
Monks Draw the Shah from the Zark
From E10.11, The Death of Yazdegard. It illustrates E10.11.35–46 (to E10.11.57):
- E10.11.35As daylight came and people filled the way,Two noble men approached where Yazdegard lay.
- E10.11.36One austere monk approached the riverside,And saw the naked body in the tide.
- E10.11.37He hurried from the bank in wild dismay,And told the monks his news without delay:
- E10.11.38“The Shah lies naked in the waters dark,Within the turning whirlpool here at Zark.”
- E10.11.39Then monks and prelates hastened from each side,To mourn the monarch lying in the tide.
- E10.11.40A monk cried out in grief: “O noble man,O crown-possessor from the royal clan!
- E10.11.41No eye has seen a monarch in this plight;Before Christ, none had heard of such a sight.
- E10.11.42His wicked slave, that misbegotten hound,Has brought this shame upon the royal ground.
- E10.11.43He fawned upon his lord, then brought him low;May Mahwi reap the curses that we sow.
- E10.11.44Woe for the head and crown, the stature tall,For heart and wisdom, counsel; woe for all.
- E10.11.45Woe for the royal line once held so dear,Woe for Ardeshir’s last descendant here.
- E10.11.46Woe for the Sasanian throne, its lost renown,Its farr, its stature, the Kayanian crown.
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