clutch. What is Cæsar or the Khán
When his time cometh and all suddenly
Shall lay his head in dust? Mayst thou receive
No lack of joyful tidings of thy sire;
May Christ befriend his soul. Now I have heard
That thou art seated on his famous throne,
And hast adorned the fortune that was his.
Require of us such strength as thou dost need
Of steeds, of arms, of treasure, and of troops.”
The ambassador went forth from Núshírwán;
He made the journey in all haste to Cæsar,
And, when he reached the court, they gave him entry;
The envoy of the Sháh approached the state.
When Cæsar saw the title on the scroll
His heart swelled at the pride of Núshírwán.
He was a hasty youth, new to the throne,
Showed himself overbearing to the envoy,
Saluted him in an unseemly fashion,
With lax observance and discourtesy,

The priest replied:—

“Thy liege am I and will obey the world-lord.”
So all the bishops, priests, and counsellors
Assembled by themselves apart and then
Wrote with all speed a letter in response,
As Cæsar bade, and first they praised the Maker,
And based their praise on wisdom, then they said:—
“Was such a letter worthy of the Sháh,
A letter graceless and malevolent?
Thou dost amiss for Cæsar is but young,
But lately crowned, our king in right of birth.
Forbear to press the youth for this one year
With haughty superscriptions, tax and toll.
The youth hath written in befitting terms
To all the lieges and the potentates,
As the illustrious emperor of Rúm,
To whom the mountain-tops are so much wax.
The envoy of the Sháh hath come to us,
And he will tell the Sháh what he hath seen
With us—our words of grief and joy alike:
Our weal and woe shall not remain concealed.
One Cæsar hath departed but another
Succeeded who exalteth o'er all chiefs
His head without regard to any king
Among the underlords and overlords.”
When they were ready with that Rúman letter
They summoned the ambassador to court.
That sage, on hearing that they were advised,
Came to the court and asked for the response.
They made him ready an unworthy robe
Of honour and put strangers from the hall.
Then Cæsar said to him: “No slave am I,
The inferior of the Haitálians and Chín.
One should not lightly treat a potentate
Although thy Sháh be Great King in the world.
He that hath many enemies is great,
And I have foes and friends upon my skirts.
Why dost thou scant me of my majesty,
And cloud my sun? Thou, when such need is mine,
Shalt be my king, my father's memory.
Make fair report of thine experience here,
And seek no foul intent in my response.”
They put the robe of honour on the sage,
And called the marchlord's roadster to the door.
He parted hastily and, tarrying not

When tidings came to Cæsar of the Sháh:—
“He hath marched forth in anger from Írán,”
He set forth from 'Ammúriya^46b to Halab;
The world was filled with tumult, bruit, and din.
Three hundred thousand horsemen of Írán
Besieged the fortress of Halab. Troops gathered
From every side and tarried not from strife.
The warrior-prelates of the Rúman host
Set up their catapults on every side.
⁴⁷ The Íránians took the stronghold of Sakíla,
For from that region they would fain attack;
Halab became as 'twere a sea of blood,
And all the host of Bátarún sought quarter;

That emissary,

Fair-spoken, young in years but old in wisdom
And shrewd, came to a neighbouring town and asked
A loan of money for the king's affairs,
And round him gathered many of the rich.
A certain man, who made and vended shoes,
Attended closely to the envoy's words,
And asked: “How much?”

The gallant envoy told,

And said: “O man of wisdom and of wealth!
The sum amounteth to four million drachms.”
Said that shoemaker: “I will furnish them
And earn the treasurer's praise.”

He brought his balance,

Weights, and the drachms, but asked no bond in writing.
He weighed the coin, the envoy's task was done.
Then that shoemaker said: “O fair of face!
Be good enough to say to Búzurjmihr:—
‘I have but one child only in this world,
For whom my heart is all anxiety.’
Then add: ‘The monarch of the world perchance
Will grant a private favour to myself,
And let me place my boy among his sages,
For he hath wealth and intellect therefor.’”
“With pleasure,” was the messenger's reply,
“For thou hast cut my quest for treasure short.”
⁴⁹ So Búzurjmihr came to the Sháh rejoicing,
Whose face cleared when he saw that wealth.
Thereafter
He said: “Thanks be to God, whom I have known
Through all my years of life, that in our realm
There is a manufacturer of shoes,
Blessed in this manner and illustrious.
God grant that we may never injure one
That is possessed of such a store of wealth.
Discover for me what his wishes are,
That this good will of his to us may last,
And when thou payest the debt bestow upon him
A hundred thousand drachms that he may not
Forget us.”

Búzurjmihr said to the world-lord:—

“O well-starred Sháh of goodly countenance!
God grant that no king who is tyrannous
Be happy on his throne and fortunate.
Thy subjects all are men of wealth, aspire,
And are possessed of thrones and diadems.
Now this boot-seller, if the Sháh will hear,
Made one request. He said, for so the envoy
Reporteth: ‘May the world-lord mate with wisdom.
I have a son grown up who is desirous
Of one to teach him learning, and if now
The Sháh is willing to assist therein,
So that my good son may become a scribe,
Then for the Sháh's life will I pray God, saying:—
“May this throne-worthy live eternally.”’”
The Sháh made answer saying: “O wise man!
How hath the Dív perplexed thy vision! Go,
And lead the camels back, for God forbid
That we ask him for silver and for pearls.
How should the merchant's son become a scribe,
Accomplished, learned, and mindful though he be?
Our son when he shall sit upon the throne
Will need a scribe whose fortune will prevail.

Whenas from Pisces Sol displayed its crown,
And flung a robe of ivory o'er the earth,
The scouts returning from the trench-edge came
Before the exalted Sháh and said to him:—
“An embassage from Cæsar hath arrived
In tribulation to excuse his faults.”
The ambassador approached immediately
With benedictions upon Núshírwán,
On seeing whose head and crown the Rúman heaved
A cold sigh, thinking: “Lo! a Sháh exalted
With kingship, manhood, and a mighty host!”
Two score pilosophers of Rúm, whose tongues
Were full of utterance and their hearts of sighs,
Brought, each one, thirty thousand in dínárs
As offerings to the king. When they beheld
His comely countenance they came lamenting,
And writhing serpent-like. The king of kings,
On seeing them, received them graciously,
Assigning them the customary seats,
And then their spokesman thus addressed him: “Cæsar,
O Sháh! is young and hath but just acceded;
His sire is dead, the world is new to him,
And he is unacquainted with affairs.
Now we are all of us thy tributaries,
And servants, and are under thy protection.
For thee Rúm is Írán, Írán is Rúm;
Why then distinguish them? The king of kings
Hath all the age's wisdom for his own,
And straighteneth Cæsar's back. The Khán of Chín,
The king of Hind, are glad in him and help

Smiling at the envoy's words

Said Núshírwán: “Although the boy be noble
His speech hath little wisdom. What is Cæsar?
What Bátarún, the insensate one, whose tongue
Hath caused his soul's abasement? All the wise
Born of Sikandar's stock have proved triumphant,
And eminent, yet if one doeth not
Our bidding but rejecteth our advice
And our alliance, from his peopled realm
Will we send up the dust and will not fear
His treasures and his troops.”

The envoys kissed

The ground, as courtiers use, and made reply:—
“O Sháh that art victorious and supreme!
Blame not the past. We are thy travail's dust,
The warders of thy treasure. When the king
Shall take us into favour we shall cease
Both from misfortune and from discontent.
The toils that here the king of kings hath borne
Are no small matter in the Rúmans' eyes,
And we will pay, by way of toll and tax,
His treasury ten ox-hides of dínárs.
'Tis thine to bid us pay thee less or more,
And to accept it though it be unworthy.”
“As touching treasure,” thus the Sháh replied,
“The matter resteth with my minister.”
Then all the Rúmans went before that archmage,
Went with loud lamentations and ill-starred,
Used every plea at large, told Cæsar's purpose,
Informed him of the ox-hides and dínárs,
And matters that concerned the peace of Rúm.
The archmage answered thus: “Ye give the gold,
But what brocade will ye present as well?
What time the king returneth he will need
A thousand pieces of gold-woven brocade,
For he is constantly concerned with gifts
Of robes of honour for his lords and lieges.”
The Rúmans gave consent thereto and then
Returning did obeisance to the Sháh.
He tarried on the battlefield awhile.
Then when the king and host had taken rest
He chose among the troops a warrior—
One of ability in ciphering—
⁵³ And gave him soldiers that he might demand
The Rúman tribute and convey it home.

The high-souled minstrel, who instructeth me,
What said he of time's mutability?
“No prudent sage will set his mind and heart
Upon this Hostel whence we must depart,
For we arise and fall from day to day,
And alternate our joyance with dismay.
Dark earth will be our final resting-place,
This with high honour, that with deep disgrace,
And after they depart they tell us not
If wakeful joy or slumber be their lot;
Still if they flourish not that pass our ken
At least they will not strive with death again.
In contemplation of that day of awe
What are five years and twenty or five score,
Passed by one man in pleasure and delight,
Passed by another in penurious plight?
None have I seen that had a wish to die
Among the upright or the waywardly,
But all are shocked at death—the pious one,
Just as the idol-serving Áhriman.”
Old man! when three score years and one have past,
Wine, cup, and rest grow savourless at last,
Yet wine for one that readieth to die
Is as a wool-coat when 'tis winterly,
⁵⁵ When body freezeth in the midst of vice,
And soul hath lost its way to Paradise.
Full many a friend hath lagged or passed away,
But in the waste the cup with thee will stay.

The archimages, the investigators,
And counsellors assembled, called to them
Hurmuzd, the atheling, and seated him
Among the chiefs. Then Búzurjmihr began:—
“O prince fair-starred and fair to look upon!
What know'st thou that will brighten the pure soul
And wisdom, and be fruitful for the body?”
He answered: “Knowledge is the best, for great
Among the great is one of understanding.
In knowledge is man's safety; it restraineth
The hands of Áhriman from ill, and next
Come patience and munificence whereby
The body gaineth fame and ease.”

The sage

Then asked: “What showeth virtue to advantage,
And what will raise a man to high estate?”
Hurmuzd replied: “First, to be courteous
To all in good and ill; next, to endeavour
To grieve as little as one can the hearts
Of every one; and, thirdly, to deal justly
Within the world and so gain self-content.”
On that pure-hearted prince of goodly mien
Gazed Búzurjmihr, the questioner, and said:—
“Now will I speak concerning needful topics.
Count them upon thy hands, remember all
That I shall ask, and make a just response
To them in that same order. Bring to bear
High-mindedness and justice for, if thou
Art heedful of such matters, of a truth
Heaven's gate is oped to thee since I will question
At large that I may have response in full.
The Master of the world instruct thee! May
Thy wit be bright, good fortune by thy mate.
Now will I question thee of what I know
With fairness. Answer as thy knowledge is.
The wise man is discerned by his replies,
And compasseth his will in everything.

Then by the Sháh's command they wrote a patent
That gave Hurmuzd the throne and crown, and when
The wind had dried that paper wrought in Chín
They set a seal of musk thereon. The Sháh,
In presence of the magnates and shrewd sages,
Charged the high priest therewith. I, by the grace
Of the victorious monarch of the world,
Put into verse this act of Núshírwán's.
The world in practice doth belie its show;
Beneath 'tis naught but dolour and chagrin,
But, whether thou hast crown or toil and woe,
Thou ne'ertheless must quit this Wayside Inn.
Peruse a letter of the kings of yore,
And see if Núshírwán hath any peer
For justice, rede, festivity, and war,
Yet, his day done, he found no tarriance here.
So turn from feast and pleasure, and be wise,
Thou agéd dotard and impenitent!
The world may still look freshly to thine eyes
When in thy cups thou scornest to repent;
Yet still, if thou be wise, repent anon;
The man of Faith is well advised for aye;
The seasons of thine age will soon be gone,
Spring, Summer-tide, and Autumn pass away!
Then when thy body is in dust below
Think whither that pure soul of thine will go!
What was it that the agéd chronicler
Said of the testament of Núshírwán?

How Núshírwán had a Dream and how Búzurjmihr interpreted it as signifying the Appearance of Muhammad

In that year Núshírwán upon a night
Amidst his prayers and praises had a dream,
Wherein his lucid spirit saw in sleep
A Sun rise in the night and therewithal
Was an ascent that had two score degrees,
Whose summit reached to Saturn in the ascendant.
From the Hijáz in stately pomp and joy
That Sun ascended that ascent, fulfilling
The world with brilliancy from Káf to Káf,
⁶⁶ And everywhere converting grief to mirth,
While all the horizons, whether far or near,
Took lustre from its glory everywhere,
And everywhere light entered save the hall
Of Núshírwán which still abode in gloom.
The Sháh rose from his sleep for half the night,
And oped his lips to none on that affair,
But when the sun unveiled its countenance
He summoned to his presence Búzurjmihr.
The king of kings in private to that sage
Related what he had beheld in sleep,
And Búzurjmihr, possessed of all the case,
Considered all the dream from end to end,
And thus replied: “O king of power supreme!
In truth there is a mystery herein.”
The king said: “Speak the truth because my life
Is failing in my body for suspense.”
Then Búzurjmihr spake thus: “O thou whose rede
Is higher than moon and sun! this dream have I
Well studied: mark the marvel of its meaning.
From this day forth for forty years and more
Among the Arabs one will rise to power,
Who will adopt the way of righteousness,

The Sháh's heart straitened

Because of it; he sighed continually.
Then Búzurjmihr: “O Sháh! why mourn therefor?
What matter this world's griefs and joys to thee
When thou art gone and parted far by time?”
The Sháh survived not this event for long.
He died: the world bewailed him. Búzurjmihr

Hurmuzd, on succeeding to the throne, makes fair promises but soon belies them and puts to death his father's ministers. Afterwards, perturbed by a prophecy, he repents, and two stories are told of his even-handed justice. War breaks out and Bahrám Chúbína comes upon the scene. He is appointed commander-in-chief and defeats the Turks under King Sáwa and his son Parmúda, but after having been shamefully insulted by the Sháh he rebels—a course strongly opposed by his sister Gurdya. He contrives to make Hurmuzd suspicious of his own son Khusrau Parwíz who escapes. Hurmuzd is dethroned and blinded, and Khusrau Parwíz returns.

Hurmuzd (Hormisdas IV., A.D. 578-590) may not have been so black as he has been painted but his reign, to say the least of it, stands in melancholy contrast to that of his father whose precepts he disregarded, whose system of administration he did his best to overturn, whose trusted ministers he put to death, and whose practice of personally leading his troops he made no attempt to emulate.^70a He had the good fortune to possess a general at once brave, able, and apparently quite loyal whom he treated with the basest and most insolent ingratitude, wrecking his own reign thereby and inflicting many wounds upon his country. The romantic history of that general, as told in the Sháh-náma, is one of the finest passages in the poem, and the poet was fortunate in having such to lay before his readers as he was nearing the end of his great undertaking.⁷¹

§ 2. Mákh, the marchlord of Harát, who seems to have been known as Khurásání in accordance to Persian custom in such matters, appears to be the father of, or identical with, one of the four compilers of the prose Sháhnáma for Abú Mansúr which Firdausí used as his chief authority. In the Introduction to the present Translation the name of this particular compiler is given, in accordance to the text of C., as Táj son of Khurásání of Harát^71a but according to Nöldeke^71b the Táj is quite uncertain.

§ 3. Núshírwán had based his system of administration upon the nobility. We have seen in a characteristic anecdote how he refused to consult his own convenience by accepting a loan of money from a shoemaker.^71c Hurmuzd, not having his father's ability, found the system irksome and consequently was inclined to favour the lower at the expense of the higher orders. Accordingly later on we have two stories of his even-handed justice.^71d A justice, however, which is said to have put to death 13,600 of the nobility and priesthood, and imprisoned or degraded many others in the course of a few years is somewhat suspect.^71e

Burzmihr seems to be identical with Búzurjmihr who, we were told at the end of the last reign,^71f died within a month of Núshírwán. According to Mas'údí Búzurjmihr survived to be the chief minister of Khusrau Parwíz who after thirteen years of reign disgraced him and treated him even worse than Núshírwán is said to have done on one occasion,^71g the two accounts no doubt being variants of the same story. Firdausí tells us that one of the three scribes was young,^71h and that Búzurjmihr was a youth at his lessons when he first attracted Núshírwán's attention,⁷¹ⁱ He need not have been an old man at the time of that Sháh's death. The probability is, however, that he was executed along with other ministers by Hurmuzd as the text seems to imply.

§ 5. The account in the Sháhnáma and in Oriental historians of these wars seems much exaggerated. The war with Rúm was nothing new; it had been going on from the days of Núshírwán and was not specially active at the moment. The Arab and Khazar invasions require further confirmation and the latter, it may be suggested, was merely a patriotic invention to cover up an unfortunate incident that befell the Persians South of the Caucasus after the conclusion of the war with the Turks (p. 76). This last war has generally been taken to have been waged between the Persians and the Khán who was a relation by marriage of Hurmuzd and would be certain to bring great forces into the field. It appears, however, that Sáwa is merely the Persian form of “Chao-wou”—the name given in Chinese official reports of the period to the princes of small states on the Oxus that were more or less subject to the Khán who does not appear to have been concerned in the matter at all.⁷²

§ 6. In the story of Mihrán Sitád's embassage as given in the Sháhnáma the prophecy is limited to the outcome of the marriage of Núshírwán with the Khán‘s daughter.^72a It afforded, however, a convenient starting-point for the Romance that gathered round the heroic personality of Bahrám Chúbína and the reference to him was interpolated accordingly.

§ 7. Bahrám Chúbîna, whose story and that of his sister Gurdya extend through the rest of this and far into the succeeding reign, had been marchlord of Rai and governor of the North, apparently, under Núshírwán.^72b He continued to hold the same posts under Hurmuzd.^72c He was a native of Rai, sprung from a race of marchlords and army-chiefs, a Mihrán, and is said to have been descended from Gurgín^72d —all important indications to the student of the Sháhnáma. Rai was the traditional seat of Arsacid power.^72e Shápúr of Rai, an army-chief, who was called in by Kubád to overthrow Súfarai of the race of Káwa, also was a Mihrán and descended from Mihrak.^72f The Mihrán clan played an important part in Sásánian times and the name often recurs.^72g Gurgín, son of Mílád, was the villain of the story of Bízhan and Manízha.⁷³ The point is this. The words Mílád, Mihrak, and Mihrán are closely allied, probably mere variants, are reminiscent of Parthian times and under the Sásánian Dynasty represent the vanquished Arsacid element.^73a That element recovered sufficiently to exercise much political power as in the case of the Mihráns.

A Ruhhám of that stock is said to have been influential in placing Pírúz upon the throne.^73b If they could not be kings themselves they aspired to be king-makers and ministers. There was rivalry between them and families of purer Íránian stock, and the Sháhs, as in the instance given above, availed themselves of it to serve their own ends. Such rivalry, however, was a subsidiary matter; the great antagonism between Arsacid and Sásánian, though latent, still persisted and is indicated plainly enough in the course of the story of Bahrám Chúbína.

Nöldeke's account of that story, which is a blend of history and romance, is briefly as follows. It was compiled in Pahlaví shortly before the end of the Sásánian Dynasty, about the beginning of the reign of Yazdagird III., A.D. 632, and was translated into Arabic by a certain Jabala bin Sálim of whom nothing more is known save that he was “the writer of Hishám” who can be no other than the Arabic historian Hishám Ibn Al-Kalbí. Hishám died about A.D. 820. The story thus became known to the Muham-madans and was woven into the general presentment of Sásánian history.^73c We may add that Tabarí, who was born some eighteen years after Hishám's death and died A.D. 923, gives the historical nucleus of the story in his history. The redactor of his work into Persian (A.D. 963) states that as his Arabic authority has not given the life of Bahrám Chúbína in its entirety he gives it from the book of the history of Persia where he found it more complete. ^73d This version agrees very closely with Firdausí's. Both are derived from the Persian Book of Kings in one or another of its later forms. Which the redactor of Tabarí used we cannot say, but Firdausí, we may assume, used the modern Persian prose Sháhnáma of Abú Mansúr^73e for which a new translation of the story had been made from the original Pahlaví.⁷⁴ This may account for the difference in some of the proper names that exists between Firdausí's version and that in the Persian Tabarí. In this and some other respects the latter is of decided help to the understanding of the former. Attention will be called to such matters in subsequent notes.

It is evident that the redactors of the Pahlaví original into Arabic or Persian took good care to leave little repugnant to Muhammadan Faith or morals. Even the statement in Tabarí and its Persian version that Gurdya was the wife as well as the sister of Bahrám Chúbína^74a disappears in Firdausí.

Yalán-sína—a prominent character in the Romance—is called Mardánsháh in the Persian Tabarí. He was the brother^74b and a firm supporter of Bahrám Chúbína. Another brother—Gurdwí—took the opposite side and remained loyal to Khusrau Parwíz. The sympathies of Gurdya, Bahrám Chúbína‘s sister, though she associated with him till his death, were also legitimist.

§ 8. Here we have another instance of a Mihrán in high office.^74c Probably he was the successor of Ízid Gashasp, the scribe, who had been put to death by Hurmuzd early in his reign^74d and is to be carefully distinguished from the general of the same name in Bahrám Chúbína's army, which is not always done in the text of C.^74e

In the Persian Tabarí the purveyor of sheep's heads is said to have been naked and Bahrám Chúbína to have speared two of the heads one of which fell back into the tray. The interpretation was that he would have to deal with two kings of whom one would be killed while the other would be restored to his royalty. The nudity signified that Bahrám Chúbína would revolt.^74f

According to the Persian Tabarí, Hurmuzd, on hearing of the invasion of Sáwa Sháh, sent Kharrád, son of Barzín, with an escort to him to delay his advance while the expedition under the command of Bahrám Chúbína was being got ready. The envoy managed to keep Sáwa at Balkh for a whole year.^74g

Faghfúr, or Faghfúr of Chín, hitherto in the Sháhnáma a dynastic title, here appears as the name of the younger son of Sáwa perhaps to add to the latter‘s importance. In the Persian Tabarí the governor of Khurásán takes the part here played by Faghfúr.⁷⁵

§ 12. In the Persian Tabarí Bahrám Chúbína has the dream while dozing on horseback after having been engaged in arraying the troops all night, and in the same authority bars the road of retreat with five hundred horse,^75a while the only sorcery is in connexion with the dream.

According to Tabarí^75b the shot that slew king Sáwa was one of three that gave renown to archers in Persian story. The others were that of Árish^75c and that of Súfaraí who in the war undertaken to avenge Pírúz shot at a chief in the vanguard of Khúshnawáz and pierced his horse's head with an arrow. The chief was taken prisoner by Súfarai who sent him back to Khúshnawáz with instructions to report the matter, and Khúshnawaz was so impressed that he sued for peace.^75d Neither of these instances is mentioned in the Sháhnáma though it celebrates in a famous passage Rustam's shot in the fight with Ashkabús^75e and Bahrám Gúr's skill in archery.^75f

Bahrám, the son of Siyáwúsh, had married a niece of Bahrám Chúbína.^75g

§ 14. The episode of the garden is not in the Persian Tabarí.

§ 17. The above remark applies to the quarrel between Bahrám Chúbína and Parmúda, and to the former's retention of some of the booty.

The Persian Tabarí makes Mardánsháh (Yalán-síná), not Ízid Gashasp, conduct the Khán, the other prisoners, and the booty to Írán.^75h

§ 18. The Sháhnáma here seems to confuse Ízid Gashasp with the scribe of that name executed by Hurmuzd.⁷⁵ⁱ It is clear from the Persian Tabarí^75j that the person consulted by the Sháh about Bahrám Chúbína was his confidant and minister Áyín Gashasp who in the Persian Tabarí is named Yazdánbakhsh. Ízid and Yazdán both mean God which also caused confusion and when it became hopeless the form Áyín Gashasp was adopted to get out of the difficulty.

§§ 19-21. The definite accusation of withholding some of the booty made by the archscribe (Mihrán) against Bahrám Chúbína is absent in the Persian Tabarí which merely gives the vague insinuation of the minister Yazdánbaksh which rouses suspicion in Hurmuzd's mind and causes him to send Mardánsháh back to the commander-in-chief with a chain, distaff-case and cotton, and an insulting letter.⁷⁶ A similar insult is recorded to have been offered by the Empress Sophia to the exarch Narses when he was superseded and bidden return to his place among the maidens of the palace where a distaff should again be placed in his hand.^76a

The treatment of Bahrám Chúbína by Hurmuzd, though foolish enough in any circumstances, was not quite so unreasonable and motiveless as it appears to be in the accounts of oriental writers. In A.D. 589 after the successful conclusion of Bahrám Chúbína's expedition Hurmuzd conceived the idea of renewing the Lazic war which his father had abandoned in A.D. 562,^76b and sent Bahrám Chúbína to conduct the campaign. That chief, however, was defeated by the Romans in a battle on the Araxes and his disgrace followed.^76c

§ 22. Here for once the Sháhnáma seems to join hands with Western Romance. The Adventure, mutatis mutandis, reads as if it had been taken bodily from some mediæval romance of chivalry.

According to the Persian Tabarí both Kharrád, son of Barzín, and the archscribe were present on the occasion.^76d

§ 23. Here again there seems to be some confusion in connexion with Ízid Gashasp. He is identified with the archscribe in the heading. Moreover he is pursued, captured, and brought back to Bahrám Chúbína, who lets him off very easily, because he is wanted for service with that paladin. In the Persian Tabari both the fugitives make good their escape to Hurmuzd.^76e That version does not know of Ízid Gashasp, who is mentioned, however, in Tabarí.^76f

§ 24. In the Persian Tabarí Bahrám Chúbina sends Hur-muzd twelve thousand hangers with bent points to represent all his twelve thousand troops.^76g

Bahrám Chúbína is here described as the son of Gashasp. Tabarí makes him the son of Bahrám-Gushnasp,⁷⁷ the Persian version of Bahrám,^77a and Mas'údí of the nickname—Chúbín.^77b

§ 25. Ízid Gashasp is regarded as dealing with both sides because of the malicious speech that he is represented to have made about Bahrám Chúbína.^77c

The debate is not in the Persian Tabarí.

§ 26. The letter to the Khán is not in the Persian Tabarí.

Historically Bahrám Chúbína issued coins in his own name but apparently not in that of Khusrau Parwiz.^77d

§ 27. The authorities differ as to whether Gustaham was imprisoned as well as Bandwí. The Oriental say both, the Greek Bandwí only,^77e which makes the revolt more intelligible.

The Summer^77f mocked the ruddy apple-tree,
And treated fruit and leaf with raillery:—
“As for the posy that in Spring of late
Thou barest on thy breast intoxicate,
With just a blush remembered in its bloom,
And branches yielding exquisite perfume,
How didst thou find a purchaser to buy,
And do thy marketing so readily?
Those emeralds and rubies who bestowed
On thee that bendest underneath the load?
Sooth! thou hast bartered blossom for the grace
Of colour wherewithal to deck thy face,
^77g But brought me to despair who cannot see
Thy blossoms for thy flaunting bravery.”
Sweet Spring, my charmer! whither hast thou fled,
And left the glories of the garden dead?
Howbeit Autumn hath a scent of thine,
And I will drink to thee in new-made wine;
Though thou art sallow I will praise thee yet,
And deck thee like Hurmuzd's own coronet,
For now my mart is brisk. Art thou to see,
When I am dead and gone, no trace of me?⁷⁸

A marchlord of Harát, well shot in age,
There was, in all approven and beseen,
A ready speaker, Mákh by name, world-sage,
Still flourishing and of exalted mien;
And it was him I questioned fain to find
What record of Hurmuzd he had in mind
When that Sháh filled the throne of equity:
That eld of Khurásán thus answered me:—
Whenas that Sháh sat on the famous state
He first gave praises to almighty God,
The Arbiter of fortune, and then said:—

How Hurmuzd slew Ízid Gashasp, Zarduhsht, Símáh Barzín and Bahrám Ázarmihán, his Father's Ministers⁸¹

The Sháh ruled well until he felt secure
And had attained his ends but then he raged,
Displayed his evil nature, left the path
Of right and, as he had determined, slew
Those most in honour with his father—men,
Who, innocent and happy, feared no ill.
Among the scribes of Núshírwán were three,
Two old, one young, their names Ízid Gashasp,
Burzmihr—a learnéd scribe of Grace and presence—
And Máh Ázar, wise, shrewd, and prosperous.
The three had been vizírs and ministers
Before the throne of Núshírwán. Hurmuzd
Was longing to bring ruin on all three

Now when

Ízid Gashasp had passed a day untended,
Without food, clothes or solacer, a friend
Conveyed for him this message from the prison
To the high priest: “O thou that to the captive
Art skin and marrow! here am I within
The prison of the Sháh without attendance,
And none can come to me. I crave for food;
A famished paunch increaseth my distress.
Send to me what is fit and, when I die,
Some linen⁸² and a stitcher for my shroud.”
The high priest's heart was grieved at his affliction,
His message, place, and lodging. He replied:—
“Complain not of the matter of thy bondage
If thou art not in jeopardy of life.”
Albeit the message left him broken-hearted,
And troubled for himself. He thought: “If news
Shall reach this Graceless and ungenerous Sháh
That his high priest hath sent things to the prison,
My life and body are not worth a mite;
This world-lord will destroy me and will turn
A livid face toward me in his wrath.”
Yet through affection for Ízid Gashasp,
The scribe, his heart was wrung, his face like gall.
He bade his heedful cook take to the prison
Food for the prisoner and afterwards
Gat on an Arab steed and went to him.
The keeper of the prison paled with fright,
On seeing the high priest, but dared not say:—
“Go not within the prison for this king
Is self-willed and a novice.”

Bathed in tears

That agéd man alighted from his steed,
And visited Ízid Gashasp. They clasped
Each other in a close embrace, all anguish,
The lashes of their eyes like clouds in Spring,
And held talk of the Sháh's malignity
Until words failed them. Then the board was spread
Before those holy men who next began
To mutter prayers with sacred twigs in hand,
And afterwards Ízid Gashasp in whispers
Conveyed his wishes, while the high priest hearkened,
As to his hoarded treasure and dínárs,
His mansions, palaces, and property,
And said: “O noble man! on going hence

The high priest sat; they spread

The board; he paled; he felt that 'twas his last,
And so it proved. The cooks brought up the meats,
And Sháh Hurmuzd partook of all in turn,
But when he had the poisoned dish brought in
The high priest glanced thereat and looked again.
There was an ill surmise in his pure heart:—
“His remedy is poison in that dish!”
Hurmuzd, on seeing this, said not a word,
But stretched his hand out to that dish of bane,
And, in accordance to the use of kings
When paying servants honour and regard,
Put his own noble fingers to the board,
And, having taken marrow from the dish,
Said to the high priest: “O thou honest man!
I made this luscious morsel for thyself,
So open wide thy mouth and take this food,
And such should be thy nourishment henceforth.”
The archmage answered: “By thy life and head,
And may thy head and crown endure for ever,
Bid me not eat it; I have had enough,
⁸⁴ So do not press me further.”

Said Hurmuzd:—

“By sun and moon, and by the purity
Of soul of him who is the Sháh and world-lord,
Thou shalt accept this morsel from my hand,
And frustrate not my wish herein.”

He answered:—

“The Sháh hath bidden and I have no choice.”
He ate, then left the board, in sore distress,

The Sháh thus sought

An artifice to put Símáh Barzín,
One of the chiefs, beloved by Núshírwán—
That Lustre of the age—beyond the pale
Of sympathy.

Now when the Robe whose hue

Is ivory-bright grew visible, and Sol
Rose in the Sign of Gemini, the world-lord
Sat on the ivory throne, and o'er his head
They hung the costly crown. The Íránian chiefs
Met and drew up in rank before the court-gate.
The audience-chamberlain withdrew the curtain,
And all the throng approached the king. First came
Bahrám Ázarmihán, Símáh Barzín,
And valiant chiefs. Each took his proper seat,
The crowd still standing in the monarch's presence,
Who questioned thus Bahrám Ázarmihán:—
“Now doth Símáh Barzín, in presence here,
Deserve our wealth or is he troublesome,
Because the ill-disposed deserve not treasure?”
Bahrám Ázarmihán well understood
The question of the monarch of the world,
Its base and motive: “We must weep therefor,
And from the ruler of the people I
Shall have at last a charnel but no shroud!”
And thus he made response: “O noble Sháh!
Look for no goodness from Símáh Barzín,
For he hath wrecked Írán. Would that his body
Had neither brain nor skin! He speaketh naught
But villainy and thus produceth strife.”
Símáh Barzín, on hearing this, replied:—
“My good old friend! defame not thus my person,
And be not thus confederate with the Dív.
Since thou hast been my friend what words and deeds
Of Áhriman hast thou perceived in me?”
Bahrám Ázarmihán thus answered him:—
“Thou hast been scattering seed throughout the world,
And thou wilt be the first to reap the crop.
Black smoke shall be thy portion of the fire,
For Núshírwán once summoned thee and me,
And made us kneel before the royal throne
With the high priest, Burzmihr, and with that chief
Of comely face, Ízid Gashasp, and asked:—
‘Who doth deserve the imperial throne and who
Possesseth Grace? On younger son or elder
Shall I bestow it? Which is worthier
Of kingship?’

Then the rest of us arose,

And framed our tongues to utter this reply:—
‘This man of Turkman kindred is unworthy;
None would give aught for such a Sháh, for he
Is Khán-descended, is of evil nature,
And like his mother both in looks and bearing.’
Thou saidst: ‘Hurmuzd is fit to be the Sháh,’
And now art guilty of the consequence.
For this cause have I testified against thee,
And opened thus my lips in thy dispraise.”
Hurmuzd at that archmage's truthful words
Turned pale with shame. At night he sent them both
To prison and for two nights made no sign
Withal, but on the third, what time the moon
Arose above the mountains, he dispatched
Símáh Barzín by slaying him within
The prison of the thieves yet gat thereby
But toil and malison. On hearing how
That man of honest heart had passed away
Bahrám Ázarmihán sent to the Sháh
A message saying: “Thou whose crown is over
The orbit of the moon! thou knowest how much
I have endured to keep thy secrets close,
And ne'er was aught but well disposed to thee
Before thy father, that illustrious Sháh.
If thou wilt summon me and make me sit
Beside the royal throne I will reveal
A matter to thee in thine interest.
Free me at once from bondage in the prison;
'Twill help Írán and keep the wise unscathed.”
Hurmuzd, when this came, chose a confidant
To bring Bahrám Ázarmihán to him,
And to that court renowned. The monarch summoned
Bahrám Ázarmihán when it was night,
Caused him to kneel before the royal throne,
And then said: “Tell me what this matter is
That will secure my life in happiness.”
He answered: “In the royal treasury
I have observed a plain black cabinet.
Deposited within it is a casket,
And therein is a document in Persian.
'Tis written on white silk: the Íránians' hopes
Are centred there. 'Twas written by thy sire,
That Sháh and world-lord, and thou shouldest see it.”
Then to his treasurer, good at need, Hurmuzd
Sent one to say: “Seek in the ancient hoards
A plain sealed cabinet and on the seal
The name of Núshírwán, and may his soul
Be ever young! Dispatch and bring it me
Ere night be past.”

The treasurer was prompt,

And brought it with the seal intact. The world-lord
Oped it, invoking oftentimes the while
The name of Núshírwán. He saw within
A casket, which was also sealed, wherefrom
He eagerly took forth the piece of silk,
And saw the characters of Núshírwán
Inscribed thereon, and thus the writing ran:—

“Hurmuzd for two years more than ten
Will prove a matchless monarch, then
The world will be convulsed, his name
Pass to abeyance with his fame.
Foes will spring up in every place
Led by a man of evil race,
An Áhriman, the monarch's host
Will be dispersed, his throne be lost.
⁸⁹ Him will that villain blind, and they
Will, after, take his life away.^89a ”

On seeing that script, and in his father's hand,
Hurmuzd was frayed and rent the silk asunder.
With bloodshot eyes and livid face he cried:—
“Injurious man! what was thine aim herein?
Wouldst have my head?”

Bahrám Ázarmihán

Said: “Turkman-born! how long wilt thou delight
In bloodshed? From the Khán, not Kai Kubád,
Art thou upon whose head the crown was set
By Núshírwán.”

Hurmuzd knew: “If he can

He will o'erthrow me,” heard out his abuse,
And sent him back to prison where next night,
What time the moon rose o'er the mountain-tops,
The deathsman slew him. At the court no sage
Or counsellor or archimage was left.
From ill self-governance all evils spring;
See that thou disregard that evil thing.

From that time forth he led a goodlier life,
Moved by remorse at heart. Now every year,
When nights were short, he sojourned at Istakhr
Two months because that city was delightsome,
The air serene: he knew not how to quit it.
He and his court were wont to spend three months
At Ispahán with its delicious air—
The seat of mighty men. In Winter-time
He dwelt at Taisafún among the troops,
The archimages and the counsellors;
While in the Spring he was upon the plain
Of the Arwand, and thus a while went by.

He had a son beloved,

Just like the moon, whom he had named Parwíz,
And sometimes called “Khusrau the well-content.”
^91a He never left his father's side for long;
The father never bloomed without the son.
It chanced that the young steed of prince Parwíz
Escaped from stall and followed by its groom
Went to the growing crops whose owner came
Lamenting to the groom and asked: “What man
Must sorrow for this horse's ears and tail?”
The groom said: “'Tis the horse of prince Parwíz;
What careth he for subjects?”

Then the owner

Went to the king and laid the case before him,
Who said: “Haste, dock the horse's tail and ears,
Then have the damage to the crop assessed,
And prince Khusrau shall recompense the man
A hundredfold in money from his treasures
Upon the field and in its owner's presence.”
Thereat the prince moved chiefs to plead for him
Before the Sháh that he would not have docked
The black steed's tail and ears, but in his wrath
Against the steed the king paid no regard
To all those men of world-experience;
The groom through terror of the king made haste
To dock the young steed of its ears and tail
Upon that tilth betrampled; and Khusrau
Paid the complainant what the Sháh had bidden.

When he had reigned for ten years righteously
The voice of foemen rose from every realm,
King Sáwa marched upon him from Harát
With drums and treasure, elephants and troops.
If thou wouldst take the number of that host
Go count four hundred o'er a thousand times.
There were twelve hundred elephants of war;
Thou wouldst have said: “Earth hath no room for them.”
The desert from Harát to the Marvrúd
^92a Was thick as warp and woof with soldiery,
And as he led them on to Marv the earth
Was hidden by the dust-clouds of the host.

On reading this

The king turned pale at all that countless host.
Then from another quarter Cæsar came,
And over-ran the land with his array—
A force of Rúmans five score thousand strong,
Courageous and redoubted cavaliers.
The cities ta'en by Núshírwán, whose name
Still frighted him, he took back with the sword:
All were again obedient unto Cæsar.
⁹³ A host came from the side of the Khazars,
And all the fields and fells were black with them.
A warrior of experience and possessed
Of troops and treasure of his own was leader,
And from Armenia their companies
Extended to the gate of Ardabíl.
Then from the waste of spear-armed cavaliers
An army came past count. 'Abbás and 'Amr,
Two horsemen youthful and illustrious,
Led them. They gave to havoc land and crop
Because Hurmuzd demanded tribute of them.
That host reached the Farát, and in that land
No place for grass was left. When fortune loured
News reached Hurmuzd, and that successful Sháh
Grew all amort at his informants' words,
And he repented slaying those archmages,
And alienating wise men from his court.
He saw no counsellor, and he had need
Of wise advisers, so he sent and summoned
The Íránians to full session in the palace,
And made discovery of all the matter,
Addressing thus those nobles of the land:—
“A greater host than any can recall
Is marching on Írán.”

Then all the marchlords

Approached him with suggestions, saying thus:—
“Advised and prudent Sháh! hear us herein.
Thou art a wise Sháh; we are subjects merely,
And count ourselves as less than one archmage.
Thy scribes and thine archmages hast thou slain,
Departing from both faith and precedent.
Think what to do and who shall guard our land.”
Then said an archimage who was wazír:—
“O sage and knowledge-seeking Sháh! if now

Hurmuzd,

For he was seeking for a policy,
Said to that archimage: “How shall we now
Bear us toward king Sáwa?”

He replied:—

“Put thine own soldiers into war-array,
For troops exalt a monarch. Summon too
The muster-master that he may account
The number fit for service.”

With the roll

The muster-master came before the Sháh,
Whose army numbered five score thousand men,
The more part mounted, many were on foot.
The archmage said: “With such a host as this
We well may be defeated by king Sáwa
Unless thou actest boldly and uprightly,
Dismissing all ideas of fraud and falsehood;
Then thou wilt free thy subjects' heads from bonds
As well becometh kingship. Thou hast heard
The mighty tale of ill done to Gushtásp,
And to Luhrásp all for religion's sake
By great Arjásp, that brave old Wolf, and all
The cavaliers of Chín, the woe of Balkh,
And how life was embittered in that land
Until Asfandiyár was set at large,
And pressed the war amain.⁹⁵ Unless the king
Of earth will be advised he will behold
Much trouble from the Turks of Chín, but though
I pass the king in years I pass him not
In thought.”

The king said: “Cæsar shall not fight

With us. I will restore the cities taken
By Núshírwán, and then he will withdraw.”
He chose a scribe—a warrior—as envoy,
A wise, a prudent, and observant man,
And sent him unto Cæsar with this message:—
“I want no Rúman cities; be that land
Thine; but withal set foot not on our coasts
If thou wouldst be both great and prosperous.”
The envoy came to Cæsar and delivered
The message of Hurmuzd. The lord of Rúm
Withdrew and did no scath upon Írán.
The king, when Cæsar had withdrawn, prepared
To war with the Khazars. He formed a host,

A servant of the Sháh's, one hight Nastúh,
A wise, successful, and observant man,
Spake thus: “O Sháh! be happy. May the hand
Of ill be ever far from thee! My sire,
The wise Mihrán Sitád, hath still his wits,
Though old, and sitteth with the Zandavasta
In his retirement, having naught to hope for
Through age and weakness. Now but recently
I went and spent a day and night with him,
Told him about king Sáwa, his vast host,
And elephants of war. My father said:—
‘The ancient prophecy is then fulfilled!’
I questioned him: ‘To what referrest thou?’
He answered: ‘If the Sháh shall ask of me
I will reveal it.’”

Then the king of kings

Commanded that a noble should set forth
In haste and fetch the old man from his palace
Upon a litter. When that ancient came,
His heart all knowledge and his head all lore,
Before the Sháh, Hurmuzd inquired of him:—
“What know'st thou of the past?”

“O fluent Sháh,

And heedful,” said the elder, “when the Khán
Dispatched thy mother to Írán from Chín
I was the chief of eight score warriors
That went to ask of him her hand in marriage.
Thy father, that most upright king of kings,
Demanded no slave's daughter of the Khán,
But said: ‘Require a daughter of the queen;
No slave must be the consort of the Sháh.’

E'en with the words

He yielded up the ghost, and all the folk
Bewailed him bitterly. The king of kings
Was all astound and poured down tears of blood.
“Mihrán Sitád,” he told the Íránians,
“Retained this story in his memory,
And after having told it to us died,
Committing his accepted soul to God,
And God be thanked that this old man hath uttered
Words of such import. Had I fetched him hither
But one hour later he had died and I
Had seen much grief. Our realm must now be searched
For this man whether he be lord or liege.
Seek indefatigably for this one
Until ye find him.”

An illustrious subject,

The master of the horse, named Zád Farrukh,
Who sought in all the pleasure of the Sháh,
Went to him and thus spake: “The indications
Detailed by that famed man before the lords
Can only, otherwise we clutch but wind,
Apply, methinketh, to Bahrám Chúbína,
Son of Gashasp, a noble, well skilled horseman
To whom thou gavest Ardabíl and Barda'
Where he became marchlord with drums and troops.”
The Sháh dispatched a speedy cameleer
To bid Bahrám Chúbína dally not
Upon the way but come from Ardabíl
To court alone without the drums and host.
¹⁰⁰ The messenger the joyful news conveyed,
And told him what Mihrán Sitád had said.

Not calling any of his warriors
That world-aspirant hurried off from Barda',
And when he came the Sháh accorded audience.
On seeing the visage of the king of kings
The veteran much praised that noble one,
Who at first sight grew favourably disposed,
Perceived the marks named by Mihrán Sitád
In him, smiled and grew blithe of countenance,
Received him well and lodged him splendidly.
When sombre night flung off its musky veil,
And Sol displayed its face, the marchlord came
To court, and all the chiefs made way for him.
The world-lord summoned him and made him sit
Among the magnates, told him how Írán
Was placed and what Mihrán Sitád had said,
Then asked about king Sáwa, saying: “Shall I
Make peace or send forth troops?”

The warrior

Replied: “We may not make a peace with him,
For, since he fain would fight, to sue for peace
Will mean defeat for us; the foe moreover
Will be emboldened if he see thee weak.
To proffer feast in war-time is to make
Contention like submission.”

Said Hurmuzd:—

“What is the course then? Shall I seek delay,
Or march to battle?”

He made answer thus:—

“It augureth well if¹⁰¹ foes behave unjustly.
What said the noble counsellor? ‘No match
For justice is injustice.’ Therefore seek
To fight with this injurious enemy,
For fire and water will not flow together;
^101a But if thou actest otherwise herein
The ancient sky will choose another Sháh.
If we put forth the might of our own arms,
And what we have of prowess, holy God
Will neither blame us nor shall we be shamed
Before the heroes when the truth is sought.
Shall we be weak enough to shun the combat
While yet ten thousand of Íránians
Remain unslain? What will malignants say
To thee if thou flee foes without a fight?

On hearing this

The Sháh smiled and the court grew bright, and then
The veterans left the presence with full hearts,
And talking with Bahrám Chúbína said:—
“Henceforth if he shall speak with thee be modest,
Because king Sáwa hath such mighty powers
That e'en to ants and gnats they bar the way!
Who after what thou said'st before the Sháh
Will venture to be captain of the host?”
He answered them: “Illustrious warriors!
I will be captain by our great Sháh's leave.”
Informants on the watch went to the world's king,
And told him of this speech and ten times more.
The king of kings rejoiced thereat and ceased
To fear those troops. He gave Bahrám Chúbína
The chief command, exalting to the clouds
His valiant head. All warriors that sought
For glory hailed him captain of the host.
He came before the king with girded loins,
Equipped for war, and said: “By thy permission
I will call o'er the roll and ascertain
Who are the fighting-men and who are slack
In quest of fame.”

The Sháh said: “Thou art leader

Responsible for good and ill alike.”
The chief went to the royal muster-ground,
And bade the troops parade. He made his choice
Of those that were the crown among the chiefs,
And entered on the roll twelve thousand names
Of mail-clad warriors on barded steeds.
All those enrolled were forty years of age;
The older and the younger were rejected.
Bahrám Chúbína held the chief command
As one renowned in war. He made one hight
Yalán-sína—a man of vengeful breast—
¹⁰² Chief of the warrior-chiefs to go before

On hearing,

The king grew fresh as roses in the Spring,
Then said: “Depart, put on thy mail, and go
Forth from the palace to the riding-ground.”
The general left the king, called for his girdle,
Mail-coat, and Rúman helm, had his steed barded,
And set the coiled up lasso in its straps.
The world-lord with his arrows, clubs, and balls
Went out upon the ground with his wazírs.
The general approached with mace and mail
And Rúman casque. The world-lord, seeing, blessed him.
He kissed the ground and showed a liege's prowess
With mace, at polo, and in archery.
The king then had the banner brought that bare
A violet dragon for device, the banner
That had been borne in fight in front of Rustam,
¹⁰⁵ Grasped it immediately and, handling it
With smiles, bestowed it on Bahrám Chúbína,
Invoking many a blessing on him, saying:—
“My predecessors used to hail as chief

When morning dawned upon the mountain-tops,
And when the glittering Shield of Gold appeared,
The chief came to the palace of the Sháh,
And prostrate in the presence of the troops
Spake thus: “I was a man that had no claims,
But by thy Grace became the age's crown.
I have to beg one favour of the king—
That he will send with me a trusty man
To make a note of those that fight and lay
A hostile head beneath the dust and thus
Achieve their end.”

Hurmuzd replied: “Mihrán,

The old, is great,¹⁰⁶ observant, eloquent,”
Bade him accompany the chief and quit
The palace for the combat. From the province
Of Taisafún the army marched, their leader
Bahrám Chúbína. 'Twas a prudent, brave,
And dauntless host, and wary as a lion
Was their commander. When he had departed
The monarch of the world himself withdrew,
Was privy with his archimage¹⁰⁷ and said:—
“Upon the day of fight this man will laugh
For joy! What will result? Let us confer.”
The archmage answered: “Mayst thou live for ever,
For thou deservest everlasting life.
This paladin possessed of such a mien
And stature, ready speech and ardent soul,
Must needs be happy and victorious,
And cause a barren world to bring forth fruit;
But yet I fear me that he will revolt
At last against his sovereign and patron
Because he talked with such audacity,
And spake so like a lion to the Sháh.”

The archimage,

On hearing what the Sháh said, paled and bit
His lips. The king himself moreover kept
The thing in mind, and in a while selected
A courtier as his confidant to learn
How matters stood, and said: “Pursue in haste
The paladin and tell what thou observest.”
The agent followed swiftly, known to none.
He was a guide, in omens skilled, and used
To utter his prognostics to the Sháh.
Bahrám Chúbína, quitting Taisafún,
Led on the host himself. In front appeared,
And far from him, one that purveyed sheep's heads,
Which rose above a clean draped wicker tray.
The chieftain urged his horse and, strange to tell!
Pierced one head with his spear, rode off with it
Aloft, then flung it where he would and drew
An omen from the matter, saying thus:—
“Just so will I cut off king Sáwa's head,
Will throw it in his army's line of march,
And shatter all his host.”

The emissary,

Sent by the Sháh, drew too his presage, saying:—
“This favourite of fortune will attain,
His labours done, the crown at last for when
His end is gained he will grow troublesome,
And will rebel.”

He went and told the king,

Who wedded grief and anguish for the words
Were worse than death to him. He withered up,
That verdant leaf grew sere. He called to him
A young man of the court and sent him off
In all haste to the paladin and said:—
“Depart and tell the captain of the host:—
‘For this night tarry where thou art. At dawn
Turn back and come to me for I would clear
The court of strangers and advise thee further,
For thoughts of profit have occurred to me.’”
The messenger came to the paladin,
And told what he had heard. Bahrám Chúbína
Made this reply: “Men do not, O wise Sháh!
Recall an army on the march; such action
Would be ill-omened and would reinforce

The messenger returned and gave

The warrior's answer to the Sháh and he
Was satisfied. That envoy's toil was vain.
At dawn the captain of the host led on
The troops and called God's blessing down on them.
He marched to Khúzistán:¹⁰⁹ the troops harmed none.
There came a woman with a sack of hay
Among them and a horseman purchased it,
Refused to pay her, and made off. She came
Lamenting to Bahrám Chúbína, saying:—
“I have some hay concealed. I brought a sack's worth,
And passed before thy troops. A cavalier,
With iron helm, hath taken it from me
While on the march!”

Forthwith they sought the man,

And haled him quickly to the general.
The brave Bahrám Chúbína said to him:—
“So thou didst think this fault a little one!”
They smashed his head and hands and feet. The chief
Had him dragged forth before the camp-enclosure,
Then clave him through the middle with the sword,
And filled the heart of the unjust with terror.
Then from the camp-enclosure 'twas proclaimed:—
“O ye illustrious men and of good will!
The stealer of a stalk of hay shall find
No intercessor. I will cleave his waist
Asunder with the sword. Let all procure
By payment what they need.”

Bahrám Chúbína

Led on his host well ordered and they marched
Toward Dámaghán.

The Sháh was full of care

At Sáwa's army, elephants, and treasures,
¹¹⁰ And spake thus to Kharrád, son of Barzín,
One night at rise of moon: “Prepare to go
To our opponent and be diligent,
Not slumbering but speeding. Mark his troops
As to their numbers and their quality,
And who their leader and their warriors are.”
He ordered that a letter of advice
Should be indited to the hostile king,
And countless royal presents sent therewith.
He said thus to the messenger: “Proceed
Toward Harát and if a host appear
Know it for that of brave Bahrám Chúbína,

King Sáwa,

Concerned what course to take, called from the tent
The envoy of the Sháh and rated him:—
“Didst not foresee, thou crafty Áhriman!
A fall from thy high station? From the court
Of that vile Sháh thou camest to ensnare me,
And leadest forth to war a Persian host,
Encamping on the meadows of Harát!”
Kharrád, son of Barzín, replied: “The force
Confronting thine is small. Take not its coming
In ill part; 'tis some marchlord passing by,
Or some chief seeking shelter with the Sháh,
Or merchants who have brought an escort with them
To guard them on their way. Who would confront thee,
Though mountains turn to seas, to seek revenge?
I will send one to find out who or what
This traveller is.”¹¹¹

His words rejoiced king Sáwa,

Who said: “In truth that is the course to take.
We will dispatch to learn if friend or foe
They be.”

Now as Kharrád, son of Barzín,

Withdrew to his own tent the night o'ertopped
The mountains, and he gat in readiness
To flee the wrath to come. At dead of night
The monarch bade Faghfúr go with an escort

The horseman went like dust and cried:—
“Who are your chiefs and leader, noble sirs!
And champion in the combat, for Faghfúr,
Who is king Sáwa's heart and eyes, would see him
Without attendance?”

Came a warrior

Forth from the troops and told Bahrám Chúbína
What he had heard. The captain of the host
Went from the tent-enclosure and his flag
Was reared resplendent over him. Faghfúr
Of Chín, perceiving, hasted and made sweat
His prancing steed, and questioned: “Whence art thou?
Why haltest here? I hear that thou hast fled
From Párs as one who being wronged shed blood.”
Bahrám Chúbína answered: “God forbid
That I should purpose vengeance on the Sháh.
I came forth from Baghdád with this array
To fight by his command, for when the news
About king Sáwa and his host reached court
He said to me: ‘Go forth and hold the road
With arrows, maces, spears, and scimitars.’”
On hearing this Faghfúr sped back to tell
His sire how matters stood. Being thus apprised,
And grown suspicious, Sáwa sought forthwith
The envoy of the Sháh but some one said:—
“Kharrád, son of Barzín, hath fled with tears
Of blood at having come.”

“How could that foe,”

Said Sáwa to his son, “get clear away
At night from such a countless host as this,
And wherefore have the guards been so remiss?”

He sent thereafter to Bahrám Chúbína
A fluent elder, saying: “Go and tell
This Persian: ‘Mar not out of foolishness
Thy reputation here, for surely thou
Must know this much—that that great king of thine
Would have thy life and therefore sendeth thee
To fight with one nigh peerless in the world.

The messenger

Went to Bahrám Chúbína and thus spake:—
“Reveal thy purposes because my king
Is favoured by the stars and he would have
Thee do his will.”

Bahrám Chúbína said:—

“Say: ‘If thou wouldst do right act openly.
If friendship with the monarch of the world
Be secretly thy wish I will receive thee
On this march as a guest and pledge myself
To grant thee thy desires. I will bestow
On thy troops gold and silver, crowns and girdles
Upon those worthy of them. I will send
The Sháh a cavalier that he may come
Half way to meet thee and, as equals do,
Provide thee provand. If thou art a friend
He will make much of thee, but if thou hast
Come hither for contention, to the deep,
And to the crocodile's maw, then thou shalt quit
The desert of Harát in such a plight
That all chiefs shall bewail thee. May a ditch
Be at thy door on thy return, may blast
Pursue and rain companion thee, for naught
But ill luck brought thee hither, being fain
That ill befall thy head.’”

The messenger

Turned back, came like the wind, and gave the answer
Of that aspirant. Hearing it king Sáwa
Was wroth with that stone-hearted opposite;
His heart was straitened at that chill response,
And thinking of it filled his cheeks with shame.
He said: “Go, take yon human dív this message:—
‘Thou hast no fame in war; I would not slay thee.
Such as thy Sháh are servants at my court,
And set by thee my meanest slaves are chiefs.
If thou shalt ask for quarter at my hands
I will exalt thy head above the throng,
Thou shalt have many gifts from me, and all
Thy troops shall be enriched; but one aspiring

That pround monarch's envoy

Came to Bahrám Chúbína and delivered
Those biting words which yet were what he wished.
On hearing he informed the man: “Thy lord
Must hear my answer: ‘If I am so mean
That meanness covereth my head with shame,
The king of kings for his part was ashamed
To come out in his wrath to fight with thee.
'Tis through my meanness that I have marched forth
With troops to wreck the kindred of king Sáwa.
I will cut off his head and carry it
Before the Sháh; it is not worth my while
To stick it on my spear upon the road.
For me to grant thee quarter would demean thee,
But I will fall upon thee in my meanness.
Thou shalt not see me save upon the day
Of fight and followed by my dark-blue flag,
Because if thou upon that dragon glance
'Tis death; thy head and helm shall sheath my lance.’”

King Sáwa's envoy, when he heard those words
Of stern defiance, showed his back. He went,
And told what he had heard and seen whereat
The Turks' king's head breathed vengeance and he bade
To bring the tymbals forth and to lead out
The elephants high-crested to the plain.
The realm was darkened with the dust of hoofs,
The trumpets blared. Now when Bahrám Chúbína
Heard that a host had come, and plains and vales
Were yellow, red, and black, he bade his men
Mount and rode forth in armour, mace in hand.
Behind him lay Harát, before a host
Of swordsmen. He drew up the wings. The troops
Were as one heart and body. Thou hadst said:—
“The world is all cuirass; a star is shining
On every spear.”

King Sáwa viewed that field,

Its order and array, perceived that while
Bahrám Chúbína rested on Harát
His own position was both cramped and ill,
And thus addressed his horsemen, veterans,
And intimates: “A lying messenger
Came from the Persian leader of the folk,

Then from the champaign of Harát he sent
Again a warrior of eloquence,
A man all guileful, to Bahrám Chúbína
To say: “Thou hast not wedded heaven's own fortune:
Wilt thou not hear advice and such appeals?
Make friends with wisdom, open thine heart's eyes.
Thou hast found two whose equals in the world
Have never yet been born of royal race;
They shine like suns in heaven and all the year
Are clad in mail, they are so valorous.
One is myself, the lawful king of earth;
The other is my high-born son Parmúda.
My troops are more than leaves upon the trees,
Had some the skill to number them. If I
Should reckon up my men and elephants
Thou wouldest smile at rain-drops from Spring-clouds.
There are tents, tent-enclosures, implements
Of war beyond conception; shouldst thou count
Withal my steeds and men, my wastes and mountains,
Thou wouldest marvel. All the other kings,
If worthy of such honour, are my lieges.
If seas had life¹¹⁷ and mountains feet to run
They could not carry off my treasury,
Arms, implements, and fruitage of my toils.
The glorious Great, save for thy Persian lord,
Throughout the world acclaim me as their king,
And thy life also lieth in my hands

How Bahrám Chúbína had a Dream in the Night, how he gave Battle the next Morning, and how King Sáwa was slain

Now when Bahrám Chúbína was alone
Within his tent he sent and¹²¹ called the Íránians,
And with his troops took counsel for the fight
Till dark, till Turk and Persian both reposed,
And he that would might have the world for naught;
But brave Bahrám Chúbína still mused war,
While sleeping in his tent. That Lion dreamed
That in the fight the Turks proved valorous,
While his own troops were routed and himself,
Debarred more strife, unsuccoured and afoot,
Asked quarter of the heroes of the foe.
He woke in grief, his noble head sore troubled,
With pain and sorrow passed the hours of dark,
Arrayed himself but told to none his dream.
Just then arrived Kharrád, son of Barzín,
Who had escaped king Sáwa, and spake thus:—
^121a “What confidence is this? Behold the snare
Of Áhriman and give not to the winds
Íránian lives but treat these nobles fairly;
For valour's sake take pity on thy life,
For nevermore will such a task confront thee.”
“Thy city,” said Bahrám Chúbína, “yieldeth
No valour save thy sample, for all there
Sell fish from Summer-time¹²² till snow-storms come.

Bahrám Chúbína

Cried at him furiously: “Thou recreant wretch!
Thy business is with inkstand and with paper:
Who bade thee take the number of the host?”
The scribe approached Kharrád, son of Barzín,
And said: “Bahrám Chúbína and the Dív
Are mates!”

Those scribes then sought a way to flee

That they might not behold that day of doom.
They feared both king of kings and arrow-rain,
And bit their lips. On one side and afar
From those Túránian horsemen they beheld
A height precipitous and thither fared

Still praying loudly

He mounted with his ox-head mace in hand.
¹²³ King Sáwa thus addressed his host: “Begin
Your incantations that the Íránians
May quail in heart and eye, and no disaster
Befall yourselves.”

Then all the sorcerers

Began their spells and hurled fire through the air.
¹²⁴ Rose blast and murky cloud whence arrows showered
Upon the Íránians. Bahrám Chúbína
Exclaimed: “Chiefs, magnates of Írán, and heroes!
Shut ye your eyes to all these magic arts,
And come all wroth to fight, for this is naught
But trick and sorcery, and they that use
Such means demand our tears.”

The Íránians shouted,

And girt their loins for bloodshed, while king Sáwa
Surveyed the field, saw that the foe recoiled not
At those black arts but came on all the more,
Led by Bahrám Chúbína, and assailed,
Like wolf a lamb, their left, brake it and charged,
Like one bemused, Bahrám Chúbína's centre,
Who thence saw how his soldiers fled the foe,
Came, with his spear unhorsed three warriors,
And dashed them headlong to the ground, exclaiming:—

Then he made toward the right,

As 'twere a lusty lion famishing,
And brake the mighty force opposed to him,
So that their leader's banner disappeared.
Thence he departed to his army's centre,
To where the leader was among the troops,
And said to him: “Perdition take it all!
If this fight last the host will be dispersed!
Look out in what direction to retreat.”
They went and sought; there was not any way
Because the proper road was mounded over.
Then to that leader said Bahrám Chúbína:—
“There is an iron wall in front of us,
And only he that knoweth how to make
A breach therein can gain the other side,
Safe-guard himself and carry to Írán,
And to the monarch of the brave, his life.
All put your whole heart in it, shield your heads,
And ply your swords. If sleepless fortune help us
It will repay our toils with thrones and crowns.
Let none despair of God or ye may see
Your white day turn to gloom.”

King Sáwá thus

Harangued his chiefs: “Advance the elephants
Before the host, attack in force, and make
The world both dark and narrow to our foes.”
Bahrám Chúbína from afar beheld
The elephants, was grieved, unsheathed his sword,
And thus addressed his captains: “Warriors famed!
String up your bows of Chách and helm ye all.
Now by the life and head of this world's king,
The chosen of the lords and crown of chiefs,
Let every one that hath artillery
String up his bow perforce and let him fix
His arrows, fashioned out of triple wood,
Whose points are keen for blood, upon the trunks
Of yonder elephants, then out with mace,
On to the fight, and slay your enemies.”
The chieftain strung his bow and set a casque
Of steel upon his head. He made his bow
As 'twere a cloud in Spring and showered arrows
Before the host: the soldiers followed him.
The stars were dimmed by pointed, feathered shafts.
They pierced the elephants' trunks, and dale and plain
Grew like a pool of blood. The elephants
Turned from the smart and fled the battlefield.

Such deeds the turning sky

Doth, showing neither love nor enmity.
Joy not in lofty throne and greatly fear,
What time thou feel'st secure, disaster near.
The brave Bahrám Chúbína came and dragged
The corpse face downward wallowing in the dust,
And severed that crowned head while none of all
Its kindred came anear. When the Turks found
Their king the corpse lay headless on the road.
All wailed; cries filled the earth; the air resounded,
And he that was the son of Sáwa said:—
“This is God's doing, for unsleeping fortune
Is with Bahrám Chúbína.”

Multitudes

Died in the strait defiles. The elephants
Trod many under foot; not one in ten
Of all that host escaped. They perished crushed
Beneath the elephants or were beheaded
Upon the battlefield, and when nine hours
Of that ill day had gone the Íránians saw
No enemy alive save prisoners bound,
Their souls and bodies pierced with grief and shafts.
The route was strewn with bards and helms whose heads
Were suffocate therein,¹²⁷ with Indian swords,
With arrows and with bows dropped by the foe
On all sides. Earth was like a sea of blood
With slain, and everywhere were saddled steeds.
Bahrám Chúbína went his rounds to learn
Who had been slain upon the Íránian side;
Then said he to Kharrád, son of Barzín:—
“Give me thine aid to-day and ascertain
What slain Íránians it is ours to mourn.”
He went through all the tents. One man of worship
Was missing in the host—a chieftain named
Bahrám, who was the son of Siyáwush,
A valiant prince, a magnate of Írán,
Descended from a captain of the host.
Like one insane Kharrád went forth in quest
Of traces of him, moving many a form
Of slain and wounded men but found no sign.
The captain of the host was grieved thereat,
And cried: “Alas! thou prudent warrior!”
Howbeit the man himself appeared anon,
A key to that locked door, and with a Turk
Red-haired, cat-eyed, and, as thou wouldst have said,
With heart all wrung with rage. Bahrám Chúbína
Cried when he saw Bahrám: “Ne'er be it thine
To wed the dust!” then of that foul Turk asked:—
“O thou hell-visaged, banned from Paradise!
What man art thou? What is thy name and birth,
For she who bare thee will have cause to weep?”
He said: “A warlock I. I meddle not
With manhood and with manliness but help
My chief in battle when things reach a pass,
And make him dream of what will hearten him.
I gave thee that ill dream last night to bring
Ill on thy head, but I must seek for means
More potent¹²⁸ for my sorcery hath failed,
Ill-fortune hath recoiled upon my head,
And all my toil is wedded to the wind.

On hearing this

Bahrám Chúbína mused, his heart was troubled,
His visage wan. Anon he said: “This man
Might prove of service in the stress of fight,”
But said again: “What did king Sáwa profit
Through this dark-dealing warlock? All good things
Descend from God on fortune's favourites,”
Then bade cut off his head and robbed of life
His feckless form, which done Bahrám Chúbína
Stood up and said: “O just and upright Judge!
From Thee are greatness, victory, the Glory,
High place, the diadem of king of kings,
Distress and joy. Blest is the warrior
That followeth Thy way.”

The archscribe came,

And spake thus: “Valiant Farídún, Bahrám,
¹²⁹ And Núshírwán ne'er saw one like to thee,
O lusty paladin! Possessed art thou
Of lion's courage, counsel, and device.
May no calamity befall thy life.
Through thee the cities of Írán all live,
And all the paladins are but thy slaves.
Through thee the exalted throne hath been exalted,
And every liege escaped mishap. Thou art
A chieftain and a chieftain's son, and blest
Is she that brought forth such a child, for thou
Art glorious by birth and enterprise,
A king all absolute in Grace and wisdom.”
Then the Sháh's paladins and men of might
Dispersed themselves and left the scene of fight.

How Bahrám Chúbína sent a Letter announcing his Victory, and the Head of King Sáwa, to Hur-muzd, and his Answer

When night had curled its locks and sent thereby
The eye to sleep, and when the Ebon Veil
Appeared, the world had respite from the drum.
Meanwhile the wheel of heaven turned apace
In view of darksome night and hurried on
Till from the deep a Golden Vessel rose,
And travail waxed and slumber fined away.
Then came the captain of the host and sent
Some one to bid his comrades good at need:—
“All those that have been slain among the chiefs,
War-cavaliers and captains of the Turks,
Each leader of the folk, behead and set

On this Parmúda

Reflected on Bahrám Chúbína's deeds,

Hearing this, the king of kings

Rose, quickly bowed, and standing in God's presence
Said: “O Thou righteous Guide! Thou hast destroyed
Our foes, Thou Fashioner of sun and moon!
Great was my wretchedness and my despair
What time the foe came headlong from his throne!
'Twas neither chieftain nor the warrior-host
That did this, but God's goodness to His slave.”
Then from the treasures that his sire had left
He had a hundred thousand drachms brought forth,
With one third first gave largess to the poor,
But the more part to his own servitors,
And sent the Fanes of Fire another third,
There to be given over to the priests
To grace the Feasts of New Year and of Sada.
With what was left men sought out and repaired
The ruined sites and caravansaries
In desert places, rendering the roads

The Sháh next passed

Two weeks in prayer; then when the world's light rose
He called the envoy of the paladin,
And seated him rejoicing 'mongst the lords;
Then wrote an answer instantly and set
A tree within the garth of majesty,
Sent too a silver throne and golden boots,
And wealth of all sorts. All that lay between
Haitál and the great river¹³³ he bestowed
On that bold paladin^133a and bade: “Distribute
Spoil ta'en on way and waste among the troops
Except king Sáwa's private property;
Let that be sent to court. This done, make war
Upon Parmúda till he is o'erthrown.”
Hurmuzd sent gifts too to the Íránians,
Confirmed by letters written to each city.
They gave the messenger a robe of honour,
And called thereafter for the nobles' steeds.
Bahrám Chúbína, when the envoy came,
Joyed well content and gave the troops much booty,
Except the wealth pertaining to king Sáwa,
The impure of heart; this he dispatched with horsemen,
Famed veterans of his kin, who bore it all
To court what while the chieftain went his way,
He and his army, to renew the fray.

How Bahrám Chúbína fought with Parmúda, Son of King Sáwa, and overcame him, and how Parmúda took Refuge in the Hold of Áwáza

Parmúda, when news came “Bahrám Chúbína
Is seeking for the throne of empire,” held
A stronghold hight Áwáza where he joyed
Secure. Therein he stored whate'er he had
Of money, jewels, and of other treasures,
And passing with his army o'er Jíhún
Proceeded proudly to the seat of war.
The hosts drew near for battle, dallying not
Upon the march, and chose a fitting field
Two stages out of Balkh. Between the hosts
Two leagues of plain lay suitable for fight.

Now when Parmúda

Returned to camp he canvassed schemes for fight,
And said: “It is an excellence of theirs
That though their troops are few their horse are splendid,
And in the chief degree of warriors,
Well armed, and have for chief Bahrám Chúbína,
A man to whom spears are as thorns and weeds,
With heart elate at conquering king Sáwa,
And drunk with gore; yet by the Maker's aid
I will require from that huge Mountain-mass
The vengeance owing for my father's blood.”
Now when Bahrám Chúbína left Írán
To fight the Turks a reader of the stars
Said: “Stir not on the Wednesday of each week,
Or harm will follow, and thy whole emprise
Prove profitless.”

Between the hosts there lay

A garden bordered by the battlefield,
And on the Wednesday of the week at dawn
Bahrám Chúbína thither went and said:—
“We will be glad to-day.”

They carried thither

Rich carpetings; he took wine, meat, and minstrels,
And coming to that garden revelled there.
Now when a watch of darksome night had passed
The outposts brought Parmúda the report:—
“Bahrám Chúbína revelleth in the garden.”
The chieftain chose among his warriors
Six thousand cavaliers, all valiant men,
And sent them forth without lights to surround
The garth and take the Íránian chiefs. Now when
Bahrám Chúbína was aware thereof,
And of the plan and purpose of Parmúda,
He thus addressed Yalán-sína: “O chieftain!
Break us a passage through the garden-wall.”
Bahrám Chúbína and Ízid Gashasp,
With other warriors, mounted on their steeds.

The king replied:—

“How long, O ravening lion! wilt thou be
Thus keen for bloodshed? Crocodiles in water,
And pards on land, grow satiate with the blood
Of heroes in the fight. Will naught sate thee?
Methinketh that thou art a ravening lion,
Thou who hast stricken off king Sáwa's head—
A man beloved through life by circling heaven—
And slaughtered so his troops that sun and moon
Feel ruth for them, while as for me who am
That valiant king's memorial, know that thou
Hast slain me too with sheer distress. We all

Bahrám Chúbína,

On hearing this, turned back, for that curst foe
Had grown so gracious. When the troops had rested,
And come to king Parmúda's camp, they fared
About the field, cut off the chieftains' heads,
And heaped them till the pile grew mountain-like:
The hero's men of name called it Bahrám Tal.
¹³⁸ Whate'er they saw of horsemen's equipage,
And other booty, they assembled there.
Bahrám Chúbína wrote the king a letter
About Parmúda and his countless host,
Narrating “all that hath befallen us
Both from the Turks and from their warlike king,
Whose heart was eager to avenge his sire,
And who departed to Áwáza hence.”
Parmúda, on his side, made fast the hold,
And sat down deep in thought, while in pursuit
Came countless troops and circled it about;
But though so many leaguered it none knew
Parmúda's plans. Bahrám Chúbína said:—
“The toils of war are better than delay,
And so he told Yal-án-sína to choose
Three thousand of the horsemen on the field,
And further that Ízid Gashasp should call
To horse four thousand warriors of the troops.
He bade behead forthwith all whom they found,
Thus haply from the hold the king to draw
When all the waste a-stream with blood he saw.

Bahrám Chúbína stayed before the hold
Three days but sent at sun-rise on the fourth
This message to Parmúda as the chief
Both of the realm and race: “O noble king
Of Chín and of the Turks! why hast thou chosen
To occupy this stronghold? Where are now
King Sáwa's passion to possess the world,
And all his treasure, power, and elephants,
His armour for the steeds and ardent chiefs?
Where are thy witchcraft and thy sorcery
That now thou dost seclude thyself? Time was
When all the Turks'domain was not enough
For thee, thy father peerless in the world.
Now womanlike thou sittest in this hold,
With full heart, beating thine own head. Undo
The castle-gate, seek quarter, ask of me
To plead for thee before my king. Dispatch
Thy treasures of dínárs and all thy purses
From this hold plain-ward or if thou keep them
Keep not the realm for kings despise dínárs.
Myself will intercede for thee at court
Because I am the champion of Írán;
Thee will I make chief of all chiefs and treat thee
Above thine aims and thine imaginings.
Now if thou hast some hidden policy,
One that will make thy gloomy prospects bright,
Confide in me; since thine affairs are thus
Be not thou distant. I have given thee quarter,
As thou dost know, and opened thee a way
To scape by, else thou hadst been lifeless now,
As is thy sire, and seen not son or kindred:
But if thou hast companions for the fight,
With treasure and abundance of dínárs,
Exert thyself herein and take revenge,
For troops are not to seek where there is treasure.”
The messenger arriving told his message,
Which when Parmúda, the ambitious, heard
He answered: “Say: ‘If so thou canst forbear
To search out this world's secrets. Thou perchance
Hast made too bold therewith because thy toils
Have brought forth fruit; yet in thy victory
Joy not; though thou art young the world is old.
The secret of the turning sky is known
To none; it never showeth us its face.
To mock becometh not a general.
I too had soldiers, elephants, and drums,

They wrote a letter that might bear good fruit
To that victorious and exalted Ṣháh:—
“The Khán of Chín is suppliant for quarter;
He is beleaguered by Bahrám Chúbína,
And needeth a safe-conduct under seal;
The news thereof will be a feast to him.
Now since the suppliant is the Khán of Chín,
Fall'n from such dignity to wretchedness,
The king of kings should pity one whose worship
Hath passed away.”

Now when the letter reached

The Sháh he cloudward raised his glorious crown.
He sent and summoned the Íránians,
And set them by the famous throne of kingship,

He wrote

An answer also to that world-aspirant,
^142b A letter all good will like Paradise,
And said: “Dispatch Parmúda to my court
With all observance but without his host.
The booty that thou tookest from his troops—
A service which thou didst right zealously—
Send thither too, whate'er of it is worthy.
The Maker aideth thee. Spy out the foe,
And if he hath a stronghold let thy guards
Seize and consume it through thy glorious fortune,
And world-illuming presages. If thou
Hast need of further troops they shall be thine,
And there shall be addition to thy treasures.
State thy demands in writing; we will send
Whatever troops are needed. In thy letter
Name those Íránians that have acted well
In thine esteem; their toils shall be rewarded.
Thy troops the guardians of the march shall be;
The crown of paladins I give to thee.”

How Hurmuzd's Letter granting Quarter to Parmúda reached Bahrám Chúbína, and how Bahrám Chúbína was wroth with Parmúda

Now when this letter reached the paladin
That famous chieftain's heart grew young; the letter
Astounded him. He sent and called the Íránians,
And showed the Sháh's gifts; all that saw them blessed him.
He showed the Íránians too all that Hurmuzd
Had written of them. The warriors acclaimed;
Thou wouldst have said: “Earth's surface shook.”
He sent too
The honourable safe-conduct for Parmúda,
Giv'n by the monarch, to the hold to him;
His darkened soul grew bright. With many blessings
Upon the king he left his famous fortress,
And leaving to Bahrám Chúbína all
The wealth therein made ready to depart.
Descending from the hold the proud Parmúda
Bestrode his charger swift as flying dust,
And set forth with his troops without regard
To bold Bahrám Chúbína who chagrined
Thereat, and though his captive was a king,
Sent after him and had him brought afoot,
And running in the presence of the troops;
Then said to him indignantly: “Are such
Your manners in Túrán and Chín—to go
Without leave asked of me? Sheer folly this!”
Parmúda said: “Once I was raised o'er folk,
But now am humbled and a suppliant,
Cast vilely from the zenith of my power.
To-day withal thou art not generous
In bringing me before thee, evil one!
Now that I have the letter of safe-conduct
I purpose going to the king. Perchance
He will receive me brother-like; misfortune
May grow more light to me. What wouldst thou more?
I have surrendered fortune, home, and goods.”
Bahrám Chúbína raged with flashing eyes
In indignation at Parmúda's words,
And struck him in excitement with a whip—
Behaviour only fit for miscreants.
They bound Parmúda's feet forthwith and made
A scanty tent his prison. Said thereat

He sought the archscribe,

And said: “This mighty paladin possesseth
Not one gnat's wing of wisdom!¹⁴⁴ so he taketh
No heed of any one, and we must go,
And say to him: ‘This is remediless.’
His temper is his great calamity.”
The two departed to Bahrám Chúbína
With pallid cheeks and counsel on their tongues,
And told him: “Thou hast given to the winds
Thy toil! Oh! be that noble head of thine
Unfilled with fire!”

Ware of his foul behaviour,

That into water had been flung a brick
Already dried, he in his penitence
Released the Khán and was in great concern.
He sent the Khán a steed with golden trappings,
And Indian falchion with a golden scabbard,
Moreover went forthwith to him to make
His dark soul bright, there tarried till the Khán
Had armed and mounted on a speedy steed,
And then escorted him upon his way,
Perceiving that the prince's visage loured.
When it was time to part Bahrám Chúbína
Told him: “Thou hast a secret grudge against me;
Yet, though it be so, tell it not the Sháh;
No credit will result to thee therefrom.”
The Khán replied to him: “It is of fortune
That I complain; I leave it all to God.
I am not such an one as would desire
To speak in many words of other men;
Still if thy monarch hath no news hereof
He is not worthy of his high estate.
It was the turning sky that fettered me;
I tell not of ill usage from a slave.”
Thereat Bahrám Chúbína paled; he writhed,
But with an effort swallowed down his wrath,
And thus returned reply: “An instance this
Of what the famous nobles used to say:—
‘Forbear thine utmost seed of ill to cast,
For time will give thee fruit thereof at last.’
¹⁴⁵ To what end did I deck for thee my heart,
Attempt to do thee kindness in the world,
And wrote its lord a letter hiding all
Thine own shortcomings?”

“That,” the Khán rejoined,

“Is past, and all the past hath turned to wind.
By God! I do not owe thee any grudge,
Or cherish in my heart the former strife.
Thy kindness hath been greater than this wrong,
And thou didst guide me on the way to good;
But just as there is insolence in war,
So is there courtesy in time of peace,

“This ill-conditioned one,”

Bahrám Chúbína said. “would join his sire.”
The Khán said: “Wrong me not. Reft as I am
Of mine own father I may well die young.
All those that in the world are like thyself,
With heads all dust-cloud and with hearts all fume,
Imagine ill, accord to none, but raise
Themselves by craft and cruelty. I fear not
The king of kings; from him bale or relief
Is well. He is my peer among the great,
And not a slave malignantly disposed
Towards me, but is gentle, wise, high-born,
And greatly mindful of the men of name.
I charge thee by the soul and by the head
Of Sháh Hurmuzd that thou return forthwith.
Give me no more replies and insolence;
Say naught and hear naught.”

When Bahrám Chúbína

Heard he returned to camp in vengeful mood,
And thus that proven warrior harangued
The prudent chiefs: “Kharrád, son of Barzín,
And those wise men, the archscribe and arch-mages,

How Parmúda came before Hurmuzd with the Treasures sent by Bahrám Chúbína

With treasure, gifts, and troops the Khán drew near
The monarch of the world who heard and mounted
With crown on head and mace in hand, and thus
Came to the gate. When from the porch he saw
The visage of the Khán he paused to note
If at the sight of him that prince and troops
Would light down from their steeds. Parmúda watched,
Full of concern, if he would turn away,
Then, mounted still, came with the archimage,
Ízid Gashasp, whereat the Sháh, the world-lord,
Bestirred him with his troops. The Khán alighted
And hastened toward the Sháh, without delay
Remounting his black Arab, while the Great King
Abode not with Parmúda in the porch,
And rode his fleet steed off; but when the Khán
Was following, the keeper of the curtain
Laid hold upon his reins forthwith. Parmúda
Alighted instantly and manifested
His own diplomacy by that submission.
Now when the Khán approached the royal throne
The king of kings received him with all favour,
And having welcomed set him in the presence,
Repenting of the past hostility.
They lodged him fitly in the pleasant palace
Prepared for him and brought whate'er he needed.
A scribe was charged to lodge the retinue
Hard by. The Sháh, on hearing of the wealth
Brought by Parmúda, sent it to the park,
And charged therewith the keeper of the camels.
The eighth day, when Parmúda was refreshed
From all his toils, the Sháh ordained a feast,
And, when the Khán was seated at the board
At court and in the presence of the world-lord,
Bade bring the camel-loads before the chiefs.
One counted up the porters; on that day
There were ten thousand hired. The next, at dawn,
Hurmuzd had wine set forth and took his seat,
And from the park came fifty thousand bales
As well as parcels on the porters' backs.

He at that time

Said to his confidant Ízid Gashasp:—
¹⁵⁰ “What seest thou in Bahrám Chúbína's exploit?
He maketh war to cease right manfully.”
The scribe Ízid Gashasp replied: “O Sháh,
Who art observant and of ardent mind!
When at a feast the theme is such know there
Will likewise be but ill-conditioned fare.”
^150a The Sháh became suspiciously inclined
On hearing this; misdoubtings filled his mind.

Then came a lusty camel-post and brought
This letter from the archscribe: “May the world-lord
Be ever joyful and his head and crown
For ever present in his servant's thoughts.
Know that there were two curtains of Yaman
Among the spoil, boots decked with gems uncut,
The earrings too of noble Siyáwush,
Who left us wisdom as his monument,
And these the paladin bare off with him
^150b No marvel since he underwent the toil.”
Hurmuzd said to Parmúda: “Tell me all
That thou didst see hereof.”

The fallen king

Confirmed the scribe's report. The haughty Sháh
Was wroth thereat and said: “Bahrám Chúbína
Doth err, uplifting to the moon his head.
For one thing he hath struck the Khán of Chín—
An act the outcome of an evil nature—
And then would nothing but these earrings serve
His turn? Perhaps he hath become a king.
His toil hath turned to wind and all his knowledge
And justice have become corrupt.”

This said,

He called the Khán and having seated him
Upon the famous throne they feasted there
Till night spread out her musky tresses black.

As he sat

He grasped the Khán‘s hand, and Parmúda marvelled.
The Sháh proceeded: “Swear to me afresh,
And make a new departure, not to break
With me or with the nobles of this folk
On thy return.”

Parmúda swore forthwith:—

“By shining daylight and night azure-dim,
By God who hath of right supremacy,
The Artificer of Jupiter and Venus,
The great Sháh's crown and throne, Ázargashasp,
The signet and the diadem, the Khán
Shall not grow alien from the Sháh in heart,
And vex him not in aught.”

This sworn, they rose

And sought their couches.

When the yellow sun

O'er-topped the mountains, and the kings awoke,
The noble Sháh prepared a present—ware
Of gold and silver, horses, coronets,
Of girdles gemmed and golden, armlets, torques,
And earrings, Arab steeds with golden trappings,
And Indian scimitars with golden sheaths,
Dispatched them to the Khán, consorted with him
Two stages and the more part of the third,
And having bidden him farewell returned.
The paladin, on hearing of the gifts
Presented by the monarch of the world,
And how the Khán was coming back rejoicing,
Rode forth to meet him with the Íránian chiefs.
He stored provisions where the Khán would pass
In town and village, station, hill, and plain,
And hurried on in shame at his ill temper
To make excuse in person. When he saw
Parmúda he did reverence but the Khán
Proved wholly adverse, would accept of naught
That he had brought of provand, purse, or slave,
And on the way ignored him utterly.
Bahrám Chúbína fared three stages thus,
And not once did Parmúda call for him.
Upon the fourth the Khán sent one to say:—
“Return for thou hast toiled enough.”

Thereat

Bahrám Chúbína left him and in wrath
Set face toward Balkh where he abode in dudgeon,
Repenting of his acts with aching heart.
Withal the world-lord was displeased with him,
And fumes of anger filled the monarch's soul

How Hurmuzd wrote a chiding Letter to Bahrám Chúbína and sent him a Distaff-case, Cotton, and Women's Raiment

The king then wrote thus to Bahrám Chúbína:—
“Unconscionable div! perceiv'st thou not
That all our excellencies are from God,
And yet thou sittest on the vault of heaven?
Hast thou forgot my pains, troops, toil, and treasure?
Thou keepest not the way of paladins,
But raisest thy head skyward. Thou hast turned
From my behest and acted otherwise.
Here is the robe of honour meet for thee,
Agreeable and appropriate to thine acts.”
The Sháh, when he had sealed this, ordered one
To bring him a black distaff-case with distaff
And cotton, much unworthy gear, withal
A blue silk shift, red drawers, and yellow coif,
Chose an ignoble messenger to match
With that unseemly gift and said: “Convey
These to Bahrám Chúbína. Say to him:—
‘O worthless miscreant! thou didst bind the Khán,
And gloat upon great men's mishaps, but I
Will fetch thee from thy seat and hold thee naught
Henceforth.’”

The messenger, these words in mind,

Departed with the gift and went like wind.

How Bahrám Chúbína put on the Woman's Dress and showed himself therein to the Chiefs of the Host

Whenas Bahrám Chúbína saw the present
Sent with the letter he endured in silence.
He thought: “This is my guerdon! So the Sháh
Is now my foe though he hath not devised
This wrong but mine ill-wishers slandered me.
The world-lord is the master of his slaves,
And if he putteth me to shame 'tis well.

He said: “Forbear:

The Sháh is source of honour to his troops;
His slaves are we; he giveth, we receive.”
The Íránians said: “We will not arm henceforth;
We will not have him in Írán as Sháh,
Or, as our general, Bahrám Chúbína.”
They spake and went forth from his presence, left
The palace of the chieftain¹⁵⁶ for the plain,
But he refrained his lips and at the most
Gave only prudent counsels to the host.

Two weeks passed, then Bahrám Chúbína left
His palace for the waste. In front of him
There was a forest furnished well with trees —
The very place for lucky revellers.
Upon the mead he saw an onager,
And none will see a fairer one. He followed
At leisure, heating not his steed. Appeared
Within that woodland-chase a narrow path,
Which when that gallant onager had traversed
A pleasance next was seen upon the plain.
Bahrám Chúbína, marking this, proceeded
Until a splendid palace came in sight.
Led by the onager he turned and rode
Thereto; behind him was Ízid Gashasp,
To whom he gave his fleet steed's reins and said:—
“May wisdom ever be thy mate,” then entered
The porch alone. Ízid Gashasp the while
Abode without and held the noble steed.
Behind him hurrying came Yalán-sína
Armed on a swift horse. Brave Ízid Gashasp
Said: “Lion! enter thou and find out whither
Our chief, the heroic captain of the host,
Our succourer, hath gone.”

Yalán-sína

Made for the palace with an anxious heart
To seek the chief. He saw it and its hall
Magnifical; its like he had not seen
Or heard of in Írán. Upon one side
Thereof there was a cupola whose top
Was viewless through its height and under it
A throne of gold with steps begemmed. The throne
Was covered with brocade of Rúm in patterns
Picked out with jewels on a ground of gold.
Upon the throne there sat a lady crowned,
Of cypress-height and with a face like Spring.
¹⁵⁷

Anon the onager appeared;

The chieftain followed after on his steed,
And it was so that till he cleared the forest
The onager still served him as a guide.
He went back to the city from the chace,
But spake not of the matter to the host.
Kharrád, son of Barzín, regarded him
And said thus: “O thou chief that speakest sooth!
What was this marvel seen and heard by none
That happened in the chace?”

The paladin

Vouchsafed no answer but in dudgeon sought
The palace, and none else dared ask: “What might
This matter mean, this vision of delight?”

How Bahrám Chúbína assumed the royal Style and how Kharrád, Son of Barzín, and the Archscribe^158b fled

The next day, when the uplands silvered over,
And when yon yellow shining Lamp appeared,
Bahrám Chúbína spread a carpeting
Made of brocade of Chín, and thou hadst said
That earth had turned to sky. Throughout the palace
He ranged gold seats and cushions of brocade
Of gold. They placed a golden ante-throne
Whereon the captain of the host sat down,
Then held a session like the king of kings,
And placed upon his head the crown of greatness.
The archscribe marked Bahrám Chúbína's conduct,
And, knowing him to be both bold and strong,
Went and retailed his knowledge, sight or hearsay,
Before Kharrád, son of Barzín, who listened,
Knew that his own toils had been vain, and said:—
“Take not this lightly, O thou noble scribe!
This king of kings of ours hath played the fool
In sending as a gift the distaff-case,
Not knowing that this battle-loving Lion
Would thus revolt. We must not talk of this,
But when 'tis midnight fare forth to the Sháh,
And say: ‘Bahrám Chúbína's heart is set
Upon the crown; the seat too under him
Is ivory.’”

They canvassed all the case,

And made a shift to flee, prepared the pretext,
And fled from Balkh by night. The chief, informed
Thereof, and knowing well their clear, shrewd minds,
Said to Yalán-sína: “Go in pursuit
Of those two dotards with a hundred horse.”
He overtook the archscribe, raged at him,
As 'twere a wolf, took from him all he had,
And brought him back made fast in heavy bonds,
Back to Bahrám Chúbína so that he
Might slay the innocent. The paladin
Said: “Doer of div's work! why didst thou quit me
Without my leave?”

“O paladin!” he answered,

“Kharrád, son of Barzín, made me afraid.
He said: ‘We may not tarry; thy delay
Will please those only that speak ill of thee,
For when the heroic captain of the host,
Bahrám Chúbína, holdeth court as Sháh

Bahrám Chúbína said:—

“Just so: one must consult o'er good and ill.”
He then restored and with advantages
From his own treasures what the scribe had lost,
Then said to him: “Go thou and ponder o'er
Thy conduct in this case and flee no more.”

How Hurmuzd received News of Bahrám Chúbína's Doings, and how Bahrám Chúbína sent a Frail of Swords to Hurmuzd

Kharrád, son of Barzín, for his part rode,
Escaping notice, till he reached the Sháh,
To whom he told his news, suppressing naught,
Of wood and meadow, course of onager,
Strait pathway and Bahrám Chúbína's sojourn;
Told of the palace and the jewelled throne,
The slave-girls and the lady with the crown:
He told whatever he had seen and heard.
The Sháh mused at the tale, laid it to heart,
And sighed as he remembered what the archmage
And fortune-teller had said: “Bahrám Chúbína
Will turn him from thy throne.”¹⁶⁰

Forthwith he summoned

The high priest, set Kharrád, son of Barzín,
Within the room and said to him: “Relate
The adventures of thy journey.”

Thus enjoined

He oped his lips and told it all. The Sháh
Said to the high priest: “What importeth this?
We must consult at large. The onager
That led him through the wood, the palace seen
Amidst the wilderness, the lady crowned
Upon the golden throne, the slaves in waiting
As on a queen—the account is like a dream
Suggested by old tales!”

The high priest thus.

Made answer to the monarch of the world:—
“Beneath that onager there was a dív
Who sought to lead Bahrám Chúbína wrong,
And make perverseness show within his heart.
The palace, be assured, was sorcerer's work,
The lady on the throne an impious witch,
Who on this wise to hearten him the more
Displayed the crown and throne of majesty.

He replied:—

“As for that crownéd lady, all the troops
Call her, O king! ‘Bahrám Chúbína's Luck,’
Which will be very great and glorious.”
The king, on hearing, greatly feared the ills
That fortune had in store. Ere long there came
One from the paladin, the cavalier,
And brought a frail of swords with points all bent.
¹⁶² He set them down before the Sháh who looked
Upon that iron gear, bade break the swords,
Replace them in that ill-conditioned frail,
And then return them to Bahrám Chúbína:
No word was spoken but the intent was clear.
Bahrám Chúbína oped the frail, beheld
The long swords snapped at point and then replaced,
And, wayward as he was, grew full of thought.
He called the Íránians round the frail and said:—
“Behold the king's gift! Underrate it not.
It meaneth that this host is little worth,
And not the head of one of us will scape.”
The troops thought much of what the Sháh had done,
And of their paladin's address. They said:—
“One day our monarch sendeth us as gifts
A distaff and a gaudy robe; anon
He giveth broken swords—a present worse
Than striking or abuse. Ne'er be such Sháh
Upon the throne! May none remember him,
And if again the offspring of Gashasp—
Bahrám Chúbína—ride on that court's dust
Then may they perish, skin and marrow both,
He and his worthless sire!”

The chieftain heard,

Saw how Hurmuzd had vexed the host and said:—
“Be vigilant and let your minds be clear

How Bahrám Chúbína made known to the Chiefs his Designs upon the Throne, and how his Sister Gurdya advised him

Bahrám Chúbína summoned then the chiefs,
And told them many secrets. There were present
Hamdán Gashasp and the archscribe, Yalán-sína,
Renowned and strong, with valorous Bahrám,
The son of Siyáwush, and that wise chief,
Kandá Gashasp. With these he held debate,
For they were Lions and men of war, and then
Harangued that fierce host, which was all astray,
Thus: “Famous chiefs whose counsel all require!
The Sháh is wroth with us without a cause,
And so hath turned away from what is right.
What will ye do? What is the remedy?
'Tis useless to shed tears upon the past.
Whoe'er hath hid his anguish from the leech
Hath showered from his lashes tears of blood,
And trifles grow in moment when we keep
Our secrets from the men of understanding.
I have myself my privy griefs and I
Will tell them to the sages of the world.
Ye all are conversant with these affairs,
And so can testify to what I say.
We left Írán by order of the Sháh
With but few troops, though eager to engage,
And none, though long his life, will see a foe
More numerous. Now if the Turk Parmúda,
Had, with king Sáwa, marched upon Írán
It would not have been worth a piece of wax,
And later they would have attempted Rúm;

The archscribe kept

His lips still shut awhile and sat amid
A crowd of thoughts, then said: “Whoe'er shall seek
His wish in fitting fashion will attain it,
For time's stretched hand is long. Know that no pains
Can shun whatever God will have to be.”
Then said the chieftain to Hamdán Gashasp:—
“O thou well versed in fortune's rise and fall!
Whatever thou shalt utter in our presence
Shall be as wind and, like wind, hurt thee not.
Advise us in this case, this test of good
And evil fortune.”

Great Hamdán Gashasp

Thus spake: “Prized by the great! why dost thou dread
Ills not yet come and question of the crown
Of kingship? Act and leave the rest to God.
Why reach out for the date if thou dost fear

Gurdya made no reply;

The counsels of the chief displeasured her.
Thereafter she addressed the archscribe thus:—
“O man maleficent like some old wolf!
So thou conceivest that the crown and throne,
Host and addition and the might of fortune
Were in the world no objects of desire
To any famous chiefs of generous bent
Though kingship easier is than servitude!
Such sentiments as thine demand our tears.
Take we the precedents of former Sháhs,
And hear the sayings of those greater ones.”
The archscribe made response: “If rede of mine
Obtain not with thee speak and do whatever
Thou art advised and follow thy heart's lead.”
Then likewise to self-willed Bahrám Chúbína
His sister spake and said: “They are not good,
Thy knowledge and thy counsel, and thy steps
Are tending toward deceit. Full many a time
Hath the Sháh's throne been void and yet no chief
Cast any look upon it. It was theirs
To guard the world by valour, not to have
An eye upon the throne. They did not aim
Thereat but girt their loins to serve. They sought
Their sovereigns' weal and rendered hearty service.
They were no strangers to the throne and crown,
But worthy of their greatness by descent.
I speak first of the case of Sháh Káús,
¹⁶⁸ Who would have searched the mysteries of God,
Have summed the stars and trod heaven's circling dome,
But fell despised and wretched at Sarí
Through his perverseness and ill bent, and yet
Gúdarz and Rustam, who was paladin,
Did not take dudgeon, and thereafter when
Káús went to Hámávarán,^168a and folk
Bound him in heavy fetters, none essayed
The throne but manifested warm regret.
So when the Íránians said to Rustam: ‘Thou
Art worthy of the throne,’^168b he cried against
The speaker: ‘Be thy mate the narrow charnel!
Shall I be on the throne of gold, the Sháh
Bound? Perish kingship rather! Perish crown!’

The assembly marvelled at her,

The chieftain bit his lips as well aware
That what she said was just and that she sought
The path of right. Yalán-sína replied:—
“O noble lady! in this company
Forbear to treat of Sháhs because Hurmuzd
Will soon pass and the paladin enjoy
The throne of majesty. Now since the Sháh
Is what he is in prowess count thy brother
Already as the monarch of Írán,
And if Hurmuzd affect¹⁷⁰ the royal crown
Why sendeth he a distaff as a gift?
The paladin is such a lion-man
That at the terror of his sword earth quaketh,
And had his sword remained undrawn Hurmuzd,
Írán and Shám had perished, and to send him
The present of a distaff and of cotton!
Fie on a king so faithless! Talk no more
About Turk-born Hurmuzd. May all that race
No longer be! To count from Kai Kubád
This stock hath had the crown and throne of gold
A thousand years. Now it is at an end,
So name them not or give Khusrau Parwíz
A thought; his mention is not worth a mite,
And those that are the princes at his court
Will be thy brother's subjects who will place
At his word their lord's feet in heavy bonds.”
“The Black Dív spreadeth out,” said Gurdya
A net upon thy path. Destroy us¹⁷¹ not,
Both soul and body. I perceive in thee
But wind and vapouring. Our sire was march-lord
At Rai and thou wouldst have us seek the throne.
Now thine incitement of Bahrám Chúbína,
And putting into tumult all our kindred,
Will give our race's travail to the wind,
And through thy words, thou base-born underling!
Yea! lead him on and fill our quiet times
With turbulence!”

She spake and then withdrew

In tears with heart grown alien from her brother,

He bade to spread the board,

And call for wine and harp and minstrelsy.
He told the minstrels: “Let your song to-day
Be of heroic deeds. I will not hear
Aught but the story of the Seven Stages;
So while we revel sing the part wherein
Asfandiyár went to the Brazen Hold,
And of the game he played in that campaign.”
^171a They drank much wine to him and cried: “May Rai
Be prosperous since such a chief as thou
Ariseth thence, and may God fashion more
Like thee.”

At night they went their several ways;

The heads of all those topers were a-daze.

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