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The splendour of a Persian War Camp
Fragment from the Shahname of Abol-Qasem Ferdowsi translated by Jerome W. Clinton.
Taken from Clinton, Jerome W. (translator) The Tragedy of Sohrab and Rostam, University of Washington Press, 1987.
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The Shahname is the Persian national epic -- telling the story of Persia's heroes and rulers from the
mythical begining to the end of the Sassanids in the 7th century. Ferdowsi composed his, "definitive"
version, at the end of the 10th century. As the comparable mythologies of Arthur in Britain, the Kievan
heroes in Russia, and the numerous other national epics, this one is as important as a glimpse of
Persian life in Ferdowsi's time, as it is for the retelling of the epic past.
As setup for the quoted passage --
Sohrab is the son of Persia's main hero Rostam and a Turkic princes. Reared in the Turkic court with stories of Rostam's greatness and the ineptitude of Persia's ruler, he comes at the head of a Turkic army to take Persia and give it to his father. Here, having taken a Persian city, Sohrab looks over the ramparts at the Persian war camp, asking a captive Persian knight about the heroes there.
Sohrab is looking for his father, while the Persian knight expressly hides Rostam's presence. We, the readers, know that the supposed "Chinese knight" is really Rostam. Here is the final setup for the tragic
battle between father and son.
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"�I see a seven-hued pavilion there
Enclosing tents of leopard skin; before
It are a hundred tethered elephants,
A turquoise throne, as dark as indigo;
A banner blazoned with the sun -- its case
Is purple and a golden moon surmounts
The staff. There, in the army's heart, whose place
Is that, which hero of Iran is he?"
"That is Kavus the shah," Hojir replied,
"His court holds elephants, and lions, too."
Sohrab then asked, "There, on the right,
I see many horsemen, elephants, and gear,
A black pavilion stretching far, with ranks
I cannot count of soldiers on all sides.
Around it tents, behind it elephants,
In front are steeds of war. Before them waves
A banner figured with an elephant;
And golden-booted horsemen guard its gates."
"That's Tus, the son of Shah Nowzar," he said.
"That hero's emblem is the elephant."
And then he asked, "That red pavilion, whose
Is that with horsemen all about, and on
Its banner there, a lion worked in gold,
Whose center holds a single, shining jewel."
"That is Gudarz of Keshvad's camp," he said,
"The glory of Iran's nobility."
Sohrab then said, "I see a green pavilion,
In front of which an army stands on guard.
A splendid throne is set there at its heart;
Before it stands the banner of Kave.
Who's seated there is taller by two hands
Than any noble standing by his side.
Before him there's a horse -- a lasso hangs
Below its knees -- that stands as tall as he.
From time to time he whinnies to his lord,
And stirs beneath his saddle like the sea.
Mailed elephants of war are near to hand,
And he himself sits restless in his place.
There's no one in Iran so tall as he,
Nor do I see a horse to equal his.
His standard blazoned with a dragon's form,
And from its tip a golden lion roars."
He answered him, "He is a Chinese lord
Who's journeyed from his home to aid the shah."
"What is his name?" he asked the fortunate
Hojir. "I do not know his name," he answered him,
"For I was stationed at this fort when he
First came from China to the royal court."
Sohrab despaired at heart. In all that camp,
No trace of Tahamtan had yet appeared.
His mother had described his father's signs.
He'd seen them all, but did not trust his eyes.
. . .
He asked, "Who are the other nobles there,
Who've pitched their camp far on the army's flank,
With horsemen and with elephants drawn up?
I hear the sound of trumpets from their camp.
A banner with the figure of a wolf
Projects its tip above their golden tent."
"That's Giv, Gudarz's son," Hojir replied,
"He whom the other heroes call The Bold.
The eldest and the best of all his sons.
They think him twice a noble in Iran."
Sohrab then asked, "Beneath the morning sun
I see a white pavilion made of Greek
Brocade; before it stands a regiment
Of cavaliers more than a thousand strong.
A corps of infantry's assembled there
In endless ranks, all armed with shields and spears.
Their general's seated on an ivory throne,
On which they've placed a chair of polished teak.
Brocades of silk hang from his howdah's frame,
And rank on rank of slaves stand by his side.
Above a tent beside this splendid camp,
A banner shows the figure of the moon."
"He is the one whom we call Fariborz,
The son of Kay Kavus and heroes' crown."
Sohrab then asked, "That red pavilion there,
Whose vestibule contains some guards on foot,
Around it banners yellow, red, and blue
Are spread upon the wind; behind them is
A lofty staff, tipped with a golden moon,
Whose standard bears the figure of a boar."
"His name," he said, "is Goraze, who rides
Full tilt when lions are his prey. He's of
The clan of Giv, both vigilant and brave,
Undaunted by the pain and strain of war."
. . .
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