nd reaching to the skies, of iron formed,
They bound him; merciless they were to him
Who had given splendour to a mighty throne.
Mournful vicissitude! Thus pain and pleasure
Successive charm and tear the heart of man;
And many a day in that drear solitude,
He lingered, shedding tears of blood, till times
Of happier omen dawned upon his fortunes.

Having thus made Isfendiyar secure in the mountain-prison, and being
entirely at ease about the internal safety of the empire, Gushtasp was
anxious to pay a visit to Zal and Rustem at Sistan, and to convert them
to the religion of Zerdusht. On his approach to Sistan he was met and
respectfully welcomed by Rustem. who afterwards in open assembly
received the Zendavesta and adopted the new faith, which he propagated
throughout his own territory; but, according to common report it was
fear of Gushtasp alone which induced him to pursue this course. Gushtasp
remained two years his guest, enjoying all kinds of recreation, and
particularly the sports of the field and the forests.

When Bahman, the son of Isfendiyar, heard of the imprisonment of his
father, he, in grief and alarm, abandoned his trust, dismissed the army,
and proceeded to Balkh, where he joined his two brothers, and wept over
the fate of their unhappy father.

In the meantime the news of the confinement of Isfendiyar, and the
absence of Gushtasp at Sistan, and the unprotected state of Balkh,
stimulated Arjasp to a further effort, and he despatched his son Kahram
with a large army towards the capital of the enemy, to carry into effect
his purpose of revenge. Lohurasp was still in religious retirement at
Balkh. The people were under great apprehension, and being without a
leader, anxiously solicited the old king to command them, but he said
that he had abandoned all earthly concerns, and had devoted himself to
God, and therefore could not comply with their entreaties. But they
would hear no denial, and, as it were, tore him from his place of refuge
and prayer. There were assembled only about one thousand horsemen, and
with these he advanced to battle; but what were they compared to the
hundred thousand whom they met, and by whom they were soon surrounded.
Their bravery was useless. They were at once overpowered and defeated,
and Lohurasp himself was unfortunately among the slain.

Upon the achievement of his victory, Kahram entered Balkh in triumph,
made the people prisoners, and destroyed all the place