Tebad 2


 * Tebad 2: King of Kings
 * by Anthony Mayer
 * 8 February 2002

Tebad – King of Kings

Tebad's Persian campaign began no differently to any of his other ventures. Through skill and ruthlessness he emerged absolutely victorious. The army of the Persian King numbered over 50,000, mostly infantry, but with elite Peacock Warriors, mounted archers and lancers, and the most sophisticated engines available. Its leaders were the highest-ranking nobles in the kingdom, with no less than King Rustum VIII as supreme commander. The Company was represented by its Home Guard Director, the esteemed, if not particularly cunning, Eskaner.

The speed with which the Royal army was assembled, a matter of a month, demonstrated the efficiency of the Persian logistical and financial system, together with the strength of royal authority when joined with that of the Company. Both King and merchant feared Tebad, as he threatened power and trade alike. Nevertheless both underestimated him, the king for the first and last time. The army rode out to Khorasan in the Spring of 400 SE [1172 CE], hoping to meet and bring the Black Sheep to battle before any of the Persian heartlands could be threatened. They approached Herat on the night of the Feast of Gaspar, having learned that Tebad had recently captured the town, and hoping to bring him to battle there. With the dawn scouts reported the town had been abandoned by the Turks. King Rustum ordered the army to enter the town. It was, of course, a trap. The land had been carefully studied by Tebad, and he had instructed his archers on approaches they could make under cover, before attacking and retreating. The Persians fought superbly, and several times almost managed to break through the Turkish lines, but eventually their losses forced them back into the town, where a last-ditch struggle was fought around the King's tent. None survived -- those who threw down their weapons were slain on the spot.

The King's death, and with him his army's destruction, had bought Persia some time. Tebad's losses had been severe and he needed to reinforce and revictual before progressing. But he had cleared the way to the heart of Persia as now there was no opponent of any calibre opposing him. For Shahan, Liaison of the Company, the pause in Tebad's onslaught was vital. While courtiers in Esfahan talked of raising new forces, or defending the city, Shahan knew that such attempts were hopeless. He decided to abandon the land, to save the people, the culture and the way of life. And, of course, the money. Debates raged in the churches about what should be done, but Shahan was determined. If Persia was to fall, the Company must live on.

During the summer and fall of 400 SE, while preparations were made to have the young king and the court flee, reports arrived that Tebad was on the move once more. Shahan struck upon a way to divert the Fever Wind from his prize. Everyone knew how Tebad despised cowardice and hunted down and killed those who fled. Rumours were widely circulated that the young king Tirdad would come out to avenge his father's death. A small contingent of soldiers, bearing the royal colours, attacked Tebad's approaching army, and then fled northwards to the Elburz Mountains. Tebad was outraged, but not entirely stupid. He ordered the army to continue its advance, at a pace slower than he would have liked due to the encumbrance of the captured siege engines, while he himself pursued what he guessed was a diversion. It was a challenge to his honour that he could not refuse. With his finest horsemen he caught the sacrifice in Georgia, at the town of Telav. Here the royal bodyguard, sworn to save their king, cast themselves into the fires of the local Sacred Flame in the town's church rather than face capture. The spectacle of this selfless act awed Tebad. He realised his enemies had been far from cowards, and from that day he gave those of his opponents he felt had fought bravely the honour of being cast into the flames, just as the Nestorians honoured those who had redeemed their sins before execution.

Returning to his army he finally attacked Esfahan, which was utterly demolished after a ferocious struggle. The entire population, some 80,000 civilians, were put to the sword. After three days of looting the Fever Wind ordered his men from the city, for fear of disease spread by the corpses. But the young king, and much of the portable wealth and sacred objects, had gone.

There followed a chase across Persia to the sea, which the Company men won, but only by the narrowest of margins. The two epic poems, The Tears of Christ and The Stone in Exile, masterpieces of medieval Nestorian literature, tell of the final ride, the siege of Basra, the dramatic scene as the last boats escaped from the burning city, overloaded with refugees and under bowshot as they struggled out to the Company ships offshore. Persia had gone -- but the royal line, much of the Company's wealth, and the Nestorian Church would live on elsewhere.

For Tebad the memory of the escape was a constant thorn in his side, but he soon found another enemy worthy of his sword. Following the subjugation of the rest of the Persian Empire, he dispatched emissaries to the Kings of Armenia, Syria, and Egypt, demanding fealty. The reply was soon in coming -- they gave allegiance only to God and The Emperor. By 401 Tebad's army was on the march again.

But while his conquests would continue, Tebad never forgot how he had been denied his prize following the events at Telav, which had a lasting impact on his later life.