Firuz Shah (1), young son of King Darab of Persia, dreams of a princess of Yemen, Eyn al-Hayat (2), and falls in love with her. He sets out with his companion Farrokh Zad (3), for Yemen to find the Princess Eyn al-Hayat (2).

 

Taken from: داراب نامه/‏ - Volume 1 1960 by   ‏بيغمى ،محمد بن احمد

 

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Feruzshah on the way to Yaman.

 

Farrokhzad was born in the city of Muslimah, in flowers in luxury; We came to the story of the prince of Iran, Firuzshah, who was sailing on a ship with Khwaja Elias Bazargan (=the Merchant)(26) and Qadir Shah (27). They went for a few days, and suddenly a ship showed up. All of them were thieves and bloodthirsty, all of them were thieves, bastards, and wild men. Khwaja Elias sighed and said: I'm sorry we lost what we had! If we remain healthy, it will be good. Firouzshah said: O eunuch, what happened to you that you have become a great changer? He said: O young man, what are you asking? These are sea robbers, they steal money, and they throw the ship's crew into the sea and kill them! Firouzshah said that they are fifty people and we are also fifty beings, why don't we fight and kill them? Khwaja Elias said: O young man, what are you saying? If we fight, there will be no money left, no heads, even if a hundred of us and one of them!

 

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Firuzshah laughed and said: O Khwaja, be safe and calm so that I and my brother Qadir Shah answer these thieves. After saying this, he put his armor on his body and drew his blade. When those thieves arrived, they threw a hook in the merchant's ship and pulled it until their ship. Then they decided to come in the merchant ship. Firuzshah and Qadir Shah were by the side of the ship, whoever wanted to get on the ship, they cut him in half with a sword and did not allow any of those thieves to get on the ship. Firuzshah roared like a male lion to the Zanj. When the Zangians saw that they were fighting, they gathered around them and started a war. The author of the news reports like this, he killed twenty Zanj in the blink of an eye. When the others saw this, they decided to run away. Suddenly, Firuzshah searched the ship and put his blade in them. Every time he hit; he didn't need to hit again. Those Zangians gathered around Firuzshah. Qadir Shah also searched that ship and put his blade in them. The author of the news says that they killed so many Zangians that only ten Zangis remained. Firuzshah was killing, so that they killed him totally and did not spare one of those thieves. Khwaja Elias and other merchants blessed his life, they took the riches that were in that ship in their ship and they were happy and they tied the Zanj of that ship to their ship and sailed in that sea. Firuzshah said: How far is it to our home? They said: If successful, we will reach the coast in seven days. ………………………….

 

P84

In Kashmir preparations start to send an army to Yemen to force the marriage of Ain al-Hayat to the prince of Kashmir. They receive from Shah Bahram twenty thousand Zanj soldiers under the Zangi king Tumur and also including two Zangi champions.

 

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Misera Zangi a champion in the army of Kashmir is killed by Firuzshah who already killed his brother Pirouz Zangi another champion a day earlier. The army of Kashmir had arrived in Yemen and was fighting the army of Shah Salim ruler of Yemen for his daughter. The Kashmir army had the help of 20000 Zanj warriors. The army of Yemen is victorious because of the help from Firuzshah and Farrokhzad.

 

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… he wished to pray at the foot of that tree. He got off the boat and performed ablution and performed the morning prayer. The morning prayer has been performed in all religions, and the first person to perform the morning prayer was Adam, peace be upon him. When he was finished with the command of the Most-High, he prayed and then rode. He saw that from his right hand came a roundness full of beauty and strength. Firuzshah said that this is a wonderful round body that is coming! The prince stopped; the round body broke apart. Like the body of an academic whale was found, as a thousand riders arrived, each one like a long date palm. Most of them were Zanj, the smallest of them were 20 yards high, and most of them were armed, they had different weapons in their hands. Firzshah saw an army that arrived in full splendor. It is said that those troops were a Zangi body and it came from the King of Zanzibar, which means they left from there. And it was the prince of the king of Zanzibar, his name was Horang.

 

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His father's name was Kurang. This Horang had heard the fame of goodness and beauty of Ain al-Hayat, and arrived with a thousand riders, and came to request Ain al-Hayat. When he arrived, he noticed Firuzshah. He told a Zangi to go and bring that rider to me so that I can ask him how he is doing. That Zangi came to Firuzshah and shouted at Firuzshah to hurry up and come because the prince of Zanzibar Horang Zangi wants to see you. Firuzshah said: I have nothing to do with him, so I can't come to him. Zangi said: If you have nothing to do with him, you have nothing to do with the prince of Zanzibar. Firuzshah said: O Zangi Donkey! Because I have nothing to do with him, what business has he to do with me? He should come to me, why should I go to him? The Zangi got angry and said: If you don't come, I will take you away and the man came close and raised its hand to take the prince. Firuzshah hit that Zanj on the head with a blade that tore it apart up to the waist. Because the other saw this they screamed for help that he had killed him! Ten horsemen attacked Firuzshah. The prince killed seven Zanj out of ten Zanj. Another hundred riders attacked. Firuzshah fell into the Zangians like a fire that falls in a forest and instantly knocked twenty horsemen to the ground. Horang himself attacked with a thousand horsemen and engaged Firuzshah. The narrator says that Firuzshah put a sharp blade in those Zangians and threw a hundred unbelievers on the ground. When Horang saw that this horseman was killing his army, he came forward and attacked Firuzshah on the way. The narrators have narrated that Farrokhzad came with five hundred horsemen to welcome the caravan of Sarwar-mani (=caravan send by Shah Sarwar of Yemen), and he arrived at this moment. He brought it himself and caught Firuzshah on the way. The narrators have narrated that Farrokhzad came with five hundred horsemen to welcome the caravan of Sarwar-mani, and he arrived at this moment. He saw Firuzshah alone in the fight, Farrokhzad was surprised that this is the Zanzibar army, that they suddenly found here fighting with this young man? In that state, Horang reached Firuzshah. One of them had a huge, sharp weapon made of whale bone and attacked Firuzshah.

 

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Firuzshah had never seen that type of weapon, he said to himself that it is very difficult to deject this blow and catch it on the shield. Horang took out his weapon to hit Firuzshah's head from its height. The prince looked, he saw the Zangi had a naked place under his armpit. The Prince looked, he had a blade in his hand, he didn't miss the chance, the infidel's hand and weapon were still in the air, when the prince looks and made a sharp noise in Horang's armpit with the edge of his sword, which cut off his hand with that weapon. A sigh came from the unbeliever's soul and fell like a tree. When his army saw that, they fell upon Firuzshah with thousands of cavalries with blades, spears, lances, lances, and different types of weapons. The dark masses of Farrokhzad congratulated Firuzshah on that battle and said: Nice and victorious hits with this blade, a thousand blessings be on his hand, he is a great warrior! Someone said that Khwaja Elias who is a merchant has a slave, and this is the same rider. He (previously) killed the Zangis and defeated the army of Kashmir. Farrokhzad said: What is the place of a slave who is the hero of the world! What is the place of my hands that still has a thousand man it is not over yet! Now you should also attack because these Zangians have a thousand riders and this young man is not more than a thousand. Those five hundred horsemen attacked from the top of the ridge, and the blades are put at the unbelievers to kill them. When the Zangians saw their king and leader killed, they said that the one horseman should be a fighter and a warrior. Now all these others have come! Maybe they are all like him, we feel bad! We were not his opponent, what will we do now to help us? They will kill us! They fought for a moment, then the disbelievers were defeated. Those five hundred horsemen were galloping behind them to take their loot. Farrokhzad came in front of Firuzshah and greeted him. When Firuzshah was with Farrokhzad, he looked at him and recognized him, and was surprised

 

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But Farrokhzad did not good recognize Firuzshah as he was on the edge of arms. He greeted, Firuzshah answered. Farrokhzad said: O lion man, what army were they that were found here? Firuzshah said: This rider who was killed by me was the prince of the king of Zanzibar. He had come to ask for Ain al-Hayat with a thousand horsemen, to capture the kingdom of Yemen and get the hand of Ain al-Hayat. I said that they will not give it to him, that the king of Kashmir, and the prince of Kashmir, Shah Ruz, had also come for this purpose. He asked for this girl, but they did not give it to him. They don't give it to you either. He got angry at me and wanted to kill me, he himself died at my hands. You also arrived and helped me, we defeated them. Who are you now? Farrokhzad said that the Yemeni Shah Sarwar sent me to welcome you and the caravan to take you to Shah Sarwar. Firuzshah said, O young man, you are a stranger in this country. It is clear that you are not from Yemen or an Arab country. A stranger in this country said: Yes, I am from the country of Iran and I am born as a merchant. I came to this country for trade. Due to the events of those days, I lost what I had, and now I have been in the service of the king of the Muslims Shah Salim for some time. Firuzshah said: O lion man, this situation you have is not the situation of merchants. Farrokhzad laughed and said: O lion man, if I am not like a merchant, how are you a slave? If you tell the truth, I will also tell the truth. Firuzshah said: Let it be. Then they both landed at the foot of that tree. Farrokhzad's servants were busy. Farrokhzad said: First you tell Firuzshah: he said first you tell Farrokhzad: he said the truth, I am from Iran and from Pehlwanzadgan, my father is called Pehlwan Pil Zorbin Pilten, I am from Rost.

 

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He is in the service of King Darab bin Malek Bahman. This Malik Darab had a son Firuzshah, Firuzshah and I we were born from our mothers in the same night, we were fed from the same breasts and we were raised by the same teacher. I was in the service of Firuzshah, the fate of the Almighty God was such that this Firuzshah had a dream one night in the garden of Jannat Abad, in which he saw a face, he fell in love with that face, and when he woke up, he remained in love with that face. We worked very hard until we finally found out that it was the face of Ain Hayat, the princess of Yemen, we got a portered painting through Siavash (= a Persian merchant, painter and trickster); I couldn't hold Firuzshah, he ran away from Iran, from his father, I was in his service and young Qadir Shah joined us. We arrived near Yemen, some robbers attacked us one night, we fought, I got wounded in the middle of the war. I was brought to a shepherd, and that shepherd brought me to a Muslim city. I sold the ink and weapons I had, they treated my wounds, I became poor, after that I became the servant of an old vegetable seller, as I drew the archery bow well, I became the servant of Shah Salim, now I am in the service of Shah Salim, I came here with Shah Salim, now I can't go to Iran without Firuzshah, but I know this much that, of course, this Firuzshah will be found here wherever he is, because his beloved is here. When he said this, his eyes filled with water, and he wept when parting with Firuzshah. Firuzshah also wept and said, brother, don't be sad, I am your brother, Firuzshah, may God help you. When Farrokhzad heard the name of Firuzshah, he threw himself at Firuzshah's feet and kissed the back of Firuzshah's feet and wept with joy and said, the poem: My soul is in need of the worn-out hardships of your fortune, and it was received and appreciated! Thank God, the Most-High, who enlightens the work of the suffering heart from the darkness of the night. …………………………………

 

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He went ahead and said to Khwaja Elias that this young man who has come to welcome us is my son Farrokhzad, who had been absent from me. We met here. Khwaja Elias was also happy. So they went from there until they reached the place of war. They hung the head of Horang Zangi on the neck of Qiyr (a previously captured rebel), and some other heads of those Zangians who had been killed by Firuzshah were hung on the neck of Qair (captured rebel brother of Qiyr) and then they made it to Yemen's camp until they reached the army and landed in front of the army. Farrokhzad came to Shah Sarwar and served him and said: The king of Yemen has arrived. I went to welcome Khwaja Elias and the caravan, I reached a certain position, I saw the young man who had killed Pirouz Zangi and Misera Zangi (on p. 109) in the midst of a thousand Zangi in the battle, until the end of that army which he broke and killed the leader of that army. I found out that it was the prince of Zanzibar, who had come with a thousand horsemen for the love of the king’s good Ain Al-Hayat, who had come with a thousand horsemen to take the country of Yemen and take her hand. That slave of Khwaja Elias killed Horang alone and defeated those thousand horsemen. I reached him and greeted the king and said that I have come to welcome you; And I found out that on the way he is coming, he has reached the castle of Jamila, those two brothers who are slaves of the king, Qatir and Qatir, who had become rebels of the Shah, have come out of that castle to plunder the caravans, the slave of Khwaja Elias with the people of the castle fought and that army broke the castle and captured those two slaves of the king; Now they have come, they have landed next to the army. Is it possible for us to bring them to the king's service so that they can learn about the king's service? Shah Sarwar was angry at the captured Qiyr and Qair, he said: The slave of Khwaja Elias, who has not yet come to serve us and our reward has not yet arrived, did many great things for us. He took the brothers, who had rebelled against me for several years, defeated the Zanzibar army and killed the son of the king of Zanzibar.

 

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These things he did deserve to be remembered. Khwaja Taefur the Wazir said that he should let the king know that there is a large sum of money from the wealth of Ain al-Hayat with Khwaja Elias the business man. His Majesty should order that Khwaja Elias come with the slave so that I can see them. Farrokhzad came to Khwaja Elias, he explained what he had said and heard, he said: Get up, Shah Sarwar is waiting and he is worried. They went with Khwaja Elias and Farrokhzad and a group of slaves. The Yemeni army saw them and found out, they moved behind them and pointed at Firuzshah. They tied Qiyr and Qair by the neck and the heads were thrown around their necks, until they came to the court and stopped. They informed the king that Khwaja Elias had come with his slave and were standing at the court door, [waiting for] the king's signal, he said: Come in and then permission was granted! Firuzshah said: O eunuch (=Khwaja), you are the first at the door because you are my eunuch and I am your slave. First, Khwaja Elias stepped into the court waited until they opened the curtain, Khwaja Elias came in and behind Khwaja Elias Farrokhzad and behind Farrokhzad Firuzshah came in like a bright moon and a bright sun. Shah Sarwar looked and saw a boy like a fountain of sunshine. And the moon has not been eclipsed and its beauty has not been eclipsed, rather the opposite. …………………

 

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They sat at the table to eat. Shah Sarwar does not drink wine to mourn his son Shah Ghazanfar (previously killed in battle). After eating and drinking, Khwaja Taefur Wazir spoke and said: O Khwaja Elias, welcome, and where have you been while you have been away from Taiz? Khwaja Elias said that I had gone to the west side of the earth, even though the journey is called a great calamity and there is great hardship in the journey, but it is not uncomfortable and useless. There is a lot of danger and wise men of wisdom have said: Water is in circulation like rose water, when will it be the source of happiness and the master of his house, no one knows how much it is worth, make his own jewel, it will not come at a high price. Although I worked very hard during the trip, but in this trip I got such a beautiful and fighting warrior; Then he opened his tongue and praised Firuzshah and spoke a lot [about] his valor, fighting, bravery, generosity, intellect and wisdom, after that the story of the Jamila castle and the capture of Qiyr and Qair and the story of the arrival of the Zanzibar army and the killing of Horang Zangi. He recited the facts, after that he ordered that the two rebellious slaves be tied by the hands and necks, and each of them should be taken out with the heads hung around their necks and held before the Yemeni king. The king of the country in anger looked at them and said: I made you wealthy and lifted you up, I gave you the governorship of Jamila Castle, you became a rebel with me and drew a sword on my servants, I will kill you as a sign that the chicken and the fish will cry over you. He ordered that the rebel brothers were tied by the neck. To his son Shah Asad, he said:

 

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Your father takes the rebels tied up to Taiz and takes the news of our victory to the good ones and leaves the rebels in the city there. Shah Asad took the rebels with a thousand riders and carried them all to Taiz until they reached the city of Taiz. They gave this news to Ain Al-Hayat that her brother Shah Asad is coming. The narrator of the story narrates that when Ain al-Hayat heard this news, she became very angry and ordered that a group of elders from the city of Taiz welcomed Shah Asad in the city. Because Shah Asad came to Ain Al-Hayat in the city of Rawan she served him. Ain Al-Hayat asked her brother, after that she asked about the war and the killing of her brother Ghazanfar, why was it? Shah Asad said: O sister, the enemy's forces were dominant, it was time for us to be defeated, that Khwaja Elias, who has a sum of money from you, came with a huge caravan and a slave who was beautiful and perfect, and who was brave and a warrior, and on the way to Jamila Fort, and then Qiyr and Qair (the rebel brothers) have arrived. They came from the Castle to plunder the caravans. That slave of Khwaja Elias fought and captured both Qiyr and Qair, and defeated the army of the castle, and he was victorious (previously) over Pirouz Zangi and Misera Zangi , he killed both. But the king of Zanzibar, the son of the king of Zanzibar, has loved you unseen, and he has come with a thousand riders to go and take the kingdom of Yemen and take Ain al-Hayat from our father. This slave of Khwaja Elias came to them and killed Horang Zangi and broke that army. He came with Khwaja Elyas and stated that the Shah of the Army decided that he should go after Shah Ruz of Kashmir and take the Shah of Kashmir prisoner and free Shah Leith from the prison of the Kashmiris. He has beauty and courage; he has a hundred times more generosity and kindness and many praised him. Ain Al-Hayat was surprised, she said to herself:

 

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He should not be a slave to someone he who has so much art, character, beauty and courage. Sadness entered her heart; she sank into thought. They say that from that day when she saw those three faces on a plane tree in the Jannat Abad garden, she was always thinking about them to know who those faces were. The author of the news narrates that when she heard the news of Firuzshah the slave of Khwaja Elias had done such things, the love and affection of Firuzshah moved in her heart and she did something. Because on the first day in the upper world, her soul was familiar with the soul of Firuzshah, he appeared in this world.

They decided to kill Qiyr and Qair (the rebel brothers) in the middle of the city square of Bezari Zar. The news spread in the city that Shah Sarwar is coming and he is bringing with him the slave who has done all these things. The people of the city welcomed him, including the people of the city, men and women. Another day, Shah Sarwar Yemeni would come under an umbrella, Firuzshah would come among the sons of Shah Sarwar Yemeni. The people of the city were amazed by his beauty and were touching each other's fingers and praying and praising. Shah Sarwar landed in his porch and they arranged a good place for Firuzshah and Farrokhzad in Shah Sarwar's porch. Shah Sarwar entered the shrine, Ain Al Hayat welcomed her father and kissed her father's hand and wept for her brother who had been taken to Kashmir and another brother who had been killed. Shah Sarwar said: O father, be thankful that the slave of Khwaja Elias arrived and killed the victorious and mighty Zangi. If it were not for his bravery, they would have destroyed the kingdom of Taiz and consider you a prisoner. And he went to Jamila's castle and tied the rebel brothers to your service.

 

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He killed Horang, the prince of Zanzibar, the son of Korang, who also came with a thousand Zanj on your behalf, and he tied them up and killed (son of) the Shah of Zanzibar. That slave of Khwaja Elias killed that Zanj and broke that army. What he did, Rostam hands and Sam and Nariman should not be able to do it (= three traditional Iranian heros). Then she praised Firuzshah a lot, he said a lot about his goodness and his bravery and generosity. Ain al-Hayat said to herself that he should not be a slave if he bows several times. Who is it and who is this new worker in this country?  ……………  

 

Shah Sarwar entered the shrine. They drew blessings and ate food. Shah Sarwar was very tired because of Ghazanfar's death and Shah Laith's in prison, he did not sit down to drink in the assembly, when a sudden moment of discussion came, he said to Khwaja Taefur the minister: O Khwaja Taefur, you don't tell me what I should do? Shall we loose Shah Laith by the hands of the Kashmiris? Khwaja Taefur said: O king, we should send an army to that side to bring Shah Laith by hand. Shah Sarwar said that there is someone at the foot of my throne who is worthy of this task, should I send him to do this and bring my child? Firuzshah said to Farrokhzad: Brother, I accept this work. Farrokhzad said: I will also serve. Firuzshah opened his tongue in praise of Shah Sarwar and prayed to the king and said the verse in praise of Shah Sarwar

 

Later on in the story through a mistake our two heroes are put in jail in Yemen. 

 

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The author of the story says that after a while, one day suddenly there was a huge commotion in the city of Taiz that a huge army was coming from Zanzibar to attack the city of Yemen. And wherever they reach, black smoke rises from there and they kill the people and take them captive.

They say that the reason for the coming of that army was that when Horang, the son of Kurang, was killed by Firuzshah, and a thousand horsemen who had come with him were killed, they fled to Zangbar and went to Kurang, and they said that a group of people killed your son in the kingdom of Yemen. They killed our entire army. Protect us from the Yemenis! Kurang said: I sent my son in fear that the Yemeni king would sell his daughter, he would not give me a daughter and killed my son! I should do something in Yemen so that they will tell my story until they lay stones on stones. After saying this, he gathered a huge army from the islands that were under his command, equipped them, and put them at ease. Wherever he reached, he looted and went and set fire to the cities and took prisoners until he reached Taiz, when the news reached the king of Yemen, Sarwar Yemeni, that such an army had reached Yemen. Shah Sarwar was afraid, he ordered that the battalion gathered at the foot of his throne. He said: They have such an army in our country, why would we do it? Taefur said: These troops have come to raid. Shah Zang's son has been killed by the slave of Khwaja Elias, and we will not fight against them, because there will not be a hundred of us against one of them. If they fail, they must fight from the edge of the fence. They decreed that the people of the province had to come in the city, fortified the tower and ramparts, throw water into the ditch, and the people of the city fought and built. It is said that there were fifty thousand Zanj, the smallest of which were twenty yards high, and all the demon-shaped and whale-made weapons arrived, including the shields, covered with whale skin and drawn swords and spears. They lined up and stood in front of the city. Korang Zangi, like a devil, stretched thirty yards up and the demon figure stood up. Someone called a Zangi:

 

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Go ahead and tell the Yemeni lord that Malik Kurang Zangi, who is one of the sons of Kurang the Great and Harqol Zangi, says that I have sent my beloved son, Malik Horang, to you so that you can give him your daughter, Ain al-Hayat. And you didn't give me a daughter and you stole my beloved son and burned my child. I have now taken an oath to do something in this country that will be talked about for as long as the world knows, to take the women of this country captive and to kill the men of this country. That Zanj came in front of the ditch and he was speaking in Zanzibari language, Shah Sarwar said, what does this Zanj say? They had no idea what he was saying. Someone said, is he swearing? Suddenly someone shot an arrow with his bow. The arrow hit the Zangi's mouth and sank in his tong. When King Kurang saw that his servant was killed, he became enraged and said: It was not enough that they killed my son, now they have shot a messenger who I sent with a message in front of me; attack! That Zanzibar army attacked repeatedly, the war continued, and the people of Taiz were in the towers again and again, they fought a huge war. The Zanj came to the moat, it was time to take the city, the people were afraid, night fell, the Zanj returned. Malik Kurang: Of course, tomorrow we will take their city and loot it. But the author of the news says that because Shah Sarwar demanded the return of Taefur and said: If the fighting will be of the kind that these Zangians did today, then they will want to take this city soon. What can we do? Shah Salim said: It is expedient to get these [two] young men who are in prison, out of prison, The king should instruct them so that they go out and answer these Zanj.  Wazir Taefur said: when will he be the opponent of these Zangians?

 

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We do not fight. You leave this work to me so that I can move forward as it is expedient. It is said that in the city of Taiz, there was a Khwaja, a merchant, who had visited Zanzibar many times and knew the language of that people, his name was Khwaja Yehud. Taefur asked for him, the Jewish eunuch came to Taefur. Taefur said: O Khwaja, you must go to Kurang tonight, and deliver some message and answer, and do something to stop this war and sedition, so that people are not killed in the middle by both sides. Khwaja Yehud said: I will serve and deliver what you say. Khwaja Taefur, the minister, said a few words to Khwaja Yehud and then sent him away. He said that they opened the gate until the Jewish eunuch came out of the city, he went through the ditch of the city and came next to the Zanzibar Army, they caught him, who and where are you going? He said: I’m the messenger of Malik Sarwar of Yemen, in the presence of Shah Kurang. They ignored the news that Jewish merchants had come. He said: Come. They let him go. He came and served in front of Kurang and said: I am another servant in the Zanzibar kingdom and I have received the honor of being kissed by the king. Kurang said: Yes, I know you, have you come to work now? He said: Shah Sarwar-mani has sent me to serve de King, and he has sent some words. He said: Shah Sarwar says that the kingdom of Yemen is connected to the border of Zanzibar and we are neighbors. What is the reason that you have drawn the army on my property and are destroying my property? If there is a fault on our part, tell us so that we can deal with it. Kurang laughed and said: It turns out that the Yemeni master has no sense to say what I have done? I sent my beloved child so that you give your daughter. You did not give me your daughter and you killed my son and burned my child! I have come for the blood of the child, I want the blood of the child. Are you worse than this girl? The Jewish eunuch said that they should not fight the king.

 

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Which is worse? The Jewish eunuch said long live the king! Shah Sarwar says that he did not see your child and he did not kill him, and we are not the one to kill him. But the story was that many people wanted this girl, a young man from Iran also came to ask for this girl, He killed your son, when we found out that he did such a thing, they were two people, we caught them both and put them in prison. We did, we wanted to send the two of them to the king of Zanzibar to kill them in any way you want. You came by yourself. Now the two men who killed your son are both locked up, and we will give Yemen's wealth for five years from red and white gold, embroidered and unembroidered cups, greyhounds, and from slaves and maidservants, and from arms and harnesses. Go back and take the bloodsuckers and kill them the way you want so that friendship remains between us. He spoke so much that he satisfied Kurang. Khwaja Yehud was returning and came to Taefur the Minister and said: I went and convinced Kurang that we will give these two young men who killed Kurang's son with five years of Yemeni money so that they return. Taefur brought him in front of the Yemeni ruler and explained what had happened. Shah Sarwar: He said, O Taefur, this move is far from great merit, that we leave these young men to them, that although they killed a son of Shah Zang, they killed for our sake. If we [give] these to them, it would be a great heinous thing. Taefur said: O King, what is the place of this speech? You ordered to kill them, imagine that you killed them. If you do not do this, the country of Yemen will be destroyed. I will give them this money to make it enough for the country and make a structure so that none of your treasury is spent. Sarwar also agreed to give them Firuzshah and Farrokhzad and give them the wealth of some of the subjects, etc., so that this scourge would be removed from that country. The narrator of the story narrates that they waited that night until

 

P176

the day dawned. The people of Yemen fought from the towers, the Zangians did not want to fight as they had made a offer. Shah Sarwar ascended to the throne and gave orders until they gathered together. Shah Sarwar congratulated Shah Salim and said: Khwaja Taefur the Wazir has thought about getting rid of these enemies. They said tell us so we know. Khwaja Taefur said: O Yemeni army, know that this army of Zanzibar is a great army, and this Kurang Zangi is one of the children of Hercules. Horang wants the blood of his son and we are not the opponent of this army. If another war happens, of course they will take the country and not leave one of us alive. The people of Yemen are being killed. They kill men and take women captive. Tonight, I sent the Jewish eunuch to the army, who saw Malik Kurang and made an agreement with him that the one who killed the son of the king, we will give them to the Zangian so that they can do whatever they want with them and how much money they will take from them. Let's take it so that this calamity is gone. We have made such a plan, what do you say? Because they were among the people of the city, they were very afraid, they were satisfied and said that this is a good plan. We, who are the princes of the royal throne, should each give something so that this calamity will be removed from this country. Everyone was upset, but Shah Salim said that this is your idea, but at the end of this work, they should think that we will give these youths to these Zangians, because they might want to kill them. When it became known to us that this young man is the son of King Darab, and King Darab is a great king, when he knows the meaning of this, we gave his son to the Zangians to let them kill him. Taefur Wazir said that he is the son of Malik Darab. ………

 

However; our two heroes are delivered to the Zangis.

 

P180

…… So they tied Firuzshah and Farrokhzad and took them away in the middle of the night. The next day, they brought this news to the Shah that the army went to Zanzibar and took those blood-gild men alive with them. Shah Sarwar said: We recently got rid of Zangian's calamity, so what will happen next?" This news reached Bain Al-Hayat, that they took the blood-gild men alive. Ain Al-Hayat was crying and lamenting and suffering, every day in pain, even though the nanny comforted him, it did not help him. However, the author of this story and the narrator of this news narrates that those Zangians took them with all their help until they came to the sea, from there they came to a ship and took them in that ship, and they made them hungry and thirsty, and then they left. After some time, they reached the coast. They got out of the ship, went ahead and took the news to Horang's mother and sister that Shah Kurang went and brought the blood-guild and a lot of riches. The people welcomed these words.

 

P181-186

They are to be executed the day after and Horang’s mother and sister will witness it. But they plead innocence. King Kurang believes them and orders them locked up on the island of Fur. (Fur is an often-appearing place or island in Islamic books in or close to India and inhabited by black people.) (We do not learn anything of Zanzibar itself while they stay there.)

(1) Firuz Shah, young son of King Darab of Persia: Firuz Shah is not only a Hero is this epic; but in several others called Sirat Firuzsah from which versions exist in Arab, Persian, Turkish, Urdu. But the story is the same: Firuz Shah falls in love with Eyn al-Hayat (princes of Yemen) after seeing her in a dream. He reaches Yemen after an adventurous detour through Africa and to avoid war is handed over to the King of the Zangi.

(2) Eyn al-Hayat: meaning "Spring of life". Ain al-Hayat: Yemeni princess. Daughter of King Sarvar. Beloved of Firuzshah.

(3) Farrokh Zad: meaning Happily Born. Persian noble. Brother of Behzad. Son of Pil Zur.

(4) Siyavash: meaning "the one with the black horse" A Persian merchant, painter, and ayyar (=trickster).

(5) Ta'izz: Taiz is a city in southwestern Yemen. It is located in the Yemeni Highlands, near the port city of Mocha on the Red Sea.

(6) Sarwar: meaning 'leader'

(7) prince of Kashmir, Shah Ruz: meaning ‘A great river’

(8) island of Fur: normally with Fur is a Black People inhabiting India meant.

(9) Tumar: meaning High. A Zanzibari king fighting with his army for Shah Ruz of Kashmir. The fights are in Yemen.

(10) a bay horse: Bay is a hair coat color of horses, characterized by a reddish-brown or brown body color.

(11) Kharazmian: Kharazm Dynasty (1077 - 1231) AD over Transoxiana and parts of Khorasan.

(12) Poplar: Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip poplar), the source of poplar wood.

(13) Greaves: is a piece of armour that protects the leg.

(14) brassards is a piece of armour that protects the arm.

(15) Mt. Alborz: The Alborz mountain range forms a barrier between the south Caspian and the Iranian plateau.

(16) Rostam: is a legendary hero in Persian mythology, the son of Zal and Rudaba, whose life and work was immortalized by the 10th-century Persian poet Ferdowsi in the Shahnameh, or Epic of Kings.

(17) Malik Bahman is the son of Firuzshah and Ain al-Hayat who became a hero himself.

(18) Ardavan: Persian hero; son of Farrokhzad

(19) Teytus: Vizir of king Darab of Persia and advisier to his son Firuzshah.

(20) Balabil: meaning vigour, agile and zeal. In vol 2 four paintings are named after him: 44a Balabil, the Zangi, Kills Malik Qas and His Vizier; 46a Balabil Lifts Up Qartas in Battle; 47a Balabil and Talmus in Battle 48b Ashk Lifts Up Balabil in Battle.

(21) Jirpas: In vol 2 two paintings are named after him:  51a The Daughter of Malik Qas Attempts to Murder Jirpas[?]; 52a Shah Tarayid Questions Jirpas.

(22) Behruz : Persian ayyar (=trickster) in the service of King Darab of Persia.

(23) Shah Selim: King of Moslemiya. Farrokhzad was born in this city of Muslimah.

(24) Sam: one of the traditional Iranian heroes.

(25) Helal: ayyar (=trickster) of Yemen in the service of Shah Sarwar.

(26) Kwaja Elias: Persian merchant who befriends Firuzshah.

(27) Qadir Shah: Persian noble whose brother is a local ruler in Western Persia.

Importance of this epic for the history Of East Africa: It is of little importance.

 

In this Darab Nameh is shown the political geography of the Achaemenids. In particular, the conquest of Yemen, Alexandria (Egypt), Damascus, Aleppo, Malatya, Antioch, Istanbul, Cyprus, Caesarea, Izmir, Zanzibar, etc. ….. are all been mentioned.

In the final part of this book, it is stated: The emperor of Iran took possession of vast lands from Sudan and Abyssinia to China and India.

 

1- It repeats a number of the many ideas about the Zanj in East Africa.

-Their shape is that of demons.

-The warriors are giants.

-They fight with whale bones.

-Many Zangi are warrior Heroes. And only appear to be killed by the Persian Heroes.

2- East Africa is seen as the people of the Zanj Islands.

-The pirates are Zanj.

-They live on many islands close to Yemen.

3- They partly mix up Zanj with India.

-Many Epics put at least part of the Zanj in India; on the Island of Fur. Here Fur is one of the Zanj islands. And the ruler of Kashmir in Northern India has no problem to find an army of Zanj to help him.

4- Only occasionally does a war end with conversion to Islam.

5- Unique for this epic is that many armies of the Zanj fight wars in Yemen. This somehow shows that the roots of the epic are much older than the 15^th century due to the presence of Black Armies in Yemen not as mercenaries but as conquerors and rulers. This period started in 531AD when the Aksumite general Abraha conquered Yemen, and continued intermittently finally ending in 1159AD (See my webpage Umarah ibn Ali al-Hakami: Tarikh al-Yaman; (History of Yemen) (d1174)). William L. Hanaway in Love and War, Adventures from the Firuz …… p12 puts it this way: Some sequences in the tale might possibly represent vague historical memories. For instance, Firuz Shah’s adventures in Yemen and among the islands controlled by Zanzibaris could be a memory of the Persian conquest of Yemen under Anushirvan in ap. 575.

6- The adventures in East Africa or with armies coming out of East Africa into Jemen are mostly concentrated between p100 and p400 of Vol. 1 that is the pages in which the word Zanzibar زنگبار is the most frequent. I did not translate all these sections as not much of value is available. The rest of the volume as well as the other volumes (vol 2 and 4 with the other volumes missing) still contain many mentions of the word زنگي Zanj; most probably many warriors and champions from among the Zanj that fight in Asia. The orator whose story was written down here however had the habit to repeat certain facts many times. Example: He killed Pirouz Zangi and Misera Zangi.