During the glorious reign of King Khosrow Anushirvan, the realm of Iran flourished under the twin pillars of wisdom and unyielding justice. The monarch himself filled every role—king and champion, high priest and supreme commander—ensuring no affair of state escaped his vigilant realm of informants. When a mobad questioned his mercy toward repentant sinners, Anushirvan likened the sovereign to a physician and the transgressor to a suffering patient whom a healer must never abandon. When news arrived that the general of Gurgan had been plundered by the men of Gilan due to negligence, the king decreed that an army incapable of guarding itself deserved no royal sympathy.
Regarding a wealthy noble whose riches rivaled the crown, the king serenely replied that all wealth under his sun flowed from the Royal Glory of his throne. When Roman captives were brought, he ordered all young children restored to their mothers' arms, declaring that true kings win glory by the sword, not by wringing ransom from the helpless. In matters of governance, Anushirvan commanded that fallen warriors' orphans receive quarterly pensions from the royal treasury and remitted the debts of struggling provincial ministers.
His justice fell heavily upon corrupt governors: when a commander in Merv robbed the populace, Anushirvan ordered him hanged upside down before his own gates, restoring every coin to the poor. Similarly, when Farakhan Salar extortionately seized wealth from Balkh, the king demolished his grand palace, restored the riches to the oppressed, and erased the offender's name from the royal registry. He harbored no ill towards nocturnal feasts, allowing his subjects to enjoy music and wine under the peaceful night sky. Ultimately, Khosrow declared that statecraft and faith are intertwined, warning that without a righteous monarch, neither wisdom nor religion can endure, for the just king is the very crown of Time.