Prince Bahram stood before the assembled grandees, battle-tested leaders, and high priests of Iran, his voice resounding with majestic authority. 'All that you have spoken in reproach of my father Yazdegerd's tyranny is true,' he declared, 'and indeed the reality of his oppression was even darker. I myself have tasted the bitterness of his wrath, which once clouded my youthful mind; his palace was a prison to me until Almighty God showed mercy, and Tinush delivered me from his grasp. It was for this reason that I sought refuge under the protection of Monzer, for I never received a single gesture of fatherly kindness from the King. May no human ever inherit such a malignant nature, for wherever it reigns, humanity itself perishes!'
Bahram offered prayers of gratitude to the Divine, adding: 'I give thanks to Yazdan for endowing me with wisdom, that my soul may reap its luminous fruits. My constant prayer has been for divine guidance upon the path of righteousness, so that whatever injustice my father inflicted upon the realm may be cleansed through my equity. I shall be a devoted shepherd to my flock, seeking ease and prosperity for all subjects. Lineage of kingship belongs to me through my forebears—from Shapur to Bahram down to Ardashir—and on my mother's side I am the descendant of the illustrious Shah Shamiran. Mine are wisdom, virtue, horsemanship, and martial might, and among men I acknowledge no equal in combat or counsel.'
To settle the fate of the realm without unworthy intrigue, Bahram then proposed a magnificent and terrifying ordeal: 'I make a solemn covenant with you, pledging my word before God: Let us bring forth the royal ivory throne and tether two ferocious, roaring lions on either side, placing the Kayanid crown between them. Whosoever hungers for the kingship, let him step forward into the beastly peril, take the crown from between the lions, and sit upon the ivory throne! If he be righteous and just, we shall accept none other as Shah. But if you reject this righteous challenge and choose defiance, know that I, Monzer, and the swift Arab horsemen—who know no flight from battle—shall bring down ruin and dust upon your pretender monarch and your entire realm!'
Having spoken these bold words, Bahram withdrew to his pavilion, leaving the assembly spellbound and awestruck. The mobads and grandees of Iran gathered in solemn consultation. 'This utterance flows directly from the Divine Glory (Farreh-ye Izadi),' they proclaimed. 'He speaks nothing save justice. If the savage lions tear him to pieces in this trial, the Creator will not hold us accountable, for he himself decreed this law; but if he succeeds in lifting the crown, his glory shall eclipse even that of Fereydun! We shall acknowledge no other monarch over Iran save him.'