King Shapur summoned his commanders and opened the royal treasuries, bestowing rich stipends upon his warriors until their hearts burned with vengeful fury. Leading his vast host from Iran toward the Roman frontier, he laid waste to everything in his path, casting fire upon their settlements and putting their defenders to the sword.
Under the cover of a pitch-black night, as the opposing forces clashed, fortune favored the Iranian King: the famous Caesar of Rome was trapped and captured upon the battlefield. News of his capture sent shockwaves of grief across the empire, and the populace wept, cursing the foolish Caesar whose recklessness had brought Shapur's wrath upon their realm.
Caesar had a younger brother named Yanus—a brave, generous prince. Urged by his grieving mother who distributed vast wealth to recruit soldiers, Yanus swore that his brother's capture would not go unavenged. He sounded the war drums, brought out the great sacred Holy Cross, and marched forth with a terrifying army.
The two armies clashed on a narrow plain hemmed in by steep mountains on one side and surging waters on the other. A dark cloud of dust enveloped the field as the sun began to set, and the earth became carpeted with iron-clad corpses. Seeing the stalemate, Shapur charged directly from the center, summoning his elite cavalry. As the King spurred his steed, the ground trembled beneath their hooves.
Realizing he could not withstand Shapur's overwhelming might, Yanus broke ranks and fled. Shapur pursued the retreating Romans ruthlessly, heaping up mounds of the slain across the plains. Monasteries, fortresses, and holy altars were leveled; the sacred crosses were shattered, and the girdles of the priests consumed by flame. So vast was the plunder that the Iranian soldiers marvelled at their fortune, though Shapur distributed it all to his men, retaining only Caesar's personal royal treasure as recompense for the suffering inflicted upon Iran.
The surviving Romans gathered in sorrow, cursing Caesar's memory for bringing their domain to utter ruin, reducing the glory of Rome to the quiet desolation of Kannauj and extinguishing the loud chants of their sacred faith.
#1
عرض‌گاه و دیوان بیاراستند
✦
کلید در گنجها خواستند
“They prepared the parade ground and royal court, and demanded the keys to the treasuries.”
#2
سپاه انجمن شد چو روزی بداد
✦
سرش پر ز کین و دلش پر ز باد
“When the army received their pay, they assembled, their minds filled with vengeance and their hearts with pride.”
#3
از ایران همی راند تا مرز روم
✦
هرانکس که بود اندران مرز و بوم
“He marched from Iran to the borders of Rome, targeting whoever dwelt in that land.”
#4
بکشتند و خانش همی سوختند
✦
جهانی به آتش برافروختند
“They slew the inhabitants, burned down their dwellings, and set the whole world ablaze with fire.”
#5
چو آگاهی آمد ز ایران به روم
✦
که ویران شد آن مرز آباد بوم
“When word reached Rome from Iran that their prosperous frontier had been laid waste,”
#6
گرفتار شد قیصر نامدار
✦
شب تیره اندر صف کارزار
“The renowned Caesar was taken captive in the dark night amid the ranks of battle.”
#7
سراسر همه روم گریان شدند
✦
وز آواز شاپور بریان شدند
“All of Rome fell into weeping, their hearts roasted by the terror of Shapur's name.”
#8
همی گفت هرکس که این بد که کرد
✦
مگر قیصر آن ناجوانمرد مرد
“Everyone said: 'Who brought this evil upon us, if not that unmanly Caesar?'”
#9
ز قیصر یکی که برادرش بود
✦
پدر مرده و زنده مادرش بود
“Caesar had a brother whose father was dead and whose mother was still alive.”
#10
جوانی کجا یانسش بود نام
✦
جهانجوی و بخشنده و شادکام
“A youth named Yanus, an ambitious seeker of the world, generous and joyful.”
#11
شدند انجمن لشکری بر درش
✦
درم داد پرخاشجو مادرش
“An army gathered at his door, and his warlike mother distributed gold coins among them.”
#12
بدو گفت کین برادر بخواه
✦
نبینی که آمد ز ایران سپاه
“She said to him: 'Seek vengeance for your brother! Do you not see the army of Iran arriving?'”
#13
چو بشنید یانس بجوشید و گفت
✦
که کین برادر نشاید نهفت
“When Yanus heard this, he boiled with passion and said: 'A brother's blood must not be concealed!'”
#14
بزد کوس و آورد بیرون صلیب
✦
صلیب بزرگ و سپاهی مهیب
“He struck the war drums and brought out the Holy Cross—the great Cross—and a formidable host.”
#15
سپه را چو روی اندرآمد به روی
✦
بی‌آرام شد مردم کینه‌جوی
“As the two armies came face to face, the vengeance-seeking warriors grew restless.”
#16
رده برکشیدند و برخاست غو
✦
بیامد دوان یانس پیش رو
“They drew up ranks and a great clamor arose; Yanus ran forward at the head of his troops.”
#17
برآمد یکی ابر و گردی سیاه
✦
کزان تیرگی دیده گم کرد راه
“A cloud of dust and dark haze arose, such that eyes lost their way in that murky gloom.”
#18
سپه را به یک روی بر کوه بود
✦
دگر آب زانسو که انبوه بود
“The army was bounded by mountains on one flank, and by deep waters on the other side.”
#19
بدین گونه تا گشت خورشید زرد
✦
ز هر سو همی خاست گرد نبرد
“In this manner they fought until the sun turned yellow, and dust of battle rose from every side.”
#20
بکشتند چندانک روی زمین
✦
شد از جوشن کشتگان آهنین
“They slew so many that the face of the earth became like iron armor from the bodies of the dead.”
#21
چو از قلب شاپور لشکر براند
✦
چپ و راستش ویژگان را بخواند
“When Shapur urged his army forward from the center, he summoned his elite warriors from the left and right.”
#22
چو با مهتران گرم کرد اسپ شاه
✦
زمین گشت جنبان و پیچان سپاه
“As the King spurred his steed alongside his nobles, the earth shook and the army swirled.”
#23
سوی لشکر رومیان حمله برد
✦
بزرگش یکی بود با مرد خرد
“He charged upon the Roman army, striking down their leaders and common soldiers alike.”
#24
بدانست یانس که پایاب شاه
✦
ندارد گریزان بشد با سپاه
“Yanus realized he had no power to withstand the King; he fled in haste with his army.”
#25
پس‌اندر همی تاخت شاپور گرد
✦
به گرد از هوا روشنایی ببرد
“Valiant Shapur pursued them closely, while clouds of dust stole the light from the sky.”
#26
به هر جایگه بر یکی توده کرد
✦
گیاها به مغز سر آلوده کرد
“Everywhere he made heaps of bodies, mingling the wild grass with the brains of the slain.”
#27
ازان لشکر روم چندان بکشت
✦
که یک دشت سر بود بی‌پای و پشت
“He slew so many of the Roman army that a vast plain was filled with headless bodies.”
#28
به هامون سپاه و چلیپا نماند
✦
به دژها صلیب و سکوبا نماند
“No troops or Holy Cross remained on the plains; no cross or high priest remained in the fortresses.”
#29
ز هر جای چندان غنیمت گرفت
✦
که لشکر همی ماند زو در شگفت
“Such immense booty was taken from everywhere that the army stood in utter amazement.”
#30
ببخشید یکسر همه بر سپاه
✦
جز از گنج قیصر نبد بهر شاه
“He granted all of it to his soldiers; nothing was kept for the King except Caesar's treasury.”
#31
کجا دیده‌بد رنج از گنج اوی
✦
نه هم گوشه بد گنج با رنج اوی
“For he had endured suffering from Caesar's treasures, though no treasure could ever balance his pain.”
#32
همه لشکر روم گرد آمدند
✦
ز قیصر همی داستانها زدند
“All the surviving army of Rome gathered together, telling bitter stories about Caesar,”
#33
که ما را چنو نیز مهتر مباد
✦
به روم اندرون نام قیصر مباد
“Saying: 'May we never again have a leader like him, and may the name of Caesar be erased from Rome!'”
#34
به روم اندرون جای مذبح نماند
✦
صلیب و مسیح و موشح نماند
“'No altar, cross, Christ, or priests' vestment remains in Rome!'”
#35
چو زنار قسیس شد سوخته
✦
چلیپا و مطران برافروخته
“'The priest's girdle is burned, and the cross and bishop's sanctuary set on fire.'”
#36
کنون روم و قنوج ما را یکیست
✦
چو آواز دین مسیح اندکیست
“'Now Rome and Kannauj are one to us, as the voice of the faith of Christ is diminished.'”