Part 15: The Siege

He gave him a crown inlaid with peridot, a golden collar and a pair of earrings. Right then Jahn went before his father and told him everything, point by point. Afrasiab was enraged by the answer: what Turkish horseman could sleep now? He shared out his treasury of coin among the troops, along with helmets, swords, thrones, and crowns. From the dark night until the sun rose in the sky, the mountain turned white like the back of a great elephant. Afrasiab drew up his army; his heart was full of pain, his head full of haste. When the war drums thundered from Gang, the earth turned to iron and the air to ebony. The king, chief of the priests, hopeful for good, mounted his saddle at first light. He rode around the fortress walls, studying how best to wage the battle. He ordered Rostam to bring one force, solid as a mountain, up along one flank of the sea. On the other flank stood Gostaham son of Nozar, and on a third the fortunate, wise Gudarz. On the fourth side the famous king himself, with drums, elephants, and many riders. He gave the army everything it needed and advanced upon the citadel. Then the king ordered his troops to dig a trench all around the fortress. For that work he chose everyone skilled in it, all who were masters of storming a stronghold, whether from China, Rome, or the Indies, battle-hardened warriors gathered from every side. Swift as coursers they circled the whole city, searching out every kind of weak point. He dug a trench two lances deep and spread the army out around it, so that in the dark night, unprepared, the Turks could not launch a raid. He set two hundred stone-throwers at each gate, two hundred catapults behind each division, and two hundred crossbows with archers at each gate, so that the moment a doubter's head rose over the fortress wall, a catapult stone would appear above him and pound down on his head like hail. Behind the catapults the men of Rome stood, girded tight beside their crossbows. Then the king ordered two hundred elephants dragged around the fortress on every side. They dug a tunnel beneath the rampart and set props under it. That monstrous wall was left standing propped up, lifted from its base on those beams, then they smeared the timber with black naphtha; so the vigilant king commanded. On one side, from catapults and arrows, the proud warriors' faces turned pale as yellow flowers. Below there was fire, naphtha, and timber; above, heavy maces hammering, blow on blow. On all four sides he arranged the assault just as a fortress siege should be waged. Then the king of the earth left that place and came before the Creator of the world. He walked away from the army to a place of prayer and shared his secret with the Maker of the world. Writhing on the dust like a snake filled with vengeance, he called out praise to the Creator. He said: Desire and greatness come from you; in every hardship, my help comes from you. If you find my cause just, do not let my feet slip from this ground. Cast the sorcerers down headfirst from their throne, and keep me happy of heart and fortunate. When he lifted his head from before God, he covered his bright chest with armor. He tied his belt at his waist and sprang up at once, entering the battle like rising smoke. He ordered that at every gate an army should press hard into the fight. They set fire to that wood with naphtha, and hurled stones down onto their heads. From the twang of the great bows and from the smoke, the face of the shining sun turned dark blue. From the catapults, siege engines, and the dust, the earth turned indigo and the sky deep blue. The trumpeting of elephants and the shouts of the chiefs, the flash of swords and heavy maces, you would think the moon was wrestling the sun, with the raining of arrows and the black dust. The black naphtha set the timbers ablaze; by God's command they burned like firewood. It was as if the toppling wall picked up its feet and moved from its place like a mountain. From that wall many brave Turks tumbled down headlong like falling rain, so that the world would suddenly fall into the trap and bring an end to that wretched fate. In victory, the roar of battle rose up from the king's army. They turned toward the breach in the fortress, and Rostam came charging, thirsty for revenge. Word reached Afrasiab that the wall of the citadel had been destroyed. Then Afrasiab came like a whirlwind and called out to Jahn and Garsivaz. He said: What good is the fortress wall to you now? The army must make its shield out of the sword. For the sake of our land and home and kin, and for the sake of our treasure and children, let us tie our garments one to another; we will not leave our home and country to the enemy. An army of Turks, group upon group, moved toward that breach like a mountain. They clashed like lions and raised a roar from both sides. The Turkish horsemen trembled like willows, quivering, their hearts drained of hope. Then the king ordered Rostam that every renowned warrior go on foot, to advance into that breach, and with them many vengeful spearmen as well. With quivers, swords, arrows, and axes, the horsemen stood while behind them waited the spearmen. War riders held their ground to protect them, at the moment when the fighting grew fierce. Cavalry and foot soldiers, band after band on every side, moved into battle like mountains. Rustam, hungry for revenge, tore into the whole army like a raging lion. He came on foot, whirling like dust, and toppled the black banner upside down. On that rampart he raised the purple standard of Iran's commander, marked with the figure of a lion. In the victory of Iran's king, a great roar of triumph rose from the battlefield. Many of Turan's soldiers were slain, and the fortune of the Turanians was overturned. When the fighting turned savage, Rustam seized two of them in his grip. Garsivaz and Jahn, both battle-tested, the very men on whom Turan's throne had stood. One was Afrasiab's brother, the other his noble son; such was the end that ill fortune brought them. The army poured into that city, a force scorched with grief and thirsting for revenge. They set out to plunder and to kill, and a great uproar of shouting and wailing rose. Women and children cried out and fled, abandoning their homes to the Iranians. How many women and children, still young, vanished beneath the feet of the elephants. The whole city of Turan scattered like the wind; no one gave a thought to home or homeland. The fortune of Turan's warriors was cast down, and in their grief all eyes were filled with blood. Wives, treasure, and children were taken captive; their souls broken and their bodies pierced with arrows. Then Afrasiab climbed to his palace hall, his heart full of blood from sorrow, his eyes full of tears. He went up onto the rampart where his palace stood and turned his gaze toward the city. He saw two thirds of his warriors dead, and the rest turned back in retreat from the fight. The clamor of horsemen, the cries of women, and from the backs of elephants the beating of drums. They drove the elephants over the living and crushed their backs into the ground. He saw the whole city in smoke and screaming, and nothing but slaughter, looting, and ruin. One man joyful, another sunk in pain and grief, just as is the way of this fleeting world. When Afrasiab saw how things stood, the terror and the collapse of the battle, no son, no brother, no land, no realm, no crown, no treasure, no throne, no belt of power, he said, with a heart full of grief and burning: «What has the turning heavens senselessly done to me?» «With my own eyes I have lived to see the day when killing came to me and death seems easy.» Full of sorrow he came down from that rampart, bidding farewell to the throne of his greatness. He kept saying: Will I ever see you again, days of joy, of peace, of ease? And from that place he vanished, dazed and gone; you would think he had flown off like the birds. In the palace raised inside the fortress, he had built a road beneath the ground. He chose two hundred of the famous warriors and, down that hidden way, disappeared. From there he took the road into the desert, and his whole kingdom was left in astonishment. No one in the world could give a trace of him; that was how he became a fugitive in secret. When Kaykhosrow entered his palace hall, he trod his fortune, high as Saturn, underfoot. The king sat upon his golden throne and sent his troops searching in every direction. They searched hard for some sign anywhere, but no news of that proud commander came. The king questioned Garsivaz and Jahn about the fate of the leader of Turan's army: How did he escape, and where is his resting place? Vanished from here, where is his refuge now? They spoke of every possibility, and Khosrow listened, yet no clear answer came to light. The victorious king said to the Persians: When an enemy is driven, wandering, from his throne, little name or glory is left him in this world; for him death and life are one and the same. Then he chose the wise from his army, the world-seasoned, discerning priests, and said to them: May you prosper, and always act with justice in every matter. I hand over to you the treasury of this ruined-fortuned Turk; guard it with care. The sun from the high heavens must not shine upon the private quarters of Afrasiab's palace. I do not want the voices of his veiled women to carry from the hall out into the streets. He sent a guardian to the herds that grazed loose around the fortress. The king harmed none of Afrasiab's kin, and treated them as befitted their high rank. When the soldiers saw him act this way, the whole army filled with talk and murmuring: Kaykhosrow has come here in such a manner, you would think he had come as a guest to his father's house. He does not remember his father's blood, whose head was severed, in vain, unjustly. Nor his own mother, whom they dragged from the throne, out from behind the veil, onto the open road. A shepherd raised him, and on sheep's milk this shrewd king was nursed. Why does he not, like leopards with sharp claws, raise havoc and uproar in that man's house? Why not tear down his palace and his hall and send its fire flaring up to Saturn? Then word of what the Persians were saying reached Kaykhosrow, door to door, all of it. He sent to summon the wise men and told them many a tale. You should not be harsh in every situation; a mind without wisdom deserves no praise. It is better to be just even amid our grudges, and to keep a good name in mind while we savor victory. Goodness is what remains in the world as a memorial; no one's time here lasts forever. This turning wheel of fate can heap plenty of cruelty on every one of us. After that, the king of the world commanded that the veiled women be brought out from hiding. When the Iranians learned of this, full of vengeance they rushed toward the palace. The warriors assumed that Khosrow meant to bring an end to these people's days. With contempt they dragged them out, ready to plunder and to kill. From the palace a wailing cry rose up: 'O just and deeply wise king, you know that we are utterly helpless; we do not deserve this scorn and reproach.' The chief of the noblewomen came before the king, entering unsteadily with her daughters. A hundred servants attended each daughter, and on every head a crown set with rubies. Their jewels shone like the radiant sun, though they bowed their heads low from shame. In one hand a censer, in the other a cup, they kept ambergris and raw aloeswood burning. You would have said that Saturn from the highest heaven was scattering stars down upon the earth. The chief of the ladies came near the throne and gave fervent praise and blessings to the king. Those beautiful girls, raised in luxury, bowed down before him in the same way. All of them wept bitterly together, living now in such misfortune. 'Take pity, in this day of need, on one who has known nothing but comfort and delight.' In their grief they kept offering a blessing: 'O kind-hearted Khosrow, generous man, how fine it would have been if you held no grudge at all in your heart against the land of Turan. You would have come here for a feast, walking freely, with greetings and messages from the kings. This land has no true master of its own; you set foot upon your grandfather's throne. Siyavash would not have been destroyed for nothing; but this is what became of the sun and the moon. The evil-natured Afrasiab did such deeds that he cannot even dream of begging your forgiveness. I gave him much advice, but it did no good; foolishly he kept turning his head from my counsel. My Creator is my witness that blood poured from both my eyes. Your kinsmen, Garsivaz and Jahn, whose chains now grate bitterly against you, over Siyavash, who was in my own house, what grief lay upon my heart and soul, for that ill-thinking man Afrasiab heard much advice, yet it profited him nothing.' So that a day like this would finally come upon him, and his kingdom would be turned upside down. His crown and belt given up to plunder, his days gone dark, his fortune reversed. Such a life is his very death; the wonder is that his skin does not split from his body. Now, for the sake of the innocent, look upon us; treat us by the code of kings. We are all pure kin of the royal house; in this world we answer to no name but his. For the sorcery and evil of Afrasiab, do not rush to punish these innocent people. What sense is there in humiliation, wounds, and bloodshed, in blindly attacking the guiltless? It is not worthy of great kings to cut off a head that bears no guilt. Your place, my king, is higher than this; no one remains forever in this passing house. Do only what your Creator will ask you for, so you feel no shame on the day of reckoning. When Khosrow heard this, his heart softened deeply toward those fair faces whose luck had turned. For those veiled women, out of that grief and pain, had cheeks once rosy now glowing pale like lamplight. The hearts of the wise twisted in pain, and each recalled his own children and wife. The chiefs of the army and its great nobles all called down blessings upon the king. Saying that the renowned king seeks no vengeance from them, for the sake of the Maker of the world. The thoughtful Kaykhosrow said: whatever is not pleasing to us, we will not inflict that same wrong on anyone, however much the heart may crave revenge. When I reflect on the deeds of that proud, renowned man, this does not seem right to me: that he wronged my noble mother, yet I should bring that same wrong down on another. That pure-born lord of the world commanded them to return to their homes. He told them: be at ease; do not listen to the evil words of any speaker. From now on you have nothing to fear from me; I hold no treachery or cruelty. No one wishes harm on his own body, and when his time comes, it will not last long. Rest secure in your own halls, entrusting your bodies and souls to God. To the Iranians the victorious king said: may this crown and throne endure forever. All the land of Turan is now in your hands; in Iran you have your homes and dwellings. Clear all hatred from your hearts; enchant this country with kindness. For their hearts already ache with such pain from us; from the bloodshed the whole land is turned to mud. I give you all the treasure of Turan, and to guard that treasure I will assign an army. Strive and act with goodness; when they saw winter from you, bring them spring instead. Before long I will make every Iranian, one by one, fully content from my treasury of gold. Hold your hearts back from spilling blood; the heads of the innocent must not be cut off. It is no act of manhood to rage blindly and to beat down someone already brought low. Turn your faces away from the women behind the veils, from anyone who keeps them sheltered in their lane. Keep your hands off other people's belongings too, for a friend can become an enemy over mere possessions. It does not please the Creator of the world that the victor should harm the innocent. Anyone who seeks to please me must not lay my domain to waste. And moreover, people call it tyranny and ill fortune when a great lord ruins a thriving land. After that the king ordered his army to open the doors of the treasury of the Turanian host. All except the private treasure of Afrasiyab, to which no one could gain access. The rest he shared out among the troops: hoards of weapons, thrones, and crowns. From every side, countless soldiers of the Turks came scattered to the king's side. He granted them safety and treated them kindly, and quickly set their affairs in order. He gave the chiefs their shares of the land of Turan, giving each renowned man a city. In every province, whoever refused his command did not escape the hands of his brave warriors alive. In that time they all became the king's servants, once the letters of the great lords were joined to his cause. From every direction envoys came before the king, each one setting out upon the road. With gifts and letters from the great lords, one by one they became the king's servants.