A literary history of Persia

BABAK AL-KHURRAMf 327" 'So when it was morning, she assembled before her the army ofJawidan, and they said, " How is it that he doth not summon us andgive us his instructions " " ? She answered, Naught prevented himfrom so doing save that ye were scattered abroad in your homes inthe villages, and that, had he sent to assemble you, tidings of thiswould have been spread abroad ; wherefore he, fearing the maliceof the Arabs towards you, laid upon me that which I now convey toyou, if ye will accept it and act in accordance with " it." Tell us,"they answered, " what were the wishes he expressed to thee, fornor will weverily we never opposed his commands during his life,oppose them now that he is dead." "He said to me," she replied," 'Verily I shall die this night, and my spirit will go forth from mybody, and will enter into the body of this lad, my servant, and Ipurpose to set him in authority over my followers, wherefore, whenI am dead, make known to them this thing, and that there is no truereligion in him who opposeth me herein, or who chooseth for himselfthe contrary of what I have chosen.' " They answered, " Weaccept his testament to thee in respect to this lad."" 'Then she called for a cow, and commanded that it should beslain and flayed, and that its skin should be spread out, and on theskin she placed a bowl filled with wine, and into it she broke bread,which she placed round about the bowl. Then she called them,man by man, and bade each of them tread the skin with his foot,and take a piece of bread, plunge it in the wine, and eat it, saying," I believe in thee, O Spirit of Babak, as I believe in the spirit ofJawidan " and that each should then take the hand of Babak, and;do obeisance before it,and kiss it. And they did so, until such timeas food was made ready for her ; then she brought forth food andwine to them, and seated Babak on her bed, and sat beside himpublicly before them. And when they had drunk three draughtseach, she took a sprig of basil and offered it to Babak, and he tookit from her hand, and this was their marriage. Then [their followers]came forth and did obeisance to the two of them, acknowledgingthe "marriage. . . .'Doctrines ofThe most important statements contained in ^9 */ M f&Babak.t^e above narrative as to Babalc's doctrines are : f ***(1) That he declared himself to be God,Divine Theophany.or at least a(2) That he declared that the soul of his master Jdwfdanhad passedinto him. 1 He thus held two at least,and probably1This is confirmed by Tabari, iii, 1015.