Page:Persian Literature (1900), vol. 1.djvu/122

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88

FIRDUSI

KAI-KÁÚS

WHEN Kai-káús^[1] ascended the throne of his father, the whole world was obedient to his will; but he soon began to deviate from the wise customs and rules which had been recommended as essential to his prosperity and happiness. He feasted and drank wine continually with his warriors and chiefs, so that in the midst of his luxurious enjoyments he looked upon himself as superior to every being upon the face of the earth, and thus astonished the people, high and low, by his extravagance and pride. One day a Demon, disguised as a musician, waited upon the monarch, and playing sweetly on his harp, sung a song in praise of Mázinderán.

And thus he warbled to the king—“Mázinderán is the bower of spring,My native home; the balmy airDiffuses health and fragrance there;So tempered is the genial glow,Nor heat nor cold we ever know;Tulips and hyacinths aboundOn every lawn; and all around.Blooms like a garden in its prime,Fostered by that delicious clime.The bulbul sits on every spray,And pours his soft melodious lay;Each rural spot its sweets discloses,Each streamlet is the dew of roses;And damsels, idols of the heart,Sustain a more bewitching part.And mark me, that untravelled manWho never saw Mázinderán,And all the charms its bowers possess,Has never tasted happiness!”

No sooner had Kai-káús heard this description of the country of Mázinderán than he determined to lead an army thither,

↑ Kai-káús, the second King of Persia of the dynasty called Kaianides. He succeeded Kai-kobád, about six hundred years B.C. According to Firdusi he was a foolish tyrannical prince. He appointed Rustem captain-general of the armies, to which the lieutenant-generalship and the administration of the state was annexed, under the title of “the champion of the world.” He also gave him a taj, or crown of gold, which kings only were accustomed to wear, and granted him the privilege of giving audience seated on a throne of gold. It is said that Kai-káús applied himself much to the study of astronomy, and that he founded two great observatories, the one at Babel, and the other on the Tigris.

[1] Kai-káús, the second King of Persia of the dynasty called Kaianides. He succeeded Kai-kobád, about six hundred years B.C. According to Firdusi he was a foolish tyrannical prince. He appointed Rustem captain-general of the armies, to which the lieutenant-generalship and the administration of the state was annexed, under the title of “the champion of the world.” He also gave him a taj, or crown of gold, which kings only were accustomed to wear, and granted him the privilege of giving audience seated on a throne of gold. It is said that Kai-káús applied himself much to the study of astronomy, and that he founded two great observatories, the one at Babel, and the other on the Tigris.

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