بخش 17
Prose Version
Esfandiar counters Rostam's claims by asserting his own superior royal lineage. He traces his ancestry back through King Goshtasp and Lohrasp to Key Kobad and ultimately to Fereydoun. He also highlights his maternal line, descending from the Caesar of Rome and Salm, another son of Fereydoun. Esfandiar dismisses Rostam's ancestors, Zal and Sam, as mere servants to his own forefathers. He then boasts of his own heroic exploits: spreading the Zoroastrian faith to China, breaking his heavy chains with his bare hands to save his father's kingdom from Arjasp, and his perilous Seven Labors. Esfandiar describes his conquest of the impregnable Brazen Fortress (Ruyin Dezh), where he destroyed idols and established the holy fire of Zarathustra. Claiming to have single-handedly cleansed the world of enemies and idolatry, he suggests they end the debate and drink wine.