Tahmoores

Upon the passing of Hushang, his wise and noble son Tahmuras—known to destiny as the Demon-Binder—ascended the throne of his ancestors, girding his loins for sovereign rule. He summoned the mobads and mighty captains of his realm, proclaiming his sacred oath: to cleanse the earth of wicked spells, to shear away the grasping claws of demons, and to reveal every craft hidden within the womb of the world. He turned his divine intellect to industry, teaching humankind to shear the fleece of ewes and lambs, to spin fine thread, and to weave warm garments and soft coverings.

Moving beyond the loom, Tahmuras surveyed the untamed wilderness. By cunning and patience, he captured the swift lynx and the cheetah, domesticating them for the hunt; he trained proud falcons and hawks to soar and strike at his command, and brought the rooster and hen into human homesteads, their dawn-crowing echoing like the beating of war-drums. He commanded all people to treat these creatures with gentleness and warmth, offering continuous praise to Yazdan, the Sovereign Creator who had granted mortal men dominion over the wild beasts.

In those golden years, Tahmuras was guided by a virtuous vizier named Shahrasp—a noble sage whose lips were sealed in fasting by day and whose nights were spent in glowing prayer before the Divine. Through Shahrasp's righteous counsel, the king was so purified of flaw that the luminous Royal Glory (Farr-e Izadi) blazed from his brow. Empowered by holy spells, Tahmuras bounded Ahriman himself, throwing a saddle over the Lord of Darkness and riding him as a swift courser across the four quarters of the earth.

Beholding the humiliation of Ahriman and the blazing glory of the king, the demons rose in bitter rebellion. A vast host of malevolent sorcerers and fiends assembled, led by a roaring Black Demon whose battle-shouts shook the heavens. But Tahmuras, girt for war, gripped his heavy mace and rode into the fray. With divine enchantments he bound two-thirds of the demonic horde and crushed the rest beneath the weight of his iron weapon. Wounded and chained in disgrace, the surviving demons begged for mercy, promising to reveal a wondrous secret art in exchange for their lives. Tahmuras granted them quarter, and in return, the demons taught the king the sacred art of writing—not in one script alone, but in nearly thirty, including Roman, Arabic, Persian, Sogdian, Chinese, and Pahlavi. For thirty more years, Tahmuras ruled in wisdom and splendor, until his earthly days reached their dawnless end, leaving his immortal labors as an enduring beacon for all generations.