Shahnameh - The Book of Kings (Synopsis, Part XII)

The Vengeance of Kai Khosrau

Iranians aren’t happy at their defeat, so they are humbled, and Kai Khosrau is unhappy and angry. He blames Tus, saying “Cursed be he and his elephants and his cymbals.” Rustem is begged by nobles to go intercede. Even Tus is then restored, but Gew is put in place to restrain him. So they go back to Turan, and Afrasiyab makes ready as well. Afrasiyab has allies – troops from the Khakhan of China, from the Kamous of Kushan, from Ind and the highlands of Asia. Afrasiyab was certain that if Rustem didn’t come, they’d be fine.

So the Iranians are forced to withdraw into the mountains, and Rustem goes to the Shah and says he will go rescue everyone. But the army didn’t want to take hope, because they’d been defeated again. Piran, however, was afraid, though the Khakan and Kamous scoffed at his fears. And the Iranian army’s hope returned when Rustem was spotted.

The Iranians won a battle, and then Piran called forth Human the brave to find out if Rustem was truly leading them. Now worried once he got the answer, he was mocked by the Kamous, who vowed to defeat Rustem. He lost and got flung to vultures.

The Khakan vowed to avenge him, and sent a messenger, but Rustem told him that he wanted to talk to Piran, since he’d been good to Saiawush and his son. They meet, and Rustem tries to talk him into leaving Afrasiyab and to deliver those who killed Saiawush, which Piran could not do. He pled that it would be better for him to die, saying “my heart is torn because I must lift up the sword of enmity against Kai Khosrau, my son." So they parted friends but continued the battle for forty days. The Khakan of China was captured and sent to Kai Khosrau, and Piran was spared only, as Rustem pursued the Turanians.

Piran ran to Afrasiyab and urged him to run, because that’s what he was doing, and by the way, Rustem’s on his way. So the Iranians went in, feasted, and destroyed Afrasiyab’s palace, and then went home to the shah. Eventually he went home to his very old father Zal.

Shortly thereafter, a shepherd came asking for the Shah’s army to come kill a wild donkey that was wreaking havoc among his flock. And it was the Deev Akwan in disguise, which Kai Khosrau knew. And so Rustem went and fought the Deev, who kept vanishing under Rustem’s cord, for three days, until he got tired and decided to sleep. The Deev, of course, decided to play with the earth surrounding Rustem, but woke up. The Deev asked where he wanted the earth he was resting upon to be thrown, and Rustem tricked him into chucking him into the water. This meant he had to fight crocodiles, but he survived and went back. In the meantime, Afrasiyab’s horse-keepers had stolen his horse, so had had to take it back, kill the thieves, and take their entire herds (ed. – isn’t this a little excessive for people who found a horse wandering free?).

Afrasiyab came out of hiding to look at his horses (ed. – where did he come from?) and found Rustem, and offered battle with the men who were with them, and Afrasiyab fled. The Deev, thinking he was weary, attacked, and Rustem crushed and killed him. The Shah was so impressed he tried to keep him there, but Rustem wanted to go create an army to avenge Saiawush....again.