Kayani
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Kayani (also Keyani, Kiani, (Urdu: کیانی ) and other similar spellings; pronounced kay-aah-nee) is both a title and a family name (see especially, Gakhars) which means descendants of the region of Kay'an (located in Isfahan). (See also the Kiani Crown). Modern day Kayanis (primarily in eastern Iran and Pakistan) descended from the Kayani dynasty of Persia.
[edit] Legends and mythology
The name "Kayani" comes from Aryan kings (Kianian Kings) who ruled parts of Persia for several generations, beginning more than 3000 years ago. Much of the Kayanis' history is wrapped in legend, and praise for the Kayanis was incorporated into local religions, giving the kings a demigod-like status. These legends were collected and standardized toward the end of the reign of the Sassanian King Khosrow II (590 - 628 A.D.) as the Khwaday-Namag (The Book of Lords). The compilation may have been prompted by concern over the Aryans' deteriorating national spirit. There were disastrous global climate changes in 535-536 A.D., and the Plague of Justinian to contend with; the Aryans would have found much-needed solace in the collected legends of their past. The result, in any event, was a long history of the Iranian nation from the first World-King, Gayomart, to the reign of Khosrow II, with events arranged according to the perceived sequence of kings and queens, fifty in number. This was the basis of the Shahnama شاهنامه (The Book of Kings or The Epic of Kings), written by Ferdowsi around 1000 A.D.
[edit] Aryan customs under Kayani rule
Under the Kayanis, the Aryans prayed and offered sacrifices to deities that generally embodied the forces of nature. Grappling with the hazards of a cold, frost-stricken climate, beset by drought, and harassed by marauding neighbors, they struggled to overcome the physical and social challenges of their environment. The institution of kingship had already developed among the Aryans; the worship of tribal gods and ancestral spirits had given way to a common worship of universal gods and the spirits of protective, departed heroes, preserved in the ancient Indo-Aryan poem, the Rig Veda. The first foreshadowing of the major legends of the Kayani kings is found in the Yashts of the Avesta, where they offer sacrifices to the gods in order to earn their support and gain strength in the perpetual struggle against their enemies, the Turanians.
[edit] The Kayanis and Zarathustra
The most famous of the Kayani kings is the semi-legendary Vištasp (modern Persian گشتاسب Goshtâsb) or "ancient poet and leader" praised by the Prophet Zoroaster (or Zarathustra) as his protector and a true believer. In the Gathas, the oldest part of the Avesta, he appears as a historical figure. Later tradition makes him (in the modern form of his name, Kay Gushtasp) a "king of Iran". According to the Avesta; Yasnas 5 & 105, Zoroaster prayed for the conversion of King Vištasp. He then appears to have left his homeland. Yasnas 53 & 9 suggest that he ventured to Rai and was unwelcome. Eventually he met Vištasp again. Since Zoroaster probably preached in what is now eastern Iran, Vishtaspa must have been a king in Bactria or Sogdiana. Zoroastrianism adopted the epics of the Kayanis and extended its blessing to their protagonists.
[edit] The King, the Prophet, and the Grain [1]
(This account was translated and is taken almost verbatim from the website: http://www.w-z-o.org/Z_Grain_legend.htm , which appears to be in the public domain.)
The prophet Zarathustra lived thousands of years ago in ancient Iran. The ruler at that time happened to be one King Vistaspa. Returning from a campaign the King visited the retreat of Zarathustra and asked the latter to explain to him the laws of nature and the universe. Zarathustra took a grain of wheat and gave it to the King. The King, thinking that he was being mocked, threw away the grain and departed in anger. Zarathustra picked up the grain of wheat and told his disciples that one day the King Vistaspa will need it and it will become his teacher. Years passed. Vistaspa became a successful ruler, but he was precocious, and in his quiet moments many philosophical questions troubled him: what did his own position as a ruler entail? What were the needs and conditions of ordinary people? How did life begin? What was there before the Creation of Universe? What is Time and what existed before it? Does eternity exist? If so, can we conceive eternity and achieve immortality? No one in his palace could answer these questions. He was well aware of the increasing fame of Zarathustra. Swallowing his pride, he despatched a great caravan of treasure to Zarathustra, apologising to him for his conduct on the previous occasion. He begged the prophet to come to his court, become his teacher, and answer the questions that troubled him. After an interval, the caravan and the messengers returned. They informed the King that Zarathustra declined to accept the treasure. As for coming to the court and becoming the King’s teacher, Zarathustra sent the same grain of wheat which the King had thrown away in his days of youth. The King thought that there was something mysterious and magical about the grain and so he put it in a golden box and hid it among his treasures expecting some miracle to happen. When months passed by and nothing happened, the King sent a caravan to the great Indian Philosopher Chandragach who agreed to come to the Iranian Court and become Vistaspa’s teacher. When he arrived, the King showed him the box containing the grain and related what had passed between him and Zarathustra. Chandragach looked hard at the grain of wheat and said, “O King, Zarathustra is indeed a great teacher. This tiny gain of wheat can indeed teach us the law of nature and Universe. If instead of keeping it in your golden box you were to plant it in the earth where it belongs in contact with the soil, rain, air and sunshine, then like a universe within itself it will grow bigger and bigger. Likewise you can grow in knowledge and understanding provided you stop living in this artificial palace and live closer to the forces of nature and commune with nature.” “One day your grain will disappear and in its place there will be a plant. It will grow higher and higher because it has life in it. At the moment when the grain sprouts there is victory over death.” “All that you say is true” answered the King, “yet in the end the plant will wither and die and will be dissolved in the earth.” “But not” said the philosopher “until it has done an act of creation and has turned into hundreds of grains each like the first. Likewise you too must one day cease to be your present self, so that you may become a richer personality, in pursuance of the law that life always creates more life, truth more abundant truth, the seed more abundant seeds.” “This grain further teaches that everything is in movement and is constantly changing and growing, that life and all other things are the result of struggle between two opposite forces. If you go into your garden and look at the soil, the rain, the sky, the sun, and the stars, they will teach you similar truths, such as: 1. That we should live harmoniously with the whole of creation. That way we worship God the best. 2. Since we have a thinking mind, we must be true guardians of nature. 3. That God, viewed in nature alone, is His pure form and as such the only proper object of worship. 4. That Nature is divine and worship of God implies reverence of nature in day to day living. 5. That God is life and life is God and to regard Him as the One present in all beings and things and is the best of all modes of worship. So friends, the moral of this legend is that the fate of an individual or of a nation will always be determined by the degree of his or its harmony with the forces of nature and with the laws of life and of the Universe. Acknowledgement :- Based on and freely adapted from the book. “The Essene Teachings of Zarathustra” by Endmond Bordeaux Szekely
[edit] The Kayani-Khayona War (or, the Vistasp-Arjasp War)
(This account is taken, almost verbatim, from the translation of an ancient source: The Yatkar-I-Zariran, or Memoirs of Zarir)
THE KAYANIS' CONVERSION AND THE WARNING FROM KING ARJASP:
By the name of the Creator Ahuramazda and by the fair omen of creation, may there be good health and long life to all righteous workers, and especially to him for whom this book is written.
This book, which is called the Yatkar-I-Zariran, was written at that time when King Vishtasp with his sons, brothers, family-chiefs, and equals accepted from Ahuramazda the holy religion of the Mazdayasnians. When Arjasp, the King of the Khyaonas, had word that King Vishtasp had accepted the holy religion of the Mazdayasnians, he was much distressed.
He sent forward, to the country of Aryan, Vidarafsh the sorcerer, and Wamkhvast of Hazar, with two myriads of chosen soldiers on horseback. Then Jamasp, the leader of the leading men, immediately entered and said to King Vishtasp, "From Arjasp, the King of the Khyaonas, have come two messengers, the most handsome in the whole country of the Khyaonas. "One of them is Vidarafsh, and the other Namkhvast of Hazar. They have with them two myriads of chosen troops. They hold a letter in their hands and say, "Let us go in before King Vishtasp.'"
King Vishtasp said, "Allow them to come before me." Accordingly, they went in, paid homage to King Vishtasp, and presented the letter. Aprahim, the chief of the scribes, stood and read the letter aloud.
In the letter it was thus written: "I have heard that your Majesty has accepted from Ahuramazda the pure Mazdayasnian religion. If you will not reconsider, great harm and unhappiness may result to us from this religion. But if it please your Majesty, and you give up this religion, and be of the same religion with us, then we will pay homage to you as a king, and will give you, from year to year, plenty of gold, silver, good horses, and sovereignty over new lands. Conversely, if you will not give up this religion and will not be of the same religion with us, then we will have to attack you. We will eat the green corn of your country and burn the dry, and we will capture the quadrupeds and the bipeds of your country. We will order you to be placed in heavy chains and distress." When King Vishtasp heard these words he was much afflicted.
When that brave commander, the hero Zarir, saw that King Vishtasp was troubled, he directly went before him. He said to King Vishtasp, "If it please your Majesty I will dictate a reply to this letter." King Vishtasp ordered: "Make a reply to the letter." And that brave Commander of the army, the hero Zarir, thus dictated a response: "Greetings from King Vishtasp, the King of Aryan, to Arjasp, the King of the Khyaonas. "Firstly, we will not give up this holy religion and will not be of the same religion with you. We have accepted this holy religion from Ahuramazda, and we will not give it up, and we will quaff next month the drink of immortality without you. There in the field of Hutosh-i-Razur and in Murv of Zartusht, where there are neither high mountains nor deep caverns, on open plains or deserts, horses and footmen will solve the question of our difference. You come from there, so that we may proceed from here. You will see us and we will see you. Then we will show you how demons are beaten at the hands of angels."
Aprahim, the chief of the scribes, finished the letter. Vindarfsh the sorcerer, and Namkhvast of Hazar received it, made salutations to King Vishtasp, and went away.
PREPARATIONS FOR THE WAR:
King Vishtasp ordered his brother Zarir that a fire be kindled on a lofty hill in the high mountains. "Inform the city and inform our good troops that with the exception of the priests who consecrate water and the fire temples and take care of them as their servants, nobody, from the age of 10 to the age of 80, should stay in his house. They must act in this way that they should come to the court of King Vishtasp within two months. If they will not come within two months, then when they do come they need not bring the gallows with them. We will order them to be put to gallows there in their own country."
This news reached all the men of the cavalry. They came to the court of King Vishtasp with their brave soldiers. They blew their trumpets, played upon their flutes, and sounded their drums. They formed themselves into a riding caravan. The elephant-keepers went with their elephants, the keepers of the beasts of burden went with their beasts, and the carriage-drivers went with their carriages. In that cavalcade there were many spears of heroes like Rustem, many quivers full of arrows, and many beautiful coats of mail, and many coats of mail with four folds. The caravan of the country of Aryan was such that its din went up to heavens and the noise of the moving swords went up to hell. On the road where they passed they dug up the way so much that owing to the dust the river stopped from flowing with its water to such an extent that it was not possible to drink the water for one month. For fifty days it was not clear, and birds did not find any resting-place, except when they sat on the heads of horses, on the points of spears, or on a mountain with lofty summit. Owing to the dust and smoke, night and day could not be distinguished.
Then King Vishtasp gave an order to his brother Zarir as follows: "Prepare a camp so that the Aryans may encamp, so that we may know whether it is night or day." Accordingly, Zarir left the road they marched and pitched a camp nearby. The Aryans went there to rest, and the dust clouds settled down.
THE KING AND THE SOOTHSAYER:
Then the stars and the moon appeared. 300 iron pegs were struck, with which 300 mules were tied. On the two sides of every mule were 300 golden bells. Vishtasp sat on the Kayanian throne and called before him his minister Jamasp, the foreteller, and said: "I know that you, Jamasp, are wise and foreseeing and versed in knowing the stars. You know this also, that when it rains for ten days, how many drops fall over the earth and how many drops fall over those drops. You know which trees will bloom; which will bloom during the time of the day, which during that of night, and which at noon time. You also know which breeze bears moisture and which does not. You even know how in the constellation of the dragon the month will be in such and such a way. Then tell me: in the battle of Vishtasp,m which of my sons and brothers will live and which will die?"
Jamasp Baetash said: "I wish I was not born from my mother, or that if I was born, I had, through my luck, died a long time ago; that I had met with an accident and fallen into the sea, so that your Majesty would not have asked me this question. But since you have asked me, it does not behoove me to say anything but the truth. If it please your Majesty, your dagger may take my life. So take an oath by the name of the glory of Ahuramazda, the Mazdayasnian religion, and the life of your brother Zarir. Rub three times for Dravasp your sharp and shining sword and arrow made of the jaw-bone, and say, "I will not strike you, I will not kill you, I will not place you in the position of defending yourself with a shield, so that speak out what will be the result of the battle of Vishtasp.'"
King Vishtasp said: "I swear by the name and the glory of Ahuramazda, the Mazdayasnian religion, and the life of my brother Zarir, that I will not strike you, I will not kill you, and, I will not place you in the position of defending yourself with a shield." Then Jamasp Baetash said: "If it please your Majesty, you may order this large army of the country of Aryan to stay at the distance of a quick arrow-shot from the priest of the king." King Vishtasp so ordered.
Finally, Jamasp Baetash spoke: "Fortunate is he who is not born of his mother, or if born dies immediately, or to whom the measure of long duration has not reached. In a month's time, when brave men will fight with brave men, and heroes with heroes, many sons with mothers will be without fathers, and many fathers will be without sons, and many brothers will be without brothers, and many wives with husbands will be without husbands. Many Aryan horsemen will come who will walk toward the camp of the enemy happily and pompously. They will want to shed the blood of the King of Khyaonas, but they will not find it. Fortunate is that man who does not see the following persons: the magician Bidarafsh, when he comes and excites the battle and works destruction and kills the brave commander Zarir who is your brother, and snatches away from him his horse, the black iron-hoofed horse of Zarir; and that Namkhvast of Hazar who comes and excites the battle and works destruction and kills that Pat-Khosrob who is a righteous man among the Mazdayasnians and who is your brother, and snatches away from him his horse also, the horse with golden handle; and that Namkhvast of EIazar who comes and excites the battle and works destruction and kills that Farsh-havard who is your son and who, since he was born, lives in the district of the fortress of Liaiba, and who is dearer to you than your other children. Out of your sons and brothers twenty-three will be killed."
When King Vishtasp heard these words, he fell to the ground from his exalted throne. He took a knife in his left hand and a sword in his right hand and caught hold of Jamasp tightly and said: "You magician, deceitful slave! You are not right, since your mother was a sorceress and your father a liar. If I had not taken an oath by the name of the glory of God and the religion of the Mazdayasnians and the life of my brother Zarir, these words would not have been spoken by you. Then I would have cut your head with these two weapons, the sword and the knife, and thrown it upon the ground."
Jamasp answered: "May it please your Majesty, get up from the ground and sit again on the Kayani throne, because what I have predicted to happen shall happen at the time when it should happen."
King Vishtasp did not get up and did not look up again. Then the brave general, powerful Zarir, came and said: "May it please your Majesty, get up from the ground and sit again on the Kayanian throne, because in a month I will go and kill fifteen myriad Khyaonas with my own strength." Still, King Vishtasp did not get up and did not look up again.
Then Patkhushro, the righteous man among the Mazdayasnians, came and said: "May it please your Majesty, get up from the ground and sit again on the Kayanian throne, because in a month's time I will go and kill fourteen myriad Khyaonas with my own strength." Again, King Vishtasp did not get up and did not lift his gaze.
Then Farsh-havard, the son of King Vishtasp, came and said: "May it please your Majesty, get up from the ground and sit again on the Kayanian throne, because in a month's time I will go and kill thirteen myriad Khyaonas with my own strength." Even then, King Vishtasp did not get up or look up again.
Then the hero, the powerful Spendadad, went and said: "May it please your Majesty, get up from the ground and sit again on the Kayanian throne, because in a month's time I will go, and I swear by the name of the glory of Ahuramazda, the Mazdayasnian religion, and the life of your Majesty that I will not let any Khyaona go alive from that battle."
At last King Vishtasp got up and sat again on the Kayani throne and called Jamasp Baetash before him and said: "If it is to happen in the way which you have said, then I would order a fortress to be made of copper, and I would order the railings of the gate of that fortress to be made of iron, and I would order my sons and brothers and family-chiefs to go and remain in that fortress. Then it is possible that they will not fall into the hands of the enemy."
Jamasp Baetash said: "If you will order a fort to be made of copper, and if you will also order the railings of the gate to be made of iron, and if you, King Kay Vishtasp, will order your sons and brothers and the family-chiefs of your happy country to remain in that fort, then how will you be able to ward off so many enemies? How will that brave general, strong Zarir, your brother, go and kill fifteen myriad Khyaonas? And how will that Patkhushro, the righteous among the Mazdayasnians, go and kill fourteen myriad Khyaonas? And how will Farsh-havard, thy son, go and kill thirteen myriad Khyaonas?"
King Vishtasp said: "Now how many Khyaonas will come at the first and, when they have once come, how many will die and how many will return?" Jamasp Baetash said: "One hundred and thirty-one myriad Khyaonas will come at the first, and when they have once come nobody will return alive except one who is Arjasp, the King of the Khyaonas. The hero Spendadad will catch him also. He will cut his one hand, one leg, and one ear, he will burn his one eye with fire, and he will send him off back to his country on an ass whose tail is cut, and will say, "Go and tell your countrymen what you have seen from my hand.'"
THE BATTLE:
King Kay Vishtasp said: "Although the sons and brothers and family-chiefs of myself, who am King Kay Vishtasp, and those of Hutosh, who is like a sister to me and who is my wife, and from whom about thirty sons and daughters are born to me, are to be killed, I will not forsake this holy Mazdayasnian religion, since I have received it from Ahuramazda." Then King Vishtasp sat on the summit of a hill. He had with him the strength of twelve times twelve myriad men. Arjasp, the King of the Khyaonas, sat on the summit of a hill. His strength was twelve myriad myriads. Then the brave general, that powerful Zarir, fought the battle as hard as the angel Atar [fire], who, when he falls in the mountains, works awful destruction. When he drew his sword forward he slew ten Khyaonas and when he withdrew it, eleven Khyaonas. When he got hungry or thirsty he saw the blood of the Khyaonas and was satiated.
ZARIR'S DEATH AND BASTUR'S REVENGE:
Then Arjasp, the King of the Khyaonas, saw from the summit of the hill, and said: "Who is there among you Khyaonas who would go and fight with Zarir and would kill him, the brave general, strong Zarir? To him I would give my daughter Zarstun in marriage, the most beautiful woman in the whole country of the Khyaonas. "I will make him the master of the whole country of the Khyaonas, because if Zarir were to remain alive until night time we would all be dead."
The magician Vidarafsh got up on his feet, and said: "Get a horse saddled for me so that I may go." They saddled the horse, and the magician Vidarafsh rode upon it. He took that weapon which was operated upon with magic in the hell by the demons through anger, and which was impregnated with the poison of the water of sin. He held it on in his hand and rushed into the battle and saw how bravely Zarir was fighting. He could not go before him head one. He quietly came running from behind and struck at Zarir's back below his waist-girdle and above his sacred thread, stabbing him through his heart and throwing him down upon the ground. Suddenly, the movement of bows and the din of brave men subsided.
King Vishtasp saw from the top of the hill, and said, "I think on good grounds that they have killed our Zarir, the general of Aryan, because the movement of bows and the din of brave men do not come to us now. "Who is there among you Aryans who would go and ask for revenge for Zarir so that I may give him my daughter Homak in marriage, for she is the most beautiful woman in the whole country of Aryan? "I will give him a residence in the mansion of Zarir and command in chief of Aryan."
No good and great man gave a reply except that son of Zarir, a boy of about seven years of age. He got up on his feet and said: "Order a horse to be saddled for me so that I may go and see the war of Aryan, and see the family-chief of Vishtasp, and whether that brave general, powerful Zarir, my father, is living or dead. I will tell your Majesty how matters stand."
Then King Vishtasp said: "You cannot go because you are still a child, and you do not know how to act with caution in war, and your fingers are not rubbed with arrows. Perhaps the Khyaonas would come and kill you because they have killed Zarir also. Then the Khyaonas will take the credit of two names that "We have killed Zarir, the commander-in-chief of Aryan, and we have killed his son Bastur.'"
Afterward Bastur secretly said to the master of the horse: "Vishtasp has ordered, "Give to Bastur that horse on which sat Zarir, when he was a boy.'" The master of the horse ordered the horse to be saddled, and Bastur mounted it, and he let go the horse and fought and killed the enemy until he reached the place where he saw his brave father dead. He did not wait long, and said, "Oh, delight of my soul! Why are you silent? Oh, brave man, decorated with precious amulets, why silent? Oh, why is thy fast horse silent? When this was your wish that "I may be allowed to fight with the Khyaonas,' how is it that you have fallen dead in our war like a man without a place or corner? The winds have spoilt your crown, hair, and beard; the horses have crushed your clean body with their feet; the dust has covered your garment. But now what am I to do? Because if I were to alight from the horse and if I were to hold yours, my father's head, against my side, and if I were to remove the dust from thy garment, and then if I could not get up again on my horse quickly... then perhaps the Khyaonas might come and kill me also as they killed you. Then they will take the credit of two names that "We have killed Zarir, the commander-in-chief of Arian, and we have killed Bastur who is his son.'"
Again Bastur let go his horse and killed the enemy until he came before King Vishtasp, and said: "I had gone and I had seen well the battle fought by Aryan and the officers of Vishtasp. I saw dead the brave general, powerful Zarir, who is my father. But if it please your Majesty, let me go so that I may go and ask revenge for my father." Then Jamasp Baetash said: "Let this speaker go because he rests upon his luck and he will kill the enemy."
At last King Vishtasp ordered the horse to be saddled. And Bastur sat over it. He [the King] gave him an arrow from his quiver and blessed him and said, "Take this quiver from me and go. May your every art of war be victorious. May you gain victory in all offensive and defensive battles. In return may you bring glory. For all days fetch your enemies dead. And now you command the horse and the banner of these our soldiers of Aryan and Arum, and always live long as a leader."
Then Bastur let his horse go and killed the enemy and fought the battle as bravely as Zarir, the commander-in-chief of Aryan. At last Arjasp, the King of the Khyaonas, saw from the summit of the hill, and said, "Who is he? Who is that brave Kayani fellow there, who has a horse like that of a warrior and who keeps his saddle like a warrior and who fights as bravely as Zarir, the commander-in-chief of Aryan? However, I think thus that he, of the lineage of Vishtasp, desires to take vengeance for Zarir. Who is there among you Khyaonas who will go and fight with that fellow and kill him? I will give to him in marriage Bashastun, my daughter, than whom there is no woman more beautiful in the whole country of Khyaona. And I will make him the master of the whole country of Khyaona, because if the fellow would remain alive until night then it would not be long when out of us Khyaonas nobody would remain alive."
Then Vidarafsh, the magician, got up on his feet and he said, "Get a horse saddled for me so that I may go." They saddled the iron-hoofed horse, which was the horse of Zarir, and Vidarafsh, the magician, rode upon it. He took his magical weapon, breathed on by the very demons of hell, and drenched with the poison of sinful water. He held it in his hand and rushed into the battle, and saw how bravely Bastur was fighting. He could approach him from the front, so again, he quietly snuck up from behind.
Bastur cast a glance and said, "Oh, wicked magician! Come in front of my humble self, because I think that I do not know how to make my horse run fast under my thighs and I think that I do not know well to throw the arrow from the quiver. So come forward in the front of my humble self so that I may destroy thy sweet life as you did that of my father, the brave general Zarir."
And Vidarafsh, the magician, presumptuously proceeded farther and went forward before Bastur, and that black iron-hoofed horse of Zarir, when he heard the loud voice of Bastur, struck his four feet on the ground and raised nine hundred and ninety-nine cries. And Vidarafsh drew his weapon but Bastur snatched it away.
Then the soul of Zarir shouted: "Throw away the weapon from your hand and take an arrow from your quiver and answer the wicked man with that." So Bastur threw away the weapon, and he took an arrow from his quiver and shot it at Vidarafsh's heart. It passed through his back and threw him upon the ground. And he killed him. He took away from him that white boot covered with pearls and gold, which Zarir had always kept with him. He sat upon the horse of Zarir and held the bridle of his own horse in his hand, and then he let his horse go forward and killed the enemy till he came to that place where Geramik-kard, the son of Jamasp, had held the victorious banner in his teeth and fought with both his hands.
Geramik-kard and that great Aryan army, when they saw Bastur, all mourned for Zarir, and said, "Oh, young helper! Why have you come to fight when you have not yet sufficiently rubbed your fingers with arrows, and when you still do not know the ways of caution to be observed in war? "Perhaps the Khyaonas may come and kill you as they have also killed Zarir. Then they will take the credit of two names that "We have killed Zarir, the commander-in-chief, and we have killed Bastur his son.'"
Then Bastur said: "O Geramik-kard, son of Jamasp, you carry victoriously this banner. If I will go alive before King Vishtasp I will tell him how bravely you have fought." Then Bastur rode forward and killed the enemy until he came to that place where the brave hero Spendadad was.
When Spendadad saw Bastur he left the large Aryan army with Bastur and himself went over the top of the hill and launched an attack upon Arjasp with his twelve myriad soldiers and drove them down the hill to the plain below, and Spendadad thrust the work of further attack upon Geramik-kard. Geramik-kard carried an assault upon them and thrust the work upon Bastur.
Thereupon it was not long before there was no person left alive among them, except that one, Arjasp, the King of the Khyaonas. The hero Spendadad caught him also. He cut one of his hands, one leg, one ear, and burned one of his eyes with fire and sent him off back to his country on an ass whose tail was cut.
He said: "Go and tell what you have seen from my---the hero Spendadad's---hand; otherwise how can the Khyaonas know what has happened on the day Farvardin, in the constellation of the dragon, in the war of Vishtasp?"
[edit] King Khusrow II and the Prophet Muhammad
The Kayani King Khusrow II, also known as Khusrow Parvez (meaning "the victorious," so dubbed for his military and governmental prowess), is a prominent figure in early Islamic history. He was a contemporary of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad, and their encounter is the subject of a celebrated Islamic account.
THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD CALLS KING KHUSROW II TO ISLAM [[2]]
The Prophet commissioned six of his Sahabah to carry his letters to Arab and foreign rulers. One of these was Abdullah ibn Hudhafah. He was chosen to take the Prophet's letter to Khusraw Parvez, the Persian king.
Abdullah got his camel ready and bade farewell to his wife and son. He set out, alone, and traversed mountains and valleys until he reached the land of the Persian. He sought permission to enter into the king's presence, informing the guards of the letter he was carrying. Khusraw Parvez thereupon ordered his audience chamber to be made ready and summoned his prominent aides. When they had assembled, he gave permission for Abdullah to enter.
Abdullah entered and saw the Persian potentate dressed in delicate, flowing robes and wearing a great, neatly arranged turban. Abdullah wore the plain, coarse clothes of the bedouin. His head, though, was held high, and his feet were firm.
As soon as Khusraw Parvez saw him approaching he signalled to one of his men to take the letter from his hand.
"No," said Abdullah. 'The Prophet commanded me to hand over this letter to you directly and I shall not go against a command of the Messenger of God." "Let him come near to me," Khusraw said to his guards and Abdullah went forward and handed over the letter. Khusraw then called an Arab clerk who originally came from Hira and ordered him to open the letter in his presence and read its contents. He began reading: "In the name of Allah, the Beneficent the Merciful. From Muhammad, the Messenger of God, to Khusraw the ruler of Persia. Peace on whoever follows the guidance . . ."
Khusraw only heard this much of the letter when anger burst within him. His face became red and he began to perspire around the neck. He snatched the letter from the clerk's hand and began tearing it to pieces without knowing what else it contained and shouted, "Does he dare to write to me like this, he who is my slave". He was angry that the Prophet had not given him precedence in his letter. He then commanded Abdullah to be expelled from his assembly.
Abdullah was taken away, not knowing what would happen to him. Would he be killed or would he be set free? But he did not want to wait to find out. He said, "By God, I don't care what happens to me after the letter of the Prophet has been so badly treated." He managed to get to his camel and rode off.
When Khusraw's anger had subsided he commanded that Abdullah be brought before him. But Abdullah was nowhere to be found. They searched for him all the way to the Arabian peninsula but found that he had gone ahead.
Back in Madinah, Abdullah told the Prophet how Khusraw had torn his letter to pieces and the Prophet's only reply was, "May God tear up his kingdom".
THE ASSASINATION OF KHUSROW II
Meanwhile, Khusraw wrote to Badhan, his deputy in the Yemen, to send two strong men to "that man who has appeared in the Hijaz" with orders to bring him to Persia. Badhan dispatched two of his strongest men to the Prophet and gave them a letter to him in which he was ordered to go with the two men to meet Khusraw without delay. Badhan also asked the two men to get whatever information they could on the Prophet and to study his message closely. The men set out, moving very quickly. At Taif they met some Quraysh traders and asked them about Muhammad. "He is in Yathrib," they said and they went on to Makkah feeling extremely happy. This was good news for them and they went around telling other Quraysh, "You will be pleased. Khusraw is out to get Muhammad and you will be rid of his evil."
The two men meanwhile made straight for Madinah where they met the Prophet, handed him the letter of Badhan and said to him, "The king of kings, Khusraw, has written to our ruler Badhan to send his men to get you. We have come to take you with us. If you come willingly, Khusraw has said that it will be good for you and he will spare you any punishment. If you refuse, you will know the power of his punishment. He has power to destroy you and your people." The Prophet smiled and said to them, "Go back to your mounts today and return tomorrow." On the following day, they came to the Prophet and said to him, "Are you prepared to go with us to meet Khusraw?"
"You shall not meet Khusraw after today," replied the Prophet. "God has killed him and his son Shirwaih has taken his place on such a night and on such a month."
The two men stared in the face of the Prophet. They were completely dumbfounded. "Do you know what you are saying?" they asked. "Shall we write about this to Badhan?"
"Yes," replied the Prophet, "and say to him that my religion has informed me about what has happened to the Kingdom of Khusraw and that if he should become Muslim, I would appoint him ruler over what he now controls".
The two men returned to the Yemen and told Badhan what had happened. Badhan said, "If what Muhammad has said is true, then he is a Prophet. If not then we shall see what happens to him." Not long afterwards a letter from Shirwaih came to Badhan in which he said, "I killed Khusraw because of his tyranny against our people. He regarded as lawful the killing of leaders, the capturing of their women and the expropriating of their wealth. When this my letter reaches you, take the allegiance of whoever is with you on my behalf."
As soon as Badhan had read Shirwaih's letter, he threw it aside and announced his entry into Islam. The Persians with him in the Yemen also became Muslim.
Acknowledgement:- This account is taken almost verbatim from the biography of Abdullah ibn Hudhafah as-Sahmi in the University of Southern California Muslim Student Association's Compendium of Muslim Texts.
[edit] The Fall of Yazdgird III and the Muslim Conquest of Persia
Khusrau was assassinated in 628 CE. There were numerous claimants to the throne; from 628 to 632 there were ten kings of Persia. The last, Yazdegerd III, was a grandson of Khusrau II and was said to be a mere child. However, no date of birth is known. The collapse of the Sassanid polity after the death of Khusrau II left the Persians in a weak position vis-a-vis the burgeoning Arab caliphate. At first, the Muslims merely attempted to consolidate their rule over the fringes of the desert and the Lakhmid Arabs. The border town of Hira fell to the Muslims in 633 CE. The Sassanids reorganized under Yazdegerd III, and mounted a counterattack. They won a major victory at the Battle of the Bridge in October 634 CE. After a decisive Muslim victory against the Byzantines, in Syria at the Battle of Yarmuk in 636 CE, the second caliph, Umar, was able to transfer forces to the east and resume the offensive against the Sassanians. Around the year 636 CE, Rostam Farrokhzād, an advisor and general under Yazdgird III (r. 632 - 651 CE) led an army said to number 100 000 men across the Euphrates River to al-Qādisiyyah, near the present-day city of Hilla in Iraq. Some have criticised him for this decision to face the Arabs on their own ground — on the fringes of the desert — and surmised that the Persians could have held their own if they had stayed on the opposite bank of the Euphrates. The Caliph `Umar dispatched 30 000 Arab cavalrymen under the command of Sa`d ibn Abī Waqqās against the Persian army. The Battle of al-Qādisiyyah followed, with the Persians prevailing at first, but on the third day of fighting, the Muslims gained the upper hand. The Persians attempted to flee. The Persian general Rostam Farrokhzād was caught and beheaded. According to some Muslim sources, the Persian losses were enormous, but the Arabs lost only 7500 men. The size of the forces and the disparity of the losses may be later exaggerations, but the fact that the Muslims won this battle is undisputed. Following the Battle, the Arab Muslim armies pushed forward toward the Persian capital of Ctesiphon (also called Madā'in in Arabic), which was quickly evacuated by Yazdgird after a brief siege. After seizing and sacking the city, they continued their drive eastwards, following Yazdgird and his remaining troops. Within a short space of time, the Arab armies defeated a major Sāsānian counter-attack in the Battle of Jalūlā', as well as other engagements at Qasr-e Shirin, and Masabadhan. By the mid-7th Century, the Arabs controlled all of Mesopotamia, including the area that is now the Iranian province of Khuzestan. Yazdegerd, the Sassanid king, made yet another effort to regroup and defeat the invaders. By 641 CE he had raised a new force, which took a stand at Nihavand, some forty miles south of Hamadan in modern Iran. Sa'ad ibn-Abi-Waqqas and his cavalry attacked and again defeated the Persian forces. Yazdegerd was unable to raise another army and became a hunted fugitive. He fled from one district to another until at last he was discovered and killed at Merv in 651 CE. The Islamic forces established a garrison town at Merv. By 674 CE, they had conquered Afghanistan, Transoxania, and the portion of India then known as Sind on the west bank of the Indus river. For many centuries, this was the easternmost limit of Muslim rule.
[edit] The Kayanis Split: Converts and Exiles
Historically, the Kayanis are most strongly associated with the Zoroastrian faith. Indeed, before the conquest, Persians had been proudly and predominantly Zoroastrian. Admittedly, there were also thriving Christian and Jewish communities in Persia. Adherents of all three faiths were allowed to practice their tenets under a few restrictions stipulated by the Arab conquerors. Nevertheless, there was a slow but steady movement of the population toward Islam. The nobility and city-dwellers were the first to convert. It is during this time that Kayanis are thought to have split: some converted to Islam while others went into exile. By the 9th century, the majority of Persians had become Muslim. At the time, most Persian Muslims were Sunni Muslims. Though Iran is known today as a stronghold of the Shi'a Muslim faith, it did not become so until much later, around the 15th century. Over time, the converted Kayanis were largely assimilated. They became prominent in Muslim administrative and military service. The exiled faction, however, continued its resistance for ages to come. When the Sassanian dynasty fell in 651 CE, many Kayanis fled to China, where the son of the last Sassanian ruler, Pirooz, (fleeing the Muslim invasion of Persia) became a Captain of the Chinese Imperial Guard. His people were stationed in military garrisons in Chinese Central Asia including Kashmir and Kabul, which were under Chinese control in the 740's CE. These soldiers became known as the Kayani "Gakhars." They were stationed in both South and Central Asia. In the South, in 682 CE, some disputes arising between the Gakhars and the Raja of Lahore caused the former to sign a treaty of alliance with the Afghans, who compelled the Raja of Lahore to submit to terms from the Gakhars. These terms included the cession of certain territories in perpetuity to the Gakhars (probably modern day Jehlum, Rawalpindi, and the Potohar Plateau of Pakistan; consult the Indian historian, Ferishta). The Gakhars of the Punjab grew to be particularly proud, warlike, and unyielding. They relentlessly fought several invaders, including Mahmud of Ghazni, Muhammad of Ghor, Timur Lane, the early Mughals, and Sher Shah Suri. The Central Asian Kayanis were less belligerent. After the Battle of Talas in 751 CE, the Chinese lost control of Central Asia to the Muslim Arabs and many of the Kayanis living there converted to Islam, while some left for other parts of China. Thus, although Gakhar legends say that they converted to Islam prior to joining Sabuktigin in his campaigns in India, the process of conversion was probably very slow and incremental. At every encounter with Muslims, some Kayanis converted, while others escaped to build new power bases and alliances. Consequently, modern day Kayanis are thinly spread over a large portion of Asia. Muslims and unconverted Kayanis are understood to have fought over several generations in Persia, Central Asia, and India. The near total conversion of the Kayanis was likely only accomplished under King Akbar- who apparently won their support- and the late Mughal Empire of India
[edit] References
- "Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings" by Abolqasem Ferdowsi, Dick Davis Trans., Viking Adult, 2006.
- " Yatkar-e-Zariran" or The Memoirs of Zarir (publisher Info. needed)
- "The Essene Teachings of Zarathustra" by Edmond Bordeaux Szekely, the Essene Church.
- "The biography of Abdullah ibn Hudhafah as-Sahmi" in the University of Southern California Muslim Student Association's online Compendium of Muslim Texts.
- "Kai-Gohar Nama" by Rai Duni Chand, updated and translated by Raja Sultan Zahur Akhtar.
- Jhelum Encyclopedia Britannica, 1911 Online Edition.[3]
- Gujrat Encyclopedia Britannica, 1911 Online Edition. [4]
- Gakkhar, A. S Bazmee Ansari, in Encyclopedia of Islam, 2nd ed.,Edited by J.H.Kramers et al, E.J Brill, Leiden, pp.972-74.
- The Baburnama: memoirs of Babur, prince and emperor, Zahir-ud-din Mohammad Babur, Translated, edited and annotated by Wheeler M. Thackston. 2002 Modern Library Paperback Edition, New York.
- The History of the Rise of the Mahomedan Power in India Till The Year A.D. 1612, Muhammad Kasim (Ferishta), Translated, edited and annotated by General J. Briggs. Reprinted 1981, Oriental Books Reprint Corporation, New Delhi, 4 vols.
- Sher Shah Suri: A Fresh Perspective, Basheer Ahmad Khan Matta. 2005, Oxford University Press, Karachi.
- The Delhi Sultanate: A Political and Military History, Peter Jackson, Cambridge University Press.
