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The Shah's Hunting Train

The Shah's Hunting Train

From E7.2, Khosrow’s Love for Shirin. It illustrates E7.2.6–17 (to E7.2.29):

  • E7.2.6
    One day the Shah resolved to hunt the plain,As kings had done through many an ancient reign.
  • E7.2.7
    The hunt was furnished with imperial care,With pomp and servants gathered everywhere.
  • E7.2.8
    Three hundred steeds, all decked in beaten gold,Were led before the king, high-necked and bold.
  • E7.2.9
    Eleven hundred sixty servants came,On foot, with javelins, to serve his name.
  • E7.2.10
    A thousand forty men bore club and blade,With jowshans worn beneath their rich brocade.
  • E7.2.11
    Seven hundred falconers came in train,With hawks and falcons for the hunting plain.
  • E7.2.12
    Sparrow-hawks too they carried for the prey,While mounted keepers followed on the way.
  • E7.2.13
    Three hundred men who tended cheetahs rode,Behind the hawks along the hunting road.
  • E7.2.14
    They led full seventy lions, pards in train,All trained, their mouths restrained by golden chain.
  • E7.2.15
    Each beast in Chinese brocade showed royal pride,With folds of silk drawn tightly round its hide.
  • E7.2.16
    Seven hundred hounds for deer were kept in line,Their golden collars cast a radiant shine.
  • E7.2.17
    Behind them, borne on camels, rode a throngOf minstrels, full two thousand, skilled in song.

In the picture

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