THE SHÁH NÁMEH
75
Long fought they, Nauder and the Tartar-chief,
And the thick dust which rose from either host,
Darkened the rolling Heavens. Afrásiyáb
Seized by the girdle-belt the Persian king,
And furious, dragged him from his foaming horse.
With him a thousand warriors, high in name,
Were taken on the field; and every legion,
Captured whilst flying from the victor’s brand.
Such are the freaks of Fortune: friend and foe
Alternate wear the crown. The world itself
Is an ingenious juggler-every moment
Playing some novel trick; exalting one
In pomp and splendour, crushing down another,
As if in sport, and death the end of all!
And the thick dust which rose from either host,
Darkened the rolling Heavens. Afrásiyáb
Seized by the girdle-belt the Persian king,
And furious, dragged him from his foaming horse.
With him a thousand warriors, high in name,
Were taken on the field; and every legion,
Captured whilst flying from the victor’s brand.
Such are the freaks of Fortune: friend and foe
Alternate wear the crown. The world itself
Is an ingenious juggler-every moment
Playing some novel trick; exalting one
In pomp and splendour, crushing down another,
As if in sport, and death the end of all!
After the achievement of this victory Afrásiyáb directed that Kárun should be pursued and attacked wherever he might be found; but when he heard that he had hurried on for the protection of the Shubistan, and had conquered and slain Bármán, he gnawed his hands with rage. The reign of Nauder lasted only seven years. After him Afrásiyáb was the master of Persia.
AFRÁSIYÁB
IT has already been said that Shimasás and Khazerván were sent by Afrásiyáb with thirty thousand men against Kábul and Zábul, and when Zál heard of this movement he forthwith united with Mihráb the chief of Kábul, and having first collected a large army in Sístán, had a conflict with the two Tartar generals.
Zál promptly donned himself in war attire,
And, mounted like a hero, to the field
Hastened, his soldiers frowning on their steeds.
Now Khazerván grasps his huge battle-axe,
And, his broad shield extending, at one blow
Shivers the mail of Zál, who calls aloud
As, like a lion, to the fight he springs,
Armed with his father’s mace. Sternly he looks
And with the fury of a dragon, drives
The weapon through his adversary’s head,
Staining the ground with streaks of blood, resembling
The waving stripes upon a tiger’s back.
And, mounted like a hero, to the field
Hastened, his soldiers frowning on their steeds.
Now Khazerván grasps his huge battle-axe,
And, his broad shield extending, at one blow
Shivers the mail of Zál, who calls aloud
As, like a lion, to the fight he springs,
Armed with his father’s mace. Sternly he looks
And with the fury of a dragon, drives
The weapon through his adversary’s head,
Staining the ground with streaks of blood, resembling
The waving stripes upon a tiger’s back.
