Bahram Chubineh assembled a formidable force of one hundred thousand seasoned swordsmen, bolstered by three fierce Khaqani chieftains who roared like ravenous wolves. As the first cockcrow sounded at dawn, the war drums thundered and Bahram's vanguard struck Khosrow Parviz's camp with unrelenting fury. A cloud of iron dust swallowed the sky while the clatter of maces and swords echoed across the plain. Khosrow watched from high ground, his heart aching and his face pale as blood spilled across the field.
When daylight fully broke, revealing heaps of fallen warriors, Khosrow strove to rally his ranks. He charged directly into the fray and decapitated a fierce Turkic commander who sought to slay him. Yet, seeing the overwhelming tide, the Persian host broke rank and fled, abandoning their young sovereign. Bandoy and Gustahm urged Khosrow to preserve his life, reminding him that he had no heir to inherit the throne and that his death would mean the total ruin of the realm.
Khosrow dispatched Zangoy to aid Takhavar in securing the royal treasury, silk pavilions, and ivory throne across the river. Soon after, Bahram Chubineh advanced under his dragon banner, and the two leaders clashed like furious war elephants. Upon receiving word that the royal baggage was safely across, Khosrow and his ten remaining companions executed a strategic retreat to the Nahrawan Bridge, pursued hotly by Bahram.
At the bridge head, Khosrow halted and called for his royal bow. Standing his ground, he rained arrows like deadly hail, pinning helmets to heads and downing both Bahram's steed and that of Yalan-Sineh. Disarmed and dismounted, Bahram's pursuit was shattered. Khosrow severed the bridge of Nahrawan behind him, preventing further advance, and retreated sorrowfully to Ctesiphon. There, he barred the iron gates of the metropolis and sat in deep, mournful contemplation of his kingdom's fate.