As the formidable host of Khosrow Parviz swept across the frontier into the Roman realms, they made straight for the fortified city known to Caesar as Karestan. When the Christian inhabitants beheld the shimmering dust of the Persian army from afar, panic seized them. Fleeing through every path and alley, they retreated within their high battlements and bolted the massive city gates fast.
The world-illuminating King was thus brought to a halt, forced to encamp outside the walled city for three full days. On the fourth morn, Khosrow dispatched an envoy, reminding the citizens that his host was vast and hungry, urging them to send provisions and assist rather than display hostility. Yet the townsfolk held his words cheap, leaving the Persian soldiers weary and unfed.
Then the hand of Providence intervened. A dark, brooding cloud materialized over the skies, roaring like a wounded war lion. Gale-force winds whipped through the avenues of Karestan, and cries of terror echoed from every corner. Before half the night had elapsed, a tremendous section of the ancient battlements collapsed into dust. Astounded by this cosmic rebuke, the citizens trembled and offered earnest prayers of repentance to Yazdan under the roof of heaven.
In haste, forage and food were prepared at every crossroad. Three senior Christian bishops and ascetics rode out bearing the finest treasures and textiles that Rome could produce. Laying these offerings before Khosrow, they confessed their error and sought his mercy. Because Khosrow was a youthful sovereign of noble disposition, he abstained from harsh reproaches and granted them amnesty.
Within the city stood a grand palace whose pinnacle brazenly scraped the clouds—a royal residence erected by Caesar himself. Khosrow entered from the plains, strolled through the glorious city, and took residence within the palace. The Romans sang his praises and showered precious gems beneath his footsteps. Finding the city prosperous and restful, the King tarried there for a season and penned a chronicle of the tempest and storm to Caesar.
Thereafter, the monarch marched onward to the region of Manvi. The wisest, most generous elders, bishops, and monks of Manvi hastened out with tribute and gifts to greet the sovereign. Sitting in audience with the King, they spoke of the ancient fortress and the miraculous tempest, reaffirming their absolute submission and bowing their heads to Khosrow's mandate.