Šāh-nāmah - The Šahnama of Firdausi, Volume 9

The General Index at the end of this volume should be consulted in preference to the Indexes to the separate volumes of this work.—E.W.

á as in “water,”

í as in “pique.”

ú as in “rude,”

a as in “servant.”

i as in “sin.”

u as in “foot.”

a?? as in “time.”

au as in ou in “cloud.”

g is always hard as in “give.”

kh as ch in the German “buch.”

ẓ?? as z in “azure.”

Kubád on his accession sends two chiefs to accuse of misgovernment the fallen and imprisoned Sháh, Khusrau Parwíz, who justifies himself at great length. His fall is made the subject of a lament by Bárbad, the minstrel, who afterwards mutilates himself. The chiefs, noticing symptoms of remorse in Kubád, insist upon the death of Khusrau Parwíz who is killed with all his other sons. Kubád falls in love with, and wishes to marry, Shírín, who poisons herself rather than consent, and Kubád himself is poisoned soon afterwards.

The days of the reign of Kubád (Kobad II., Feb.-Sept., A.D. 628) were few and evil. Tradition already had prepared the ground for this in the unfavourable account given of his early years.³

The murder of his father was followed by that of all his brothers, and by the tragic death of Shírín, while in addition to all these horrors a frightful pestilence broke out in his reign and the great mortality that ensued still further weakened the resources of an already almost exhausted country and helped to pave the way for the successful Arab invasion of a few years later on. Kubád is represented in the poem as a loutish, uneducated youth,^3a

but even if his abilities had been great it is difficult to see how he could have extricated himself from the coil in which he found himself involved without mishap to himself or others. He owed his release from prison and perhaps his life to the very conspirators that subsequently demanded of him for their own security the death of his father. To have refused would have been fatal to himself, while in all probability his father and his brothers, with the exception of one who would have been made Sháh, would have perished all the same. It is inconceivable that the conspirators would have run the risk to themselves of restoring Khusrau Parwíz, with his black record of ingratitude as instanced by his treatment of Bandwí and Gustaham,⁴

to his former position as ruler. With the exception of his infatuation for Shírín, which hardly can be regarded as historical, Kubád throughout his short reign was the victim of circumstances.

§§ 1 and 2. Kharrád, son of Barzín, was one of the most trusted ministers of Khusrau Parwíz and planned the assassination of Bahrám Chúbína.^4a

According to Tabarí he fell at the battle of Dhú Kár.^4b

As the epoch of the Sásánian Dynasty draws to an end through scenes of deepening tragedy the legitimist leanings of the tradition seem to become more and more pronounced and we have an instance here. It is hardly to be supposed, historically speaking, that formal charges of misgovernment were drawn up against, and as formally answered by, Khusrau Parwíz, but rather that someone, desirous of vindicating that Sháh's memory and conversant with the circumstances of the time, soon after his death drew up the charges and the replies thereto. Versions of them are given in both the Arabic and Persian Tabarí and elsewhere. Four of the charges are found in both the Tabarís as well as in the Sháh-náma. ^4c

They are:—

1. The murder by Khusrau Parwíz of his father Hurmuzd.

2. The illegitimate accumulation of treasure as a result of the financial oppression of the people.

3. The harsh treatment of the royal princes.

4. The refusal to restore the True Cross.

To these the Arabic Tabarí adds:—

1. The general ill-treatment of all prisoners.

2. Enforced recruiting for the royal Haram even of women already married.

3. The keeping of the troops for a long period absent from home.

The Persian Tabarí adds:—

1. The imprisonment of the troops defeated by the Arabs at Dhú Kár and by Heraclius.

2. The exactions of arrears of tribute for the previous twenty or thirty years.

3. The attempt to slay the youthful Yazdagird (afterwards the last Sásánian Sháh).

4. The deposition of Nu'mán, prince of Híra.⁵

5. The mutilation and subsequent execution of Mardán-sháh. ^5a

In the Arabic Tabarí eight charges are made against Khusrau Parwíz two of which—those relating to the royal Haram and the refusal to restore the “True Cross”—are left unanswered.

In the Persian Tabarí eleven charges are formulated to each of which in the same order an answer is made. Some of the charges, however, must be regarded as later additions while that relating to Nu'mán is not likely to have suggested itself to a Persian and must come from an Arab source. In the Sháhnáma there are eight charges, all of which are more or less answered, but not in the same order as they are preferred, but in the following:—1, 6, 7, 8, 2, 5, 3, 4. Thus Khusrau Parwíz replies to the most serious accusations— those of offences against persons—first. The Sháhnáma agrees most closely with the Arabic Tabarí, supplies the missing answer with regard to the “True Cross,” but does not deal with the gravamen of the royal Haram question, as that particular charge is not one of those mentioned in the poem.

Galínúsh subsequently served in the war against the Arabs, fought at the Battle of the Bridge, and was perhaps slain at Kádisiya.^5b

§ 5. Indignant legitimate tradition is naturally very wroth with Mihr Hurmuzd, the murderer of Khusrau Parwíz, whom it describes as the lowest of the low and vilest of the vile. According to Tabarí, however, Mihr Hurmuzd was the son of Mardánsháh, the governor of Nímrúz and one of the most obedient and faithful of Khusrau Parwíz' officials. In the Persian Tabarí's version of the Romance of Bahrám Chúbína that hero's brother, Yalán-sína in the Sháhnáma, is called Mardánsháh. Yalán-sína is always represented as being one of Bahrám Chúbína's most loyal adherents just as the other brother, Gurdwí, was a firm supporter of Khusrau Parwíz, while their sister Gurdya held an intermediate position, faithful to Bahrám Chúbína, but opposing his kingly ambition in every way in her power. Later on when married to Gus-taham, the maternal uncle of Khusrau Parwíz, she agreed, on condition that she should become the Sháh's wife and that a full amnesty should be given to all her adherents, to murder her husband and did so. There would be nothing strange therefore in Mardánsháh, if identical with Yalán-sína, becoming reconciled to, and receiving high office from, Khusrau Parwíz. He would serve one master as faithfully as he served the other. In the circumstances the strange thing would have been for the treacherous Sháh not to have taken the first convenient occasion against him. According to the story the Sháh, two years before his deposition, consulted the astrologers who informed him that his death would come from Nímrúz. He therefore began to suspect and summoned Mardánsháh, but finding no pretext for putting him to death, as he was perfectly loyal and withal an aged man, determined merely to cut off his right hand and make him a large present of money as compensation. The sentence was carried out. Mardán-sháh regarded such a mutilation as worse than death and, when shortly afterwards the Sháh was good enough to send and express his regret for what had occurred, asked the Sháh to grant him a boon. The Sháh swore to do so, on which Mardánsháh requested that his head should be struck off in order to wipe out the disgrace put upon him. The Sháh, bound by his oath, felt himself obliged to consent and the execution took place accordingly. The Shah wished to make Mardánsháh's son governor of Nímrúz, but he refused and withdrew from the army.⁶

He joined the conspiracy against Khusrau Parwíz^6a

and by avenging his father on the Sháh justified the prediction of the astrologers.

The account given by Theophanes of the last days of the Sháh is different. As a general rule it is not prudent to put faith in stories of what occurred in Oriental palaces or prisons, but owing to the special circumstances of the case his information may be good in this instance, as it appears to be based on letters written by Heraclius. After the capture of Khusrau Parwíz by the conspirators, he was bound and confined in the “House of Darkness,” which he had himself built as a stronghold for his treasures. Here he was sparingly fed on bread and water for, said Shírwí: “Let him eat the gold that he has vainly amassed, and for whose sake he has starved many, and made the world itself a desert.” Shírwí also sent satraps to revile and spit upon him, had his son Mardásas, whom he had wished to crown, slain before his eyes, and all his other sons as well, sent his enemies to beat and spit upon him, and, after five days of such treatment, had him put to death with arrows. Shírwí then wrote to Heraclius to announce the death of the detested Khusrau Parwíz, arranged terms of peace, released all the captives, and restored the “True Cross.”⁷

With regard to these latter statements of Theophanes it should be observed that peace was not concluded, and the “True Cross” restored, till after the death of Shírwí.^7a

According to Tabarí Kubád had Mihr Hurmuzd put to death.^7b

§ 6. The association of Khusrau Parwíz and Shírín began, it would seem,^7c

before his accession to the throne, and he reigned for thirty-eight years. If Shírwí really wished to marry Shírín it must have been for political motives and because she had been so much in his father's confidence and might furnish useful information. For a son to marry his father's wives was, according to Persian ideas, quite the correct procedure in the circumstances.

Kubád is said to have been bitterly reproached by his two sisters, Púrándukht and Ázarmdukht, for his share in the deaths of his father and brothers, and to have suffered much from sickness and remorse. He died at Dastagird, but from what cause is uncertain.^7d

The plague was very virulent at the time. Poison was often made to account for what was really due to disease.

Now when Shírwí sat on the goodly throne,
And donned the royal crown so much desired,
The leaders of the Íránians each drew near
To proffer him the homage due to kings,
Exclaiming: “Worshipful and honoured Sháh!
Know, God gave thee the crown, and now thou sittest
Securely on the throne of ivory,
And may thy sons and scions have the world.”
Kubád replied: “Be ever conquering
And happy. Never will we practise ill.
How good is justice with benevolence!
The world will we keep peaceful and cut off
The works of Áhriman by every right,
Ancestral precedent that greateneth
The Glory of our Faith. I will dispatch
A message to my sire and tell him all.
He is in evil odour in the world
Through his ill deeds: let him excuse his faults
To God and turn to custom and the way.

With tears unwillingly

Those sages made them ready. When Kharrád,
Son of Barzín, and when Ashtád, who had
Gashasp for sire, had mounted on their steeds,
As bidden, Kubád said: “Now with right good will
'Tis yours to take the road to Taisafún,⁹

To carry to my glorious sire a message,
And bear it all in mind from first to last.
Say: ‘'Twas no fault of ours nor did the Íránians
Cause this, but having left the way of Faith
Thou hast thyself incurred God's chastisement,
For, first, no son legitimate will shed
His sire's blood though impure or give assent
Thereto and fill the hearts of upright folk
With pain. Again, thy treasures fill the world,
And thine exactions reach all provinces,
While, thirdly, many horsemen brave and famed
Within Írán who gladdened there have left
Son, country, and their own pure kith and kin,
Have parted, this to Chín and that to Rúm,
And now are scattered o'er each march and land.
Again, when Cæsar, who had done and borne
So much for thee, had given thee a host
And daughter too with treasure and much else,
Desired of thee the Cross of Christ for Rúm,
So that his land might be revived thereby,

Two loyal men who gave thy throne a lustre.
Moreover thou hadst sixteen sons whose days
And nights were passed in prison while no chief
Could sleep secure from thee but hid in fear.^10a

Know, that which hath befall'n thee is from God;
Reflect on thy foul deeds. As for myself,
I am but as the instrument in all
This wrong, am but the heading of the tale.
By God, 'twas not my fault, no aim of mine
To wreck the Sháh's throne! Now for all seek grace,
And say so to these chieftains of Írán;
Turn from ill deeds to God—the Guide to good—
Who may abate the woes that thou hast brought
Upon thyself.’”

On hearing this the twain

Departed with their hearts all seared and sore
Till, sorrowful and weeping, they arrived
At Taisafún and in that city sought
The palace of Márúsipand for there
The exalted king resided. Galínúsh
Sat at the palace-gate: thou wouldst have said:—
“Earth is convulsed before him!” He was armed
In helm and breastplate, all the Arab steeds
Wore bards, and all his soldiers were drawn up,
Equipped, and sword in hand. He grasped a mace
Of steel, his heart all fire and storm. Now when
Kharrád, son of Barzín, and when Ashtád,
Son of Gashasp, those sages twain, dismounted,
He rose forthwith, rejoiced to look on them,
And gave them place befitting, hailing them
As famous chiefs. The eloquent Kharrád
First laved his tongue in valour and then said
To Galínúsh: “Kubád the glorious
Hath donned in peace the Kaian crown. Írán,
Túrán and Rúm have tidings that Shírwí¹¹

Is seated on the throne of king of kings.
Why this cuirass and helm and massive mace?
Who is thine enemy?”

Said Galínúsh:—

“O veteran! may all thy doings prosper.

I will deliver what the world-lord said—
That monarch of the flock.”

Said Galínúsh:—

“Who can remember words so well as thou,
O worshipful? Yet nathless Sháh Kubád
Gave me full many a counsel touching this,
And charged me, saying: ‘Let none have by day
Or night an audience of Khusrau Parwíz
Unless thou hearest what the messenger
Hath got to say in Persian new or old.’”
Ashtád said: “I hold not my message secret,
O fortunate! It is: ‘The sword is fruiting,
And nuzzling princes' heads.’ In this regard
Now ask for audience of Khusrau Parwíz
That we may tell the message of the Sháh.”
This hearing Galínúsh arose, made fast
His mail, went to the Sháh with folded arms,
As servants should, and said thus: “Live for ever,
O Sháh! May evil never vex thy heart.
There cometh by Ashtád and by Kharrád,
Son of Barzín, a message from the Sháh
From court.”

Khusrau Parwíz laughed out and said:—

“Speak wiser words for if he be the king
Then what am I, and why am I within
This narrow prison, and why need'st thou ask
That I shall grant an audience unto any,
Be their words false or true?”

So Galínúsh

Returned to those two warriors, reported
The answer of the paladin, and said:—
“Now go with folded arms, declare your message,
And hearken his reply.”

Those sages twain

Of honest speech inswathed their visages
In sashes brought from Chín and, when they saw
The Sháh, did reverence and waited long
What while he sat upon a lofty throne
Adorned with effigies of sheep and wolves,
Impleached with gold and gems, with under him
A couch of yellow broidery. He leaned
On cushions hued like lapis-lazuli,
Held a fine quince and drowsed there all amort.

The quince slipped from the cushions, rolled unbruised
Upon the couch and thence from throne to floor.
Ashtád ran, took it up, wiped off the dust,
And laid the quince upon his head. The world-lord
Turned from Ashtád that he might neither see
Nor scent the quince. They set it on the throne,
And stood themselves. The matter of the quince^13a

Perturbed Khusrau Parwíz who boded ill,
Looked up to heaven, and said: “O truthful Judge!
Who can establish one whom Thou o'erthrowest,
Who join what Thou hast broken? When bright
fortune
Departeth from a race it bringeth sorrow
Because the day of joy is passed away.”
Then to Ashtád: “Now for thine ambassage
From mine unnatural child of ill repute,
And from that handful of conspirators,
My hateful and black-hearted enemies.
Malignant fools are they and in their folly
Most wretched. Fortune will desert our race;
None will rejoice again; the crown and throne
Will pass to those unfit; this royal Tree
Will be destroyed; the Base will be exalted;
The spirits of the Great grow sorrowful.
The majesty will bide not with our sons,
Or with our kindred or posterity;
Their friends all be their chiefest enemies,
Revilers and destroyers of the race.
This quince hath made the secret evident;
The throne of king of kings will bear no fruit.
Now tell to me the words that thou hast heard:
I count his less than water in the stream.”
Then those two men released their tongues to speak,
And told all that Kubád, his son, had said,
Not keeping e'en a whisper back from him.
The king of kings, when he had heard the message,
Writhed with distress and heaved a deep, cold sigh.
Then said he to those chiefs: “Hear my response,
And bear it to the young prince, every word.
Say: ‘Quit thine own misdeeds ere blaming others'.
What thou hast uttered are they words of thine?
A murrain on the prompter!¹⁴

Speak not so

“Now will I make full answer that thou mayst
Repeat my words in public. They will serve
As my memorial when I am gone—
A truthful statement of my case—and thou
Wilt know, when I reveal my grief and travail,
That all my treasures were derived from toil.
Thou speakest in the first place of Hurmuzd,
His anger with me, and those bygone days:
My father's wrath against us was aroused
By slanderer's words and thus confusion came.
When I had learned what occupied his thoughts
I left Írán by night, avoiding roads.
He sought my death by poison; I perceived
No antidote but flight and so I fled,
And was not taken in the net of bale.
I heard that ill had come upon the Sháh,
And quitted Barda' when the news arrived.
That knave Bahrám Chúbína with his troops
Opposed us on the battlefield. I fled
From him too on the day of fight that I
Might fall not in his clutches. Afterwards
I came a second time and bravely fought,
My troublous fortune passed away and all
The realm that I had lost returned to me.
My contest with him was no brief affair;
The whole world were spectators of the strife.
By the command of God who multiplieth
His benefits on us, and is the Guide
In good and ill, Írán and Turkistán¹⁵

Submitted and Bahrám Chúbína's plans
Were foiled. Released from war with him I hasted,
First, to take vengeance for my father's death.

In Persian reckoning, I spent and squandered.
Each purse contained twelve thousand in dínárs,
And those thus spent were royal, while besides
The tribute and dínárs from Hindústán,
The realm of Rúm and land of sorcerers;
Besides from every province gifts and tribute
From all the sovereigns and potentates;

Reserved by me against an evil day.
We long discussed what name the hoard should have,
And in the end we called it Bád Áwar.^19b

Thus in my six and twentieth year of reign
Heaven till the eight and thirtieth favoured me;
My chieftains were all safe, my foes all quaked,
And now I hear that thou art sovereign—
An evil juncture this for all the world,
Which reft of pleasure must perforce be mute.
Thou wilt make earth calamitous, fulfilled
With suffering and profitless. Moreover,
Those same injurious persons that surround thee,
And are the Light^19c

of thy dark nights, will give
Thy throne up to the wind that thou mayst not
Enjoy the world. Were there with thee a sage,
So that thy darkened mind might be illumed,
Thou wouldst not do amiss in giving gifts
So that thy wealth might reach the poor. My son,
Whose days are few, whose wisdom is but scant!
Solicitude will rob thy soul of joy.
This know, that these our treasures are thy stay;
The opportunity is in thy grasp.
They are the appanage of royalty;
A world that is all moneyless is lost.
A pauper Sháh will be unjust, and he
Whose hand is empty hath no strength or worth.
Without the means of largess he by all
Will be declared a fraud and not a Sháh.
Moreover, if thy riches reach thy foes,
And all the idols come to Brahmans' hands,
The worshippers will turn from God, thy name
And fame be spurned. If thou art treasureless
Thou wilt not have an army, and thy subjects
Will hail thee not as Sháh. The dog is good
At begging bread, but if thou fillest him
He threateneth thy life. Again, thou said'st
About my strategy that I have stationed
The troops along the roads, and blamest me
Through ignorance, not knowing gain from loss.

recorded in his Letter
Of Counsel that whoe'er doth give his arms
To foes doth give himself to slaughtering,
Since, when he asketh back those arms for use,
The enemy will fight.^22a

As for the message
Of Cæsar, which hath made thee call me heartless,
And self-willed, thou recallest not the facts;
Thy words were prompted by some counsellor.
As for my tyranny and his good faith,
Canst thou discern good faith from tyranny?
Receive mine answer, thou of little wit!
But let me say withal, as is but right,
Thou art the plaintiff and the witness too—
A thing no man of wisdom would allow.
When Cæsar washed off from his face the dust
Of bale he chose me as his son-in-law
For valour's sake. Whoever walketh not
The earth for ill, and hath some share of wisdom
Within him, knoweth that Bahrám Chúbína
Began the feud and that the Íránians
Took sides with him. The Rúmans did not triumph
O'er him; the drifting sand can not bind fast
The mountain! But in that fight God vouchsafed
To aid me, and the armies of the world

Then said he to Kharrád:—

“O Memory of the great ones of the world!
Say to that foolish and impetuous boy:—
‘The lustre of our countenance is dimmed:
Farewell to thee for ever. As for me,
May all our converse be henceforth with sages.’
As for yourselves, illustrious messengers,
Ye Persians eloquent and eminent!
To both of you I also bid farewell.
Say nothing but the words that ye have heard.
I give my blessing to the world at large,
Which we have looked on as a passing thing.
All mother-born must die—whome'er thou hast
In mind—Khusrau Parwíz back to Kubád.
So too Húshang, Jamshíd, and Tahmúras—
To all the world the founts of fear and hope—
Whom dív and beast acknowledged, passed and died
When their day ended. Farídún, the blest,
Who banned ill, close or open, from the world,
And stayed Zahhák the Arab's hand from evil,
Scaped not by bravery the clutch of fate.
So was it with Árish whose arrow's flight
Was one farsang;²⁵

victorious Káran,
The capturer of cities; Kai Kubád,
Who having come from Mount Alburz became
Through manhood world-lord over all the folk,
And built himself a world-famed house of crystal,^25a

Adorned with lustrous pearls and gates of gems.^25b

So was it with Káús, that man of might,
Who took the world by skill and policy,
He that adventured toward the sky above,
Unwitting of the processes of time;
So too with Siyáwush, that lion famed,
Who slew two tigers in his youthful days,^25c

And built Gang-dizh^25d

with toil but gat therefrom
No treasure. Where are now Afrásiyáb,
The Turkman king, whose semblance e'en in dream
None seeth; where Rustam, Zál, Asfandiyár,
Whose fame is their memorial with us;
Gúdarz and his choice sons, three score and ten,
Those cavaliers upon the riding-ground,
And lions of the fray; where Kai Khusrau,
The noble lion-man who in the fight
Made lions prisoners; and Sháh Gushtásp,
The convert to ‘The Good Faith,’ he by whom
Grace was renewed; where went renowned Sikandar,
Who overturned the world, and where Jámásp,
Who shone in astrologic lore more brightly

Gone
Is all their work, gone are the Great and Wise,
The warrior-horsemen and the men of lore,
These passing those in prowess and those these
In years? They all have left this spacious world,
Left palace, hall, and riding-ground. Midst Sháhs,
Though some were older far, I had no peer.
I walked the world for good and ill, and held
The evil day aloof. 'Twas mine to traverse
Full many a ruggéd path and sweep away
Full many a foe. My treasures fill all lands;
Where earth and water are my toil is seen.
When with me too the world shall cease, and all
The nobles' hopes grow dim, with my son also
The throne will not abide, for he will quit it,
And all his fortune end. What time the angel
That taketh souls approacheth I shall say:—
‘Take my soul gently.’ I will clear my heart
By penitence, and freedom from offence
Shall be my breastplate. Well have men of wisdom,
Good, veteran, learned, declared: ‘If wakeful fortune
Decline one must expect fears manifold,
And he whose day of greatness hath gone by
Is foolish if he asketh its return.’
This is my message to the world, to mean
And mighty too: ere long the Sháh and all
His famous troops will fall to slaughtering
Each other and fling fire on field and fell;
Then sires will fall by sons and sons by sires;
Our enemies, the people that discoursed
Of evil deeds and chilling words, will pay
The smart when we are gone and not for long
Enjoy the world. Since rule and greatness end
With me what reck if Lion or another
Shall have the sway?”

Ashtád and brave Kharrád,

Son of Barzín, those sages, when they heard
The message of that leader, were heart-pierced,
And smote their heads. Both sorrowed for their
words;

Shírwí wept bitterly on hearing this;
His heart quaked for the crown and throne, and when
The company dispersed that had dismayed him
With foul words clamouring for his father's blood,
And burning the youth's heart, he left the throne
Of kingship, clasped with honoured hands his head,
And wept blood on his breast. News of that weeping
And of the lamentation of the king,
Came to the host and all were in dismay.
They met, discussed Khusrau Parwíz, and cried:—
“If he shall sit upon the throne again
He will disgrace the captains of the host.”
Whenas the sun rose o'er the darksome hills
The malcontents awoke and went to court.
The Sháh, on hearing of it, took his seat
Upon the throne, and those of high degree,
Akin or alien, approached the presence.
They took their seats with scowls but no one spoke.
The king said: “Gibbeting is the desert
Of him that mourneth not my father's woes.
I call such misbegotten and a knave.
Let none depend on such because that man
Is rottener than a rotten willow-tree.”
He gat this answer from the men in fault:—
“Call whosoever saith: ‘I serve two Sháhs’
A fool at heart and vile whate'er his rank.”
Shírwí rejoined: “For Sháhs no wealth no troops!
For one month we will utter pleasant words,
And give no hint of duress to my sire;
He may make statements that will gladden us
Because his treasures are in every coast.”

Now list the lamentation of Bárbad,²⁹

And grow forgetful of the world at large.
On hearing that the Sháh, not by advice
And 'gainst his will, no longer filled the throne,
That “men are seeking how to murder him;
The soldiers are renouncing fealty,”
Bárbad came from Chahram to Taisafún
With tearful eyes and heart o'ercharged; he came
To that abode and saw the Sháh whereat
His tulip-cheeks became like fenugreek.
He bode awhile in presence of the Sháh,
Then went with wailing to the audience-hall.
His love flamed in his heart, his heart and soul
Burned in his anguish for Khusrau Parwiz;
His eyes rained like a cloud in Spring and made
His bosom as the margent of the sea.
He fashioned him a dirge upon the harp,
And to that dirge he sang a mournful plaint.
With visage wan and heart fulfilled with grief
He thus lamented in the olden tongue:—

“O Sháh! O noble chieftain! O Khusrau!
O great! O strong! O hero ne'er cast down!
Where are thy mastery and greatness now,
Where all thy Grace, thy fortune, and thy crown?

“Where that imperial circlet, towering height?
Where are thine armlets and thine ivory throne?
Where all thy manliness, thy Grace, and might,
Who 'neath thy wings hadst this world for thine
own?

“Oh! whither are thy dames and minstrels gone,
Gate, audience-hall, and leaders of thy day,

“Where are the head, the crown that loved it well—
Mate of the earrings and the throne of gold?
Where are Shabdíz, his stirrups and his sell—
The steed that 'neath thee ever caracol'd?

“Where are thy helmet, head, and habergeon
All golden and compacted gem to gem,
Thy cavaliers in gold caparison,
Whose swords made enemies the sheaths for them?

“Where all the camels for thy progresses,
The golden litters and attendance rife,
Led steeds, white elephants, and dromedaries?
Have one and all grown hopeless of thy life?

“Where are thy fluent tongue and courteous,
Thy heart, thy purpose, and thine ardent soul?
Why reft of all art thou abandoned thus?
Hast read of such a day in any roll?

“Oh! trust not to this world whose remedy
Is weaker than its bane. 'Twas thy desire
To have a son to aid and succour thee:
Now through the son the gyves are on the sire!

“It is by sons that kings obtain their might,
And are unblemished by time's travailings;
Yet ever as his sons increased in height
Both Grace and vigour failed the king of kings.

“None that shall lend an ear while men recall
The story of Khusrau Parwíz must dare
To trust the world. Account as ruined all
Írán and as the pards' and lions' lair.

“Of the Sásánian race the Sháh was head—
One peerless in the sight of crown and state:
The foeman's wishes are accomplishéd,
And, like Írán, the race is desolate.

“No man possessed a larger host than he,
Yet who had cause for justice to beseech?
The great protector brought the misery,
And now the wolves are making for the breach!

“‘O Sháh devoid of shame!’ thus tell Shírwí,
‘Such conduct is not worthy of this court.
Count not upon thy troops' fidelity
When war is rife on all sides.’ God support

“Thy soul, my master! and it is my prayer
That He thy foemen's heads may headlong fling.
By God and by thy life, my king! I swear
By New Year's Day, by sun, and jocund Spring.

“If e'er this hand of mine again shall turn
To harping may no blessing light on me;
Mine instruments of music will I burn
That I may ne'er behold thine enemy.”

He cut four fingers off and grasped the stumps
Within his other palm. Returning home
He kindled fire and burned his instruments,
While those about Kubád both day and night
At all that might befall them quaked with fright.

The Sháh's³³

ill-wishers

Sought for a murderer to murder him
By stealth, but none possessed the pluck or courage
To shed the blood of such a king and hang
A mountain round his own neck. Everywhere
The Sháh's foes sought until they met with one
Blue-eyed, pale-cheeked, his body parched and hairy,
With lips of lapis-lazuli, with feet
All dust, and belly ravenous; the head
Of that ill-doer was bare. None knew his name
Midst high and low. This villain (may he never
See jocund Paradise!) sought Farrukhzád,
And undertook the deed. “This strife is mine,”
He said. “If ye will make it worth my while
This is my quarry.”

“Go and do it then

“If thou art able,” Farrukhzád replied.
“Moreover open not thy lips herein.
I have a purse full of dínárs for thee,
And I will look upon thee as my son.”

Since I have ended with Khusrau Parwíz
I speak next of Shírwí and of Shírín.
As soon as three and fifty days had passed
Since that whereon that glorious Sháh was slain
Shírwí dispatched Shírín a messenger
To say: “Thou wicked, potent sorceress,
Learned but in necromancy and black arts!
In all Írán thou art the guiltiest.
By necromancy didst thou gain the Sháh,
And by thy craft thou bringest down the moon.
Quake, guilty one! and come to me. Abide not
Thus in thy palace, joyful and secure.”
Shírín raged at his message and abuse
So foul and senseless. Thus she said: “God grant
That parricides possess not Grace or presence.
I will not see the wretch e'en from afar
At funeral or feast.”

That mournful dame

Sent for a scribe and had a document
Drawn in the olden tongue, instructing him
Regarding her last wishes and estate.

He kept me for his pleasure,
And when the dawn was peeping he was wont
To call me from the golden bower and joy
At sight of me. Shame on thee for such words!
Such knavish talk becometh not a king.
Remember God, the Giver of all good,
And utter not such words in others' hearing.”
They brought the answer to the Sháh. Shírwí
Raged 'gainst the guiltless dame^37a

and said: “Thou
needs
Must come. None is blood-thirstier than thou.
Come and behold my crown's top. If it be
Magnifical then do it reverence.”
Shírín, on hearing this, was full of pain;
She writhed; her cheeks grew wan. She thus
replied:—
“I will not come to thee save in the presence
Of those wise men that are about thy court,
Men of experience and clerkly skill.”
Shírwí dispatched and summoned fifty men
Both wise and old, then sent one to Shírín,
To say: “Arise and come. Enough of talk.”
Thereat she robed herself in blue and black,
And drew anear the Sháh, approached apace
The Rosary of Revellers^37b

—the spot
Wherein those fluent Persians were—and sat
Behind the great king's curtain as became
The virtuous. He sent to her to say:—
“Two months³⁸

of mourning for Khusrau Parwíz
Are o'er. Now be my wife that thou mayst take
Thy pleasure and avoid a mean estate.
I will maintain thee as my father did,
And e'en with more respect and tenderness.”
Shírín replied: “Let me be righted first,
And then my life shall be at thy dispose.
I will not hesitate in answering
The hest and purpose of thy glorious heart.”
Shírwí agreed to that fair dame's request,

The magnates in attendance

All spake her fair. “In all the world,” they said,
“She hath no peer in public and in private.”
Shírín proceeded thus: “Ye lords and chiefs
Both veteran and redoubted! three things make
The worth of women that bedeck the throne
Of greatness: one is modesty and wealth
Wherewith her husband may adorn his house;
The next is bearing blesséd sons, that she
May e'en exceed her spouse in happiness;
The third is having beauty and fine form,
Joined with the love of a sequestered life.
When I was mated to Khusrau Parwíz,
And entered on seclusion, he had come
Weak and dispirited from Rúm to live
Within our land, but after reached such power
As none had heard of or had looked upon.
Moreover I have had four sons by him
To his great joy—Nastúr, Shahryár, Farúd,
And Mardánsháh, blue heaven's coronal.
Jamshíd and Farídún had not such sons;
May my tongue perish if I lie herein!
Their bodies all are now beneath the dust,
Their spirits roaming in pure Paradise.”
Unveiling then her lovely countenance,
And musky hair, “There is my face,” she added,
“Such as it is. If there be falsehood show it.
My hair was all my hidden excellence,
For none on earth e'er used to look thereon.
What I display is all my sorcery,
Not necromancy, fraud, and evil bent.”

Said Shírín:—

“All treasures laid up by me in this land
Thou shalt assign me as mine own before
This noble company and write thyself
Upon this roll that thou renouncest all,
Both small and great.”

Shírwí made haste to do

Her bidding. Having gained her wish she quitted
The Rosary of Revellers, the chiefs
And noble Persians, went home, freed her slaves,
And made them happy with that wealth of hers
Whereof she gave a part to mendicants,
And to her family a larger share.
She gave too somewhat to the Fanes of Fire,
The feasts of New Year's Day and Mihr and Sada,
To ruined homes and caravansarais
Then turned to lions' lairs. All this she gave
As offerings from Khusrau Parwíz, the world-lord,
And joyed his soul thereby. She sought the garden
And taking off her veil sat unadorned
Upon the ground and summoning her folk
Assigned with courtesy a place to each,
Then cried thus loudly: “Hear, ye unaggrieved!
For none will ever see my face again.
Fear ye the Judge of those that seek for justice,
The Lighter of the sun and moon and stars,
And speak but truth; deceit is not for sages.
Since first I came before Khusrau Parwíz,
First made mine entry to his golden bower,
And was chief wife and Glory of the Sháh,
Hath any fault at all appeared in me?
There is no need to speak to save my face:
What booteth that to woman in her need?”

Then all the servitors,

Slaves emulous and vigilant of heart,
Exclaimed: “Exalted lady praised in Chín,
In Rúm and in Taráz! who would presume
To speak aught ill of thee? Could evil-doing
Befit that face of thine?”

Thus said Shírín:—

“This reprobate, whom heaven above will curse,
Slew his own sire to compass crown and throne,
And may he never more see fortune's face!
Hath he himself shut death out by a wall
Who lightly recked thus of a father's blood?
He sent a message to me that bedimmed
Mine own shrewd soul. I answered: ‘While I live
My heart shall serve my Maker.’ I declared
My purpose fully, fearful of my foe:
He may defame me publicly when dead.
Ye are free agents and my slaves no longer.”
They wept much at her words and furthermore
Consumed with anguish for Khusrau Parwíz.
Informants went before the Sháh and told
What they had heard about that guiltless dame.
He asked: “Hath that good lady further wishes?”
She sent to say: “I have one wish, no more:
I fain would ope the late Sháh's charnel-house;
I have a great desire to look on him.”
Shírwí replied: “So do, 'tis natural.”
The keeper oped the door. That pious lady
Began her wailing, went and laid her face
Upon the visage of Khusrau Parwíz,
Spake of the past and took the mortal bane:⁴²

She sent the dust up from her own sweet life.
She sat beside the Sháh with visage veiled,
Clad in a single camphor-scented robe;
She set her back against the wall and died;
She died and won the plaudits of the world.
Shírwí fell sick when he had heard the news,
For such a spectacle affrighted him.
He bade construct another sepulchre,
And make her diadem of musk and camphor.

Ardshír's accession is well received by the people. He makes Pírúz, son of Khusrau, the captain of the host. Guráz, on the pretext of avenging Khusrau Parwíz, but really with the intention of seizing the kingship for himself, schemes to bring about the death of the Sháh who is murdered at a banquet by Pírúz.

Ardshír (Artaxerxes III., September, A.D. 628—April, A.D. 630) was, according to Tabarí, only seven years old at his accession. By some accounts he was only one year old at the time.⁴³

He was of course a mere puppet in the hands of the nobles. The “True Cross,” if the date of its elevation at Jerusalem—Sept. 14th, A.D. 629—be correct, must have been restored during his reign.^43a

§ 1. The Arabic Tabarí says that the realm was administered by Mih-Ázar-Gushnasp (Mihr 'Hasis in the Persian version), the High Steward, who had charge of the Sháh's person. This may account for his being made out to be a regicide in the Sháhnáma. He really seems to have been a well-intentioned man who did his best in very difficult circumstances. At all events, according to the Persian Tabarí, Shahrbaráz, after taking possession of Ctesiphon, slew him and other nobles on the pretext of avenging the death of Khusrau Parwíz.

§ 2. It appears that Shahrbaráz (Guráz) was not consulted when Ardshir was raised to the throne, and he made this an excuse for taking violent measures. The occasion was a favourable one for an ambitious general in command of an army. Moreover, he had an understanding, confirmed by matrimonial alliances, with Heraclius, who no doubt promised to recognise him if he became Sháh. He accordingly marched upon Ctesiphon with 6,000 or, according to another account, 60,000 troops. The High Steward made an attempt at resistance, but Shahrbaráz with the connivance of the captain of the guard and other chiefs was successful and the usual scenes of outrage and massacre ensued.⁴⁴

Now as the next confronting me I voice
The reign of Sháh Ardshír, I have no choice.
When Sháh Ardshír sat on the throne both young
And old flocked to him from Írán, for many
Were chiefs grown old, to hear what he would say.^44a

The young Ardshír then loosed his tongue and thus
He spake: “Ye well-tried warriors! may one,
Whoe'er he be, that sitteth on the seat
Of sovereignty possess an open mind,
And worship God. We will ensue the course
Of former Sháhs, ensue too Grace and Faith.
May we remember God who giveth good,
May all our acts be just! I will advance
The pious and make tyrants bleed. I trust
The army to Pírúz, son of Khusrau,
Who loveth equity and loyal lieges.
They for their part with such a paladin
Still will be happy and serene of soul.”
Full many were contented with his speech;
A peaceful ruler was the wish of each.

Then tidings reached Guráz, who had involved
Khusrau Parwíz in sorrow and distress,
And he dispatched from Rúm a man to say:—
“The crown of vile Shírwí is in the dust.

He sent a runner

To seek the ancients of the Íránian host,
And strove in other fashion to advance
His ill designs by writing to Pírúz,
Son of Khusrau, thus: “The Sásánians' fortune
Is louring and we need a world-aspirant
To gird himself for action. Haply thou
Art ware of what to do and how to take
The needful steps, wilt seek for many helpers,
Both young and old, wilt clear away Ardshír,
And afterwards attain thy whole desire,
Be safe and well contented; but if thou
Reveal this plot, and feed the sword of war
With blood, I will lead forth such hosts from Rúm
That I shall make the world dark in thine eyes.
Heed well my words, and mayst thou think no scorn
Of mine intent; thou must not fall through folly.
Oh! pass not from the throne of majesty
To underneath the dust. Repentance then
Will not avail thee when in wreak my sword
Is reaping heads.”

Pírúz, son of Khusrau,

When he had read that letter and perceived
The whole intendment of that self-willed man,

This was their reply:—

“Famed and redoubted chieftain! if our Sháh
Shall perish we shall rightly perish too
For such a crime. Let not Guráz' words move thee
To perpetrate such ill, but take occasion
For doing good. Write him a fitting answer,
And wake him from his dream. Say: ‘Thwart not
thou
God's purposes; give not the Dív a way
To thine own heart. Reflect upon the case
Of Sháh Khusrau Parwíz and all the wrong
That led to his undoing, for what time
Thou didst depose him the Sásánian fortune
Went at one blow, and when Shírwí ascended
The royal throne and girt his kingly loins
Folk hoped such days as when Khusrau Parwíz
Was Sháh whose wits were keen in all regards,
And if the world became what it became,
And gat no profit from the state of things,
It was because the world dealt foolishly,
And by one stroke lost its advantages.
Now that Ardshír, succeeding to Kubád,
Is seated as the Sháh upon the throne,
The world rejoicing in his majesty,
And earth and time exulting in his Grace,
Why should the world, now tranquil, he convulsed
By pain and war? Knock not at evils' door;
Those that slay blameless kings will prosper not.
In this strife circling heaven must not raise
Írán in dust. I fear that God will end
The Íránians' term for ills more heinous still.’”
Pírúz, on this wise counselled, wrote Guráz—
That villain of vile race (may none like him
Be ever chief!) —a profitable letter,
And thou hadst said that one had got his heart
Between the shears when he had read those words.
In fierce wrath with Pírúz, son of Khusrau,
He gathered all his baggage and commanded
The host to march forth plainwards. At the news
Pírúz dispatched a cameleer to go
In all haste to Tukhár to summon him,
Informing him at large of the affair,
Of what Guráz was doing and the strife
About the imperial throne. Then from Tukhár
This answer reached Pírúz, son of Khusrau:—

Now when

Pírúz, son of Khusrau, had seen that letter
His heart had no repose from evil thoughts,
But gloomed with thinking how to harm the Sháh,
Whose wont it was to summon him, for he
Was an observant man and eloquent,
And served as minister and treasurer.
He came one dark night for an audience,
And found the wine bright and the welcome warm.
Ardshír was seated in his palace-hall
In company with many young and old,
And when Pírúz, son of Khusrau, came raised,
Thou wouldst have said, his head to heaven, called
For harp, and all the hall was filled with music.
Pírúz, son of Khusrau, when midnight came,
Had drunk one man⁴⁸

of wine while the companions
Of Sháh Ardshír were all bemused; no minstrel
Was left that kept his wits. The miscreant
Dismissed the company: he and the Sháh
Alone remained. That man of outrage rose,
Laid hand upon the Sháh's lips unawares,
And held it there until Ardshír was dead.
The palace filled with scimitars and arrows.
All there—ambitious youths and warriors—
Were fautors of Pírúz, son of Khusrau.
Upon this manner ceased Ardshír to be
When he had had six months of sovereignty.

Guráz, hearing of Ardshír's death, marches on Taisafún and urged on by his younger, though dissuaded by his elder son, usurps the throne. His rule described. A plot is formed against him and he is slain while returning from the chase. The throne remains vacant for a while.

Cf. note to previous reign. Guráz (Shahr-Barz, April 27th—June 9th, A.D. 630) reigned for forty days.⁵⁰

He was one of the three chief generals employed by Khusrau Parwíz in his long war against the Eastern Roman Empire. His real name, according to Tabarí, was Farruhán. This in Pahlaví would be Farrukhán, which by a misreading has become Faráyín in the Sháhnáma. Shahrbaráz (Shahrguráz, or Shahrwaráz) is, says Tabarí, a title. Firdausí uses the shortened form Guráz, which means “boar,” because it is more convenient metrically. The title may have been appropriate enough. In the Sháhnáma the general is split up into two personalities—Guráz or Faráyín, the usurper, and Shahránguráz, the avenger of the breach made by the upstart in the sacred line of Sásánian succession.^50a

In Tabarí the leader of the revolt is a native of Istakhr named Pusfar-rukh. ^50b

Shahránguráz in the Sháhnáma is also of the same city.

Pírúz, son of Khusrau, dispatched a post,
And letter too, in secret to Guráz,
Whose sombre soul, what time the messenger
Arrived, grew like the sun, and from those parts
He led forth such an army that the way
Was barred to fly and emmet. Like the wind
He sped to Taisafún, his soldiers' hands
All had been bathed in blood. When he arrived
The chiefs went out to welcome him, but none

and in painted silk,
And after me my son shall take my throne,
Assume this royal crown, be king as was
His sire, and be exalted and renowned.
Whoe'er shall minister to our delight
Shall be a happy man among mankind.
In feast-time we will drink with joyful hearts,
In war-time we will hunt our enemies.”
His elder son said privily to him:—
“Who of us, father! ever wore the crown?
Feel not secure, take means to compass wealth;
Thou wast the world's protector; keep to that.
If any member of the royal race
Shalt come thou wilt not long be here; thy heart
Will keep of kingship only grief and pain;
Thou wilt be wretched, destitute, and wan.”

The younger's words pleased Faráyín the best,
Who bade his elder son: “Be not so raw.”
He laid out in the royal offices
The muster-roll and called all troops to court.
He gave drachms night and day and many robes
Of honour ill-deserved. Within two weeks
Of all the treasury of Sháh Ardshír
Remained not what would buy an arrow's plume!
Whene'er Guráz would go forth to the pleasance
The lights were torches made of ambergris,
Four score before and four score after him:
Behind them came his friends and partisans.
Of gold and silver were the goblets all,
The golden gem-encrusted.^53a

'Twas his use
To feast all night. The nobles' hearts were full
Of vengeance on him. 'Twas his wont to roam
A-nights the gardens and the riding-ground.
Save but to sleep and wake, to eat and plunder,
That slight, weak-witted one knew naught. He went
Drunk ever to repose and with a sash
From Chín about his head. The troops were all
Vexed to the heart at him while all the province
Was full of turmoil and distress. He lost
All trace of generosity and grew
Unjust, unfortunate, and good for naught.
The world was wrecked by his iniquity,
And at his handling people smote their heads.
He shed the blood of innocents until
The troops grew wroth with him. He used to shut
His eyes for gold and would have sold the world
To win dínárs. Folk cursed him. All desired
His death and meeting privily discussed
His deeds. Hurmuzd Shahránguráz, a horseman
Redoubted of the city of Istakhr—
The glory of the chieftains—thus addressed
One night the Íránians secretly: “Ye chiefs!
The time of Faráyín is proving grievous;
He holdeth all the chiefs in light esteem.
Why have your brains and hearts become thus
straitened?
Through him all eyes are tearful, livers charged
With blood. Is no physician to be found?
He is not royal or Sásánian;
Why gird the loins before him? Of a truth

The folk replied:—

“Since there was no one left fit for the throne
None is inspired by jealousy to take
This base-born's heart away; but we adopt
Thy counsel. Tell us from thy stores of lore
How to release Írán from this insane
And hot-brained Sháh ill both in word and deed.
May he be never blessed!”

Shahránguráz

Replied: “The Íránians have suffered long.
If ye will harm me not but play the Persian
E'en now by holy God's aid will I bring him
Down from his throne to dust.”

He gat this answer:—

“May no harm come to thee! All we the host
To-day are thy supporters and thy stronghold
If ill herefrom befall thee.”

Hearing this

That royal warrior sought how to set
Hands on the worthless Sháh. Now he one day
Took order and departed from the city
To hunt, and of the Íránians a troop
Of lords and lieges fared, escorting him.
He urged his courser on and rode about
As 'twere Ázargashasp, the cavaliers
Encircling him and beating up the game.
Now at what time they turned back city-wards
Shahránguráz looked at the hapless Sháh
With boldness, chose an arrow from his quiver,
One that was straight and had a point of steel,
And urged his black steed while the host looked on.
He stretched the bow and drew it out at whiles
To chest or head, then notched, as if in sport,
An arrow on the string and drew the bow
Till it concealed the point, and loosed his thumb.
Forthwith the shaft struck on the monarch's back,
Who dropped his whip. The arrow was all blood
Up to the feathers and the iron head
Protruded from his navel. All the troops
Unsheathed and all that night while dust-clouds rose
They plied their swords and knew not whom they
fought,
But took and gave back blows and cursed or blessed
That deed. Now when the yellow Veil appeared,
So that the world seemed like a leopard's back,
There was a multitude of slain and maimed,
And cavaliers and leaders were astound.

Púrándukht (Puranducht, summer A.D. 630—autumn A.D. 631), reigned, according to Tabarí, for one year and four months. Her name, it appears, should be spelt with a B, not with a P. She is said to have restored the “True Cross,” but it seems more probable that this was done in the reign of Ardshír. She made the leader of the successful conspiracy against Shahrbaráz her prime minister.⁵⁶

She was the first historical female Sháh and it was in allusion to her reign and that of her sister Ázarmdukht that the distich is quoted in Mír Khánd:—

“No dignity remains in a household
In which the hens are crowing like cocks.”^56a

'Tis but crude policy when women rule,
But yet there was a lady—Púrándukht—
Surviving of the lineage of Sásán,
And well read in the royal volume: her
They seated on the throne of sovereignty,
The Great strewed jewels over her, and then
She spake upon this wise: “I will not have
The people scattered,⁵⁷

and I will enrich
The poor with treasure that they may not bide
In their distress. God grant that in the world
There may be none aggrieved because his pain
Is my calamity. I will expel
Foes from the realm and walk in royal ways.”
She made search for Pírúz, son of Khusrau,
Who was delated by an alien,
Whereat she chose some warriors from the host
Who brought Pírúz before her. She exclaimed:—
“Foul-purposed miscreant!^57a

thou shalt receive,
As infamous, the guerdon for thy deeds.”
She bade bring from the stalls a colt unbroken,
And bound, firm as a rock, Pírúz thereto
Without a saddle and with yoke on neck.
The vengeful lady had that untamed steed
Brought to the riding-ground and thither sent,
With lassos coiled up in their saddle-straps,
A band of warriors to urge the colt
To utmost speed, to strive from time to time
To throw Pírúz and ever roll itself
Upon the ground. That colt won much applause
Until with skin in shreds and dripping blood

Before Ázarmdukht (Azermidocht, end of A.D. 631— beginning of A.D. 632) came to the throne there seems to have been a short interval during which a distant scion of the royal House, who took the name of Pírúz, ruled for less than a month. The chief noble of the time, who was governor of Khurásán, wished to make Ázarmdukht his wife on which she had him privately executed. This noble's son was the Rustam that fought and fell at Kádisíya some years later. On hearing of his father's fate Rustam, who was in temporary authority in Khurásán, marched with a great army against Ázarmdukht, overthrew her and put her to death after she had reigned six months. Her name probably means “modest girl.”⁵⁹

There was another dame hight Ázarmdukht,
Who had fruition of the crown of greatness.
She came, sat down upon the royal throne,
And made herself the mistress of the world.
Her first words were: “O sages, veterans,
And masters of affairs! be just in all,
And follow precedent, for ye hereafter
Must make the bricks your pillow. I will foster
The loyal liege, assist him with dinárs,
And if he erreth be longsuffering;
But him that is disloyal and deserteth
The way of wisdom and of precedent
Will I suspend in shame upon the gibbet,
Be he an Arab, Rúman cavalier,
Or Persian thane.”

She filled the throne four months,

But with the fifth disaster came thereto,

Between, and even earlier than, the death of Ázarmdukht and the accession of Yazdagird III., the order of the dynastic succession becomes very confused. The names of the Sháhs vary in the different lists. The reason is that it was a period of great internal unrest and various aspirants to the throne held contemporaneously some short-lived authority in different provinces of the empire. One of these princes, Farrukhzád (Farrukhzád-Khusrau) has received the honour of being included in the list of the Sháhs as recorded in the Sháhnáma. Two accounts of the length of his reign are given in Tabarí. According to one, it lasted for six months, according to the other, for a year. Both agree that he did not die a natural death, and one of them states that his death was instigated by the adherents of Yazdagird.⁶¹

Then from Jahram they summoned Farrukhzád,
And seated him upon the throne of kingship.
There with a pious soul he praised the Maker,
And said: “Son of the kings of kings am I,
And would have naught but quiet in the world.
The mischief-maker shall not be exalted
While I am Sháh, but him that from his heart
Ensueth right, and is not mischievous,
Will I hold dear as my pure soul, and seek not
To harm the harmless. Him that beareth toil
On our behalf we will reward with treasure.
We will hold dear all friends and raise the fame
Of chieftains everywhere, but all my subjects,
Both friends and enemies, are safe with me.”
The troops all blessed him: “Ne'er may earth and
time
Lack thee.” Yet when his throne was one month old
The head of all his fortune came to dust.
He had a slave, a cypress-tree in stature,
Fair, lusty, and well-liking. That knave's name
Was Siyah Chashm.⁶²

May heaven ne'er bring his
like!
The Sháh too had a handmaid whom he loved.
She chanced on Siyah Chashm all unawares
One day, who sent to say: “If thou wilt meet me
At such a place thou shalt have endless gifts,
And I will deck thy crown with jewelry.”
The handmaid heard, made no reply, but went
And told the thing to Farrukhzád who raged,
And could not eat or sleep in his concern.
He put the feet of Siyah Chashm in fetters,
And cast him into prison. When the knave
Had been confined awhile the Sháh released him,

Of such a fashion are

Time's revolutions! Let it be thy care
To gather for thyself therefrom thy share.
Eat what thou hast and trust the morrow not,
For it may hold for thee a different lot:
To give to others it may take from thee.
Thou callest this a world and verily
It doth whirl! So enjoy thine own, let go
The surplusage that thou hast toiled for so
To other folk but never to thy foe,
Else whensoe'er thy day is overpast
Thy hoards will be as is the desert-blast,
Thy treasures all become thine enemy's;
So give away to set thy mind at ease.

Yazdagird becomes Sháh. The country is invaded by the Arabs. He sends Rustam, the captain of the host, to oppose them. Rustam takes a despondent view of the situation, and after some attempt at negotiations is defeated by the Arabs at Kádisíya and slain. The war continues, and Yazdagird withdraws to Khurásán to get help from Máhwí of Súr, the governor. Máhwí plots with Bízhan, a Turkish prince, against Yazdagird, who is betrayed in battle and takes refuge in a mill, where he is slain by the miller at the bidding of Máhwí. Máhwí assumes the crown, makes war on Bízhan, is taken prisoner, and put to death. The poem ends with a brief passage, in which Firdausí gives some account of the completion of his undertaking, of help afforded him and of discouragements undergone, and concludes with a well founded assurance of his own future fame.

Yazdagird (Isdegird III., A.D. 632-652 or 653) has given his name to a chronological era which still obtains among the Parsís. It dates from June 16th, A.D. 632. He was the son of Sháhryár, son of Khusrau Parwíz, and was an infant at the time when that Sháh and his sons were put to death after the accession of Shírwí (Kubád;⁶⁴)

On that occasion he was taken for safety to Istakhr. Tabarí says that he was murdered at the age of twenty-eight after a reign of twenty years. He was therefore only eight years old when a party among the nobles set him up as a puppet king at Istakhr (Persepolis), the old seat of empire, Ctesiphon at that time being in the hands of a rival claimant of the throne. In the contention that followed Yazdagird was successful, and in the course of A.D. 633 he became recognised as sole Sháh, the administration remaining in the hands of the chiefs.⁶⁵

He had succeeded to a heritage of woe. His empire was ill-prepared for the troubles that were in store for it. Exhausted by long wars, torn by domestic dissentions, and lately devastated by plague, it had to confront a new and vigorous organization inspired by religious enthusiasm and impelled thereby to extend its borders on every side. Had Yazdagird been a born leader of men and come to the throne in the prime of life, he might for the time at least have been successful, but in the circumstances, and taking into consideration what we can gather as to his own character, we can now see how hopeless from the outset his prospects were. Students of Persian, however, have probably reason to feel grateful to his reign, for even though we put aside as unsatisfactory what tradition tells us on the subject, a reasonable presumption remains that with the return of settled government to a distracted country there was a revival of interest in the story of the Íránian race and its heroes, and that compilations were then made from which we still though indirectly benefit.^65a

§§ 2-11. The following is intended to supplement Firdausí's inadequate account of the Arab conquest of the Sásánian empire. He appears to assign it to the last years of Yaz-dagird's then nominal sovereignty. From time immemorial the Íránians and Semites had been at enmity.^65b

In Íránian legend this feeling had found expression in the story of the wicked Sháh Zahhák, who, though originally an Aryan myth,^65c

came to be regarded in succeeding ages as an earthly king with his seat at Babylon. When, later still, the Íránians again felt the weight of Semitic oppression, he was turned into an Arab.^65d

Although during Sásánian times the semi-independent kingdom of Híra served to some extent as a buffer-state between the Persian empire and the wilder Arab tribes there was always the liability of raids and the danger was much increased when Khusrau Parwíz was so unwise as to put an end to the long-standing dynasty of the princes of Híra and appointed a governor of his own in their stead.⁶⁶

In his reign too had occurred the disastrous battle of Dhú Kár, in which the smallness of the forces engaged were out of all proportion to the importance of the result. The Arabs celebrated their victory with songs of triumph.^66a

With that inspiring memory and revelation of Persian weakness, with the prospect of rich spoil to be won, and a nation of infidels to be converted, it is not surprising that hostilities should break out between the young and vigorous and the old and enfeebled empire. Muhammad himself, tradition tells us, addressed a threatening letter to Khusrau Parwíz, who tore it up, and the Prophet, on hearing of this, said: “He has rent his own realm.”^66b

Muhammad died in June, A.D. 632— the month of the child Yazdagird's accession. Abú Bakr, the first Khalífa, being apprised by an Arab chieftain, who had embraced Islam, of the state of the Persian empire, sent his great general, Khálid, to begin hostilities. Khálid was very successful in numerous engagements, and temporarily the whole tract bordering the western bank of the Euphrates from the Roman frontier almost to the Persian Gulf came into the hands of the Arabs. Khálid made Híra his headquarters, and was preparing to attack Ctesiphon and invade Írán when he was recalled by Abú Bakr to take command of the forces destined for the Syrian campaign. “This is 'Umar's doing,” said Khálid. “He does not want to see me conquer 'Irák.”^66c

The departure of Khálid was the Persians' opportunity. Encouraged by Rustam, who under Yazdagird had become commander-in-chief, the inhabitants of the conquered region rose against the Arabs but unsuccessfully. At this juncture Abú Bakr died and was succeeded by 'Umar, who began his reign by giving Abú 'Ubaida the chief command in Syria in the place of Khálid. Then, it is said, he appealed publicly to the Faithful to volunteer for the invasion of Persia and for two days in vain, the supersession of Khálid having caused great indignation. It may, however, have been thought that the acquisition of so much fertile territory and the consequent proximity to the Persian capital, were a sufficient achievement for the time being. Nevertheless, on the third day, when 'Umar made his appeal, Abú 'Ubaida (not Khálid's successor) offered himself and Sa'ad, son of Wakkás, followed suit. A thousand others imitated their example. 'Umar gave Abú 'Ubaida the chief command as he had been the first to volunteer. The Persians in the meantime had withdrawn to Ctesiphon, whence Rustam dispatched a force, which had with it the flag of Káwa,⁶⁷

to watch the enemy. Abú 'Ubaida, who was very inferior in numbers, threw a bridge across the Euphrates, attacked the Persians, was defeated and slain. This battle is known as “The Battle of the Bridge,” and took place in November, A.D. 634. An attack, however, by the Persians on Híra failed, and the Arabs raided the Persian settlement of Baghdád (not of course the well-known city of that name^67a)

where twice a year a fair was held. 'Umar appointed Sa'ad, son of Wakkás, to succeed Abú 'Ubaida, and both sides made efforts to reinforce their respective armies. The Persian adherents west of the Euphrates again rose. Rustam crossed the river with a great host, and advanced to Kádisíya where the Arabs had concentrated. The battle that ensued is said to have lasted four days with varying fortune till a dust-storm turned the scale in favour of the Arabs. The slaughter was very great and so was the spoil. 'Umar forbade the Arabs to make any further advance for the present, but as the situation of their camp proved to be very unhealthy he directed Sa'ad to choose a more suitable site, whereupon Sa'ad founded Kúfa. Thenceforth the whole of the region west of the Euphrates was lost to the Persians. To secure the lower course of the Euphrates and Tigris 'Umar also founded Basra, west of the Shatt-al-Arab. The battle of Kádisíya seems to have been fought A.D. 636-7, but the chronology of the period is somewhat uncertain. Then came a considerable pause in the Arab advance. The Arabs seem to have spent the interval well in securing what they had gained while the Persians on the other hand appear to have been paralysed by their misfortunes. At all events, when the invasion was resumed and Sa'ad, crossing the Euphrates, marched on Ctesiphon, no resistance was offered and Yazdagird, who had lingered there too late to secure the removal of most of his treasures, fled with his court to Hulwán.^67b

His example of flight seems to have been followed by a majority of the inhabitants. The Arabs came in for an immense booty according to Oriental accounts. If, however, we take into consideration the domestic troubles of the years preceding Yazdagird's accession, and what must have been the financial needs of the short-lived Sháhs of that period, we are justified in suspecting that the amount of precious metals and of the more portable forms of wealth generally was not so great as has been affirmed. Sa'ad, when he had established himself in the Persian capital, asked permission of 'Umar to pursue Yazdagird who had gathered a considerable army under the command of a Mihrán⁶⁸

at Jalúlá in the neighbourhood of Hulwán. 'Umar refused to allow Sa'ad to go in person and instructed him to send instead Háshim who was either his brother or his nephew. Háshim was much inferior in point of numbers, and it was six months before he brought the Persians to a decisive engagement. He then won a complete victory, and followed up his success at Jalúlá by the capture of Hulwán. Yazdagird fled to Rai and 'Umar, content for the moment with what had been achieved, forbade any further advance. The next stage of the Arab conquest was made outside the sphere of Sa'ad's authority, who sent, however, by 'Umar's command troops to assist. In the north Mesopotamia, and in the south Khúzistán, were invaded and annexed. A raid was made also across the Persian Gulf from Bahrain into Párs, but without lasting results, as the Arab forces got into difficulties and had to be rescued by an expedition sent for the purpose from Basra. About A.D. 640 in consequence, it is said, of complaints made by the people of Kúfa, 'Umar recalled Sa'ad and Yazdagird seized the opportunity to make a supreme effort to recover his lost possessions. A large army, summoned from the yet unconquered provinces of the empire, was concentrated at Nahávand, some fifty miles south of Hamadán, and placed under a Persian general named Pírúzán. On this 'Umar ordered Nu'mán, who was in command in Khúzistán, to gather all available forces from the regions already annexed and march against the enemy. Nu'mán, who was greatly inferior in point of numbers, found the Persians strongly encamped at Nahávand and tried in vain to bring on a general engagement. In the end he managed to effect his purpose by means of a stratagem. He broke up his camp and made a hasty retreat. Pírúzán went in pursuit, on which Nu'mán turned upon him and won what the Arabs call “The Victory of Victories” (A.D. 641-2). Pírúzán was taken prisoner and slain, and Nu'mán himself fell in the fight. This was the last effort of the Persians at a national resistance. Henceforth their opposition was merely provincial or local, and wholly ineffective. One after another the remaining provinces of the Sásánian empire were overrun by the Arabs and permanently annexed, while Yazdagird, who had fled from Rai after the disaster of Nahávand, remained a fugitive till his death some ten years later.

§ 2. In Tabarí Rustam's father is called Farrukh-Hurmuzd, the governor of Khurásán, who was slain, it is said, by Ázarm-dukht and avenged by his son.⁶⁹

Khurásán probably formed part of the satrapy of Nímrúz, one of the four into which Núshír-wán divided his empire.^69a

Tradition makes the governors of that satrapy, and their sons play a very important part during the last few years of the Sásánian dynasty.^69b

The position of commander-in-chief held by Rustam at the battle of Kádisíya, probably indicates that he had been instrumental in bringing about the elevation of Yazdagird to the throne.^69c

Rustam's brother was named Farrukhzád.

§ 3. Mughíra, son of Shu'ba, was one of the companions of Muhammad, and played a prominent role in the affairs of the time. He went on a similar embassy to the Persians before the battle of Nahávand.^69d

He was governor for a time at Basra,^69e

Mecca,^69f

and Kúfa, where he died in A.D. 670.^69g

§ 4. Sa'ad took no personal part in the battle of Kádisíya. He was suffering from sores at the time and had to content himself with merely directing operations.^69h

Consequently he did not slay Rustam in single combat as Firdausí states. When the dust-storm came on the fourth day of the battle, Rustam was seated under an awning erected on the bank of the canal of Kádisíya and surrounded by the camels that carried his treasure. The awning was blown into the water. and Rustam took shelter among them. In the confusion caused by the storm, the Arabs broke the Persian centre. One of them, named Hilál, striking in the darkness at random among the camels, happened to hit the one under which Rustam was seated, and cut the cord that secured its load of treasure which fell on Rustam's head. Though injured, he made an attempt to swim across the canal, but was caught by Hilál and slain.⁷⁰

§§ 9-11. There is a general agreement in Persian tradition that Yazdigird did not die a natural death. The scene of it is mostly laid at Marv, and the most popular version associates it with a mill. Firdausí's story evidently has been worked up as the appeals addressed to Máhwí show. The villain's guilt too is more emphasized, and he is made more directly responsible for the tragedy. Elsewhere the miller murders the Sháh for mere greed. Marv appears to be a likely place for Yazdagird to have chosen to reside in, as he could easily escape thence across the Oxus in case of need. In some accounts he does cross and negotiates to little purpose with the Turks, but is brought back across the river for the final scene. What the truth of the matter was seems to be quite uncertain.

§ 14. According to the account in the Persian Tabarí, Máhwí, after the death of Yazdagird, remained at Marv till he was compelled to leave owing to the approach of the Arabs, when he fled across the Oxus and took refuge with the Turks.^70a

Their Khán is the Bízhan of the Sháhnáma.

When Farrrukhzád departed Yazdagird
Became the Sháh upon the day of Ard
In month Sapandármad. What said the man
Brave, eloquent but weary of life's span?
“Would that my mother had not brought me forth,
High heaven not turned o'er me!
The days of greatness and the days of want
For all soon cease to be.
Time, as thou lookest, passeth; none can take
Arms to contend with it,
So furnish forth the board and drain the cup,
And sad talk intermit.
What though thou ride high heaven yet bricks will
prove
Thy pillow at the last;
If thou be king what of the end? First throne,
But what when life hath past?
Let not thy heart be troubled, trust not much
High heaven as thy support;
It acteth as it willeth; elephant
And lion are its sport.
'Twill outlast thee, its tale is long; be not
With pride of life o'erflown;

with crown and throne.^71a

From those exalt seven planets do thou well
Consider what to Yazdagird befell.”
When he sat happy on the throne of kingship,
And placed upon his head the crown of might,
He said: “By process of the turning sky
I am the true-born son of Núshírwán.
Mine is the sway from sire to sire and mine
Are Virgo, Sol, and Pisces. I will seek
For greatness, wisdom, hardihood, contention,
And manliness, for life and fortune stay
With none, nor treasure, kingship, crown, and throne.
Fame will abide for aye but not desire;
Put off desire then and exalt thy fame.
It is by fame that man shall live for ever
While his dead body lieth in the dust.
How good are Faith and justice in a Sháh!
The times are full of blessings on his fame.
I purpose while I live to pluck up ill,
Both root and branch.”

The chiefs applauded him,

And hailed him as the monarch of the earth,
And thus it was, till sixteen years had sped,
That sun and moon revolved above his head.

It was so that 'Umar, the famous Arab,
Commander of the Faithful,⁷²

he whose sword
Turned day to night, the man approved by God,
Who hath no equal, sent the chosen Sa'ad,
Son of Wakkás, with troops against the Sháh.
When Arab fortune worsted Persian,
And the Sásánians' fortune had grown dark,
The world had had full measure of its Sháhs;
Gold was not seen, the mite was manifest,
Good turned to evil, evil turned to good,
The path lay Hellward, not to Paradise,
The wheel of circling heaven was changed and cut
All kindness for the Persians clean away.
The slave must do the almighty Maker's will,
And bear what He inflicteth. Save with Him
There is no life or joy.

When Yazdagird

Learned what had chanced he gathered troops on all
sides,

There will not be throne, crown, or golden boot,
Or gem, or coronet or flaunting flag.
One man will toil, another will enjoy;
None will give heed to justice or to bounty.^76a

Then warriors will be men that fight afoot
While horsemen will be mocked and flouted at;
The warlike husbandman will be despised,
High birth and majesty will bear no fruit;
Then men will rob each other, none will know
A blessing from a curse, and secret dealing
Prevail o'er open, while the hearts of men
Will turn to flint, sire will be foe to son,
And son will scheme 'gainst sire; a worthless slave
Will be the king, high birth and majesty
Will count for nothing; no one will be loyal.
There will be tyranny of soul and tongue.
A mongrel race—Íránian, Turkman, Arab—
Will come to be and talk in gibberish.^76b

there will be
No wine at feasts; they will not recognise
Degree and place but live on barley-bread,
And dress in wool. When much time hath passed
thus
None will regard the noble Persian stock.
They will be shedding blood for lucre's sake,
An evil age will be inaugurate.
My heart is full, my face is wan, my mouth
Is parched, my lips are filled with sighs to think
That after I—the paladin—have gone
Sásánian fortune shall become thus dark;
So faithless hath revolving heaven grown,
Ta'en umbrage, and withdrawn from us its love!
If with my lance I strike a brazen mountain
I pierce it, being brazen-bodied too,
But now my shafts with steel-transfixing heads
Are impotent with men that wear no mail!
My sword, which felled the necks of elephants
And lions at a blow, can not cut through
An Arab skin! My knowledge bringeth loss
On loss upon me. Would that I possessed not
This wisdom since it causeth me to know
Of this ill day! The chiefs that are with me
From Kádisíya are both hardy men
And hostile to the Arabs. They expect
That this brake will be filled, that earth will run
Like the Jíhún, with our foes' blood. None knoweth
The secret of the skies and that this strife
Can not be quickly ended; but when fortune
Departeth from a race what profit cometh
Of travail and of fight? Be prosperous,
My brother! May the Sháh's heart joy in thee
Because this Kádisíya is my charnel,
My breastplate is my shroud, my helmet blood:
Such is the secret of the lofty sky.
Bind not thine own heart to my griefs but keep
Thine eyes upon the Sháh, and sacrifice
Thyself for him in fight, because the day
Of Áhriman is coming on apace
When circling heaven will show us enmity.”
When he had sealed the letter he said thus:—
“My blessing be upon the messenger
That shall convey this letter to my brother,
And tell him not what I have said, but other!”

To Sa'ad, son of Wakkás, the prudent, wise,
And circumspect, who hath come forth to fight.”
It thus began: “We still must fear the World-lord,
The Holy, who sustaineth turning heaven,
Whose rule is justice and beneficence.
May blessings from Him rest upon the king,
The lustre of the signet, crown, and throne,
The lord of sword, of diadem and lasso,
Whose Grace restraineth Áhriman in bonds.
A hateful matter hath occurred to us
In these uncalled for labours and this strife.
Reply to me and say who is your king,
Who thou art, what thy rule and custom are,
And whose assistance is it that ye seek
With unmailed soldiery and unmailed chief?
Fed up with bread thou art still ravenous;
Thou hast no elephants, no throne, no baggage.
Enough for thee to live within Írán,
For crown and signet are another man's,
Who hath Grace, elephants, and crown and throne—
A famous Sháh of lengthy lineage.
No throned king hath such stature or the moon
In heaven such aspect. When enthroned he sitteth
With smiles that make his silvern teeth appear;
His gifts would purchase Arabs in the gross,
And not impoverish his treasury.
His dogs, his hawks, and cheetahs are twelve thousand,
And they are decked with golden bells and varvels.
The whole waste of the wielders of the spear
Could find not in a year from end to end
Enough to feed his cheetahs and his hounds
When he is hunting on the plain. The Arabs,
From drinking camels' milk and eating lizards,
Have reached a pitch whereat the Persian throne
Is coveted! Shame, shame on circling heaven!
Ye have no veneration in your eyes,
Or, in your wisdom, love or reverence.
With such a visage and such tastes and ways
Is thy heart set upon the crown and throne?
If thou art seeking power within thy means,
And art not merely speaking words in jest,

had said, the Unity
Of God, of the Kurán, of promise, warning,
Of menace and of novel usages,
Of liquid pitch, of fire, and icy cold,
Of Paradise, its streams of milk and wine,
Of camphor and of musk, of bubbling springs,
Of wine and honey and the trees of heaven.^81a

Then: “If the Sháh accepteth the true Faith
He will obtain both worlds with joy and kingship,
And have withal the earrings and the crown,
Perpetual beauty and prosperity.

Then he set

The Arab seal thereon and praised Muhammad.
The messenger of Sa'ad, son of Wakkás,
Went with all speed to Rustam. Now what time
Shu'ba Mughíra went forth from the chiefs
To journey to the paladin, a noble,
One of the Iránians, came in from the way
Before the captain of the host, and said:—
“A messenger hath come—a weak, old man—
Without a horse or weapons and ill-clad,
With thin sword slung about his neck and shirt
All plainly tattered.”

Rustam thus apprised

Prepared a tent-enclosure of brocade.
They laid a carpet of gold thread of Chín;
The soldiery turned out like ants and locusts.
They set a golden ante-throne whereon
The captain of the host assumed his seat
With eight score warriors attending him—
Horsemen and lions on the day of battle—
With crowns, with violet robes, and golden boots,
With torques and earrings, while the tent-enclosure
Was royally adorned. Shu'ba Mughíra,
On coming to the tent-enclosure, walked not
Upon the cloth but humbly on the ground,
And used his scimitar as walking-stick.
He sat upon the dust without a look
At any—captain of the host or chief.
Then Rustam said to him: “May thy soul joy,
And by its knowledge make thy body strong.”
Shu'ba Mughíra said: “If thou, good sir!
Acceptest the true Faith, peace unto thee.”
Now Rustam, hearing this, was vexed and frowned.

And so thy heart ambitioneth my throne.
The case is one of moment to the wise,
But thou hast not considered it. If Sa'ad
Had the Sásánian throne I well might share
His feasts and fights, but since the faithless stars
Bode ill, what shall I say? This is the day
Of bale. If for my guide I take Muhammad,
And this new Faith for old, all will go wrong
Beneath this crook-backed sky, and all go hard
With us.’ But as for thee, depart in peace;
The day of battle is no time for words.
Tell Sa'ad: ‘To die with honour is a thing
Far better for me than crude parleying.”

Shu'ba Mughíra went his way, and Rustam
Bade to array the host and sound the trumpet.
From all sides troops assembled, clouds of dust
Arose, and din that deafed the sharpest ears.
“The steely lance-heads mid the murky reek
Are,” thou hadst said, “stars mid night's azure
gloom,”
While spears ne'er ceased to smite on glittering helms.
The strife endured three days, till water failed
The Íránians, and their warriors' hands and steeds
Became unfit for combat. Rustam's lips
Grew as the dust with drought, his tongue was split,
And men and horses battened on moist clay,
So grievous was the stress!

Shouts rose like thunder

From Rustam and from Sa'ad as they advanced,
Each from his post. Each left his army's centre,
And drew off from the field. Departing thus
They came beneath a steep-up eminence,
And there those chieftains twain assailed each other
Revengefully upon that scene of strife
Till Rustam, roaring like a thunder-clap,
Smote with his sword Sa'ad's charger on the head,
Smote the swift charger which came headlong down,

At that time Yazdagird was at Baghdád;
To him the troops came flocking and announced
That Rustam was no more, and that the sea
Was dry with grief, that many men had fallen,
And that the rest had fled the battlefield.
The hosts, both Persian and Arabian,
Reached Karkh, and Farrukhzád, son of Hurmuzd,
Wroth and with tearful eyes came from the Arwand,
Arrived at Karkh, fell on the enemy,
And not an Arab warrior survived.
The Persians marched out from Baghdád intent
To meet the foe, and bloody was the event.