The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 07 (of 10)
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Title: The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 07 (of 10)
Translator: Sir Richard Francis Burton
Release date: September 1, 2002 [eBook #3441]
Most recently updated: May 17, 2021
Language: English
Original publication: The Burton Club, 1885
Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3441
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J.C. Byers, Muhammad Hozien, Carrie Lorenz, Laura Shaffer, Sara Vazirian,
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Revised by Richard Tonsing.
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOOK OF THE THOUSAND NIGHTS AND A NIGHT — VOLUME 07 (OF 10) ***
THE BOOK OF THE
THOUSAND NIGHTS AND A NIGHT
A Plain and Literal Translation
of the Arabian Nights Entertainments
Translated and Annotated by
Richard F. Burton
VOLUME SEVEN
Privately Printed By The Burton Club
I Inscribe these pages
to
An Old And Valued Friend,
John W. Larking
(Whilome of Alexandria).
In Whose Hospitable Home (“The Sycamores”) I Made My Final
Preparations For A Pilgrimage To Meccah
and El-Medinah.
R. F. Burton
Contents of the Seventh Volume
The History of Gharib and His Brother Ajib (continued)
138. Otbah and Rayya
139. Hind, Daughter of Al-Nu’man, and Al-Hajjaj
140. Khuzaymah Bin Bishr and Ikrimah Al-Fayyaz
141. Yunus the Scribe and the Caliph Walid Bin Sahl
142. Harun Al-Rashid and the Arab Girl
143. Al-Asma’i and the Three Girls of Bassorah
144. Ibrahim of Mosul and the Devil
145. The Lovers of the Banu Uzrah
146. The Badawi and His Wife
147. The Lovers of Bassorah
148. Ishak of Mosul and His Mistress and the Devil
149. The Lovers of Al-Medinah
150. Al-Malik Al-Nasir and His Wazir
151. The Rogueries of Dalilah the Crafty and Her Daughter Zaynab the
Coney-Catcher
a. The Adventures of Mercury Ali of Cairo
152. Ardashir and Hayat Al-Nufus
153. Julnar the Sea-Born and Her Son King Badr Basim of Persia
154. King Mohammed Bin Sabaik and the Merchant Hasan
a. Story of Prince Sayf Al-Muluk and the Princess Badi’a Al-Jamal
The Book Of The
THOUSAND NIGHTS AND A NIGHT
When it was the Six Hundred and Thirty-seventh Night,
Shahrazad continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that
Sa’adan having broken into the palace of King Jamak and pounded to
pieces those therein, the survivors cried out, “Quarter! Quarter!”; and
Sa’adan said to them, “Pinion your King!” So they bound Jamak and took
him up, and Sa’adan drove them before him like sheep and brought them
to Gharib’s presence, after the most part of the citizens had perished
by the enemy’s swords. When the King of Babel came to himself, he found
himself bound and heard Sa’adan say, “I will sup to-night off this King
Jamak:” whereupon he turned to Gharib and cried to him, “I throw myself
on thy mercy.” Replied Gharib, “Become a Moslem, and thou shalt be safe
from the Ghul and from the vengeance of the Living One who ceaseth
not.” So Jamak professed Al-Islam with heart and tongue and Gharib bade
loose his bonds. Then he expounded The Faith to his people and they all
became True Believers; after which Jamak returned to the city and
despatched thence provaunt and henchmen to Gharib; and wine to the camp
before Babel where they passed the night. On the morrow, Gharib gave
the signal for the march and they fared on till they came to
Mayyáfárikín,[FN#1] which they found empty, for its people had heard
what had befallen Babel and had fled to Cufa-city and told Ajib. When
he heard the news, his Doom-day appeared to him and he assembled his
braves and informing them of the enemy’s approach ordered them make
ready to do battle with his brother’s host; after which he numbered
them and found them thirty thousand horse and ten thousand foot.[FN#2]
So, needing more, he levied other fifty thousand men, cavalry and
infantry, and taking horse amid a mighty host, rode forwards, till he
came upon his brother’s army encamped before Mosul and pitched his
tents in face of their lines. Then Gharib wrote a writ and said to his
officers, “Which of you will carry this letter to Ajib?” Whereupon
Sahim sprang to his feet and cried, “O King of the Age, I will bear thy
missive and bring thee back an answer.” So Gharib gave him the epistle
and he repaired to the pavilion of Ajib who, when informed of his
coming, said, “Admit him!” and when he stood in the presence asked him,
“Whence comest thou?” Answered Sahim, “From the King of the Arabs and
the Persians, son-in-law of Chosroë, King of the world, who sendeth
thee a writ; so do thou return him a reply.” Quoth Ajib, “Give me the
letter;” accordingly Sahim gave it to him and he tore it open and found
therein, “In the name of Allah the Compassionating, the Compassionate!
Peace on Abraham the Friend await! But afterwards. As soon as this
letter shall come to thy hand, do thou confess the Unity of the
Bountiful King, Causer of causes and Mover of the clouds;[FN#3] and
leave worshipping idols. An thou do this thing, thou art my brother and
ruler over us and I will pardon thee the deaths of my father and
mother, nor will I reproach thee with what thou hast done. But an thou
obey not my bidding, behold, I will hasten to thee and cut off thy head
and lay waste thy dominions. Verily, I give thee good counsel, and the
Peace be on those who pace the path of salvation and obey the Most High
King!” When Ajib read these words and knew the threat they contained,
his eyes sank into the crown of his head and he gnashed his teeth and
flew into a furious rage. Then he tore the letter in pieces and threw
it away, which vexed Sahim and he cried out upon Ajib, saying, “Allah
wither thy hand for the deed thou hast done!” With this Ajib cried out
to his men, saying, “Seize yonder hound and hew him in pieces with your
hangers.”[FN#4] So they ran at Sahim; but he bared blade and fell upon
them and slew of them more than fifty braves; after which he cut his
way out, though bathed in blood, and won back to Gharib, who said,
“What is this case, O Sahim?” And he told him what had passed, whereat
he grew livid for rage and crying “Allaho Akbar God is most great!”
bade the battle-drums beat. So the fighting-men donned their hauberks
and coats of straitwoven mail and baldrick’d themselves with their
swords; the footmen drew out in battle-array, whilst the horsemen
mounted their prancing horses and dancing camels and levelled their
long lances, and the champions rushed into the field. Ajib and his men
also took horse and host charged down upon host. — And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Thirty-eighth Night,
She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Gharib
and his merry men took horse, Ajib and his troops also mounted and host
charged down upon host. Then ruled the Kazi of Battle, in whose
ordinance is no wrong, for a seal is on his lips and he speaketh not;
and the blood railed in rills and purfled earth with curious
embroidery; heads grew gray and hotter waxed battle and fiercer. Feet
slipped and stood firm the valiant and pushed forwards, whilst turned
the faint-heart and fled, nor did they leave fighting till the day
darkened and the night starkened. Then clashed the cymbals of retreat
and the two hosts drew apart each from other, and returned to their
tents, where they nighted. Next morning, as soon as it was day, the
cymbals beat to battle and derring-do, and the warriors donned their
harness of fight and baldrick’d[FN#5] their blades the brightest bright
and with the brown lance bedight mounted doughty steed every knight and
cried out, saying, “This day no flight!” And the two hosts drew out in
battle array, like the surging sea. The first to open the chapter[FN#6]
of war was Sahim, who drave his destrier between the two lines and
played with swords and spears and turned over all the Capitula of
combat till men of choicest wits were confounded. Then he cried out,
saying, “Who is for fighting? Who is for jousting? Let no sluggard come
out nor weakling!” Whereupon there rushed at him a horseman of the
Kafirs, as he were a flame of fire; but Sahim let him not stand long
before him ere he overthrew him with a thrust. Then a second came forth
and he slew him also, and a third and he tare him in twain, and a
fourth and he did him to death; nor did they cease sallying out to him
and he left not slaying them, till it was noon, by which time he had
laid low two hundred braves. Then Ajib cried to his men, “Charge once
more,” and sturdy host on sturdy host down bore and great was the clash
of arms and battle-roar. The shining swords out rang; the blood in
streams ran and footman rushed upon footman; Death showed in van and
horse-hoof was shodden with skull of man; nor did they cease from sore
smiting till waned the day and the night came on in black array, when
they drew apart and, returning to their tents, passed the night there.
As soon as morning morrowed the two hosts mounted and sought the field
of fight; and the Moslems looked for Gharib to back steed and ride
under the standards as was his wont, but he came not. So Sahim sent to
his brother’s pavilion a slave who, finding him not, asked the
tent-pitchers,[FN#7] but they answered, “We know naught of him.”
Whereat he was greatly concerned and went forth and told the troops,
who refrained from battle, saying, “An Gharib be absent, his foe will
destroy us.” Now there was for Gharib’s absence a cause strange but
true which we will set out in order due. And it was thus. When Ajib
returned to his camp on the preceding Night, he called one of his
guardsmen by name Sayyar and said to him, “O Sayyar, I have not
treasured thee save for a day like this; and now I bid thee enter among
Gharib’s host and, pushing into the marquee of their lord, bring him
hither to me and prove how wily thy cunning be.” And Sayyar said, “I
hear and I obey.” So he repaired to the enemy’s camp and stealing into
Gharib’s pavilion, under the darkness of the night, when all the men
had gone to their places of rest, stood up as though he were a slave to
serve Gharib, who presently, being athirst, called to him for water. So
he brought him a pitcher of water, drugged with Bhang, and Gharib could
not fulfill his need ere he fell down with head distancing heels,
whereupon Sayyar wrapped him in his cloak and carrying him to Ajib’s
tent, threw him down at his feet. Quoth Ajib, “O Sayyar, what is this?”
Quoth he, “This be thy brother Gharib;” whereat Ajib rejoiced and said,
“The blessings of the Idols light upon thee! Loose him and wake him.”
So they made him sniff up vinegar and he came to himself and opened his
eyes; then, finding himself bound and in a tent other than his own,
exclaimed, “There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah,
the Glorious the Great!” Thereupon Ajib cried out at him, saying, “Dost
thou draw on me, O dog, and seek to slay me and take on me thy
blood-wreak of thy father and thy mother? I will send thee this very
day to them and rid the world of thee.” Replied Gharib, “Kafir hound!
soon shalt thou see against whom the wheels of fate shall revolve and
who shall be overthrown by the wrath of the Almighty King, Who wotteth
what is in hearts and Who shall leave thee in Gehenna tormented and
confounded! Have ruth on thyself and say with me:—There is no god but
_the_ God and Abraham is the Friend of God!” When Ajib heard Gharib’s
words, he snarked and snorted and railed at his god, the stone, and
called for the sworder and the leather rug of blood but his Wazir, who
was at heart a Moslem though outwardly a Miscreant, rose and kissing
ground before him, said, “Patience, O King, deal not hastily, but wait
till we know the conquered from the conqueror. If we prove the victors,
we shall have power to kill him and, if we be beaten, his being alive
in our hands will be a strength to us.” And the Emirs said, “The
Minister speaketh sooth”!——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Thirty-ninth Night,
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Ajib
purposed to slay Gharib, the Wazir rose and said, “Deal not hastily,
for we have always power to kill him!” So Ajib bade lay his brother
Gharib in irons and chain him up in his own tent and set a thousand
stout warriors to guard him. Meanwhile Gharib’s host, when they awoke
that morning and found not their King, were as sheep sans a shepherd;
but Sa’adan the Ghul cried out at them, saying, “O folk, don your
war-gear and trust to your Lord to defend you!” So Arabs and Ajams
mounted horse, after clothing themselves in hauberks of iron and
shirting themselves in straight knit mail, and sallied forth to the
field, the Chiefs and the colours moving in van. Then dashed out the
Ghul of the Mountain, with a club on his shoulder, two hundred pounds
in weight, and wheeled and careered, saying, “Ho, worshippers of idols,
come ye out and renown it this day, for ’tis a day of onslaught! Whoso
knoweth me hath enough of my mischief and whoso knoweth me not, I will
make myself known to him. I am Sa’adan, servant of King Gharib. Who is
for jousting? Who is for fighting? Let no faint-heart come forth to me
to-day or weakling.” And there rushed upon him a Champion of the
Infidels, as he were a flame of fire, and drove at him, but Sa’adan
charged home at him and dealt him with his club a blow which broke his
ribs and cast him lifeless to the earth. Then he called out to his sons
and slaves, saying, “Light the bonfire, and whoso falleth of the Kafirs
do ye dress him and roast him well in the flame, then bring him to me
that I may break my fast on him!” So they kindled a fire midmost the
plain and laid thereon the slain, till he was cooked, when they brought
him to Sa’adan, who gnawed his flesh and crunched his bones. When the
Miscreants saw the Mountain-Ghul do this deed they were affrighted with
sore affright, but Ajib cried out to his men, saying, “Out on you! Fall
upon the Ogre and hew him in hunks with your scymitars!” So twenty
thousand men ran at Sa’adan, whilst the footmen circled round him and
rained upon him darts and shafts so that he was wounded in
four-and-twenty places, and his blood ran down upon the earth, and he
was alone. Then the host of the Moslems drave at the heathenry, calling
for help upon the Lord of the three Worlds, and they ceased not from
fight and fray till the day came to an end, when they drew apart. But
the Infidels had captured Sa’adan, as he were a drunken man for loss of
blood; and they bound him fast and set him by Gharib who, seeing the
Ghul a prisoner, said, “There is no Majesty and there is no Might save
in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! O Sa’adan, what case is this?” “O my
lord,” replied Sa’adan, “it is Allah (extolled and exalted be He!) who
ordaineth joy and annoy and there is no help but this and that betide.”
And Gharib rejoined, “Thou speakest sooth, O Sa’adan!” But Ajib passed
the night in joy and he said to his men, “Mount ye on the morrow and
fall upon the Moslems so shall not one of them be left alive.” And they
replied, “Hearkening and obedience!” This is how it fared with them;
but as regards the Moslems, they passed the night, dejected and weeping
for their King and Sa’adan; but Sahim said to them, “O folk, be not
concerned, for the aidance of Almighty Allah is nigh.” Then he waited
till midnight, when he assumed the garb of a tent-pitcher; and,
repairing to Ajib’s camp, made his way between the tents and pavilions
till he came to the King’s marquee, where he saw him seated on his
throne surrounded by his Princes. So he entered and going up to the
candles which burnt in the tent snuffed them and sprinkled levigated
henbane on the wicks; after which he withdrew and waited without the
marquee, till the smoke of the burning henbane reached Ajib and his
Princes and they fell to the ground like dead men. Then he left them
and went to the prison tent, where he found Gharib and Sa’adan, guarded
by a thousand braves, who were overcome with sleep. So he cried out at
the guards, saying, “Woe to you! Sleep not; but watch your prisoners
and light the cressets.” Presently he filled a cresset with firewood,
on which he strewed henbane, and lighting it, went round about the tent
with it, till the smoke entered the nostrils of the guards, and they
all fell asleep drowned by the drug; when he entered the tent and
finding Gharib and Sa’adan also insensible he aroused them by making
them smell and sniff at a sponge full of vinegar he had with him.
Thereupon he loosed their bonds and collars, and when they saw him,
they blessed him and rejoiced In him. After this they went forth and
took all the arms of the guards and Sahim said to them, “Go to your own
camp;” while he re-entered Ajib’s pavilion and, wrapping him in his
cloak, lifted him up and made for the Moslem encampment. And the Lord,
the Compassionate, protected him, so that he reached Gharib’s tent in
safety and unrolled the cloak before him. Gharib looked at its contents
and seeing his brother Ajib bound, cried out, “Allaho Akbar—God is
Most Great! Aidance! Victory!” And he blessed Sahim and bade him arouse
Ajib. So he made him smell the vinegar mixed with incense, and he
opened his eyes and, finding himself bound and shackled, hung down his
head earthwards.——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
to say her permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Fortieth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that after Sahim had
aroused Ajib, whom he had made insensible with henbane and had brought
to his brother Gharib, the captive opened his eyes and, feeling himself
bound and shackled, hung down his head earthwards. Thereupon cried
Sahim, “O Accursed, lift thy head!” So he raised his eyes and found
himself amongst Arabs and Ajams and saw his brother seated on the
throne of his estate and the place of his power, wherefore he was
silent and spake not. Then Gharib cried out and said, “Strip me this
hound!” So they stripped him and came down upon him with whips, till
they weakened his body and subdued his pride, after which Gharib set
over him a guard of an hundred knights. And when this fraternal
correction had been administered they heard shouts of, “There is no God
but _the_ God!” and “God is Most Great!” from the camp of the Kafirs. Now
the cause of this was that, ten days after his nephew King Al-Damigh,
Gharib’s uncle, had set out from Al-Jazirah, with twenty thousand
horse, and on nearing the field of battle, had despatched one of his
scouts to get news. The man was absent a whole day, at the end of which
time he returned and told Al-Damigh all that had happened to Gharib
with his brother. So he waited till the night, when he fell upon the
Infidels, crying out, “Allaho Akbar!” and put them to the edge of the
biting scymitar. When Gharib heard the Takbir,[FN#8] he said to Sahim,
“Go find out the cause of these shouts and war-cries.” So Sahim
repaired to the field of battle and questioned the slaves and camp
followers, who told him that King Al-Damigh had come up with twenty
thousand men and had fallen upon the idolaters by night, saying, “By
the virtue of Abraham the Friend, I will not forsake my brother’s son,
but will play a brave man’s part and beat back the host of Miscreants
and please the Omnipotent King!” So Sahim returned and told his uncle’s
derring-do to Gharib, who cried out to his men, saying, “Don your arms
and mount your steeds and let us succour my father’s brother!” So they
took horse and fell upon the Infidels and put them to the edge of the
sharp sword. By the morning they had killed nigh fifty thousand of the
Kafirs and made other thirty thousand prisoners, and the rest of Ajib’s
army dispersed over the length and breadth of earth. Then the Moslems
returned in victory and triumph, and Gharib rode out to meet his uncle,
whom he saluted and thanked for his help. Quoth Al-Damigh, “I wonder if
that dog Ajib fell in this day’s affair.” Quoth Gharib, “O uncle, be of
good cheer and keep thine eyes cool and clear: know that he is with me
in chains.” When Al-Damigh heard this he rejoiced with exceeding joy
and the two kings dismounted and entered the pavilion, but found no
Ajib there; whereupon Gharib exclaimed, “O glory of Abraham, the Friend
(with whom be peace!),” adding, “Alas, what an ill end is this to a
glorious day!” and he cried out to the tent-pitchers, saying, “Woe to
you! Where is my enemy who oweth me so much?” Quoth they, “When thou
mountest and we went with thee, thou didst not bid us guard him;” and
Gharib exclaimed, “There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in
Allah, the Glorious, the Great!” But Al-Damigh said to him, “Hasten not
nor be concerned, for where can he go, and we in pursuit of him?” Now
the manner of Ajib’s escape was in this wise. His page Sayyar had been
ambushed in the camp and when he saw Gharib mount and ride forth,
leaving none to guard his enemy Ajib, he could hardly credit his eyes.
So he waited awhile and presently crept to the tent and taking Ajib,
who was senseless for the pain of the bastinado, on his back, made off
with him into the open country and fared on at the top of his speed
from early night to the next day, till he came to a spring of water,
under an apple tree. There he set down Ajib from his back and washed
his face, whereupon he opened his eyes and seeing Sayyar, said to him,
“O Sayyar, carry me to Cufa that I may recover there and levy horsemen
and soldiers wherewith to overthrow my foe: and know, O Sayyar, that I
am anhungered.” So Sayyar sprang up and going out to the desert caught
an ostrich-poult and brought it to his lord. Then he gathered fuel and
deftly using the fire-sticks kindled a fire, by which he roasted the
bird which he had hallal’d[FN#9] and fed Ajib with its flesh and gave
him to drink of the water of the spring, till his strength returned to
him, after which he went to one of the Badawi tribal encampments, and
stealing thence a steed mounted Ajib upon it and journeyed on with him
for many days till they drew near the city of Cufa. The Viceroy of the
capital came out to meet and salute the King, whom he found weak with
the beating his brother had inflicted upon him; and Ajib entered the
city and called his physicians. When they answered his summons, he bade
them heal him in less than ten days’ time: they said, “We hear and we
obey,” and they tended him till he became whole of the sickness that
was upon him and of the punishment. Then he commanded his Wazirs to
write letters to all his Nabobs and vassals, and he indited
one-and-twenty writs and despatched them to the governors, who
assembled their troops and set out for Cufa by forced marches.——And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted
say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Forty-first Night,
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ajib
sent orders to assemble the troops, who marched forthright to Cufa.
Meanwhile, Gharib, being troubled for Ajib’s escape, despatched in
quest of him a thousand braves, who dispersed on all sides and sought
him a day and a night, but found no trace of him; so they returned
and told Gharib, who called for his brother Sahim, but found him not;
whereat he was sore concerned, fearing for him from the shifts of
Fortune. And lo! Sahim entered and kissed ground before Gharib, who
rose, when he saw him, and asked, “Where hast thou been, O Sahim?” He
answered, “O King, I have been to Cufa and there I find that the dog
Ajib hath made his way to his capital and is healed of his hurts: eke,
he hath written letters to his vassals and sent them to his Nabobs who
have brought him troops.” When Gharib heard this, he gave the command
to march; so they struck tents and fared for Cufa. When they came in
sight of the city, they found it compassed about with a host like
the surging main, having neither beginning nor end. So Gharib with
his troops encamped in face of the Kafirs and set up his standards,
and darkness fell down upon the two hosts, whereupon they lighted
camp-fires and kept watch till daybreak. Then King Gharib rose and
making the Wuzu-ablution, prayed a two-bow prayer according to the rite
of our father Abraham the Friend (on whom be the Peace!); after which
he commanded the battle-drums to sound the point of war. Accordingly,
the kettle-drums beat to combat and the standards fluttered whilst the
fighting men armour donned and their horses mounted and themselves
displayed and to plain fared. Now the first to open the gate of war
was King Al-Damigh, who urged his charger between the two opposing
armies and displayed himself and played with the swords and the spears,
till both hosts were confounded and at him marvelled, after which he
cried out, saying, “Who is for jousting? Let no sluggard come out to
me or weakling; for I am Al-Damigh, the King, brother of Kundamir the
King.” Then there rushed forth a horseman of the Kafirs, as he were a
flame of fire, and drave at Al-Damigh, without word said; but the King
received him with a lance-thrust in the breast so dour that the point
issued from between his shoulders and Allah hurried his soul to the
fire, the abiding-place dire. Then came forth a second he slew, and
a third he slew likewise, and they ceased not to come out to him and
he to slay them, till he had made an end of six-and-seventy fighting
men. Hereupon the Miscreants and men of might hung back and would not
encounter him; but Ajib cried out to his men and said, “Fie on you,
O folk! if ye all go forth to him, one by one, he will not leave any
of you, sitting or standing. Charge on him all at once and cleanse of
them our earthly wone and strew their heads for your horses’ hoofs like
a plain of stone!” So they waved the awe-striking flag and host was
heaped upon host; blood rained in streams upon earth and railed and the
Judge of battle ruled, in whose ordinance is no unright. The fearless
stood firm on feet in the stead of fight, whilst the faint-heart gave
back and took to flight thinking the day would never come to an end nor
the curtains of gloom would be drawn by the hand of Night; and they
ceased not to battle with swords and to smite till light darkened and
murk starkened. Then the kettle-drums of the Infidels beat the retreat,
but Gharib, refusing to stay his arms, drave at the Paynimry, and the
Believers in Unity, the Moslems, followed him. How many heads and hands
they shore, how many necks and sinews they tore, how many knees and
spines they mashed and how many grown men and youths they to death
bashed! With the first gleam of morning grey the Infidels broke and
fled away, in disorder and disarray; and the Moslems followed them till
middle-day and took over twenty thousand of them, whom they brought
to their tents in bonds to stay. Then Gharib sat down before the gate
of Cufa and commanded a herald to proclaim pardon and protection for
every wight who should leave the worship to idols dight and profess the
unity of His All-might the Creator of mankind and of light and night.
So was made proclamation as he bade in the streets of Cufa and all
that were therein embraced the True Faith, great and small; then they
issued forth in a body and renewed their Islam before King Gharib, who
rejoiced in them with exceeding joy and his breast broadened and he
threw off all annoy. Presently he enquired of Mardas and his daughter
Mahdiyah, and, being told that he had taken up his abode behind the
Red Mountain, he called Sahim and said to him, “Find out for me what
is become of thy father.” Sahim mounted steed without stay or delay
and set his berry-brown spear in rest and fared on in quest till he
reached the Red Mountain, where he sought for his father, yet found no
trace of him nor of his tribe; however, he saw in their stead an elder
of the Arabs, a very old man, broken with excess of years, and asked
him of the folk and whither they were gone. Replied he, “O my son,
when Mardas heard of Gharib’s descent upon Cufa he feared with great
fear and, taking his daughter and his folk, set out with his handmaids
and negroes into the wild and wold, and I wot not whither he went.”
So Sahim, hearing the Shaykh’s words, returned to Gharib and told him
thereof, whereat he was greatly concerned. Then he sat down on his
father’s throne and, opening his treasuries, distributed largesse to
each and every of his braves. And he took up his abode in Cufa and sent
out spies to get news of Ajib. He also summoned the Grandees of the
realm, who came and did him homage; as also did the citizens and he
bestowed on them sumptuous robes of honour and commended the Ryots to
their care.——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say
her permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Forty-second Night,
She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Gharib, after
giving robes of honour to the citizens of Cufa and commending the
Ryots to their care, went out on a day of the days to hunt, with an
hundred horse, and fared on till he came to a Wady, abounding in trees
and fruits and rich in rills and birds. It was a pasturing-place for
roes and gazelles, to the spirit a delight whose scents reposed from
the langour of fight. They encamped in the valley, for the day was
clear and bright, and there passed the night. On the morrow, Gharib
made the Wuzu-ablution and prayed the two-bow dawn-prayer, offering up
praise and thanks to Almighty Allah; when, lo and behold! there arose
a clamour and confusion in the meadows, and he bade Sahim go see what
was to do. So Sahim mounted forthright and rode till he espied goods
being plundered and horses haltered and women carried off and children
crying out. Whereupon he questioned one of the shepherds, saying, “What
be all this?”; and they replied, “This is the Harim of Mardas, Chief
of the Banu Kahtan, and his good and that of his clan; for yesterday
Jamrkan slew Mardas and made prize of his women and children and
household stuff and all the belonging of his tribe. It is his wont
to go a-raiding and to cut off highways and waylay wayfarers and he
is a furious tyrant; neither Arabs nor Kings can prevail against him
and he is the scourge and curse of the country.” Now when Sahim heard
these news of his sire’s slaughter and the looting of his Harim and
property, he returned to Gharib and told him the case, wherefore fire
was added to his fire and his spirit chafed to wipe out his shame and
his blood-wit to claim: so he rode with his men after the robbers till
he overtook them and fell upon them, crying out and saying, “Almighty
Allah upon the rebel, the traitor, the infidel!” and he slew in a
single charge one-and-twenty fighting-men. Then he halted in mid-field,
with no coward’s heart, and cried out, “Where is Jamrkan? Let him come
out to me, that I may make him quaff the cup of disgrace and rid of him
earth’s face!” Hardly had he made an end of speaking, when forth rushed
Jamrkan, as he were a calamity of calamities or a piece of a mountain,
cased in steel. He was a mighty huge[FN#10] Amalekite; and he drave at
Gharib without speech or salute, like the fierce tyrant he was. And he
was armed with a mace of China steel, so heavy, so potent, that had he
smitten a hill he had smashed it. Now when he charged, Gharib met him
like a hungry lion, and the brigand aimed a blow at his head with his
mace; but he evaded it and it smote the earth and sank therein half a
cubit deep. Then Gharib took his battle flail and smiting Jamrkan on
the wrist, crushed his fingers and the mace dropped from his grasp;
whereupon Gharib bent down from his seat in selle and snatching it up,
swiftlier than the blinding leven, smote him therewith full on the flat
of the ribs, and he fell to the earth like a long-stemmed palm-tree.
So Sahim took him and pinioning him, haled him off with a rope, and
Gharib’s horsemen fell on those of Jamrkan and slew fifty of them: the
rest fled; nor did they cease flying till they reached their tribal
camp and raised their voices in clamour; whereupon all who were in the
Castle came out to meet them and asked the news. They told the tribe
what had passed; and, when they heard that their chief was a prisoner,
they set out for the valley vying one with other in their haste to
deliver him. Now when King Gharib had captured Jamrkan and had seen his
braves take flight, he dismounted and called for Jamrkan, who humbled
himself before him, saying, “I am under thy protection, O champion of
the Age!” Replied Gharib, “O dog of the Arabs, dost thou cut the road
for the servants of Almighty Allah, and fearest thou not the Lord of
the Worlds?” “O my master,” asked Jamrkan, “and who is the Lord of
the Worlds?” “O dog,” answered Gharib, “and what calamity dost thou
worship?” He said, “O my lord, I worship a god made of dates[FN#11]
kneaded with butter and honey, and at times I eat him and make me
another.” When Gharib heard this, he laughed till he fell backwards and
said, “O miserable, there is none worship-worth save Almighty Allah,
who created thee and created all things and provideth all creatures
with daily bread, from whom nothing is hid and He over all things is
Omnipotent.” Quoth Jamrkan, “And where is this great god, that I may
worship him?” Quoth Gharib, “O fellow, know that this god’s name is
Allah—_the_ God—and it is He who fashioned the heavens and the earth
and garred the trees to grow and the waters to flow. He created wild
beasts and birds and Paradise and Hell-fire and veileth Himself from
all eyes seeing and of none being seen. He, and He only, is the Dweller
on high. Extolled be His perfection! There is no god but He!” When
Jamrkan heard these words, the ears of his heart were opened; his skin
shuddered with horripilation and he said, “O my lord, what shall I say
that I may become of you and that this mighty Lord may accept of me?”
Replied Gharib, “Say:—There is no god but _the_ God and Abraham the
Friend is the Apostle of God!” So he pronounced the profession of the
Faith and was written of the people of felicity. Then quoth Gharib,
“Say me, hast thou tasted the sweetness of Al-Islam?”; and quoth the
other, “Yes;” whereupon Gharib cried, “Loose his bonds!” So they
unbound him and he kissed ground before Gharib and his feet. Now whilst
this was going on, behold, they espied a great cloud of dust that
towered till it walled the word.——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Forty-third Night,
She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Jamrkan
islamised and kissed the ground between the hands of Gharib; and, as
they were thus, behold, a great cloud of dust towered till it walled
the wold and Gharib said to Sahim, “Go and see for us what it be.” So
he went forth, like a bird in full flight, and presently returned,
saying, “O King of the Age, this dust is of the Banu Amir, the comrades
of Jamrkan.” Whereupon quoth Gharib to the new Moslem, “Ride out to thy
people and offer to them Al-Islam: an they profess, they shall be
saved; but, an they refuse, we will put them to the sword.” So Jamrkan
mounted and driving steed towards his tribesmen, cried out to them; and
they knew him and dismounting, came up to him on foot and said, “We
rejoice in thy safety, O our lord!” Said he, “O folk, whoso obeyeth me
shall be saved; but whoso gainsayeth me, I will cut him in twain with
this scymitar.” And they made answer, saying, “Command us what thou
wilt, for we will not oppose thy commandment.” Quoth he, “Then say with
me:—There is no god but _the_ God and Abraham is the Friend of God!”
They asked, “O our lord, whence haddest thou these words?” And he told
them what had befallen him with Gharib, adding, “O folk, know ye not
that I am your chief in battle-plain and where men of cut and thrust
are fain; and yet a man single-handed me to prisoner hath ta’en and
made me the cup of shame and disgrace to drain?” When they heard his
speech, they spoke the word of Unity and Jamrkan led them to Gharib, at
whose hands they renewed their profession of Al-Islam and wished him
glory and victory, after they had kissed the earth before him. Gharib
rejoiced in them and said to them, “O folk, return to your people and
expound Al-Islam to them;” but all replied, “O our lord, we will never
leave thee, whilst we live; but we will go and fetch our families and
return to thee.” And Gharib said, “Go, and join me at the city of
Cufa.” So Jamrkan and his comrades returned to their tribal camp and
offered Al-Islam to their women and children, who all to a soul
embraced the True Faith, after which they dismantled their abodes and
struck their tents and set out for Cufa, driving before them their
steeds, camels and sheep. During this time Gharib returned to Cufa,
where the horsemen met him in state. He entered his palace and sat down
on his sire’s throne with his champions ranged on either hand. Then the
spies came forwards, and informed him that his brother Ajib had made
his escape and had taken refuge with Jaland[FN#12] bin Karkar, lord of
the city of Oman and land of Al-Yaman; whereupon Gharib cried aloud to
his host, “O men, make you ready to march in three days.” Then he
expounded Al-Islam to the thirty thousand men he had captured in the
first affair and exhorted them to profess and take service with him.
Twenty thousand embraced the Faith, but the rest refused and he slew
them. Then came forward Jamrkan and his tribe and kissed the ground
before Gharib, who bestowed on him a splendid robe of honour and made
him captain of his vanguard, saying, “O Jamrkan, mount with the Chiefs
of thy kith and kin and twenty thousand horse and fare on before us to
the land of Jaland bin Karkar.” “Hearkening and obedience,” answered
Jamrkan and, leaving the women and children of the tribe in Cufa, he
set forward. Then Gharib passed in review the Harim of Mardas and his
eye lit upon Mahdiyah, who was among the women, wherewith he fell down
fainting. They sprinkled rose-water on his face, till he came to
himself, when he embraced Mahdiyah and carried her into a
sitting-chamber, where he sat with her; and they twain lay together
that night without fornication. Next morning he went out and sitting
down on the throne of his kingship, robed his uncle Al-Damigh with a
robe of honour; and appointed him his viceroy over all Al-Irak,
commending Mahdiyah to his care, till he should return from his
expedition against Ajib; and, when the order was accepted, he set out
for the land of Al-Yaman and the City of Oman with twenty thousand
horse and ten thousand foot. Now, when Ajib and his defeated army drew
in sight of Oman, King Jaland saw the dust of their approach and sent
to find out its meaning, scouts who returned and said, “Verily this is
the dust of one hight Ajib, lord of Al-Irak.” And Jaland wondered at
his coming to his country and, when assured of the tidings, he said to
his officers, “Fare ye forth and meet him.” So they went out and met
him and pitched tents for him at the city-gate; and Ajib entered in to
Jaland, weeping-eyed and heavy-hearted. Now Jaland’s wife was the
daughter of Ajib’s paternal uncle and he had children by her; so, when
he saw his kinsman in this plight, he asked for the truth of what ailed
him and Ajib told him all that had befallen him, first and last, from
his brother and said, “O King, Gharib biddeth the folk worship the Lord
of the Heavens and forbiddeth them from the service of simulacres and
other of the gods.” When Jaland heard these words he raged and revolted
and said, “By the virtue of the Sun, Lord of Life and Light, I will not
leave one of thy brother’s folk in existence! But where didst thou quit
them and how many men are they?” Answered Ajib, “I left them in Cufa
and they be fifty thousand horse.” Whereupon Jaland called his Wazir
Jawámard,[FN#13] saying, “Take thee seventy thousand horse and fare to
Cufa and bring me the Moslems alive, that I may torture them with all
manner of tortures.” So Jawamard departed with his host and fared
through the first day and the second till the seventh day, when he came
to a Wady abounding in trees and rills and fruits. Here he called a
halt — And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Forty-fourth Night,
She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Jaland
sent Jawamard with his army to Cufa, they came upon a Wady abounding in
trees and rills where a halt was called and they rested till the middle
of the night, when the Wazir gave the signal for departure and
mounting, rode on before them till hard upon dawn, at which time he
descended into a well-wooded valley, whose flowers were fragrant and
whose birds warbled on boughs, as they swayed gracefully to and fro,
and Satan blew into his sides and puffed him up with pride and he
improvised these couplets and cried,
“I plunge with my braves in the seething sea; * Seize the foe in
my strength and my valiancy;
And the doughtiest knights wot me well to be * Friend to friend
and fierce foe to mine enemy.
I will load Gharib with the captive’s chains * Right soon, and
return in all joy and glee;
For I’ve donned my mail and my weapons wield * And on all sides
charge at the chivalry.”[FN#14]
Hardly had Jawamard made an end of his verses when there came out upon
him from among the trees a horseman of terrible mien covered and clad
in steely sheen, who cried out to him, saying, “Stand, O riff-raff of
the Arabs! Doff thy dress and ground thine arms-gear and dismount thy
destrier and be off with thy life!” When Jawamard heard this, the light
in his eyes became darkest night and he drew his sabre and drove at
Jamrkan, for he it was, saying, “O thief of the Arabs, wilt thou cut
the road for me, who am captain of the host of Jaland bin Karkar and am
come to bring Gharib and his men in bond?” When Jamrkan heard these
words, he said, “How cooling is this to my heart and liver!” And he
made at Jawamard versifying in these couplets,
“I’m the noted knight in the field of fight, * Whose sabre and
spear every foe affright!
Jamrkan am I, to my foes a fear, * With a lance lunge known unto
every knight:
Gharib is my lord, nay my pontiff, my prince, * Where the two
hosts dash very lion of might:
An Imam of the Faith, pious, striking awe * On the plain where
his foes like the fawn take flight;
Whose voice bids folk to the faith of the Friend, * False,
doubling idols and gods despite!”
Now Jamrkan had fared on with his tribesmen ten days’ journey from Cufa
city and called a halt on the eleventh day till midnight, when he
ordered a march and rode on devancing them till he descended into the
valley aforesaid and heard Jawamard reciting his verses. So he drave at
him as the driving of a ravening lion, and smiting him with his sword,
clove him in twain and waited till his captains came up, when he told
them what had passed and said to them, “Take each of you five thousand
men and disperse round about the Wady, whilst I and the Banu Amir fall
upon the enemy’s van, shouting, Allaho Akbar God is Most Great! When ye
hear my slogan, do ye charge them, crying like me upon the Lord, and
smite them with the sword.” “We hear and we obey,” answered they and
turning back to their braves did his bidding and spread themselves
about the sides of the valley in the twilight forerunning the dawn.
Presently, lo and behold! up came the army of Al-Yaman, like a flock of
sheep, filling plain and steep, and Jamrkan and the Banu Amir fell upon
them, shouting, “Allaho Akbar!” till all heard it, Moslems and
Miscreants. Whereupon the True Believers ambushed in the valley
answered from every side and the hills and mountains responsive cried
and all things replied, green and dried, saying, “God is Most Great!
Aidance and Victory to us from on High! Shame to the Miscreants who His
name deny!” And the Kafirs were confounded and smote one another with
sabres keen whilst the True Believers and pious fell upon them like
flames of fiery sheen and naught was seen but heads flying and blood
jetting and faint-hearts hieing. By the time they could see one
another’s faces, two-thirds of the Infidels had perished and Allah
hastened their souls to the fire and abiding-place dire. The rest fled
and to the deserts sped whilst the Moslems pursued them to slay and
take captives till middle-day, when they returned in triumph with seven
thousand prisoners; and but six and twenty thousand of the Infidels
escaped and the most of them wounded. Then the Moslems collected the
horses and arms, the loads and tents of the enemy and despatched them
to Cufa with an escort of a thousand horse;——And Shahrazad perceived the
dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Forty-fifth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Jamrkan in his
battle with Jawamard slew him and slew his men; and, after taking many
prisoners and much money and many horses and loads, sent them with an
escort of a thousand riders, to Cufa city. Then he and the army of
Al-Islam dismounted and expounded The saving Faith to the prisoners,
who made profession with heart and tongue; whereupon they released them
from bonds and embraced them and rejoiced in them. Then Jamrkan made
his troops, who had swelled to a mighty many, rest a day and a night
and marched with the dawn, intending to attack Jaland bin Karkar in the
city of Oman; whilst the thousand horse fared back to Cufa with the
loot. When they reached the city, they went in to King Gharib and told
him what had passed, whereat he rejoiced and gave them joy and, turning
to the Ghul of the Mountain, said, “Take horse with twenty thousand and
follow Jamrkan.” So Sa’adan and his sons mounted and set out, amid
twenty thousand horse for Oman. Meanwhile, the fugitives of the
defeated Kafirs reached Oman and went in to Jaland, weeping and crying,
“Woe!” and “Ruin!” whereat he was confounded and said to them, “What
calamity hath befallen you?” So they told him what had happened and he
said, “Woe to you! How many men were they?” They replied, “O King,
there were twenty standards, under each a thousand men.” When Jaland
heard these words he said, “May the sun pour no blessing on you! Fie
upon you! What, shall twenty thousand overcome you, and you seventy
thousand horse and Jawamard able to withstand three thousand in field
of fight?” Then, in the excess of his rage and mortification, he bared
his blade and cried out to those who were present, saying, “Fall on
them!” So the courtiers drew their swords upon the fugitives and
annihilated them to the last man and cast them to the dogs. Then Jaland
cried aloud to his son, saying, “Take an hundred thousand horse and go
to Al-Irak and lay it waste altogether.” Now this son’s name was
Kúraján and there was no doughtier knight in all the force; for he
could charge single-handed three thousand riders. So he and his host
made haste to equip themselves and marched in battle-array, rank
following rank, with the Prince at their head, glorying in himself and
improvising these couplets,
“I’m Al-Kurajan, and my name is known * To beat all who in wold
or in city wone!
How many a soldier my sword at will * Struck down like a cow on
the ground bestrown?
How many a soldier I’ve forced to fly * And have rolled their
heads as a ball is thrown?
Now I’ll drive and harry the land Irak[FN#15] * And like rain
I’ll shower the blood of fone;
And lay hands on Gharib and his men, whose doom * To the wise a
warning shall soon be shown!”
The host fared on twelve days’ journey and, while they were still
marching, behold, a great dust cloud arose before them and walled the
horizon and the whole region. So Kurajan sent out scouts, saying, “Go
forth and bring me tidings of what meaneth this dust.” They went till
they passed under the enemy’s standards and presently returning said,
“O King, verily this is the dust of the Moslems.” Whereat he was glad
and said, “Did ye count them?” And they answered, “We counted the
colours and they numbered twenty.” Quoth he, “By my faith, I will not
send one man-at-arms against them, but will go forth to them alone by
myself and strew their heads under the horses’ hooves!” Now this was
the army of Jamrkan who, espying the host of the Kafirs and seeing them
as a surging sea, called a halt; so his troops pitched the tents and
set up the standards, calling upon the name of the All-wise One, the
Creator of light and gloom, Lord of all creatures, Who seeth while Him
none see, the High to infinity, extolled and exalted be He! There is no
God but He! The Miscreants also halted and pitched their tents, and
Kurajan said to them “Keep on your arms, and in armour sleep, for
during the last watch of the night we will mount and trample yonder
handful under feet!” Now one of Jamrkan’s spies was standing nigh and
heard what Kurajan had contrived; so he returned to the host and told
his chief who said to them, “Arm yourselves and as soon as it is Night,
bring me all the mules and camels and hang all the bells and clinkets
and rattles ye have about their necks.” Now they had with them more
than twenty thousand camels and mules. So they waited till the Infidels
fell asleep, when Jamrkan commanded them to mount, and they rose to
ride and on the Lord of the Worlds they relied. Then said Jamrkan,
“Drive the camels and mules to the Miscreants’ camp and push them with
your spears for goads!” They did as he bade and the beasts rushed upon
the enemy’s tents, whilst the bells and clinkets and rattles
jangled[FN#16] and the Moslems followed at their heels, shouting, “God
is Most Great!” till all the hills and mountains resounded with the
name of the Highmost Deity, to whom belong glory and majesty! The
cattle hearing this terrible din, took fright and rushed upon the tents
and trampled the folk, as they lay asleep.——And Shahrazad perceived the
dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Forty-sixth Night,
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Jamrkan
fell upon them with his men and steeds and camels, and the camp lay
sleeping, the idolaters started up in confusion and, snatching up
their arms, fell upon one another with smiting, till the most part was
slaughtered. And when the day broke, they looked and found no Moslem
slain, but saw them all on horseback, armed and armoured; wherefore
they knew that this was a sleight which had been played upon them, and
Kurajan cried out to the remnant of his folk, “O sons of whores, what
we had a mind to do with them, that have they done with us and their
craft hath gotten the better of our cunning.” And they were about to
charge when, lo and behold! a cloud of dust rose high and walled the
horizon-sky, when the wind smote it, so that it spired aloft and spread
pavilion-wise in the lift and there it hung; and presently appeared
beneath it the glint of helmet and gleam of hauberk and splendid
warriors, baldrick’d with their tempered swords and holding in rest
their supple spears. When the Kafirs saw this, they held back from
the battle and each army sent out, to know the meaning of this dust,
scouts, who returned with the news that it was an army of Moslems. Now
this was the host of the Mountain-Ghul whom Gharib had despatched to
Jamrkan’s aid, and Sa’adan himself rode in their van. So the two hosts
of the True Believers joined company and rushing upon the Paynimry
like a flame of fire, plied them with keen sword and Rudaynian spear
and quivering lance, what while day was darkened and eyes for the much
dust starkened. The valiant stood fast and the faint-hearted coward
fled and to the wilds and the wolds swift sped, whilst the blood over
earth was like torrents shed; nor did they cease from fight till the
day took flight and in gloom came the night. Then the Moslems drew
apart from the Miscreants and returned to their tents, where they ate
and slept, till the darkness fled away and gave place to smiling day;
when they prayed the dawn prayer and mounted to battle. Now Kurajan
had said to his men as they drew off from fight (for indeed two-thirds
of their number had perished by sword and spear), “O folk, to-morrow,
I will champion it in the stead of war where cut and thrust jar, and
where braves push and wheel I will take the field.” So, as soon as
light was seen and morn appeared with its shine and sheen, took horse
the hosts twain and shouted their slogans amain and bared the brand and
hent lance in hand and in ranks took stand. The first to open the door
of war was Kurajan, who cried out, saying, “Let no coward come out to
me this day nor craven!” Whereupon Jamrkan and Sa’adan stood by the
colours, but there ran at him a captain of the Banu Amir and the two
drave each at other awhile, like two rams butting. Presently Kurajan
seized the Moslem by the jerkin under his hauberk and, dragging him
from his saddle, dashed him to the ground where he left him; upon which
the Kafirs laid hands on him and bound him and bore him off to their
tents; whilst Kurajan wheeled about and careered and offered battle,
till another captain came out, whom also he took prisoner; nor did
he leave to do thus till he had made prize of seven captains before
mid-day. Then Jamrkan cried out with so mighty a cry, that the whole
field made reply and heard it the armies twain, and ran at Kurajan with
a heart in rageful pain, improvising these couplets:—
Jamrkan am I! and a man of might, * Whom the warriors fear with
a sore affright:
I waste the forts and I leave the walls * To wail and weep for
the wights I smite:
Then, O Kurajan, tread the rightful road * And quit the paths of
thy foul unright:
Own the One True God, who dispread the skies * And made founts to
flow and the hills pegged tight:
An the slave embrace the True Faith, he’ll ’scape * Hell-pains
and in Heaven be deckt and dight!
When Kurajan heard these words, he snarked and snorted and foully
abused the sun and the moon and drave at Jamrkan, versifying with these
couplets,
“I’m Kurajan, of this age the knight; * And my shade to the
lions of Shara’[FN#17] is blight:
I storm the forts and snare kings of beasts * And warriors fear
me in field of fight;
Then, Harkye Jamrkan, if thou doubt my word, * Come forth to the
combat and try my might!”
When Jamrkan heard these verses, he charged him with a stout heart and
they smote each at other with swords till the two hosts lamented for
them, and they lunged with lance and great was the clamour between
them: nor did they leave fighting till the time of mid-afternoon prayer
was passed and the day began to wane. Then Jamrkan drave at Kurajan and
smiting him on the breast with his mace,[FN#18] cast him to the ground,
as he were the trunk of a palm-tree; and the Moslems pinioned him and
dragged him off with ropes like a camel. Now when the Miscreants saw
their Prince captive, a hot fever-fit of ignorance seized on them and
they bore down upon the True Believers thinking to rescue him; but the
Moslem champions met them and left most of them prostrate on the earth,
whilst the rest turned and sought safety in flight, seeking surer site,
while the clanking sabres their back-sides smite. The Moslems ceased
not pursuing them till they had scattered them over mount and wold,
when they returned from them to the spoil; whereof was great store of
horses and tents and so forth:—good look to it for a spoil! Then
Jamrkan went in to Kurajan and expounded to him Al-Islam, threatening
him with death unless he embraced the Faith. But he refused; so they
cut off his head and stuck it on a spear, after which they fared on
towards Oman[FN#19] city. But as regards the Kafirs, the survivors
returned to Jaland and made known to him the slaying of his son and the
slaughter of his host, hearing which he cast his crown to the ground
and buffeting his face, till the blood ran from his nostrils, fell
fainting to the floor. They sprinkled rose-water on his head, till he
came to himself and cried to his Wazir, “Write letters to all my
Governors and Nabobs, and bid them leave not a smiter with the sword
nor a lunger with the lance nor a bender of the bow, but bring them all
to me in one body.” So he wrote letters and despatched them by runners
to the Governors, who levied their power and joined the King with a
prevailing host, whose number was one hundred and eighty thousand men.
Then they made ready tents and camels and noble steeds and were about
to march when, behold, up came Jamrkan and Sa’adan the Ghul, with
seventy thousand horse, as they were lions fierce-faced, all
steel-encased. When Jaland saw the Moslems trooping on he rejoiced and
said, “By the virtue of the Sun, and her resplendent light, I will not
leave alive one of my foes; no, not one to carry the news, and I will
lay waste the land of Al-Irak, that I may take my wreak for my son, the
havoc-making champion bold; nor shall my fire be quenched or cooled!”
Then he turned to Ajib and said to him, “O dog of Al-Irak, ’twas thou
broughtest this calamity on us! But by the virtue of that which I
worship, except I avenge me of mine enemy I will do thee die after
foulest fashion!” When Ajib heard these words he was troubled with sore
trouble and blamed himself; but he waited till nightfall, when the
Moslems had pitched their tents for rest. Now he had been degraded and
expelled the royal camp together with those who were left to him of his
suite: so he said to them, “O my kinsmen, know that Jaland and I are
dismayed with exceeding dismay at the coming of the Moslems, and I know
that he will not avail to protect me from my brother nor from any
other; so it is my counsel that we make our escape, whilst all eyes
sleep, and flee to King Ya’arub bin Kahtán,[FN#20] for that he hath
more of men and is stronger of reign.” They, hearing his advice
exclaimed “Right is thy rede,” whereupon he bade them kindle fires at
their tent-doors and march under cover of the night. They did his
bidding and set out, so by daybreak they had already fared far away. As
soon as it was morning Jaland mounted with two hundred and sixty
thousand fighting-men, clad cap-à-pie in hauberks and cuirasses and
strait-knit mail-coats, the kettle-drums beat a point of war and all
drew out for cut and thrust and fight and fray. Then Jamrkan and
Sa’adan rode out with forty thousand stalwart fighting-men, under each
standard a thousand cavaliers, doughty champions, foremost in
champaign. The two hosts drew out in battles and bared their blades and
levelled their limber lances, for the drinking of the cup of death. The
first to open the gate of strife was Sa’adan, as he were a mountain of
syenite or a Marid of the Jinn. Then dashed out to him a champion of
the Infidels, and the Ghul slew him and casting him to the earth, cried
out to his sons and slaves, saying, “Light the fire and roast me this
dead one.” They did as he bade and brought him the roast and he ate it
and crunched the bones, whilst the Kafirs stood looking on from afar;
and they cried out, “Oh for aid from the light-giving Sun!” and were
affrighted at the thought of being slain by Sa’adan. Then Jaland
shouted to his men, saying, “Slay me yonder loathsome beast!” Whereupon
another captain of his host drove at the Ghul; but he slew him and he
ceased not to slay horseman after horseman, till he had made an end of
thirty men. With this the blamed Kafirs held back and feared to face
him, crying, “Who shall cope with Jinns and Ghuls?” But Jaland raised
his voice saying, “Let an hundred horse charge him and bring him to me,
bound or slain.” So an hundred horse set upon Sa’adan with swords and
spears, and he met them with a heart firmer than flint, proclaiming the
unity of the Requiting King, whom no one thing diverteth from other
thing. Then he cried aloud, “Allaho Akbar!” and, smiting them with his
sword, made their heads fly and in one onset he slew of them
four-and-seventy whereupon the rest took to flight. So Jaland shouted
aloud to ten of his captains, each commanding a thousand men, and said
to them, “Shoot his horse with arrows till it fall under him, and then
lay hands on him.” Therewith ten thousand horse drove at Sa’adan who
met them with a stout heart; and Jamrkan, seeing this, bore down upon
the Miscreants with his Moslems, crying out, “God is Most Great!”
Before they could reach the Ghul, the enemy had slain his steed and
taken him prisoner; but they ceased not to charge the Infidels, till
the day grew dark for dust and eyes were blinded, and the sharp sword
clanged while firm stood the valiant cavalier and destruction overtook
the faint-heart in his fear; till the Moslems were amongst the Paynims
like a white patch on a black bull.——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Forty-seventh Night,
She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that battle raged
between the Moslems and the Paynims till the True Believers were like a
white patch on a black bull. Nor did they stint from the mellay till
the darkness fell down, when they drew apart, after there had been
slain of the Infidels men without compt. Then Jamrkan and his men
returned to their tents; but they were in great grief for Sa’adan, so
that neither meat nor sleep was sweet to them, and they counted their
host and found that less than a thousand had been slain. But Jamrkan
said, “O folk, to-morrow I will go forth into the battle-plain and
place where cut and thrust obtain, and slay their champions and make
prize of their families after taking them captives and I will ransom
Sa’adan therewith, by the leave of the Requiting King, whom no one
thing diverteth from other thing!” Wherefore their hearts were
heartened and they joyed as they separated to their tents. Meanwhile
Jaland entered his pavilion and sitting down on his sofa of estate,
with his folk about him, called for Sa’adan and forthright on his
coming, said to him, “O dog run wood and least of the Arab brood and
carrier of firewood, who was it slew my son Kurajan, the brave of the
age, slayer of heroes and caster down of warriors?” Quoth the Ghul,
“Jamrkan slew him, captain of the armies of King Gharib, Prince of
cavaliers, and I roasted and ate him, for I was anhungered.” When
Jaland heard these words, his eyes sank into his head for rage and he
bade his swordbearer smite Sa’adan’s neck. So he came forward in that
intent, whereupon Sa’adan stretched himself mightily and bursting his
bonds, snatched the sword from the headsman and hewed off his head.
Then he made at Jaland who threw himself down from the throne and fled;
whilst Sa’adan fell on the bystanders and killed twenty of the King’s
chief officers, and all the rest took to flight. Therewith loud rose
the crying in the camp of the Infidels and the Ghul sallied forth of
the pavilion and falling upon the troops smote them with the sword,
right and left, till they opened and left a lane for him to pass; nor
did he cease to press forward, cutting at them on either side, till he
won free of the Miscreants’ tents and made for the Moslem camp. Now
these had heard the uproar among their enemies and said, “Haply some
calamity hath befallen them.” But whilst they were in perplexity,
behold, Sa’adan stood amongst them and they rejoiced at his coming with
exceeding joy; more especially Jamrkan, who saluted him with the salam
as did other True Believers and gave him joy of his escape. Such was
the case with the Moslems; but as regards the Miscreants, when, after
the Ghul’s departure, they and their King returned to their tents,
Jaland said to them, “O folk, by the virtue of the Sun’s light-giving
ray and by the darkness of the Night and the light of the Day and the
Stars that stray, I thought not this day to have escaped death in
mellay; for, had I fallen into yonder fellow’s hands, he had eaten me,
as I were a kernel of wheat or a barley-corn or any other grain.” They
replied, “O King, never saw we any do the like of this Ghul.” And he
said, “O folk, to-morrow do ye all don arms and mount steed and trample
them under your horses’ hooves.” Meanwhile the Moslems had ended their
rejoicings at Sa’adan’s return and Jamrkan said to them, “To-morrow, I
will show you my derring-do and what behoveth the like of me, for by
the virtue of Abraham the Friend, I will slay them with the foulest of
slaughters and smite them with the bite of the sword, till all who have
understanding confounded at them shall stand. But I mean to attack
both right and left wings; so, when ye see me drive at the King under
the standards, do ye charge behind me with a resolute charge, and
Allah’s it is to decree what thing shall be!” Accordingly the two
sides lay upon their arms till the day broke through night and the sun
appeared to sight. Then they mounted swiftlier than the twinkling of
the eyelid; the raven of the wold croaked and the two hosts, looking
each at other with the eye of fascination, formed in line-array and
prepared for fight and fray. The first to open the chapter of war was
Jamrkan who wheeled and careered and offered fight in field; and Jaland
and his men were about to charge when, behold, a cloud of dust uprolled
till it walled the wold and overlaid the day. Then the four winds smote
it and away it floated, torn to rags, and there appeared beneath it
cavaliers, with helms black and garb white and many a princely knight
and lances that bite and swords that smite and footmen who lion-like
knew no affright. Seeing this both armies left fighting and sent out
scouts to reconnoitre and report who thus had come in main and might.
So they went and within the dust cloud disappeared from sight, and
returned after awhile with the news aright that the approaching host
was one of Moslems, under the command of King Gharib. When the True
Believers heard from the scouts of the coming of their King, they
rejoiced and driving out to meet him, dismounted and kissed the earth
between his hands——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to
say her permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Forty-eighth Night,
She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
Moslems saw the presence of their King Gharib, they joyed with
exceeding joy; and, kissing the earth between his hands, saluted him
and gat around him whilst he welcomed them and rejoiced in their
safety. Then they escorted him to their camp and pitched pavilions for
him and set up standards; and Gharib sat down on his couch of estate,
with his Grandees about him; and they related to him all that had
befallen, especially to Sa’adan. Meanwhile the Kafirs sought for Ajib
and finding him not among them nor in their tents, told Jaland of his
flight, whereat his Doomsday rose and he bit his fingers, saying, “By
the Sun’s light-giving round, he is a perfidious hound and hath fled
with his rascal rout to desert-ground. But naught save force of hard
fighting will serve us to repel these foes; so fortify your resolves
and hearten your hearts and beware of the Moslems.” And Gharib also
said to the True Believers, “Strengthen your courage and fortify your
hearts and seek aid of your Lord, beseeching him to vouchsafe you the
victory over your enemies.” They replied, “O King, soon thou shalt see
what we will do in battle-plain where men cut and thrust amain.” So the
two hosts slept till the day arose with its sheen and shone and the
rising sun rained light upon hill and down, when Gharib prayed the
two-bow prayer, after the rite of Abraham the Friend (on whom be the
Peace!) and wrote a letter, which he despatched by his brother Sahim to
the King of the Kafirs. When Sahim reached the enemies’ camp, the
guards asked him what he wanted, and he answered them, “I want your
ruler.”[FN#21] Quoth they, “Wait till we consult him anent thee;” and
he waited, whilst they went in to their Sovran and told him of the
coming of a messenger, and he cried, “Hither with him to me!” So they
brought Sahim before Jaland, who said to him, “Who hath sent thee?”
Quoth he, “King Gharib sends me, whom Allah hath made ruler over Arab
and Ajam; receive his letter and return its reply.” Jaland took the
writ and opening it, read as follows, “In the name of Allah, the
Compassionating, the Compassionate * the One, the All-knowing, the
supremely Great * the Immemorial, the Lord of Noah and Sálih and Húd
and Abraham and of all things He made! * The Peace be on him who
followeth in the way of righteousness and who feareth the issues of
frowardness * who obeyeth the Almighty King and followeth the Faith
saving and preferreth the next world to any present thing! * But
afterwards: O Jaland, none is worthy of worship save Allah alone, the
Victorious, the One, Creator of night and day and the sphere revolving
alway * Who sendeth the holy Prophets and garreth the streams to flow
and the trees to grow, who vaulted the heavens and spread out the earth
like a carpet below * Who feedeth the birds in their nests and the wild
beasts in the deserts * for He is Allah the All-powerful, the
Forgiving, the Long-suffering, the Protector, whom eye comprehendeth on
no wise and who maketh night on day arise * He who sent down the
Apostles and their Holy Writ. Know, O Jaland, that there is no faith
but the Faith of Abraham the Friend; so cleave to the Creed of
Salvation and be saved from the biting glaive and the Fire which
followeth the grave * But, an thou refuse Al-Islam look for ruin to
haste and thy reign to be waste and thy traces untraced * And, lastly,
send me the dog Ajib hight that I may take from him my father’s and
mother’s blood-wit.” When Jaland had read this letter, he said to
Sahim, “Tell thy lord that Ajib hath fled, he and his folk, and I know
not whither he is gone; but, as for Jaland, he will not forswear his
faith, and to-morrow, there shall be battle between us and the Sun
shall give us the victory.” So Sahim returned to his brother with this
reply, and when the morning morrowed, the Moslems donned their arms and
armour and bestrode their stout steeds, calling aloud on the name of
the All-conquering King, Creator of bodies and souls, and magnifying
Him with “Allaho Akbar.” Then the kettle-drums of battle beat until
earth trembled, and sought the field all the lordly warriors and
doughty champions. The first to open the gate of battle was Jamrkan,
who drave his charger into mid-plain and played with sword and javelin,
till the understanding was amazed; after which he cried out, saying,
“Ho! who is for tilting? Ho! who is for fighting? Let no sluggard come
out to me to-day nor weakling! I am the slayer of Kurajan bin Jaland;
who will come forth to avenge him?” When Jaland heard the name of his
son, he cried out to his men, “O whore-sons, bring me yonder horseman
who slew my son, that I may eat his flesh and drink his blood.” So an
hundred fighting-men charged at Jamrkan, but he slew the most part of
them and put their chief to flight; which feat when Jaland saw, he
cried out to his folk, “At him all at once and assault him with one
assault.” Accordingly they waved the awe-striking banners and host was
heaped on host; Gharib rushed on with his men and Jamrkan did the same
and the two sides met like two seas together clashing. The Yamáni sword
and spear wrought havoc and breasts and bellies were rent, whilst both
armies saw the Angel of Death face to face and the dust of the battle
rose to the skirts of the sky. Ears went deaf and tongues went dumb and
doom from every side came on whilst valiant stood fast and faint-heart
fled: and they ceased not from fight and fray till ended the day, when
the drums beat the retreat and the two hosts drew apart and returned,
each to its tents.——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
saying her permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Forty-ninth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when King Gharib
ended the battle and the two hosts drew apart and each had returned to
his own tents, he sat down on the throne of his realm and the place of
his reign, whilst his chief officers ranged themselves about him, and
he said, “I am sore concerned for the flight of the cur Ajib and I know
not whither he has gone. Except I overtake him and take my wreak of
him, I shall die of despite.” Whereupon Sahim came forward and kissing
the earth before him, said, “O King, I will go to the army of the
Kafirs and find out what is come of the perfidious dog Ajib.” Quoth
Gharib, “Go, and learn the truth anent the hog.” So Sahim disguised
himself in the habit of the Infidels and became as he were of them;
then, making for the enemy’s camp, he found them all asleep, drunken
with war and battle, and none were on wake save only the guards. He
passed on and presently came to the King’s pavilion where he found King
Jaland asleep unattended; so he crept up and made him smell and sniff
up levigated Bhang and he became as one dead. Then Sahim went out and
took a male mule, and wrapping the King in the coverlet of his bed,
laid him on its back; after which he threw a mat over him and led the
beast to the Moslem camp. Now when he came to Gharib’s pavilion and
would have entered, the guards knew him not and prevented him, saying,
“Who art thou?” He laughed and uncovered his face, and they knew him
and admitted him. When Gharib saw him he said, “What bearest thou
there, O Sahim?”; and he replied, “O King, this is Jaland bin Karkar.”
Then he uncovered him, and Gharib knew him and said, “Arouse him, O
Sahim.” So he made him smell vinegar[FN#22] and frankincense; and he
cast the Bhang from his nostrils and, opening his eyes, found himself
among the Moslems; whereupon quoth he, “What is this foul dream?” and
closing his eyelids again, would have slept; but Sahim dealt him a
kick, saying, “Open thine eyes, O accursed!” So he opened them and
asked, “Where am I?”; and Sahim answered, “Thou art in the presence of
King Gharib bin Kundamir, King of Irak.” When Jaland heard this, he
said, “O King, I am under thy protection! Know that I am not at fault,
but that who led us forth to fight thee was thy brother, and the same
cast enmity between us and then fled.” Quoth Gharib, “Knowest thou
whither he is gone?”; and quoth Jaland, “No, by the light-giving sun, I
know not whither.” Then Gharib bade lay him in bonds and set guards
over him, whilst each captain returned to his own tent, and Jamrkan
while wending said to his men, “O sons of my uncle, I purpose this
night to do a deed wherewith I may whiten my face with King Gharib.”
Quoth they, “Do as thou wilt, we hearken to thy commandment and obey
it.” Quoth he, “Arm yourselves and, muffling your steps while I go with
you, let us fare softly and disperse about the Infidels’ camp, so that
the very ants shall not be ware of you; and, when you hear me cry
‘Allaho Akbar,’ do ye the like and cry out, saying, ‘God is Most
Great!’ and hold back and make for the city-gate; and we seek aid from
the Most High.” So the folk armed themselves cap-à-pie and waited till
the noon of night, when they dispersed about the enemy’s camp and
tarried awhile when, lo and behold! Jamrkan smote shield with sword and
shouted, “Allaho Akbar’” Thereupon they all cried out the like, till
rang again valley and mountain, hills, sands and ruins. The Miscreants
awoke in dismay and fell one upon other, and the sword went round
amongst them; the Moslems drew back and made for the city-gates, where
they slew the warders and entering, made themselves masters of the town
with all that was therein of treasure and women. Thus it befel with
Jamrkan; but as regards King Gharib, hearing the noise and clamour of
“God is Most Great,” he mounted with his troops to the last man and
sent on in advance Sahim who, when he came near the field of fight, saw
that Jamrkan had fallen upon the Kafirs with the Banu Amir by night and
made them drink the cup of death. So he returned and told all to his
brother, who called down blessings on Jamrkan. And the Infidels ceased
not to smite one another with the biting sword and expending their
strength till the day rose and lighted up the land, when Gharib cried
out to his men, “Charge, O ye noble, and do a deed to please the
All-knowing King!” So the True Believers fell upon the idolaters and
plied upon every false hypocritical breast the keen sword and the
quivering spear. They sought to take refuge in the city; but Jamrkan
came forth upon them with his kinsmen, who hemmed them in between two
mountain-ranges, and slew an innumerable host of them, and the rest
fled into the wastes and wolds.——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Fiftieth Night,
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
Moslem host charged upon the Miscreants they hewed them in pieces with
the biting scymitar and the rest fled to the wastes and words; nor did
the Moslems cease pursuing them with the sword, till they had scattered
them abroad in the plains and stony places. Then they returned to Oman
city, and King Gharib entered the palace of the King and, sitting down
on the throne of his kingship, with his Grandees and Officers ranged
right and left, sent for Jaland. They brought him in haste and Gharib
expounded to him Al-Islam; but he rejected it; wherefore Gharib bade
crucify him on the gate of the city, and they shot at him with shafts
till he was like unto a porcupine. Then Gharib honourably robed Jamrkan
and said to him, “Thou shalt be lord of this city and ruler thereof
with power to loose and to bind therein, for it was thou didst open it
with thy sword and thy folk.” And Jamrkan kissed the King’s feet,
thanked him and wished him abiding victory and glory and every
blessing. Moreover Gharib opened Jaland’s treasuries and saw what was
therein of coin, whereof he gave largesse to his captains and
standard-bearers and fighting-men, yea, even to the girls and children;
and thus he lavished his gifts ten days long. After this, one night he
dreamt a terrible dream and awoke, troubled and trembling. So he
aroused his brother Sahim and said to him, “I saw in my vision that we
were in a wide valley, when there pounced down on us two ravening birds
of prey, never in my life saw I greater than they; their legs were like
lances, and as they swooped we were in sore fear of them.” Replied
Sahim, “O King, this be some great enemy; so stand on thy guard against
him.” Gharib slept not the rest of the night and, when the day broke,
he called for his courser and mounted. Quoth Sahim, “Whither goest
thou, my brother?” and quoth Gharib, “I awoke heavy at heart; so I mean
to ride abroad ten days and broaden my breast.” Said Sahim, “Take with
thee a thousand braves;” but Gharib replied, “I will not go forth but
with thee and only thee.” So the two brothers mounted and, seeking the
dales and leasows, fared on from Wady to Wady and from meadow to
meadow, till they came to a valley abounding in streams and
sweet-smelling flowers and trees laden with all manner eatable fruits,
two of each kind. Birds warbled on the branches their various strains;
the mocking bird trilled out her sweet notes fain and the turtle filled
with her voice the plain. There sang the nightingale, whose chant
arouses the sleeper, and the merle with his note like the voice of man
and the cushat and the ring-dove, whilst the parrot with its eloquent
tongue answered the twain. The valley pleased them and they ate of its
fruits and drank of its waters, after which they sat under the shadow
of its trees till drowsiness overcame them and they slept, glory be to
Him who sleepeth not! As they lay asleep, lo! two fierce Marids swooped
down on them and, taking each one on his shoulders, towered with them
high in air, till they were above the clouds. So Gharib and Sahim awoke
and found themselves betwixt heaven and earth; whereupon they looked at
those who bore them and saw that they were two Marids, the head of the
one being as that of a dog and the head of the other as that of an
ape[FN#23] with hair like horses’ tails and claws like lions’ claws,
and both were big as great palm-trees. When they espied this case, they
exclaimed, “There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah,
the Glorious, the Great!” Now the cause of this was that a certain King
of the Kings of the Jinn, hight Mura’ash, had a son called Sá’ik, who
loved a damsel of the Jinn, named Najmah;[FN#24] and the twain used to
foregather in that Wady under the semblance of two birds. Gharib and
Sahim saw them thus and deeming them birds, shot at them with shafts
but wounding only Sa’ik whose blood flowed. Najmah mourned over him;
then, fearing lest the like calamity befal herself, snatched up her
lover and flew with him to his father’s palace, where she cast him down
at the gate. The warders bore him in and laid him before his sire who,
seeing the pile sticking in his rib exclaimed, “Alas, my son! Who hath
done with thee this thing, that I may lay waste his abiding-place and
hurry on his destruction, though he were the greatest of the Kings of
the Jann?” Thereupon Sa’ik opened his eyes and said, “O my father, none
slew me save a mortal in the Valley of Springs.” Hardly had he made an
end of these words, when his soul departed; whereupon his father
buffeted his face, till the blood streamed from his mouth, and cried
out to two Marids, saying, “Hie ye to the Valley of Springs and bring
me all who are therein.” So they betook themselves to the Wady in
question, where they found Gharib and Sahim asleep, and, snatching them
up, carried them to King Mura’ash.[FN#25]——And Shahrazad perceived the
dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Fifty-first Night,
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the two
Marids, after snatching up Gharib and Sahim in their sleep, carried
them to Mura’ash, king of the Jann, whom they saw seated on the throne
of his kinship, as he were a huge mountain, with four heads on his
body,[FN#26] the first that of a lion, the second that of an elephant,
the third that of a panther, and the fourth that of a lynx. The Marids
set them down before Mura’ash and said to him, “O King, these twain be
they we found in the Valley of Springs.” Thereupon he looked at them
with wrathful eyes and snarked and snorted and shot sparks from his
nostrils, so that all who stood by feared him. Then said he, “O dogs
of mankind, ye have slain my son and lighted fire in my liver.” Quoth
Gharib, “Who is thy son, and who hath seen him?” Quoth Mura’ash, “Were
ye not in the Valley of Springs and did ye not see my son there, in the
guise of a bird, and did ye not shoot at him with wooden bolts that he
died?” Replied Gharib, “I know not who slew him; and, by the virtue of
the Great God, the One, the Immemorial who knoweth things all, and of
Abraham the Friend, we saw no bird, neither slew we bird or beast!”
Now when Mura’ash heard Gharib swear by Allah and His greatness and
by Abraham the Friend, he knew him for a Moslem (he himself being a
worshipper of Fire, not of the All-powerful Sire), so he cried out
to his folk, “Bring me my Goddess.[FN#27]” Accordingly they brought
a brazier of gold and, setting it before him, kindled therein fire
and cast on drugs, whereupon there arose therefrom green and blue
and yellow flames and the King and all who were present prostrated
themselves before the brazier, whilst Gharib and Sahim ceased not to
attest the Unity of Allah Almighty, to cry out “God is Most Great” and
to bear witness to His Omnipotence. Presently, Mura’ash raised his
head and, seeing the two Princes standing in lieu of falling down to
worship, said to them, “O dogs, why do ye not prostrate yourselves?”
Replied Gharib, “Out on you, O ye accursed! Prostration befitteth not
man save to the Worshipful King, who bringeth forth all creatures
into beingness from nothingness and maketh water to well from the
barren rockwell, Him who inclineth heart of sire unto new-born scion
and who may not be described as sitting or standing; _the_ God of
Noah and Salih and Hud and Abraham the Friend, Who created Heaven and
Hell and trees and fruit as well,[FN#28] for He is Allah, the One,
the All-powerful.” When Mura’ash heard this, his eyes sank into his
head[FN#29] and he cried out to his guards, saying, “Pinion me these
two dogs and sacrifice them to my Goddess.” So they bound them and were
about to cast them into the fire when, behold, one of the crenelles
of the palace-parapet fell down upon the brazier and brake it and put
out the fire, which became ashes flying in air. Then quoth Gharib,
“God is Most Great! He giveth aid and victory and He forsaketh those
who deny Him, worshipping Fire and not the Almighty King!” Presently
quoth Mura’ash, “Thou art a sorcerer and hast bewitched my Goddess,
so that this thing hath befallen her.” Gharib replied, “O madman, an
the fire had soul or sense it would have warded off from self all that
hurteth it.” When Mura’ash heard these words, he roared and bellowed
and reviled the Fire, saying, “By my faith, I will not kill you save by
the fire!” Then he bade cast them into gaol; and, calling an hundred
Marids, made them bring much fuel and set fire thereto. So they brought
great plenty of wood and made a huge blaze, which flamed up mightily
till the morning, when Mura’ash mounted an elephant, bearing on its
back a throne of gold dubbed with jewels, and the tribes of the Jinn
gathered about him in their various kinds. Presently they brought in
Gharib and Sahim who, seeing the flaming of the fire, sought help of
the One, the All-conquering Creator of night and day, Him of All-might,
whom no sight comprehendeth, but who comprehendeth all sights, for He
is the Subtle, the All-knowing. And they ceased not humbly beseeching
Him till, behold, a cloud arose from West to East and, pouring down
showers of rain, like the swollen sea, quenched the fire. When the
King saw this, he was affrighted, he and his troops, and entered the
palace, where he turned to the Wazirs and Grandees and said to them,
“How say ye of these two men?” They replied, “O King, had they not been
in the right, this thing had not befallen the fire; wherefore we say
that they be true men which speak sooth.” Rejoined Mura’ash, “Verily
the Truth hath been displayed to me, ay, and the manifest way, and I am
certified that the worship of the fire is false; for, were it goddess,
it had warded off from itself the rain which quenched it and the stone
which broke its brazier and beat it into ashes. Wherefore I believe in
Him Who created the fire and the light and the shade and the heat. And
ye, what say ye?” They answered, “O King, we also hear and follow and
obey.” So the King called for Gharib and embraced him and kissed him
between the eyes and then summoned Sahim; whereupon the bystanders all
crowded to kiss their hands and heads.——And Shahrazad perceived the
dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Fifth-second Night,
She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Mura’ash
and his men found salvation in the Saving Faith, Al-Islam, he called
for Gharib and Sahim and kissed them between the eyes and so did all
the Grandees who crowded to buss their hands and heads. Then Mura’ash
sat down on the throne of his kingship and, seating Gharib on his right
and Sahim on his left hand, said to them, “O mortals, what shall we
say, that we may become Moslems?” Replied Gharib, “Say:—There is no
god but _the_ God, and Abraham is the Friend of God!” So the King and
his folk professed Al-Islam with heart and tongue, and Gharib abode
with them awhile, teaching them the ritual of prayer. But presently he
called to mind his people and sighed, whereupon quoth Mura’ash,
“Verily, trouble is gone and joy and gladness are come.” Quoth Gharib,
“O King, I have many foes and I fear for my folk from them.” Then he
related to him his history with his brother Ajib from first to last,
and the King of the Jinns said, “O King of men, I will send one who
shall bring thee news of thy people, for I will not let thee go till I
have had my fill of thy face.” Then he called two doughty Marids, by
name Kaylaján and Kúraján, and after they had done him homage, he bade
them repair to Al-Yaman and bring him news of Gharib’s army. They
replied, “To hear is to obey,” and departed. Thus far concerning the
brothers; but as regards the Moslems, they arose in the morning and led
by their captains rode to King Gharib’s palace, to do their service to
him; but the eunuchs told them that the King had mounted with his
brother and had ridden forth at peep o’ day. So they made for the
valleys and mountains and followed the track of the Princes, till they
came to the Valley of Springs, where they found their arms cast down
and their two gallant steeds grazing and said, “The King is missing
from this place, by the glory of Abraham the Friend!” Then they mounted
and sought in the valley and the mountains three days, but found no
trace of them; whereupon they began the mourning ceremonies and,
sending for couriers, said to them, “Do ye disperse yourselves about
the cities and sconces and castles, and seek ye news of our King.”
“Harkening and obedience!” cried the couriers, who dispersed hither and
thither each over one of the Seven Climes and sought everywhere for
Gharib, but found no trace of him. Now when the tidings came to Ajib by
his spies that his brother was lost and there was no news of the
missing, he rejoiced and going in to King Ya’arub bin Kahtan, sought of
him aid which he granted and gave him two hundred thousand Amalekites,
wherewith he set out for Al-Yaman and sat down before the city of Oman.
Jamrkan and Sa’adan sallied forth and offered him battle, and there
were slain of the Moslems much folk, so the True Believers retired into
the city and shut the gates and manned the walls. At this moment came
up the two Marids Kaylajan and Kurajan and, seeing the Moslem
beleaguered waited till nightfall, when they fell upon the miscreants
and plied them with sharp swords of the swords of the Jinn, each twelve
cubits long, if a man smote therewith a rock, verily he would cleave it
in sunder. They charged the Idolaters, shouting, “Allaho Akbar! God is
Most Great! He giveth aid and victory and forsaketh those who deny the
Faith of Abraham the Friend!” and whilst they raged amongst the foes,
fire issued from their mouths and nostrils, and they made great
slaughter amongst them. Thereupon the Infidels ran out of their tents
offering battle but, seeing these strange things, were confounded and
their hair stood on end and their reason fled. So they snatched up
their arms and fell one upon other, whilst the Marids shore off their
heads, as a reaper eareth grain, crying, “God is Most Great! We are the
lads of King Gharib, the friend of Mura’ash, King of the Jinn!” The
sword ceased not to go round amongst them till the night was half
spent, when the Misbelievers, imagining that the mountains were all
Ifrits, loaded their tents and treasure and baggage upon camels and
made off; and the first to fly was Ajib.——And Shahrazad perceived the
dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Fifty-third Night,
She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the
Misbelievers made off and the first to fly was Ajib. Thereupon the
Moslems gathered together, marvelling at this that had betided the
Infidels and fearing the tribesmen of the Jinn. But the Marids ceased
not from pursuit, till they had driven them far away into the hills and
words; and but fifty thousand Rebels[FN#30] of two hundred thousand
escaped with their lives and made for their own land, wounded and sore
discomfited. Then the two Jinns returned and said to them, “O host of
the Moslems, your lord King Gharib and his brother Sahim salute you;
they are the guests of Mura’ash, King of the Jann, and will be with you
anon.” When Gharib’s men heard that he was safe and well, they joyed
with exceeding joy and said to the Marids, “Allah gladden you twain
with good news, O noble spirits!” So Kurajan and Kaylajan returned to
Mura’ash and Gharib; and acquainted them with that which had happened,
whereat Gharib finding the two sitting together felt heart at ease and
said, “Allah abundantly requite you!” Then quoth King Mura’ash, “O my
brother, I am minded to show thee our country and the city of
Japhet[FN#31] son of Noah (on whom be peace!)” Quoth Gharib, “O King,
do what seemeth good to thee.” So he called for three noble steeds and
mounting, he and Gharib and Sahim, set out with a thousand Marids, as
they were a piece of a mountain cloven lengthwise. They fared on,
solacing themselves with the sight of valleys and mountains, till they
came to Jabarsá,[FN#32] the city of Japhet son of Noah (on whom be
peace!) where the townsfolk all, great and small, came forth to meet
King Mura’ash and brought them into the city in great state. Then
Mura’ash went up to the palace of Japhet son of Noah and sat down on
the throne of his kingship, which was of alabaster, ten stages high and
latticed with wands of gold wherefrom hung all manner coloured silks.
The people of the city stood before him and he said to them, “O seed of
Yafis bin Nuh, what did your fathers and grandfathers worship?” They
replied, “We found them worshipping Fire and followed their example, as
thou well knowest.” “O folk,” rejoined Mura’ash, “we have been shown
that the fire is but one of the creatures of Almighty Allah, Creator of
all things; and when we knew this, we submitted ourselves to God, the
One, the All-powerful, Maker of night and day and the sphere revolving
alway, Whom comprehendeth no sight, but Who comprehendeth all sights,
for He is the Subtle, the All-wise. So seek ye Salvation and ye shall
be saved from the wrath of the Almighty One and from the fiery doom in
the world to come.” And they embraced Al-Islam with heart and tongue.
Then Mura’ash took Gharib by the hand and showed him the palace and its
ordinance and all the marvels it contained, till they came to the
armoury, wherein were the arms of Japhet son of Noah. Here Gharib saw a
sword hanging to a pin of gold and asked, “O King, whose is that?”
Mura’ash answered, “’Tis the sword of Yafis bin Nuh, wherewith he was
wont to do battle against men and Jinn. The sage Jardúm forged it and
graved on its back names of might.[FN#33] It is named Al-Máhík the
Annihilator for that it never descendeth upon a man, but it
annihilateth him, nor upon a Jinni, but it crusheth him; and if one
smote therewith a mountain ’twould overthrow it.” When Gharib heard
tell of the virtues of the sword, he said, “I desire to look on this
blade;” and Mura’ash said, “Do as thou wilt.” So Gharib put out his
hand, and, hending the sword, drew it from its sheath; whereupon it
flashed and Death crept on its edge and glittered; and it was twelve
spans long and three broad. Now Gharib wished to become owner of it,
and King Mura’ash said, “An thou canst smite with it, take it.” “’Tis
well,” Gharib replied, and took it up, and it was in his hand as a
staff; wherefore all who were present, men and Jinn, marvelled and
said, “Well done, O Prince of Knights!” Then said Mura’ash “Lay thy
hand on this hoard for which the Kings of the earth sigh in vain, and
mount, that I may show thee the city.” Then they took horse and rode
forth the palace, with men and Jinns attending them on foot,——And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted
say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Fifty-fourth Night,
She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Gharib
and King Mura’ash rode forth the palace of Japhet, with men and Jinns
attending them on foot, they passed through the streets and
thoroughfares of the town, by palaces and deserted mansions and gilded
doorways, till they issued from the gates and entered gardens full of
trees fruit-bearing and waters welling and birds speaking and
celebrating the praises of Him to whom belong Majesty and Eternity; nor
did they cease to solace themselves in the land till nightfall, when
they returned to the palace of Japhet son of Noah and they brought them
the table of food. So they ate and Gharib turned to the King of the
Jann and said to him, “O King, I would fain return to my folk and my
force; for I know not their plight after me.” Replied Mura’ash, “By
Allah, O my brother, I will not part with thee for a full month, till I
have had my fill of thy sight.” Now Gharib could not say nay, so he
abode with him in the city of Japhet, eating and drinking and making
merry, till the month ended, when Mura’ash gave him great store of gems
and precious ores, emeralds and balass-rubies, diamonds and other
jewels, ingots of gold and silver and likewise ambergris and musk and
brocaded silks and else of rarities and things of price. Moreover he
clad him and Sahim in silken robes of honour gold inwoven and set on
Gharib’s head a crown jewelled with pearls and diamonds of inestimable
value. All these treasures he made up into even loads for him and,
calling five hundred Marids, said to them, “Get ye ready to travel on
the morrow, that we may bring King Gharib and Sahim back to their own
country.” And they answered, “We hear and we obey.” So they passed the
night in the city, purposing to depart on the morrow, but, next
morning, as they were about to set forth behold, they espied a great
host advancing upon the city, with horses neighing and kettle-drums
beating and trumpets braying and riders filling the earth for they
numbered threescore and ten thousand Marids, flying and diving, under a
King called Barkán. Now this Barkan was lord of the City of Carnelian
and the Castle of Gold and under his rule were five hill-strongholds,
in each five hundred thousand Marids; and he and his tribe worshipped
the Fire, not the Omnipotent Sire. He was a cousin of Mura’ash, the son
of his father’s brother, and the cause of his coming was that there had
been among the subjects of King Mura’ash a misbelieving Marid, who
professed Al-Islam hypocritically, and he stole away from his people
and made for the Valley of Carnelian, where he went in to King Barkan
and, kissing the earth before him, wished him abiding glory and
prosperity. Then he told him of Mura’ash being converted to Al-Islam,
and Barkan said, “How came he to tear himself away from his
faith[FN#34]?” So the rebel told him what had passed and, when Barkan
heard it, he snorted and snarked and railed at Sun and Moon and
sparkling Fire, saying, “By the virtue of my faith, I will surely slay
mine uncle’s son and his people and this mortal, nor will I leave one
of them alive!” Then he cried out to the legions of the Jinn and
choosing of them seventy thousand Marids, set out and fared on till he
came to Jabarsá[FN#35] the city of Japhet and encamped before its
gates. When Mura’ash saw this, he despatched a Marid, saying, “Go to
this host and learn all that it wanteth and return hither in haste.” So
the messenger rushed away to Barkan’s camp, where the Marids flocked to
meet him and said to him, “Who art thou?” Replied he, “An envoy from
King Mura’ash;” whereupon they carried him in to Barkan, before whom he
prostrated himself, saying, “O my lord, my master hath sent me to thee,
to learn tidings of thee.” Quoth Barkan, “Return to thy lord and say to
him, ‘This is thy cousin Barkan, who is come to salute thee.’”— And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted
say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Fifty-fifth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
Marid-envoy of Mura’ash was borne before Barkan and said to him, “O my
lord, my master hath sent me to thee to learn tidings of thee,” Barkan
replied, “Return to thy lord and say to him, ‘This is thy cousin Barkan
who is come to salute thee!’” So the messenger went back and told
Mura’ash, who said to Gharib, “Sit thou on thy throne whilst I go and
salute my cousin and return to thee.” Then he mounted and rode to the
camp of his uncle’s son. Now this was a trick[FN#36] of Barkan, to
bring Mura’ash out and seize upon him, and he said to his Marids, whom
he had stationed about him, “When ye see me embrace him,[FN#37] lay
hold of him and pinion him.” And they replied, “To hear is to obey.”
So, when King Mura’ash came up and entered Barkan’s pavilion, the owner
rose to him and threw his arms round his neck; whereat the Jann fell
upon Mura’ash and pinioned him and chained him. Mura’ash looked at
Barkan and said, “What manner of thing is this?” Quoth Barkan, “O dog
of the Jann, wilt thou leave the faith of thy fathers and grandfathers
and enter a faith thou knowest not?” Rejoined Mura’ash, “O son of my
uncle, indeed I have found the faith of Abraham the Friend to be the
True Faith and all other than it vain.” Asked Barkan, “And who told
thee of this?”; and Mura’ash answered, “Gharib, King of Irak, whom I
hold in the highest honour.” “By the right of the Fire and the Light
and the Shade and the Heat,” cried Barkan, “I will assuredly slay both
thee and him!” And he cast him into gaol. Now when Mura’ash’s henchman
saw what had befallen his lord, he fled back to the city and told the
King’s legionaries who cried out and mounted. Quoth Gharib, “What is
the matter?” And they told him all that had passed, whereupon he cried
out to Sahim, “Saddle me one of the chargers that King Mura’ash gave
me.” Said Sahim, “O my brother, wilt thou do battle with the Jinn?”
Gharib replied, “Yes, I will fight them with the sword of Japhet son of
Noah, seeking help of the Lord of Abraham the Friend (on whom be the
Peace!); for He is the Lord of all things and sole Creator!” So Sahim
saddled him a sorrel horse of the horses of the Jinn, as he were a
castle strong among castles, and he armed and mounting, rode out with
the legions of the Jinn, hauberk’d cap-à-pie. Then Barkan and his host
mounted also and the two hosts drew out in lines facing each other. The
first to open the gate of war was Gharib, who drave his steed into the
mid-field and bared the enchanted blade, whence issued a glittering
light that dazzled the eyes of all the Jinn and struck terror to their
hearts. Then he played[FN#38] with the sword till their wits were
wildered, and cried out, saying, “Allaho Akbar! I am Gharib, King of
Irak. There is no Faith save the Faith of Abraham the Friend!” Now when
Barkan heard Gharib’s words, he said, “This is he who seduced my cousin
from his religion; so, by the virtue of my faith, I will not sit down
on my throne till I have decapitated this Gharib and suppressed his
breath of life and forced my cousin and his people back to their
belief: and whoso baulketh me, him will I destroy.” Then he mounted an
elephant paper-white as he were a tower plastered with gypsum, and
goaded him with a spike of steel which ran deep into his flesh,
whereupon the elephant trumpeted and made for the battle-plain where
cut and thrust obtain; and, when he drew near Gharib, he cried out to
him, saying, “O dog of mankind, what made thee come into our land, to
debauch my cousin and his folk and pervert them from one faith to other
faith. Know that this day is the last of thy worldly days.” Gharib
replied, “Avaunt,[FN#39] O vilest of the Jann!” Therewith Barkan drew
a javelin and making it quiver[FN#40] in his hand, cast it at Gharib;
but it missed him. So he hurled a second javelin at him; but Gharib
caught it in mid-air and after poising it launched it at the elephant.
It smote him on the flank and came out on the other side, whereupon the
beast fell to the earth dead and Barkan was thrown to the ground, like
a great palm-tree. Before he could stir, Gharib smote him with the flat
of Japhet’s blade on the nape of the neck, and he fell upon the earth
in a fainting-fit; whereupon the Marids swooped down on him and
surrounding him pinioned his elbows. When Barkan’s people saw their
king a prisoner, they drove at the others, seeking to rescue him, but
Gharib and the Islamised Jinn fell upon them and gloriously done for
Gharib! indeed that day he pleased the Lord who answereth prayer and
slaked his vengeance with the talisman-sword! Whomsoever he smote, he
clove him in sunder and before his soul could depart he became a heap
of ashes in the fire; whilst the two hosts of the Jinn shot each other
with flamy meteors till the battle-field was wrapped in smoke. And
Gharib tourneyed right and left among the Kafirs who gave way before
him, till he came to King Barkan’s pavilion, with Kaylajan and Kurajan
on his either hand, and cried out to them, “Loose your lord!” So they
unbound Mura’ash and broke his fetters and——And Shahrazad perceived the
dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Fifty-sixth Night,
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when King
Gharib cried out to Kaylajan and Kurajan, saying, “Loose your lord!”,
they unbound Mura’ash and broke his fetters, and he said to them,
“Bring me my arms and my winged horse.” Now he had two flying steeds,
one of which he had given to Gharib and the other he had kept for
himself; and this he mounted after he had donned his battle-harness.
Then he and Gharib fell upon the enemy, flying through the air on their
winged horses, and the true-believing Jinn followed them, shouting
“Allaho Akbar—God is Most Great!”—till plains and hills, valleys and
mountains re-worded the cry. The Infidels fled before them and they
returned, after having slain more than thirty thousand Marids and
Satans, to the city of Japhet, where the two Kings sat down on their
couches of estate and sought Barkan, but found him not; for after
capturing him they were diverted from him by stress of battle, where an
Ifrit of his servants made his way to him and loosing him, carried him
to his folk, of whom he found part slain and the rest in full flight.
So he flew up with the King high in air and sat him down in the City of
Carnelian and Castle of Gold, where Barkan seated himself on the throne
of his kingship. Presently, those of his people who had survived the
affair came in to him and gave him joy of his safety; and he said, “O
folk, where is safety? My army is slain and they took me prisoner and
have rent in pieces mine honour among the tribes of the Jann.” Quoth
they, “O King, ’tis ever thus that kings still afflict and are
afflicted.” Quoth he, “There is no help but I take my wreak and wipe
out my shame, else shall I be for ever disgraced among the tribes of
the Jann.” Then he wrote letters to the Governors of his fortresses,
who came to him right loyally and, when he reviewed them, he found
three hundred and twenty thousand fierce Marids and Satans, who said to
him, “What is thy need?” And he replied, “Get ye ready to set out in
three days’ time;” whereto they rejoined “Harkening and obedience!” On
this wise it befel King Barkan; but as regards Mura’ash, when he
discovered his prisoner’s escape, it was grievous to him and he said,
“Had we set an hundred Marids to guard him, he had not fled; but
whither shall he go from us?” Then said he to Gharib, “Know, O my
brother, that Barkan is perfidious and will never rest from wreaking
blood-revenge on us, but will assuredly assemble his legions and return
to attack us; wherefore I am minded to forestall him and follow the
trail of his defeat, whilst he is yet weakened thereby.” Replied
Gharib, “This is the right rede, and will best serve our need;” and
Mura’ash, said, “Oh my brother, let the Marids bear thee back to thine
own country and leave me to fight the battles of the Faith against the
Infidels, that I may be lightened of my sin-load.” But Gharib rejoined
“By the virtue of the Clement, the Bountiful, the Veiler, I will not go
hence till I do to death all the misbelieving Jinn; and Allah hasten
their souls to the fire and dwelling-place dire; and none shall be
saved but those who worship Allah the One, the Victorious! But do thou
send Sahim back to the city of Oman, so haply he may be healed of his
ailment.” For Sahim was sick. So Mura’ash cried to the Marids, saying,
“Take ye up Sahim and these treasures and bear them to Oman city.” And
after replying, “We hear and we obey,” they took them and made for the
land of men. Then Mura’ash wrote letters to all his Governors and
Captains of fortresses and they came to him with an hundred and sixty
thousand warriors. So they made them ready and departed for the City of
Carnelian and the Castle of Gold, covering in one day a year’s journey
and halted in a valley, where they encamped and passed the night. Next
morning as they were about to set forth, behold, the vanguard of
Barkan’s army appeared, whereupon the Jinn cried out and the two hosts
met and fell each upon other in that valley. Then the engagement was
dight and there befel a sore fight as though an earthquake shook the
site and fair plight waxed foul plight. Earnest came and jest took
flight, and parley ceased ’twixt wight and wight,[FN#41] whilst long
lives were cut short in a trice and the Unbelievers fell into disgrace
and despite; for Gharib charged them, proclaiming the Unity of the
Worshipful, the All-might and shore through necks and left heads
rolling in the dust; nor did night betide before nigh seventy thousand
of the Miscreants were slain, and of the Moslemised over ten thousand
Marids had fallen. Then the kettle-drums beat the retreat, and the two
hosts drew apart,——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
saying her permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Fifty-seventh Night,
She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the two
hosts drew apart, Gharib and Mura’ash returned to their tents, after
wiping their weapons, and supper being set before them, they ate and
gave each other joy of their safety, and the loss of their Marids being
so small. As for Barkan, he returned to his tent, grieving for the
slaughter of his champions, and said to his officers, “O folk, an we
tarry here and do battle with them on this wise in three days’ time we
shall be cut off to the last wight.” Quoth they, “And how shall we do,
O King?” Quoth Barkan, “We will fall upon them under cover of night
whilst they are deep in sleep, and not one of them shall be left to
tell the tale. So take your arms and when I give the word of command,
attack and fall on your enemies as one.” Now there was amongst them a
Marid named Jandal whose heart inclined to Al-Islam; so, when he heard
the Kafirs’ plot, he stole away from them and going in to King Mura’ash
and King Gharib, told the twain what Barkan had devised; whereupon
Mura’ash turned to Gharib and said to him, “O my brother, what shall we
do?” Gharib replied, “To-night we will fall upon the Miscreants and
chase them into the wilds and the wolds if it be the will of the
Omnipotent King.” Then he summoned the Captains of the Jann and said to
them, “Arm yourselves, you and yours; and, as soon as ’tis dark, steal
out of your tents on foot, hundreds after hundreds, and lie in ambush
among the mountains; and when ye see the enemy engaged among the tents,
do ye fall upon them from all quarters. Hearten your hearts and rely on
your Lord, and ye shall certainly conquer; and behold, I am with you!”
So, as soon as it was dark Night, the Infidels attacked the camp,
invoking aid of the fire and light; but when they came among the tents,
the Moslems fell upon them, calling for help on the Lord of the Worlds
and saying, “O Most Merciful of Mercifuls, O Creator of all createds!”
till they left them like mown grass, cut down and dead. Nor did morning
dawn before the most part of the unbelievers were species without souls
and the rest made for the wastes and marshes, whilst Gharib and
Mura’ash returned triumphant and victorious; and, making prize of the
enemy’s baggage, they rested till the morrow, when they set out for the
City of Carnelian and Castle of Gold. As for Barkan, when the battle
had turned against him and most of his lieges were slain, he fled
through the dark with the remnant of his power to his capital where he
entered his palace and assembling his legionaries said to them, “O
folk, whoso hath aught of price, let him take it and follow me to the
Mountain Káf, to the Blue King, lord of the Pied Palace; for he it is
who shall avenge us.” So they took their women and children and goods
and made for the Caucasus-mountain. Presently Mura’ash and Gharib
arrived at the City of Carnelian and Castle of Gold to find the gates
open and none left to give them news; whereupon they entered and
Mura’ash led Gharib that he might show him the city, whose walls were
builded of emeralds and its gates of red carnelian, with studs of
silver, and the terrace-roofs of its houses and mansions reposed upon
beams of lign-aloes and sandal-wood. So they took their pleasure in its
streets and alleys, till they came to the Palace of Gold and entering
passed through seven vestibules, when they drew near to a building,
whose walls were of royal balass-rubies and its pavement of emerald and
jacinth. The two Kings were astounded at the goodliness of the place
and fared on from vestibule to vestibule, till they had passed through
the seventh and happened upon the inner court of the palace wherein
they saw four daïses, each different from the others, and in the midst
a jetting fount of red gold, compassed about with golden lions,[FN#42]
from whose mouths issued water. These were things to daze man’s wit.
The estrade at the upper end was hung and carpeted with brocaded silks
of various colours and thereon stood two thrones of red gold, inlaid
with pearls and jewels. So Mura’ash and Gharib sat down on Barkan’s
thrones and held high state in the Palace of Gold.— And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Fifty-eighth Night,
She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Mura’ash and
Gharib took seat on Barkan’s thrones and held high state. Then said
Gharib to Mura’ash, “What thinkest thou to do?” And Mura’ash replied,
“O King of mankind, I have despatched an hundred horse to learn where
Barkan is, that we may pursue him.” Then they abode three days in the
palace, till the scouting Marids returned with the news that Barkan had
fled to the Mountain Kaf and craved protection of the Blue King who
granted it; whereupon quoth Mura’ash to Gharib, “What sayest thou, O
my brother?” and quoth Gharib, “Except we attack them they will attack
us.” So they bade the host make ready for departure and after three
days, they were about to set out with their troops, when the Marids,
who had carried Sahim and the presents back to Oman, returned and
kissed ground before Gharib. He questioned them of his people and they
replied, “After the last affair, thy brother Ajib, leaving Ya’arub bin
Kahtan, fled to the King of Hind and, submitting his case, sought his
protection. The King granted his prayer and writing letters to all his
governors, levied an army as it were the surging sea, having neither
beginning nor end, wherewith he purposeth to invade Al-Irak and lay
it waste.” When Gharib heard this, he said, “Perish the Misbelievers!
Verily, Allah Almighty shall give the victory to Al-Islam and I will
soon show them hew and foin.” Said Mura’ash, “O King of humans, by the
virtue of the Mighty Name, I must needs go with thee to thy kingdom
and destroy thy foes and bring thee to thy wish.” Gharib thanked him
and they rested on this resolve till the morrow, when they set out,
intending for Mount Caucasus and marched many days till they reached
the City of Alabaster and the Pied Palace. Now this city was fashioned
of alabaster and precious stones by Bárik bin Fáki’, father of the
Jinn, and he also founded the Pied Palace, which was so named because
edified with one brick of gold alternating with one of silver, nor was
there builded aught like it in all the world. When they came within
half a day’s journey of the city, they halted to take their rest, and
Mura’ash sent out to reconnoitre a scout who returned and said, “O
King, within the City of Alabaster are legions of the Jinn, for number
as the leaves of the trees or as the drops of rain.” So Mura’ash said
to Gharib, “How shall we do, O King of Mankind?” He replied, “O King,
divide your men into four bodies and encompass with them the camp of
the Infidels; then, in the middle of the Night, let them cry out,
saying, ‘God is Most Great!’ and withdraw and watch what happeneth
among the tribes of the Jinn.” So Mura’ash did as Gharib counselled
and the troops waited till midnight, when they encircled the foe and
shouted “Allaho Akbar! Ho for the Faith of Abraham the Friend, on whom
be the Peace!” The Misbelievers at this cry awoke in affright and
snatching up their arms, fell one upon other till the morning, when
most part of them were dead bodies and but few remained. Then Gharib
cried out to the True Believers, saying, “Up and at the remnant of
the Kafirs! Behold I am with you, and Allah is your helper!” So the
Moslems drave at the enemy and Gharib bared his magical blade Al-Mahik
and fell upon the foe, lopping off noses and making heads wax hoary
and whole ranks turn tail. At last he came up with Barkan and smote
him and bereft him of life and he fell down, drenched in his blood.
On like wise he did with the Blue King, and by undurn-hour not one of
the Kafirs was left alive to tell the tale. Then Gharib and Mura’ash
entered the Pied Palace and found its walls builded of alternate
courses of gold and silver, with door-sills of crystal and keystones
of greenest emerald. In its midst was a fountain adorned with bells
and pendants and figures of birds and beasts spouting forth water, and
thereby a daïs[FN#43] furnished with gold-brocaded silk, bordered or
embroidered with jewels: and they found the treasures of the palace
past count or description. Then they entered the women’s court, where
they came upon a magnificent serraglio and Gharib saw, among the Blue
King’s woman-folk a girl clad in a dress worth a thousand dinars,
never had he beheld a goodlier. About her were an hundred slave-girls,
upholding her train with golden hooks, and she was in their midst as
the moon among stars. When he saw her, his reason was confounded and
he said to one of the waiting-women, “Who may be yonder maid?” Quoth
they, “This is the Blue King’s daughter, Star o’ Morn.”——And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Fifty-ninth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Gharib asked
the slave-women saying, “Who may be yonder maid,” they replied, “This
is Star o’ Morn, daughter to the Blue King.” Then Gharib turned to
Mura’ash and said to him, “O King of the Jinn, I have a mind to take
yonder damsel to wife.” Replied Mura’ash, “The palace and all that
therein is, live stock and dead, are the prize of thy right hand; for,
hadst thou not devised a stratagem to destroy the Blue King and Barkan,
they had cut us off to the last one: wherefore the treasure is thy
treasure and the folk thy thralls.” Gharib thanked him for his fair
speech and going up to the girl, gazed steadfastly upon her and loved
her with exceeding love, forgetting Fakhr Taj the Princess and even
Mahdiyah. Now her mother was the Chinese King’s daughter whom the Blue
King had carried off from her palace and perforce deflowered, and she
conceived by him and bare this girl, whom he named Star o’ Morn, by
reason of her beauty and loveliness; for she was the very Princess of
the Fair. Her mother died when she was a babe of forty days, and the
nurses and eunuchs reared her, till she reached the age of seventeen;
but she hated her sire and rejoiced in his slaughter. So Gharib put his
palm to hers[FN#44] and went in unto her that night and found her a
virgin. Then he bade pull down the Pied Palace and divided the spoil
with the true-believing Jinn, and there fell to his share
one-and-twenty thousand bricks of gold and silver and money and
treasure beyond speech and count. Then Mura’ash took Gharib and showed
him the Mountain Kaf and all its marvels; after which they returned to
Barkan’s fortress and dismantled it and shared the spoil thereof. Then
they repaired to Mura’ash’s capital, where they tarried five days, when
Gharib sought to revisit his native country and Mura’ash said, “O King
of mankind, I will ride at thy stirrup and bring thee to thine own
land.” Replied Gharib, “No, by the virtue of Abraham the Friend, I will
not suffer thee to weary thyself thus, nor will I take any of the Jinn
save Kaylajan and Kurajan.” Quoth the King, “Take with thee ten
thousand horsemen of the Jinn, to serve thee;” but quoth Gharib, “I
will take only as I said to thee.” So Mura’ash bade a thousand Marids
carry him to his native land, with his share of the spoil; and he
commanded Kaylajan and Kurajan to follow him and obey him; and they
answered, “Hearkening and obedience.” Then said Gharib to the Marids,
“Do ye carry the treasure and Star o’ Morn;” for he himself thought to
ride his flying steed. But Mura’ash said to him, “This horse, O my
brother, will live only in our region, and, if it come upon man’s
earth, ’twill die: but I have in my stables a sea-horse, whose fellow
is not found in Al-Irak, no, nor in all the world is its like.” So he
caused bring forth the horse, and when Gharib saw it, it interposed
between him and his wits.[FN#45] Then they bound it and Kaylajan bore
it on his shoulders and Kurajan took what he could carry. And Mura’ash
embraced Gharib and wept for parting from him, saying, “O my brother,
if aught befal thee wherein thou art powerless, send for me and I will
come to thine aid with an army able to lay waste the whole earth and
what is thereon.” Gharib thanked him for his kindness and zeal for the
True Faith and took leave of him; whereupon the Marids set out with
Gharib and his goods; and, after traversing fifty years’ journey in two
days and a night, alighted near the city of Oman and halted to take
rest. Then Gharib sent out Kaylajan, to learn news of his people, and
he returned and said, “O King, the city is beleaguered by a host of
Infidels, as they were the surging sea, and thy people are fighting
them. The drums beat to battle and Jamrkan goeth forth as champion in
the field.” When Gharib heard this, he cried aloud, “God is Most
Great!” and said to Kaylajan, “Saddle me the steed and bring me my arms
and spear; for to-day the valiant shall be known from the coward in the
place of war and battle-stead.” So Kaylajan brought him all he sought
and Gharib armed and belting in baldrick Al-Mahik, mounted the sea
horse and made toward the hosts. Quoth Kaylajan and Kurajan to him, “Set
thy heart at rest and let us go to the Kafirs and scatter them abroad
in the wastes and wilds till, by the help of Allah, the All-powerful,
we leave not a soul alive, no, not a blower of the fire.” But Gharib
said “By the virtue of Abraham the Friend, I will not let you fight
them without me and behold, I mount!” Now the cause of the coming of
that great host was right marvellous.[FN#46]——And Shahrazad perceived
the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Sixtieth Night,
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Gharib
had bidden Kaylajan go and learn news of his people, the Jinn fared
forth and presently returning said, “Verily around thy city is a mighty
host!” Now the cause of its coming was that Ajib, having fled the field
after Ya’arub’s army had been put to the rout, said to his people, “O
folk, if we return to Ya’arub bin Kahtan, he will say to us, ‘But for
you, my son and my people had not been slain; and he will put us to
death, even to the last man.’ Wherefore, methinks we were better go to
Tarkanán, King of Hind, and beseech him to avenge us.” Replied they,
“Come, let us go thither; and the blessing of the Fire be upon thee!”
So they fared days and nights till they reached King Tarkanan’s capital
city and, after asking and obtaining permission to present himself,
Ajib went in to him and kissed ground before him. Then he wished him
what men use to wish to monarchy and said to him, “O King, protect me,
so may protect thee the sparkling Fire and the Night with its thick
darkness!” Tarkanan looked at Ajib and asked, “Who art thou and what
dost thou want?”; to which the other answered, “I am Ajib King of
Al-Irak; my brother hath wronged me and gotten the mastery of the land
and the subjects have submitted themselves to him. Moreover, he hath
embraced the faith of Al-Islam and he ceaseth not to chase me from
country to country; and behold, I am come to seek protection of thee
and thy power.” When Tarkanan heard Ajib’s words, he rose and sat down
and cried, “By the virtue of the Fire, I will assuredly avenge thee and
will let none serve other than my goddess the Fire!” And he called
aloud to his son, saying, “O my son, make ready to go to Al-Irak and
lay it waste and bind all who serve aught but the Fire and torment them
and make example of them; yet slay them not, but bring them to me, that
I may ply them with various tortures and make them taste the bitterness
of humiliation and leave them a warning to whoso will be warned in this
our while.” Then he chose out to accompany him eighty thousand fighting
men on horseback and the like number on giraffes,[FN#47] besides ten
thousand elephants, bearing on their backs seats[FN#48] of sandal-wood,
latticed with golden rods, plated and studded with gold and silver and
shielded with pavoises of gold and emerald; moreover he sent good store
of war-chariots, in each eight men fighting with all kinds of weapons.
Now the Prince’s name was Ra’ad Sháh,[FN#49] and he was the champion of
his time, for prowess having no peer. So he and his army equipped them
in ten days’ time, then set out, as they were a bank of clouds, and
fared on two months’ journey, till they came upon Oman city and
encompassed it, to the joy of Ajib, who thought himself assured of
victory. Jamrkan and Sa’adan and all their fighting-men sallied forth
into the field of fight whilst the kettle-drums beat to battle and the
horses neighed. At this moment up came King Gharib, who, as we have
said, had been warned by Kaylajan; and he urged on his destrier and
entered among the Infidels waiting to see who should come forth and
open the chapter of war. Then out rushed Sa’adan the Ghul and offered
combat, whereupon there issued forth to him one of the champions of
Hind; but Sa’adan scarce let him take stand in front ere he smote him
with his mace and crushed his bones and stretched him on the ground;
and so did he with a second and a third, till he had slain thirty
fighting-men. Then there dashed out at him an Indian cavalier, by name
Battásh al-Akrán,[FN#50] uncle to King Tarkanan and of his day the
doughtiest man, reckoned worth five thousand horse in battle-plain and
cried out to Sa’adan, saying, “O thief of the Arabs, hath thy daring
reached that degree that thou shouldst slay the Kings of Hind and their
champions and capture their horsemen? But this day is the last of thy
worldly days.” When Sa’adan heard these words, his eyes waxed blood-red
and he drave at Battash and aimed a stroke at him with his club; but he
evaded it and the force of the blow bore Sa’adan to the ground; and
before he could recover himself, the Indians pinioned him and haled him
off to their tents. Now when Jamrkan saw his comrade a prisoner, he
cried out, saying, “Ho for the Faith of Abraham the Friend!” and
clapping heel to his horse, ran at Battash. They wheeled about awhile,
till Battash charged Jamrkan and catching him by his jerkin[FN#51] tare
him from his saddle and cast him to the ground; whereupon the Indians
bound him and dragged him away to their tents. And Battash ceased not
to overcome all who came out to him, Captain after Captain till he had
made prisoners of four-and-twenty Chiefs of the Moslems, whereat the
True Believers were sore dismayed. When Gharib saw what had befallen
his braves, he drew from beneath his knee[FN#52] a mace of gold
weighing six-score pounds which had belonged to Barkan King of the
Jann——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Sixty-first Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Gharib
beheld what had befallen his braves he drew forth a golden mace which
had belonged to Barkan King of the Jann and clapped heel to his
sea-horse, which bore him like the wind-gust into mid-field. Then he
let drive at Battash, crying out, “God is Most Great! He giveth aid and
victory and He abaseth whoso reject the Faith of Abraham the Friend!”
and smote him with the mace, whereupon he fell to the ground and
Gharib, turning to the Moslems, saw his brother Sahim and said to him,
“Pinion me this hound.” When Sahim heard his brother’s words, he ran to
Battash and bound him hard and fast and bore him off, whilst the Moslem
braves wondered who this knight could be and the Indians said one to
other, “Who is this horseman which came out from among them and hath
taken our Chief prisoner?” Meanwhile Gharib continued to offer battle
and there issued forth to him a captain of the Hindís whom he felled to
earth with his mace, and Kaylajan and Kurajan pinioned him and
delivered him over to Sahim; nor did Gharib leave to do thus, till he
had taken prisoner two-and-fifty of the doughtiest Captains of the army
of Hind. Then the day came to an end and the kettle-drums beat the
retreat; whereupon Gharib left the field and rode towards the Moslem
camp. The first to meet him was Sahim, who kissed his feet in the
stirrups and said, “May thy hand never wither, O champion of the age!
Tell us who thou art among the braves.” So Gharib raised his vizor of
mail and Sahim knew him and cried out, saying, “This is your King and
your lord Gharib, who is come back from the land of the Jann!” When the
Moslems heard Gharib’s name, they threw themselves off their horses’
backs, and, crowding about him, kissed his feet in the stirrups and
saluted him, rejoicing in his safe return. Then they carried him into
the city of Oman, where he entered his palace and sat down on the
throne of his kingship, whilst his officers stood around him in the
utmost joy. Food was set on and they ate, after which Gharib related to
them all that had betided him with the Jinn in Mount Kaf, and they
marvelled thereat with exceeding marvel and praised Allah for his
safety. Then he dismissed them to their sleeping places; so they
withdrew to their several lodgings, and when none abode with him but
Kaylajan and Kurajan, who never left him, he said to them, “Can ye
carry me to Cufa that I may take my pleasure in my Harim, and bring me
back before the end of the night?” They replied, “O our lord, this thou
askest is easy.” Now the distance between Cufa and Oman is sixty days’
journey for a diligent horseman, and Kaylajan said to Kurajan, “I will
carry him going and thou coming back.” So he took up Gharib and flew
off with him, in company with Kurajan; nor was an hour past before they
set him down at the gate of his palace, in Cufa. He went in to his
uncle Al-Damigh, who rose to him and saluted him; after which quoth
Gharib, “How is it with my wives Fakhr Taj[FN#53] and Mahdiyah?”
Al-Damigh answered, “They are both well and in good case.” Then the
eunuch went in and acquainted the women of the Harim with Gharib’s
coming, whereat they rejoiced and raised the trill of joy and gave him
the reward for good news. Presently in came King Gharib, and they rose
and saluting him, conversed with him, till Al-Damigh entered, when
Gharib related to them all that had befallen him in the land of the
Jinn, whereat they all marvelled. Then he lay with Fakhr Taj till near
daybreak, when he took leave of his wives and his uncle and mounted
Kurajan’s back, nor was the darkness dispelled before the two Marids
set him down in the city of Oman. Then he and his men armed and he bade
open the gates when, behold, up came a horseman from the host of the
Indians, with Jamrkan and Sa’adan and the rest of the captive captains
whom he had delivered, and committed them to Gharib. The Moslems,
rejoicing in their safety, donned their mails and took horse, while the
kettle-drums beat a point of war; and the Miscreants also drew up in
line.——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Sixty-second Night,
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
Moslem host mounted and rode to the plain of cut and thrust, the first
to open the door of war was King Gharib who, drawing his sword
Al-Mahik, drove his charger between the two ranks and cried out,
saying, “Whoso knoweth me hath enough of my mischief and whoso
unknoweth me, to him I will make myself known. I am Gharib, King of
Al-Irak and Al-Yaman, brother of Ajib.” When Ra’ad Shah, son of the
King of Hind, heard this, he shouted to his captains, “Bring me Ajib.”
So they brought him and Ra’ad Shah said to him, “Thou wottest that this
quarrel is thy quarrel and thou art the cause of all this slaughter.
Now yonder standeth thy brother Gharib amiddle-most the fightfield and
stead where sword and spear we shall wield; go thou to him and bring
him to me a prisoner, that I may set him on a camel arsy-versy, and
make a show of him and carry him to the land of Hind.” Answered Ajib,
“O King, send out to him other than I, for I am in ill-health this
morning.” But Ra’ad Shah snarked and snorted and cried, “By the virtue
of the sparkling Fire and the light and the shade and the heat, unless
thou fare forth to thy brother and bring him to me in haste, I will cut
off thy head and make an end of thee.” So Ajib took heart and urging
his horse up to his brother in mid-field, said to him, “O dog of the
Arabs and vilest of all who hammer down tent pegs, wilt thou contend
with Kings? Take what to thee cometh and receive the glad tidings of
thy death.” When Gharib heard this, he said to him, “Who art thou among
the Kings?” And Ajib answered, saying, “I am thy brother, and this day
is the last of thy worldly days.” Now when Gharib was assured that he
was indeed his brother Ajib, he cried out and said, “Ho, to avenge my
father and mother!” Then giving his sword to Kaylajan,[FN#54] he drave
at Ajib and smote him with his mace a smashing blow and a swashing,
that went nigh to beat in his ribs, and seizing him by the mail-gorget
tore him from the saddle and cast him to the ground; whereupon the two
Marids pounced upon him and binding him fast, dragged him off dejected
and abject; whilst Gharib rejoiced in the capture of his enemy and
repeated these couplets of the poet,
“I have won my wish and my need have scored * Unto Thee be the praise
and the thanks, O our
Lord!
I grew up dejected and abject; poor, * But Allah vouchsafed me all
boons implored:
I have conquered countries and mastered men * But for Thee were I
naught, O thou Lord
adored!”
When Ra’ad Shah saw how evilly Ajib fared with his brother, he called
for his charger and donning his harness and habergeon, mounted and
dashed out a-field. As soon as he drew near King Gharib, he cried out
at him, saying, “O basest of Arabs and bearer of scrubs,[FN#55] who art
thou, that thou shouldest capture Kings and braves? Down from thy horse
and put elbows behind back and kiss my feet and set my warriors free
and go with me in bond of chains to my reign that I may pardon thee and
make thee a Shaykh in our own land, so mayst thou eat there a bittock
of bread.” When Gharib heard these words he laughed till he fell
backwards and answered, saying, “O mad hound and mangy wolf, soon shalt
thou see against whom the shifts of Fortune will turn!” Then he cried
out to Sahim, saying, “Bring me the prisoners;” so he brought them, and
Gharib smote off their heads; whereupon Ra’ad Shah drave at him, with
the driving of a lordly champion and the onslaught of a fierce
slaughterer and they falsed and feinted and fought till nightfall, when
the kettle-drums beat the retreat.——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Sixty-third Night,
She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
kettle-drums beat the retreat, the two Kings parted and returned, each
to his own place where his people gave him joy of his safety. And the
Moslems said to Gharib, “’Tis not thy want, O King, to prolong a
fight;” and he replied, “O folk, I have done battle with many
royalties[FN#56] and champions; but never saw I a harder hitter than
this one. Had I chosen to draw Al-Mahik upon him, I had mashed his
bones and made an end of his days: but I delayed with him, thinking to
take him prisoner and give him part enjoyment in Al-Islam.” Thus far
concerning Gharib; but as regards Ra’ad Shah, he returned to his
marquee and sat upon his throne, when his Chiefs came in to him and
asked him of his adversary, and he answered, “By the truth of the
sparkling Fire, never in my life saw I the like of yonder brave! But
to-morrow I will take him prisoner and lead him away dejected and
abject.” Then they slept till daybreak, when the battle-drums beat to
fight and the swords in baldric were dight; and war-cries were cried
amain and all mounted their horses of generous strain and drew out into
the field, filling every wide place and hill and plain. The first to
open the door of war was the rider outrageous and the lion rageous,
King Gharib, who drave his steed between the two hosts and wheeled and
careered over the field, crying, “Who is for fray, who is for fight?
Let no sluggard come out to me this day nor dullard!” Before he had
made an end of speaking, out rushed Ra’ad Shah, riding on an elephant,
as he were a vast tower, in a seat girthed with silken bands; and
between the elephant’s ears sat the driver, bearing in hand a hook,
wherewith he goaded the beast and directed him right and left. When the
elephant drew near Gharib’s horse, and the steed saw a creature it had
never before set eyes on, it took fright;[FN#57] wherefore Gharib
dismounted and gave the horse to Kaylajan. Then he drew Al-Mahik and
advanced to meet Ra’ad Shah a-foot, walking on till he faced the
elephant. Now it was Ra’ad Shah’s wont, when he found himself
overmatched by any brave, to mount an elephant, taking with him an
implement called the lasso,[FN#58] which was in the shape of a net,
wide at base and narrow at top with a running cord of silk passed
through rings along its edges. With this he would attack horsemen and
casting the meshes over them, draw the running noose and drag the rider
off his horse and make him prisoner; and thus had he conquered many
cavaliers. So, as Gharib came up to him, he raised his hand and,
despreading the net over him, pulled him on to the back of the elephant
and cried out to the beast to return to the Indian camp. But Kaylajan
and Kurajan had not left Gharib and, when they beheld what had befallen
their lord, they laid hold of the elephant, whilst Gharib strove with
the net, till he rent it in sunder. Upon this the two Marids seized
Ra’ad Shah and bound him with a cord of palm fibre. Then the two armies
drove each at other and met with a shock like two seas crashing or two
mountains together dashing, whilst the dust rose to the confines of the
sky and blinded was every eye. The battle waxed fierce and fell, the
blood ran in rills, nor did they cease to wage war with lunge of lance
and sway of sword in lustiest way, till the day darkened and the night
starkened, when the drums beat the retreat and the two hosts drew
asunder.[FN#59] Now the Moslems were evilly entreated that day by
reason of the riders on elephants and giraffes,[FN#60] and many of them
were killed and most of the rest were wounded. This was grievous to
Gharib who commanded the hurt to be medicined and turning to his Chief
Officers, asked them what they counselled. Answered they, “O King, ’tis
only the elephants and giraffes that irk us; were we but quit of them,
we should overcome the enemy.” Quoth Kaylajan and Kurajan, “We twain
will unsheath our swords and fall on them and slay the most part of
them.” But there came forward a man of Oman, who had been privy
counsellor to Jaland and said, “O King, I will be surety for the host,
an thou wilt but hearken to me and follow my counsel.” Gharib turned to
his Captains and said to them, “Whatsoever this wise man shall say to
you that do.”——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say
her permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Sixty-fourth Night,
She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Gharib
said to his Captains, “Whatsoever this wise man shall say to you, that
do”; they replied, “Hearing and obeying!” So the Omani chose out ten
captains and asked them, “How many braves have ye under your hands?”;
and they answered, “Ten thousand fighting-men.” Then he carried them
into the armoury and armed five thousand of them with harquebuses and
other five thousand with cross bows and taught them to shoot with these
new weapons.[FN#61] Now as soon as it was day, the Indians came out to
the field, armed cap-à-pie, with the elephants, giraffes and champions
in their van; whereupon Gharib and his men mounted and both hosts drew
out and the big drums beat to battle. Then the man of Oman cried out to
the archers and harquebusiers to shoot, and they plied the elephants
and giraffes with shafts and leaden bullets, which entered the beasts’
flanks, whereat they roared out and turning upon their own ranks, trod
them down with their hoofs. Presently the Moslems charged the
Misbelievers and outflanked them right and left, whilst the elephants
and giraffes trampled them and drove them into the hills and wolds,
whither the Moslems followed hard upon them with the keen-edged sword
and but few of the giraffes and elephants escaped. Then King Gharib and
his folk returned, rejoicing in their victory; and on the morrow they
divided the loot and rested five days; after which King Gharib sat down
on the throne of his kingship and sending for his brother Ajib, said to
him, “O dog, why hast thou assembled the Kings against us? But He who
hath power over all things hath given us the victory over thee. So
embrace the Saving Faith and thou shalt be saved, and I will forbear to
avenge my father and mother on thee therefor, and I will make thee King
again as thou wast, placing myself under thy hand.” But Ajib said, “I
will not leave my faith.” So Gharib bade lay him in irons and appointed
an hundred stalwart slaves to guard him; after which he turned to Ra’ad
Shah and said to him, “How sayst thou of the faith of Al-Islam?”
Replied he, “O my lord, I will enter thy faith; for, were it not a true
Faith and a goodly, thou hadst not conquered us. Put forth thy hand and
I will testify that there is no god but _the_ God and that Abraham the
Friend is the Apostle of God.” At this Gharib rejoiced and said to him,
“Is thy heart indeed stablished in the sweetness of this Belief?” And
he answered, saying, “Yes, O my lord!” Then quoth Gharib, “O Ra’ad
Shah, wilt thou go to thy country and thy kingdom?” and quoth he, “O,
my lord, my father will put me to death, for that I have left his
faith.” Gharib rejoined, “I will go with thee and make thee king of the
country and constrain the folk to obey thee, by the help of Allah the
Bountiful, the Beneficent.” And Ra’ad Shah kissed his hands and feet.
Then Gharib rewarded the counsellor who had caused the rout of the foe
and gave him great wealth; after which he turned to Kaylajan and
Kurajan, and said to them, “Harkye, Chiefs of the Jinn, ’tis my will
that ye carry me, together with Ra’ad Shah and Jamrkan and Sa’adan to
the land of Hind.” “We hear and we obey,” answered they. So Kurajan
took up Jamrkan and Sa’adan, whilst Kaylajan took Gharib and Ra’ad Shah
and made for the land of Hind.——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Sixty-fifth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the two
Marids had taken up Gharib and Jamrkan, Sa’adan the Ghul and Ra’ad
Shah, they flew on with them from sundown till the last of the Night,
when they set them down on the terrace of King Tarkanan’s palace at
Cashmere. Now news was brought to Tarkanan by the remnants of his host
of what had befallen his son, whereat he slept not neither took delight
in aught, and he was troubled with sore trouble. As he sat in his
Harim, pondering his case, behold, Gharib and his company descended the
stairways of the palace and came in to him; and when he saw his son and
those who were with him, he was confused and fear took him of the
Marids. Then Ra’ad Shah turned to him and said, “How long wilt thou
persist in thy frowardness, O traitor and worshipper of the Fire? Woe
to thee! Leave worshipping the Fire and serve the Magnanimous Sire,
Creator of day and night, whom attaineth no sight.” When Tarkanan heard
his son’s speech, he cast at him an iron club he had by him; but it
missed him and fell upon a buttress of the palace and smote out three
stones. Then cried the King, “O dog, thou hast destroyed mine army and
hast forsaken thy faith and comest now to make me do likewise!” With
this Gharib went up to him and dealt him a cuff on the neck which
knocked him down; whereupon the Marids bound him fast and all the
Harim-women fled. Then Gharib sat down on the throne of kingship and
said to Ra’ad Shah, “Do thou justice upon thy father.” So Ra’ad Shah
turned to him and said, “O perverse old man, become one of the saved
and thou shalt be saved from the fire and the wrath of the
All-powerful.” But Tarkanan cried, “I will not die save in my own
faith.” Whereupon Gharib drew Al-Mahik and smote him therewith and he
fell to the earth in two pieces, and Allah hurried his soul to the fire
and abiding-place dire.[FN#62] Then Gharib bade hang his body over the
palace gate and they hung one half on the right hand and the other on
the left and waited till day, when Gharib caused Ra’ad Shah don the
royal habit and sit down on his father’s throne, with himself on his
dexter hand and Jamrkan and Sa’adan and the Marids standing right and
left; and he said to Kaylajan and Kurajan, “Whoso entereth of the
Princes and Officers, seize him and bind him, and let not a single
Captain escape you.” And they answered, “Hearkening and obedience!”
Presently, the Officers made for the palace, to do their service to the
King, and the first to appear was the Chief Captain who, seeing King
Tarkanan’s dead body cut in half and hanging on either side of the
gate, was seized with terror and amazement. Then Kaylajan laid hold of
him by the collar and threw him and pinioned him; after which he dragged
him into the palace and before sunrise they had bound three hundred and
fifty Captains and set them before Gharib, who said to them, “O folk,
have you seen your King hanging at the palace gate?” Asked they, “Who
hath done this deed?”; and he answered, “I did it, by the help of Allah
Almighty; and whoso opposeth me, I will do with him likewise.” Then
quoth they, “What is thy will with us?”; and quoth he, “I am Gharib,
King of Al-Irak, he who slew your warriors; and now Ra’ad Shah hath
embraced the Faith of Salvation and is become a mighty King and ruler
over you. So do ye become True Believers and all shall be well with
you; but, if ye refuse, you shall repent it.” So they pronounced the
profession of the Faith and were enrolled among the people of felicity.
Then said Gharib, “Are your hearts indeed stablished in the sweetness
of the Belief?”; and they replied, “Yes”; whereupon he bade release
them and clad them in robes of honour, saying, “Go to your people and
expound Al-Islam to them. Whoso accepteth the Faith spare him; but if
he refuse slay him.”——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
to say her permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Sixty-sixth Night,
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that King Gharib
said to the troops of Ra’ad Shah, “Go to your people and offer Al-Islam
to them. Whoso accepteth the Faith spare him; but if he refuse, slay
him.” So they went out and, assembling the men under their command,
explained what had taken place and expounded Al-Islam to them and they
all professed, except a few, whom they put to death; after which they
returned and told Gharib, who blessed Allah and glorified Him, saying,
“Praised be the Almighty who hath made this thing easy to us without
strife!” Then he abode in Cashmere of India forty days, till he had
ordered the affairs of the country and cast down the shrines and
temples of the Fire and built in their stead mosques and cathedrals,
whilst Ra’ad Shah made ready for him rarities and treasures beyond
count and despatched them to Al-Irak in ships. Then Gharib mounted on
Kaylajan’s back and Jamrkan and Sa’adan on that of Kurajan, after they
had taken leave of Ra’ad Shah; and journeyed through the night till
break of day, when they reached Oman city where their troops met them
and saluted them and rejoiced in them. Then they set out for Cufa where
Gharib called for his brother Ajib and commanded to hang him. So Sahim
brought hooks of iron and driving them into the tendons of Ajib’s
heels, hung him over the gate; and Gharib bade them shoot him; so they
riddled him with arrows, till he was like unto a porcupine. Then Gharib
entered his palace and sitting down on the throne of his kingship,
passed the day in ordering the affairs of the state. At nightfall he
went in to his Harim, where Star o’ Morn came to meet him and embraced
him and gave him joy, she and her women, of his safety. He spent that
day and lay that night with her and on the morrow, after he had made
the Ghusl-ablution and prayed the dawn-prayer, he sat down on his
throne and commanded preparation to be made for his marriage with
Mahdiyah. Accordingly they slaughtered three thousand head of sheep and
two thousand oxen and a thousand he goats and five hundred camels and
the like number of horses, beside four thousand fowls and great store
of geese; never was such wedding in Al-Islam to that day. Then he went
in to Mahdiyah and took her maidenhead and abode with her ten days;
after which he committed the kingdom to his uncle Al-Damigh, charging
him to rule the lieges justly, and journeyed with his women and
warriors, till he came to the ships laden with the treasures and
rarities which Ra’ad Shah had sent him, and divided the monies among
his men who from poor became rich. Then they fared on till they reached
the city of Babel, where he bestowed on Sahim Al-Layl a robe of honour
and appointed him Sultan of the city.——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Sixty-seventh Night,
She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Gharib, after
robing his brother Sahim and appointing him Sultan, abode with him ten
days, after which he set out again and journeyed nor stinted travel
till he reached the castle of Sa’adan the Ghul, where they rested five
days. Then quoth Gharib to Kaylajan and Kurajan, “Pass over to Isbánír
al-Madáin, to the palace of the Chosroe, and find what is come of Fakhr
Taj and bring me one of the King’s kinsmen, who shall acquaint me with
what hath passed.” Quoth they, “We hear and we obey,” and set out
forthright for Isbanir. As they flew between heaven and earth, behold,
they caught sight of a mighty army, as it were the surging sea, and
Kaylajan said to Kurajan, “Let us descend and determine what be this
host.” So they alighted and walking among the troops, found them
Persians and questioned the soldiers whose men they were and whither
they were bound; whereto they made answer, “We are _en route_ for
Al-Irak, to slay Gharib and all who company him.” When the Marids heard
these words, they repaired to the pavilion of the Persian general,
whose name was Rustam, and waited till the soldiers slept, when they
took up Rustam, bed and all, and made for the castle where Gharib lay.
They arrived there by midnight and going to the door of the King’s
pavilion, cried, “Permission!” which when he heard, he sat up and said,
“Come in.” So they entered and set down the couch with Rustam asleep
thereon. Gharib asked, “Who be this?” and they answered, “This be a
Persian Prince, whom we met coming with a great host, thinking to slay
thee and thine, and we have brought him to thee, that he may tell thee
what thou hast a mind to know.” “Fetch me an hundred braves!” cried
Gharib, and they fetched them; whereupon he bade them, “Draw your
swords and stand at the head of this Persian carle!” Then they awoke
him and he opened his eyes; and, finding an arch of steel over his
head, shut them again, crying, “What be this foul dream?” But Kaylajan
pricked him with his sword point and he sat up and said, “Where am I?”
Quoth Sahim, “Thou art in the presence of King Gharib, son-in-law of
the King of the Persians. What is thy name and whither goest thou?”
When Rustam heard Gharib’s name, he bethought himself and said in his
mind, “Am I asleep or awake?” Whereupon Sahim dealt him a buffet,
saying, “Why dost thou not answer?” And he raised his head and asked,
“Who brought me from my tent out of the midst of my men?” Gharib
answered, “These two Marids brought thee.” So he looked at Kaylajan and
Kurajan and skited in his bag-trousers. Then the Marids fell upon him,
baring their tusks and brandishing their blades, and said to him, “Wilt
thou not rise and kiss ground before King Gharib?” And he trembled at
them and was assured that he was not asleep; so he stood up and kissed
the ground between the hands of Gharib, saying, “The blessing of the
Fire be on thee, and long life be thy life, O King!” Gharib cried, “O
dog of the Persians, fire is not worshipful, for that it is harmful and
profiteth not save in cooking food.” Asked Rustam, “Who then is
worshipful?”; and Gharib answered, “Alone worship-worth is God, who
formed thee and fashioned thee and created the heavens and the earth.”
Quoth the Ajami, “What shall I say that I may become of the party of
this Lord and enter thy Faith?”; and quoth Gharib, “Say:—There is no
god but _the_ God, and Abraham is the Friend of God.” So Rustam
pronounced the profession of the Faith and was enrolled among the
people of felicity. Then said he to Gharib, “Know, O my lord, that thy
father-in-law, King Sabur, seeketh to slay thee; and indeed he hath
sent me with an hundred thousand men, charging me to spare none of
you.” Gharib rejoined, “Is this my reward for having delivered his
daughter from death and dishonour? Allah will requite him his ill
intent. But what is thy name?” The Persian answered, “My name is
Rustam, general of Sabur;” and Gharib, “Thou shalt have the like rank
in my army,” adding, “But tell me, O Rustam, how is it with the
Princess Fakhr Taj?” “May thy head live, O King of the age!” “What was
the cause of her death?” Rustam replied, “O my lord, no sooner hadst
thou left us than one of the Princess’s women went in to King Sabur and
said to him,:—O my master, didst thou give Gharib leave to lie with the
Princess my mistress? whereto he answered,:—No, by the virtue of the
fire! and drawing his sword, went in to his daughter and said to her,:—O
foul baggage, why didst thou suffer yonder Badawi to sleep with
thee, without dower or even wedding? She replied,:—O my papa, ’twas
thou gavest him leave to sleep with me. Then he asked,:—Did the fellow
have thee? but she was silent and hung down her head. Hereupon he
cried out to the midwives and slave-girls, saying,:—Pinion me this
harlot’s elbows behind her and look at her privy parts. So they did as
he bade them and after inspecting her slit said to him,:—O King, she
hath lost her maidenhead. Whereupon he ran at her and would have slain
her, but her mother rose up and threw herself between them crying,:—O
King, slay her not, lest thou be for ever dishonoured; but shut her in
a cell till she die. So he cast her into prison till nightfall, when
he called two of his courtiers and said to them,:—Carry her afar off
and throw her into the river Jayhun and tell none. They did his
commandment, and indeed her memory is forgotten and her time is
past.”——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Sixty-eighth Night,
She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Gharib
asked news of Fakhr Taj, Rustam informed him that she had been drowned
in the river by her sire’s command. And when Gharib heard this, the
world waxed wan before his eyes and he cried, “By the virtue of Abraham
the Friend, I will assuredly go to yonder dog and overwhelm him and lay
waste his realm!” Then he sent letters to Jamrkan and to the governors
of Mosul and Mayyáfáríkín; and, turning to Rustam, said to him, “How
many men hadst thou in thine army?” He replied, “An hundred thousand
Persian horse;” and Gharib rejoined, “Take ten thousand horse and go to
thy people and occupy them with war; I will follow on thy trail.” So
Rustam mounted and taking ten thousand Arab horse made for his tribe,
saying in himself, “I will do a deed shall whiten my face with King
Gharib.” So he fared on seven days, till there remained but half a
day’s journey between him and the Persian camp; when, dividing his host
into four divisions he said to his men, “Surround the Persians on all
sides and fall upon them with the sword.” They rode on from eventide
till midnight, when they had compassed the camp of the Ajams, who were
asleep in security, and fell upon them, shouting, “God is Most Great!”
Whereupon the Persians started up from sleep and their feet slipped and
the sabre went round amongst them; for the All-knowing King was wroth
with them, and Rustam wrought amongst them as fire in dry fuel; till,
by the end of the night, the whole of the Persian host was slain or
wounded or fled, and the Moslems made prize of their tents and baggage,
horses, camels and treasure-chests. Then they alighted and rested in
the tents of the Ajams till King Gharib came up and, seeing what Rustam
had done and how he had gained by stratagem a great and complete
victory, he invested him with a robe of honour and said to him, “O
Rustam, it was thou didst put the Persians to the rout; wherefore all
the spoil is thine.” So he kissed Gharib’s hand and thanked him, and
they rested till the end of the day, when they set out for King Sabur’s
capital. Meanwhile, the fugitives of the defeated force reached Isbanir
and went in to Sabur, crying out and saying, “Alas!” and “Well-away!”
and “Woe worth the day!” Quoth he, “What hath befallen you and who with
his mischief hath smitten you?” So they told him all that had passed
and said, “Naught befel us except that thy general Rustam, fell upon us
in the darkness of the night because he had turned Moslem; nor did
Gharib come near us.” When the King heard this, he cast his crown to
the ground and said, “There is no worth left us!” Then he turned to his
son Ward Shah[FN#63] and said to him, “O my son, there is none for this
affair save thou.” Answered Ward Shah, “By thy life, O my father, I
will assuredly bring Gharib and his chiefs of the people in chains and
slay all who are with him.” Then he numbered his army and found it two
hundred and twenty thousand men. So they slept, intending to set forth
on the morrow; but, next morning, as they were about to march, behold,
a cloud of dust arose and spread till it walled the world and baffled
the sight of the farthest-seeing wight. Now Sabur had mounted to
farewell his son, and when he saw this mighty great dust, he let call a
runner and said to him, “Go find me out the cause of this dust-cloud.”
The scout went and returned, saying, “O my lord, Gharib and his braves
are upon you;” whereupon they unloaded their bât-beasts and drew out in
line of battle. When Gharib came up and saw the Persians ranged in row,
he cried out to his men, saying, “Charge with the blessing of Allah!”
So they waved the flags, and the Arabs and the Ajamis drave one at
other and folk were heaped upon folk. Blood ran like water and all
souls saw death face to face; the brave advanced and pressed forward to
assail and the coward hung back and turned tail and they ceased not
from fight and fray till ended day, when the kettle-drums beat the
retreat and the two hosts drew apart. Then Sabur commanded to pitch his
camp hard over the city-gate, and Gharib set up his pavilions in front
of theirs; and every one went to his tent.——And Shahrazad perceived the
dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Sixty-ninth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the two
hosts drew apart, every one went to his tent until the morning. As soon
as it was day, the two hosts mounted their strong steeds and levelled
their lances and wore their harness of war; then they raised their
slogan cries and drew out in battle-array, whilst came forth all the
lordly knights and the lions of fights. Now the first to open the gate
of battle was Rustam, who urged his charger into mid-field and cried
out, “God is most Great! I am Rustam, champion-in-chief of the Arabs
and Ajams. Who is for tilting, who is for fighting? Let no sluggard
come out to me this day or weakling!” Then there rushed forth to him a
champion of the Persians; the two charged each other and there befel
between them a sore fight, till Rustam sprang upon his adversary and
smote him with a mace he had with him, seventy pounds in weight, and
beat his head down upon his breast, and he fell to the earth, dead and
in his blood drowned. This was no light matter to Sabur and he
commanded his men to charge; so they drave at the Moslems, invoking the
aid of the light-giving Sun, whilst the True Believers called for help
upon the Magnanimous King. But the Ajams, the Miscreants, outnumbered
the Arabs, the Moslems, and made them drain the cup of death; which
when Gharib saw he drew his sword Al-Mahik and crying out his war-cry,
fell upon the Persians, with Kaylajan and Kurajan at either stirrup;
nor did he leave playing upon them with blade till he hewed his way to
the standard-bearer and smote him on the head with the flat of his
sword, whereupon he fell down in a fainting-fit and the two Marids bore
him off to their camp. When the Persians saw the standard fall, they
turned and fled and for the city-gates made; but the Moslems followed
them with the blade and they crowded together to enter the city, so
that they could not shut the gates and there died of them much people.
Then Rustam and Sa’adan, Jamrkan and Sahim, Al-Damigh, Kaylajan and
Kurajan and all the braves Mohammedan and the champions of Faith
Unitarian fell upon the misbelieving Persians in the gates, and the
blood of the Kafirs ran in the streets like a torrent till they threw
down their arms and harness and called out for quarter; whereupon the
Moslems stayed their swords from the slaughter and drove them to their
tents, as one driveth a flock of sheep. Meanwhile Gharib returned to
his pavilion, where he doffed his gear and washed himself of the blood
of the Infidels; after which he donned his royal robes and sat down on
his chair of estate. Then he called for the King of the Persians and
said to him, “O dog of the Ajams, what moved thee to deal thus with thy
daughter? How seest thou me unworthy to be her baron?” And Sabur
answered, saying, “O King, punish me not because of that deed which I
did; for I repent me and confronted thee not in fight but in my fear of
thee.”[FN#64] When Gharib heard these words he bade throw him flat and
beat him. So they bastinadoed him, till he could no longer groan, and
cast him among the prisoners. Then Gharib expounded Al-Islam to the
Persians and one hundred and twenty thousand of them embraced The
Faith, and the rest he put to the sword. Moreover all the citizens
professed Al-Islam and Gharib mounted and entered in great state the
city Isbanir Al-Madain. Then he went into the King’s palace and sitting
down on Sabur’s throne, gave robes and largesse and distributed the
booty and treasure among the Arabs and Persians, wherefore they loved
him and wished him victory and honour and endurance of days. But Fakhr
Taj’s mother remembered her daughter and raised the voice of mourning
for her, and the palace was filled with wails and cries. Gharib heard
this and entering the Harim, asked the women what ailed them, whereupon
the Princess’s mother came forward and said, “O my lord, thy presence
put me in mind of my daughter and how she would have joyed in thy
coming, had she been alive and well.” Gharib wept for her and sitting
down on his throne, called for Sabur, and they brought him stumbling in
his shackles. Quoth Gharib to him, “O dog of the Persians, what didst
thou do with thy daughter?” “I gave her to such an one and such an
one,” quoth the King, “saying,:—Drown her in the river Jayhún.” So
Gharib sent for the two men and asked them, “Is what he saith true?”
Answered they, “Yes; but, O King, we did not drown her, nay we took
pity on her and left her on the banks of the Jayhun, saying,—Save
thyself and return not to the city, lest the King slay thee and slay us
with thee. This is all we know of her.”——And Shahrazad perceived the
dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Seventieth Night,
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the two men
ended the tale of Fakhr Taj with these words, “And we left her upon the
bank of the river Jayhun!” Now, when Gharib heard this he bade bring
the astrologers and said to them, “Strike me a board of geomancy and
find out what is come of Fakhr Taj, and whether she is still in the
bonds of life or dead.” They did so and said, “O King of the age, it is
manifest to us that the Princess is alive and hath borne a male child;
but she is with a tribe of the Jinn, and will be parted from thee
twenty years; count, therefore, how many years thou hast been absent in
travel.” So he reckoned up the years of his absence and found them
eight years and said, “There is no Majesty and there is no Might save
in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!”[FN#65] Then he sent for all
Sabur’s Governors of towns and strongholds and they came and did him
homage. Now one day after this, as he sat in his palace, behold, a
cloud of dust appeared in the distance and spread till it walled the
whole land and darkened the horizon. So he summoned the two Marids and
bade them reconnoitre, and they went forth under the dust-cloud and
snatching up a horseman of the advancing host, returned and set him
down before Gharib, saying, “Ask this fellow, for he is of the army.”
Quoth Gharib, “Whose power is this?” and the man answered, “O King,
’tis the army of Khirad Shah,[FN#66] King of Shiras, who is come forth
to fight thee.” Now the cause of Khirad Shah’s coming was this. When
Gharib defeated Sabur’s army, as hath been related, and took him
prisoner, the King’s son fled, with a handful of his father’s force and
ceased not flying till he reached the city of Shiras, where he went
into King Khirad Shah and kissed ground before him, whilst the tears
ran down his cheeks. When the King saw him in this case, he said to
him, “Lift thy head, O youth, and tell me what maketh thee weep.” He
replied, “O King, a King of the Arabs, by name Gharib, hath fallen on
us and captured the King my sire and slain the Persians making them
drain the cup of death.” And he told him all that had passed from first
to last. Quoth Khirad Shah, “Is my wife[FN#67] well?” and quoth the
Prince, “Gharib hath taken her.” Cried the King “As my head liveth, I
will not leave a Badawi or a Moslem on the face of the earth!” So he
wrote letters to his Viceroys, who levied their troops and joined him
with an army which when reviewed numbered eighty-five thousand men.
Then he opened his armouries and distributed arms and armour to the
troops, after which he set out with them and journeyed till he came to
Isbanir, and all encamped before the city-gate. Hereupon Kaylajan and
Kurajan came in to Gharib and kissing his knee, said to him, “O our
Lord, heal our hearts and give us this host to our share.” And he said,
“Up and at them!” So the two Marids flew aloft high in the lift and
lighting down in the pavilion of the King of Shiras, found him seated
on his chair of estate, with the Prince of Persia Ward Shah son of
Sabur, sitting on his right hand, and about him his Captains, with whom
he was taking counsel for the slaughter of the Moslems. Kaylajan came
forward and caught up the Prince and Kurajan snatched up the King and
the twain flew back with them to Gharib, who caused beat them till they
fainted. Then the Marids returned to the Shirazian camp and, drawing
their swords, which no mortal man had strength to wield, fell upon the
Misbelievers and Allah hurried their souls to the Fire and
abiding-place dire, whilst they saw no one and nothing save two swords
flashing and reaping men, as a husbandman reaps corn. So they left
their tents and mounting their horses bare-backed, fled; and the
Marids pursued them two days and slew of them much people; after which
they returned and kissed Gharib’s hand. He thanked them for the deed
they had done and said to them, “The spoil of the Infidels is yours
alone: none shall share with you therein.” So they called down
blessings on him and going forth, gathered the booty together and abode
in their own homes. On this wise it fared with them; but as regards
Gharib and his lieges,——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Seventy-first Night,
She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that after Gharib
had put to flight the host of Khirad Shah, he bade Kaylajan and Kurajan
take the spoil to their own possession nor share it with any; so they
gathered the booty and abode in their own homes. Meanwhile the remains
of the beaten force ceased not flying till they reached the city of
Shiras and there lifted up the voice of weeping and began the
ceremonial lamentations for those of them that had been slain. Now King
Khirad Shah had a brother Sírán the Sorcerer hight, than whom there
was no greater wizard in his day, and he lived apart from his brother
in a certain stronghold, called the Fortalice of Fruits,[FN#68] in a
place abounding in trees and streams and birds and blooms, half a day’s
journey from Shiras. So the fugitives betook them thither and went in
to Siran the Sorcerer, weeping and wailing aloud. Quoth he, “O folk,
what garreth you weep?” and they told him all that had happened,
especially how the two Marids had carried off his brother Khirad Shah;
whereupon the light of his eyes became night and he said, “By the
virtue of my faith, I will certainly slay Gharib and all his men and
leave not one alive to tell the tale!” Then he pronounced certain
magical words and summoned the Red King, who appeared and Siran said to
him, “Fare for Isbanir and fall on Gharib, as he sitteth upon his
throne.” Replied he, “Hearkening and obedience!” and, gathering his
troops, repaired to Isbanir and assailed Gharib, who seeing him, drew
his sword Al-Mahik and he and Kaylajan and Kurajan fell upon the army
of the Red King and slew of them five hundred and thirty and wounded
the King himself with a grevious wound; whereupon he and his people
fled and stayed not in their flight, till they reached the Fortalice of
Fruits and went into Siran, crying out and exclaiming, “Woe!” and
“Ruin!” And the Red King said to Siran, “O sage, Gharib hath with him
the enchanted sword of Japhet son of Noah, and whomsoever he smiteth
therewith he severeth him in sunder, and with him also are two Marids
from Mount Caucasus, given to him by King Mura’ash. He it is who slew
the Blue King and Barkan Lord of the Carnelian City, and did to death
much people of the Jinn.” When the Enchanter heard this, he said to the
Red King “Go,” and he went his ways; whereupon he resumed his
conjurations, and calling up a Marid, by name Zu’ázi’a gave him a
drachm of levigated Bhang and said to him, “Go thou to Isbanir and
enter King Gharib’s palace and assume the form of a sparrow. Wait till
he fall asleep and there be none with him; then put the Bhang up his
nostrils and bring him to me.” “To hear is to obey,” replied the Marid
and flew to Isbanir, where, changing himself into a sparrow, he perched
on the window of the palace and waited till all Gharib’s attendants
retired to their rooms and the King himself slept. Then he flew down
and going up to Gharib, blew the powdered Bhang into his nostrils, till
he lost his senses, whereupon he wrapped him in the bed-coverlet and
flew off with him, like the storm-wind, to the Fortalice of Fruits;
where he arrived at midnight and laid his prize before Siran. The
Sorcerer thanked him and would have put Gharib to death, as he lay
senseless under Bhang; but a man of his people withheld him saying, “O
Sage, an thou slay him, his friend King Mura’ash will fall on us with
all his Ifrits and lay waste our realm.” “How then shall we do with
him?” asked Siran, and the other answered, “Cast him into the Jayhun
while he is still in Bhang and he shall be drowned and none will know
who threw him in.” And Siran bade the Marid take Gharib and cast him
into Jayhun river.——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
to say her permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Seventy-second Night,
She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Marid took
Gharib and carried him to the Jayhun purposing to cast him therein, but
it was grievous to him to drown him, wherefore he made a raft of wood
and binding it with cords, pushed it out (and Gharib thereon) into the
current, which carried it away. Thus fared it with Gharib; but as
regards his people, when they awoke in the morning and went in to do
their service to their King, they found him not and seeing his rosary
on the throne, awaited him awhile, but he came not. So they sought out
the head Chamberlain and said to him, “Go into the Harim and look for
the King: for it is not his habit to tarry till this time.”
Accordingly, the Chamberlain entered the Serraglio and enquired for the
King, but the women said, “Since yesterday we have not seen him.”
Thereupon he returned and told the Officers, who were confounded and
said, “Let us see if he have gone to take his pleasure in the gardens.”
Then they went out and questioned the gardeners if they had seen the
King, and they answered, “No;” whereat they were sore concerned and
searched all the garths till the end of the day, when they returned in
tears. Moreover, the two Marids sought for him all round the city, but
came back after three days, without having happened on any tidings of
him. So the people donned black and made their complaint to the Lord of
all worshipping men who doth as he is fain. Meanwhile, the current bore
the raft along for five days till it brought it to the salt sea, where
the waves disported with Gharib and his stomach, being troubled, threw
up the Bhang. Then he opened his eyes and finding himself in the midst
of the main, a plaything of the billows, said, “There is no Majesty and
there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! Would to
Heaven I wot who hath done this deed by me!” Presently as he lay,
perplexed concerning his case, lo! he caught sight of a ship sailing by
and signalled with his sleeve to the sailors, who came to him and took
him up, saying, “Who art thou and whence comest thou?” He replied, “Do
ye feed me and give me to drink, till I recover myself, and after I
will tell you who I am.” So they brought him water and victual, and he
ate and drank and Allah restored to him his reason. Then he asked them,
“O folk, what countrymen are ye and what is your Faith?;” and they
answered, “We are from Karaj[FN#69] and we worship an idol called
Minkásh.” Cried Gharib, “Perdition to you and your idol! O dogs, none
is worthy of worship save Allah who created all things, who saith to a
thing Be! and it becometh.” When they heard this, they rose up and fell
upon him in great wrath and would have seized him. Now he was without
weapons, but whomsoever he struck, he smote down and deprived of life,
till he had felled forty men, after which they overcame him by force of
numbers and bound him fast, saying, “We will not slay him save in our
own land, that we may first show him to our King.” Then they sailed on
till they came to the city of Karaj.——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Seventy-third Night,
She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
ship’s crew seized Gharib and bound him fast they said, “We will not
slay him save in our own land.” Then they sailed on till they came to
the city of Karaj, the builder whereof was an Amalekite, fierce and
furious; and he had set up at each gate of the city a magical figure of
copper which, whenever a stranger entered, blew a blast on a trumpet,
that all in the city heard it and fell upon the stranger and slew him,
except they embraced their creed. When Gharib entered the city, the
figure stationed at the gate blew such a horrible blast that the King
was affrighted and going into his idol, found fire and smoke issuing
from its mouth, nose and eyes. Now a Satan had entered the belly of the
idol and speaking as with its tongue, said, “O King, there is come to
thy city one hight Gharib, King of Al-Irak, who biddeth the folk quit
their belief and worship his Lord; wherefore, when they bring him
before thee, look thou spare him not.” So the King went out and sat
down on his throne; and presently, the sailors brought in Gharib and
set him before the presence, saying, “O King, we found this youth
shipwrecked in the midst of the sea, and he is a Kafir and believeth
not in our gods.” Then they told him all that had passed and the King
said, “Carry him to the house of the Great Idol and cut his throat
before him, so haply our god may look lovingly upon us.” But the Wazir
said, “O King, it befitteth not to slaughter him thus, for he would die
in a moment: better we imprison him and build a pyre of fuel and burn
him with fire.” Thereupon the King commanded to cast Gharib into gaol
and caused wood to be brought, and they made a mighty pyre and set fire
to it, and it burnt till the morning. Then the King and the people of
the city came forth and the Ruler sent to fetch Gharib; but his lieges
found him not; so they returned and told their King who said, “And how
made he his escape?” Quoth they, “We found the chains and shackles cast
down and the doors fast locked.” Whereat the King marvelled and asked,
“Hath this fellow to Heaven up flown or into the earth gone down?;” and
they answered, “We know not.” Then said the King, “I will go and
question my God, and he will inform me whither he is gone.” So he rose
and went in, to prostrate himself to his idol, but found it not and
began to rub his eyes and say, “Am I in sleep or on wake?” Then he
turned to his Wazir and said to him, “Where is my God and where is my
prisoner? By my faith, O dog of Wazirs, haddest thou not counselled me
to burn him, I had slaughtered him; for it is he who hath stolen my god
and fled; and there is no help but I take brood-wreak of him!” Then he
drew his sword and struck off the Wazir’s head. Now there was for
Gharib’s escape with the idol a strange cause and it was on this wise.
When they had shut him up in a cell adjoining the doomed shrine under
which stood the idol, he rose to pray, calling upon the name of
Almighty Allah and seeking deliverance of Him, to whom be honour and
glory! The Marid who had charge of the idol and spoke in its name,
heard him and fear got hold upon his heart and he said, “O shame upon
me! Who is this seeth me while I see him not?” So he went in to Gharib
and throwing himself at his feet, said to him, “O my Lord, what must I
say that I may become of thy company and enter thy religion?” Replied
Gharib, “Say:—There is no god but _the_ God and Abraham is the Friend of
God.” So the Marid pronounced the profession of Faith and was enrolled
among the people of felicity. Now his name was Zalzál, son of
Al-Muzalzil,[FN#70] one of the Chiefs of the Kings of the Jinn. Then he
unbound Gharib and taking him and the idol, made for the higher
air.——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Seventy-fourth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Marid took up
Gharib and the idol and made for the higher air. Such was his case; but
as regards the King, when his soldiers saw what had befallen and the
slaughter of the Wazir they renounced the worship of the idol and
drawing their swords, slew the King; after which they fell on one
another, and the sword went round amongst them three days, till there
abode alive but two men, one of whom prevailed over the other and
killed him. Then the boys attacked the survivor and slew him and fell
to fighting amongst themselves, till they were all killed; and the
women and girls fled to the hamlets and forted villages; wherefore the
city became desert and none dwelt therein but the owl. Meanwhile, the
Marid Zalzal flew with Gharib towards his own country, the Island of
Camphor and the Castle of Crystal and the Land of the Enchanted Calf,
so called because its King Al-Muzalzil, had a pied calf, which he had
clad in housings brocaded with red gold, and worshipped as a god. One
day the King and his people went in to the calf and found him
trembling; so the King said, “O my God, what hath troubled thee?”
whereupon the Satan in the calf’s belly cried out and said, “O
Muzalzil, verily thy son hath deserted to the Faith of Abraham the
Friend, at the hands of Gharib Lord of Al-Irak;” and went on to tell
him all that had passed from first to last. When the King heard the
words of his calf he was confounded and going forth, sat down upon his
throne. Then he summoned his Grandees who came in a body, and he told
them what he had heard from the idol, whereat they marvelled and said,
“What shall we do, O King?” Quoth he, “When my son cometh and ye see
him embrace him, do ye lay hold of him.” And they said, “Hearkening and
obedience!” After two days came Zalzal and Gharib, with the King’s idol
of Karaj, but no sooner had they entered the palace-gate than the Jinn
seized on them and carried them before Al-Muzalzil, who looked at his
son with eyes of ire and said to him, “O dog of the Jann, hast thou
left thy Faith and that of thy fathers and grandfathers?” Quoth Zalzal,
“I have embraced the True Faith, and on like wise do thou (Woe be to
thee!) seek salvation and thou shalt be saved from the wrath of the
King Almighty in sway, Creator of Night and Day.” Therewith his father
waxed wroth and said, “O son of adultery, dost confront me with these
words?” Then he bade clap him in prison and turning to Gharib, said to
him, “O wretch of a mortal, how hast thou abused my son’s wit and
seduced him from his Faith?” Quoth Gharib, “Indeed, I have brought him
out of wrongousness into the way of righteousness, out of Hell into
Heaven and out of unfaith to the True Faith.” Whereupon the King cried
out to a Marid called Sayyár, saying “Take this dog and cast him into
the Wady of Fire, that he may perish.” Now this valley was in the
“Waste Quarter[FN#71]” and was thus named from the excess of its heat
and the flaming of its fire, which was so fierce that none who went
down therein could live an hour, but was destroyed; and it was
compassed about by mountains high and slippery wherein was no opening.
So Sayyar took up Gharib and flew with him towards the Valley of Fire,
till he came within an hour’s journey thereof, when being weary, he
alighted in a valley full of trees and streams and fruits, and setting
down from his back Gharib chained as he was, fell asleep for fatigue.
When Gharib heard him snore, he strove with his bonds till he burst
them; then, taking up a heavy stone, he cast it down on the Marid’s
head and crushed his bones, so that he died on the spot. Then he fared
on into the valley.——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
saying her permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Seventy-fifth Night,
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Gharib after
killing the Marid fared on into the valley and found himself in a great
island in mid-ocean, full of all fruits that lips and tongue could
desire. So he abode alone on the island, drinking of its waters and
eating of its fruits and of fish that he caught, and days and years
passed over him, till he had sojourned there in his solitude seven
years. One day, as he sat, behold, there came down on him from the air
two Marids, each carrying a man; and seeing him they said, “Who art
thou, O fellow, and of which of the tribes art thou?” Now they took him
for a Jinni, because his hair was grown long; and he replied, saying,
“I am not of the Jann,” whereupon they questioned him, and he told them
all that had befallen him. They grieved for him and one of the Ifrits
said, “Abide thou here till we bear these two lambs to our King, that
he may break his fast on the one and sup on the other, and after we
will come back and carry thee to thine own country.” He thanked them
and said, “Where be the lambs?” Quoth they, “These two mortals are the
lambs.” And Gharib said, “I take refuge with Allah _the_ God of Abraham
the Friend, the Lord of all creatures, who hath power over everything!”
Then the Marids flew away and Gharib abode awaiting them two days, when
one of them returned, bringing with him a suit of clothes wherewith he
clad him. Then he took him up and flew with him sky-high out of sight
of earth, till Gharib heard the angels glorifying God in Heaven, and a
flaming shaft issued from amongst them and made for the Marid, who fled
from it towards the earth. The meteor pursued him, till he came within
a spear’s cast of the ground, when Gharib leaped from his shoulders and
the fiery shaft overtook the Marid, who became a heap of ashes. As for
Gharib, he fell into the sea and sank two fathoms deep, after which he
rose to the surface and swam for two days and two nights, till his
strength failed him and he made certain of death. But, on the third day
as he was despairing he caught sight of an island steep and
mountainous; so he swam for it and landing, walked on inland, where he
rested a day and a night, feeding on the growth of the ground. Then he
climbed to the mountain top, and, descending the opposite slope, fared
on two days till he came in sight of a walled and bulwarked city,
abounding in trees and rills. He walked up to it; but, when he reached
the gate, the warders seized on him, and carried him to their Queen,
whose name was Ján Sháh.[FN#72] Now she was five hundred years old, and
every man who entered the city, they brought to her and she made him
sleep with her, and when he had done his work, she slew him and so had
she slain many men. When she saw Gharib, he pleased her mightily; so
she asked him, “What be thy name and Faith and whence comest thou?” and
he answered, “My name is Gharib King of Irak, and I am a Moslem.” Said
she, “Leave this Creed and enter mine and I will marry thee and make
thee King.” But he looked at her with eyes of ire and cried, “Perish
thou and thy faith!” Cried she, “Dost thou blaspheme my idol, which is
of red carnelian, set with pearls and gems?” And she called out to her
men, saying, “Imprison him in the house of the idol; haply it will
soften his heart.” So they shut him up in the domed shrine and locking
the doors upon him, went their way.——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Seventy-sixth Night,
She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when they took
Gharib, they jailed him in the idol’s domed shrine; and locking the
doors upon him, went their way. As soon as they were gone, Gharib gazed
at the idol, which was of red carnelian, with collars of pearls and
precious stones about its neck, and presently he went close to it and
lifting it up, dashed it on the ground and brake it in bits; after
which he lay down and slept till daybreak. When morning morrowed, the
Queen took seat on her throne and said, “O men, bring me the prisoner.”
So they opened the temple doors and entering, found the idol broken in
pieces, whereupon they buffeted their faces till the blood ran from the
corners of their eyes. Then they made at Gharib to seize him; but he
smote one of them with his fist and slew him, and so did he with
another and yet another, till he had slain five-and-twenty of them and
the rest fled and went in to Queen Jan Shah, shrieking loudly. Quoth
she, “What is the matter?” and quoth they, “The prisoner hath broken
thine idol and slain thy men,” and told her all that had passed. When
she heard this, she cast her crown to the ground and said, “There is no
worth left in idols!” Then she mounted amid a thousand fighting-men and
rode to the temple, where she found Gharib had gotten him a sword and
come forth and was slaying men and overthrowing warriors. When she saw
his prowess, her heart was drowned in the love of him and she said to
herself, “I have no need of the idol and care for naught save this
Gharib, that he may lie in my bosom the rest of my life.” Then she
cried to her men, “Hold aloof from him and leave him to himself!”;
then, going up to him she muttered certain magical words, whereupon his
arm became benumbed, his forearm relaxed and the sword dropped from his
hand. So they seized him and pinioned him, as he stood confounded,
stupefied. Then the Queen returned to her palace, and seating herself
on her seat of estate, bade her people withdraw and leave Gharib with
her. When they were alone, she said to him, “O dog of the Arabs, wilt
thou shiver my idol and slay my people?” He replied, “O accursed woman,
had he been a god he had defended himself!” Quoth she, “Stroke me and I
will forgive thee all thou hast done.” But he replied, saying, “I will
do nought of this.” And she said, “By the virtue of my faith, I will
torture thee with grievous torture!” So she took water and conjuring
over it, sprinkled it upon him and he became an ape. And she used to
feed and water and keep him in a closet, appointing one to care for
him; and in this plight he abode two years. Then she called him to her
one day and said to him, “Wilt thou hearken to me?” And he signed to
her with his head, “Yes.” So she rejoiced and freed him from the
enchantment. Then she brought him food and he ate and toyed with her
and kissed her, so that she trusted in him. When it was night she lay
down and said to him, “Come, do thy business.” He replied, “’Tis
well;” and, mounting on her breast, seized her by the neck and brake
it, nor did he arise from her till life had left her. Then, seeing an
open cabinet, he went in and found there a sword of damascened[FN#73]
steel and a targe of Chinese iron; so he armed himself cap-à-pie and
waited till the day. As soon as it was morning, he went forth and stood
at the gate of the palace. When the Emirs came and would have gone in
to do their service to the Queen, they found Gharib standing at the
gate, clad in complete war-gear; and he said to them, “O folk, leave
the service of idols and worship the All-wise King, Creator of Night
and Day, the Lord of men, the Quickener of dry bones, for He made all
things and hath dominion over all.” When the Kafirs heard this, they
ran at him, but he fell on them like a rending lion and charged through
them again and again, slaying of them much people;——And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Seventy-seventh Night,
She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
Kafirs fell upon Gharib, he slew of them much people; but, when the
night came, they overcame him by dint of numbers and would have taken
him by strenuous effort, when behold, there descended upon the Infidels
a thousand Marids, under the command of Zalzal, who plied them with the
keen sabre and made them drink the cup of destruction, whilst Allah
hurried their souls to Hell-fire, till but few were left of the people
of Jan Shah to tell the tale and the rest cried out, “Quarter!
Quarter!” and believed in the Requiting King, whom no one thing
diverteth from other thing, the Destroyer of the Jabábirah[FN#74] and
Exterminator of the Akásirah, Lord of this world and of the next. Then
Zalzal saluted Gharib and gave him joy of his safety; and Gharib said
to him, “How knowest thou of my case?” and he replied, “O my lord, my
father kept me in prison two years, after sending thee to the Valley of
Fire; then he released me, and I abode with him another year, till I
was restored to favour with him, when I slew him and his troops
submitted to me. I ruled them for a year’s space till, one Night, I lay
down to sleep, having thee in thought, and saw thee in a dream,
fighting against the people of Jan Shah; wherefore I took these
thousand Marids and came to thee.” And Gharib marvelled at this happy
conjuncture. Then he seized upon Jan Shah’s treasures and those of the
slain and appointed a ruler over the city; after which the Marids took
up Gharib and the monies and he lay the same night in the Castle of
Crystal. He abode Zalzal’s guest six months, when he desired to depart;
so Zalzal gave him rich presents and despatched three thousand Marids,
who brought the spoils of Karaj-city and added them to those of Jan
Shah. Then Zalzal loaded forty thousand Marids with the treasure and
himself taking up Gharib, flew with his host towards the city of
Isbanir al-Madain where they arrived at midnight. But as Gharib glanced
around he saw the walls invested on all sides by a conquering
army,[FN#75] as it were the surging sea, so he said to Zalzal, “O my
brother, what is the cause of this siege and whence came this army?”
Then he alighted on the terrace roof of his palace and cried out,
saying, “Ho, Star o’ Morn! Ho, Mahdiyah!” Whereupon the twain started
up from sleep in amazement and said, “Who calleth us at this hour?”
Quoth he, “’Tis I, your lord, Gharib, the Marvellous One of the deeds
wondrous.” When the Princesses heard their lord’s voice, they rejoiced
and so did the women and the eunuchs. Then Gharib went down to them and
they threw themselves upon him and lullilooed with cries of joy, so
that all the palace rang again and the Captains of the army awoke and
said, “What is to do?” So they made for the palace and asked the
eunuchs, “Hath one of the King’s women given birth to a child?”; and
they answered, “No; but rejoice ye, for King Gharib hath returned to
you.” So they rejoiced, and Gharib, after salams to the women came
forth amongst his comrades, who threw themselves upon him and kissed
his hands and feet, returning thanks to Almighty Allah and praising
Him. Then he sat down on his throne, with his officers sitting about
him, and questioned them of the beleaguering army. They replied, “O
King, these troops sat down before the city three days ago and there
are amongst them Jinns as well as men; but we know not what they want,
for we have had with them neither battle nor speech.” And presently
they added, “The name of the commander of the besieging army is Murad
Shah and he hath with him an hundred thousand horse and three thousand
foot, besides two hundred tribesmen of the Jinn.” Now the manner of his
coming was wondrous.——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
to say her permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Seventy-eighth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the cause of this
army coming upon Isbanir city was wondrous. When the two men, whom
Sabur had charged to drown his daughter Fakhr Taj, let her go, bidding
her flee for her life, she went forth distracted, unknowing whither to
turn and saying, “Where is thine eye, O Gharib, that thou mayst see my
case and the misery I am in?”; and wandered on from country to country,
and valley to valley, till she came to a Wady abounding in trees and
streams, in whose midst stood a strong-based castle and a lofty-builded
as it were one of the pavilions of Paradise. So she betook herself
thither and entering the fortalice, found it hung and carpeted with
stuffs of silk and great plenty of gold and silver vessels; and therein
were an hundred beautiful damsels. When the maidens saw Fakhr Taj, they
came up to her and saluted her, deeming her of the virgins of the Jinn,
and asked her of her case. Quoth she, “I am daughter to the Persians’
King;” and told them all that had befallen her; which when they heard,
they wept over her and condoled with her and comforted her, saying, “Be
of good cheer and keep thine eyes cool and clear, for here shalt thou
have meat and drink and raiment, and we all are thy handmaids.” She
called down blessings on them and they brought her food, of which she
ate till she was satisfied. Then quoth she to them, “Who is the owner
of this palace and lord over you girls?” and quoth they, “King Salsál,
son of Dal, is our master; he passeth a night here once in every month
and fareth in the morning to rule over the tribes of the Jann.” So
Fakhr Taj took up her abode with them and after five days she gave
birth to a male child, as he were the moon. They cut his navel cord and
kohl’d his eyes then they named him Murad Shah, and he grew up in his
mother’s lap. After a while came King Salsal, riding on a paper white
elephant, as he were a tower plastered with lime and attended by the
troops of the Jinn. He entered the palace, where the hundred damsels
met him and kissed ground before him, and amongst them Fakhr Taj. When
the King saw her, he looked at her and said to the others, “Who is
yonder damsel?”; and they replied, “She is the daughter of Sabur, King
of the Persians and Turks and Daylamites.” Quoth he, “Who brought her
hither?” So they repeated to him her story; whereat he was moved to
pity for her and said to her, “Grieve not, but take patience till thy
son be grown a man, when I will go to the land of the Ajams and strike
off thy father’s head from between his shoulders and seat thy son on
the throne in his stead.” So she rose and kissed his hands and blessed
him. Then she abode in the castle and her son grew up and was reared
with the children of the King. They used to ride forth together
a-hunting and birding and he became skilled in the chase of wild beasts
and ravening lions and ate of their flesh, till his heart became harder
than the rock. When he reached the age of fifteen, his spi
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