{"title": "At the turning point", "retrieved": "2026-10-22", "method": "Curated selected events, not counterfactual choices. Columns order steps within each thread and do not synchronize different lives or ages. Solid edges are explicit responses or episode continuations; dashed edges move to a later selected event and do not establish sufficient cause. Node size and link width encode no counts or importance.", "women": [{"id": "women-rudabeh", "label": "Rudabeh", "display_name": "Rudabeh", "home_book": 1}, {"id": "women-sindokht", "label": "Sindokht", "display_name": "Sindokht", "home_book": 1}, {"id": "women-tahmineh", "label": "Tahmineh", "display_name": "Tahmineh", "home_book": 2}, {"id": "women-gordafarid", "label": "Gordafarid", "display_name": "Gordafarid", "home_book": 2}, {"id": "women-sudabeh", "label": "Sudabeh", "display_name": "Sudabeh", "home_book": 3}, {"id": "women-farangis", "label": "Farangis", "display_name": "Farangis", "home_book": 4}, {"id": "women-faranak_abtin", "label": "Faranak", "display_name": "Faranak · mother of Fereydoon", "home_book": 5}, {"id": "women-jarireh", "label": "Jarireh", "display_name": "Jarireh", "home_book": 5}, {"id": "women-humai_bahman", "label": "Homahyi Chehrzad", "display_name": "Homahyi Chehrzad · queen, daughter of Bahman", "home_book": 5}, {"id": "women-manijeh", "label": "Manijeh", "display_name": "Manijeh", "home_book": 6}, {"id": "women-golnar", "label": "Golnar", "display_name": "Golnar", "home_book": 6}, {"id": "women-katayun", "label": "Katayun", "display_name": "Katayun", "home_book": 7}, {"id": "women-gordyeh", "label": "Gurdiyeh", "display_name": "Gurdiyeh", "home_book": 8}, {"id": "women-purandokht", "label": "Poorandokht", "display_name": "Poorandokht", "home_book": 8}, {"id": "women-azarmidokht", "label": "Azarmidokht", "display_name": "Azarmidokht", "home_book": 8}, {"id": "women-shirin", "label": "Shirin", "display_name": "Shirin", "home_book": 9}, {"id": "women-kaidafa", "label": "Kaydafa", "display_name": "Kaydafa", "home_book": 10}, {"id": "women-simorgh_guardian", "label": "Simorgh", "display_name": "The nurturing Simorgh", "home_book": 10}], "stories": [{"volume": 1, "title": "Love Across the Walls", "subtitle": "Two women, two ways through a crisis", "intro": "Rudabeh declares her choice. Sindokht confronts the danger around it and negotiates. Their paths meet in a marriage that also required decisions by Zal, Sahm and Manuchehr.", "color": "#9c4b67", "principal_ids": ["women-rudabeh", "women-sindokht"], "lanes": ["Rudabeh’s choice", "Sindokht’s diplomacy"], "nodes": [{"id": "wp1-vow", "title": "Rudabeh pledges herself", "note": "Rudabeh answers Zal with a marriage pledge. Her own words begin this selection.", "kind": "initiative", "column": 0, "lane": 0, "women": ["women-rudabeh"], "actors": ["Rudabeh"], "ref": "A8.5.50", "evidence": [{"id": "A8.5.50", "lines": ["Rudabeh answered: “By the Just, the True,", "No man shall ever claim me, none but you."]}, {"id": "A8.5.51", "lines": ["Let God bear witness to this vow I make:", "No other lord shall my allegiance take,"]}, {"id": "A8.5.52", "lines": ["Except Zal-e-Zar, the Pahlevan of fame,", "With crown and treasure, farr and noble name.”"]}]}, {"id": "wp1-truth", "title": "She tells her mother", "note": "Summoned by Sindokht, Rudabeh explains her love and the secret correspondence.", "kind": "initiative", "column": 1, "lane": 0, "women": ["women-rudabeh", "women-sindokht"], "actors": ["Rudabeh", "Sindokht"], "ref": "A8.9.42", "evidence": [{"id": "A8.9.42", "lines": ["At last she spoke, her voice both soft and clear:", "“O mother wise, whose counsel I revere,"]}, {"id": "A8.9.43", "lines": ["Love crushes down my soul; I cannot rest,", "Its hold has driven peace out of my breast."]}, {"id": "A8.9.44", "lines": ["Had you, my mother, never given me birth,", "No good or evil from me touched the earth."]}, {"id": "A8.9.45", "lines": ["The chief of Zabul now resides nearby,", "And love has set my spirit all awry."]}, {"id": "A8.9.46", "lines": ["The world has narrowed till I cannot hide;", "I weep in open view and deep inside."]}, {"id": "A8.9.47", "lines": ["One hair of his is worth the world entire;", "No treasure equals that which I desire."]}, {"id": "A8.9.48", "lines": ["He came; we saw each other, nothing more;", "No flame between us rose or burned us sore."]}, {"id": "A8.9.49", "lines": ["We pledged ourselves; joined hands confirmed the vow,", "No fear or passing time could break it now."]}, {"id": "A8.9.50", "lines": ["A messenger was sent to Sahm away,", "And bore his answer back to Zal that day."]}]}, {"id": "wp1-threat", "title": "Mehrab threatens them", "note": "Mehrab threatens Sindokht and Rudabeh as Kabul faces the Shah’s anger. The threat is his, not the graph’s assessment of their guilt.", "kind": "pressure", "column": 0, "lane": 1, "women": ["women-sindokht", "women-rudabeh"], "actors": ["Mehrab"], "ref": "A8.15.1", "evidence": [{"id": "A8.15.1", "lines": ["When rumor spread through Kabul’s guarded gate,", "Mehrab burned hot with fury at their fate."]}, {"id": "A8.15.2", "lines": ["He summoned Sindokht; all the wrath that stirred", "Against her child he poured on her in word:"]}, {"id": "A8.15.3", "lines": ["“The only course, since I must bow to might,", "Is to cleanse this stain in the Shah’s sight."]}, {"id": "A8.15.4", "lines": ["I seize you and your child in your disgrace,", "And strike you down to wipe out this foul trace."]}, {"id": "A8.15.5", "lines": ["So may the Shah be softened, earth find peace,", "And from this terror Kabul gain release."]}, {"id": "A8.15.6", "lines": ["Who here would dare stand firm before brave Sahm,", "Or meet his heavy gorz and still be calm?”"]}]}, {"id": "wp1-road", "title": "Sindokht asks for the road", "note": "Sindokht asks Mehrab to hold back bloodshed and let her go to Sahm.", "kind": "initiative", "column": 1, "lane": 1, "women": ["women-sindokht"], "actors": ["Sindokht"], "ref": "A8.15.7", "evidence": [{"id": "A8.15.7", "lines": ["Sindokht sank down, yet reason held her mind;", "She weighed the storm, a path through it to find."]}, {"id": "A8.15.8", "lines": ["Deep-sighted, skilled in counsel under strain,", "She sought a road through danger, death, and pain."]}, {"id": "A8.15.9", "lines": ["She rose, hands gathered close, and crossed the room,", "Before the sun-bright king amid his gloom:"]}, {"id": "A8.15.10", "lines": ["“Hear but one word, then do as you may choose;", "Grant me that much; there is no time to lose."]}, {"id": "A8.15.11", "lines": ["If wealth exists to ransom life, then spend;", "No treasure matters if our lives must end."]}, {"id": "A8.15.12", "lines": ["Know well that this dark night is pregnant now;", "Give time for what it carries to avow."]}, {"id": "A8.15.13", "lines": ["However long the night, its dark must cease;", "The day will break like spring and bring release."]}, {"id": "A8.15.14", "lines": ["The world may shine, its darkness overrun,", "Like Badakhshan’s bright jewel beneath the sun.”"]}, {"id": "A8.15.17", "lines": ["She answered, “Let no blood be spilled; forbear;", "Give me the road; a path I will prepare."]}, {"id": "A8.15.18", "lines": ["I go to Sahm; my tongue shall leave its sheath,", "A sword of speech to meet the danger beneath."]}]}, {"id": "wp1-appeal", "title": "She argues for Kabul", "note": "Sindokht addresses Sahm herself and challenges the proposed punishment of Kabul’s people.", "kind": "initiative", "column": 2, "lane": 1, "women": ["women-sindokht"], "actors": ["Sindokht", "Sahm"], "ref": "A8.16.25", "evidence": [{"id": "A8.16.25", "lines": ["When all withdrew and strangers left the place,", "She turned to Sahm and spoke with steady grace:"]}, {"id": "A8.16.26", "lines": ["“Your wisdom grants the old their youth again,", "And teaches wisdom to the greatest men."]}, {"id": "A8.16.27", "lines": ["Through you the road of darkness turns to light;", "The wise grow wiser standing in your sight."]}, {"id": "A8.16.28", "lines": ["Your seal has bound the hand that evil led;", "Your gorz has opened God’s true road ahead."]}, {"id": "A8.16.29", "lines": ["If fault there was, it lay with Mehrab’s hand;", "His eyes hold heart-blood shed for Kabul’s land."]}, {"id": "A8.16.30", "lines": ["Why should the innocent heads of Kabul fall?", "What guilt have they committed, one and all?"]}, {"id": "A8.16.31", "lines": ["They live to serve you, dust beneath your feet,", "And deem your favor all their joy complete."]}, {"id": "A8.16.32", "lines": ["Fear Him who fashioned mind and strength on high,", "Bright Venus and the sun within the sky."]}, {"id": "A8.16.33", "lines": ["Such slaughter cannot please the Maker’s will;", "He did not shape the world for needless ill."]}, {"id": "A8.16.34", "lines": ["Gird not your strength for slaughter and for flame;", "Let mercy, not bloodshed, attend your name.”"]}]}, {"id": "wp1-assurance", "title": "Sahm gives assurance", "note": "Sahm promises safety. This is one stage in a wider settlement, not Sindokht acting alone to authorize the marriage.", "kind": "response", "column": 3, "lane": 1, "women": ["women-sindokht"], "actors": ["Sahm", "Sindokht"], "ref": "A8.16.58", "evidence": [{"id": "A8.16.58", "lines": ["He said: “My word shall stand, though life be lost;", "My oath is firm, whatever be the cost."]}, {"id": "A8.16.59", "lines": ["Return in peace and dwell without alarm;", "No shadow shall approach or bring you harm."]}, {"id": "A8.16.60", "lines": ["Throughout the world Zal could not find a bride", "Like Rudabeh to stand as equal at his side."]}]}, {"id": "wp1-bride", "title": "Rudabeh beside Zal", "note": "The later closing scene places Rudabeh beside Zal as his crowned bride. The intervening royal approvals are compressed, not attributed solely to one plea.", "kind": "outcome", "column": 4, "lane": 0, "women": ["women-rudabeh", "women-sindokht"], "actors": ["Rudabeh", "Zal"], "ref": "A8.22.64", "evidence": [{"id": "A8.22.64", "lines": ["With Sindokht, Mehrab, and their kindred near,", "They took the Sistan road in festive cheer."]}, {"id": "A8.22.65", "lines": ["They journeyed happy-hearted on their way,", "Their lips full of blessings for each generous day."]}, {"id": "A8.22.66", "lines": ["Victorious, they reached Nimruz’s gate,", "All smiling, for the journey’s joy was great."]}, {"id": "A8.22.67", "lines": ["Sahm held a feast that lasted three full days,", "With wine and music and resounding praise."]}, {"id": "A8.22.68", "lines": ["Then Sindokht stayed behind at Sahm’s abode;", "Mehrab and all his army homeward rode."]}, {"id": "A8.22.75", "lines": ["Then Sahm One Blow rode outward from the hall;", "Zal sat to rule, with wine and feast for all."]}, {"id": "A8.22.76", "lines": ["When Rudabeh sat shining at his side,", "He placed a gold crown on his loving bride."]}]}], "edges": [{"id": "wpe1-1", "source": "wp1-vow", "target": "wp1-truth", "label": "She makes the pledge known", "kind": "sequence", "note": "The selection moves to a later event in this story thread. This arrow alone does not establish a sufficient cause."}, {"id": "wpe1-2", "source": "wp1-truth", "target": "wp1-road", "label": "Her mother later undertakes a mission", "kind": "sequence", "note": "The selection moves to a later event in this story thread. This arrow alone does not establish a sufficient cause."}, {"id": "wpe1-3", "source": "wp1-threat", "target": "wp1-road", "label": "Sindokht answers the danger", "kind": "response", "note": "An explicit response or continuation within this episode."}, {"id": "wpe1-4", "source": "wp1-road", "target": "wp1-appeal", "label": "She carries out the mission", "kind": "response", "note": "An explicit response or continuation within this episode."}, {"id": "wpe1-5", "source": "wp1-appeal", "target": "wp1-assurance", "label": "Sahm answers", "kind": "response", "note": "An explicit response or continuation within this episode."}, {"id": "wpe1-6", "source": "wp1-assurance", "target": "wp1-bride", "label": "After further approvals, the marriage", "kind": "sequence", "note": "The selection moves to a later event in this story thread. This arrow alone does not establish a sufficient cause."}]}, {"volume": 2, "title": "The Mother and the Warrior", "subtitle": "Two encounters with Sohrab", "intro": "Tahmineh’s account of his father and Gordafarid’s resistance belong to the same larger tragedy. The paths are shown separately: Gordafarid’s escape is not presented as the cause of Sohrab’s death.", "color": "#3b7892", "principal_ids": ["women-tahmineh", "women-gordafarid"], "lanes": ["Tahmineh and her son", "Gordafarid at the fortress"], "nodes": [{"id": "wp2-choice", "title": "Tahmineh chooses Rostam", "note": "Tahmineh declares her choice of Rostam and her hope for a child.", "kind": "initiative", "column": 0, "lane": 0, "women": ["women-tahmineh"], "actors": ["Tahmineh", "Rostam"], "ref": "B8.4.23", "evidence": [{"id": "B8.4.23", "lines": ["Now Yazdan brought your destined path this way,", "And led you into Samangan today."]}, {"id": "B8.4.24", "lines": ["If you desire me, I am yours tonight;", "I choose you freely, with my heart alight."]}, {"id": "B8.4.25", "lines": ["No other man shall ever see my face;", "For you alone I leave my guarded place."]}, {"id": "B8.4.26", "lines": ["For love of you has driven reason hence;", "Desire has overcome my guarded sense."]}, {"id": "B8.4.27", "lines": ["Perhaps the Maker may decree for me", "A son of yours within my arms to see."]}, {"id": "B8.4.28", "lines": ["May he be like you, strong of heart and limb;", "May Saturn and the Sun grant shares to him."]}, {"id": "B8.4.29", "lines": ["Besides, I shall restore your Rakhsh to you,", "And lay Samangan at your feet as due.”"]}, {"id": "B8.4.30", "lines": ["The moon-faced maiden’s words at last were done,", "And Tahamtan had heard them one by one."]}]}, {"id": "wp2-father", "title": "She names his father", "note": "Tahmineh tells Sohrab that his father is Rostam. This knowledge does not ensure that father and son recognize one another in battle.", "kind": "initiative", "column": 1, "lane": 0, "women": ["women-tahmineh"], "actors": ["Tahmineh", "Sohrab"], "ref": "B8.5.12", "evidence": [{"id": "B8.5.12", "lines": ["His mother said: “Then hear me and rejoice;", "Be not too rash, but listen to my voice."]}, {"id": "B8.5.13", "lines": ["Your father is great Rostam, battle-tried,", "The Piltan whose renown spreads far and wide."]}, {"id": "B8.5.14", "lines": ["From Dastan, Sahm, and Nariman you spring,", "Renowned stock fit to stand beside a king."]}, {"id": "B8.5.15", "lines": ["Since the World-Creator set the world in frame,", "No rider yet has matched your father’s fame."]}, {"id": "B8.5.16", "lines": ["No peer to Sahm was known beneath the sky;", "The sphere itself dared not approach so high.”"]}, {"id": "B8.5.17", "lines": ["She brought the letter Rostam sent of old,", "Three rubies and three heavy bags of gold."]}, {"id": "B8.5.18", "lines": ["“At birth your father gave these gifts to you,", "With words that proved your noble lineage true."]}]}, {"id": "wp2-recognition", "title": "Recognition comes too late", "note": "Rostam acknowledges that he has wounded his own son. The campaign and failures of recognition between these selected moments are compressed.", "kind": "outcome", "column": 3, "lane": 0, "women": ["women-tahmineh"], "actors": ["Rostam", "Sohrab"], "ref": "B8.21.65", "evidence": [{"id": "B8.21.65", "lines": ["I saw in you the signs my mother named,", "Yet my own eyes denied what they proclaimed."]}, {"id": "B8.21.66", "lines": ["My evil star decreed what fate would be:", "My father’s hand would bring my death to me."]}, {"id": "B8.21.67", "lines": ["I came like lightning; now like wind I fly;", "So brief the road that carried me to die."]}, {"id": "B8.21.68", "lines": ["Perhaps in heaven I shall see you yet,", "And meet you free of grief, with no regret.”"]}, {"id": "B8.21.74", "lines": ["They saw his dusty head, his garments torn,", "His breast all wounded and his spirit worn."]}, {"id": "B8.21.75", "lines": ["They questioned him: “What grief has struck you so?", "For whom does such a flood of anguish flow?”"]}, {"id": "B8.21.76", "lines": ["He told the dreadful wonder he had done:", "His own right hand had wounded his own son."]}, {"id": "B8.21.77", "lines": ["They raised one cry; then Rostam’s senses fled,", "And senseless fell amid the grief they spread."]}, {"id": "B8.21.78", "lines": ["Then Rostam told the chiefs: “This grief has grown;", "I have no heart or body of my own."]}, {"id": "B8.21.79", "lines": ["Seek no more war with Turan on this plain;", "The evil I have done today is enough pain.”"]}]}, {"id": "wp2-news", "title": "The news reaches Tahmineh", "note": "Tahmineh receives news of her son’s death and grieves. This map does not treat her initial choice as a sufficient cause of the killing.", "kind": "outcome", "column": 4, "lane": 0, "women": ["women-tahmineh"], "actors": ["Tahmineh"], "ref": "B8.25.1", "evidence": [{"id": "B8.25.1", "lines": ["A cry rang through Turan: “Sohrab is slain!", "He fell in battle on the blood-stained plain!”"]}, {"id": "B8.25.2", "lines": ["The news then reached Samangan’s grieving king,", "Who tore his robes and mourned the dreadful thing."]}, {"id": "B8.25.3", "lines": ["The tidings reached Tahmineh with a blow:", "“Your son lies slain; his father struck him low.”"]}, {"id": "B8.25.4", "lines": ["She seized her robe and tore it from her side,", "Her beauty shone through grief she could not hide."]}, {"id": "B8.25.5", "lines": ["She raised a cry of anguish, fierce and deep,", "Then swooned, revived, and sank again to weep."]}, {"id": "B8.25.6", "lines": ["Her long hair, coiled like kamand in her hand,", "She tore it from the roots, strand after strand."]}, {"id": "B8.25.7", "lines": ["Blood-tears ran down her face in streams of red,", "Again she swooned and fell as one near dead."]}]}, {"id": "wp2-arms", "title": "Gordafarid takes up arms", "note": "Hajir’s capture prompts Gordafarid to arm herself and ride out.", "kind": "initiative", "column": 0, "lane": 1, "women": ["women-gordafarid"], "actors": ["Gordafarid"], "ref": "B8.9.1", "evidence": [{"id": "B8.9.1", "lines": ["When word arrived that Hajir had been bound,", "Gordafarid grieved deeply at the sound."]}, {"id": "B8.9.2", "lines": ["She cried in grief and drew a bitter sigh,", "A cold breath rose as sorrow dimmed her eye."]}, {"id": "B8.9.3", "lines": ["Renowned in battle, rider fierce and famed,", "The daughter of Gazhdaham was acclaimed."]}, {"id": "B8.9.4", "lines": ["Gordafarid, peerless in warlike art,", "Took up her arms with steady hand and heart."]}, {"id": "B8.9.5", "lines": ["She hid her hair within her jowshan, wound", "Beneath a Roman helmet iron-bound."]}, {"id": "B8.9.6", "lines": ["She mounted swift, her armor closely braced,", "And rode beyond the gates with measured haste."]}, {"id": "B8.9.7", "lines": ["Like some fierce lion breaking from its lair,", "She crossed the field with speed and martial air."]}, {"id": "B8.9.8", "lines": ["A wind-foot charger bore her toward the ranks,", "Her thunderous cry rolled out along their flanks."]}, {"id": "B8.9.9", "lines": ["She cried aloud in tones that shook the plain:", "“What force is this, and who commands this train?"]}]}, {"id": "wp2-cunning", "title": "She turns to persuasion", "note": "Caught in Sohrab’s lasso, she appeals to his reputation and offers peace as a way out of the snare.", "kind": "initiative", "column": 1, "lane": 1, "women": ["women-gordafarid"], "actors": ["Gordafarid", "Sohrab"], "ref": "B8.9.38", "evidence": [{"id": "B8.9.38", "lines": ["He cast his kamand, caught her at the waist,", "And held her fast before she could make haste."]}, {"id": "B8.9.39", "lines": ["“Why seek escape?” he said. “What brought you here?", "No prize like you has ever drawn me near."]}, {"id": "B8.9.40", "lines": ["Like Gur-e-Khar, you cannot break this snare;", "By force alone you will not leave my care.”"]}, {"id": "B8.9.41", "lines": ["She saw no path but cunning left to choose,", "And shaped her words, determined not to lose:"]}, {"id": "B8.9.42", "lines": ["“O lion among warriors, hear me well;", "Two armies watch, and what they see they tell."]}, {"id": "B8.9.43", "lines": ["Now that my face and loosened hair are shown,", "What honor comes from pressing me alone?"]}, {"id": "B8.9.44", "lines": ["Men will declare you drove me from the field,", "And forced a maiden warrior to yield."]}, {"id": "B8.9.45", "lines": ["Do not prolong this struggle to your shame,", "Or let a woman’s battle stain your name."]}, {"id": "B8.9.46", "lines": ["Let silence hide what happened on this plain,", "And spare yourself dishonor and disdain."]}, {"id": "B8.9.47", "lines": ["Let wisdom rule; it is the great man’s art,", "Invite no blame before these ranks depart."]}, {"id": "B8.9.48", "lines": ["This fortress, wealth, and all its guarded store", "Are yours already; why seek battle more?"]}, {"id": "B8.9.49", "lines": ["The army and the fortress are your prize;", "Choose peace when peace is offered to the wise.”"]}]}, {"id": "wp2-gate", "title": "She reaches the gate", "note": "Gordafarid gets inside the fortress; the gate closes behind her.", "kind": "outcome", "column": 2, "lane": 1, "women": ["women-gordafarid"], "actors": ["Gordafarid"], "ref": "B8.9.56", "evidence": [{"id": "B8.9.56", "lines": ["Still in his kamand, she turned her rein,", "And led him back toward the fortress terrain."]}, {"id": "B8.9.57", "lines": ["Gazhdaham waited where the gate stood wide,", "And watched his daughter struggle toward his side."]}, {"id": "B8.9.58", "lines": ["The gates flung wide; she drew herself inside,", "Still bound and worn, alive and dignified."]}, {"id": "B8.9.59", "lines": ["They closed them fast; alarm and grief arose,", "As word ran through the fortress of their woes."]}, {"id": "B8.9.60", "lines": ["For Hajir’s bonds and Gordafarid’s plight,", "The people grieved throughout the troubled night."]}, {"id": "B8.9.61", "lines": ["Gazhdaham came with nobles in his train,", "And praised her courage after battle’s strain."]}, {"id": "B8.9.62", "lines": ["“O lion-hearted chief, we feared for you;", "Both fight and cunning proved your wisdom true."]}, {"id": "B8.9.63", "lines": ["No foe has harmed you, nor has marred your name;", "Thank Yazdan, you are back, and free from shame.”"]}]}, {"id": "wp2-absence", "title": "Sohrab finds her gone", "note": "After the fortress leaders leave through a secret passage, Sohrab searches for Gordafarid and cannot find her. The passage does not assign her every detail of the evacuation plan.", "kind": "outcome", "column": 4, "lane": 1, "women": ["women-gordafarid"], "actors": ["Sohrab", "Gordafarid"], "ref": "B8.11.5", "evidence": [{"id": "B8.11.5", "lines": ["The gates stood open; Sohrab entered through,", "No battle-ready warrior met his view."]}, {"id": "B8.11.6", "lines": ["His army entered, searching court and hall,", "But Gazhdaham was nowhere found at all."]}, {"id": "B8.11.7", "lines": ["For in the night the fortress chiefs had fled,", "With Gazhdaham, who rode out at their head."]}, {"id": "B8.11.8", "lines": ["A secret passage ran beneath the ground,", "Unknown to every foe encamped around."]}, {"id": "B8.11.9", "lines": ["Both guilty men and those without a stain", "Came forth to Sohrab, hoping life to gain."]}, {"id": "B8.11.10", "lines": ["Each sought some means by which his life might last,", "And begged for mercy till the danger passed."]}, {"id": "B8.11.11", "lines": ["He searched the halls for Gordafarid’s face,", "But found no sign of her in any place."]}, {"id": "B8.11.12", "lines": ["For love and bond had rooted in his heart,", "And from his thoughts her image would not part."]}, {"id": "B8.11.13", "lines": ["“Alas,” he said, “the shining moon is gone;", "Beneath a cloud her radiant face withdrawn.”"]}]}], "edges": [{"id": "wpe2-1", "source": "wp2-choice", "target": "wp2-father", "label": "Later: she tells their son", "kind": "sequence", "note": "The selection moves to a later event in this story thread. This arrow alone does not establish a sufficient cause."}, {"id": "wpe2-2", "source": "wp2-father", "target": "wp2-recognition", "label": "Later: the battle and recognition", "kind": "sequence", "note": "The selection moves to a later event in this story thread. This arrow alone does not establish a sufficient cause."}, {"id": "wpe2-3", "source": "wp2-recognition", "target": "wp2-news", "label": "News travels to Samangan", "kind": "sequence", "note": "The selection moves to a later event in this story thread. This arrow alone does not establish a sufficient cause."}, {"id": "wpe2-4", "source": "wp2-arms", "target": "wp2-cunning", "label": "Capture changes her tactics", "kind": "response", "note": "An explicit response or continuation within this episode."}, {"id": "wpe2-5", "source": "wp2-cunning", "target": "wp2-gate", "label": "She regains the fortress", "kind": "response", "note": "An explicit response or continuation within this episode."}, {"id": "wpe2-6", "source": "wp2-gate", "target": "wp2-absence", "label": "Later: the fortress is evacuated", "kind": "sequence", "note": "The selection moves to a later event in this story thread. This arrow alone does not establish a sufficient cause."}]}, {"volume": 3, "title": "The Queen and the Fire", "subtitle": "A warning, a refusal, a fire", "intro": "Sudabeh first warns Kavus against a trap. A later household crisis follows a different course. This map retains both episodes without reducing her to a single action.", "color": "#c7773e", "principal_ids": ["women-sudabeh"], "lanes": ["The warning before the feast", "The later crisis around Siavash"], "nodes": [{"id": "wp3-warn", "title": "Sudabeh warns Kavus", "note": "Sudabeh sees her father’s trap and warns Kavus not to attend the feast.", "kind": "initiative", "column": 0, "lane": 0, "women": ["women-sudabeh"], "actors": ["Sudabeh", "Kavus"], "ref": "B6.3.6", "evidence": [{"id": "B6.3.6", "lines": ["But fair Sudabeh saw the snare ahead,", "And warned the Shah of treachery and dread:"]}, {"id": "B6.3.7", "lines": ["“This bodes no good; you must not share his board,", "Lest treachery be planned against you, lord."]}, {"id": "B6.3.8", "lines": ["Beneath the feast they mean to seize you fast,", "And bind you without cause when trust is cast."]}, {"id": "B6.3.9", "lines": ["For my sake only is this mischief sown,", "And grief will fall upon your crown and throne.”"]}]}, {"id": "wp3-ignored", "title": "Kavus goes anyway", "note": "The narration says Kavus ignores the warning and attends with his warriors.", "kind": "response", "column": 1, "lane": 0, "women": ["women-sudabeh"], "actors": ["Kavus"], "ref": "B6.3.10", "evidence": [{"id": "B6.3.10", "lines": ["He heeded not her warning or her plan,", "And held her people scarcely worth a man."]}, {"id": "B6.3.11", "lines": ["So as a guest with warriors at his side,", "He went in pomp, secure in royal pride."]}, {"id": "B6.3.12", "lines": ["At Saha stood a pleasure-city bright,", "Prepared for feast and revelry and delight."]}, {"id": "B6.3.13", "lines": ["There stood his palace, fair in ordered height,", "Adorned throughout to charm the monarch’s sight."]}]}, {"id": "wp3-demand", "title": "Desire becomes a demand", "note": "Sudabeh presses Siavash to accept her desire and threatens his prospects if he refuses. These are her threats, not narrator-confirmed guilt on his part.", "kind": "initiative", "column": 0, "lane": 1, "women": ["women-sudabeh"], "actors": ["Sudabeh", "Siavash"], "ref": "B9.9.5", "evidence": [{"id": "B9.9.5", "lines": ["Now look upon my face, my crown, my grace;", "Why turn from love, from stature, form, and face?"]}, {"id": "B9.9.6", "lines": ["Since first I saw you, I have lived as dead,", "In cries and burning grief my days have fled."]}, {"id": "B9.9.7", "lines": ["The light of day grows dark before my eyes;", "The sun turns lapis-dark beneath the skies."]}, {"id": "B9.9.8", "lines": ["For seven years your love has mastered me,", "And blood has streamed like tears continually."]}, {"id": "B9.9.9", "lines": ["Make me but once content, and none shall hear;", "Have pity on the youth I still hold dear."]}, {"id": "B9.9.10", "lines": ["More than the Shah has given, I will add:", "An armlet, crown, and throne to make you glad."]}, {"id": "B9.9.11", "lines": ["But if you turn aside from my command,", "And will not seek the cure that I have planned,"]}, {"id": "B9.9.12", "lines": ["I will destroy your hope of crown and might,", "And turn your sun and moon to darkest night.”"]}]}, {"id": "wp3-refusal", "title": "Siavash refuses", "note": "Siavash says he will not betray his father. Sudabeh seizes him as he tries to leave.", "kind": "response", "column": 1, "lane": 1, "women": ["women-sudabeh"], "actors": ["Siavash", "Sudabeh"], "ref": "B9.9.13", "evidence": [{"id": "B9.9.13", "lines": ["Then Siavash replied: “For no desire", "Will I cast life away to feed its fire."]}, {"id": "B9.9.14", "lines": ["I will not wrong my father nor betray", "My courage or my wisdom from their way."]}, {"id": "B9.9.15", "lines": ["You are his queen, the sunlight of his throne;", "Such sin should never make the Shah’s wife known.”"]}, {"id": "B9.9.16", "lines": ["Siavash rose in anger from his seat;", "Sudabeh seized him as he sought retreat."]}, {"id": "B9.9.17", "lines": ["“I told my heart’s deep secret just to you,", "Yet evil-minded, you have proved untrue."]}, {"id": "B9.9.18", "lines": ["You mean to bring me shame before all eyes,", "And make me scorned before the good and wise.”"]}]}, {"id": "wp3-accuse", "title": "She raises an accusation", "note": "Sudabeh’s accusation is recorded as an accusation. It is not accepted here as a factual account of Siavash’s conduct.", "kind": "initiative", "column": 2, "lane": 1, "women": ["women-sudabeh"], "actors": ["Sudabeh", "Kavus"], "ref": "B9.10.1", "evidence": [{"id": "B9.10.1", "lines": ["Sudabeh tore her robes and clawed her face,", "Then raised a dreadful cry throughout the place."]}, {"id": "B9.10.2", "lines": ["Her cry rang outward from the women’s hall,", "Through eyvan, court, and street it carried all."]}, {"id": "B9.10.3", "lines": ["The palace roared with tumult, shock, and fear,", "As though the final day itself drew near."]}, {"id": "B9.10.4", "lines": ["News reached Kay Kavus; from his throne he rose,", "His heart disturbed by what the tumult shows."]}, {"id": "B9.10.5", "lines": ["He left the golden throne, his heart astir,", "And hurried to the women’s hall, to her."]}, {"id": "B9.10.6", "lines": ["He found her wounded, weeping in despair,", "While talk and tumult filled the palace air."]}, {"id": "B9.10.7", "lines": ["He questioned all, yet none could make it clear,", "Nor name what brought such turmoil and such fear."]}, {"id": "B9.10.8", "lines": ["Sudabeh wept and tore her hair in dread,", "Then spoke before the Shah, and this she said:"]}, {"id": "B9.10.9", "lines": ["“Siavash came before my throne today,", "And seized me hard; I could not draw away."]}, {"id": "B9.10.10", "lines": ["He held me fast and said, ‘My heart and soul", "Are filled with love for you beyond control."]}, {"id": "B9.10.11", "lines": ["Why do you turn from love I freely give?", "I want none else as long as I may live.’"]}, {"id": "B9.10.12", "lines": ["My crown fell from my dark and loosened hair;", "My garment tore; I struggled in despair.”"]}]}, {"id": "wp3-fire", "title": "He emerges from the fire", "note": "The ordeal establishes Siavash’s innocence within the poem. It follows a longer investigation compressed by this map.", "kind": "outcome", "column": 3, "lane": 1, "women": ["women-sudabeh"], "actors": ["Siavash"], "ref": "B9.13.38", "evidence": [{"id": "B9.13.38", "lines": ["He drove his black horse where the fire had spread,", "As though for fire the very steed were bred."]}, {"id": "B9.13.39", "lines": ["The flames closed round; no watcher’s searching eye", "Could see his golden helm or horse nearby."]}, {"id": "B9.13.40", "lines": ["The plain stood waiting, blood in every gaze,", "To see when Siavash would leave the blaze."]}, {"id": "B9.13.41", "lines": ["Then from the flames the noble youth rode free,", "Rose-faced and smiling for the world to see."]}, {"id": "B9.13.42", "lines": ["A roar went up from all the gathered throng:", "“The young Shah lives! He leaves the fire whole and strong!”"]}, {"id": "B9.13.43", "lines": ["His horse and robe and rider shone as white,", "Like jasmine blossoms opening to sight."]}, {"id": "B9.13.44", "lines": ["Had it been water, he might well be wet;", "The fire had left no mark upon him yet."]}, {"id": "B9.13.45", "lines": ["When pure Yazdan extends His mercy true,", "The breath of fire and wind are one to you."]}, {"id": "B9.13.46", "lines": ["He passed from fiery mountain to the field,", "And cries from town and plain around him pealed."]}, {"id": "B9.13.47", "lines": ["The riders rushed to meet him in delight,", "And cast their silver coins to left and right."]}, {"id": "B9.13.48", "lines": ["All people, high and low, rejoiced as one,", "And praised the miracle that had been done."]}, {"id": "B9.13.49", "lines": ["They said: “The just Judge guards the guiltless true,", "And brings the schemer’s wickedness to view.”"]}]}, {"id": "wp3-pardon", "title": "Siavash asks for pardon", "note": "Siavash asks Kavus to spare Sudabeh; Kavus grants the request. The selection ends at this reprieve, not at the end of either life.", "kind": "outcome", "column": 4, "lane": 1, "women": ["women-sudabeh"], "actors": ["Siavash", "Kavus", "Sudabeh"], "ref": "B9.14.20", "evidence": [{"id": "B9.14.20", "lines": ["Then Siavash thought: “If by his decree", "Sudabeh dies, what grief may fall on me?"]}, {"id": "B9.14.21", "lines": ["My father then will grieve when she is dead,", "And lay that sorrow afterward on my head.”"]}, {"id": "B9.14.22", "lines": ["Then Siavash spoke gently to the king:", "“Let not your heart be troubled by this thing."]}, {"id": "B9.14.23", "lines": ["Forgive her for my sake and let her live;", "Perhaps wise counsel may a new path give.”"]}, {"id": "B9.14.24", "lines": ["The Shah, who sought some cause to show her grace,", "Replied: “For you, I yield and end this case."]}, {"id": "B9.14.25", "lines": ["I pardon her because you ask it so;", "The sentence ends; now let the matter go.”"]}, {"id": "B9.14.26", "lines": ["He kissed the royal throne, then rose to stand,", "And left to carry out his sire’s command."]}, {"id": "B9.14.27", "lines": ["Siavash restored her by the Shah’s decree,", "And brought her back where she had used to be."]}, {"id": "B9.14.28", "lines": ["The women of the palace gathered round,", "And bowed again before her to the ground."]}]}], "edges": [{"id": "wpe3-1", "source": "wp3-warn", "target": "wp3-ignored", "label": "He disregards the warning", "kind": "response", "note": "An explicit response or continuation within this episode."}, {"id": "wpe3-2", "source": "wp3-demand", "target": "wp3-refusal", "label": "He rejects the demand", "kind": "response", "note": "An explicit response or continuation within this episode."}, {"id": "wpe3-3", "source": "wp3-refusal", "target": "wp3-accuse", "label": "Her accusation follows", "kind": "response", "note": "An explicit response or continuation within this episode."}, {"id": "wpe3-4", "source": "wp3-accuse", "target": "wp3-fire", "label": "After inquiry, an ordeal", "kind": "sequence", "note": "The selection moves to a later event in this story thread. This arrow alone does not establish a sufficient cause."}, {"id": "wpe3-5", "source": "wp3-fire", "target": "wp3-pardon", "label": "A request for mercy follows", "kind": "sequence", "note": "The selection moves to a later event in this story thread. This arrow alone does not establish a sufficient cause."}]}, {"volume": 4, "title": "The Daughter Who Crossed the Border", "subtitle": "A plea fails; an escape is planned", "intro": "Farangis cannot save Siavash by pleading with her father. Years later, she contributes the practical plan for escaping with Kay Khosrow and Giv.", "color": "#587b5d", "principal_ids": ["women-farangis"], "lanes": ["Farangis and Siavash", "Farangis and Kay Khosrow"], "nodes": [{"id": "wp4-plea", "title": "She pleads for Siavash", "note": "Farangis directly addresses Afrasiab in an attempt to stop Siavash’s killing.", "kind": "initiative", "column": 0, "lane": 0, "women": ["women-farangis"], "actors": ["Farangis", "Afrasiab"], "ref": "B9.54.1", "evidence": [{"id": "B9.54.1", "lines": ["The news reached Farangis; her cheek she tore,", "A bloodied zunnar round her waist she wore."]}, {"id": "B9.54.2", "lines": ["On foot she came, her moon-bright face blood-stained,", "By grief and terror all her beauty waned."]}, {"id": "B9.54.3", "lines": ["In trembling fear she came before the throne,", "And cast dust on her head with anguished moan."]}, {"id": "B9.54.4", "lines": ["She cried: “O king, whose name the wise proclaim,", "Why bring me down to sorrow, grief, and shame?"]}, {"id": "B9.54.5", "lines": ["Why bind your heart in fraud and dark deceit?", "From such a height, do you not see defeat?"]}, {"id": "B9.54.6", "lines": ["Do not strike down a guiltless monarch’s head;", "The Judge of Sun and Moon sees blood you shed."]}, {"id": "B9.54.7", "lines": ["When Siavash left Iran to seek your aid,", "He praised you to the Maker as he prayed."]}, {"id": "B9.54.8", "lines": ["He angered Kavus, left his crown and gold,", "And sought your court as refuge and stronghold."]}]}, {"id": "wp4-confined", "title": "Her father confines her", "note": "Afrasiab refuses her intervention and has her shut away.", "kind": "response", "column": 1, "lane": 0, "women": ["women-farangis"], "actors": ["Afrasiab", "Farangis"], "ref": "B9.54.38", "evidence": [{"id": "B9.54.38", "lines": ["The king then heard his daughter’s anguished cries,", "And all the world grew black before his eyes."]}, {"id": "B9.54.39", "lines": ["He said: “Go back; remain no longer in my way;", "You do not know what I intend today.”"]}, {"id": "B9.54.40", "lines": ["His heart ached for her, hearing every cry,", "Yet reason’s eye he closed and passed her by."]}, {"id": "B9.54.41", "lines": ["Within the lofty palace, out of view,", "There stood a room Farangis never knew."]}, {"id": "B9.54.42", "lines": ["He ordered guards to seize her in her grief,", "And drag her senseless, giving no relief."]}, {"id": "B9.54.43", "lines": ["They cast her in that chamber, shut away,", "Then barred the door and left her there to stay."]}]}, {"id": "wp4-shelter", "title": "Piran obtains her safety", "note": "After Siavash’s death, Piran argues for Farangis and her unborn child, then shelters her with Golshahr. Her survival here depends on other people’s intervention.", "kind": "response", "column": 2, "lane": 0, "women": ["women-farangis"], "actors": ["Piran", "Golshahr", "Farangis"], "ref": "B9.56.31", "evidence": [{"id": "B9.56.31", "lines": ["Because a child lies hidden in her frame,", "Do not become the world’s own badge of shame."]}, {"id": "B9.56.32", "lines": ["While living, curses cling upon your name;", "In death, the fires of hell shall be your claim."]}, {"id": "B9.56.33", "lines": ["If you would grant me peace, then hear my plea,", "Entrust Farangis and leave her with me."]}, {"id": "B9.56.34", "lines": ["If all your fear concerns the child she bears,", "That grief is small; put by these killing cares."]}, {"id": "B9.56.35", "lines": ["Wait only till the hour of birth is through;", "I will bring the child and leave its fate to you.”"]}, {"id": "B9.56.36", "lines": ["The king replied: “Then do as you have said;", "Your words have spared the need to see her dead.”"]}, {"id": "B9.56.37", "lines": ["Piran rejoiced and shook off sorrow’s weight,", "Then hurried off to find her at the gate."]}, {"id": "B9.56.38", "lines": ["He freed Farangis from the guards’ array,", "And sharply drove the murderous men away."]}, {"id": "B9.56.39", "lines": ["He led her safe to Khutan’s distant plain,", "While court and hall cried out in grief and pain."]}, {"id": "B9.56.40", "lines": ["Once home, to Golshahr Piran whispered low:", "“Keep Farangis concealed, and let none know."]}, {"id": "B9.56.41", "lines": ["Once from the Shah’s attention she is freed,", "I will devise the remedy we need."]}, {"id": "B9.56.42", "lines": ["Attend her like a nurse until the birth,", "And guard the child she carries to the earth.”"]}]}, {"id": "wp4-birth", "title": "Kay Khosrow is born", "note": "Golshahr attends Farangis and announces the newborn. This branch follows the child who survives, rather than suggesting the earlier plea saved Siavash.", "kind": "outcome", "column": 2, "lane": 1, "women": ["women-farangis"], "actors": ["Farangis", "Golshahr", "Kay Khosrow"], "ref": "B9.57.7", "evidence": [{"id": "B9.57.7", "lines": ["He said: “Arise, delay no moment more;", "Attend on Farangis and seek her door."]}, {"id": "B9.57.8", "lines": ["I saw Siavash shining in a dream,", "Outshining moon and sun in sovereign gleam."]}, {"id": "B9.57.9", "lines": ["He cried: ‘Awake! To Kay Khosrow’s feast bring", "Your joy and greet the birth of this new king.’”"]}, {"id": "B9.57.10", "lines": ["Golshahr ran swiftly to the queen and saw", "The newborn prince, and stood transfixed with awe."]}, {"id": "B9.57.11", "lines": ["She cried with joy that echoed through the dome,", "Then breathless ran to Piran in his home:"]}, {"id": "B9.57.12", "lines": ["“The moon and sun seem joined in this one child;", "Come see what power the Maker has compiled."]}, {"id": "B9.57.13", "lines": ["The Maker’s wisdom shines in every sign;", "He lacks but crown, and helm, and jowshan’s shine.”"]}, {"id": "B9.57.14", "lines": ["Then Piran came and looked upon the boy,", "And praised Yazdan with reverence and joy."]}]}, {"id": "wp4-plan", "title": "Farangis plans the escape", "note": "In consultation with Giv and Kay Khosrow, Farangis stresses secrecy and explains how to recover Behzad.", "kind": "initiative", "column": 3, "lane": 1, "women": ["women-farangis"], "actors": ["Farangis", "Giv", "Kay Khosrow"], "ref": "B10.18.5", "evidence": [{"id": "B10.18.5", "lines": ["When heart and reason steadied from their fear,", "They brought Farangis to their counsel near."]}, {"id": "B10.18.6", "lines": ["The three resolved together to depart,", "Unseen by hostile warriors from the start."]}, {"id": "B10.18.7", "lines": ["“We must depart unseen,” the lady said,", "“Or else all hope of freedom shall be dead."]}, {"id": "B10.18.8", "lines": ["If we delay, the world will close us round,", "And every road to freedom will be bound."]}, {"id": "B10.18.9", "lines": ["Afrasiab will hear and lose all rest,", "Then turn from food and sleep, by rage possessed."]}, {"id": "B10.18.10", "lines": ["He will come like the White Div in his might,", "And sweet life then will vanish from our sight."]}, {"id": "B10.18.11", "lines": ["Not one of us will then remain alive,", "By open means or hidden, none survive."]}, {"id": "B10.18.12", "lines": ["The world is filled with enemies and fear;", "This land is held in Ahriman’s dark sphere."]}, {"id": "B10.18.13", "lines": ["Hear now my counsel, son endowed with farr;", "Keep every word, for danger is not far."]}, {"id": "B10.18.14", "lines": ["There lies a meadow, not far from this way,", "Apart from where the riders of Tur stray."]}, {"id": "B10.18.15", "lines": ["At dawn, with Giv, take saddle, bridle black,", "And to that meadow follow hidden track."]}, {"id": "B10.18.20", "lines": ["Show Behzad then the saddle, bridle black;", "If he grows tame, step gently on his track."]}, {"id": "B10.18.21", "lines": ["Approach him gently, let him see your face;", "Then call and stroke him softly in that place."]}, {"id": "B10.18.22", "lines": ["For Siavash lost hope in earthly light,", "And day itself grew dark before his sight."]}, {"id": "B10.18.23", "lines": ["To Shabrang Behzad then Siavash said,", "‘From this day forth by no man’s will be led."]}, {"id": "B10.18.24", "lines": ["Stay on the mountain, graze the meadow near,", "Till Kay Khosrow, your seeker, shall appear."]}, {"id": "B10.18.25", "lines": ["Become his steed and make the whole world quake;", "Sweep foes from earth beneath your hoofbeats’ wake.’”"]}]}, {"id": "wp4-ride", "title": "She rides toward Iran", "note": "Farangis puts on a helmet and rides away with Giv and Kay Khosrow. The selection ends with departure, before the dangers of the journey are resolved.", "kind": "outcome", "column": 4, "lane": 1, "women": ["women-farangis"], "actors": ["Farangis", "Giv", "Kay Khosrow"], "ref": "B10.20.1", "evidence": [{"id": "B10.20.1", "lines": ["When all was set, they saddled their swift steeds,", "Those famed and tireless mounts of proven deeds."]}, {"id": "B10.20.2", "lines": ["Fair Farangis placed a helmet on her head,", "Then all three mounted, and like wind they sped."]}, {"id": "B10.20.3", "lines": ["Toward Iran they turned in urgent flight,", "And traveled secretly, concealed from sight."]}, {"id": "B10.20.4", "lines": ["But secret flight could not remain concealed,", "For word soon reached Piran: all was revealed."]}, {"id": "B10.20.5", "lines": ["A messenger approached him in alarm:", "“Giv came from Iran, mighty in his arm."]}, {"id": "B10.20.6", "lines": ["He found the prince, and he has fled our ground,", "With Khosrow and Farangis, homeward bound.”"]}]}], "edges": [{"id": "wpe4-1", "source": "wp4-plea", "target": "wp4-confined", "label": "Afrasiab rejects her plea", "kind": "response", "note": "An explicit response or continuation within this episode."}, {"id": "wpe4-2", "source": "wp4-confined", "target": "wp4-shelter", "label": "After Siavash’s death, Piran intervenes", "kind": "sequence", "note": "The selection moves to a later event in this story thread. This arrow alone does not establish a sufficient cause."}, {"id": "wpe4-3", "source": "wp4-shelter", "target": "wp4-birth", "label": "The protected child is born", "kind": "sequence", "note": "The selection moves to a later event in this story thread. This arrow alone does not establish a sufficient cause."}, {"id": "wpe4-4", "source": "wp4-birth", "target": "wp4-plan", "label": "Years later: a plan for flight", "kind": "sequence", "note": "The selection moves to a later event in this story thread. This arrow alone does not establish a sufficient cause."}, {"id": "wpe4-5", "source": "wp4-plan", "target": "wp4-ride", "label": "The three leave secretly", "kind": "response", "note": "An explicit response or continuation within this episode."}]}, {"volume": 5, "title": "Mothers and the Crown", "subtitle": "Three mothers, three different reckonings", "intro": "These are independent stories from different parts of the poem. No connecting line is drawn between the three mothers. Their children’s later actions are not collapsed into a single moral outcome.", "color": "#a08532", "principal_ids": ["women-faranak_abtin", "women-jarireh", "women-humai_bahman"], "lanes": ["Faranak and Fereydoon", "Jarireh and Forood", "Homahyi Chehrzad and Darab"], "nodes": [{"id": "wp5-frefuge", "title": "Faranak seeks a keeper", "note": "After Abtin’s death, Faranak asks the cow’s keeper to protect and nourish Fereydoon.", "kind": "initiative", "column": 0, "lane": 0, "women": ["women-faranak_abtin"], "actors": ["Faranak", "The keeper"], "ref": "A5.3.15", "evidence": [{"id": "A5.3.15", "lines": ["When Faranak, his wise and faithful wife,", "Beheld the ruin of her husband’s life,"]}, {"id": "A5.3.16", "lines": ["She fled in grief when Abtin’s days were done;", "Her heart was filled with love for her young son."]}, {"id": "A5.3.17", "lines": ["She sought the meadow where Barmayeh fed,", "And wept before the herdsman as she said:"]}, {"id": "A5.3.18", "lines": ["“Protect this nursing child and keep him near;", "Receive him as a father; hold him dear."]}, {"id": "A5.3.19", "lines": ["Nourish my son on Barmayeh’s rich flow,", "And guard the child wherever he may go."]}, {"id": "A5.3.20", "lines": ["If payment you desire, my life I give;", "Ask what you will; only let my child live.”"]}, {"id": "A5.3.21", "lines": ["The herdsman said, “Your wish shall be obeyed;", "Like one who serves your son, I pledge my aid.”"]}]}, {"id": "wp5-fmountain", "title": "She changes his refuge", "note": "When the first refuge becomes dangerous, she takes the child to a holy man on Alborz.", "kind": "initiative", "column": 1, "lane": 0, "women": ["women-faranak_abtin"], "actors": ["Faranak", "The holy man"], "ref": "A5.3.26", "evidence": [{"id": "A5.3.26", "lines": ["The tale of that rare cow had reached the king,", "And Faranak felt dread’s returning sting."]}, {"id": "A5.3.27", "lines": ["She came again: “A thought from God through sense", "Has come to me, of consequence immense."]}, {"id": "A5.3.28", "lines": ["My child and my sweet life are wholly one;", "We must erase all trace and save my son."]}, {"id": "A5.3.29", "lines": ["This land of sorcerers I now must flee;", "No trace of child or mother must they see."]}, {"id": "A5.3.30", "lines": ["To Hind I will go, and withdraw from sight;", "Then Mount Alborz shall hide him from their might.”"]}, {"id": "A5.3.31", "lines": ["She bore the child away in dead of night,", "As quick as any bird that takes to flight."]}, {"id": "A5.3.32", "lines": ["Upon Alborz a holy man had made", "His dwelling, far from worldly toil and trade."]}, {"id": "A5.3.33", "lines": ["To him she said: “O man of sacred way,", "A grieving mother stands by you today."]}, {"id": "A5.3.34", "lines": ["This precious child shall lead the world one day,", "And bring Zahhak’s dark kingship to decay."]}, {"id": "A5.3.35", "lines": ["He shall cast the tyrant’s crown and power low,", "And strip the royal girdle from his foe."]}, {"id": "A5.3.36", "lines": ["Take him and raise him as a father would,", "And guard his life with all a father should.”"]}]}, {"id": "wp5-fcrown", "title": "She hears of his crown", "note": "Faranak hears that her son has overthrown Zahhak and become Shah. The rise itself is not represented as her work alone.", "kind": "outcome", "column": 3, "lane": 0, "women": ["women-faranak_abtin"], "actors": ["Faranak", "Fereydoon"], "ref": "A6.1.15", "evidence": [{"id": "A6.1.15", "lines": ["Now Faranak knew nothing of her son,", "Nor that Zahhak’s long sovereignty was done."]}, {"id": "A6.1.16", "lines": ["At last the news reached her of his renown,", "And how her son now wore the royal crown."]}, {"id": "A6.1.17", "lines": ["She washed her head and body, bowed in awe,", "Before the Judge who gives the world its law."]}, {"id": "A6.1.18", "lines": ["She bowed her head to dust, cursed Zahhak’s reign,", "And praised the Creator for joy after pain."]}]}, {"id": "wp5-fgifts", "title": "She opens her treasury", "note": "Faranak gives to the needy and sends royal gifts to her son.", "kind": "initiative", "column": 4, "lane": 0, "women": ["women-faranak_abtin"], "actors": ["Faranak"], "ref": "A6.1.19", "evidence": [{"id": "A6.1.19", "lines": ["She sought the needy out with secret care,", "And gave in secret each allotted share."]}, {"id": "A6.1.20", "lines": ["For one full week her hidden gifts were spread,", "Till almost all the needy had been fed."]}, {"id": "A6.1.21", "lines": ["Another week she feasted nobles all,", "And made her banquet-place a garden hall."]}, {"id": "A6.1.22", "lines": ["Then hidden treasure gathered through the years", "She opened freely after grief and tears."]}, {"id": "A6.1.23", "lines": ["Now that her son was Shah, she prized no store;", "Silver seemed cheap; her treasure pleased no more."]}, {"id": "A6.1.24", "lines": ["She chose rich royal garments, jewels bright,", "And gifts befitting majesty and might."]}, {"id": "A6.1.26", "lines": ["She sent him jowshan, helmets, javelins keen,", "The finest martial gear that could be seen."]}, {"id": "A6.1.27", "lines": ["With sword and cap and girdle fit for kings,", "She gathered up the treasury’s finest things."]}, {"id": "A6.1.28", "lines": ["She loaded camels with the gathered store,", "And turned to God, then sent it from her door."]}]}, {"id": "wp5-jcounsel", "title": "Jarireh advises Forood", "note": "Jarireh urges Forood to join his half-brother’s cause and honor the approaching Iranian commanders.", "kind": "initiative", "column": 0, "lane": 1, "women": ["women-jarireh"], "actors": ["Jarireh", "Forood"], "ref": "B12.3.18", "evidence": [{"id": "B12.3.18", "lines": ["Jarireh answered: “Warrior, may your days", "Be fortunate beneath Heaven’s bright gaze."]}, {"id": "B12.3.19", "lines": ["Your brother now commands Iran’s great throne,", "Wise, vigilant Khosrow, world-ruler known."]}, {"id": "B12.3.20", "lines": ["Your lineage and native worth he knows,", "From Siavash the blood in both you flows."]}, {"id": "B12.3.21", "lines": ["No champion like Siavash ever rode,", "Or girded for the warrior’s heavy load."]}, {"id": "B12.3.22", "lines": ["Great Piran gave me first to Siavash;", "For never did his heart with rivals clash."]}, {"id": "B12.3.23", "lines": ["Thus from both sides your blood is nobly born,", "A royal lineage no man may scorn."]}, {"id": "B12.3.24", "lines": ["You are the son of that renowned great line,", "Of Kayan seed and Kayan form and sign."]}, {"id": "B12.3.25", "lines": ["You should be foremost in the coming fight,", "And strike at Turan for your father’s right."]}, {"id": "B12.3.33", "lines": ["Your face proclaims your gohar, birth, and line;", "Avenge your father; let your nezhad shine."]}, {"id": "B12.3.34", "lines": ["Learn which great chiefs lead forth the marching train,", "And honor those who highest praise attain."]}, {"id": "B12.3.35", "lines": ["Set forth rich robes and spread the wine-filled board,", "And honor every worthy chief and lord."]}, {"id": "B12.3.36", "lines": ["Give robes of honor, treasure from your side,", "For Kay Khosrow is all your strength and pride."]}, {"id": "B12.3.37", "lines": ["Let strangers not avenge your father’s right;", "Ride with your brother foremost in the fight.”"]}]}, {"id": "wp5-jwounded", "title": "Forood returns wounded", "note": "A much longer sequence of failed recognition and combat ends with Forood wounded inside the fortress. This arrow does not assign responsibility to Jarireh’s counsel alone.", "kind": "pressure", "column": 2, "lane": 1, "women": ["women-jarireh"], "actors": ["Forood", "Jarireh"], "ref": "B12.12.40", "evidence": [{"id": "B12.12.40", "lines": ["Then Rohham from behind the battle cried,", "And drew his Indian sword in wrathful pride."]}, {"id": "B12.12.41", "lines": ["He struck the lion-youth upon the shoulder;", "Arm and shoulder fell; his blood ran colder."]}, {"id": "B12.12.42", "lines": ["Prince Forood cried; his charger thundered on,", "Though arm and shoulder from his frame were gone."]}, {"id": "B12.12.43", "lines": ["Then Bijan closed beside the fortress wall,", "And hamstrung Forood’s horse and made it fall."]}, {"id": "B12.12.44", "lines": ["Then Forood, wounded, went afoot inside,", "A few faithful attendants at his side."]}, {"id": "B12.12.45", "lines": ["They quickly barred the gate against the foe;", "Alas for Forood, marked for death and woe!"]}, {"id": "B12.12.46", "lines": ["His mother and the women gathered near,", "And all embraced him, shedding bitter tears."]}, {"id": "B12.12.47", "lines": ["They laid him gently on the ivory throne;", "His season for the crown and world had flown."]}, {"id": "B12.12.48", "lines": ["His mother and the women tore their hair,", "And ripped their musky tresses in despair."]}, {"id": "B12.12.49", "lines": ["The throne lamented; all the fortress cried,", "And grief consumed the women at his side."]}]}, {"id": "wp5-jloss", "title": "Forood dies", "note": "Forood dies in the fortress. His final commands and the fighting around the family are not reduced to a simple reward or punishment.", "kind": "outcome", "column": 3, "lane": 1, "women": ["women-jarireh"], "actors": ["Forood"], "ref": "B12.12.50", "evidence": [{"id": "B12.12.50", "lines": ["Then with a fading glance and failing breath,", "He turned to them while drawing near to death."]}, {"id": "B12.12.51", "lines": ["With one last effort, as his spirit fled,", "He forced his failing lips to speak and said:"]}, {"id": "B12.12.52", "lines": ["“No wonder that you tear your hair and weep;", "The Iranians soon will storm this mountain keep."]}, {"id": "B12.12.53", "lines": ["They will make captives of the women here,", "And ruin wall and mount when they draw near."]}, {"id": "B12.12.54", "lines": ["Let all whose hearts still burn for love of me", "Leap from the battlements and perish free."]}, {"id": "B12.12.55", "lines": ["Let none become Prince Bijan’s share or prize;", "A little time remains before life dies."]}, {"id": "B12.12.56", "lines": ["My body and my spirit fall to pain;", "What use are girls or treasure that remain?”"]}, {"id": "B12.12.57", "lines": ["He spoke; his cheeks grew pale as life withdrew,", "His grieving spirit from his body flew."]}]}, {"id": "wp5-jend", "title": "Jarireh’s story ends", "note": "After the loss, Jarireh destroys the household’s wealth and takes her own life beside her son. This is a reported tragic ending, not a path endorsed by this map.", "kind": "outcome", "column": 4, "lane": 1, "women": ["women-jarireh"], "actors": ["Jarireh"], "ref": "B12.13.1", "evidence": [{"id": "B12.13.1", "lines": ["The attendants climbed the rooftop in despair,", "And leaped to death while grief still choked the air."]}, {"id": "B12.13.2", "lines": ["Jarireh kindled fire with her own hands,", "And burned the treasures gathered through the lands."]}, {"id": "B12.13.3", "lines": ["Then sword in hand she barred the stable door,", "Where stood the Arab steeds she prized before."]}, {"id": "B12.13.4", "lines": ["She hamstrung them and ripped their bodies wide;", "While bloody tears ran down her cheeks beside."]}, {"id": "B12.13.5", "lines": ["With khanjar blue as water, she drew near,", "And pressed both cheeks against her son so dear."]}, {"id": "B12.13.6", "lines": ["She ripped her belly open with the blade,", "And on her slaughtered son her body laid."]}]}, {"id": "wp5-hcrown", "title": "Homahyi Chehrzad takes the throne", "note": "Homahyi Chehrzad rules after Bahman’s death while keeping the birth of her son hidden.", "kind": "initiative", "column": 0, "lane": 2, "women": ["women-humai_bahman"], "actors": ["Homahyi Chehrzad"], "ref": "D2.1.1", "evidence": [{"id": "D2.1.1", "lines": ["King Bahman died of sickness; sorrow fell", "Upon his daughter, caught within its spell."]}, {"id": "D2.1.2", "lines": ["She mourned for Bahman, sunk in grief profound,", "And long remained by bitter sorrow bound."]}, {"id": "D2.1.3", "lines": ["Fair Homahyi then set the crown in place,", "And gave the realm new customs by her grace."]}, {"id": "D2.1.4", "lines": ["She called the troops and nobles to her court,", "And opened royal vaults for their support."]}, {"id": "D2.1.5", "lines": ["In wisdom and in justice she surpassed", "Her father; and great wealth her rule amassed."]}, {"id": "D2.1.10", "lines": ["When childbirth neared, she kept it from the town,", "And from the troops who served her royal crown."]}, {"id": "D2.1.11", "lines": ["She loved the splendor of the crown she wore,", "And wished to rule the kingdom as before."]}, {"id": "D2.1.12", "lines": ["She bore a son in secrecy and fear,", "Concealing him from all who gathered near."]}, {"id": "D2.1.13", "lines": ["She found a nurse of noble birth and name,", "Both pure and modest, free from any blame."]}, {"id": "D2.1.14", "lines": ["In secret, she entrusted to her care", "The tender shoot who was the rightful heir."]}, {"id": "D2.1.15", "lines": ["When courtiers asked if she had borne a son,", "She said the child had died, and there was none."]}]}, {"id": "wp5-hriver", "title": "Darab is sent downriver", "note": "The child is placed in a sealed coffer and carried from Homahyi Chehrzad’s household to the river. The scene is distinct from Faranak’s refuges.", "kind": "initiative", "column": 1, "lane": 2, "women": ["women-humai_bahman"], "actors": ["Homahyi Chehrzad", "The nurse"], "ref": "D2.1.27", "evidence": [{"id": "D2.1.27", "lines": ["A royal jewel, splendid, large, and bright,", "They bound upon his arm and fixed it tight."]}, {"id": "D2.1.28", "lines": ["And when the little child lay fast asleep,", "The faithful nurse began to mourn and weep."]}, {"id": "D2.1.29", "lines": ["She laid him in the coffer, soft and warm,", "And wrapped in silk from Chin his little form."]}, {"id": "D2.1.30", "lines": ["They sealed the coffer’s narrow lid with skill,", "With glue, wax, musk, and ambergris to fill."]}, {"id": "D2.1.31", "lines": ["At midnight, hushed, they bore the box; none stirred;", "No lips disturbed the silence with a word."]}, {"id": "D2.1.32", "lines": ["They bore it from Homahyi, out of sight,", "And cast it in Farat that very night."]}, {"id": "D2.1.33", "lines": ["Two men went hurrying beside the flow,", "To learn what fate the child would undergo."]}, {"id": "D2.1.34", "lines": ["Like some small ship, the coffer rode the tide;", "The watchers followed down the riverside."]}]}, {"id": "wp5-hfound", "title": "Another household finds him", "note": "A washerman brings the coffer home; his wife discovers and receives the child. This includes the foster household rather than implying Darab survives unaided.", "kind": "outcome", "column": 2, "lane": 2, "women": ["women-humai_bahman"], "actors": ["The washerman", "The washerwoman", "Darab"], "ref": "D2.2.8", "evidence": [{"id": "D2.2.8", "lines": ["Within that channel stood a coffer sealed;", "Inside it lay a child, from sight concealed."]}, {"id": "D2.2.9", "lines": ["When I raise the lid, you shall see his face,", "And long to hold the child in your embrace."]}, {"id": "D2.2.10", "lines": ["Our own dear son now lies among the dead;", "Let this fair child be cherished in his stead."]}, {"id": "D2.2.11", "lines": ["He brings a fortune gathered at his side,", "In gems and brocade richly beautified.”"]}, {"id": "D2.2.12", "lines": ["He laid the clothes upon the ground, then drew", "The coffer’s narrow lid aside from view."]}, {"id": "D2.2.13", "lines": ["The washerwoman saw the child and prayed,", "Astonished at the sight the box displayed."]}, {"id": "D2.2.14", "lines": ["His radiant face shone from the silken bed;", "He looked like Ardeshir, the king now dead."]}]}, {"id": "wp5-hyield", "title": "Homahyi Chehrzad yields the crown", "note": "Much later, Homahyi Chehrzad crowns Darab and asks him to forgive her. Recognition and Darab’s earlier adventures are compressed.", "kind": "initiative", "column": 4, "lane": 2, "women": ["women-humai_bahman"], "actors": ["Homahyi Chehrzad", "Darab"], "ref": "D2.7.10", "evidence": [{"id": "D2.7.10", "lines": ["She kissed her son and touched his youthful face,", "Then held him in a mother’s warm embrace."]}, {"id": "D2.7.11", "lines": ["She led him to the golden throne and gazed,", "In wonder at a joy so great, amazed."]}, {"id": "D2.7.12", "lines": ["He sat upon the throne; she came to stand", "Before her son, the royal crown in hand."]}, {"id": "D2.7.13", "lines": ["She set it on his head and sent the word:", "His crowning’s joyful news the whole world heard."]}, {"id": "D2.7.14", "lines": ["His crown shone bright; she asked her royal son", "To pardon all the wrong that she had done."]}, {"id": "D2.7.15", "lines": ["She told Darab, “Let all that passed away", "Be like the wind that does not pause or stay."]}, {"id": "D2.7.16", "lines": ["Youth, wealth, a woman’s judgment led her astray;", "A father dead, no guide to show the way."]}, {"id": "D2.7.17", "lines": ["Forgive her wrong; let blame upon her cease;", "May you sit only on a throne in peace.”"]}, {"id": "D2.7.18", "lines": ["The youth replied, “Your noble birth is known;", "The Pahlevans’ great lineage is your own."]}, {"id": "D2.7.19", "lines": ["No wonder if the heart should seethe with pain;", "For one wrong, why should such a cry remain?"]}, {"id": "D2.7.20", "lines": ["May God, who made the world, be pleased with you;", "May grief like smoke your foes’ dark hearts imbue."]}, {"id": "D2.7.21", "lines": ["These words of mine shall live from age to age,", "And never grow outworn upon the page.”"]}]}], "edges": [{"id": "wpe5-1", "source": "wp5-frefuge", "target": "wp5-fmountain", "label": "Danger prompts a new refuge", "kind": "sequence", "note": "The selection moves to a later event in this story thread. This arrow alone does not establish a sufficient cause."}, {"id": "wpe5-2", "source": "wp5-fmountain", "target": "wp5-fcrown", "label": "Later: her son becomes Shah", "kind": "sequence", "note": "The selection moves to a later event in this story thread. This arrow alone does not establish a sufficient cause."}, {"id": "wpe5-3", "source": "wp5-fcrown", "target": "wp5-fgifts", "label": "She responds with gifts", "kind": "sequence", "note": "The selection moves to a later event in this story thread. This arrow alone does not establish a sufficient cause."}, {"id": "wpe5-4", "source": "wp5-jcounsel", "target": "wp5-jwounded", "label": "Later: the encounter becomes a battle", "kind": "sequence", "note": "The selection moves to a later event in this story thread. This arrow alone does not establish a sufficient cause."}, {"id": "wpe5-5", "source": "wp5-jwounded", "target": "wp5-jloss", "label": "Forood’s wounds prove fatal", "kind": "sequence", "note": "The selection moves to a later event in this story thread. This arrow alone does not establish a sufficient cause."}, {"id": "wpe5-6", "source": "wp5-jloss", "target": "wp5-jend", "label": "The household’s tragic ending follows", "kind": "sequence", "note": "The selection moves to a later event in this story thread. This arrow alone does not establish a sufficient cause."}, {"id": "wpe5-7", "source": "wp5-hcrown", "target": "wp5-hriver", "label": "The child is later sent away", "kind": "sequence", "note": "The selection moves to a later event in this story thread. This arrow alone does not establish a sufficient cause."}, {"id": "wpe5-8", "source": "wp5-hriver", "target": "wp5-hfound", "label": "The coffer reaches another household", "kind": "sequence", "note": "The selection moves to a later event in this story thread. This arrow alone does not establish a sufficient cause."}, {"id": "wpe5-9", "source": "wp5-hfound", "target": "wp5-hyield", "label": "Much later: mother and son reunited", "kind": "sequence", "note": "The selection moves to a later event in this story thread. This arrow alone does not establish a sufficient cause."}]}, {"volume": 6, "title": "Desire and Its Price", "subtitle": "Sustaining a captive; leaving a court", "intro": "Manijeh’s practical work at the pit and Golnar’s preparations for flight unfold in different cycles. Each thread follows actions the text names, without inventing a meeting between the two women.", "color": "#8570a3", "principal_ids": ["women-manijeh", "women-golnar"], "lanes": ["Manijeh and Bijan", "Golnar and Ardeshir"], "nodes": [{"id": "wp6-mpit", "title": "Manijeh is cast out", "note": "Bijan is chained in the pit; Manijeh loses her wealth and is taken to its mouth.", "kind": "pressure", "column": 0, "lane": 0, "women": ["women-manijeh"], "actors": ["Manijeh", "Bijan"], "ref": "C2.10.16", "evidence": [{"id": "C2.10.16", "lines": ["They carried out the monarch’s harsh command,", "And seized Giv’s son, still fettered foot and hand."]}, {"id": "C2.10.17", "lines": ["Before the pit’s black mouth they set him down,", "And ironed him from heel to very crown."]}, {"id": "C2.10.18", "lines": ["His waist and hands with heavy chains were wound,", "While smiths drove iron rivets, hard and sound."]}, {"id": "C2.10.19", "lines": ["With steel and hammers every bond was fast;", "Then headfirst in the pit Bijan was cast."]}, {"id": "C2.10.20", "lines": ["They sealed him under stone; then from that place", "The troops withdrew, grim anger on each face."]}, {"id": "C2.10.21", "lines": ["They reached the princess’ palace, seized her store,", "And cast her wealth in heaps across the floor."]}, {"id": "C2.10.22", "lines": ["Manijeh was left bare, without a veil,", "Barefoot, bareheaded, and her face grown pale."]}, {"id": "C2.10.23", "lines": ["They dragged her to the pit; her heart was blood,", "Her face a channel running like a flood."]}, {"id": "C2.10.24", "lines": ["Garsivaz said, “Look here, and you shall see", "Your home; the prisoner’s servant you shall be.”"]}]}, {"id": "wp6-mbread", "title": "She keeps Bijan fed", "note": "Manijeh makes an opening and gathers bread from door to door for Bijan.", "kind": "initiative", "column": 1, "lane": 0, "women": ["women-manijeh"], "actors": ["Manijeh"], "ref": "C2.10.25", "evidence": [{"id": "C2.10.25", "lines": ["Manijeh stayed, with anguish in her breast,", "And blood-drops on her cheeks, and found no rest."]}, {"id": "C2.10.26", "lines": ["He turned away; Manijeh, bride of woe,", "Roamed through the plain with nowhere else to go."]}, {"id": "C2.10.27", "lines": ["When one full day and night had passed in grief,", "She scraped a handbreadth opening for relief."]}, {"id": "C2.10.28", "lines": ["When from the mountain’s crest the sun raised head,", "Manijeh went from door to door for bread."]}, {"id": "C2.10.29", "lines": ["Through the long day she gathered, crust by crust,", "And brought it to the pit-hole through the dust."]}, {"id": "C2.10.30", "lines": ["She gave it to Bijan, and wept her fill,", "And in that ill-starred living lingered still."]}, {"id": "C2.10.31", "lines": ["With sigh and cry, through every hour she kept", "That pit’s own watch, and never left, but wept."]}]}, {"id": "wp6-mcontact", "title": "She reaches the merchant", "note": "Manijeh asks the disguised Rostam to carry word of Bijan. The map identifies the actual man without assuming she already knows him.", "kind": "initiative", "column": 2, "lane": 0, "women": ["women-manijeh"], "actors": ["Manijeh", "Rostam"], "ref": "C2.22.1", "evidence": [{"id": "C2.22.1", "lines": ["News reached Manijeh of the caravan;", "To seek the merchant, into town she ran."]}, {"id": "C2.22.2", "lines": ["Bareheaded, weeping, worn with grief, heart-sore,", "Afrasiab’s daughter came to his door."]}, {"id": "C2.22.3", "lines": ["She wiped her bloody tears upon her sleeve,", "And blessed him, asking what news she might receive:"]}, {"id": "C2.22.4", "lines": ["“May life and wealth be yours and long remain;", "May all your toil leave no regret or pain."]}, {"id": "C2.22.5", "lines": ["May heaven turn according to your will;", "May evil’s eye bring you no harm or ill."]}, {"id": "C2.22.6", "lines": ["May hope fulfill the venture you have planned;", "May all your labor prosper in your hand."]}, {"id": "C2.22.7", "lines": ["May wisdom be your counselor and guide,", "May blessed Iran have fortune on its side."]}, {"id": "C2.22.8", "lines": ["What news have you of warriors of Iran,", "Of Giv, Gudarz, and every Pahlevan?"]}, {"id": "C2.22.9", "lines": ["Has news of Bijan not reached Iran’s ear?", "Will not his grandfather bring rescue here?"]}, {"id": "C2.22.10", "lines": ["That youth, a scion of Gudarz’s line,", "Is bowed by pain that seems to break his spine."]}, {"id": "C2.22.11", "lines": ["His feet are galled by fetters’ crushing bands;", "The blacksmiths’ iron rivets bind his hands."]}, {"id": "C2.22.12", "lines": ["Poor wretch, his garments with his blood are wet;", "He lies in chains, his bonds about him set."]}, {"id": "C2.22.13", "lines": ["His lamentations fill my eyes with tears;", "No sleep can soothe my care for him, my fears."]}, {"id": "C2.22.14", "lines": ["If you should travel to Iran one day,", "Where famous men and mighty warriors stay,"]}, {"id": "C2.22.15", "lines": ["And see Giv there before the royal throne,", "Or valiant Rostam, let his plight be known."]}, {"id": "C2.22.16", "lines": ["Tell them that Bijan languishes in chains;", "Delay will only multiply his pains.”"]}]}, {"id": "wp6-msignal", "title": "She carries the signal", "note": "Rostam recognizes the exchanged message and instructs her to light a fire marking the pit.", "kind": "response", "column": 3, "lane": 0, "women": ["women-manijeh"], "actors": ["Manijeh", "Rostam"], "ref": "C2.23.43", "evidence": [{"id": "C2.23.43", "lines": ["Manijeh sped away with urgent speed,", "And bore to Rostam Bijan’s secret need."]}, {"id": "C2.23.44", "lines": ["When Rostam heard the words that she conveyed,", "After the long, hard journey she had made,"]}, {"id": "C2.23.45", "lines": ["He knew Bijan had made the secret known,", "And to that cypress all the story shown."]}, {"id": "C2.23.46", "lines": ["He pitied her and said: “May God above", "Keep strong for Bijan all your faithful love."]}, {"id": "C2.23.47", "lines": ["What toil and hardship you have borne so long,", "Brought low by want, enduring shame and wrong."]}, {"id": "C2.23.48", "lines": ["Tell him: ‘Yes, God, who hears the helpless plea,", "Has granted you the lord of Rakhsh in me."]}, {"id": "C2.23.49", "lines": ["From Zabul through Iran to Turan’s plain,", "I traveled far for you, through toil and pain.’"]}, {"id": "C2.23.50", "lines": ["When you have said this, keep the matter sealed,", "And listen well at night across the field."]}, {"id": "C2.23.51", "lines": ["By day, bring fuel from the woodland ways,", "And when night comes, set all the pile ablaze."]}, {"id": "C2.23.52", "lines": ["Make fire to guide me; it will be my mark", "To find the pit’s mouth in the heavy dark.”"]}, {"id": "C2.23.53", "lines": ["Manijeh heard him, and her heart grew light;", "Her sorrows fled, her joy put grief to flight."]}]}, {"id": "wp6-mrescue", "title": "Rostam opens the pit", "note": "The rescuers follow the fire; Rostam lifts the stone. The rescue includes his and the champions’ actions as well as Manijeh’s sustained work.", "kind": "outcome", "column": 4, "lane": 0, "women": ["women-manijeh"], "actors": ["Rostam", "Manijeh", "Bijan"], "ref": "C2.24.6", "evidence": [{"id": "C2.24.6", "lines": ["Then Rostam led them, seeking out the track,", "Toward the fire, his comrades at his back."]}, {"id": "C2.24.7", "lines": ["When Rostam reached the boulder Akvan cast,", "He saw the pit of grief and anguish vast."]}, {"id": "C2.24.8", "lines": ["He told the seven warriors at his side,", "“We have the earth before us yet to ride."]}, {"id": "C2.24.9", "lines": ["Prepare yourselves to undertake this deed;", "Remove this stone with all your strength and speed.”"]}, {"id": "C2.24.10", "lines": ["The chiefs dismounted, ready now to try", "To clear the stone beneath which he must lie."]}, {"id": "C2.24.11", "lines": ["They wore their hands in labor, strained and pressed;", "The chiefs grew weary; still the stone lay at rest."]}, {"id": "C2.24.12", "lines": ["Sweat streamed from those illustrious men in vain;", "The stone stayed at the pit-mouth through their strain."]}, {"id": "C2.24.13", "lines": ["The lion-chief dismounted in his might,", "And tucked his jowshan’s hem in girdle tight."]}, {"id": "C2.24.14", "lines": ["He asked Yazdan to lend His strength and care,", "Then gripped the rock and raised it through the air."]}, {"id": "C2.24.15", "lines": ["He hurled it into Chin’s woods; it struck the ground,", "And all the earth beneath it shook with sound."]}, {"id": "C2.24.16", "lines": ["Then Rostam called, lamenting, down below,", "“How have you fared through all this time of woe?"]}]}, {"id": "wp6-gchoice", "title": "Golnar agrees to leave", "note": "Ardeshir asks whether she will join his flight, and Golnar pledges to go with him.", "kind": "initiative", "column": 0, "lane": 1, "women": ["women-golnar"], "actors": ["Golnar", "Ardeshir"], "ref": "D6.5.45", "evidence": [{"id": "D6.5.45", "lines": ["He thought of flight and asked, “If I leave Rey,", "And seek Iran, where brave men lead the way,"]}, {"id": "D6.5.46", "lines": ["Will you come with me on that dangerous road,", "Or stay and serve the king in this abode?"]}, {"id": "D6.5.47", "lines": ["If you will come, great wealth shall be your own;", "And you shall be the crown upon the throne.”"]}, {"id": "D6.5.48", "lines": ["She pledged to stay with him until she died:", "“I am your slave; I shall not leave your side.”"]}, {"id": "D6.5.49", "lines": ["Cold sighs escaped her lips as thus she spoke;", "From both her eyes the yellow teardrops broke."]}, {"id": "D6.5.50", "lines": ["Ardeshir said, “Tomorrow we depart.”", "Necessity had gripped the young man’s heart."]}]}, {"id": "wp6-gwealth", "title": "She gathers the resources", "note": "Golnar takes jewels and dinars from the royal treasury to support the escape. The graph preserves this morally consequential detail rather than replacing it with a generic act of loyalty.", "kind": "initiative", "column": 2, "lane": 1, "women": ["women-golnar"], "actors": ["Golnar"], "ref": "D6.5.51", "evidence": [{"id": "D6.5.51", "lines": ["She went back to her rooms, her life in hand,", "Prepared to risk herself for what she planned."]}, {"id": "D6.5.52", "lines": ["As soon as dawn had gilded earth with light,", "And driven back the darkness of the night,"]}, {"id": "D6.5.53", "lines": ["She opened up the treasure’s golden cache,", "And searched through gems whose priceless colors flash."]}, {"id": "D6.5.54", "lines": ["Of rubies, royal gems, and dinars bright,", "She took the wealth they needed for their flight."]}, {"id": "D6.5.55", "lines": ["She reached her rooms with all the gems she bore,", "And laid them there, a secret, precious store."]}, {"id": "D6.5.56", "lines": ["Her heart was pained and troubled by the deed;", "She weighed what plans might serve her in her need."]}, {"id": "D6.5.57", "lines": ["How could she flee the king and safely go?", "With that young man, what future would she know?"]}, {"id": "D6.5.58", "lines": ["She waited till night rose from mountain height,", "The king asleep, his people gone from sight."]}, {"id": "D6.5.59", "lines": ["She left the palace like an arrow’s flight,", "And brought the gems to Ardeshir that night."]}]}, {"id": "wp6-gflight", "title": "They leave together", "note": "Golnar brings the treasure to Ardeshir; the pair prepare their horses and depart. This ends the selection before his later rise.", "kind": "outcome", "column": 4, "lane": 1, "women": ["women-golnar"], "actors": ["Golnar", "Ardeshir"], "ref": "D6.5.60", "evidence": [{"id": "D6.5.60", "lines": ["He held a cup; his grooms were all asleep,", "And wine had sunk them into slumber deep."]}, {"id": "D6.5.61", "lines": ["For Ardeshir had plied them all with wine,", "Since he must flee in secret by design."]}, {"id": "D6.5.62", "lines": ["He chose two noble steeds, the finest bred,", "Now saddled at the manger where they fed."]}, {"id": "D6.5.63", "lines": ["He saw Golnar, and saw the jewels she bore;", "The ruddy dinars gleamed among her store."]}, {"id": "D6.5.64", "lines": ["He said, “We must be gone; we cannot stay;", "No longer here; now we must ride away."]}, {"id": "D6.5.65", "lines": ["May we escape this dragon’s claws and go,", "And save our youthful lives from all this woe.”"]}, {"id": "D6.5.66", "lines": ["He put the cup aside, his purpose steady;", "He bridled both the Arab steeds, made ready,"]}, {"id": "D6.5.67", "lines": ["Put on his khaftan, mounted, helmed, alert,", "And with a poison-watered blade was girt."]}, {"id": "D6.5.68", "lines": ["She mounted on the other steed to ride;", "Together they departed, side by side."]}]}], "edges": [{"id": "wpe6-1", "source": "wp6-mpit", "target": "wp6-mbread", "label": "She finds a way to sustain him", "kind": "response", "note": "An explicit response or continuation within this episode."}, {"id": "wpe6-2", "source": "wp6-mbread", "target": "wp6-mcontact", "label": "Later: she approaches the caravan", "kind": "sequence", "note": "The selection moves to a later event in this story thread. This arrow alone does not establish a sufficient cause."}, {"id": "wpe6-3", "source": "wp6-mcontact", "target": "wp6-msignal", "label": "Messages establish contact", "kind": "sequence", "note": "The selection moves to a later event in this story thread. This arrow alone does not establish a sufficient cause."}, {"id": "wpe6-4", "source": "wp6-msignal", "target": "wp6-mrescue", "label": "The rescuers follow the signal", "kind": "response", "note": "An explicit response or continuation within this episode."}, {"id": "wpe6-5", "source": "wp6-gchoice", "target": "wp6-gwealth", "label": "She prepares for their flight", "kind": "response", "note": "An explicit response or continuation within this episode."}, {"id": "wpe6-6", "source": "wp6-gwealth", "target": "wp6-gflight", "label": "They depart with the resources", "kind": "response", "note": "An explicit response or continuation within this episode."}]}, {"volume": 7, "title": "The Woman Who Chose a King", "subtitle": "A choice she makes; a choice she cannot prevent", "intro": "Katayun chooses a husband despite Caesar’s anger. In a later generation she warns Esfandiyar against a royal command, but her warning does not change his course.", "color": "#287b7c", "principal_ids": ["women-katayun"], "lanes": ["Katayun chooses Goshtasb", "Katayun warns Esfandiyar"], "nodes": [{"id": "wp7-choose", "title": "She crowns her choice", "note": "Katayun recognizes the man from her dream and places the crown on Goshtasb’s head.", "kind": "initiative", "column": 0, "lane": 0, "women": ["women-katayun"], "actors": ["Katayun", "Goshtasb"], "ref": "C5.7.29", "evidence": [{"id": "C5.7.29", "lines": ["The chamber-servants entered, swift and fleet,", "Then Katayun came with her rosy suite."]}, {"id": "C5.7.30", "lines": ["Across the hall she searched; each face she scanned;", "Before, behind her moved the maiden band."]}, {"id": "C5.7.31", "lines": ["She saw Goshtasb and cried, “Before my eyes", "The hidden meaning of my dream now lies!”"]}, {"id": "C5.7.32", "lines": ["She took the crown and set it on his head,", "Rejoicing in the man she chose to wed."]}, {"id": "C5.7.33", "lines": ["Her minister and tutor saw her choice,", "And ran to Caesar, wonder in his voice."]}, {"id": "C5.7.34", "lines": ["“She chose a man from all the gathered crowd,", "Tall as a cypress, noble, bearing proud."]}, {"id": "C5.7.35", "lines": ["His face a rose-garden, his shoulders broad,", "All who behold his form are overawed."]}, {"id": "C5.7.36", "lines": ["Yet who he is, we cannot rightly say;", "God’s royal farr shines through him like the day.”"]}]}, {"id": "wp7-anger", "title": "Caesar threatens the pair", "note": "Caesar orders their deaths; the bishop challenges him with the terms of the marriage custom. The counterargument matters to what follows.", "kind": "response", "column": 1, "lane": 0, "women": ["women-katayun"], "actors": ["Caesar", "The bishop"], "ref": "C5.7.37", "evidence": [{"id": "C5.7.37", "lines": ["The Caesar answered, “May no daughter’s name", "Bring on her noble lineage such shame."]}, {"id": "C5.7.38", "lines": ["If I should grant this man my daughter’s hand,", "My head would bow in shame throughout the land."]}, {"id": "C5.7.39", "lines": ["Behead them both within this palace wall:", "My daughter and the man she chose from all.”"]}, {"id": "C5.7.40", "lines": ["The bishop said, “This is no weighty thing;", "Before you many a lord has ruled as king."]}, {"id": "C5.7.41", "lines": ["You told her, ‘Choose the man you wish to wed,’", "Not, ‘Choose a Roman with an honored head.’"]}, {"id": "C5.7.42", "lines": ["She chose the one who pleased her in the hall;", "Submit to God’s own will above us all."]}, {"id": "C5.7.43", "lines": ["Your fathers kept this custom long ago,", "Upright and pure in faith, as well you know."]}, {"id": "C5.7.44", "lines": ["On such a custom Rum’s foundations stand;", "Do not adopt new counsels in this land."]}, {"id": "C5.7.45", "lines": ["This bodes no good; speak otherwise, I pray,", "And do not tread this strange and trackless way.”"]}]}, {"id": "wp7-leave", "title": "She stands by her choice", "note": "Caesar permits the marriage but sends them away without his wealth. Katayun refuses Goshtasb’s suggestion that she choose someone else.", "kind": "initiative", "column": 2, "lane": 0, "women": ["women-katayun"], "actors": ["Katayun", "Goshtasb"], "ref": "C5.8.1", "evidence": [{"id": "C5.8.1", "lines": ["When Caesar heard, he fixed his will that day:", "He wed the pair and sent them on their way."]}, {"id": "C5.8.2", "lines": ["He said, “Go with her as you stand, no more;", "I give no crown, no signet, gold, or store.”"]}, {"id": "C5.8.3", "lines": ["Goshtasb saw this and stood in stunned surprise,", "And called upon the Maker of the skies."]}, {"id": "C5.8.4", "lines": ["He spoke to noble Katayun in pain:", "“You have been sheltered from all want and strain."]}, {"id": "C5.8.5", "lines": ["What moved you here to make your choice of me,", "Among these chiefs and crowns of high degree?"]}, {"id": "C5.8.6", "lines": ["The man you chose is destitute, alone;", "With him no wealth, but hardship, will be known."]}, {"id": "C5.8.7", "lines": ["Choose one your equal from these noble men,", "And win your father’s favor back again.”"]}, {"id": "C5.8.8", "lines": ["But Katayun replied, “O doubting heart,", "Do not rage at the sky or fortune’s part."]}, {"id": "C5.8.9", "lines": ["If I am pleased with you and with my fate,", "Why seek for crown and throne and royal state?”"]}]}, {"id": "wp7-jewel", "title": "A jewel supports their life", "note": "Katayun provides a jewel whose sale funds their needs.", "kind": "initiative", "column": 3, "lane": 0, "women": ["women-katayun"], "actors": ["Katayun", "Goshtasb"], "ref": "C5.8.14", "evidence": [{"id": "C5.8.14", "lines": ["Now Katayun had gems in ample store,", "With ornaments and jewels more and more."]}, {"id": "C5.8.15", "lines": ["From these she chose a jewel, rare and fine;", "No expert eye had seen its equal shine."]}, {"id": "C5.8.16", "lines": ["They bore it to a jeweler, skilled and wise,", "Who took it, full of thanks for such a prize."]}, {"id": "C5.8.17", "lines": ["He paid six thousand dinars for the stone,", "A ruby worth the treasures of a throne."]}, {"id": "C5.8.18", "lines": ["They bought the things required for daily life,", "Enough to meet their needs through want and strife."]}, {"id": "C5.8.19", "lines": ["They lived upon the money thus obtained,", "At times in joy, at times by sorrow pained."]}]}, {"id": "wp7-return", "title": "She joins the road to Iran", "note": "After Goshtasb’s longer rise, Caesar sends gifts and Katayun joins the journey toward Iran. The intervening feats are compressed.", "kind": "outcome", "column": 4, "lane": 0, "women": ["women-katayun"], "actors": ["Katayun", "Goshtasb", "Caesar"], "ref": "C5.18.40", "evidence": [{"id": "C5.18.40", "lines": ["Goshtasb accepted all the monarch said,", "And drew him close and gently held his head."]}, {"id": "C5.18.41", "lines": ["He said, “When heaven darkens into night,", "And it is time to set the lamps alight,"]}, {"id": "C5.18.42", "lines": ["Send her who chose me as her husband here;", "She has endured much sorrow, pain, and fear.”"]}, {"id": "C5.18.43", "lines": ["Ashamed and weary, Caesar left the place,", "To ponder how his deeds had brought disgrace."]}, {"id": "C5.18.44", "lines": ["He sent to Katayun abundant gold,", "A crown, five rubies, treasures manifold,"]}, {"id": "C5.18.54", "lines": ["Then Katayun arrived, and from the court", "The royal tabira rang its report."]}, {"id": "C5.18.55", "lines": ["The horses’ dust rose up and veiled the sky,", "As troops rode toward Iran with banners high."]}, {"id": "C5.18.56", "lines": ["For two full stages Caesar rode the track;", "Then Goshtasb turned the monarch’s charger back."]}]}, {"id": "wp7-warning", "title": "She warns her son", "note": "Katayun warns Esfandiyar against the mission to bind Rostam and the pursuit of a crown through that task.", "kind": "initiative", "column": 0, "lane": 1, "women": ["women-katayun"], "actors": ["Katayun", "Esfandiyar"], "ref": "C8.4.1", "evidence": [{"id": "C8.4.1", "lines": ["Much moved, with tearful cheeks, Katayun came", "Before her glorious son and spoke his name."]}, {"id": "C8.4.2", "lines": ["She said, “O crown of warriors, famed in fight,", "Whose name among the chiefs burns ever bright,"]}, {"id": "C8.4.3", "lines": ["Bahman has told me you intend to ride", "From this rose-garden toward Zabul’s side,"]}, {"id": "C8.4.4", "lines": ["And bind great Rostam, gorz and sword in hand,", "The son of Zal, whom you would now withstand."]}, {"id": "C8.4.5", "lines": ["Now hear the words your mother brings today;", "Do not rush into evil on your way."]}, {"id": "C8.4.6", "lines": ["That rider, strong as elephants in war,", "Would scorn the Nile when battle’s torrents roar."]}, {"id": "C8.4.7", "lines": ["He tore the White Div’s liver out by force;", "Before his sword the sun would leave its course."]}, {"id": "C8.4.8", "lines": ["He slew the king of Hamavaran outright,", "And none is bold enough to blame his might."]}, {"id": "C8.4.9", "lines": ["Against Afrasiab, for Siavash dead,", "He made the earth a sea of running red."]}, {"id": "C8.4.10", "lines": ["Do not give up your life for royal power;", "No newborn wears a crown in his first hour."]}, {"id": "C8.4.11", "lines": ["A curse upon this crown and royal throne,", "On killing, pillage, tumult they have sown!"]}]}, {"id": "wp7-command", "title": "He follows the command", "note": "Esfandiyar acknowledges the wrong of binding Rostam yet insists that he cannot reject the Shah’s order.", "kind": "response", "column": 2, "lane": 1, "women": ["women-katayun"], "actors": ["Esfandiyar", "Katayun"], "ref": "C8.4.16", "evidence": [{"id": "C8.4.16", "lines": ["Esfandiyar replied, “My mother dear,", "Attend my words and keep your judgment clear."]}, {"id": "C8.4.17", "lines": ["Great Rostam is the man you know so well;", "His deeds, like sacred Zand, you read and tell."]}, {"id": "C8.4.18", "lines": ["Search all the heroes, wander where you may;", "No greater benefactor comes your way."]}, {"id": "C8.4.19", "lines": ["To bind him is a wrong, a deed of shame;", "Such evil ill becomes the royal name."]}, {"id": "C8.4.20", "lines": ["Yet do not break my heart with what you say;", "To break my heart would take my life away."]}, {"id": "C8.4.21", "lines": ["How can I turn from what the Shah commands,", "And cast away such kingship from my hands?"]}, {"id": "C8.4.22", "lines": ["If Zabul marks the ending of my days,", "Then heaven draws me there through all its ways."]}, {"id": "C8.4.23", "lines": ["If Rostam comes obedient to my word,", "No harsh rebuke from me shall then be heard.”"]}]}, {"id": "wp7-wound", "title": "The mission ends in grief", "note": "The later battle leaves Esfandiyar mortally wounded. The full conflict includes Goshtasb’s command, both champions’ actions, and the Simorgh’s intervention, beyond this selected path.", "kind": "outcome", "column": 4, "lane": 1, "women": ["women-katayun"], "actors": ["Esfandiyar", "Bahman", "Bishutan"], "ref": "C8.27.25", "evidence": [{"id": "C8.27.25", "lines": ["It was to Bishutan that Bahman sped:", "“Our battle now to bitter pain is wed."]}, {"id": "C8.27.26", "lines": ["The mighty elephant is on the ground;", "Dark night has closed on all the world around.”"]}, {"id": "C8.27.27", "lines": ["On foot they hurried from the troops in grief,", "And ran together to the wounded chief."]}, {"id": "C8.27.28", "lines": ["They saw the warrior’s chest all stained with gore;", "His hand the bloodied shaft that struck him bore."]}, {"id": "C8.27.29", "lines": ["Then Bishutan cast dust upon his head,", "And tore his robe, with cries for one near dead."]}, {"id": "C8.27.30", "lines": ["Bahman rolled in the dust; his face he laid", "In warm blood, weeping as the farr would fade."]}, {"id": "C8.28.1", "lines": ["Then Esfandiyar spoke to Rostam so:", "“My time has ended; now my life must go."]}, {"id": "C8.28.2", "lines": ["Hold back no longer; rise and come this way,", "For now my counsel changes with the day."]}, {"id": "C8.28.3", "lines": ["Hear now the counsel that I have to give,", "And know my worth while I have breath to live."]}]}], "edges": [{"id": "wpe7-1", "source": "wp7-choose", "target": "wp7-anger", "label": "Caesar reacts", "kind": "response", "note": "An explicit response or continuation within this episode."}, {"id": "wpe7-2", "source": "wp7-anger", "target": "wp7-leave", "label": "After the bishop intervenes", "kind": "sequence", "note": "The selection moves to a later event in this story thread. This arrow alone does not establish a sufficient cause."}, {"id": "wpe7-3", "source": "wp7-leave", "target": "wp7-jewel", "label": "A practical means of support", "kind": "sequence", "note": "The selection moves to a later event in this story thread. This arrow alone does not establish a sufficient cause."}, {"id": "wpe7-4", "source": "wp7-jewel", "target": "wp7-return", "label": "Later: their fortunes change", "kind": "sequence", "note": "The selection moves to a later event in this story thread. This arrow alone does not establish a sufficient cause."}, {"id": "wpe7-5", "source": "wp7-warning", "target": "wp7-command", "label": "Her son answers", "kind": "response", "note": "An explicit response or continuation within this episode."}, {"id": "wpe7-6", "source": "wp7-command", "target": "wp7-wound", "label": "Later: the battle proves fatal", "kind": "sequence", "note": "The selection moves to a later event in this story thread. This arrow alone does not establish a sufficient cause."}]}, {"volume": 8, "title": "Power Among the Ruins", "subtitle": "A road home; two brief reigns", "intro": "Gurdiyeh’s route from Chin belongs to an earlier episode than the two queens’ reigns. These are distinct threads; the layout does not invent a family relationship between the three women.", "color": "#9e5145", "principal_ids": ["women-gordyeh", "women-purandokht", "women-azarmidokht"], "lanes": ["Gurdiyeh’s road from Chin", "Poorandokht’s reign", "Azarmidokht’s reign"], "nodes": [{"id": "wp8-gplan", "title": "Gurdiyeh plans to leave", "note": "Gurdiyeh discusses the Khan’s proposal, prepares a message to Gordvi, chooses her force, and orders departure at night.", "kind": "initiative", "column": 0, "lane": 0, "women": ["women-gordyeh"], "actors": ["Gurdiyeh", "Her counselors"], "ref": "E6.41.1", "evidence": [{"id": "E6.41.1", "lines": ["Then in her leisure that young prudent dame", "Consulted all her counselors by name."]}, {"id": "E6.41.2", "lines": ["She said, “A new and wondrous tale is told,", "Whose memory within will not grow old."]}, {"id": "E6.41.3", "lines": ["The Khan, great ruler, skilled in courtly art,", "Has asked to marry me and win my heart."]}, {"id": "E6.41.4", "lines": ["He has no fault; a mighty king is he,", "And Turan’s troops submit to his decree."]}, {"id": "E6.41.15", "lines": ["Contrive that, hidden from the Turks, our tale", "May pass to Iran quickly and not fail."]}, {"id": "E6.41.16", "lines": ["I have prepared a letter to Gordvi,", "And thought beforehand what our course should be."]}, {"id": "E6.41.17", "lines": ["He may present my case before the king,", "And tell him all the grief these troubles bring."]}, {"id": "E6.41.18", "lines": ["God helping, he will hear what I shall say,", "And my persuasive words will win their way.”"]}, {"id": "E6.41.23", "lines": ["She called the muster officer, and paid", "Him at the divan, where his place was made."]}, {"id": "E6.41.24", "lines": ["She went forth and inspected every man,", "Then chose the strongest fighters of the clan."]}, {"id": "E6.41.25", "lines": ["Eleven hundred and sixty she chose,", "Each one a match for ten among his foes."]}, {"id": "E6.41.26", "lines": ["She paid them silver, sought her own abode,", "And spoke to troops prepared to take the road."]}, {"id": "E6.41.27", "lines": ["“Whoever once rode armed into the fray", "Will face whatever dangers bar the way."]}, {"id": "E6.41.28", "lines": ["He fears no murderous multitude in fight,", "Though clouds rain severed heads and veil the light."]}, {"id": "E6.41.29", "lines": ["Our road leads to Iran, and to the king", "Of valiant men, where royal banners spring."]}, {"id": "E6.41.30", "lines": ["Here in Turan we are but strangers all,", "Friendless and weak among the proud and tall."]}, {"id": "E6.41.31", "lines": ["When darkness falls, let us withdraw unseen,", "While sleep lies heavy on the heads of Chin."]}, {"id": "E6.41.32", "lines": ["Let not your hearts grow faint with fear of fight,", "If troops from Chin pursue us in our flight."]}, {"id": "E6.41.33", "lines": ["Their chiefs with massive gorzes may pursue;", "They will come for me; that is surely true."]}, {"id": "E6.41.34", "lines": ["Let each man take his life within his hand,", "And if they come, strike hard and make your stand."]}, {"id": "E6.41.35", "lines": ["But if you do not choose to share this flight,", "Stay where you are; move not a step tonight.”"]}, {"id": "E6.41.36", "lines": ["They shouted, “We are yours; we shall obey.”", "They understood, rose up, and armed that day."]}]}, {"id": "wp8-gstop", "title": "The Khan forbids departure", "note": "Tobarg carries the Khan’s command: the marriage demand is withdrawn, but she is not permitted to leave.", "kind": "pressure", "column": 1, "lane": 0, "women": ["women-gordyeh"], "actors": ["The Khan", "Tobarg", "Gurdiyeh"], "ref": "E6.42.27", "evidence": [{"id": "E6.42.27", "lines": ["Amazed, he said, “The Khan of Chin chose you,", "From all the realm, as noble, wise, and true,"]}, {"id": "E6.42.28", "lines": ["To keep alive the thought of Bahram’s name,", "The chosen mighty horseman of lion fame."]}, {"id": "E6.42.29", "lines": ["He said, ‘That kindness I shall well repay,", "As you will hear in what I have to say.’"]}, {"id": "E6.42.30", "lines": ["He told me, ‘Go to her without delay:", "“If what I asked has seemed too harsh today,"]}, {"id": "E6.42.31", "lines": ["Think of my former suit as words unsaid;", "I have withdrawn the wish that we should wed."]}, {"id": "E6.42.32", "lines": ["Though you desire no husband, you must stay;", "You may not leave this land and ride away.”"]}, {"id": "E6.42.33", "lines": ["Speak thus to her; if she rejects this course,", "Then bind her, since she spurns advice, by force."]}, {"id": "E6.42.34", "lines": ["And bind the one who urged her to this flight,", "Whose words have passed beyond the bounds of right.’”"]}]}, {"id": "wp8-gact", "title": "She defeats Tobarg", "note": "Gurdiyeh answers Tobarg, challenges him, and kills him in combat before continuing toward Iran.", "kind": "initiative", "column": 2, "lane": 0, "women": ["women-gordyeh"], "actors": ["Gurdiyeh", "Tobarg"], "ref": "E6.42.35", "evidence": [{"id": "E6.42.35", "lines": ["She answered, “Let us leave the ranks awhile,", "And I will answer you with measured style.”"]}, {"id": "E6.42.36", "lines": ["He rode toward her, leaving all his men;", "She saw that he was quite alone, and then"]}, {"id": "E6.42.37", "lines": ["Beneath her sable helm she showed her face,", "And spoke with royal courage, scorn, and grace."]}, {"id": "E6.42.38", "lines": ["“You saw Chubin’s great horsemanship in fight,", "And marveled at his deeds and all his might."]}, {"id": "E6.42.39", "lines": ["He was both mother and a father dear;", "His days are ended; now I face you here."]}, {"id": "E6.42.40", "lines": ["Now I shall test you; let our weapons show", "If I am fit to wed, and you shall know.”"]}, {"id": "E6.42.41", "lines": ["She spurred her battle-steed; her lance struck true,", "And then it pierced his jowshan through and through:"]}, {"id": "E6.42.42", "lines": ["She hurled him from his saddle to the plain,", "A lifeless corpse among the desert train!"]}, {"id": "E6.42.43", "lines": ["Then Izad Gashasp broke Chin’s stunned array,", "While on toward Iran she pressed her way."]}]}, {"id": "wp8-gmarry", "title": "She marries Khosrow", "note": "After further events not shown here, Gurdiyeh is received and married by Khosrow Parviz. Her escape does not lead straight to this marriage without intervening decisions.", "kind": "outcome", "column": 4, "lane": 0, "women": ["women-gordyeh"], "actors": ["Gurdiyeh", "Khosrow Parviz"], "ref": "E6.47.20", "evidence": [{"id": "E6.47.20", "lines": ["Khosrow beheld that cypress, tall and bright,", "Spring-cheeked, with pheasant gait and queenly light."]}, {"id": "E6.47.21", "lines": ["Her face was day, her locks were dark as night;", "Her lips seemed to rain pearls of purest white."]}, {"id": "E6.47.22", "lines": ["He placed her first within the royal bower,", "Endowed with majesty, renown, and power."]}, {"id": "E6.47.23", "lines": ["He sought Gurdiyeh’s hand to make her bride,", "Then bade the Mobad wed them by old rite."]}, {"id": "E6.47.24", "lines": ["By custom of their faith, he took his wife,", "And cherished her as dearly as his life."]}, {"id": "E6.47.25", "lines": ["Her comrades, too, received rich robes to wear,", "And silver, gold, and gifts both rich and rare."]}]}, {"id": "wp8-pvow", "title": "Poorandokht promises relief", "note": "At accession, Poorandokht promises support for the poor and continuity of royal customs.", "kind": "initiative", "column": 0, "lane": 1, "women": ["women-purandokht"], "actors": ["Poorandokht"], "ref": "E9.4.1", "evidence": [{"id": "E9.4.1", "lines": ["Poorandokht was her name; when she ascended,", "To heal the realm her royal care extended."]}, {"id": "E9.4.2", "lines": ["They seated her upon the royal throne,", "And chiefs spread jewels where her glory shone."]}, {"id": "E9.4.3", "lines": ["She said, “I will not break this gathered band,", "Nor scatter those who now before me stand."]}, {"id": "E9.4.4", "lines": ["I will enrich the poor from royal store,", "That none need suffer hardship anymore."]}, {"id": "E9.4.5", "lines": ["May no one in this realm endure such pain;", "His grief is mine; beside him I remain."]}, {"id": "E9.4.6", "lines": ["From all our land, our foes shall be expelled;", "The customs of our kings shall be upheld.”"]}]}, {"id": "wp8-ppunish", "title": "She orders punishment", "note": "Poorandokht has Pirooz Khosrow brought before her and orders his violent punishment. This belongs beside the promise of care in the portrait of her rule.", "kind": "initiative", "column": 2, "lane": 1, "women": ["women-purandokht"], "actors": ["Poorandokht", "Pirooz Khosrow"], "ref": "E9.4.7", "evidence": [{"id": "E9.4.7", "lines": ["She sought for Pirooz Khosrow; then there came", "A trusty man with tidings of that name."]}, {"id": "E9.4.8", "lines": ["She chose renowned men from the ranks that day;", "They brought Pirooz to hear what she would say."]}, {"id": "E9.4.9", "lines": ["She cried, “Foul-hearted villain, face your fate;", "Receive the dark reward your crimes create."]}, {"id": "E9.4.10", "lines": ["Now you shall pay for all the wrong you sow;", "I shall make a stream of blood from your neck flow.”"]}, {"id": "E9.4.11", "lines": ["She bade them lead a wild colt from its stall,", "That never yet had felt the saddle’s gall."]}, {"id": "E9.4.12", "lines": ["They bound him, firm as stone, upon its back,", "A noose about his neck that held no slack."]}, {"id": "E9.4.13", "lines": ["The untamed colt was led, with Pirooz bound,", "Into the open, on the riding-ground."]}, {"id": "E9.4.14", "lines": ["She sent some riders out across the course,", "Each with a kamand strapped upon his horse."]}, {"id": "E9.4.15", "lines": ["The wild steed plunged and reared in frantic flight,", "And dashed the traitor down in all men’s sight."]}, {"id": "E9.4.16", "lines": ["His skin was torn; the blood began to flow", "Out of his body, seeping soft and slow."]}, {"id": "E9.4.17", "lines": ["Pirooz at last surrendered breath in pain,", "And died in shame upon that dreadful plain."]}]}, {"id": "wp8-pend", "title": "Her short reign ends", "note": "The poem praises her rule and then reports her death after a brief illness. It does not say the punishment caused her death.", "kind": "outcome", "column": 4, "lane": 1, "women": ["women-purandokht"], "actors": ["Poorandokht"], "ref": "E9.4.19", "evidence": [{"id": "E9.4.19", "lines": ["Poorandokht ruled the world with gentle hand;", "No harsh wind lifted dust across the land."]}, {"id": "E9.4.20", "lines": ["But when six months had run their measured course,", "Her life’s revolving circle lost its force."]}, {"id": "E9.4.21", "lines": ["She died, a week of sickness having known,", "And carried fair renown with her alone."]}, {"id": "E9.4.22", "lines": ["Such is the working of the turning sphere:", "All-powerful, while we are powerless here."]}]}, {"id": "wp8-alaw", "title": "Azarmidokht declares law", "note": "Azarmidokht’s accession speech promises protection for supporters and punishment for those who break her pledge.", "kind": "initiative", "column": 1, "lane": 2, "women": ["women-azarmidokht"], "actors": ["Azarmidokht"], "ref": "E9.5.1", "evidence": [{"id": "E9.5.1", "lines": ["Another lady, Azarmidokht by name,", "Assumed the crown and rose to royal fame."]}, {"id": "E9.5.2", "lines": ["She sat upon the Kayanian throne,", "And made the world’s dominion all her own."]}, {"id": "E9.5.3", "lines": ["Her first words were: “O sages, veterans all,", "Who know the world’s affairs, how fortunes fall,"]}, {"id": "E9.5.4", "lines": ["We shall uphold the ancient law with pride,", "Till in the grave, on bricks, our heads abide."]}, {"id": "E9.5.5", "lines": ["To those who love me I shall be a stay,", "A lord who will sustain them, come what may."]}, {"id": "E9.5.6", "lines": ["But he who breaks my pledge forsakes the road", "Of wisdom and rejects the rightful code;"]}, {"id": "E9.5.7", "lines": ["I shall hang him, shamed, on the gallows high,", "Iranian, Arab, Roman; he shall die.”"]}]}, {"id": "wp8-aend", "title": "Another brief reign ends", "note": "The poem gives a short reign and reports her death. This map does not add a cause of death or claim that her declared law brought it about.", "kind": "outcome", "column": 4, "lane": 2, "women": ["women-azarmidokht"], "actors": ["Azarmidokht"], "ref": "E9.5.8", "evidence": [{"id": "E9.5.8", "lines": ["Four months she filled the throne in royal state;", "The fifth brought ruin through the turns of fate."]}, {"id": "E9.5.9", "lines": ["With her, the realm lost virtue’s shielding light;", "Her star was dimmed, eclipsed in fortune’s night."]}, {"id": "E9.5.10", "lines": ["She died; the throne was left without a king,", "To those who wished her ill, a welcome thing."]}, {"id": "E9.5.11", "lines": ["The turning sphere makes hatred plainly known", "Toward those it nurtured once and called its own."]}]}], "edges": [{"id": "wpe8-1", "source": "wp8-gplan", "target": "wp8-gstop", "label": "The Khan sends a demand", "kind": "sequence", "note": "The selection moves to a later event in this story thread. This arrow alone does not establish a sufficient cause."}, {"id": "wpe8-2", "source": "wp8-gstop", "target": "wp8-gact", "label": "Gurdiyeh answers in combat", "kind": "response", "note": "An explicit response or continuation within this episode."}, {"id": "wpe8-3", "source": "wp8-gact", "target": "wp8-gmarry", "label": "Later: after further events", "kind": "sequence", "note": "The selection moves to a later event in this story thread. This arrow alone does not establish a sufficient cause."}, {"id": "wpe8-4", "source": "wp8-pvow", "target": "wp8-ppunish", "label": "Another action during her reign", "kind": "sequence", "note": "The selection moves to a later event in this story thread. This arrow alone does not establish a sufficient cause."}, {"id": "wpe8-5", "source": "wp8-ppunish", "target": "wp8-pend", "label": "Later: her reign ends", "kind": "sequence", "note": "The selection moves to a later event in this story thread. This arrow alone does not establish a sufficient cause."}, {"id": "wpe8-6", "source": "wp8-alaw", "target": "wp8-aend", "label": "Later: her reign ends", "kind": "sequence", "note": "The selection moves to a later event in this story thread. This arrow alone does not establish a sufficient cause."}]}, {"volume": 9, "title": "Love and the Reckoning", "subtitle": "Love, rivalry, and a final refusal", "intro": "The poem’s Shirin story returns to earlier love before following its consequences. Her own defense and the narrator’s account of Maryam are both retained, without treating one as a correction of the other.", "color": "#b16083", "principal_ids": ["women-shirin"], "lanes": ["Shirin and Khosrow", "After Khosrow’s death"], "nodes": [{"id": "wp9-recall", "title": "She calls Khosrow back", "note": "Shirin recalls the vows of their earlier love when Khosrow passes near her home.", "kind": "initiative", "column": 0, "lane": 0, "women": ["women-shirin"], "actors": ["Shirin", "Khosrow"], "ref": "E7.2.30", "evidence": [{"id": "E7.2.30", "lines": ["When Shirin heard, “The mighty Shah is near,", "Before his army, coming toward us here,”"]}, {"id": "E7.2.31", "lines": ["She put a yellow musk-sweet vestment on,", "And made her face like blooms at early dawn."]}, {"id": "E7.2.32", "lines": ["She wore a Roman robe of crimson thread,", "On cloth of gold, with jeweled patterns spread."]}, {"id": "E7.2.33", "lines": ["Upon her head she set a royal crown,", "With Pahlevan-bright jewels blazing down."]}, {"id": "E7.2.34", "lines": ["She left the pleasant hall and climbed the roof,", "Her heart from every happiness aloof."]}, {"id": "E7.2.35", "lines": ["She waited there until the Shah drew near,", "Then tears ran down the face he once held dear."]}, {"id": "E7.2.36", "lines": ["At sight of him she rose to all her height,", "And spoke of former sweetness, love, and light."]}, {"id": "E7.2.37", "lines": ["Her ailing eyes washed cheeks like flowers in rain;", "The flowers were sound, the eyes were sick with pain."]}, {"id": "E7.2.38", "lines": ["All tears and beauty, she began her tale;", "In Pahlavi she voiced her love’s travail:"]}, {"id": "E7.2.39", "lines": ["“O mighty lion, leader in the fight,", "Great conqueror, the pride of warriors’ might,"]}, {"id": "E7.2.40", "lines": ["Where is that love, that flood of tears you bore,", "Which seeing Shirin healed in days before?"]}, {"id": "E7.2.41", "lines": ["Where are those days that into night would creep,", "With smiling lips, while heart and eyes would weep?"]}, {"id": "E7.2.42", "lines": ["Where are our bonds, our covenant of old?", "Where are the vows and oaths we used to hold?”"]}]}, {"id": "wp9-bower", "title": "Their old bond is renewed", "note": "News reaches the court that Shirin is in Khosrow’s royal bower and their old affair has resumed.", "kind": "outcome", "column": 1, "lane": 0, "women": ["women-shirin"], "actors": ["Shirin", "Khosrow"], "ref": "E7.3.1", "evidence": [{"id": "E7.3.1", "lines": ["When news of Khosrow’s marriage reached the court,", "The nobles and the troops heard this report:"]}, {"id": "E7.3.2", "lines": ["They heard, “Shirin is in the royal bower;", "The old affair has gained its former power.”"]}, {"id": "E7.3.3", "lines": ["The city grieved; in every street and square", "Rose curses, pain, and sorrow everywhere."]}, {"id": "E7.3.4", "lines": ["For three days none of them came to his hall;", "At dawn upon the fourth he sent his call."]}]}, {"id": "wp9-maryam", "title": "The narrator names a killing", "note": "The narrator explicitly says Shirin poisons Maryam. This is represented as the poem’s narrated action, distinct from Shirin’s later public defense.", "kind": "initiative", "column": 2, "lane": 0, "women": ["women-shirin"], "actors": ["Shirin", "Maryam"], "ref": "E7.4.2", "evidence": [{"id": "E7.4.2", "lines": ["He passed his days with Caesar’s daughter, raised", "Above his other women, highest praised."]}, {"id": "E7.4.3", "lines": ["Because of her, Shirin grew sick with pain,", "Her cheeks were pale with envy’s inward stain."]}, {"id": "E7.4.4", "lines": ["At last she gave her poison, darkly planned,", "And Maryam died beneath her hidden hand."]}, {"id": "E7.4.5", "lines": ["No person knew the trick Shirin had played,", "For in her heart alone the plot was laid."]}, {"id": "E7.4.6", "lines": ["A year had passed since Maryam died; his fair", "Gold chambers then he gave to Shirin’s care."]}]}, {"id": "wp9-death", "title": "Khosrow has been killed", "note": "The later chapter places Shirin’s last episode fifty-three days after Khosrow’s killing. No arrow assigns his overthrow to Maryam’s death.", "kind": "pressure", "column": 2, "lane": 1, "women": ["women-shirin"], "actors": ["Khosrow", "Shiruyeh"], "ref": "E8.6.1", "evidence": [{"id": "E8.6.1", "lines": ["Now Khosrow’s tale is told; hear what befell", "Shiruyeh and Shirin, whose end I tell."]}, {"id": "E8.6.2", "lines": ["When fifty-three full days had passed since then,", "Since that great Shah was slain by faithless men,"]}, {"id": "E8.6.3", "lines": ["Shiruyeh dispatched a messenger to say", "To Shirin, “Wicked sorceress, come away."]}, {"id": "E8.6.4", "lines": ["You potent mistress of the darkened arts,", "Most guilty woman known in Iran’s parts,"]}, {"id": "E8.6.5", "lines": ["By spells you kept the Shah beneath your hand,", "And drew the moon down at your own command."]}, {"id": "E8.6.6", "lines": ["Tremble, guilty one, and heed my decree;", "Do not sit in palace ease, secure and free.”"]}]}, {"id": "wp9-defense", "title": "She demands a hearing", "note": "Shirin demands vindication of her honor and addresses Iran’s nobles. Her claims are identified as her own speech.", "kind": "initiative", "column": 3, "lane": 1, "women": ["women-shirin"], "actors": ["Shirin", "Shiruyeh", "The nobles"], "ref": "E8.6.32", "evidence": [{"id": "E8.6.32", "lines": ["Shirin replied, “First grant me justice; then", "My life is yours before these noblemen."]}, {"id": "E8.6.33", "lines": ["I will not hesitate in answering you,", "If justice first declares my honor true.”"]}, {"id": "E8.6.34", "lines": ["Shiruyeh quickly gave his full assent;", "The noble lady spoke, on justice bent."]}, {"id": "E8.6.35", "lines": ["Behind the curtain thus she spoke: “O king,", "May crown and victory their blessings bring."]}, {"id": "E8.6.36", "lines": ["You called me wicked, treacherous, and vile,", "A witch whose purity was lost to guile.”"]}, {"id": "E8.6.37", "lines": ["Shiruyeh said, “My youth spoke in that way;", "Bear no resentment for what young men say.”"]}, {"id": "E8.6.38", "lines": ["Then Shirin turned toward Iran’s chiefs in hall,", "The gathered nobles, elders, one and all."]}, {"id": "E8.6.39", "lines": ["“What have you seen in me of fraud or ill,", "Of folly, crookedness, or darkened will?"]}, {"id": "E8.6.40", "lines": ["For years Iran had hailed me as its queen;", "I gave the brave a strength on which to lean."]}, {"id": "E8.6.41", "lines": ["I sought the truth in everything I tried;", "From crookedness and fault I stood aside."]}, {"id": "E8.6.42", "lines": ["Through me, men gained whole cities in their hand,", "And many kinds of fortune in the land."]}, {"id": "E8.6.43", "lines": ["Who saw my shadow pass beyond my door?", "Speak, if you ever witnessed this before."]}, {"id": "E8.6.44", "lines": ["Who saw the shadow of my crown pass by,", "Or of my jewels? Let him testify.”"]}, {"id": "E8.6.45", "lines": ["The nobles answered fairly, one and all:", "“No peer has she in private court or hall.”"]}]}, {"id": "wp9-tomb", "title": "She enters Khosrow’s tomb", "note": "Shirin asks that the tomb be opened, enters it, and dies after taking poison. This is the tragic ending reported by the poem, not a suggested alternative for the reader.", "kind": "outcome", "column": 4, "lane": 1, "women": ["women-shirin"], "actors": ["Shirin"], "ref": "E8.6.93", "evidence": [{"id": "E8.6.93", "lines": ["Her hearers sought the Shah, and there they told", "What they had heard from Shirin, pure and bold."]}, {"id": "E8.6.94", "lines": ["He asked, “Has that good lady one wish more?”", "She sent, “One final grace I now implore."]}, {"id": "E8.6.95", "lines": ["Let Khosrow’s tomb be opened, and revealed", "Once more the face that death has now concealed.”"]}, {"id": "E8.6.96", "lines": ["He gave consent; the keeper of the tomb", "Drew back the seal, and bared the royal room."]}, {"id": "E8.6.97", "lines": ["That pious lady entered weeping low,", "And laid her face on Khosrow’s face in woe."]}, {"id": "E8.6.98", "lines": ["She spoke of former days and drank the bane,", "Its poison broke her hold on life’s domain."]}]}], "edges": [{"id": "wpe9-1", "source": "wp9-recall", "target": "wp9-bower", "label": "The relationship is renewed", "kind": "sequence", "note": "The selection moves to a later event in this story thread. This arrow alone does not establish a sufficient cause."}, {"id": "wpe9-2", "source": "wp9-bower", "target": "wp9-maryam", "label": "Rivalry follows in the account", "kind": "sequence", "note": "The selection moves to a later event in this story thread. This arrow alone does not establish a sufficient cause."}, {"id": "wpe9-3", "source": "wp9-bower", "target": "wp9-death", "label": "Much later: Khosrow’s fall", "kind": "sequence", "note": "The selection moves to a later event in this story thread. This arrow alone does not establish a sufficient cause."}, {"id": "wpe9-4", "source": "wp9-death", "target": "wp9-defense", "label": "Shirin answers the new ruler", "kind": "response", "note": "An explicit response or continuation within this episode."}, {"id": "wpe9-5", "source": "wp9-defense", "target": "wp9-tomb", "label": "Her final request and action follow", "kind": "sequence", "note": "The selection moves to a later event in this story thread. This arrow alone does not establish a sufficient cause."}]}, {"volume": 10, "title": "The Limits of Power", "subtitle": "Two different forms of protection", "intro": "Kaydafa’s recognition restrains a conqueror. The Simorgh protects through care, knowledge, and intervention. Their threads span different ages and do not imply a meeting or shared historical timeline.", "color": "#596ba1", "principal_ids": ["women-kaidafa", "women-simorgh_guardian"], "lanes": ["Kaydafa and Iskandar", "The nurturing Simorgh"], "nodes": [{"id": "wp10-portrait", "title": "Kaydafa keeps his likeness", "note": "Kaydafa obtains and keeps Iskandar’s likeness before he appears in her court.", "kind": "initiative", "column": 0, "lane": 0, "women": ["women-kaidafa"], "actors": ["Kaydafa"], "ref": "D5.17.10", "evidence": [{"id": "D5.17.10", "lines": ["World-seeking, generous, famed throughout the land,", "Kaydafa held the scepter of command."]}, {"id": "D5.17.11", "lines": ["She chose a warrior skilled in line and shade,", "A clever draftsman, master of his trade."]}, {"id": "D5.17.12", "lines": ["She said: “Go secretly to Caesar’s hall,", "But name neither our land nor me at all."]}, {"id": "D5.17.13", "lines": ["Mark everything about him with your eyes:", "His seat, his bearing, and his form and size."]}, {"id": "D5.17.14", "lines": ["Draw him from head to foot and show his face;", "His coloring and stature clearly trace.”"]}, {"id": "D5.17.15", "lines": ["He readied all and mounted to obey,", "Then like a courier went on his way."]}, {"id": "D5.17.16", "lines": ["He rode from Andalus to Mesr’s land,", "Where Caesar ruled his armies in command."]}, {"id": "D5.17.17", "lines": ["He watched the king enthroned and on his steed,", "And brought out fine silk, ready for the deed."]}, {"id": "D5.17.18", "lines": ["He drew the king’s true likeness with his pen,", "Then swiftly took the homeward road again."]}, {"id": "D5.17.19", "lines": ["Kaydafa saw his likeness with a sigh,", "And hid it, troubled by what met her eye."]}]}, {"id": "wp10-disguise", "title": "Iskandar enters in disguise", "note": "Iskandar instructs his companions to call him Bitlqun and travels toward Kaydafa’s court in the envoy’s role.", "kind": "pressure", "column": 1, "lane": 0, "women": ["women-kaidafa"], "actors": ["Iskandar"], "ref": "D5.20.1", "evidence": [{"id": "D5.20.1", "lines": ["The Shah chose ten Romans, loyal and true,", "The trusted few who all his secret knew."]}, {"id": "D5.20.2", "lines": ["He said, “Call me Bitlqun upon the way;", "Let none reveal the part I mean to play.”"]}, {"id": "D5.20.3", "lines": ["Qaydrush led on; the king, intent to hear,", "Entrusted him with watchful eye and ear."]}, {"id": "D5.20.4", "lines": ["The lord spurred on like fire upon his steed,", "And reached a crystal mountain at full speed."]}, {"id": "D5.20.5", "lines": ["Fruit trees of every kind grew on its side,", "While grass grew thick across the hillside wide."]}, {"id": "D5.20.6", "lines": ["They journeyed on with haste across the land,", "Toward Queen Kaydafa’s seat of high command."]}, {"id": "D5.20.7", "lines": ["When Queen Kaydafa learned her son was near,", "She listened eagerly, intent to hear."]}, {"id": "D5.20.8", "lines": ["She rode to meet him with a mighty train", "Of famed and fortunate chiefs from her domain."]}]}, {"id": "wp10-recognize", "title": "She exposes the disguise", "note": "The queen compares him with the portrait and tells him she knows his identity.", "kind": "initiative", "column": 2, "lane": 0, "women": ["women-kaidafa"], "actors": ["Kaydafa", "Iskandar"], "ref": "D5.20.37", "evidence": [{"id": "D5.20.37", "lines": ["She told the keeper of her secret store:", "“Bring out the silk I ordered here before."]}, {"id": "D5.20.38", "lines": ["Bring forth the portrait, gently borne and spread;", "Let no rough touch disturb a single thread.”"]}, {"id": "D5.20.39", "lines": ["The treasurer brought the silk and set it near;", "She gazed intently till its form was clear."]}, {"id": "D5.20.40", "lines": ["She looked at him, then at the painted face,", "And found no difference in a single trace."]}, {"id": "D5.20.41", "lines": ["She knew that he was Caesar, lord and guide", "Of all the famed troops gathered at his side."]}, {"id": "D5.20.42", "lines": ["He made himself an envoy, bold of heart,", "And entered her assembly in that part."]}, {"id": "D5.20.75", "lines": ["Kaydafa said: “Enough of this dispute;", "You are Iskandar; let your lips be mute."]}, {"id": "D5.20.76", "lines": ["If you should see your face before your eyes,", "Cease all your tricks, and let no anger rise.”"]}, {"id": "D5.20.77", "lines": ["She laid the silk before him, where was shown", "His pleasing likeness, clearly his alone."]}, {"id": "D5.20.78", "lines": ["If but the painted image stirred at all,", "It would be Shah Iskandar in the hall."]}, {"id": "D5.20.79", "lines": ["He bit his lip; his day grew dark as night,", "To see his hidden scheme exposed to light."]}]}, {"id": "wp10-oath", "title": "She asks for a covenant", "note": "Kaydafa asks Iskandar to keep faith with her realm and children. He swears to do so. This is an exchange of promises, not an assertion that every later act has been audited here.", "kind": "initiative", "column": 3, "lane": 0, "women": ["women-kaidafa"], "actors": ["Kaydafa", "Iskandar"], "ref": "D5.21.19", "evidence": [{"id": "D5.21.19", "lines": ["I call you Bitlqun while you stay with me,", "And set your seat apart, as yours should be."]}, {"id": "D5.21.20", "lines": ["No man shall know your secret or your name,", "Or hear the voice that tells from where you came."]}, {"id": "D5.21.21", "lines": ["I will dismiss you with a kindly mind,", "If sound and prudent judgment I can find."]}, {"id": "D5.21.22", "lines": ["Swear that against my children and my state,", "My kin and friends, you hold no thought of hate."]}, {"id": "D5.21.23", "lines": ["You shall esteem me as your equal here,", "And hold my realm in honor, free of fear.”"]}, {"id": "D5.21.24", "lines": ["Iskandar heard her words and grew content,", "And felt his fear and dread at last were spent."]}, {"id": "D5.21.25", "lines": ["He swore by the just Judge who rules on high,", "And by the Christian faith beneath the sky."]}, {"id": "D5.21.26", "lines": ["He swore too by the sword with which he fought:", "“No evil purpose shall be in my thought."]}, {"id": "D5.21.27", "lines": ["Toward all your lands and children I shall bear", "Good faith, which all your noble kin shall share."]}, {"id": "D5.21.28", "lines": ["I shall do only what is right and good,", "And keep my dealings truthful, as I should.”"]}]}, {"id": "wp10-faith", "title": "He reaffirms the promise", "note": "Later Iskandar sends Kaydafa an assurance that he will keep faith. The map records his statement without turning it into a complete assessment of his reign.", "kind": "response", "column": 4, "lane": 0, "women": ["women-kaidafa"], "actors": ["Iskandar", "Kaydafa"], "ref": "D5.23.98", "evidence": [{"id": "D5.23.98", "lines": ["“Do not stay here,” he said, “but take your way;", "This wood lies far; it is no place to stay."]}, {"id": "D5.23.99", "lines": ["Tell wise Kaydafa, ruler, keen of sight,", "Whose counsel sees the course of action right:"]}, {"id": "D5.23.100", "lines": ["‘I shall keep faith as long as I draw breath;", "My soul loves you and yours until my death.’”"]}]}, {"id": "wp10-foster", "title": "The Simorgh shelters Zal", "note": "The guardian bird’s pity turns the abandoned child from possible food into one of her care. This is the nurturing Simorgh, distinct from the slain bird.", "kind": "initiative", "column": 0, "lane": 1, "women": ["women-simorgh_guardian"], "actors": ["Simorgh", "Zal"], "ref": "A7.2.48", "evidence": [{"id": "A7.2.48", "lines": ["When hunger seized the Simorgh’s waiting brood,", "She rose on mighty wings in search of food."]}, {"id": "A7.2.49", "lines": ["She saw below a suckling child who cried,", "The earth around him like a boiling tide."]}, {"id": "A7.2.50", "lines": ["Rock was his cradle, dust his nurse alone;", "No cloth, no milk; he lay upon the stone."]}, {"id": "A7.2.51", "lines": ["Dark, wretched dust lay heaped on every side;", "Above his head the sun burned fierce and wide."]}, {"id": "A7.2.52", "lines": ["Had leopard been his mother or his sire,", "Its shade might guard him from the sun’s hot fire."]}, {"id": "A7.2.53", "lines": ["God filled the Simorgh’s heart with pity mild;", "She lost all thought of feeding on the child."]}, {"id": "A7.2.54", "lines": ["She dropped from cloud with talons opened wide,", "And seized him from the burning mountainside."]}, {"id": "A7.2.55", "lines": ["She bore him swiftly back to Alborz height,", "Where nest and brood were hidden from all sight."]}, {"id": "A7.2.56", "lines": ["She brought him to her chicks to tear as prey;", "His piteous cries rang through the nest that day."]}, {"id": "A7.2.57", "lines": ["But God, who gives all goodness, showed him grace;", "A future still awaited in that place."]}, {"id": "A7.2.58", "lines": ["Blood dripped like tears from both the infant’s eyes;", "The Simorgh and her brood now heard his cries."]}]}, {"id": "wp10-feather", "title": "She gives a means of return", "note": "When Zal joins Sahm, the Simorgh gives him a feather and promises to answer it in danger.", "kind": "initiative", "column": 1, "lane": 1, "women": ["women-simorgh_guardian"], "actors": ["Simorgh", "Zal"], "ref": "A7.3.67", "evidence": [{"id": "A7.3.67", "lines": ["Simorgh said, “Behold the Kayanian state,", "And learn the royal customs of the great,"]}, {"id": "A7.3.68", "lines": ["Perhaps this nest will not persuade you to stay;", "Go now and test the shifting world and day."]}, {"id": "A7.3.69", "lines": ["I send you not from hatred or from spite;", "I send you toward the throne that is your right."]}, {"id": "A7.3.70", "lines": ["Your staying here would please me, keeping near;", "But kingship is the better path and sphere."]}, {"id": "A7.3.71", "lines": ["Take one of my own feathers with you still;", "Its farr will aid you when you face an ill."]}, {"id": "A7.3.72", "lines": ["If hardship ever comes and brings you fear,", "Or men speak good or evil in your ear,"]}, {"id": "A7.3.73", "lines": ["Then cast one feather straight into the flame;", "Its farr will call me when you speak my name."]}, {"id": "A7.3.74", "lines": ["At once I shall come like cloud across the sky,", "And bear you safely back to Alborz high."]}, {"id": "A7.3.75", "lines": ["Forget not all your nurse’s love for you;", "Your love has torn my heart completely through."]}, {"id": "A7.3.76", "lines": ["Beneath my wing I raised you with my brood,", "As one among my chicks, with shelter and food.”"]}]}, {"id": "wp10-birth", "title": "Her guidance aids a birth", "note": "Zal summons her when Rudabeh’s life is endangered. The Simorgh supplies instructions for the intervention; she is not said to perform the operation herself.", "kind": "response", "column": 3, "lane": 1, "women": ["women-simorgh_guardian"], "actors": ["Simorgh", "Zal", "Rudabeh"], "ref": "A9.1.16", "evidence": [{"id": "A9.1.16", "lines": ["Then suddenly a thought came to his mind:", "The Simorgh’s plume he once had left behind."]}, {"id": "A9.1.17", "lines": ["His pain grew lighter; hope returned instead,", "He smiled and gave Sindokht good news ahead."]}, {"id": "A9.1.18", "lines": ["A brazier blazed beneath his anxious stare;", "He burned the Simorgh’s feather in its flare."]}, {"id": "A9.1.19", "lines": ["At once the sky grew dark before their sight;", "The sovereign bird descended from the height."]}, {"id": "A9.1.20", "lines": ["She came like cloud whose rain was coral red,", "Soul-soothing coral through the heavens spread."]}, {"id": "A9.1.21", "lines": ["Zal praised the sovereign bird, and reverent, bowed", "Before her as she settled from the cloud."]}, {"id": "A9.1.22", "lines": ["She said: “Why weep, O lion strong and wise?", "Why do such tears fall from your mighty eyes?"]}, {"id": "A9.1.30", "lines": ["He shall not take the common path of birth;", "The Maker has ordained another road to earth."]}, {"id": "A9.1.31", "lines": ["Bring forth a water-tempered khanjar keen,", "And one most wise and skilled in arts unseen."]}, {"id": "A9.1.32", "lines": ["First make the moon-faced mother drunk with wine,", "And drive out fear and worry for a time."]}, {"id": "A9.1.33", "lines": ["Cut through the flank of that tall cypress deep;", "She shall not feel the blade within her sleep."]}, {"id": "A9.1.34", "lines": ["Then draw the lion from its casket free;", "The moon’s whole flank shall bleed for all to see."]}, {"id": "A9.1.35", "lines": ["Then stitch together where the blade has cut;", "Let fear and grief from every heart be shut."]}]}, {"id": "wp10-child", "title": "Rostam survives the birth", "note": "The later birth scene shows Rudabeh with her newborn son. The text’s supernatural aid and the human intervention both belong to the account.", "kind": "outcome", "column": 4, "lane": 1, "women": ["women-simorgh_guardian"], "actors": ["Rudabeh", "Rostam"], "ref": "A9.1.58", "evidence": [{"id": "A9.1.58", "lines": ["Rudabeh smiled upon the noble boy,", "And saw the royal farr in him with joy."]}, {"id": "A9.1.59", "lines": ["“I am delivered; all my grief is done,”", "She said; and Rostam was the name of her son."]}, {"id": "A9.1.60", "lines": ["They made a figure shaped in silk and thread,", "To match the child in size of limbs and head."]}]}], "edges": [{"id": "wpe10-1", "source": "wp10-portrait", "target": "wp10-disguise", "label": "Later: the likeness becomes useful", "kind": "sequence", "note": "The selection moves to a later event in this story thread. This arrow alone does not establish a sufficient cause."}, {"id": "wpe10-2", "source": "wp10-disguise", "target": "wp10-recognize", "label": "She recognizes her visitor", "kind": "response", "note": "An explicit response or continuation within this episode."}, {"id": "wpe10-3", "source": "wp10-recognize", "target": "wp10-oath", "label": "Recognition leads to an agreement", "kind": "response", "note": "An explicit response or continuation within this episode."}, {"id": "wpe10-4", "source": "wp10-oath", "target": "wp10-faith", "label": "He later reaffirms his promise", "kind": "sequence", "note": "The selection moves to a later event in this story thread. This arrow alone does not establish a sufficient cause."}, {"id": "wpe10-5", "source": "wp10-foster", "target": "wp10-feather", "label": "Later: she lets Zal leave", "kind": "sequence", "note": "The selection moves to a later event in this story thread. This arrow alone does not establish a sufficient cause."}, {"id": "wpe10-6", "source": "wp10-feather", "target": "wp10-birth", "label": "The promised aid is summoned", "kind": "response", "note": "An explicit response or continuation within this episode."}, {"id": "wpe10-7", "source": "wp10-birth", "target": "wp10-child", "label": "The child survives", "kind": "response", "note": "An explicit response or continuation within this episode."}]}]}