When Khosrow Anushirvan concluded his wise discourse, the assembled sages and nobles were struck with awe, rising as one to shower praise upon their monarch. The King of Kings then summoned the foremost scholars of the realm to structure the imperial administration. He partitioned his vast dominion into four administrative quarters, delineating their prosperous cities: first Khorasan, which brought joy to the hearts of the eastern magnates; second, Qom, Isfahan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Ardabil, and the lands of Gilan; third, Pars, Ahvaz, and the marches of Khazar stretching from East to West; and fourth, Iraq alongside the borderlands of Rome. For the impoverished across these quarters, the king unlocked the imperial treasuries, relieving their bodily toil.
Turning his intellect to fiscal policy, Khosrow reformed the ancient taxation system. Where past rulers had extracted a third or a fourth of all harvests, King Qobad had reduced the levy to a single tenth, though time cut short his reform. Anushirvan completed the task by ordering a comprehensive land survey using measuring ropes. He instituted a benevolent land tax: if a farmer lacked seed or draft oxen for plowing, the royal treasury furnished him with supplies to ensure no land lay fallow, while uncultivated plots were entirely exempt from tax.
Specific, light duties were placed upon fruit-bearing trees—such as olives, walnuts, and date palms—that bore fruit by the festival of Mehregan, while minor crops of Khordad were untaxed. The poll tax on non-landowners was fixed fairly according to wealth and split into three yearly installments so that no subject suffered oppression. To prevent corruption, three identical copies of the tax registries were maintained: one under the chief treasurer and vizier, one dispatched to provincial governors, and one held by the High Priest. Finally, Khosrow deployed secret inspectors throughout the empire to report every act of justice or transgression. Under this righteous rule, the realm flourished in unprecedented harmony, such that the wolf and sheep drank peacefully at the very same stream.
#1
چو نوشین‌روان این سخن برگرفت
✦
جهانی ازو مانده اندر شگفت
“When Nushin-Ravan concluded this discourse, the whole world remained in sheer wonder at him.”
#2
همه یک سر از جای برخاستند
✦
برو آفرین نو آراستند
“Everyone rose together from their seats, offering new praises upon him.”
#3
شهنشاه دانندگان را بخواند
✦
سخنهای گیتی سراسر براند
“The King of Kings summoned the learned men and discussed the affairs of the entire world with them.”
#4
جهان را ببخشید بر چار بهر
✦
وزو نامزد کرد آبادشهر
“He divided the world into four quarters, designating prosperous cities within each.”
#5
نخستین خراسان ازو یاد کرد
✦
دل نامداران بدو شاد کرد
“First, he made mention of Khorasan, bringing joy to the hearts of the nobles there.”
#6
دگر بهره زان بد قم و اصفهان
✦
نهاد بزرگان و جای مهان
“The second share comprised Qom and Isfahan, the ancient seat of nobles and the dwelling of the great.”
#7
وزین بهره بود آذرابادگان
✦
که بخشش نهادند آزادگان
“And to this second share belonged Azerbaijan, where noblemen established the governance.”
#8
وز ارمینیه تا در اردبیل
✦
بپیمود بینادل و بوم گیل
“And stretching from Armenia to the gates of Ardabil, the insightful king surveyed the land of Gilan.”
#9
سیوم پارس و اهواز و مرز خزر
✦
ز خاور ورا بود تا باختر
“The third quarter encompassed Pars, Ahvaz, and the Khazar marches, spanning from East to West.”
#10
چهارم عراق آمد و بوم روم
✦
چنین پادشاهی و آباد بوم
“The fourth quarter was Iraq and the domain of Rome; such was the kingdom and its flourishing lands.”
#11
وزین مرزها هرک درویش بود
✦
نیازش به رنج تن خویش بود
“Whosoever in these regions was poor and constrained to hard physical labor for his daily bread,”
#12
ببخشید آگنده گنجی برین
✦
جهانی برو خواندند آفرین
“The king bestowed filled treasuries upon them, such that the world sang his praises.”
#13
ز شاهان هرآنکس که بد پیش ازوی
✦
اگر کم بدش گاه اگر بیش ازوی
“As for former kings who ruled before him, whether their reign was short or long,”
#14
بجستند بهره ز کشت و درود
✦
نرستست کس پیش ازین نابسود
“They extracted their share from sowing and harvesting; none before this had left a crop untaxed.”
#15
سه یک بود یا چار یک بهر شاه
✦
قباد آمد و ده یک آورد راه
“The king's share used to be a third or a fourth; then Qobad came and reduced it to a tithe.”
#16
زده یک بر آن بد که کمتر کند
✦
بکوشد که کهتر چو مهتر کند
“Qobad intended that the tithe be reduced even further, striving to elevate the humble like the great.”
#17
زمانه ندادش بران بر درنگ
✦
به دریا بس ایمن مشو بر نهنگ
“Yet time gave him no respite for that—for one must not rest too secure near a whale in the sea.”
#18
به کسری رسید آن سزاوار تاج
✦
ببخشید بر جای ده یک خراج
“The crown fell to Khosrow, who established a fair tithe tax across the land.”
#19
شدند انجمن بخردان و ردان
✦
بزرگان و بیداردل موبدان
“The wise men, noble chiefs, and vigilant priests gathered together in council.”
#20
همه پادشاهان شدند انجمن
✦
زمین را ببخشید و برزد رسن
“All local rulers assembled; they divided the land and laid down measuring ropes to survey it.”
#21
گزیتی نهادند بر یک درم
✦
گر ای دون که دهقان نباشد دژم
“They fixed a poll tax of one dirham, provided the landowner was not distressed.”
#22
کسی را کجا تخم گر چارپای
✦
به هنگام ورزش نبودی بجای
“If anyone lacked seed or draft animals at the time of plowing,”
#23
ز گنج شهنشاه برداشتی
✦
وگرنه زمین خوار بگذاشتی
“He was supplied from the Shahanshah's treasury; otherwise, the land would lie neglected.”
#24
بنا کشته اندر نبودی سخن
✦
پراگنده شد رسمهای کهن
“Uncultivated land was not taxed, and ancient oppressive customs were scattered to the wind.”
#25
گزیت رز بارور شش درم
✦
به خرما ستان بر همین بد رقم
“The tax for a fertile vine was six dirhams, and the same rate was fixed for date palm groves.”
#26
ز زیتون و جوز و ز هر میوه‌دار
✦
که در مهرگان شاخ بودی ببار
“For olive, walnut, and every fruit-bearing tree that bore fruit by the festival of Mehregan,”
#27
ز ده بن درمی رسیدی به گنج
✦
نبوید جزین تا سر سال رنج
“For every ten trees, one dirham reached the treasury; beyond this annual toil, nothing more was demanded.”
#28
وزین خوردنیهای خردادماه
✦
نکردی به کار اندرون کس نگاه
“As for minor crops harvested in the month of Khordad, no official laid taxes upon them.”
#29
کسی کش درم بود و دهقان نبود
✦
ندیدی غم رنج و کشت و درود
“Whoever possessed dirhams but was not a farmer suffered no hardship of sowing and reaping.”
#30
بر اندازه از ده درم تا چهار
✦
بسالی ازو بستدی کاردار
“According to status, the official collected between four to ten dirhams annually from such persons.”
#31
کسی بر کدیور نکردی ستم
✦
به سالی به سه بهره بود این درم
“No official oppressed the farmer; this money was paid in three installments per year.”
#32
گزارنده بودی به دیوان شاه
✦
ازین باژ بهری به هر چار ماه
“They delivered a share of this tribute to the royal court every four months.”
#33
دبیر و پرستندهٔ شهریار
✦
نبودی به دیوان کسی زین شمار
“Scribes and servants of the king were exempt from this tax registry.”
#34
گزیت و خراج آنچ بد نام برد
✦
بسه روزنامه به موبد سپرد
“The king recorded the specifics of poll tax and land tax in three ledgers and entrusted them to the Mobad.”
#35
یکی آنک بر دست گنجور بود
✦
نگهبان آن نامه دستور بود
“One copy remained in the hands of the treasurer, guarded under the watch of the minister.”
#36
دگر تا فرستد به هر کشوری
✦
به هر نامداری و هر مهتری
“Another copy was sent to every province, to every noble ruler and chieftain.”
#37
سه دیگر که نزدیک موبد برند
✦
گزیت و سر باژها بشمرند
“The third copy was brought before the High Priest to count the totals of poll tax and tribute.”
#38
به فرمان او بود کاری که بود
✦
ز باژ و خراج و ز کشت و درود
“Under his command rested every detail concerning tribute, land tax, sowing, and harvest.”
#39
پراگنده کاراگهان در جهان
✦
که تا نیک و بد زو نماند نهان
“Secret intelligence agents were scattered across the world so that neither good nor evil remained hidden from him.”
#40
همه روی گیتی پر از داد کرد
✦
بهرجای ویرانی آباد کرد
“He filled the face of the earth with justice, turning every ruined place into prosperity.”
#41
بخفتند بر دشت خرد و بزرگ
✦
به آبشخور آمد همی میش و گرگ
“The small and great slept safely in the open plains, and the sheep and wolf came to drink at the same stream.”