English
Section 16: The Two Armies Gather
The chief secretary called the scribe to his side and told him everything that needed to be said.
He opened the letter with praise, first, to the One who cleansed the earth of evils.
He woke the sleeping star and toppled the leader of the sorcerers headfirst.
Power, knowledge, and justice come from Him; the oppressed of the world find their joy in Him.
Then he wrote: by the fortune of King Kavus, great, seasoned, and blessed of step,
the stronghold of Afrasiab was breached, and the head of his fortune sank into sleep.
On a single battlefield, proud warriors with heavy maces stood tall,
and it seems a hundred thousand were cut down in one battle at the Golzariun river.
After that a fierce wind rose up that tore the flourishing tree out by its roots.
Many of the troops who had sought to seize power over us were swept into the water.
On the field a horseman fought so that each of ours became prey to two hundred of theirs.
From there he went to Behesht-e Gang, a fortress crowded with people and cramped for space.
In the battle for that fortress, it seems thirty thousand were killed in the fighting.
So it was: the man was a tyrant, and neither knowledge nor fortune came to his aid.
He had spread his army across the whole face of the land, and now he has vanished from the world.
From now on I will send word to the king of each day, as long as glory stays with me.
After that he sat down in joy, a fairy faced one before him, wine in hand.
So it stayed until spring turned its face toward them, and the world became a paradise full of color and scent.
The whole plain turned the shade of silk brocade; the air took on the pattern of a leopard's back.
Wild ass and gazelle roamed the plain; in this way many pleasant days passed by.
With hunting cheetahs and birds of prey, and all the musk scented beauties of Taraz around,
he ran down the beasts like wild ass and, by sheer force, piled his kills high.
In neck like fierce lions, in ear and head like stags.
He sent scouts in every direction, seeking clear news of the world's affairs.
Then word came from China and Khotan, about Afrasiab and that gathering,
that the emperor of China had allied with him, and the whole land was full of the noise of it.
From China all the way to the Golzariun there is an army, and the Khan of China is their commander.
No one knows the full count of that treasure, the servants and the harnessed horses,
that the Khan of China sent him; they hailed him with praise as king.
The treasure of Piran also fell into his hands: camel loads of gold coins, sixty times a hundred.
When he had gathered that wealth from Khotan, he brought out an army that shatters armies.
When such news reached the king, near the troops who had been granted safe passage,
all the Iranians turned back and girded themselves to shed blood.
When Afrasiab set out from Khotan, an army gathered around him
so vast you would say the earth could not bear it, and no astronomer could count it.
From China he turned his face toward Kaykhosrow, full of grief, with a vengeful army.
When Kaykhosrow learned of that host, he sent several scouting parties out on the road.
He commanded Gudarz son of Keshvad, and the commanders Gorgin and Farhad,
to stay here with justice and good judgment, keeping watch on guard night and day.
He said to Gudarz: these troops are yours; when the crisis comes, they are under your protection.
Whenever you see even one of the Turks who shows the slightest loyalty to the enemy,
hang him alive at once, with his two feet turned up above his head.
Be free of worry when there is no danger; guard this army and this treasure.
The drums thundered out from the royal pavilion, the clash of bells and Indian cymbals.
In this way an army came from Gang so great that even the sun longed to fight it.
When he left the city he drew up his lines and led the army toward the mountains.
Two stages of march remained between the two armies; the world ruler summoned his proud chiefs.
He said: tonight do not move at all; it is not wise to rest while making ready for battle.
He posted scouts around the plain; all night they circled the army.
He stayed there a full week, preparing his order of battle and his gear.
On the eighth day a scout came from the road and told Khosrow the army had arrived.
The king arrayed his troops so splendidly that the sun and moon stopped to gaze.
When Afrasiab saw that army, he came and drew up a line facing it.
He said to his wise men: this field of war is to my heart like a pleasure garden and a feast.
I used to come gladly to the throne and to sleep; when there was no battle, I would rush eagerly.
Now I have grown weary of always fleeing, a head full of vengeance, a heart full of strife.
I think this comes from Kaykhosrow's good fortune, or else a new day has dawned over my head.
I am resolved to meet him in single combat, whether I win my desire or find death and pain.
Everyone who was wise said to him, whether they were his own kin or strangers:
if the king himself must go into combat, then why have all this army, this wealth, this power?
All of China and Turan stand before you, kin and stranger alike.
May all our lives be sacrificed for you; so it has always been, and so is our pledge.
If a hundred are killed, or a hundred thousand, do not count your own life as cheap.
We are, to the last man, your well wishers; we live only by the glory of your crown.