Last King of Kings

Chapter 6: Khazars, those damned Khazars

Yazdegerd was in Istakhr, riding in his chariot pulled by one of the best horses in Persia. He was followed by pushtigban and darigan, both elite forces tasked with protecting their Shahanshah. Jalinus was following behind him on horse, looking out for any signs of danger in the crowd. In front of him, his charioteer was quite obviously sweating, wiping his forehead with a cloth. It was beautiful day. Sun was shining, birds chirped, city was lively. Yazdegerd saw in the corner of his vision children playing on the square. Smile formed on his face, wondering about something.

The crowd surrounding the road he was riding on cheered and praised their Shah. He was glad that at least in this part of his empire, people are still fond of him, or at least they pretend to. But that was enough for him. He stood up, waving his arm, his face hidden behind a cloth, as tradition dictates. As he was waving, he listened to the sounds the city made. On the square, musicians played traditional songs with surnas, which is similar to flutes, accompanied by tompaks, which is basically a drum and ghaychaks, a type of fiddle. At that moment, he saw the city and it's inhabitants as people, who through all these hardships stood up, licked their bruised, smiled and tried to move on. Even after the exhausting and devastating war, the deadly plague and constant raids by Khazars and G?ktürks, they continued to live their life. Not like they had any other choice though. He thought that it would be great if it could continue like this. Without any unnecessary bloodshed, unneeded wars, just continue to live in peace. That would be nice.

He would probably continue to think this way, weren't it for the reports Rostam brought him.

"Khazars? Didn't they raid Roman Armenia just a while ago? How can they conduct another raid so early?"

"My Shahanshah, may he be immortal, I have to admit I have no idea. Maybe it is the promise of loot and plunder that made their soldiers want to conduct another raid. But the reports are trustworthy as several scouts reported them gathering around the border of our Atropatene province."

Shah sighed. This wasn't the only bad report he was brought. There were also reports of G?ktürks gathering their army for presumably an invasion of Parthia. Then reports of plague appearing in the big cities of Tabarestan and Sakastan, namely in Amol, Rasht and Zarang. He had a lot to handle. But he chose this for himself and he had to cope with it.

"My spahbed, any ideas? Opinions? Any advice?"

Rostam was a startled a bit by this set of questions, but then he smiled kindly and answered.

"Khazars came to rob and plunder, they won't be able to attack and conquer fortified cities. Not in the mountains, not on those horses. G?ktürks on other hand came with an army capable of conquering even more advanced fortifications."

He then bowed and waited for his Shah to make the decision. Yazdegerd smiled on him, thanked him in his mind and gathered his thoughts.

"My spahbed, send your best general with an army to fight the G?ktürks. Whatever you do, don't let them take Merv. Also, as for the Khazars, send garrison reinforcements to bigger cities in Atropatene and Media. We can't fight both Khazars and G?ktürks on even grounds, so let's concentrate on only one. I'll trust you with this, my spahbed."

Rostam knelt and with phrase "You can count on me, my Shahanshah, may he be immortal." left. The servant, who was patiently waiting behind the doors to let the two men finish their talk entered the room and brought his Shah some refreshments and jug of wine. He then took a sip from the wine and some food from the refreshments, which included dates, dairy and grilled chicken with rice, to make sure it is free of poison, and it is safe for the Shah to eat. After a few minutes, Shah took a handful of dates and started eating them.

"Bring me wuzurg framadar Farrukhzad. It is urgent."

"Yes, my Shahanshah, may he be immortal."

After the servant left in search for Farrukhzad, although no one was in the room, young Shah still looked around to make sure no eyes were set on him. Then he took the chicken and started devouring it like a wild beast. He didn't eat for half a day and he was hungry. Very hungry and he had some time to eat before Farrukhzad would arrive. So he ate and drank as he could, until he felt full and stuffed. He then put the plate away to not disturb him, but let the jug with wine on his table.

After a while Farrukhzad and the servant entered the room. Yazdegerd gestured Farrukhzad to sit down with him, while he commanded the servant.

"You, bring us a cup for my wuzurg framadar and jug of fresh wine. And hurry."

"Yes, my Shahanshah, may he be immortal."

The servant quickly left the room, leaving the two alone. Shah picked up his cup of wine, gulped a bit of wine, then showed Farrukhzad the reports.

"I presume you already saw these, right?" asked the Shah with a cold expression.

"Yes, my Shahanshah, may he be immortal." answered Farrukhzad, a bit reluctantly.

"I won't ask you why it wasn't you who brought it to me but your brother. I do not care. But tell me, what do you plan to do with this?"

"My Shahanshah, may he be immortal, I think it would be in your best interest to help these people out and make it clear that it was you who helped them, not Parsigs nor Pahlavs, but you."

Persia was not long ago still in turmoil as numerous factions of nobles fought against each other. Parsig (Persian) and Pahlav (Parthian) factions were one of the biggest ones and controlled a large chunks of territory in the Empire. Although they officially recognized Yazdegerd III. as their rightful ruler, their squabbles for territory and power didn't stop and their young Shah didn't pose a big threat to them. And that needed to change.

Yazdegerd thought about Farrukhzad's suggestion. By helping to relieve the region crippled by plague, he could earn the peoples favour and they may start to recognize him as their ruler again. This would weaken both factions and only empower the Shah. But there was a problem. He needed the money to build an army to fight the G?ktürks. But it was worth the risk. If he didn't dare to risk in these daring times, he would succumb very quickly.

"My wuzurg framadar, I believe I can entrust you with this task to make it a success, right?"

"You can count on me, my Shahanshah, may he be immortal. But there is one more topic I wish to discuss with my Shahanshah, may he be immortal. May I?"

"I'm all ears."