English
Part 6: The King's March to Khorasan
Farrokhzad Hormozd, with tears in his eyes, came to the Arvand River in fury.
He charged into Karkh so hard that not a single brave lancer was left standing.
At once they poured out of Baghdad and rode onto the open plain to seek battle.
When the dust of combat rose and settled, defeat had fallen upon the Iranians.
Farrokhzad turned back and went to the king, covered in dust and still carrying his gear of war.
He climbed down from his horse and bowed low, his eyes full of blood and his heart burning.
The king said to him: why grieve so much, and why let the royal throne fall into disarray?
No one is left of the royal line but you, worthy of sitting crowned upon the throne.
You are a single man against a hundred thousand foes; how can you wage war in the middle of the world?
Go toward the forest of Narvan, and a whole world will gather around you.
From there set out like Fereydun, young man, and start some fresh enterprise anew.
So Farrokhzad spoke, and the world's guardian listened, and yet another thought took shape in him.
The next day the king sat upon his throne and set the royal crown upon his head.
He gathered a council of the wise, the great nobles, and the clear-hearted priests.
He said: what do you see in this tale? What do you recall of the ancient days?
Farrokhzad says that with this assembly I should make my way to the forest of Narvan.
In Amol the people are your servants; in Sari they are all your subjects.
When your army grows large, come back, for with such people you can wage war and wipe out disgrace.
Does this counsel please you? With one voice they said: this is not the right course.
The king of kings said: these words are fitting, but in my heart I hold a different thought.
The nobles of Iran, so vast an army, a flourishing land, the throne, and the crown,
if I take only my own way and hang back, there is no greatness in it, no manhood and no wisdom.
Better for me to fight the enemy than to bear disgrace; the leopard has left us a saying about this:
do not foolishly turn your back on your enemy when a harsh day comes upon you.
Just as the lesser man, at the king's command, must keep watch over good and evil alike,
so a ruler must not stay idle in hardship, then run off to hoard treasure.
The nobles called down blessings on him: this is the way of the kings of the faith.
Now consider what command you give, what you want, and what pact you make with us.
The king answered the great ones thus: worry is wearing my heart to ruin.
It seems best that we go toward Khorasan and free our bodies from war with the enemy.
For on that side I have a mighty army, all of them valiant, battle-hardened champions.
The nobles and the Turks of the Khan of China will come and bless our name.
We will deepen that friendship still further, for we are bound by marriage to the emperor's daughter.
A heavy army will come to our aid, the great ones and the warlike Turks.
The margrave of Merv, Mahuy as well, with his troops, his elephants, and everything else.
He who is the overseer of our shepherds, a man raised up by our own field-keepers.
I promoted him because he was eloquent, and eager to seek out battle too.
When we gave a worthless man rank and worth, a margraviate, elephants, men, and lands,
however low-born and slight he may be, he is a creature raised at my own court.
I heard this tale from a priest, who recited it from the words of the ancients:
beware of the one you have wronged, whom you have vainly aggrieved.
Place your hope in the one whom, through kindness, you raised from nothingness into the sky of fortune.
Farrokhzad struck his two hands together and said to him: O king who worships God,
do not trust too much in men of evil nature, for about this there is a fresh saying too:
however much you cast spells over base metal and strive to draw a false color out of it,
since the Creator fashioned it as it is, you will never find the key to God's lock.
Their color and their breed cannot be cut away. May nothing but greatness and kingship be yours.
The king said to him: O raging lion, no harm can come from putting this to the test.
That night passed, and at early dawn the men of high rank set out on the road.
From Baghdad he took the road to Khorasan, taking all his hardships lightly to heart.
The nobles of Iran, all filled with grief, set out with the noble, freeborn king.
They called down blessings upon him: may the world and time never be without you.
A bitter cry rose up from the army, out of sorrow and the king's departure.
All among them who were landed nobles, or kin and relations of the Khan,
came weeping before the king, their eyes streaming like flowing streams.
They said: how can our hearts be glad in home and resting place without the sight of the king?
We will leave behind our flourishing land, our children and our treasure, and choose hardship at your side.
We do not want a world without your throne; may your fortune never be twisted awry.
We will all come with you and see what game fate plays at the moment of battle.
Those of the Khan's people who were smooth of tongue laid their faces upon the black earth.
They said: we abandoned our flourishing homeland, believing the world was under your protection.
Now, with grieving hearts, shall we go back to the Khan, from the land of the Arabs toward the borders of the landed nobles?
The king of kings filled his lashes with tears and spoke thus, sorrowful, to the men of renown:
all of you together, pray to God, and increase your praise of Him.
Perhaps I shall see you again one day, and the sharpness of the Arabs will grow a little less.
You are all pure creatures raised by me, and keepsakes handed down to me from my father.
I do not want any harm to reach you; do not share in this evil fate with me.
Let us see whom the turning wheel of heaven will now favor with kindness on this side.
Fall in step with its motion, for there is no escaping its turning and its will.
Then to the merchants of China he said: for now, in the land of Iran,
do not stay a while, lest in seeking this profit from the Arabs the loss end in ruin.
They turned back from him in pain and turmoil, grieving, with wailing and loud cries.
Farrokhzad Hormozd led the army on and summoned the seasoned men of Iran.
The king rode on in grief and lamentation, the commander riding ahead with the troops.
When, stage by stage, he reached Ray, he rested a while with music and wine.
From Ray he came like the wind toward Gorgan, spending a while now sorrowful, now glad.
From Gorgan he came toward the road to Bost, his face lined with care and his heart unwell.