New NaqqaliSavehساوه
King of the Turks and Chin who marches on Iran from Herat in Hormizd's reign and is killed by Bahram Chubin.
- In the poem
- First at E5.4, The Realm Rises against Hormizd; last at E6.11, Bahram Chubin Claims the Throne
- Named
- 73 times, in 18 sections
- Main stories
- E5 Hormizd, Son of Anooshirvan (67); E6 Khosrow Parviz (6)
In the poem’s own words
The Realm Rises against Hormizd
In his tenth year enemies come from every side: Saveh of the Turks from Herat with elephants, Caesar from Rum, Khazars into Armenia, Arab horsemen on the Euphrates. With his counselors dead, Hormizd buys off Rum, beats the Khazars, and is left facing Saveh.
- E5.4.2King Saveh crossed Jihun to join the fray,With tabiras, stores, elephants’ array.
- E5.4.7King Saveh sent Hormizd a written scroll:“Call up your powers; let caution rule your soul.
- E5.4.36King Saveh presses hardest on our state;From him our prospects look more dark with fate.
Bahram Chubin Takes Command
Bahram reaches court, argues against buying peace, and is given command. He enrolls twelve thousand armored men, all aged forty, defends both choices from the poem’s own history, and receives from the Shah’s hand the dragon banner of Rostam.
- E5.6.9He told how Iran stood in danger’s hour,And what Mehran had said of Saveh’s power.
- E5.6.10He asked, “Shall I make peace or choose to fight,And send my troops against King Saveh’s might?”
- E5.6.23When I rain arrows down on Saveh’s train,And make my bow a spring-cloud on the plain,
Bahram Chubin Rides against Saveh
Bahram asks for a recorder of deeds and marches from Tisfoon. He takes a sheep’s head from a seller’s basket as an omen of Saveh’s beheading. The Shah, warned he will one day turn, tries to recall him and is refused. A horseman is executed for stealing straw.
- E5.7.18If he defeats King Saveh in the fight,The crown and throne would be his proper right.
- E5.7.30He said, “Thus shall I sever Saveh’s head,And cast it where his army’s lines are spread.
- E5.7.31So shall I shatter all his gathered pride,And scatter Saveh’s troops on every side.”
Bahram Chubin Answers King Saveh
Saveh sends word that Hormizd has sent Bahram to his death. Bahram answers that he serves with his life, then, pressed, offers Saveh a choice: peace with gifts and safe conduct to the Shah, or his head sent to court.
- E5.8.1Then Saveh sent to Bahram with commandA fluent elder from his chosen band.
- E5.8.9The envoy then returned to Saveh’s side,And told him what the warrior had replied.
- E5.8.10Then Saveh said, “Return and ask him whyHe came to fight; what does he seek thereby?
Saveh and Bahram Chubin Face Each Other
Saveh drums out his army and finds Bahram already holding the ground with Herat at his back, leaving the Turks a cramped and thorny field. He ranks forty thousand on each wing and a hundred thousand in the center, with elephants in front, and grieves at the confinement.
- E5.9.1King Saveh’s envoy heard those words of flame,Turned back, and told the king from whom they came.
- E5.9.10King Saveh viewed the field and its array,And saw his foe command the ground that day.
- E5.9.18One hundred thousand held the center line,Where Saveh’s golden throne and banners shine.
The Second Exchange with King Saveh
Saveh boasts of uncountable troops, a thousand armored elephants and the homage of every king, and offers Bahram his daughter, a crown and Iran’s throne. Bahram answers with proverbs and gives him two days before his head goes up on a spear.
- E5.10.1Again from Herat’s plain King Saveh choseA guileful warrior, skilled in fluent prose.
- E5.10.2He came before Bahram with formal awe,And bore this message under Saveh’s law:
- E5.10.62I give you, Saveh, two days now to wait;When the world’s luster opens heaven’s gate,
Bahram Chubin Slays King Saveh
Bahram dreams of defeat, prays, and has his archers shoot the elephants’ trunks; the beasts turn and trample the Turks. He overtakes Saveh, shoots him through the spine, beheads him, and puts to death the warlock who confesses to sending the dream.
- E5.11.43If this my conflict is unjust to You,And Saveh’s cause is truer in Your view,
- E5.11.48King Saveh cried, “Begin your spells and art,To cloud Iranian eyes and quell each heart.
- E5.11.55The Iranians shouted, heated for the fight,While Saveh watched the field from left to right.
Bahram Chubin Announces His Victory
Bahram beheads the Turkish chiefs, sets their heads and banners on mules, and sends Saveh’s head to Hormizd on a spear. The Shah gives thanks, spends the treasure on the poor, the fires and the roads, remits four years’ tribute, and grants Bahram the eastern lands.
- E5.12.13He set King Saveh’s head upon a spear,A sign of victory made stark and clear.
- E5.12.41Bahram Chubin has triumphed in the fight,And Saveh’s fall has crowned Iran with light.”
- E5.12.46King Saveh’s head is raised before your gate;His younger son has shared his father’s fate.
All 18 sections that name Saveh
- E5.4 The Realm Rises against Hormizd
- E5.5 Hormizd Calls for Bahram Chubin
- E5.6 Bahram Chubin Takes Command
- E5.7 Bahram Chubin Rides against Saveh
- E5.8 Bahram Chubin Answers King Saveh
- E5.9 Saveh and Bahram Chubin Face Each Other
- E5.10 The Second Exchange with King Saveh
- E5.11 Bahram Chubin Slays King Saveh
- E5.12 Bahram Chubin Announces His Victory
- E5.13 Bahram Chubin Overcomes Parmudeh
- E5.14 Parmudeh Seeks Mercy from Bahram
- E5.15 Bahram Seeks Mercy for Parmudeh
- E5.18 Hormizd Seeks Alliance with the Khan
- E5.24 Bahram Chubin Reveals His Ambition
- E5.26 Bahram’s Letter and Khosrow’s Flight
- E6.5 Khosrow and Bahram Parley
- E6.6 Gurdiyeh’s Counsel and Khosrow’s Purpose
- E6.11 Bahram Chubin Claims the Throne
On the maps
Where the name appears
More in the Glossary and the index of characters.