The War with Alyattes in Lydia

When the king was done with the affair of Nineveh, he led his whole army straight to Lydia. Against Alyattes, that king of Sardis, they took up the path of battle and strife. In the Shahnameh he is called Owlad, known as the warlord of Mazandaran. Sardis has been confused with Sari, likewise the river Iramagh with the Sea of Zereh. Four years passed over this battle, yet not one man gained the upper hand in the fight. In the midst of the clash a martyr was taken; the face of the bright day turned dark. Just as the noble-born Ferdowsi spoke of the demon and of Mazandaran. Night came, and a cloud rose up black; the world grew dark as a black man's face. The world, you would say, was a sea of pitch, all its light hidden away. A tent of pitch-black smoke spread overhead; the world went dark and eyes turned dim. When Kavous lost all hope of the world, his eyes were blinded by the White Demon. The armies on both sides turned their faces away, for they imagined it was the work of sorcery. The two proud kings, with all their power, sought once more the path of peace. Yet from Lydia as far as the Iramagh, the great king added that land to Iran. After that they sealed a firm covenant: that neither of them would be first to bring war. They opened a vein of blood from their arms, and each of the two tasted the other's blood. Two chosen, proud, and blessed sons took the daughters of the two kings in marriage. Garazeh was the brave son of Owlad, whom the brave Hirdad called Cyrus. And the Dragon was the son of Arash, fierce, restless, and rebellious. In the Pahlavi tongue his name was Astyages, who took tribute from Babylon and from Tur. When they pronounced his name in Pahlavi, they also called him Aspadan. But the daughter of Owlad was Arnavaz, whom Herodotus in turn called Ariennis. Happy the days of the renowned king Arash, who was the father of the Dragon. In the time of this just and faithful king, defeat fell upon the Turks of China. Though at first that king was hard-pressed and climbed up onto the heights of the Himalayas. What Ferdowsi sings of in his verse, praising it as Mount Hamavan. When the Turks surrounded him on every side, like a wolf that breaks into the flock. Neither Kamus survived nor the Khan of China, nor his grip, nor the heroes of the land of Turan.