“His grandsire pleased beheld the warrior train Successive throng and darken all the plain. And bounteously his treasures he supplied, Camels and steeds and gold. In martial pride Sohrāb was seen—a Grecian helmet graced His brow—and costliest mail his limbs embraced. The insidious king sees well, the tempting hour Favoring his arms against the Persian power, But treacherous, first his martial chiefs he prest To keep the secret fast within their breast; For this bold youth shall not his father know, Each must confront the other as his foe. Unknown, the youth shall Rustem’s force withstand, And soon o’erwhelm the bulwark of the land. Rustem removed, the Persian throne is ours, An easy conquest to confederate powers.” By the careful intrigues of the king, the Tartar host was soon arrayed against Persia, and all unknown to each, the father and son were drawn up in battle array against each other. When the eye of Rustem fell upon the magnificent figure of the young Tartar prince, he was astonished at his martial bearing, for he seemed to wear the manly form of his own race. He marked the strong shoulders, so much resembling Zāl, and knew that this strong warrior knight sat his splendid horse like Rustem’s self. He thought: “He cannot be my son unknown to me; Reason forbids the thought—it cannot be. At Samenegān, where once affection smiled, To me Tahmīneh bore her only child. That was a daughter.” Then the trumpets clang announced the attack of the invader, as the Tartar horde sprang into the fight. The troops of horse and foot were blended in the wild disorder of Oriental battle, and the very earth seemed to shake beneath the shock, while the dust driven in dark eddies whirled high in air, obscuring the very face of heaven. The bright steel armor glittered over all the plain, but alas, it covered the forms of fallen heroes as often as it shielded the daring hearts of living riders. The light flashed from the gold emblazoned shields as the glittering spears struck the bright surface, until it seemed as if the clouds were pouring showers of sparkling amber upon the plain.