As Sikandar sensed the approach of his impending demise and felt the shadows of fate deepening around him, a dark design took root in his mind. Fearing that after his death the remnants of Iran's royal Kianian lineage would rise again to exact vengeance upon Rome, he contemplated destroying the Iranian nobility. Before taking action, he dispatched a letter to his wise tutor and philosopher, Aristotle. Deeply grieved by the king's cruel intent, Aristotle penned a tearful reply, urging Sikandar to turn away from bloodthirsty tyranny, entrust his soul to Yazdan, and sow only seeds of virtue. The sage warned that if Iran were decimated and left without leaders, foreign hordes from the lands of the Turks, Hinds, Slavs, and China would overrun Iran and subsequently crush Rome. Instead, he advised Sikandar to divide the realm among the Iranian nobles, granting each local sovereignty so they might act as a living shield for Rome, ensuring that no single monarch claimed sole kingship over the world. Embracing this counsel, Sikandar instituted the era of the Regional Kings (Muluk al-Tawa'if). Upon reaching Babylon, a terrifying omen manifested: a child was born with the head of a lion, the hooves of a beast, a human torso, and the tail of an ox, dying immediately upon birth. Sikandar summoned his astrologers, who foretold that the lion-headed dead child signified the imminent demise of Sikandar’s empire and a period of turbulence across the earth. Accepting his mortality with tragic dignity, Sikandar yielded to the inescapable decree of destiny.