The Kaisar sent Khushru a letter indicating his willingness to help him. He requested him to wait till he gathered the required army. The Kaisar also wrote that he was happy that Khushru trusted him enough to come to him for help, and did not go to anybody else. He then dispatched the letter.
However, the Kaisar’s advisory team had second thoughts. They did a turnaround and told the Kaizar that it would not be advisable to help the Iranians, as they were past enemies. They feared that after regaining power, Khushru may once again demand taxes from them.
The Kaisar sent an envoy to Khushru with a second letter, asking him to ignore his first letter. In the second letter it was stated that he would not be able to help him as his advisors feared repercussions.
Khushru wrote back to him, assuring that these were things of the past and nothing like this would happen in future. He also stated that if the Kaisar was not willing to help, he would leave Rome and approach the king of China. He dispatched the letter with his warrior Tokhār to the Kaisar.
When the Kaisar received the letter, he was confused, so he called the astrologers. They referred to astrological books written by Plato and said that fate has decreed Khushru as the next king of Iran who would rule for thirty-eight years, and will maintain cordial relations with him. When the Kaisar heard this, he agreed to help Khushru, on certain conditions.
The Kaisar wrote a letter to the Iranian king, in which he put down the conditions. One that he will have to sign a treaty of friendship, second that he would surrender parts of Armenia, Mesopotamia and the fortress of Dara, third that he will let go of all taxes and fourth that he will have to marry his daughter Mariam so that the two countries would be united by their child.
The letter was dispatched and read out. Khushru wrote back to the Kaisar agreeing to all the conditions. He asked the Kaisar to send his daughter along with his courtiers, and he will accept her as his queen.
Tested by the statue
When the couriers and warriors of Khushru, reached the Roman court, the Kaisar wanted to test their intelligence. He made his craftsmen prepare a mechanical statue of a very beautiful crying lady, surrounded by maids. Then he summoned the Iranian warrior Gastaham and told him that sitting in the corner was one of his princesses who was very sad as her husband had passed away. He requested him to go and console her.
Gastaham fell for the ploy. He did not recognise the statue and actually mistook it to be a real lady. The mechanical statue bowed down to him and started shedding tears. Gastaham consoled the statue for quite a long time but it did not respond. Finally he went to the Kaisar expressing his inability to convince the princess.
Then the Kaisar summoned the Iranian warriors Bālui, Andiyān and Shahpur in succession, told them the same story, and asked them to console the princess. They too tried to console the statue mistaking it for the princess, and returned unsuccessful.
Finally the Kaisar called Kharrād and asked him to console the statue. He went to the statue and started talking. When he did not get any response, he realized that something was amiss. He noticed that the maids were still and not uttering a word. He also realized that her ‘tears’ were falling exactly at the same place, and she never moved except when she ‘bowed’ in the beginning.
The wise warrior Kharrād realized that the Kaisar was making a fool of the Iranian courtiers and warriors. He told the Kaisar that the lady was not real, but it was a mechanical statue. The Kaisar was impressed by him and told him that he was the wisest of all and he would recommend to Khushru to make him his minister. Then Kharrād was asked to explain to the Kaisar the differences between the Indian, Zoroastrian and Christian religions.
Ramiyar Karanjia 