y endeavoured to
persuade him to undertake the thing. And since the plan pleased him,
they were purposing to assail Chosroes at the fitting moment. But the
plan was discovered and came to the knowledge of the king, and thus
their proceedings were stopped. For Chosroes slew Zames himself and all
his own brothers and those of Zames together with all their male
offspring, and also all the Persian notables who had either begun or
taken part in any way in the plot against him. Among these was
Aspebedes, the brother of Chosroes' mother.
Cabades, however, the son of Zames, he was quite unable to kill; for he
was still being reared under the chanaranges, Adergoudounbades. But he
sent a message to the chanaranges, bidding him himself kill the boy he
had reared; for he neither thought it well to shew mistrust, nor yet had
he power to compel him. The chanaranges, therefore, upon hearing the
commands of Chosroes, was exceedingly grieved and, lamenting the
misfortune, he communicated to his wife and Cabades' nurse all that the
king had commanded. Then the woman, bursting into tears and seizing the
knees of her husband, entreated him by no means to kill Cabades. They
therefore consulted together, and planned to bring up the child in the
most secure concealment, and to send word in haste to Chosroes that
Cabades had been put out of the world for him. And they sent word to the
king to this effect, and concealed Cabades in such a way that the affair
did not come to the notice of any one, except Varrames, their own child,
and one of the servants who seemed to them to be in every way most
trustworthy. But when, as time went on, Cabades came of age, the
chanaranges began to fear lest what had been done should be brought to
light; he therefore gave Cabades money and bade him depart and save
himself by flight wherever he could. At that time, then, Chosroes and
all the others were in ignorance of the fact that the chanaranges had
carried this thing through.
At a later time Chosroes was making an invasion into the land of Colchis
with a great army, as will be told in the following narrative[30]. And
he was followed by the son of this same chanaranges, Varrames, who took
with him a number of his servants, and among them the one who shared
with him the knowledge of what had happened to Cabades; while there
Varrames told the king everything regarding Cabades, and he brought
forward the servant agreeing with him in every particular. When Chosro
|