Amirhamzeh Sahebgharan

The Tale of
Amir Hamzeh
Sahebgheran
and Mehtar
Nasim Ayar
Written by: Mohammad Ali Sepanloo
Illustrated by: Nooroddin Zarrinkelk
Childhood
Once upon a
time, a boy was
born, named
Hamzeh, who was
later known as
"Amir Hamzeh
Sahebgheran".
On the same
day, another boy
was born in a
poor family,
called Nasim, who
was later famous
as "Mehtar Nasim
Ayar.
Since they were neighbors, Hamzeh and Nasim struck up a deep, firm
friendship. Once, they were passing a neighborhood in the city where an
athlete was bragging, "There's no athlete in the world to compete with me."
Hamzeh was volunteered to wrestle with him and beat him. The word went
around the city that an eight-year-old boy was able to defeat the athlete of the
city.
One day, Hamzeh
and Nasim arrived
at a temple where
people worshiped
some idols.
They entered the temple, and Nasim said, "This is where people bow
before these idols and think they are gods. Bowing is humiliating, let alone
bowing some wooden, stone, or golden idols." Hamzeh agreed and broke
them all. The heathens were angry and complained to his father. Amir
Hamzeh and Nasim grew up to be twenty anyway.
Hamzeh
fighting
bandits
Nasim Ayar once
told Hamzeh that
the travelers to
Mecca had to pay
taxes and loot to
the king of Yemen,
"the Big-bellied
Hassan". So they
stealthily chased a
caravan to Mecca.
A gang of bandits, headed by "Ashg", attacked the caravan when Amir
Hamzeh and Nasim suddenly appeared in the middle of the dust. They
fought the robbers and defeated them. They dismounted Ashg from his
horse and arrested him. Ashg said, "Now I know that robbery and idolatry
are vain or I wouldn't have been beaten." Thus, Hamzeh forgave him, and
Ashg joined Hamzeh and Nasim and became one of their best comrades.
Hamzeh fighting the Big-bellied Hassan
and his 44 brothers
The king of Yemen was a gluttonous, bulky, strong man, called "the
Big-bellied Hassan", who had 44 athletic brothers. When he heard of
Ashg's defeat, Hassan along with his 44 brothers and his army lined up
against Amir Hamzeh's camp. Hamzeh mounted on his horse and cried
out, "Hassan, come to the battlefield alone so that we can settle things
down between us." Hassan rushed to the battlefield and hit Hamzeh's
head with his heavy club, but Hamzeh did not bat an eye. Hamzeh
grasped his wrist and twisted it so that he could drop his dagger and
break it. Then, he grabbed his waist and punched into his chest. Hassan
fell down the horseback. Hamzeh said, "Hassan, how did I overcome
you?" Hassan replied, "Quite manly!" "So you'd better be a man or be at
a man's service." Then, Hassan and his brothers and his army became
Hamzeh's comrades.
Hamzeh going to Madaen and falling in a
well
Anoosharavan, the king, was informed that Hamzeh had defeated the
Big-bellied Hassan and Ashg. Bakhtak, Anooshiravan's malicious minister,
told him, "We have to arrest him."
Bozorgmehr, his benevolent minister, suggested, "No, it's better to be at the
king's service."
Then, Bakhtak went to Gharoon, king's army general, and told him, "If
Hamzeh arrives here, the king will make him the commander of the army."
So Bakhtak and Gharoon amassed 30,000 soldiers to set out on a journey
overnight to fight Hamzeh. When they arrived at Hamzeh's camp, they
thought of a trick. They dug seven wells and covered them.
When Hamzeh attacked Gharoon
the next day, he jumped over six wells,
but over the seventh well, the horse's
feet were stuck, and Amir Hamzeh fell
down into the well. Gharoon's soldiers
shoveled some soil on his head, but
Hamzeh held his shield over his head.
Seeing this, Nasim rushed to the well,
killed the soldiers, and jumped into the
well to help Hamzeh find a way out.
They dug even
more and
found a way
out just
beneath
Gharoon's bed.
They arrested
Gharoon and
his troop and
took them to
Madaen
busted.
Anooshiravan
and
Bozorgmehr
welcomed
them and
received them
warmly and
asked Hamzeh
to forgive
Gharoon and
Bakhtak, and
he did so.
Hamzeh falling in love
with Mehrnegar
One day, Amir Hamzeh was
strolling in one of Madaen
gardens when he saw
Mehrnegar, Anooshiravan's
daughter, and fell in love with
her head over heels. Hamzeh
told Nasim of his love. They
both went to Anooshiravan to
ask for Mehrnegar's hand and
propose his daughter. Based
on the malicious Bakhtak's
advice, Anooshiravan
accepted Hamzeh's proposal
provided that he would bring
him Landehour's head.
Hamzeh and his troop got on a
ship and set out on a voyage.
They reached an island and
anchored there. They went to the
land. Hamzeh saw an old man
sitting next to a tree. The old man
asked him to pick some fruits for
him, but as Hamzeh approached
the tree to pick some fruits, the
old man jumped over his back
and did not come down, no
matter how hard Hamzeh tried.
When he returned to his troops,
he found out that there were
some Dual-feeted creatures on
the back of all his soldiers,
piggybacking. Nasim thought of a
trick to get rid of those annoying
Dual-feeted creatures, so he went
into the woods while a Dualfeeted was piggybacking him. He
found some wine and gave it to
the Dual-feeted.
The island of the
Dual-feeted
He drank the wine and his feet were loose, so Nasim could get rid of him. All the
soldiers got rid of the Dual-feeted creatures the same way. Amir Hamzeh and his
comrades got back on the ship and sailed towards Sarandib.
Hamzeh fighting Landehour
Landehour, the king
of Sarandib, was a
young, strong man,
as tall as a seventyyear-old plane-tree.
He was riding an
elephant and
holding a heavy club
on entering the
battlefield.
Landehour and
Hamzeh started
fighting.
Landehour raised his club and threw it to Hamzeh, but he grabbed the club in
the air and threw it back to Landehour so hard that his elephant was knocked
down. Landehour expressed, "You're a real man! And your style is manly! Let
me be at your service.“ Hamzeh accepted and said, "But first, I have to take
you to Anooshiravan's court in Madaen."
Wedding
Hamzeh and Landehour and their comrades got on the ship and sailed to
Madaen. On Bozorgmehr's comment, Anooshiravan let Landehour stay alive
and allowed Hamzeh to marry his daughter, Mehrnegar.
They held a wedding feast for seven days and nights and lived happily
ever after, yet they always watched out for some malicious people.