#1
کنون ای سراینده فرتوت مرد
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سوی گاه اشکانیان بازگرد
“Now, O aged reciter of ancient lore, turn your mind back toward the era of the Ashkanians.”
#2
چه گفت اندر آن نامهٔ راستان
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که گوینده یاد آرد از باستان
“What was written in that book of truthful men, which the narrator now recalls from antiquity?”
#3
پس از روزگار سکندر جهان
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چه گوید کِرا بود تخت مهان
“After the era of Alexander passed, who held the imperial throne of the great across the world?”
#4
چنین گفت داننده دهقان چاچ
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کزان پس کسی را نبد تخت عاج
“Thus spoke the wise Dehqan of Chach: that after Alexander, none sat upon a throne of ivory.”
#5
بزرگان که از تخم آرش بدند
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دلیر و سبکسار و سرکش بدند
“The chieftains who sprang from the seed of Arash were brave, swift-headed, and fiercely proud.”
#6
به گیتی به هر گوشه‌ای بر یکی
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گرفته ز هر کشوری اندکی
“In every corner of the world stood one lord, taking a fragment of every kingdom into his hands.”
#7
چو بر تختشان شاد بنشاندند
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ملوک طوایف همی خواندند
“When they sat joyously upon their scattered thrones, men gave them the title of the Petty Kings.”
#8
برین گونه بگذشت سالی دویست
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تو گفتی که اندر زمین شاه نیست
“Two hundred years passed in this fashion; you would say no single monarch ruled over the earth.”
#9
نکردند یاد این ازان آن ازین
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برآسود یک چند روی زمین
“Neither paid heed to the other, and for a long season the face of the earth rested from War.”
#10
سکندر سگالید زین‌گونه رای
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که تا روم آباد ماند به جای
“Alexander had devised this scheme on purpose, so that Rome might remain prosperous and secure.”
#11
نخست اشک بود از نژاد قباد
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دگر گرد شاپور خسرو نژاد
“First was Ashk of Kay Qobad's royal line, then brave Shapur of Khosrow's ancient seed.”
#12
ز یک دست گودرز اشکانیان
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چو بیژن که بود از نژاد کیان
“Beside them stood Gudarz of the Ashkanians, and Bizhan who was of noble Kayanid descent.”
#13
چو نرسی و چون اورمزد بزرگ
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چو آرش که بد نامدار سترگ
“Then came Narsi and great Ormazd, and Arash who was a renowned and formidable prince.”
#14
چو زو بگذری نامدار اردوان
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خردمند و با رای و روشن‌روان
“Beyond him reigned famous Ardavan, a ruler wise, prudent, and bright of soul.”
#15
چو بنشست بهرام ز اشکانیان
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ببخشید گنجی بارزانیان
“When Bahram of the Ashkanians ascended the throne, he bestowed vast treasures upon his lords.”
#16
ورا خواندند اردوان بزرگ
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که از میش بگسست چنگال گرگ
“They called him Ardavan the Great, who severed the wolf's deadly claws from the helpless sheep.”
#17
ورا بود شیراز تا اصفهان
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که داننده خواندش مرز مهان
“His realm extended from Shiraz to Isfahan—a land known by the wise as the domain of the great.”
#18
به اصطخر بد بابک از دست اوی
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که تنین خروشان بد از شست اوی
“At Istakhr ruled Babak under his authority, whose mighty hand was like a roaring dragon.”
#19
چو کوتاه شد شاخ و هم بیخشان
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نگوید جهاندار تاریخشان
“When their branches and roots grew withered, the ruler of the world recorded not their full chronicle.”
#20
کزیشان جز از نام نشنیده‌ام
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نه در نامهٔ خسروان دیده‌ام
“For I have heard nothing of them save their names, nor seen their deeds in the Book of Kings.”
#21
سکندر چو نومید گشت از جهان
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بیفگند رایی میان مهان
“When Alexander despaired of life in this world, he cast this strategy among his grandees:”
#22
بدان تا نگیرد کس از روم یاد
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بماند مران کشور آباد و شاد
“So that no Iranian sovereign would seek vengeance on Rome, leaving his native country prosperous and secure.”
#23
چو دانا بود بر زمین شهریار
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چنین آورد دانش شاه بار
“When a king ruling upon earth is wise, such is the enduring fruit that royal intellect brings forth.”