When spring attired the plains in silk and velvet, the warriors of Turan girded themselves for war. An endless host gathered from the Turks, Chin, and the mace-bearing lords of the East—an army so colossal that neither its flanks nor its center could be discerned, even as the star of King Nowzar’s youthful reign began to wane.
As the thunder of the Turanian war-bands reached the banks of the Oxus (Jayhun), tidings came to King Nowzar. Leaving their radiant palaces, the Iranian warriors marched out onto the open plains. Qaren the fierce commander took the vanguard toward Dehestan, with Nowzar following behind, while rumors of war filled the lands. When the host arrived before the fortress of Dehestan, the rising dust blotted out the sun, and the royal pavilions of Nowzar were raised upon the plain.
Afrasiab, capitalizing on the moment, wasted no time. He selected two of his foremost warlords—Shamasas and the brave Khazarvan—assigning them thirty thousand seasoned horsemen to ride toward Zabulistan and attack the heartland of Dastan. News had reached him that the mighty Sam son of Nariman had passed away, and that Zal the White-haired was consumed with grief, raising a tomb for his father. Joyful at the thought that Iran's divine fortune had fallen asleep, Afrasiab arrived at Dehestan and pitched his command tents opposite Nowzar's camp. His army numbered four hundred thousand battle-ready horsemen, so vast that the desert sands seemed to boil with ants and locusts, whereas Nowzar stood with only one hundred and forty thousand.
Surveying the forces under the cover of night, Afrasiab dispatched a swift courier bearing a letter to his father, King Pashang. He declared that victory was within their grasp, as the formidable Sam was gone, Zal was immobilized by mourning, and the Iranian host was ripe for destruction. Urging that no time be lost while opportunity favored them, Afrasiab noted that Shamasas was already riding for Nimruz. Receiving the scroll, the swift messenger spread his wings like a bird of prey and sped toward the court of King Pashang.