Jawamiʿ al-hikayat wa lawamiʿ al-riwayat 21.2

21.2

have you ever heard or read, in any history, of kings wedding the children of their slaves?" I made obeisance and said—"Many cases similar to this have occurred. Several kings of the Sámánian dynasty married their own slave girls. This act will not seem to the world as derogatory to the king's honour and rectitude. Perhaps your Majesty is unaware that Kubád, at the time he went to Turkistán, took as his wife the daughter of a villager, from whom was born Naushírwán. In Persian history, I have also read that Bahrám Gúr married a washerman's daughter. The Sultán asked me the particulars of the story, so I said, "I have heard that one day Bahrám Gúr went out hunting, and having started a stag, followed it so far that he became separated from his train. He felt thirsty and went towards a village. He there saw a washerman sitting on the edge of a pond washing clothes; his wife and daughter were sitting by him with a heap of clothes ready to be washed. Bahrám approached them, and said, 'O washerman, give me some water to drink.' The washerman stood up, and having paid him the usual marks of respect, ordered his wife to fetch some water for the king.