Chapter 112: Mongol and Rus
Chapter 112: Mongol and Rus
Ctesiphon was, without a doubt, the foremost magnificent city in the Zoroastrian world. It boasted a population exceeding five hundred thousand; during its peak, the settled population here, including travelers, had reached nearly a million.
An endless stream of Eastern and Western merchant caravans used it as a trade hub. Northern nomads, native states of India, the Turkic tribes of Asia Minor, and the Caucasian mountaineers came here year after year to declare themselves vassals and offer tribute.
This was also the origin of the Sasanian King’s title, "Shahanshah" or "King of Kings."
White-robed eunuchs shouldered an imperial palanquin. The esteemed King of Kings sat cross-legged on this gilded ivory litter, looking down at the powerful, surging waves of the Tigris River below the city walls. He tossed a translucent pomegranate aril into his mouth and, while chewing, inquired, "How fares Saladin’s offensive?"
The Grand Vizier, Sepehr, said with utmost respect, "He is still firmly blocked before the walls of Kerak Castle, unable to advance an inch."
The Sasanian dynasty was a state where church and state were one; the King of Kings was both the secular ruler and also the universally acknowledged Grand Patriarch of all Zoroastrians.
Bahram, the Sasanian King of Kings, let out a long breath. "The valor of the Franks is something even I must acknowledge. Retaking the lost Holy Land should have been my duty, but—" His face turned somewhat livid. "This Saladin, by what right does he dare to presumptuously launch a Jihad? Is this not a prerogative bestowed by the Holy Fire upon the Grand Patriarch?"
’Authority and prestige should not be delegated to others.’
The King of Kings was conflicted. On one hand, he was too lazy to bother retaking the Holy Land, so distant from Ctesiphon, as it offered absolutely no tangible benefits; on the other hand, he didn’t want anyone else to accomplish this great deed in his stead.
Sepehr said gravely, "My Lord, retaking the Holy Land and taking revenge on the cruel Franks is the will of the people; Saladin is merely riding this tide. If he succeeds, his prestige will be like the midday sun, but still incomparable to yours. And if he fails, the various chieftains forcibly integrated under his command will rebel again, and his vast kingdom will instantly disintegrate."
Bahram VI snorted coldly. "Not only that, if he suffers losses and is defeated by the Franks, I will personally lead a grand army to punish him!"