The Reign of Shiruyeh (Part 1)

When Shiruyeh seated himself on the throne of ease and placed the royal crown upon his head, the nobles recited the royal blessings over him, each one calling out in a loud voice: "O glorious and worthy king! Just as God has granted you the crown, may you sit in peace upon the ivory throne. May the world endure for your children, and likewise for your kinsmen and kin."

Qobad answered them: "May you be ever victorious and glad. We shall not be evildoers for all time. How fine it is to rule with justice and good temper! We shall hold the world in safety. But most pressing for me now is a matter close to my heart, for my bond to it runs deep. I will send a message to my father and lay out every matter before him -- the ugly deeds that brought us to this point. Let him seek God's pardon for his sins and turn again to the path of righteousness. After that I will attend to the affairs of the world and strive for justice, openly and in secret. Where good has been done, let us repay it with good, and let us not break the hearts of the poor."

"I need two men, wise and well-spoken, who remember the old ways." He asked the assembly: "Who is fit for this task? Who among the Iranians is upright and alert?" The nobles pointed out, to a man, two masters -- provided they would not take offense. Shiruyeh understood that the Iranians would choose none but the purest among them: Ashtad and Khorrad Borzin, two sages, eloquent and gifted with memory.

He said to them: "O men of wisdom, world-experienced and proven counselors, do not think the world's work a burden, for from toil the worthy man finds treasure." The two sages rose reluctantly, their eyes brimming with tears. Khorrad Borzin and Ashtad-Goshasp mounted their horses as commanded.

Shiruyeh told them: "Ride now with all your heart to Ctesiphon. Deliver a message to my father and remember every word of it. Say to him: 'This sin was not ours, nor was this upheaval the Iranians' doing. You lost God's glory when you turned away from goodness.'"

"'First: no pure-born son sheds his father's blood without cause, nor would he consent to hear such a thing proposed. Second: the world is full of your treasure, and your toil has reached every province -- yet you were never content with it, and you filled the hearts of the righteous with pain. Third: all those brave warriors and horsemen, every one of them renowned in Iran -- none was happy with his own children, his own lands and kin. One was sent off toward China, another toward Rome, scattered across every border and territory. Fourth: consider what the Caesar did for you, how he took pains on your behalf in every way. He gave you an army and gave you his daughter too, along with treasure and much wealth besides. He wished only the Cross of Christ to remain in Rome so that the land might flourish. What good did the Cross of Jesus do sitting in your treasury? The Caesar was content with kindness. You seized wealth from the helpless, and from their curses misfortune fell upon you.'"

"'Acknowledge before God what has come upon you. Reflect on your own shameful deeds. Whatever blame has been assigned, I am the pretext for it -- I am the first threshold of this accusation. But I swear by God, this sin was not mine. I did not seek the ruin of the king's throne. Now seek pardon for all these wrongs. Speak of it to the nobles of Iran. Turn toward God for every evil you have done, for He is the guide to goodness. Perhaps He will be your support in these trials that have been your lot.'"

"'And another thing: you had sixteen sons, and they spent their days and nights in prison. At your gate no one slept easy. Out of fear of you they abandoned all they had hidden away.'"

When these two men heard the message, they departed with hearts full of sorrow and pain. They rode on in this fashion until they reached Ctesiphon, their eyes full of water and their hearts full of blood.

Gulinush was seated at the gate. You would have said the ground itself boiled with his presence. His entire force was arrayed in readiness -- swords drawn, armor burnished. They wore mail and helmets with girded waists, and their Arab horses wore barding. In battle he carried a steel mace, and every heart among his men was full of fire and fury.

When Khorrad Borzin and Ashtad-Goshasp dismounted, Gulinush leapt to his feet, pleased to see them. He seated them in the proper place and addressed each as a lord of rank. Khorrad Borzin the orator spoke first, washing his tongue in the waters of courage. He said to Gulinush: "The fortunate Qobad has placed the royal crown in peace. Word has gone to Iran and Turan and Rome that Shiruyeh sits upon the throne of kings. Why do you keep this armor and helmet and coat of mail and bow? Who do you suspect of ill intent?"

Gulinush replied: "O worldly-wise man, may all things go as you wish. You have shown concern for my tender body, though my garment has been iron. For this kindness I bless you -- you deserve to have jewels scattered before you. Nothing but fair words come from you; may the sun be your guardian. Tell me on what errand you have come, and then ask what you will of me."

Khorrad Borzin answered: "The fortunate Qobad has given me several messages for Khosrow. If you wish, I will recite them all -- the message of the world-lord, the shepherd of his people." Gulinush said: "This worthy man knows all the words by heart. But the king of Iran, Qobad, gave me much counsel and instruction: 'Do not consent, day or night, that anyone open his lips before Khosrow unless you first hear what he has to say, whether he speaks in Persian or in Pahlavi.'"

Ashtad said: "O fortunate one, I carry no secret message. My message is one that will bear the fruit of swords and bring the heads of the proud low. Now seek audience with Khosrow on our behalf, so that I may deliver the new king's message to him."

Gulinush heard this and sprang up. He broke through every barrier, went before the king with hands clasped in submission, as a proper servant should, and said: "O king, may you be immortal! May your heart never be darkened by misfortune. Ashtad and Khorrad Borzin have brought a message from the new court."

Khosrow laughed and said aloud: "This plan of yours is not wedded to wisdom. If he is the sovereign, then who am I? Why am I in this narrow prison, that you must come seeking audience with me? Whether you speak crooked or straight, go." Gulinush went back to the envoys and repeated the great king's words: "Now go in with hands clasped in submission. Speak your piece and hear his words."

The two wise and well-spoken men covered their faces with Chinese silk. When they came before him they bowed low and remained prostrate for a long time. The world-lord sat upon a great and noble throne, its surface worked with figures of sheep and wolves, woven throughout with gold and jewels, one pattern twisted into another. Beneath him lay a mattress of yellow brocade, and behind his back a cushion of lapis blue. He held a quince in his powerful hand, lying troubled in the place where he sat.

When he saw these two worthy men -- men of capital worth in wisdom -- he roused himself from that torpor and called upon the Creator of the world. He set the precious quince on the pillow so that he might question the two envoys. The quince rolled gently from the two cushions, passing without harm across the bedding, rolling on in this fashion until it reached the great carpet, and then continued until it fell upon the ground. Ashtad hurried forward, picked it up, brushed the dust from it, and placed it upon his head in reverence.

The world-lord turned his face away from Ashtad, for he did not see in the quince any sign of fragrance or beauty. They placed the quince back on the carpet, and Khosrow stood before these two men. He grew deeply pensive over the quince, for he saw in it no good omen at all. At once he raised his face toward heaven and said: "O just and truthful Judge! Who can raise up what You have cast down? Who can mend what You have broken? When fortune turned away from my house, sorrow came in where brightness had passed."

He said to Ashtad: "Whatever message you carry from that witless child of vile desire, and from those ill-wishers who are without learning -- who in their ignorance are especially without joy -- and from that scattered army of anxious, dark-hearted slaves -- fortune will depart from this dynasty. No one of this lineage will remain happy. The throne and crown will pass to the unworthy. This royal tree will wither. No greatness will remain for my children, nor for my house, my kin, my line. All friends will become outright enemies, speaking ill of this house and working harm against it. The quince made it plain, openly and in secret: without you, the throne of kingship will stand empty."

"Now speak whatever you have heard. His message is worth less to me than brook-water."

The two men opened their eloquent tongues. Khosrow heaved a bitter, twisting sigh.

He said to those worthy men: "Hear my answer and carry it, point by point, to the new lord. Tell him: 'Do not seek to shame people -- seek only what you yourself would not blush to face. Every word you spoke was not your own; may your eloquent tongue not long endure. Do not say what your enemy would hear and rejoice at, making him glad with idle talk. At such times you lack the wit for your brain to nourish wisdom. When you spend your strength on fruitless speech, you fill your soul and your reason with faults. Whoever first calls you a sinner and then calls you world-lord -- such a man should never find a seat near you, nor get his hands on anything great or small. Do not think of sending messages like this again, for your enemy will only rejoice at your expense.'"

"'My affairs are in God's hands. He has set my gaze on the world to come. By seeking out these false accusations you will gain no luster among the great. Let me now answer every charge, so that you may speak it before the assembly -- and after my death it may serve as a memorial, for truthful speech is a lasting ally.'"

"'When I lay bare the mass of hardships before you, you will understand that from hardship our treasure arose. First, you spoke of Hormizd. You dragged up an old grievance for nothing. It was on the word of slanderers that my father raged against me, and everything was thrown into confusion. When I learned of his designs, I fled from Iran in the dark of night. I sought the road and escaped so that I would not be snared in the trap of calamity. His suspicion was not my fault. For him, too, there was nothing but pursuit. I heard that evil had befallen my king. When that news reached my ears, I came from Bardaa. The criminal Bahram, with his army at his back, drew up his line of battle before me. I fled from him too on the day of battle, so that I would not fall into his clutches. After that I came back a second time and rode boldly to meet him in war. The fight against Bahram was no simple affair -- the whole world watched that battle. By the command of God, the increaser of good, who is the guide to both good and evil, when Iran and Turan were brought to peace and Bahram's cause came to nothing -- when I was done with the war against Chobin, my first act was to ride out for my father's vengeance.'"

"'Banduy and Gostaham were my maternal uncles. In every province they were without peer. They had given their lives freely for me -- in heart they were my tongue, in body my own kin. But because it was my father's blood and the anguish of my heart, I showed no weakness in avenging my father. I cut off Banduy's hands and feet, for he had made the king's world dark. And when Gostaham vanished from the world and chose a hidden corner of the earth, by my command he was struck down without warning. So ended the counsel of the blood-seekers.'"

"'As for what you said about my keeping you imprisoned and in hardship -- that was only so that no evil deed would come from my sons that might bring ruin on their own heads. In your prison there was no harshness or chains, no blows of humiliation, no threat of injury. I did not neglect you in those days; I placed all my treasure before you. We followed the customs of the kings before us; we did nothing idle or out of order. Hunting, polo, entertainers -- everything befitting great men -- you lacked nothing, whether gold coins, gems, falcons, or hawks. It was a palace that bore the name of prison, yet in it you lived in comfort.'"

"'There was also the matter of the astrologer who filled us with dread of you, who said that from you would come evil of the very kind that has now come to pass. I did not cast your horoscope aside. Afterward I sealed it and entrusted the whole matter to Shirin. In the thirty-sixth year of my reign, amid such pleasant times -- you surely remember this, though much time has passed over us -- a letter came to me from India. I agreed to it. From the great king of India came a letter with jewels and garments of every kind: a sword of Indian steel and a white elephant, and everything else I could wish for in the world, along with the sword five bolts of gold-woven brocade, each worked with great skill.'"

"'Addressed to you there was a letter on silk. When I saw the Indian script I summoned an Indian scribe, eloquent, learned, and sharp of memory. When he read that letter to me, he kept shaking his head, his eyes full of tears. In that letter it said: "Live in happiness, for you are worthy of kingship with a golden crown. When it is the month of Azar and the day of Dey, you shall be the world's sovereign lord. Your father's reign will have reached thirty-eight years, and thus the stars will turn. A radiant age of goodness will dawn when you place the crown of greatness on your head."'"

"'At that time I knew this was true. I could not wash the affection from my heart. I knew that from your fortune and the brightening of your throne, my own share would be nothing but pain and toil -- that the throne and treasure of kingship would pass to you. Out of mercy, faith, kinship, and love I did not darken my face at that letter. I read it and entrusted it to Shirin. I pondered every angle of it. It rests with her alongside your horoscope. No one else knows any detail of it. If you wish to see it, ask for it; or examine the matter yourself, the greater and the lesser of it. I believe that if you see it you will be filled with remorse and will seek a cure for what you have done.'"

"'As for what you said about prison and chains, and whether any harm came from us to anyone: so it has been since the world began, among great men, kings, and the counsel of lords. If you do not understand, ask the chief priest -- he will enlighten you on this point. Whoever is an enemy of God finds life itself a misery. In our prisons, specifically, it was demons who were kept, beings from whom the righteous cried out in anguish. Since bloodshed was never our custom -- plunging into that grim business -- I held the wicked in prison and did not let the harm of men go unanswered. Many said, "These are enemies, of evil seed, of demonic stock." But we kept a godly disposition. Now I hear you have set them free -- those who were worse than dragons. In this you have become a sinner before God and have become wicked in word and deed.'"

"'Now that you are lord, act with vigilance. If you do not understand, make the wise your allies. Show no mercy to any man from whom harm flows, however much you hope for treasure from him. For anyone from whom you see nothing in the world but injury, what is less than chains?'"

"'As for what you said about treasure and wealth -- you hid your wisdom and your judgment. From no one did I seek more than tax and tribute, from any who had the strength for tribute. I received the crown and throne from God. I bore much hard toil for them. The Creator of the world is a just and righteous judge; He simply willed a different turn of days. I am not angry at His will; I do not seek excess where He decrees diminishment. I sought the pleasure of the Just One; I saw no escape from His decree through effort. When the Creator of the world questions me, I will tell Him everything, openly and in secret. He will ask -- for He is wiser than you, and in all things good and evil more powerful. These very sinners who stand before you are neither your guardians nor your kin. Whatever they say of me from now on, these same men will turn against you in suspicion. They are slaves of silver and gold, nothing more. They will be no one's deliverer. Their company brings you ease of heart while my sins are given their cleansing. But this does not sit well in your mind. No one profits from the evil you have spoken.'"

"'Yet for my own sake, so that someone may read this testament in Pahlavi -- it too will be a memorial in the world, a comfort to the wise. After us, whoever reads our words will understand our reckoning.'"

"'We led armies against Bartas and against China. We stationed commanders in every place. We drove our raids upon our enemies; none dared raise his neck. When the enemy was scattered from the world, our every treasury was filled to the brim. Every land became productive under our hand. From the sea they drew so many gems that the sailors were exhausted from the hauling. Mountains, plains, and oceans were mine.'"

"'When the treasury of pearls was distributed and the coffers were filled with fresh-minted coin -- rubies, royal gems, golden vessels, and gold-worked garments -- by the twenty-sixth year of our reign, the treasuries were overflowing with every kind of jewel. I struck a new stamp for the coinage and turned my hand toward joy and sovereignty. In that year, when I took stock of the tribute, the tribute in gold coin came to a hundred thousand -- and scattered across that, another thirty purses, all counted in Persian hides. In each purse, twelve thousand gold coins were distributed in royal fashion.'"

"'This is apart from the tribute and gold of India, apart from the territories of Rome and its dependencies, apart from the tribute and taxes of every province, from every chieftain and every lord, apart from the customary gifts of Nowruz and Mehregan -- horses and beautiful slaves -- apart from armor, helmets, maces, and swords. None of this did we begrudge anyone. Apart from musk, camphor, sable and ermine, black and white, and bays of the finest breed -- every vassal loaded these tributes onto fierce camels and sent them galloping to our court. No one turned his neck from our road. We bore much toil at every front so that treasure of this kind might be amassed.'"

"'Beyond this there was the Khazra Treasury and the Bride Treasury, which I kept for days of need. We gave it many names; in the end we called it the Wind-Borne Treasury. For twenty-six years until thirty-eight, fortune turned only toward our desire. All the great men were at ease, and every ill-wisher trembled in fear.'"

"'Now I have heard of your decrees. Evil has come to the world from your promises. No peace will remain for anyone in the world. One should choose nothing but silence. You will fill the world with harm -- painful, profitless work. Those very evildoers who stand at your side, who are your companions in the dark of night, will give your throne to the wind so that you may never be happy in this world.'"

"'If a wise man had been near you to illuminate your darkened soul, you would not have needed to give so much away, for treasure would have reached those who deserved it. O son of few days and little wit -- may your spirit steal every joy from your thoughts! Know that this treasury of mine is your backbone. For now the age is entirely in your fist. It is the ornament of kingship. A world without coin falls into ruin. A king without coin becomes unjust. An empty hand has neither sense nor virtue. Without means there is no station for generosity. The great will mock such a man and call him king in jest. If this reaches the enemy's hands, it is as though an idol falls into a Brahmin's hands -- the worshiper of God turns away; your name and fame become worthless to him. Without treasure, no army endures. Your subjects will not call you king. A dog is better off when it begs for bread; once you feed it to fullness, it becomes the enemy of your life.'"

"'As for what you said about the army -- that I stationed them across the frontiers -- this is not something any wise man would approve. You do not know the road from profit to ruin. Here is the answer: from my toil this renowned treasure was gathered. From foreigners I took back the cities. I struck all my enemies together so that we might sit in comfort and ease on the throne of delight, free from toil and heat and cold. I stationed horsemen on the borders, and what was once worthless became precious. When you recall the army from every frontier, the ill-wisher will see the road wide open.'"

"'Iran is like a garden, green in spring, where the flower of desire blooms always. It is full of narcissus and pomegranate and apple and quince. But when a garden is emptied of gardeners, sorrow will uproot every tree; they will break every branch of pomegranate and quince. The army and its arms are its wall; the spears along the fence are its thorns. If you tear down the garden's wall for nothing, then garden and field and coast and highland are all the same. Take care not to tear down its wall, not to break the heart and spine of the Iranians -- for after that there will be plunder and raiding, the war-cry of horsemen, and the unleashing of vengeance. The women and children and lands of the Iranians -- do not consign them to evil designs. When a year passes over you in this fashion, the wise will call you witless.'"

"'I have also heard that you, the ruler, give everything to undeserving men. Know well that Nushinravan Qobad recorded this in his testament: whoever gives his weapons to his enemy is in truth giving himself over to slaughter, for when he needs them back, the ill-wisher will make war on him with his own arms.'"

"'As for your message about the Caesar and calling me two-faced and self-serving -- those words were not from your own memory; they were your tutor's speech. His loyalty against our ingratitude -- you yourself, when do you know ingratitude from loyalty? The answer to this, O witless wretch -- I will say nothing more than is fitting: you make the accusation, and you yourself are the witness. No wise man considers this acceptable. When the Caesar washed his face of the dust of calamity, he sought a son-in-law as valiant as Parviz. Anyone who has not traversed the world through evil possesses wisdom in his brain. Know that Bahram had girded his waist and all the Iranians had joined him. A Roman army alone could not have broken them -- sand does not wear away mountain with its hand. In that battle God was my ally; the armies of the world were nothing before me. The Iranians heard what happened. You too must hear it from them. As for what I needed to do, in repaying Niyatus on the day of battle -- the kindness and humanity I showed -- I have counted every day of recompense.'"

"'Zad-Farrokh will tell you the same. Do not look upon the world with the eyes of youth. And Goshasp, who was my treasurer and the pure-handed chief priest of my court -- from my treasury one hundred thousand purses in gold I gave as a memorial to those Romans. To Niyatus I gave a thousand gems of red ruby, fit for earrings, each gem weighing a thousand mithqals when I reckoned the treasure. And a hundred choice pearls of the finest water, in which a knowing man could find no flaw -- for each box of which a gem-appraiser would have given fifty thousand silver coins. One hundred fine horses, fifty with saddles, all chosen from my own stables. Others wore blankets of brocade and ran with the wind across the plain. All this I sent to the Caesar, and after the wealth I sent him blessings.'"

"'As for the Cross of Christ you spoke of -- an old piece of wood tossed into the treasury -- it brought me neither profit nor loss. You heard of it from a Christian. I marveled at how a man who is a Caesar, a noble and renowned man, surrounded on all sides by wise men, philosophers, and priests, would call that crucified one God -- this dry wood, this decayed thing. If that useless cross were truly God, the very wellspring of divine reward, it would have departed from my treasury of its own accord; Christ would have risen and left this world behind.'"

"'As for what you said -- "Speak of repentance, repent now, seek the way of God" -- my answer to that is: May the tongue and heart and hands and feet of Qobad be destroyed! God Himself placed the crown on my head. I accepted it and I was glad of it. I surrendered it to God when He asked it back. I do not know why you still have a tongue in your mouth. I will speak to God, not to a child who cannot tell bad from good even a little. I have accepted every act of God. I have tasted much bitterness and hardship. Kingship was mine for thirty-eight years. Among all kings, none was my equal. He who gave this world will give another; He places no burden of gratitude on me. I bless this sovereignty: may the earth flourish under the wise.'"

"'When God is one's ally and deliverer, no one will stoop to curse us. Say to that ugly, ignorant child -- for now our face has darkened -- farewell to you forever. Our dealings henceforth are with the wise. And you, my dear envoys, eloquent and worthy noblemen -- farewell from me as well. Speak nothing beyond what you have heard.'"

"'I bless this world entire, for I have known it only in passing. All who are born of mothers must die -- from Kay Khosrow down to Kay Qobad. Consider Hushang, Tahmuras, and Jamshid -- in whom there was cause for both fear and hope -- who commanded demons, beasts, and animals. When his bright time ended, he too departed and died. Consider the fortunate Fereydun, who drove evil from the world, open and hidden. He bound the hand of Zahhak the Arab from doing harm, yet by valor alone he could not escape the clutch of time. Consider Arash, who could shoot an arrow a league's distance, and the victorious Qaren the lion-slayer. Qobad, who came down from the Alborz Mountains and by valor became world-lord with his host -- who built a palace of crystal and filled the world with legends of it, its form all worked in fine pearl, its door of gleaming ruby. Siavash, that renowned and noble prince, whom a scribe killed in his youth -- who built Gang-Dezh with such labor, yet reaped no treasure from all that toil. Where are Rostam son of Zal and Esfandiyar, from whom words remain with us as memorials? Consider Gudarz and his seventy chosen sons, horsemen of the field and lions of battle. Goshtasp, the king who accepted the true faith, and from whom glory was renewed. Jamasp, who in reckoning the celestial spheres shone brighter than the turning sun.'"

"'They have all gone -- those great ones and sages, those warlike horsemen and men of valor -- among whom one surpassed the other in skill, and in years one was elder to the next. They have departed this wide world and left behind only arenas, halls, and palaces. Among all the kings, none was my equal, though my allotted years were not so many.'"