English
Part 14: Bahram Takes the Throne
When the black veil of night lifted away,
the stars flared bright across the wheeling sky.
When the voice of the watchman rose at dawn,
Bahram called for pen and paper.
The wise and noble scribe came forward
and set the inkwell and pen before the learned king.
Bahram told him: a covenant from the people of Iran
must be written on this fine silk.
That Bahram is king and blessed with fortune,
worthy of the crown and fit for the throne.
He seeks nothing but truth in this world,
whether in the open or in secret.
The document was written, they lifted the candle,
and passed the dark night lost in thought.
When the deep blue veil of night withdrew,
the world turned golden with the rising sun.
A man of good fortune came
and set a throne in Bahram's hall.
They went to the royal hall, white as ivory,
and hung the crown above the seat of state.
They placed a golden throne on a raised dais
and then opened the way for all to enter.
Bahram the king took his seat upon the throne
and set the crown of the Kayanids on his head.
His scribe brought the covenant of the kings,
written on that precious silk.
The great nobles, one and all, set down their witness
that Bahram had become lord of the world.
When they had recorded the name upon that document,
he pressed a golden seal upon it.
He said: this kingship is mine,
and pure God is my witness to this.
May it remain so for a thousand years,
with a king from my own line.
Son after son, just as honored,
may they remain with the crown and the high throne.
It was in the month of Azar, on the day of Hur,
when the wild ass had been freed from the lion's jaws.
Then he spoke to the people of Iran,
now that strife and hatred had been swept away.
Anyone who does not agree with this,
whether you are crooked or honest,
do not stay in Iran more than three days;
on the fourth, when the world's lamp
rises again, go and join Khosrow;
linger no longer in this land.
It was not from the heart that they blessed him, saying:
may the earth never be emptied of you.
Everyone who had been loyal to Khosrow,
whose heart was wounded by this new reign,
left that land for the borders of Rome,
scattered and driven from their prosperous home.