When tidings reached King Goshtasp that Arjasp, the ruler of China and Turan, had mobilized his entire host and dispatched his heroic champion Khashash at the vanguard to devastate the fair realm of Iran, wrath and resolve filled the monarch’s chest. Without delay, Goshtasp commanded his chief captain at daybreak to deck the war-elephants and assemble the host. He penned urgent letters to all the border-lords and chieftains across the empire, declaring that the Khaqan had abandoned the paths of righteousness and breached the frontiers of Iran.
Upon receiving the royal missives, the noble warriors of the realm girded their loins for the Kianian King. From every corner of the land, an army gathered at the court so vast that its numbers surpassed the blades of grass upon the earth. Inspecting this boundless host, Goshtasp’s heart rejoiced and marvelled at their splendor. On the following day, flanked by his wise Mobads, elders, and army commanders, the King unsealed the ancient treasures accumulated since the reign of Jamshid, bestowing two full years of stipends and finest armor upon his soldiers.
To the thunder of war-drums and the blare of trumpets, the auspicious royal standard was raised high before the vanguard. The Iranian host set forth to confront Arjasp—a military spectacle the world had never before witnessed. So dense was the dust raised by their tramping hooves that bright day turned to pitch darkness; the roaring tumult of neighing steeds and wailing kettledrums deafened the sky. Countless banners fluttered while a forest of gleaming spears pierced the heavens like spring reeds, as King Goshtasp marched from realm to realm to crush the invading foe.