Afrásiyáb after his defeat pursued his way in despair towards Chín and
Má-chín, and on the road happened to fall in with a man of huge and
terrific stature. Amazed at the sight of so extraordinary a being, he
asked him who and what he was. "I am a villager," replied the stranger.
"And thy father?"--"I do not know my father. My mother has never
mentioned his name, and my birth is wrapped in mystery." Afrásiyáb then
addressed him as follows:--"It is my misfortune to have a bitter and
invincible enemy, who has plunged me into the greatest distress. If he
could be subdued, there would be no impediment to my conquest of Irán;
and I feel assured that thou, apparently endued with such prodigious
strength, hast the power to master him. His name is Rustem." "What!"
rejoined Barzú, "is all this concern and affliction about one man--about
one man only?" "Yes," answered Afrásiyáb; "but that one man is equal to
a hundred strong men. Upon him neither sword, nor mace, nor javelin has
any effect. In battle he is like a mountain of steel." At this Barzú
exclaimed in gamesome mood:--"A mountain of steel!--I can reduce to dust
a hundred mountains of steel!--What is a mountain of steel to me!"
Afrásiyáb rejoiced to find such confidence in the stranger, and
instantly promised him his own daughter in marriage, and the monarchy of
Chín and Má-chín, if he succeeded in destroying Rustem. Barzú replied:--
"Thou art but a coward slave,
Thus a stranger's aid to crave.
And thy soldiers, what are they?
Heartless on the battle-day.
Thou, the prince of such a host!
What, alas! hast thou to boast?
Art thou not ashamed to wear
The regal crown that glitters there?
And dost thou not disgrace the throne
Thus to be awed, and crushed by one;
By one, whate'er his name or might,
Thus to be put to shameful flight!"
Afrásiyáb felt keenly the reproaches which he heard; but, nevertheless,
solicited the assistance of Barzú, who declared that he would soon
overpower Rustem, and place the empire of Irán under the dominion of the
Tartar king. He would, he said, overflow the land of Persia with blood,
and take possession of the throne! The despot was intoxicated with
delight, and expecting his most sanguine wishes would be realized, made
him the costliest presents, consisting of gold and jewels, and horses,
and elephants, so that the besotted stranger thought himself the
greatest personage in all the world. But his mother, when she heard
these things, implored him to be cautious:--
"My son, these presents, though so rich and rare,
Will be thy winding-sheet; beware, beware!
They'll drive to madness thy poor giddy brain,
And thou wilt never be restored again.
Never; for wert thou bravest of the brave,
They only lead to an untimely grave.
Then give them back, nor such a doom provoke,
Beware of Rustem's host-destroying stroke.
Has he not conquered demons!--and, alone,
Afrásiyáb's best warriors overthrown!
And canst thou equal them?--Alas! the day
That thy sweet life should thus be thrown away."
Barzú, however, was too much dazzled by the presents he had received,
and too vain of his own personal strength to attend to his mother's
advice. "Certainly," said he, "the disposal of our lives is in the hands
of the Almighty, and as certain it is that my strength is superior to
that of Rustem. Would it not then be cowardly to decline the contest
with him?" The mother still continued to dissuade him from the
enterprise, and assured him that Rustem was above all mankind
distinguished for the art, and skill, and dexterity, with which he
attacked his enemy, and defended himself; and that there was no chance
of his being overcome by a man entirely ignorant of the science of
fighting; but Barzú remained unmoved: yet he told the king what his
mother had said; and Afrásiyáb, in consequence, deemed it proper to
appoint two celebrated masters to instruct him in the use of the bow,
the sword, and the javelin, and also in wrestling and throwing the
noose. Every day, clothed in armor, he tried his skill and strength with
the warriors, and after ten days he was sufficiently accomplished to
overthrow eighteen of them at one time. Proud of the progress he had
made, he told the king that he would seize and bind eighteen of his
stoutest and most experienced teachers, and bring them before him, if he
wished, when all the assembly exclaimed:--"No doubt he is fully equal
to the task;
"He does not seem of human birth, but wears
The aspect of the Evil One; and looks
Like Alberz mountain, clad in folds of mail;
Unwearied in the fight he conquers all."
Afrásiyáb's satisfaction was increased by this testimony to the merit of
Barzú, and he heaped upon him further tokens of his good-will and
munificence. The vain, newly-made warrior was all exultation and
delight, and said impatiently:--
"Delays are ever dangerous--let us meet
The foe betimes, this Rustem and the king,
Kai-khosráu. If we linger in a cause
Demanding instant action, prompt appliance,
And rapid execution, we are lost.
Advance, and I will soon lop off the heads
Of this belauded champion and his king,
And cast them, with the Persian crown and throne
Trophies of glory, at thy royal feet;
So that Túrán alone shall rule the world."
Speedily ten thousand experienced horsemen were selected and placed
under the command of Barzú; and Húmán and Bármán were appointed to
accompany him; Afrásiyáb himself intending to follow with the reserve.
When the intelligence of this new expedition reached the court of
Kai-khosráu, he was astonished, and could not conceive how, after so
signal a defeat and overthrow, Afrásiyáb had the means of collecting
another army, and boldly invading his kingdom. To oppose this invasion,
however, he ordered Tús and Fríburz, with twelve thousand horsemen, and
marched after them himself with a large army. As soon as Tús fell in
with the enemy the battle commenced, and lasted, with great carnage, a
whole day and night, and in the end Barzú was victorious. The warriors
of the Persian force fled, and left Tús and Fríburz alone on the field,
where they were encountered by the conqueror, taken prisoners, and
bound, and placed in the charge of Húmán. The tidings of the result of
this conflict were received with as much rejoicing by Afrásiyáb, as with
sorrow and consternation by Kai-khosráu. And now the emergency, on the
Persian side, demanded the assistance of Rustem, whose indignation was
roused, and who determined on revenge for the insult that had been
given. He took with him Gustahem, the brother of Tús, and at midnight
thought he had come to the tent of Barzú, but it proved to be the
pavilion of Afrásiyáb, who was seen seated on his throne, with Barzú on
his right hand, and Pírán-wísah on his left, and Tús and Fríburz
standing in chains before them. The king said to the captive warriors:
"To-morrow you shall both be put to death in the manner I slew
Saiáwush." He then retired. Meanwhile Rustem returned thanks to Heaven
that his friends were still alive, and requesting Gustahem to follow
cautiously, he waited awhile for a fit opportunity, till the watchman
was off his guard, and then killing him, he and Gustahem took up and
conveyed the two prisoners to a short distance, where they knocked off
their chains, and then conducted them back to Kai-khosráu.
When Afrásiyáb arose from sleep, he found his warriors in close and
earnest conversation, and was told that a champion from Persia had come
and killed the watchman, and carried off the prisoners. Pírán exclaimed:
"Then assuredly that champion is Rustem, and no other." Afrásiyáb
writhed with anger and mortification at this intelligence, and sending
for Barzú, despatched his army to attack the enemy, and challenge Rustem
to single combat. Rustem was with the Persian troops, and, answering the
summons, said: "Young man, if thou art calling for Rustem, behold I come
in his place to lay thee prostrate on the earth." "Ah!" rejoined Barzú,
"and why this threat? It is true I am but of tender years, whilst thou
art aged and experienced. But if thou art fire, I am water, and able to
quench thy flames." Saying this he wielded his bow, and fixed the arrow
in its notch, and commenced the strife. Rustem also engaged with bow and
arrows; and then they each had recourse to their maces, which from
repeated strokes were soon bent as crooked as their bows, and they were
themselves nearly exhausted. Their next encounter was by wrestling, and
dreadful were the wrenches and grasps they received from each other.
Barzú finding no advantage from this struggle, raised his mace, and
struck Rustem such a prodigious blow on the head, that the champion
thought a whole mountain had fallen upon him. One arm was disabled, but
though the wound was desperate, Rustem had the address to conceal its
effects, and Barzú wondered that he had made apparently so little
impression on his antagonist. "Thou art," said he, "a surprising
warrior, and seemingly invulnerable. Had I struck such a blow on a
mountain, it would have been broken into a thousand fragments, and yet
it makes no impression upon thee. Heaven forbid!" he continued to
himself, "that I should ever receive so bewildering a stroke upon my own
head!" Rustem having successfully concealed the anguish of his wound,
artfully observed that it would be better to finish the combat on the
following day, to which Barzú readily agreed, and then they both parted.
Barzú declared to Afrásiyáb that his extraordinary vigor and strength
had been of no account, for both his antagonist and his horse appeared
to be composed of materials as hard as flint. Every blow was without
effect; and "Heaven only knows," added he, "what may be the result of
to-morrow's conflict." On the other hand Rustem showed his lacerated arm
to Khosráu, and said: "I have escaped from him; but who else is there
now to meet him, and finish the struggle? Ferámurz, my son, cannot
fulfil my promise with Barzú, as he, alas! is fighting in Hindústán. Let
me, however, call him hither, and in the meanwhile, on some pretext or
other, delay the engagement." The king, in great sorrow and affliction,
sanctioned his departure, and then said to his warriors: "I will fight
this Barzú myself to-morrow;" but Gúdarz would not consent to it,
saying: "As long as we live, the king must not be exposed to such
hazard. Gíw and Byzun, and the other chiefs, must first successively
encounter the enemy."
When Rustem reached his tent, he told his brother Zúára to get ready a
litter, that he might proceed to Sístán for the purpose of obtaining a
remedy for his wound from the Símúrgh. Pain and grief kept him awake all
night, and he prayed incessantly to the Supreme Being. In the morning
early, Zúára brought him intelligence of the welcome arrival of
Ferámurz, which gladdened his heart; and as the youth had undergone
great fatigue on his long journey, Rustem requested him to repose
awhile, and he himself, freed from anxiety, also sought relief in a
sound sleep.
A few hours afterwards both armies were again drawn up, and Barzú, like
a mad elephant, full of confidence and pride, rode forward to resume the
combat; whilst Rustem gave instructions to Ferámurz how he was to act.
He attired him in his own armor, supplied him with his own weapons, and
mounted him on Rakush, and told him to represent himself to Barzú as the
warrior who had engaged him the day before. Accordingly Ferámurz entered
the middle space, clothed in his father's mail, raised his bow, ready
bent, and shot an arrow at Barzú, crying: "Behold thy adversary! I am
the man come to try thy strength again. Advance!" To this Barzú replied:
"Why this hilarity, and great flow of spirits? Art thou reckless of thy
life?" "In the eyes of warriors," said Ferámurz, "the field of fight is
the mansion of pleasure. After I yesterday parted from thee I drank wine
with my companions, and the impression of delight still remains on my
heart.
"Wine exhilarates the soul,
Makes the eye with pleasure roll;
Lightens up the darkest mien,
Fills with joy the dullest scene;
Hence it is I meet thee now
With a smile upon my brow,"
Barzú, however, thought that the voice and action of his adversary were
not the same as he had heard and seen the preceding day, although there
was no difference in the armor or the horse, and therefore he said:
"Perhaps the cavalier whom I encountered yesterday is wounded or dead,
that thou hast mounted his charger, and attired thyself in his mail."
"Indeed," rejoined Ferámurz, "perhaps thou hast lost thy wits; I am
certainly the person who engaged thee yesterday, and almost extinguished
thee; and with God's favor thou shalt be a dead man to-day." "What is
thy name?" "My name is Rustem, descended from a race of warriors, and my
pleasure consists in contending with the lions of battle, and shedding
the blood of heroes." Thus saying, Ferámurz rushed on his adversary,
struck him several blows with his battle-axe, and drawing his noose from
the saddle-strap with the quickness of lightning, secured his prize. He
might have put an end to his existence in a moment, but preferred taking
him alive, and showing him as a captive. Afrásiyáb seeing the perilous
condition of Barzú, came up with his whole army to his rescue; but
Kai-khosráu was equally on the alert, accompanied by Rustem, who,
advancing to the support of Ferámurz, threw another noose round the neck
of the already-captured Barzú, to prevent the possibility of his escape.
Both armies now engaged, and the Túránians made many desperate efforts
to recover their gigantic leader, but all their manoeuvres were
fruitless. The struggle continued fiercely, and with great slaughter,
till it was dark, and then ceased; the two kings returned back to the
respective positions they had taken up before the conflict took place.
The Túránians were in the deepest grief for the loss of Barzú; and
Pírán-wísah having recommended an immediate retreat across the Jihún,
Afrásiyáb followed his counsel, and precipitately quitted Persia with
all his troops.
Kai-khosráu ordered a grand banquet on the occasion of the victory; and
when Barzú was brought before him, he commanded his immediate execution;
but Rustem, seeing that he was very young, and thinking that he had not
yet been corrupted and debased by the savage example of the Túránians,
requested that he might be spared, and given to him to send into Sístán;
and his request was promptly complied with.
When the mother of Barzú, whose name was Sháh-rú, heard that her son was
a prisoner, she wept bitterly, and hastened to Irán, and from thence to
Sístán. There happened to be in Rustem's employ a singing-girl,[50] an
old acquaintance of hers, to whom she was much attached, and to whom she
made large presents, calling her by the most endearing epithets, in
order that she might be brought to serve her in the important matter she
had in contemplation. Her object was soon explained, and the
preliminaries at once adjusted, and by the hands of this singing-girl
she secretly sent some food to Barzú, in which she concealed a ring, to
apprise him of her being near him. On finding the ring, he asked who had
supplied him with the food, and her answer was: "A woman recently
arrived from Má-chín." This was to him delightful intelligence, and he
could not help exclaiming, "That woman is my mother, I am grateful for
thy services, but another time bring me, if thou canst, a large file,
that I may be able to free myself from these chains." The singing-girl
promised her assistance; and having told Sháh-rú what her son required,
conveyed to him a file, and resolved to accompany him in his flight.
Barzú then requested that three fleet horses might be provided and kept
ready under the walls, at a short distance; and this being also done, in
the night, he and his mother, and the singing-girl, effected their
escape, and pursued their course towards Túrán.
It so happened that Rustem was at this time in progress between Irán and
Sístán, hunting for his own pleasure the elk or wild ass, and he
accidentally fell in with the refugees, who made an attempt to avoid
him, but, unable to effect their purpose, thought proper to oppose him
with all their might, and a sharp contest ensued. Both parties becoming
fatigued, they rested awhile, when Rustem asked Barzú how he had
obtained his liberty. "The Almighty freed me from the bondage I
endured." "And who are these two women?" "One of them," replied Barzú,
"is my mother, and that is a singing-girl of thy own house." Rustem went
aside, and called for breakfast, and thinking in his own mind that it
would be expedient to poison Barzú, mixed up a deleterious substance in
some food, and sent it to him to eat. He was just going to take it, when
his mother cried, "My son, beware!" and he drew his hand from the dish.
But the singing-girl did eat part of it, and died on the spot. Upon
witnessing this appalling scene, Barzú sprang forward with indignation,
and reproached Rustem for his treachery in the severest terms.
"Old man! hast thou mid warrior-chiefs a place,
And dost thou practice that which brings disgrace?
Hast thou no fear of a degraded name,
No fear of lasting obloquy and shame?
O, thou canst have no hope in God, when thou
Stand'st thus defiled--dishonoured, false, as now;
Unfair, perfidious, art thou too, in strife,
By any pretext thou wouldst take my life!"
He then in a menacing attitude exclaimed: "If thou art a man, rise and
fight!" Rustem felt ashamed on being thus detected, and rose up frowning
in scorn. They met, brandishing their battle-axes, and looking as black
as the clouds of night. They then dismounted to wrestle, and fastening
the bridles, each to his own girdle, furiously grasped each other's
loins and limbs, straining and struggling for the mastery. Whilst they
were thus engaged, their horses betrayed equal animosity, and attacked
each other with great violence. Rakush bit and kicked Barzú's steed so
severely that he strove to gallop away, dragging his master, who was at
the same time under the excruciating grip of Rustem. "O, release me for
a moment till I am disentangled from my horse," exclaimed Barzú; but
Rustem heeding him not, now pressed him down beneath him, and was
preparing to give him the finishing blow by cutting off his head, when
the mother seeing the fatal moment approach, shrieked, and cried out,
"Forbear, Rustem! this youth is the son of Sohráb, and thy own
grandchild! Forbear, and bring not on thyself the devouring anguish
which followed the death of his unhappy father.
"Think of Sohráb! take not the precious life
Of sire and son--unnatural is the strife;
Restrain, for mercy's sake, that furious mood,
And pause before thou shedd'st a kinsman's blood."
"Ah!" rejoined Rustem, "can that be true?" upon which Sháh-rú showed him
Sohráb's brilliant finger-ring and he was satisfied. He then pressed
Barzú warmly and affectionately to his breast, and kissed his head and
eyes, and took him along with him to Sístán, where he placed him in a
station of honor, and introduced him to his great-grandfather Zál, who
received and caressed him with becoming tenderness and regard.