Stories from the Shahnameh

Sodabeh once again traps Siyavakhsh

The next day Sodabeh sent Hirbad to summon Siyavakhsh to the queen’s quarters. Siyavakhsh reluctantly went there and was introduced to the royal ladies and princesses, some of whom were King Kae Kaus’ brothers Kay Pashin and Kay Arshan’s daughters. He was asked to select a bride for himself, which he half-heartedly did.

Thereafter Sodabeh sent away all the royal ladies and once again took Siyavakhsh in an embrace and entreated him to accept her as his queen after the death of his father. Siyavakhsh was horrified at the proposal. The very thought of taking his own stepmother as his wife was revolting to him. However, he realised that if he would outright reject her request, she would seek revenge in one way or the other. So, he asked her to let him be with his bride for the present and assured her that he will keep the offer a secret between the two of them. Thereafter he quickly went away from the queen’s quarters.

When the king went to the queen’s quarters in the evening he once again inquired about Siyavakhsh. Sodabeh told him that Siyavakhsh had selected a royal princess and agreed for the marriage. King Kae Kaus was happy with the way things were turning out and showed Sodabeh several precious ornaments to be given to Siyavakhsh on his wedding.

Sodabeh wrongly accuses Siyavakhsh

The next day Sodabeh once again sent for Siyavakhsh and showed him the ornaments he would get on his wedding. She promised him a lot more if he agreed to her proposal. Siyavakhsh explained to her that her proposal meant that she was being unfaithful to his father, and moreover he considered her like a mother.

These wise words from Siyavakhsh enraged Sodabeh. She feared that he may let out her proposals to the king and decided that before he could do anything, she should tarnish his image. Before Siyavakhsh could realise, she tore off her clothes, disheveled her hair, scratched her face and started screaming. Hearing the commotion King Kae Kaus came running to the queen’s quarters and inquired about the cause behind the commotion.

Siyavakhsh is declared innocent

Amidst false tears, Sodabeh accused Siyavakhsh of molesting her. Bewildered by this accusation, Siyavakhsh pleaded innocence. King Kae Kaus tested the veracity of Siyavakhsh’s innocence by smelling his hands and body. The king knew that Sodabeh was in the habit of dousing herself with perfumes, and if Siyavakhsh had so much as even touched her, the fragrance of rose water and musk should be permeating from him as well. However there was no trace of these fragrances on Siyavakhsh’s hand or body and so the king declared him innocent and decided to punish Sodabeh for raising a false hue and cry and attempting to blemish the prince’s character.

King Kae Kaus, however, had second thoughts about giving punishment to Sodabeh. He was apprehensive that if this news reached her homeland Hamavaran, it would have adverse effects on the relationship between the two countries. Further, he considered her faithfulness and love for all the past years and the children that she had borne and decided to forgive her. However, Sodabeh was not so considerate. She was smarting under the reproach and burning to take revenge on Siyavakhsh who was declared innocent.

A new ploy by Sodabeh

Sodabeh knew a sorceress who was expecting a child within a few days. She promised her great wealth if she consumed a particular poison and give birth to a stillborn child. The sorceress did accordingly and gave birth to stillborn twins. Sodabeh took the dead infants near her and started crying out loud as if in great distress. King Kae Kaus hurriedly came to the scene, and was shown the dead infants. Siyavakhsh was blamed for their death. The king could not believe this, and so he took the help of astrologers to ascertain the truth.

The astrologers took seven days to come to the conclusion that the children belonged to a sorceress and not to Sodabeh. The king immediately launched an extensive search and the sorceress was caught. But, she did not confess her sin. On the contrary, Sodabeh blamed Siyavakhsh for threatening the astrologers to give a decision in his favour.

Ordeal by Fire

Doubts persisted in the king’s mind and he was advised to have either Siyavakhsh or Sodabeh undergo the ordeal by fire where a person deemed guilty had to pass over a fire and emerge unscathed to establish his innocence. When King Kae Kaus put the proposal of an ordeal before the two, Sodabeh rejected it outright, but Siyavakhsh willing agreed to undergo it.

Preparations started for the great ordeal by fire. A hundred camel loads of firewood was brought and arranged in two mountainous piles next to each other with very little space between them. Then the piles of wood were ignited. There were two towering infernos of flaming wood and Siyavakhsh, with prayers on his lips, prepared to pass in between the two blazing piles on his horse.

Siyavakhsh emerges innocent

Anticipation was writ large on the faces of all those who had gathered together to witness this unique ordeal. Siyavakhsh entered the blazing inferno, seconds ticked into minutes and the concern on the faces of the onlookers became more and more conspicuous. After heart-rending suspense, Siyavakhsh emerged from the other side, as fresh as a flower without even a trace of a burn on his face. The onlookers thundered with applause. Exclamations of joy, relief and happiness were heard all around, as the crown prince emerged innocent from the ordeal. The king called for a three day celebration on the occasion of his son being declared innocent in the eyes of men by the divinities.

Siyavakhsh forgives Sodabeh

After the celebrations were over, King Kae Kaus summoned Sodabeh and ordered her to be put to death for plotting against the prince. However, the devious Sodabeh was not satisfied even after the ordeal. She declared the prince’s success in the ordeal to be a result of some magic, which he may have learnt from Zal, father of the great Rustam.

King Kae Kaus was at his wit’s end at this dilemma. Unable to decide for himself, he consulted his ministers who unanimously declared Siya­vakhsh innocent and pronounced the death sentence for Sodabeh. However, the magnanimous Siyavakhsh intervened and requested the king to forgive his stepmother. The king, who was just waiting for an excuse for a soft approach towards Sodabeh immediately agreed and pardoned her. However, the ungrateful Sodabeh continued instigating the king against Siyavakhsh.

Afrasiyab declares a war

Taking advantage of the internal problems between the king, queen and the prince, Afrasiyab, the wily king of Turan, sent his army across the Jaihun river, which was the border between Iran and Turan right from the times of the Peshdadian king Minocheher. He ordered his army to camp near the city of Balkh.

At first, King Kae Kaus himself decided to go and deal with the invading army, but his advisors prevailed upon him not to go personally, but to send one of his paladins with the army. Siyava­khsh, who was disgusted at the recent happenings, volunteered to take the army and the king was only too happy to send his son in command. However, since this was Siyavakhsh’s first war as commander, he decided to send Rustam along with him to guide him on his maiden major campaign. Rustam was called for, and he immediately agreed to go along with Siyavakhsh.

The two armies meet

Soon after, Siyavakhsh and Rustam accompanied by soldiers from various places like Pahlav, Pars, Kuh, Baluch, Gilan, Zabul, Kabul and Hind set off towards Balkh. The Turanian army with Karsivaz, Barman and Sepehran in command, was waiting near the gates of Balkh. The two armies met in a battle which lasted for four days, at the end of which the Turanian army was routed.

Siyavakhsh triumphantly entered Balkh, and sent the message of victory to King Kae Kaus. He wrote that the Turanian army had fled back to Turan and asked his father’s permission to pursue the army and finish it off.

The king forbade his son from crossing the river and instead asked him to wait on the Iranian side as he expected Afrasiyab to once again send his army with a renewed attack. Siyavakhsh obeyed his father’s command and did not pursue the Turanian army.

Afrasiyab calls for a truce

In Turan, Afrasiyab was furious at the news of his army’s retreat. That night he had a terrible dream in which he saw a stretch of barren land filled with snakes and the sky covered by eagles. Amidst such frightening surroundings, an army from Iran swooped through the Turanian camp killing soldiers and taking him prisoner. He was produced in Iran before the king where a young lad of about 14 years punished him by cutting him into two. When Afrasiyab had the dream interpreted, he was told to avoid the war. Hence he decided to request for a truce and also offered gifts in return.

Immediately the following day, Afrasiyab sent Karsivaz with several gifts and a proposal for truce to Siya­vakhsh and Rustam at Balkh. Karsivaz reached Balkh and requested for a truce. After some consideration, the truce was accepted with two conditions. One of the conditions was that Afrasiyab send a 100 of his family members as security hostages and a guarantee for the observation of truce. The other condition was that Afrasiyab had to vacate the Iranian lands of Bokhara, Sind, Samarkand and Punjab, which he had previously occupied. Karsivaz sent a messenger to Afrasiyab relaying to him the conditions; Afrasiyab reluctantly accepted them and the truce was signed.

Reprinted from the book Serialized Stories from the Iranian Epic Shahnameh.