New NaqqaliFereydoon Divides the Realm
The threefold division creates a seemingly settled world whose unequal symbolic centers will later become the subject of bitter dispute.
The chapter in five texts
| Text | Chapter treatment and distinctive choices |
|---|---|
| F&R English | Fourteen couplets expand the geography and investitures while preserving the initial settlement. |
| Moscow | The world partition follows the naming sequence and establishes three royal domains. |
| Mohl | Pp 70–71 retain the distribution and the brothers’ initial ease. |
| Ganjoor | Sh5 has 13 couplets and directly supplies the chapter’s reference sequence. |
| Khaleghi | The partition is main-text narrative at pp 106–107; its royal center and peripheral shares become contested in later speeches. |
Parallel text
English left · Persian right. Ganjoor is the reference except where a row names a printed source. Select a number to open the relevant note. G identifiers distinguish digital sections across chapter boundaries.
Narrative and poetic form
The English makes the structure easy to follow without reducing the brothers’ claims to a modern map. Its essential success is preserving both the reality of three kingdoms and Iran’s exceptional symbolic weight.
Couplet commentary
Quoted text · evidence · interpretation1–5The western share
The reference divides the world among Rum/Khavar, Turan/Chin and Iran/the spearmen’s plain. The English expands the threefold geography and Salm’s investiture.
These are epic cultural regions, not modern borders. Khavar’s conventional orientation must be read through this tale’s explicitly western allocation; the English’s “West” follows the narrative geography.
6–9Tur’s enthronement
The second share, army, throne, gifts and Turan-Shah designation follow the source sequence.
The English preserves the fact that Tur receives a real kingdom and royal ceremony. The later charge of deprivation is his faction’s interpretation, not a report that he received nothing.
10–14Iran and the royal insignia
Iraj receives Iran and the spearmen’s plain, crown, signet and ivory throne; the source ends with all three reigning contentedly. The English gives acclamation a separate beat.
The concentrated insignia explain why Iran becomes the contested center. The initial peace must be allowed its own duration: the division does not cause an immediate battle in the narration.