New NaqqaliRostam’s Beginnings · A9.4
Rostam Goes to Mount Sepand
A successful trading reception becomes the means of violent penetration. Sepand’s abundance is first a market’s attraction and then a conqueror’s astonishing prize.
The chapter in five texts
| Text | Chapter treatment and distinctive choices |
|---|---|
| F&R English | Forty-six couplets keep the ruse, courteous admission, night assault, severe aftermath and discovery of treasure. |
| Moscow | Appendix X, pp 267–270, carries the approach, assault and treasure discovery rather than placing them in the reign’s running text. |
| Mohl | Pp 185–187 give the expedition continuously, with the market and the engineered strongroom. |
| Ganjoor | No corresponding early-feat chapter in the captured digital Manuchehr sequence. |
| Khaleghi | The below-main-text narrative on pp 278–279 preserves the caravan and assault with local variants. |
Parallel text
English left · Mohl Persian reference right. Ganjoor has no counterpart to this chapter. Local w3–w6 numbers identify the Mohl reference; the digital transcription was checked against the printed passage and obvious transcription errors corrected. Full printed witnesses are linked in the notes.
Mohl digital transcription aid ↗
1–5+
When Rostam heard, he set the work in train,
As suited battle and a bold campaign.
Within the loads of salt his gorz concealed,
The Pahlevan stood tall, his strength revealed.
Some kinsmen with him on the road he led,
Alert and brave for what might lie ahead.
Their weapons in the camel-loads he stored;
No watcher guessed what weapons lay aboard.
His lips were smiling at the ruse he knew;
Toward Mount Sepand the caravan he drew.
چو بشنید رستم بر آراست کار
بر آنسان که بد در خور کارزار
ببار نمک در نهان کرد گرز
برافراخته پهلوان یال وبرز
زخویشان تنی چند با خود ببرد
کسانی که بودند هشیار وگرد
ببار شتر در سلیح گوان
نهان کرد آن نامور پهلوان
لب از چارهٔ خویش در خند خند
چنین تازیان تا بکوه سپند
Mohl reference · w4:1-5 · digital transcription checked against the printed passage
6–18+
When near the gates, a watchman marked their band,
And ran uphill to tell the lord in command.
“A caravan approaches in a train;
Full many camel-drivers lead the chain.
I think those camel-loads are salt alone;
If you command, their purpose can be known.”
The fortress lord sent out a man to race
To seek the caravan-chief and learn his case.
“Go see exactly what their burdens hide;
Return and tell me what the loads provide.”
The envoy left the fort, and hastened down,
And came to Rostam by the mountain crown.
“O caravan-chief, tell me what you bear;
What secret wealth have you now brought to share?
So we may tell our lord what you convey,
And hear the words he sends us back this way.”
Then Rostam answered, keeping counsel tight:
“Our loads are salt alone, from left to right.”
The envoy climbed back to the fortress door,
And told the lord what merchandise they bore.
“A whole caravan has come beneath your wall;
These worthy men bear salt and nothing else at all.”
The chieftain rose; a smile lit up his face,
And joy at once appeared within the place.
He ordered them to open wide the gate,
And let the caravan pass with its freight.
رسید وزکوه دیدبانش بدید
بنزدیک سالار مهتر دوید
چنین گفت که آمد یک کاروان
بپیش اندرونند بسی ساروان
گمانم که باشد نمک بارشان
اگر پرسدم مهتر از کارشان
فرستاد مهتر یکیرا دمان
بنزدیکئ مهتر کاروان
بدو گفت بنگر که تا چیست بار
بیآ ومرا آگهی ده زکار
فرود آمد از دژ فرستاده مرد
بر رستم آمد بکردار گرد
بدو گفت که ای مهتر کاروان
مرا آگهی ده زبار نهان
بدآن تا بنزدیک مهتر شویم
بگوئیم وگفتار او بشنویم
به پاسخ چنین گفت رستم بدوی
که رو نزد آن مهتر نامجوی
همی گوش از گفتها یک بیک
که دربارمان است یکسر نمک
فرستاده برگشت وآمد فراز
بنزدیک آن مهتر سرفراز
که یک کاروان است گفتا تمام
نمک بار دارند این نیکنام
چو بشنید مهتر برآمد زجای
لبش گشت خندان وشادی فزای
بفرمود تا در کشادند باز
بدآن تا شود کاروان بر فراز
Mohl reference · w4:6-19 · digital transcription checked against the printed passage
19–27+
When battle-seeking Rostam heard the word,
From lower ground toward higher slopes they stirred.
When at the narrow gateway they drew near,
They all came out to welcome him with cheer.
Before the fortress chief great Rostam came,
He kissed the earth and blessed his royal name.
He brought him heaps of salt from camel-load,
And blessings on the gathered people flowed.
The ruler said, “Live long beneath the skies,
Like sun and moon that endlessly arise.
Your gift I take, and thanks I give to you;
I see a noble, God-wise heart shine through.”
The young man entered through the crowded bazaar;
His camel-drivers followed close, not far.
From every side the townsfolk crowded near;
Children and women, men, all gathered here.
One offered cloth, one gold and silver bright;
They bought without a thought of fear or fright.
چو آگاه شد رستم جنگ جوی
زپستی ببالا نهادند روی
چوآمد بنزدیک دروازه تنگ
پذیره شدندش همه بی درنگ
چو رستم بنزدیک مهتر رسید
زمین بوس کرد آفرین گسترید
زبار نمک برد پیشش بسی
همی آفرین خواند بر هر کسی
بدو گفت مهتر که جاوید باش
چو تابنده ماه وچو خورشید باش
پذیرفتم و نیز دارم سپاس
ایا نیک دل پور یزدان شناس
درآمد ببازار مرد جوان
بیآورد با خویشتن ساروان
زهر سو برو گرد شد انجمن
چه از خرد کودک چه از مرد وزن
یکی داد جامه یکی زر وسیم
خریدند وبودند بی ترس وبیم
Mohl reference · w4:20-28 · digital transcription checked against the printed passage
28–35+
When night grew dark, swift-clawed Rostam prepared;
His famous warriors armed, their purpose shared.
He sought the castellan within his hold;
Behind him came his warriors, fierce and bold.
The castellan, forewarned, came forth in wrath;
He grappled Rostam, barring up his path.
Tahamtan brought his gorz upon his head;
You would have thought his trunk sank underground instead.
The fortress folk soon learned of Rostam’s raid;
Against their hated foe they rushed arrayed.
The night was dark; bright sword-blades flashed and shone;
The earth turned red as Badakhshan ruby-stone.
The clash grew fierce amid the waves of gore;
Red twilight seemed from heaven to earth to pour.
With sword and gorz and kamand Rostam pressed,
And tore the heads from every valiant crest.
چو شب تیره شد رستم تیز چنگ
برآراست با نامداران جنگ
سوی مهتر باره آورد روی
پس او دلیران پرخاش جوی
چو آگاه شد کوتوال حصار
برآویخت با رستم نامدار
تهمتن یکی گرز زد بر سرش
بزیر زمین شد تو گفتی برش
همه مردم دژ خبر یافتند
سوی رزم بد خواه بشتافتند
شب تیره وتیغ رخشان شده
زمین همچو لعل بدخشان شده
ز بس دار و گیر و ز بس موج خون
تو گفتی شفق ز آسمان شد نگون
تهمتن بتیغ وبگرز وبکمند
سران دلیران سراسر بکند
Mohl reference · w4:29-36 · digital transcription checked against the printed passage
36–38+
When Sun rose from behind its hidden veil,
From Thara to Thurayya light prevailed.
Of all that fortress band no man remained;
Some had been killed, the rest by battle drained.
The warriors searched the fortress wall to wall,
And killed whoever still survived the fall.
چو خورشید از پرده بالا گرفت
جهان از ثری تا ثریا گرفت
بدژ بر یکی تن نبد زآن گروه
چه کشته چه از رزم گشته ستوه
دلیران بهر گوشه بشتافتند
بکشتند مر هر کرا یافتند
Mohl reference · w4:37-39 · digital transcription checked against the printed passage
39–46+
Then Tahamtan within that narrow place
Beheld a granite house before his face.
An iron door was built with cunning art,
By engineers made strong in every part.
One gorz-blow hurled the iron door away;
Then Rostam stepped within without delay.
A lofty dome before his vision shone,
With dinars filled from floor to highest stone.
At such a sight astonished Rostam stayed,
And bit his lip at riches there displayed.
He said to the renowned chiefs of the band,
“Who ever saw such riches in one land?
No gold, I think, remains in any mine;
No pearl remains beneath the ocean brine.
All gold, it seems, was carried to this place;
And pearls were spread here through this guarded space.”
تهمتن یکی خانه از خاره سنگ
برآورده دید اندر آن جای تنگ
یکی در از آهن درو ساخته
مهندس بر آن گونه پرداخته
بزد گرز وبفگند در را زجای
پس آنگه سوی خانه بگذارد پای
یکی گنبدی دید بر افراشته
بدینار سر تا سر انباشته
فرو ماند رستم چو زان گونه دید
ز راه شگفتی لب اندر گزید
چنین گفت با نامور سرکشان
کزین گونه هرگز که دارد نشان
همانا بکان اندرون زر نماند
بدریا درون نیز گوهر نماند
که ایدون همه زر بیاورده اند
بدین جایگه در بگسترده اند
Mohl reference · w4:40-47 · digital transcription checked against the printed passage
Narrative and poetic form
The English’s clear causal sequence is a strength: a material need opens the gate, ordinary trust enables the plan, and a concealed force turns into conquest. Its clarity also makes the violence impossible to dismiss as a harmless adventure.
Couplet commentary
Quoted text · evidence · interpretation1–5A caravan conceals a fighting company
1–5
When Rostam heard, he set the work in train,
As suited battle and a bold campaign.
Within the loads of salt his gorz concealed,
The Pahlevan stood tall, his strength revealed.
Some kinsmen with him on the road he led,
Alert and brave for what might lie ahead.
Their weapons in the camel-loads he stored;
No watcher guessed what weapons lay aboard.
His lips were smiling at the ruse he knew;
Toward Mount Sepand the caravan he drew.
چو بشنید رستم بر آراست کار
بر آنسان که بد در خور کارزار
ببار نمک در نهان کرد گرز
برافراخته پهلوان یال وبرز
زخویشان تنی چند با خود ببرد
کسانی که بودند هشیار وگرد
ببار شتر در سلیح گوان
نهان کرد آن نامور پهلوان
لب از چارهٔ خویش در خند خند
چنین تازیان تا بکوه سپند
Mohl reference · w4:1-5 · digital transcription checked against the printed passage
Textual evidence
Mohl begins the expedition with the mace and other weapons hidden among the loads, and kinsmen chosen to accompany the youth.
Moscow p 268 ↗ Moscow p 269 ↗ Moscow p 270 ↗ Mohl p 185 ↗ Mohl p 186 ↗ Mohl p 187 ↗ Khaleghi p 278 ↗ Khaleghi p 279 ↗
Interpretation
The English preserves collective planning. Rostam is not literally alone: secrecy depends on a small trusted company and concealed equipment. His smile marks confidence in a devised plan, not foreknowledge that the gates can offer no resistance.
6–18The defenders verify the merchandise
6–18
When near the gates, a watchman marked their band,
And ran uphill to tell the lord in command.
“A caravan approaches in a train;
Full many camel-drivers lead the chain.
I think those camel-loads are salt alone;
If you command, their purpose can be known.”
The fortress lord sent out a man to race
To seek the caravan-chief and learn his case.
“Go see exactly what their burdens hide;
Return and tell me what the loads provide.”
The envoy left the fort, and hastened down,
And came to Rostam by the mountain crown.
“O caravan-chief, tell me what you bear;
What secret wealth have you now brought to share?
So we may tell our lord what you convey,
And hear the words he sends us back this way.”
Then Rostam answered, keeping counsel tight:
“Our loads are salt alone, from left to right.”
The envoy climbed back to the fortress door,
And told the lord what merchandise they bore.
“A whole caravan has come beneath your wall;
These worthy men bear salt and nothing else at all.”
The chieftain rose; a smile lit up his face,
And joy at once appeared within the place.
He ordered them to open wide the gate,
And let the caravan pass with its freight.
رسید وزکوه دیدبانش بدید
بنزدیک سالار مهتر دوید
چنین گفت که آمد یک کاروان
بپیش اندرونند بسی ساروان
گمانم که باشد نمک بارشان
اگر پرسدم مهتر از کارشان
فرستاد مهتر یکیرا دمان
بنزدیکئ مهتر کاروان
بدو گفت بنگر که تا چیست بار
بیآ ومرا آگهی ده زکار
فرود آمد از دژ فرستاده مرد
بر رستم آمد بکردار گرد
بدو گفت که ای مهتر کاروان
مرا آگهی ده زبار نهان
بدآن تا بنزدیک مهتر شویم
بگوئیم وگفتار او بشنویم
به پاسخ چنین گفت رستم بدوی
که رو نزد آن مهتر نامجوی
همی گوش از گفتها یک بیک
که دربارمان است یکسر نمک
فرستاده برگشت وآمد فراز
بنزدیک آن مهتر سرفراز
که یک کاروان است گفتا تمام
نمک بار دارند این نیکنام
چو بشنید مهتر برآمد زجای
لبش گشت خندان وشادی فزای
بفرمود تا در کشادند باز
بدآن تا شود کاروان بر فراز
Mohl reference · w4:6-19 · digital transcription checked against the printed passage
Textual evidence
A watchman reports; the lord sends an examiner; the caravan chief identifies the cargo; the reply brings an order to open the gate.
Moscow p 268 ↗ Moscow p 269 ↗ Moscow p 270 ↗ Mohl p 185 ↗ Mohl p 186 ↗ Mohl p 187 ↗ Khaleghi p 278 ↗ Khaleghi p 279 ↗
Interpretation
The English’s unhurried questions make the defenders’ decision intelligible. They do not simply forget that a fort has enemies. The stratagem succeeds because the expected goods are really present and a valued supply appears to have arrived through ordinary trade.
19–27Hospitality and exchange establish trust
19–27
When battle-seeking Rostam heard the word,
From lower ground toward higher slopes they stirred.
When at the narrow gateway they drew near,
They all came out to welcome him with cheer.
Before the fortress chief great Rostam came,
He kissed the earth and blessed his royal name.
He brought him heaps of salt from camel-load,
And blessings on the gathered people flowed.
The ruler said, “Live long beneath the skies,
Like sun and moon that endlessly arise.
Your gift I take, and thanks I give to you;
I see a noble, God-wise heart shine through.”
The young man entered through the crowded bazaar;
His camel-drivers followed close, not far.
From every side the townsfolk crowded near;
Children and women, men, all gathered here.
One offered cloth, one gold and silver bright;
They bought without a thought of fear or fright.
چو آگاه شد رستم جنگ جوی
زپستی ببالا نهادند روی
چوآمد بنزدیک دروازه تنگ
پذیره شدندش همه بی درنگ
چو رستم بنزدیک مهتر رسید
زمین بوس کرد آفرین گسترید
زبار نمک برد پیشش بسی
همی آفرین خواند بر هر کسی
بدو گفت مهتر که جاوید باش
چو تابنده ماه وچو خورشید باش
پذیرفتم و نیز دارم سپاس
ایا نیک دل پور یزدان شناس
درآمد ببازار مرد جوان
بیآورد با خویشتن ساروان
زهر سو برو گرد شد انجمن
چه از خرد کودک چه از مرد وزن
یکی داد جامه یکی زر وسیم
خریدند وبودند بی ترس وبیم
Mohl reference · w4:20-28 · digital transcription checked against the printed passage
Textual evidence
Rostam bows, presents salt, receives blessing and enters the bazaar, where different ages and sexes gather to buy with cloth, gold and silver.
Moscow p 268 ↗ Moscow p 269 ↗ Moscow p 270 ↗ Mohl p 185 ↗ Mohl p 186 ↗ Mohl p 187 ↗ Khaleghi p 278 ↗ Khaleghi p 279 ↗
Interpretation
The English preserves the courtesy that makes the night attack morally more complicated than a frontal assault. The people’s welcome is the ruse’s success; the subsequent killing cannot be described as an attack already launched by these traders against the disguised visitors.
28–35Concealed arms become open night fighting
28–35
When night grew dark, swift-clawed Rostam prepared;
His famous warriors armed, their purpose shared.
He sought the castellan within his hold;
Behind him came his warriors, fierce and bold.
The castellan, forewarned, came forth in wrath;
He grappled Rostam, barring up his path.
Tahamtan brought his gorz upon his head;
You would have thought his trunk sank underground instead.
The fortress folk soon learned of Rostam’s raid;
Against their hated foe they rushed arrayed.
The night was dark; bright sword-blades flashed and shone;
The earth turned red as Badakhshan ruby-stone.
The clash grew fierce amid the waves of gore;
Red twilight seemed from heaven to earth to pour.
With sword and gorz and kamand Rostam pressed,
And tore the heads from every valiant crest.
چو شب تیره شد رستم تیز چنگ
برآراست با نامداران جنگ
سوی مهتر باره آورد روی
پس او دلیران پرخاش جوی
چو آگاه شد کوتوال حصار
برآویخت با رستم نامدار
تهمتن یکی گرز زد بر سرش
بزیر زمین شد تو گفتی برش
همه مردم دژ خبر یافتند
سوی رزم بد خواه بشتافتند
شب تیره وتیغ رخشان شده
زمین همچو لعل بدخشان شده
ز بس دار و گیر و ز بس موج خون
تو گفتی شفق ز آسمان شد نگون
تهمتن بتیغ وبگرز وبکمند
سران دلیران سراسر بکند
Mohl reference · w4:29-36 · digital transcription checked against the printed passage
Textual evidence
At night the company arms, the castellan confronts Rostam, the mace strikes and the defenders rush to battle. The earth is ruby-red and the sky’s twilight seems poured downward.
Moscow p 268 ↗ Moscow p 269 ↗ Moscow p 270 ↗ Mohl p 185 ↗ Mohl p 186 ↗ Mohl p 187 ↗ Khaleghi p 278 ↗ Khaleghi p 279 ↗
Interpretation
The English keeps the transition from commerce to warfare explicit. Its jeweled color is an aesthetic handling of blood, not an assurance that the violence is bloodless. Tahamtan is an epithet of the same Rostam, not a second attacker arriving at this point.
36–38Exhaustion does not guarantee survivalScope and severity of the aftermath
36–38
When Sun rose from behind its hidden veil,
From Thara to Thurayya light prevailed.
Of all that fortress band no man remained;
Some had been killed, the rest by battle drained.
The warriors searched the fortress wall to wall,
And killed whoever still survived the fall.
چو خورشید از پرده بالا گرفت
جهان از ثری تا ثریا گرفت
بدژ بر یکی تن نبد زآن گروه
چه کشته چه از رزم گشته ستوه
دلیران بهر گوشه بشتافتند
بکشتند مر هر کرا یافتند
Mohl reference · w4:37-39 · digital transcription checked against the printed passage
Textual evidence
The source’s dawn survey distinguishes the slain from those worn out by the fighting, then says warriors kill those they find.
Moscow p 268 ↗ Moscow p 269 ↗ Moscow p 270 ↗ Mohl p 185 ↗ Mohl p 186 ↗ Mohl p 187 ↗ Khaleghi p 278 ↗ Khaleghi p 279 ↗
Interpretation
English 38 states the fatal search directly. The passage supports the severity of the translation and requires an independent note: this is more than a neutral military occupation. The precise reach of “fortress band” should not become an unsupported separate census of every child earlier seen in the market.
39–46An iron door yields an extraordinary store
39–46
Then Tahamtan within that narrow place
Beheld a granite house before his face.
An iron door was built with cunning art,
By engineers made strong in every part.
One gorz-blow hurled the iron door away;
Then Rostam stepped within without delay.
A lofty dome before his vision shone,
With dinars filled from floor to highest stone.
At such a sight astonished Rostam stayed,
And bit his lip at riches there displayed.
He said to the renowned chiefs of the band,
“Who ever saw such riches in one land?
No gold, I think, remains in any mine;
No pearl remains beneath the ocean brine.
All gold, it seems, was carried to this place;
And pearls were spread here through this guarded space.”
تهمتن یکی خانه از خاره سنگ
برآورده دید اندر آن جای تنگ
یکی در از آهن درو ساخته
مهندس بر آن گونه پرداخته
بزد گرز وبفگند در را زجای
پس آنگه سوی خانه بگذارد پای
یکی گنبدی دید بر افراشته
بدینار سر تا سر انباشته
فرو ماند رستم چو زان گونه دید
ز راه شگفتی لب اندر گزید
چنین گفت با نامور سرکشان
کزین گونه هرگز که دارد نشان
همانا بکان اندرون زر نماند
بدریا درون نیز گوهر نماند
که ایدون همه زر بیاورده اند
بدین جایگه در بگسترده اند
Mohl reference · w4:40-47 · digital transcription checked against the printed passage
Textual evidence
The stone house, engineered iron door, mace stroke and dinar-filled dome are followed by the hero’s claim that mines and seas must have been emptied into this one place.
Moscow p 268 ↗ Moscow p 269 ↗ Moscow p 270 ↗ Mohl p 185 ↗ Mohl p 186 ↗ Mohl p 187 ↗ Khaleghi p 278 ↗ Khaleghi p 279 ↗
Interpretation
The English’s amazement is source-based. The inference about all gold and pearls is Rostam’s hyperbole on seeing the hoard, not the commentator’s economic description of world reserves. “Engineers” appropriately recognizes designed construction where the Persian names a mohandes.