English
Section 20: Bahram's Neglect and the Threat from China
For a while he enjoyed the world this way, in war and feast, in shame and battle alike.
Then word reached India and Rome, the Turks, China, and every settled land,
that Bahram cared for nothing but play, and counted no one in the world as anyone.
No vanguard, no lookout on watch, and not even a commander at the border.
They were letting the world slip away in games; he had no idea what was open or hidden.
When the Khaqan of China heard all this, he picked an army from China and Khotan.
He paid out coin and marched toward Iran; no one gave a thought to Bahram.
On the other side, Caesar raised his troops; the whole land of Rome took up arms.
When news came to Iran from Rome, from India, China, and every settled land,
that Caesar had gathered his army and marched, and forces from China and Khotan had appeared,
then everyone in Iran who was a leader, both the elders and the rising nobles,
all came before Bahram Gur, full of anger, fight, and turmoil.
They spoke some harsh words to the king: 'Your shining fortune has turned its back on you.'
'The chief of the warriors is bent on battle, while your heart is set on play and feasting.'
'In your eyes the treasury and the army count for nothing, nor Iran's crown, throne, and rank.'
The world-ruling king answered the priests who were showing him the way:
'The Creator of the world is my helper, who stands above the knowledge of all the great.'
'By the power of that mighty Lord, I will guard Iran from the claws of the wolf.'
'With fortune, army, sword, and treasure I will turn this pain and grief away from the land.'
Yet he kept on playing just the same, and the eyes of the proud filled with blood over him.
Everyone was saying that under such a king the heart of a decent person twists in pain.
But King Bahram's heart was in fact awake, and this news had filled him with worry.
He was secretly preparing the army's affairs; no one in the world knew his plan.
The whole city of Iran was afraid of his conduct, their hearts split in two by anxious thoughts.
They had all lost hope in that king, and held their lives and their leadership as worthless.
Then word came to King Bahram that an army from China had entered Iran.
The world-ruler summoned Gostaham to him and told him much about the Khaqan of China,
he who was commander and counselor, and grieved whenever battle came.
Next he called Mehr-Piruz of Zad, and third Mehr-Barzin of Khorrad,
then Bahram-Piruz of the Bahramians, Khazravan, and Roham with the men of Anda,
one the king of Gilan, one the king of Rey, men shrewd and steady in judgment,
and Dad-Barzin, tested in battle, who held Zabolestan firmly in his charge.
He brought Qaren, son of Borzmehr, and again Dad-Barzin of the frowning brow.
From the Iranians he chose thirty thousand, all wise and fit for war.
He gave his brother the throne and crown, to keep watch over the treasury and the troops,
the wise and noble Narsi, who possessed glory and faith, justice and love.
From there he led his army onward and marched toward Azarbaijan.
When he took so many troops out of Fars, this was what the wise and great believed:
that King Bahram had fled from the fight and taken his road toward Azar.
When Bahram turned his face toward the sea, an envoy from Caesar arrived like the wind.
Narsi lodged him in the palace, in a fine and fitting place.
The wise counselors and all the priests sat together in council with Narsi.
All their talk was about the king, who had thrown all those days to the wind.
The army came to the chief priest, wanting to be informed about King Bahram:
'He scatters hardship all over us; why does he not fill the treasury from the army too?'
'Everywhere he keeps scattering gold, and does not even know the worth of his own youth.'
'City and army have fallen apart; everyone is seeking a road to power.'
'Now we have no word of him; whether good or ill, it will fall back on us.'
After the talk had grown stale, they all settled on a single decision,
that they send from Iran a man of good repute to the Khaqan of China,
to say: 'Hold back from this raiding and plunder; there is every reason to stop it,'
'so that the land of Iran may still remain, now that its master has fled his home.'
Narsi said: 'This is not the right course; there is no equal to this water in the world.'
'There are arms, treasure, and true men who with the sword can raise dust out of fire.'
'When despair over King Bahram set in, where did he go with his meager army?'
'If you plan evil, evil comes; why should such misfortune fall on kings?'
The Iranians heard these words and laid down a crooked answer as their foundation:
'Bahram has taken an army away from here, so we must surrender our hearts to sorrow.'
'When the Khaqan comes to Iran for war, no scent or color will be left on our soil.'
'Neither the army nor Narsi will survive; they will trample us pointlessly underfoot.'
'Let us find some remedy, so our place remains and our feet are not cut from our bodies.'
There was a priest whose name was Homay, skilled, learned, and pure in judgment.
The Iranians chose him to gird himself tightly for that task.
Then they wrote a letter, submissive as slaves, from Iran to that king,
beginning: 'We are your servants, our heads bowed to your command and will.'
'Whatever there is in the land of Iran we will send to the Khaqan of China,'
'along with gifts, tribute, and tax, for we have no strength to fight the Turks.'
The blessed Homay set out from Iran with the pure-minded nobles.
He delivered the nobles' message to the Khaqan, and the heart of the king of the Turks grew glad.
And of King Bahram's swift maneuver, how he had fled with his army in haste,
he told the noble Khaqan, and the Khaqan's heart and soul bloomed like a flower.
The Khaqan of China said to the Turks: 'We have set our saddle upon the sky.'
'Who brought Iran into our grip without a battle, if not we, through judgment, sense, and patience?'
He gave the envoy much: Chinese silver coins and gold he handed over.
He wrote a reply and said: 'May wisdom be the companion of pure souls.'
'We have agreed to what this envoy of honest men has said.'
'When I come with my army into Merv, I will make the face of the land like a pheasant's plumage.'
'With justice, order, color, and fragrance I will make milk flow in the streams.'
'We will wait until Iran's tribute arrives, along with the gifts and tax of its lions.'
'I will come to Merv and go no farther than the Astar; I want no hardship to come from my army.'
The envoy raced back and reached Iran and reported to the Khaqan all he had seen and heard.
The Khaqan brought his army into Merv, and the world went dark with the horsemen's dust.
Once he was at ease, he turned to feasting; no one gave a thought to Bahram.
In Merv the harp and lute rang out; no one had a place to rest or sleep.
His whole army had turned their horses loose, no vanguard on the plain, no pack-beasts ready.
Hunting, wine, gatherings, and the sound of the harp; night and day they sat carefree of war.
He kept his eye out for the Iranians' tribute, his heart full of anger at its late arrival.