For a full month, King Khosrow Anushirvan entertained the foreign envoys with lavish banquets and grand royal hunts. Thereafter, he ordered a magnificent pavilion to be pitched upon a vast plain. So dense was the gathering of armored cavalry that the sky darkened with the dust of their hooves. Golden-belted marchlords from every frontier, fierce Baloch warriors, and Gilani champions bearing shields wrought with gold assembled before the sovereign. Three hundred war elephants arrayed in golden trappings were brought forward, their backs adorned with fine silks and turquoise thrones blue as the Nile. The gleam of swords, javelins, and lances created a dazzling spectacle, as though gold itself had been fused into solid iron, while the thunder of war drums and trumpets deafened even the sharpest ears.
Emissaries from Barda'a, India, Rome, and every realm of the inhabited earth stood assembled. Anushirvan showed the ambassador of Cathay the true stature of Iranian kingship, proving whose mandate extended from the high sun to the depths of the ocean. Warlike horsemen galloped into the arena, displaying extraordinary mastery with mace, sword, bow, and javelin, while infantry and cavalry executed flawless tactical maneuvers. Yet, as the foreign envoys marveled at the sheer scale of the host and its flawless discipline, they whispered among themselves that while the army's drills were formidable, they longed to behold the personal martial prowess of King Nushinravan himself, so that they might carry word of his legendary strength back to their own monarchs.
When these whispered words reached the King's ear, he summoned his treasurer to bring forth his personal battle gear onto the field. Armor, coat of mail, helmet, and heavy mace were brought out and unpacked—gear so colossal that not a single champion in the entire army could even lift the mail coat off the ground, for none possessed the shoulder and neck strength to bear it save the King. Mounting his swift warhorse like a furious elephant, Anushirvan grasped his bull-headed mace. As trumpets sounded and elephant bells rang, the Shahanshah charged across the arena, wheeling left and right with consummate grace and terrifying power. Stunned by this display of peerless strength and supreme horsemanship, the foreign envoys broke into unanimous praise and bowed their heads to the earth in absolute reverence.
#1
ببودند یک ماه نزدیک شاه
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به ایوان بزم و به نخچیرگاه
“For a month they remained near the King, within the banquet halls and the hunting grounds.”
#2
یکی بارگه ساخت روزی به دشت
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ز گردسواران هوا تیره گشت
“One day he pitched a pavilion upon the plain, and the air turned dark from the dust of mounted knights.”
#3
همه مرزبانان زرین کمر
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بلوچی و گیلی به زرین سپر
“All the golden-belted border-lords came, Baloches and Gilanis bearing golden shields,”
#4
سراسر بدان بارگاه آمدند
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پرستنده نزدیک شاه آمدند
“All gathered at that court; attendants came near to the King.”
#5
چوسیصدز پیلان زرین ستام
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ببردند وشمشیر زرین نیام
“They brought nearly three hundred elephants with golden trappings and swords in golden scabbards.”
#6
درخشیدن تیغ و ژوپین وخشت
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تو گویی که زر اندر آهن سرشت
“So bright was the gleam of swords, javelins, and darts, you would say gold was alloyed into iron.”
#7
بدیبا بیاراسته پشت پیل
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بدو تخت پیروزه هم رنگ نیل
“The backs of the elephants were adorned with brocade, bearing turquoise thrones as blue as the Nile.”
#8
زمین پرخروش وهوا پر ز جوش
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همی کر شده مردم تیزگوش
“The earth was full of clamor and the air full of roar, deafening even those with the keenest ears.”
#9
فرستادهٔ بردع وهند و روم
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ز هر شهریاری ز آباد بوم
“Emissaries arrived from Barda'a, India, and Rome—from every monarch of inhabited lands.”
#10
ز دشت سواران نیزه گزار
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برفتند یک سر سوی شهریار
“From the plain of spear-wielding cavalry, they all advanced together toward the King.”
#11
به چینی نمود آنک شاهی کراست
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ز خورشید تا پشت ماهی کراست
“He demonstrated to the Chinese envoy who truly holds kingship from the high sun to the abyssal fish.”
#12
هوا پر شد از جوش گرد سوار
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زمین پرشد از آلت کار زار
“The air filled with the roar of horsemen's dust, and the earth was covered with instruments of battle.”
#13
به دشت اندر آورد گه ساختند
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سواران جنگی همی‌تاختند
“Upon the plain they prepared the arena of combat; warlike knights galloped forth.”
#14
به کوپال و تیغ و بتیر و کمان
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بگشتند گردنکشان یک زمان
“With heavy maces, swords, arrows, and bows, the proud warriors wheeled about for a time.”
#15
همه دشت ژوپین‌زن و نیزه‌دار
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به یک سو پیاده به یک سو سوار
“The entire plain was filled with javelin-throwers and spearmen, infantry on one side, cavalry on the other.”
#16
فرستادگان را ز هر کشوری
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ز هر نامداری و هر مهتری
“The envoys from every country, sent by every renowned ruler and chief,”
#17
شگفت آمد از لشکر و ساز اوی
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همان چهره و نام وآواز اوی
“Were filled with wonder at his army and its gear, as well as at his visage, fame, and mighty voice.”
#18
فرستادگان یک به دیگر به راز
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بگفتند کین شاه گردن‌فراز
“The envoys whispered to one another in secret, saying, 'This exalted King...'”
#19
هنر جوید وهیچ پیچد عنان
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به کردار پیکر نماید سنان
“'...displays martial skill yet turns his reins away; he presents his spearpoint merely like a painted image.'”
#20
هنر گر نمودی به ما شهریار
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ازو داشتی هر یکی یادگار
“'If the King were to show us his own prowess, each of us would hold a prized memory of him.'”
#21
چو هریک برفتی برشاه خویش
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سخن داشتی یارهمراه خویش
“'So that when each returns to his own ruler, he would have great tales to tell his companions,'”
#22
بگفتی که چون شاه نوشین‌روان
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بدیده نبینند پیر و جوان
“'Saying that neither old nor young have ever beheld a king like Nushinravan.'”
#23
سخن هرچ گفتند اندر نهان
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بگفتند با شهریار جهان
“Whatever they spoke in secret was conveyed directly to the King of the world.”
#24
به گنجور فرمود پس شهریار
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که آرد به دشت آلت کارزار
“The King then commanded his treasurer to bring his battle gear out to the plain.”
#25
بیاورد خفتان وخود و زره
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بفرمود تا برگشاید گره
“He brought the mail-coat, helmet, and armor, and ordered the knots to be unloosed.”
#26
گشاده برون کرد زورآزمای
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نبرداشتی جوشن او زجای
“When unpacked, even a strong champion could not lift his chainmail coat from the ground!”
#27
همان خود و خفتان و کوپال اوی
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نبرداشتی جز بر و یال اوی
“Likewise, none could raise his helmet, mail-coat, or mace save his own powerful chest and neck.”
#28
کمانکش نبودی به لشکر چنوی
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نه ازنامداران چنان جنگجوی
“There was no archer in the army like him, nor any warrior of such renown in battle.”
#29
به آوردگه رفت چون پیل مست
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یکی گُرزه گاو پیکر به دست
“He strode into the arena like a raging elephant, holding a bull-headed mace in his hand.”
#30
به زیر اندرون با رهٔ گامزن
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ز بالای او خیره شد انجمن
“Mounted upon his swift warhorse, the entire assembly was dazzled by his stature.”
#31
خروش آمد و ناله کرنای
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هم از پشت پیلان جرنگ درای
“Shouts and the sound of trumpets arose, alongside the ringing bells from the backs of elephants.”
#32
تبیره زنان پیش بردند سنج
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زمین آمد از سم اسبان به رنج
“The drum-beaters brought forward the cymbals, and the earth groaned beneath the hooves of the horses.”
#33
شهنشاه با خود و گبر و سنان
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چپ و راست گردان و پیچان عنان
“The Shahanshah in helmet, armor, and lance, turned left and right, wheeling his reins.”
#34
فرستادگان خواندند آفرین
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یکایک نهادند سر بر زمین
“The envoys sang praises unto him, and one by one bowed their heads down to the earth.”