At the dawn of a new day, both hosts arrayed their battle lines, raising war banners across the vast plain. The realm of Hamavaran had marshaled a hundred massive war-elephants, leading an army stretching two miles long. The roar of champions vibrated through the mountains, and the earth groaned under the pounding hooves of countless steeds. It seemed as though the entire cosmos was constructed of iron, or as if Mount Alborz itself had donned coat of mail. Behind the war-elephants, banners of crimson, gold, and violet fluttered in the dusty air, terrifying the fiercest lions and dropping eagles from the sky.
When Rostam, the invincible Tahamtan, drew his army onto the plain and beheld the triple coalition of three kings and three realms, he addressed his proud warriors with steadfast spirit: "Keep your spears pointed and your courage high! Look to the tips of your lances and fear not their numbers. Even if they number a hundred thousand and we are but a hundred riders, a multitude of troops avails nothing against divine favor and true valor."
Then the sky rained glistening arrows and spears, as though blood-red tulips were being planted upon the soil. The plain was drowned in blood like a tavern of wine, and the air turned dense with lances like a forest of reeds. Severed heads clad in helmets rolled across the field, and shattered armor strewed every valley and cave. Rostam urged his swift steed Rakhsh into the vortex of combat, scorning the blood of common soldiers as he hunted higher prey. Spying the King of Syria, he hurled his looped lasso through the wind, encircling the king's waist. Lifting him from his saddle like a polo ball, Rostam dragged him in and smashed him to the ground, where the Iranian hero Farhad bound his wrists tight.
The earth turned into a sea of blood, and piles of slain rose like hills. Soon, the King of Barbaristan was likewise snared alongside forty of his high-ranking war-captains. Seeing his allies shattered and the field piled high with corpses, the King of Hamavaran fell into despair. He sued for peace, swearing to release King Kay Kavus, along with Gev, Gudarz, Tus, and all Iranian captives, and to surrender the royal pavilions, crowns, armories, and treasures of all three realms to Rostam.
Upon these terms, the pact was forged. Kay Kavus and his paladins were liberated from the fortress dungeon. All the armaments, thrones, and treasures of the three defeated monarchs were swept into the Iranian treasury. The sun-glorified Kay Kavus commanded a golden litter to be built of Roman brocade, encrusted with turquoise and rubies, mounted upon a swift steed with a gold-imbued bridle and fragrant aloeswood frame. Sudabeh was placed upon this majestic litter with supreme honor, praising the sun and her king as she joined the camp. Thus, the Iranian host swelled to over three hundred thousand armored horsemen, subsuming troops from Egypt, Barbar, and Hamavaran under Rostam's supreme command.
#1
دگر روز لشکر بیاراستند
✦
درفش از دو رویه بپیراستند
“On the next day, they arrayed the host; on both sides, they adorned the battle standards.”
#2
به هاماوران بود صد ژنده پیل
✦
یکی لشکری ساخته بر دو میل
“In Hamavaran stood a hundred huge war-elephants, with an army spanning two miles wide.”
#3
از آوای گردان بتوفید کوه
✦
زمین آمد از نعل اسپان ستوه
“From the shouts of heroes, the mountain roared; the earth grew weary beneath the horses' hooves.”
#4
تو گفتی جهان سر به سر آهن‌ست
✦
وگر کوه البرز در جوشن‌ست
“You would say the world was iron from edge to edge, or Mount Alborz itself was clad in chainmail.”
#5
پس پشت پیلان درفشان درفش
✦
بگرد اندرون سرخ و زرد و بنفش
“Behind the elephants fluttered the banners, encircled in red, yellow, and violet hues.”
#6
بدرید چنگ و دل شیر نر
✦
عقاب دلاور بیفگند پر
“It tore the claws and heart of the furious lion; the valiant eagle shed its feathers in awe.”
#7
همی ابر بگداخت اندر هوا
✦
برابر که دید ایستادن روا
“The clouds dissolved in the sky; who could deem it fit to stand against such a force?”
#8
سپهبد چو لشکر به هامون کشید
✦
سپاه سه شاه و سه کشور بدید
“When the commander drew his troops into the plain, he beheld the armies of three kings and three realms.”
#9
چنین گفت با لشکر سرفراز
✦
که از نیزهٔ مژگان مدارید باز
“He spoke thus to his proud warriors: 'Turn not your eyes away from the tips of your spears!'”
#10
بش و یال بینید و اسپ و عنان
✦
دو دیده نهاده به نوک سنان
“'Look to the mane and chest of horse and rein, keeping both eyes fixed on the lance point.'”
#11
اگر صدهزارند و ما صدسوار
✦
فزونی لشکر نیاید به کار
“'Though they be a hundred thousand and we but a hundred horsemen, a host's sheer size avails nothing.'”
#12
برآمد درخشیدن تیر و خشت
✦
تو گفتی هوا بر زمین لاله کشت
“The flashing of arrows and javelins arose; you would say the sky was planting tulips upon the earth.”
#13
ز خون دشت گفتی میستان شدست
✦
ز نیزه هوا چون نیستان شدست
“With blood, the plain became like a tavern of wine; with spears, the air became a reed-bed.”
#14
بریده ز هر سو سر ترک‌دار
✦
پراگنده خفتان همه دشت و غار
“Helmeted heads were severed on every side, and shattered armors lay scattered across plain and cave.”
#15
تهمتن مران رخش را تیز کرد
✦
ز خون فرومایه پرهیز کرد
“Tahamtan spurred his Rakhsh to speed, eschewing the blood of low-born soldiers.”
#16
همی تاخت اندر پی شاه شام
✦
بینداخت از باد خمیده خام
“He galloped straight in pursuit of the King of Syria, casting forth his curved lasso like the wind.”
#17
میانش به حلقه درآورد گرد
✦
تو گفتی خم اندر میانش فسرد
“He encircled his waist in the loop of the lariat; you would say the coil froze tight around him.”
#18
ز زین برگرفتش به کردار گوی
✦
چو چوگان به زخم اندر آمد بدوی
“He lifted him from the saddle like a polo ball, striking towards him like a polo mallet.”
#19
بیفگند و فرهاد دستش ببست
✦
گرفتار شد نامبردار شست
“He hurled him down, and Farhad bound his hands; thus was that famous monarch captured.”
#20
ز خون خاک دریا شد و دشت کوه
✦
ز بس کشته افگنده از هر گروه
“The earth became a sea of blood and the plain a mountain, so vast was the pile of slain from every band.”
#21
شه بربرستان بچنگ گراز
✦
گرفتار شد با چهل رزم‌ساز
“The King of Barbaristan fell into the boar-like clutch, captured along with forty of his battle-ready lords.”
#22
ز کشته زمین گشت مانند کوه
✦
همان شاه هاماوران شد ستوه
“From the heaps of dead, the ground rose like mountains; whereupon the King of Hamavaran fell into total distress.”
#23
به پیمان که کاووس را با سران
✦
بر رستم آرد ز هاماوران
“He made a covenant to bring Kay Kavus and the Iranian chiefs out of Hamavaran unto Rostam.”
#24
سراپرده و گنج و تاج و گهر
✦
پرستنده و تخت و زرین کمر
“His royal pavilion, treasure, crown, jewels, servants, throne, and golden girdles as well.”
#25
برین بر نهادند و برخاستند
✦
سه کشور سراسر بیاراستند
“Upon this agreement they settled and arose; all three realms were arrayed in submission.”
#26
چو از دژ رها کرد کاووس را
✦
همان گیو و گودرز و هم طوس را
“When he released Kavus from the fortress, as well as Gev, Gudarz, and Tus,”
#27
سلیح سه کشور سه گنج سه شاه
✦
سراپرده و لشکر و تاج و گاه
“The weapons of three realms, three treasures of three kings, pavilions, armies, crowns, and thrones,”
#28
سپهبد جزین خواسته هرچ دید
✦
بگنج سپهدار ایران کشید
“Whatever riches the commander saw besides, he carried off into the treasury of Iran's lord.”
#29
بیاراست کاووس خورشید فر
✦
بدیبای رومی یکی مهد زر
“Kavus, possessing sun-like divine glory, adorned a golden litter made of Roman brocade,”
#30
ز پیروزه پیکر ز یاقوت گاه
✦
گهر بافته بر جلیل سیاه
“Inlaid with turquoise and with a ruby throne, woven with jewels over black silk drape.”
#31
یکی اسپ رهوار زیراندرش
✦
لگامی به زر آژده بر سرش
“A swift and gentle steed beneath it, with a bridle inlaid with gold upon its head.”
#32
همه چوب بالاش از عود تر
✦
برو بافته چندگونه گهر
“All its frame was made of fresh aloeswood, woven over with many kinds of precious jewels.”
#33
بسودابه فرمود کاندر نشین
✦
نشست و به خورشید کرد آفرین
“He commanded Sudabeh to sit within; she took her seat and praised the radiant sun.”
#34
به لشکرگه آورد لشکر ز شهر
✦
ز گیتی برین گونه جویند بهر
“He brought the army from the city to the camp; in such a manner do men seek fortune from the world.”
#35
سپاهش فزون شد ز سیصدهزار
✦
زره‌دار و برگستوانور سوار
“His army grew to more than three hundred thousand armored warriors and horsemen with barded mounts.”
#36
برو انجمن شد ز بربر سوار
✦
ز مصر و ز هاماوران صدهزار
“One hundred thousand horsemen assembled from Barbar, Egypt, and Hamavaran under his banner.”
#37
بیامد گران لشکری بربری
✦
سواران جنگ‌آور لشکری
“A heavy Barbarian host joined them—battle-tested horsemen of war.”