English
Bahram Takes the Throne
That night passed, and early at dawn
he came and sat upon the royal throne.
He sent for the Persians and called them in,
and spoke at length about the days gone by.
Then the wise priests said aloud:
'You are more learned than the sages.'
'What will you bring to the kingship
now that you take up its height and its power?'
'What justice and truth will you offer,
so that crookedness and flaws will vanish?'
This was his answer to the wise,
to those famous and manly ones:
'I will increase generosity through counsel,
and cut back on injustice and greedy seeking.'
'To whoever is fit to rule
I will justly grant a share of the land.'
'I will keep the world by wisdom and justice;
when I bring safety, I rejoice in justice.'
'To anyone who is poor and in need
I will give from the treasure I have stored.'
'To the wrongdoer I will first offer advice;
if he does it again, I will bring the chains.'
'I will pay the army their wages on time,
and gladden the hearts of the wise.'
'I will keep my heart honest with my tongue,
and turn my soul away from lies and darkness.'
'When someone dies leaving no kin,
and more wealth remains than expected,'
'I will give it to the poor, not add it to my treasure;
I will not tie my heart to this passing inn of a world.'
'I will take counsel with the capable in every plan,
and with sound judgment break the back of blind desire.'
'I will ask my minister about every matter
whenever I want to launch some new undertaking.'
'Whoever seeks justice from me,
I will not send the gathering away scattered.'
'I will give justice to the one who asked for it,
and speak of nothing except by the truth.'
'I will repay the wicked with punishment,
as befits the way of kings.'
'The pure God is my witness in this,
and wisdom is my guide upon my tongue.'
'So too are the priest and the chief of priests,
the approved and experienced nobles.'
'If a whole year passes on this course,
I will not turn my soul or mind from what I said.'
'I renounce inheritance, crown, and throne;
if I break this, may I sit as an ill-fated wretch.'
When those wise men heard his answer,
the great ones and the clear-hearted priests,
they regretted the words they had said,
and the guilty turned toward a remedy.
They said aloud to one another:
'No one is worthier of kingship than this man.'
'In courage, in speech, in judgment, and in lineage,
no one purer than him was ever born into the world.'
'God created him out of justice;
may no misfortune ever reach him.'
'If we resist his words at all,
we are only lulling reason to sleep.'
'We will receive every kindness from him;
let us turn our faces to eating and to justice.'
'With this stature and these strong shoulders and neck,
no one in the world is his equal.'
'Behind him stands the army of the Arabs,
with Mundhir as his ally in gain and loss.'
'If he himself seizes his rightful throne,
who in the world could stand above Bahram?'
'After that, what fear has he of the Persians?
Before him we are no more than a handful of dust.'
They said to Bahram: 'O commanding one,
for kingship you are the choice of our very souls.'
'No one has known your like in virtues,
in your purity of body, your knowledge, and your judgment.'
As they had blessed Khosrow, who came from the line of Pashin,
so they now hailed Bahram to the kingship.
'We are all under his oath and bond;
who would say we mean him any harm?'
'If from now on he is king of Iran,
the whole frontier will be safe in the grip of lions.'
One group will be glad of Bahram,
while another still remembers Khosrow.
'For justice, it is best to have your pledge;
after that the world is under your command.'
'The only obstacle left is the war-lion, nothing more;
after this no one will seek greatness against you.'
Bahram agreed to the very thing
he himself had proposed in this story before.
Such was the custom of just kings:
when a new king of blessed line took power,
the chief of priests would come to him,
bringing three clear-sighted men from among the wise.
He would seat the king upon the throne
and pronounce a blessing over that crown.
He set it on his head in the name of the Kayanids,
and joyfully pressed his cheek against the king's chest.
After that, whatever anyone offered as tribute,
the king would give it to the one who asked.
So they handed the crown and throne to the priest,
and the wakeful, fortunate one went out to the open plain.
The hero Gostham had two fierce lions,
bound in chains, which he gave to the priest.
They dragged the war-lions along,
and the handler, from terror, went numb as if senseless.
They tied them to the leg of the ivory throne,
and set the crown on a corner of the ivory.
A whole world watched that crown and throne,
to see how it would go for that fortunate man,
for if the king triumphed in this,
the other kings would offer him their praise.