The Words of Daqiqi

When some time had passed over these days, the king's fortune shone bright. Old Zoroaster said to the king of kings: in our faith this is not fitting, that you should pay tribute to the ruler of China; this does not suit our religion. Nor will I agree to it, for our kings in ancient times never paid tribute or tax to the Turks; through all those bygone days they held firm. Goshtasp agreed and said: I too will never order that this tribute be paid. Then a fierce demon learned of this, and at once set off toward the king of China. He said to him: O ruler of the world, the whole world is small before you, all have carried out your command; no one turns his head from your covenant, except Goshtasp, son of Lohrasp the king, who is now marching an army against the Turks. Openly he shows nothing but enmity; how dares one like him defy you with such pride? When Arjasp heard the demon's words, the world's lord stepped down from his throne. From grief he grew weak and sick; his heart and soul filled with sorrow. He summoned the captains of his army and told them what he had heard. He said: know that from the land of Iran the divine glory, the wisdom, and the pure faith have vanished. A sorcerer has come there claiming to bring a religion, in Iran claiming to be a prophet. He says: I have come from heaven, I have come from the God of the world. I saw the Lord in paradise; from Him I wrote down all this Zend and Avesta. In hell I saw Ahriman, but I dared not go near him. The Creator sent me for the sake of the faith; He said: adorn the earth with knowledge. The chief of the notables of Iran's army, the honored son of Lohrasp the king, the one the Iranians call Goshtasp, has tied the sacred girdle about his waist, and so has his brother, that brave horseman, Iran's commander whose name is Zarir. They all came before that seeker of the faith, worn down by that old sorcerer. One and all they accepted his religion; the world filled with his path and his ways. He settled in Iran as a prophet, over so worthless and frivolous a matter. Now a letter must be written to that man who has raised his head against your command. Much wealth must be offered to him, for a gift given unasked is a good gift. Tell him: turn back from this ugly path and fear the God of paradise. Drive out that impure old man, and hold a feast in keeping with our faith. But if he will not accept our words and renews his old defiance against us, we will gather back our scattered troops and raise a fine army, we will go to Iran to settle his affair, not fearing his harm or his fighting. We will drive him before us and humiliate him, bind him and hang him alive on the gallows.