After times of trial and strife, the grandeur of King Khosrow Parviz soared high, illuminating the realm of Iran like the blazing sun. The Great King spent his days in the loving company of Maryam, the noble daughter of the Roman Caesar, who reigned supreme as the chief mistress of the royal harem. Yet, deep within the inner chambers, a bitter fire of envy consumed Shirin. Unable to bear Maryam's supremacy, Shirin grew pale and yellow-cheeked with malice until she devised a fateful intrigue. In secret, she administered a deadly poison to Maryam, bringing an end to the renowned Roman princess. None discovered the foul deed, for Shirin locked the dark secret within her heart. A year after Maryam's demise, Khosrow committed the Golden Harem into Shirin's eager hands.
Meanwhile, Prince Shiruye reached sixteen years of age, his physique so massive and towering that he resembled a warrior of thirty. Desiring that his son become renowned and learned, King Khosrow assembled sages and scholars to instruct him. A high Mobad watched over the youth day and night, dutifully serving the King's decree. One day, the Mobad entered the Prince's chambers and found Shiruye engrossed in a disturbing and uncanny pasttime. Opened before the youth lay a copy of *Kalila wa Dimna*, yet in his formidable left hand he held the dried, ferocious claw of a wolf, and in his right, the hard horn of a wild buffalo, constantly striking the two sinister objects against one another as he pleased.
The Mobad's heart sank at the sight of these bizarre acts. In the wolf's claw, the buffalo horn, and the fierce demeanor of the powerful prince, the priest read an ominous, terrible portent. He remembered the dark horoscopes cast at Shiruye's birth—prophecies warned of by astronomers and counselors that foretold ruin for the kingdom. Without delay, the Mobad approached King Khosrow Parviz and reported the Prince's sinister play. The King's face turned pale, and his soul was gripped by agony. Reminded of the astrologers' dire predictions, Khosrow pondered in despair how the Lord of the Heavens would shape the destiny of his empire.
By the twenty-third year of Khosrow's reign, Shiruye had grown into a formidable, strong-willed young man. Wary of the potential threat and disturbed by the dark omen, the King's once-joyful heart filled with sorrow. He ordered Shiruye to be removed from court and confined within a gilded palace transformed into a fortress-prison. Not only Shiruye, but all his supporters, kinsmen, and associates—nobles and commoners alike—were rounded up and bound. Their numbers exceeded three thousand souls.
Khosrow commanded his royal builders to connect a series of magnificent palaces into a single secluded compound. Though imprisoned, Shiruye and his followers were denied no luxury: the King provided them with fine garments, exquisite banquets, plush carpets, endless dinars, attendants, and master musicians. There they lived in perpetual feast and entertainment, while forty vigilant guards stood watch at the gates, keeping the ominous prince locked away from the royal throne.