How Rustam came to the City of Samangán
When Rustam drew near Samangán the kingAnd nobles heard: "The Crown-bestower comethAfoot for Rakhsh escaped him in the chace."
The king's chief nobles, who wore crowns themselves,Went forth to welcome Rustam, and all said:—"Can this be Rustam or the rising sun?"
The monarch went to him afoot attended,And asked: "Who dared to meet thee in the fight?We of this city are thy friends and servants,We and our goods are both at thy disposal,The heads and lives most dear to us are thine."
Then Rustam, seeing that the words were honest,Replied: "In yonder meads my Rakhsh while rangingWithout a rein or halter strayed from me,And I have traced him from the river-sideTo Samangán. If thou recoverest himMy thanks are thine besides the recompenseOf one that doth aright; should he be lostI will behead no few among thy chiefs."
The king made answer: "O exalted man!None will presume to thwart thee. Come and beMy guest and be not wroth; all will be well.Let us refresh our hearts with wine to-nightAnd keep them free from care, for wrath and passionAdvantage not while gentleness will drawThe snake out of its hole, and Rustam's Rakhsh—A steed so known—will not continue hidden.We will seek out thy Rakhsh and bring him quickly,Thou doughty veteran!"
Rustam heard with joy,And easy in his mind agreed to payA visit to the king who, greatly pleased,Bestowed him in the palace and stood slave-likeBefore him, then invited from the cityAnd army chiefs to entertain with Rustam,And bade the cooks to spread the board. The guestsAnd minstrels strove to banish Rustam's gloom,While black-eyed, rose-cheeked Idols of TarázGave wine and feast and music greater charm.At length bemused and drowsy Rustam wentTo where the king had furnished for his guestMusk and rose-water, and a place of rest.
Words in this poem
- chace v. t.
- To pursue. See Chase v. t.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
- aright adv.
- Rightly; correctly; in a right way or form; without mistake or crime; as, to worship God aright. [Pref. a- + right.]
- behead v. t.
- To sever the head from; to take off the head of. [OE. bihefden, AS. beheáfdian; pref. be- + heáfod head. See Head.]
- presume v. t.
- To assume or take beforehand; esp., to do or undertake without leave or authority previously obtained. [F. présumer, L. praesumere, praesumptum; prae before + sumere to take. See Assume, Redeem.]
- wroth a.
- Full of wrath; angry; incensed; much exasperated; wrathful. [OE. wroth, wrap, AS. wraedh wroth, crooked, bad; akin to wriedhan to writhe, and to OS. wreedhangry, D. wreed cruel, OHG. reid twisted, Icel. reiedhr angry, Dan]
- steed n.
- A horse, especially a spirited horse for state of war; -- used chiefly in poetry or stately prose. [OE. stede, AS. steda a stud-horse, war horse, fr. stod a stud of breeding steeds; akin to G. stute a mare, Icel. stedda, sto, a stud. *163. See Stud of horses.]
- doughty a.
- Able; strong; valiant; redoubtable; as, a doughty hero.
- bade
- A form of the pat tense of Bid.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
How Rustam came to the City of Samangán is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Shahnama of Firdausi, done into English by Arthur George Warner and Edmond Warner, vol. II (Trübner’s Oriental Series), London, 1906; Part III, Suhráb (sections 1 to 25), Internet Archive, the Arthur George Warner and Edmond Warner translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Ferdowsi, How Rustam came to the City of Samangán, in Rustam and Sohrab (from the Shahnama) (1906), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/ferdowsi-rustam-and-sohrab/3.html, id L29101.
Form and metre
How Rustam came to the City of Samangán is 42 lines in 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%).
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 5 A---A----- manA · be · well · night · passionA · draw · rakhsh · hidden · quickly · veteran
- 6 -----------AA joy · pay · pleased · like · city · rustam · guests · gloom · taráz · charm · went · guestA · restA
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| When Rustam drew near Samangán the king | 10 | ·········· |
| And nobles heard: "The Crown-bestower cometh | 11 | ·/˘···˘/˘/˘ |
| Afoot for Rakhsh escaped him in the chace." | 10 | ˘/··˘/···· |
| The king's chief nobles, who wore crowns themselves, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Went forth to welcome Rustam, and all said:— | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| "Can this be Rustam or the rising sun?" | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| The monarch went to him afoot attended, | 11 | ·/····˘/˘/˘ |
| And asked: "Who dared to meet thee in the fight? | 10 | ·········· |
| We of this city are thy friends and servants, | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| We and our goods are both at thy disposal, | 11 | ··/·····˘/˘ |
| The heads and lives most dear to us are thine." | 10 | ·········· |
| Then Rustam, seeing that the words were honest, | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| Replied: "In yonder meads my Rakhsh while ranging | 11 | ˘/·/˘····/˘ |
| Without a rein or halter strayed from me, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And I have traced him from the river-side | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| To Samangán. If thou recoverest him | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| My thanks are thine besides the recompense | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| Of one that doth aright; should he be lost | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| I will behead no few among thy chiefs." | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| The king made answer: "O exalted man! | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| None will presume to thwart thee. Come and be | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| My guest and be not wroth; all will be well. | 10 | ·········· |
| Let us refresh our hearts with wine to-night | 10 | ··˘//····· |
| And keep them free from care, for wrath and passion | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Advantage not while gentleness will draw | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘˘·· |
| The snake out of its hole, and Rustam's Rakhsh— | 10 | ·········· |
| A steed so known—will not continue hidden. | 11 | ······˘/˘/˘ |
| We will seek out thy Rakhsh and bring him quickly, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Thou doughty veteran!" | 6 | ·/˘/˘˘ |
| Rustam heard with joy, | 5 | ····· |
| And easy in his mind agreed to pay | 10 | ·/˘···˘/·· |
| A visit to the king who, greatly pleased, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Bestowed him in the palace and stood slave-like | 11 | ˘/···/˘···· |
| Before him, then invited from the city | 11 | ····˘/˘··/˘ |
| And army chiefs to entertain with Rustam, | 11 | ·/˘···˘/··· |
| And bade the cooks to spread the board. The guests | 10 | ·········· |
| And minstrels strove to banish Rustam's gloom, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| While black-eyed, rose-cheeked Idols of Taráz | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Gave wine and feast and music greater charm. | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| At length bemused and drowsy Rustam went | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| To where the king had furnished for his guest | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Musk and rose-water, and a place of rest. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.