Explore "Shahnameh" by Abolqasem Ferdowsi on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
The Reign of Dara
Dara grieved for his father's death, and exalted the royal crown of Persia above the sun. He was young, fiery-tempered, quick to take offense, and his heart and tongue were hard enough to blunt a sword. From the throne he addressed his court: "Noblemen and warriors, I do not want my head to be brought down into the pit of servitude, and I will summon no one who is in that pit to approach my throne. Any man who ignores my commands can consider his head as no longer attached to his body, and if anyone so much as murmurs in his heart against me, my sword shall deal with him. No rich man is to use his wealth contrary to my wishes. I need no counselors: I am my own counselor and responsible for my own well-being. The pleasure, treaties, greatness, and sovereignty of the world are mine. " He summoned a learned scribe and after some discussion had him write a letter as trenchant as a dagger, in the name of Dara, the son of Darab, the son of Ardeshir, to every other king and independent ruler.