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.
#1
بدانست کش مرگ نزدیک شد
✦
بروبر همی روز تاریک شد
“When he realized that his death drew near, the day grew dark and gloomy before his eyes.”
#2
بران بودش اندیشه کاندر جهان
✦
نماند کسی از نژاد مهان
“His mind was weighed down by the thought that no noble descendant of the grand lineage should remain alive in the world.”
#3
که لشکر کشد جنگ را سوی روم
✦
نهد پی بران خاک آباد بوم
“Fearing that an army would march against Rome and set foot upon that prosperous land.”
#4
چو مغز اندرین کار خودکامه کرد
✦
هم‌انگه سطالیس را نامه کرد
“When his mind settled upon this willful resolve, he straightway wrote a letter to Aristotle.”
#5
هرانکس کجا بد ز تخم کیان
✦
بفرمودشان تا ببندد میان
“He commanded that whoever belonged to the royal seed of the Kians be bound and brought forth.”
#6
همه روی را سوی درگه کنند
✦
ز بدها گمانیش کوته کنند
“That all should turn their faces toward the court, to cut short any suspicion of evil from them.”
#7
چو این نامه بردند نزد حکیم
✦
دل ارسطالیس شد به دو نیم
“When they bore this letter to the sage, Aristotle's heart was torn in two with grief.”
#8
هم‌اندر زمان پاسخ نامه کرد
✦
ز مژگان تو گفتی سر خامه کرد
“He immediately penned a reply, dipping his reed-pen, as it were, in the tears of his eyes.”
#9
که آن نامهٔ شاه گیهان رسید
✦
ز بدکام دستش بباید کشید
“He wrote: 'The letter of the World-King has arrived; he must withdraw his hand from ill-intentioned designs.'”
#10
ازان بد که کردی میندیش نیز
✦
از اندیشه درویش را بخش چیز
“'Think no more of the harm you contemplated, but out of reflection, bestow gifts upon the needy.'”
#11
بپرهیز و جان را به یزدان سپار
✦
به گیتی جز از تخم نیکی مکار
“'Exercise restraint, commit your soul to Yazdan, and sow no seed in this world except goodness.'”
#12
همه مرگ راییم تا زنده‌ایم
✦
به بیچارگی در سرافگنده‌ایم
“'So long as we live, we are all bound for death; in helplessness, our heads are cast down.'”
#13
نه هرکس که شد پادشاهی ببرد
✦
برفت و بزرگی کسی را سپرد
“'Not one who attained kingship took it with him; he departed and yielded greatness unto another.'”
#14
بپرهیز و خون بزرگان مریز
✦
که نفرین بود بر تو تا رستخیز
“'Refrain from violence and shed not the blood of nobles, lest curses cling to your name until the Resurrection.'”
#15
و دیگر که چون اندر ایران سپاه
✦
نباشد همان شاه در پیشگاه
“'Moreover, if there be no army left in Iran, nor a king sitting upon its royal throne,'”
#16
ز ترک و ز هند و ز سقلاب و چین
✦
سپاه آید از هر سوی هم‌چنین
“'Armies will pour in from every direction—from the Turks, the Hinds, the Slavs, and China.'”
#17
به روم آید آنکس که ایران گرفت
✦
اگر کین بسیچد نباشد شگفت
“'And whoever seizes Iran will then march upon Rome; if he seeks vengeance, it will be no wonder.'”
#18
هرآنکس که هست از نژاد کیان
✦
نباید که از باد یابد زیان
“'Whoever is of Kianian descent should suffer no harm from even a passing ill wind.'”
#19
بزرگان و آزادگان را بخوان
✦
به بخش و به سور و به رای و به خوان
“'Summon the nobles and free men; honor them with gifts, feasts, wise counsel, and banquets.'”
#20
سزاوار هر مهتری کشوری
✦
بیارای و آغاز کن دفتری
“'Bestow a realm fit for every chieftain; adorn their ranks and open a new ledger of state.'”
#21
به نام بزرگان و آزادگان
✦
کزیشان جهان یافتی رایگان
“'Establish it in the names of the nobles and free-born men, from whom you inherited the world freely.'”
#22
یکی را مده بر دگر دستگاه
✦
کسی را مخوان بر جهان نیز شاه
“'Grant not supreme dominion to one over another, nor proclaim anyone as sole king over the world.'”
#23
سپر کن کیان را همه پیش بوم
✦
چو خواهی که لشکر نیاید به روم
“'Make the Kians a shield protecting your realm, if you wish that no foreign army march against Rome.'”
#24
سکندر چو پاسخ بران گونه یافت
✦
به اندیشه و رای دیگر شتافت
“When Sikandar received such an answer, he turned his thoughts and judgment toward a new counsel.”
#25
بزرگان و آزادگان را ز دهر
✦
کسی را کش از مردمی بود بهر
“He gathered the nobles and free-born men of the age, whoever held a share of humanity and wisdom.”
#26
بفرمود تا پیش او خواندند
✦
به جای سزاوار بنشاندند
“He commanded them to be summoned before him and seated them in places fitting their dignity.”
#27
یکی عهد بنوشت تا هر یکی
✦
فزونی نجوید ز دهر اندکی
“He drew up a covenant so that no ruler should seek to dominate another in the least degree.”
#28
بران نامداران جوینده کام
✦
ملوک طوایف نهادند نام
“Upon those renowned seekers of honor, they bestowed the title of Regional Kings (Muluk al-Tawa'if).”
#29
همان شب سکندر به بابل رسید
✦
مهان را به دیدار خود شاد دید
“That very night Sikandar reached Babylon, where the nobles were overjoyed to see his face.”
#30
یکی کودک آمد زنی را به شب
✦
بدو ماند هرکس که دیدش عجب
“A child was born to a woman that night; everyone who beheld it was filled with wonder.”
#31
سرش چون سر شیر و بر پای سم
✦
چو مردم بر و کتف و چون گاو دم
“Its head was like a lion's head, its feet were hooves, its chest and shoulders human, and its tail like an ox's.”
#32
بمرد از شگفتی هم‌آنگه که زاد
✦
سزد گر نباشد ازان زن نژاد
“It died of wonder the moment it was born; such a creature was unnatural for any mother to bear.”
#33
ببردند هم در زمان نزد شاه
✦
بدو کرد شاه از شگفتی نگاه
“They brought the infant straightway before the King, who gazed upon it in deep astonishment.”
#34
به فالش بد آمد هم‌انگاه گفت
✦
که این بچه در خاک باید نهفت
“He took it as an evil omen and said at once: 'This infant must be hidden away beneath the earth.'”
#35
ز اخترشناسان بسی پیش خواند
✦
وزان کودک مرده چندی براند
“He summoned many astrologers before him and questioned them long concerning the dead child.”
#36
ستاره‌شمر زان غمی گشت سخت
✦
بپوشید بر خسرو نیک‌بخت
“The star-gazers became deeply distressed and tried to conceal the secret from the fortunate monarch.”
#37
ز اخترشناسان بپرسید و گفت
✦
که گر هیچ ماند سخن در نهفت
“He demanded of the astrologers, saying: 'If any word remains hidden from me,'”
#38
هم‌اکنون ببرم سرانتان ز تن
✦
نیابید جز کام شیران کفن
“'I will sever your heads from your bodies this instant; you shall find no shroud save the bellies of lions!'”
#39
ستاره‌شمر چون برآشفت شاه
✦
بدو گفت کای نامور پیشگاه
“When the King raged, an astrologer stepped forth and said: 'O renowned monarch of the realm,'”
#40
تو بر اختر شیر زادی نخست
✦
بر موبدان و ردان شد درست
“'You were born under the sign of Leo, as was confirmed before the wise mobads and chieftains.'”
#41
سر کودک مرده بینی چو شیر
✦
بگردد سر پادشاهیت زیر
“'Seeing this dead infant with a lion's head means that the head of your empire shall now turn upside down.'”
#42
پرآشوب گردد زمین چندگاه
✦
چنین تا نشیند یکی پیشگاه
“'The earth will fall into great turmoil for a time, until another ruler sits upon the throne.'”
#43
ستاره‌شمر بیش ازین هرک بود
✦
همی گفت و آن را نشانه نمود
“Whatever else lay in the stars, the astrologer declared and revealed its signs.”
#44
سکندر چو بشنید زان شد غمی
✦
به رای و به مغزش درآمد کمی
“When Sikandar heard this, he became sorrowful, and a weakness came over his heart and mind.”
#45
چنین گفت کز مرگ خود چاره نیست
✦
مرا دل پر اندیشه زین باره نیست
“He spoke: 'From death there is no escape; my heart is not distressed on this account.'”
#46
مرا بیش ازین زندگانی نبود
✦
زمانه نکاهد نخواهد فزود
“No longer span of life remains for me; Time will neither curtail my allotted days nor extend them.”