The Reign of Khosrow Parviz (Part 11)

Khosrow summoned his chosen scribe and spoke to him at great length. He dictated a letter to the Caesar: "Set the crown of kingship upon your brow, for Maryam has borne a beautiful son — a child the likes of which has never been seen. He is fit only for learning and the throne, for generosity and fortune in every art. As I am filled with joy, may you live in gladness — for you are worthy of sovereignty and pride."

When the letter reached the Caesar and he saw Parviz's seal, he ordered the ox-hide drums beaten at his gates until the whole realm resounded. Decorations were strung across every road and byway, filling the air with cries of "Shiruyeh! Parviz Shah!" Musicians struck up throughout the city of Rome from one end to the other. Crosses were carried to the palace gates; the fragrance of flowers and perfume drifted through the air. For a week they celebrated with music and wine, rejoicing over Shiruyeh the prince.

On the eighth day the Caesar ordered the caravans assembled at court with their camel-drivers. A hundred camels were loaded with silver coin from the treasury; fifty more carried gold dinars. Two hundred bolts of Roman gold-woven brocade — so heavy with gold you would say each garment weighed as much as a basket of grain. Forty golden trays set on coral pedestals, as befits gifts between allied courts. Gold and silver animal-figurines with jeweled bodies and agate eyes. For Maryam he sent a quantity of gems and a golden peacock, along with soft Roman silk garments and a pool made of pearls and emeralds. And the tribute of the realm — four installments of millions upon millions of Roman dinars.

He dispatched forty sharp-witted Roman men as escorts, led by a man named Khanagi, who had no equal in wisdom. Thus the caravan set out with its camel-drivers — ten trains of camels loaded with gold.

When word reached Parviz that the Caesar's envoy was on the road, he ordered Farrokh to ride out to meet him — a border-lord devoted to the king, who commanded the southern frontier, a warrior of great worth and world-illuminating fame. The king's horsemen rode out with him, golden crowns on their heads.

When Khanagi saw the approaching host from a distance, he came forward with the formality of a stranger. They proceeded until they reached the king's renowned audience-hall. When the Romans saw the beauty of the king's face and the splendor of the court's adornment, they pressed their foreheads to the ground again and again, calling down blessings upon him.

Khanagi rubbed his face in the dust and said: "O just and pure lord — may the blessings of the Victorious One be upon you. May you be forever king and generous. More radiant than the sun on its wheel, more enduring than the speaking soul — may the world never be without such a sovereign. May fortune be fruitful upon him. May no one see a day without your will fulfilled. Your name is inscribed upon the sun. May the world never lack your crown and diadem, nor the land your army."

Then he said: "From the Caesar, greetings; from us, blessings — upon this renowned sovereign of the earth. Whoever dwells in the king's shadow and is not glad, may he never see the light. I have come with the tribute and gifts of Rome to this famous land. We have traveled with philosophers in our company so that none among us should be found wanting. May the king accept the Caesar's tribute and gifts — for with the tribute come blessings as well."

The king laughed at the accomplished envoy. They set a golden seat for him and sent the goods to the treasury. Khosrow said: "You need not have gone to such trouble."

Then the king told Kharrad Barzin: "Read this letter before the army." The scribe examined the address — he was a man of eloquence and memory — and read aloud:

"This letter is addressed to the Great One: Parviz, world-holder, worshiper of God. World-holder, vigilant, and city-adorner — to whom God granted crown and wisdom as his portion. World-holding son of Hormozd Shah, who is worthy of crown and throne. From the Caesar, father of the mother of his lion-cub — may name and desire endure through him forever. May he possess glory and grandeur and triumph. May all his days be Nowruz. Over Iran and Turan may his hand reach, and may none be his partner in kingship. May his heart be forever glad and his soul luminous, his wisdom ever old and his fortune ever young.

"A precious kingship of the line of Gayumars, of the sons of Hushang, of the seed of Tahmuras — father upon father, son upon son — may this bloodline never come to an end. Upon this may the pure God call blessings, and the great men of realm and faith. There is no autumn like you, no spring like you, no painted image in a Chinese gallery like you. All humanity, all uprightness — may your soul never see the diminishment of evil."

The letter continued: "In Iran and Turan and Hindustan, from the Turks all the way to Rome and the lands of friends — God gave you pure lineage. No one like you was ever born of a pure mother. When Fereydun entrusted Iran to Iraj, he erased the name of manliness from Rome and China. On the first day he blessed Iraj and cleansed his heart of crookedness and darkness. All self-sufficiency and good fortune, greatness and valor and enchantment — one would say God entrusted it all to your line and stripped the name of manliness from all others.

"Talent-nurturing, generous, treasure-bestowing — from this bloodline no one has ever known want. They laid tribute and tax upon their enemies; the ill-wishers bore their yoke like oxen. From the time of Kasra Anushirvan — may his soul be forever young — who raised a wall from the depths of the sea, that vigilant king. They swept the Turks from every pomegranate grove and the assembly was freed from trouble. For a time the world was delivered from the enemy, and blessings rained from high and low. Arabs and Indians and Iranians all girded themselves in service before him. And so it went to the Khazar frontier, from Armenia to the western gate, from Hephthalites and Turks and Samarkand and Chach — the great men bore his glory, crown and throne. All have been your subjects, and have borne witness to this servitude. The kings of Fereydun's seed have ruled; all others have been outside the pale of justice.

"With this kinship that I have now forged, I have raised greatness through wisdom. I am as glad as a thirsty man at water, or dark grass under the sun. May the vigilant world-holder grant me blessing, and give me his reply in this matter."

Then came the request: "I have one desire of the king — a matter he may consider trivial. The Cross of Christ is in your treasury. If you look, you will know my words are true. Many long years have passed. It would be fitting if the king sent it back to us. With this wish, may the sovereign of the world show mercy to our great and small, and may the whole world call blessings upon him. May time and earth never exist without you. For this I would receive thanks from Khosrow, and I would pray day and night through the three watches.

"And the tribute and gifts and taxes that I send to your court — may you accept them, and I will accept gratitude in return. May your eyes never see evil. Our festival and our faith will be made glorious; our religion will shine throughout the world. That pure fast of Sunday — from every door, worshipers of God — upon it the mourners rub their faces and wear away their hair. Then it will be established in our hearts that we have washed hatred from our souls — the hatred that has stood since the time of Fereydun, when Tur and Salm came to treachery.

"Let the realm rest from raiding, and from the kindling of feuds in every corner. They have taken the women and children of the Romans captive and have wounded our hearts in every way. Through this kinship of ours the world has grown tame, and all that futile strife has grown calm.

"The greeting of the Creator of the world be upon you. The blessing of the earth be upon you."

When the Caesar's letter reached its end and the world-holder had heard all those words, the king was secretly delighted — the age of the great ones felt fresh again. He heaped blessings upon Khanagi and told him: "Enough of this formality between strangers." They prepared splendid quarters for the distinguished envoy, clearing out two fine halls. Everything needful was brought to the alert and worthy man. He came and saw the choice lodgings, and from then on remained near the king — at table, at wine, at the hunt, in every sitting — the greatest man's guest. For a full month he stayed near the king, glad-hearted and well-disposed.

When the month was up, Khosrow wrote his reply — words full of substance and good fortune:

"The heading of the letter: May the blessings of the great rest upon the one who holds the world by the wind. He sees good and evil from the pure God and holds awe and fear of Him in the world. He calls blessings upon the Lord of Love who upholds the heavens in this fashion.

"First — you offered me praise and showed me reverence in your letter. I understood it and was glad: the speech of crowned wise men. I have accepted your renowned treasure. I do not wish you to bear such burden — for the world-holding pure God has raised your land to the heights of Arcturus. From India and the Slavs and China and Khazaria, how honored that land and realm has become — in manliness, in learning, in piety and faith. God's blessings have reached you.

"When trouble came upon me, you were my ally. In every matter of knowledge, you eased my grief. I was as glad of our kinship — of this pure, talented child of yours — as a lesser man would be of his own offspring, in his own land, in his own pure line. When all the great men turned their backs and left me abandoned in the world, you alone stood in a father's place. You were even more than a father. I hold you now as a king holds the noble and well-wishing father he sees before him.

"As for what you said of my Shiruyeh — that pure-bodied one, my support and strength — I understood it and called blessings upon it, and on your faith I called you pure in religion."

Then came the refusal: "As for what you said of the pure faith, of the Sunday fast and its blessings — the scribe read it all to us, point by point, those worthy and heart-pleasing words. But we bear no shame from our ancient faith. In all the world there is nothing better than the religion of Hushang. It is all justice and goodness and modesty and love, and the observation of the heavenly reckoning. In God's existence I am the more attentive listener. I ever strive more toward justice. We acknowledge no partner, no kin, no spouse for God. He is not hidden and is not concealed. God does not fit within the thought of the heart. In existence, He alone is your guide.

"As for your mention of the Cross of Christ, recalled from ancient times — do not consider a religion that stands by beauty alone. Reason is not the guide to that faith. The one you call a mourner — whose prophet they put on a cross — who says he was the son of God, and that he died laughing on that cross? Since the son went to the father, to the father, do not grieve over this rotting wood. When such idle talk comes from the Caesar, an old wise man would laugh at it. That cross of Jesus is not worth the trouble that kings have stored it in their treasury. If I send a piece of wood from Iran to Rome, every land and border will laugh at us.

"The chief priest should not fear that I have become a Christian, or that for Maryam's sake I have become a bishop.

"Any other desire you have — ask for it. The road between us is open."

"I have also approved your gifts, for which you went to such trouble of every kind. I have bestowed these hard-won gifts upon Shiruyeh and founded a new treasury in his name.

"Yet I am full of anxious thought about Rome and Iran. In the dark night, worry has become my occupation. I fear that Shiruyeh will grow great and bring harm to both Rome and Iran. First the old pattern will repeat — from Salm the great, from Alexander that formidable grudge-bearer. From new enmity and old hatred, perhaps fresh speech will arise in the world.

"As for the questions I asked about your daughter — know that she has refreshed your crown. She strives in the faith of the Messiah and pays little heed to our words. But she is content and fortunate — a new-growing branch on this royal Kayanid tree.

"May the world-holder be forever your ally. May the head of your star rest in your embrace."

They set the king's seal upon the letter, and Kharrad Barzin kept watch over it. Then they opened the treasury gates — all the wealth he had gathered over long years.

First: a hundred and sixty bundles of 'ounce-weights' — called pandosi in Persian — each stuffed with gems like stones, sealed tight, each containing a hundred thousand gems valued in the king's ledger. Three hundred red-haired camels, black-eyed and trail-ready, each valued at two thousand dirhams by the renowned king. A hundred and forty thousand bolts of Chinese brocade, many of them gold-woven and jewel-patterned. Five hundred lustrous pearls, each drop like water. A hundred and sixty rubies like pomegranate seeds, prized by men of discernment. Indian, Chinese, Berber, Egyptian goods, and Pahlavi garments — products from every country, the like of which existed nowhere else in the world.

He dispatched three hundred camel-loads from Iran to the renowned Caesar. Upon Khanagi he bestowed a robe of honor surpassing what was due to either kin or stranger — garments, a throne, horses and harness, and every kind of finery. A hundred camels were loaded in this fashion, ten of them carrying gold dinars alone. He distributed coins to the philosophers — gold in various amounts, more to some and less to others.

They departed in gladness from that land and realm, returning to the Caesar from Iran to Rome. All the great men called blessings upon that talented sovereign of the earth.

Now let us make the old tale new again and tell the story of Shirin and Khosrow. This ancient book has grown old — the words and deeds of those righteous ones. I make these speeches fresh from the words of the vigilant old man. There are twenty-six times ten thousand worthy and sorrowful verses. No one will see a Persian book written in thirty hundred couplets. If you search for a bad verse in it, there will surely be fewer than five hundred.

Such a king — such a giver — shining among all monarchs of the world — yet he paid no heed to these tales. The fault came from slanderers and ill fortune. The envious slandered me in my work; my standing was ruined before the king. When the king's commander reads these elegant words and sees their pure beauty, may I be made glad from his treasury — may evil suspicion be far from him. And afterward may he bring my name before the king, so that the seed of my toil may bear fruit. May his crown and throne endure forever — his fortune more radiant than the sun.

Thus spoke the wise old landowner: "Knowledge is a man's support. One must endure both grief and joy, and taste every bitter and harsh thing. Young men of learning and noble blood do not acquire skill without trial."

When Parviz was bold and young — his father still alive, the son already a warrior — his beloved on earth was Shirin. She was to him like the bright eye through which one sees the world. He wanted no one else among all the beauties and daughters of the great. He had been separated from Shirin for a time — in the days when he was king of the world — restless across the globe, for his whole business was the war against Bahram. When Khosrow finally had leisure for love, the beautiful one wept day and night.

It happened one day that Parviz desired the hunting grounds. He arrayed himself in the manner of the great kings who had come before him in the world.

Some three hundred horses in golden harness were led out with the well-named Khosrow. Thirteen hundred and sixty king-worshiping foot-soldiers marched with javelins in hand. A thousand and forty men carried clubs and swords, wearing brocade over chainmail. Behind them came five hundred falconers with sparrowhawks, goshawks, and hunting-falcons. After those rode three hundred mounted men behind the falconers, along with cheetah-handlers. Seventy lions and leopards on chains, bound tight in Chinese silk, trained beasts with their jaws sewn shut with golden chains. A hundred gold-collared hounds that could catch gazelles at a sprint on the plain.

Behind them came two thousand musicians, all with instruments tuned for the day's hunt, each mounted on a camel wearing a golden crown. Five hundred camels went ahead loaded with thrones, pavilions, curtained enclosures, tents, and stables for the animals — all designated for the feast.

Three hundred young princes rode alongside the renowned king, wearing armlets and torques and golden belts, jewels set in every bead. Two hundred servants carried burning censers, filling the air with aloe-wood and ambergris. Two hundred young attendants carried narcissus-water and saffron, walking ahead so that every breeze would carry fragrance to the king. Before all these walked men bearing sweet perfume with a hundred musk-sprinklers, so that no sudden dust-devil might settle upon the king of noble lineage.