The shah stood still. ‘If the man walks towards us he will have to take off his cap,’ he said to himself. The man kept his cap on. He slipped his hand inside his jacket. The shah smelled danger, but the photographer shouted, ‘A little more patience! Don’t move!’ The man pulled out a pistol. The man was Mirza Reza. Before the shah realised what was happening three shots were fired.
The photographer had just taken his picture.
The shah slumped to the ground.
64. Taj Olsultan
The tellers of the old kings’ tales tended to take liberties with the narrative of their stories, and when it suited them they always revised the endings in order to close with a flicker of hope. No one knows whether they told the truth or not, but everyone understands that those who related the events of history were granted the freedom to end their stories as they saw fit.
With this old Persian tradition in mind the following just may be true.
Forty days after the death of the shah the delegates of the parliament came together. They appointed Princess Taj Olsultan as regent in place of her little son, who later would ascend the throne.
The beautiful princess arrived at the parliament in her golden coach and entered the building accompanied by a group of guards. All the delegates stood up and clapped for Her Majesty.
Once she was officially sworn in she put her signature on all the parliamentary documents. Taj Olsultan recognised Afghanistan as a sovereign nation and pulled the Persian troops out of Herat. She arranged for housing and allowances for all the women of the harem and sent them back to their families.
During the long life of Taj Olsultan the trains arrived and all the streets of Tehran were bathed every night in the light of the new electric lamps.
The kings’ tales are never really finished, and this is because the storytellers always have to save something for the night that is to come.
Note from the Author
A couple of British characters in this book bear the names of real historical figures. I adopted their names so that their voices could be heard again today. I have always been fond of their books as well as their politics.
Note from the Translator
The storyteller who narrates The King has a vast store of classical literature in his head that he recites more or less verbatim, adopting and adapting it as circumstances require. Some of this literature is easily available in existing English translations. The shah’s poem in chapter 13 is based on a verse from The Golestan of Saadi, translated by Richard Francis Burton. The poem in chapter 24 is from the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, translated by Edward FitzGerald. The passages from the Quran are taken from the translation made by Ahmed Ali, Al-Qur’an, published by the Princeton University Press in 1984.
I would like to thank R.M. McGlinn for his assistance in transliterating the Farsi texts. Thanks also to Melissa Marshall for her exacting editorial skill. And finally, my gratitude to Susan Massotty for her collegial support and encouragement.
Kader Abdolah, The King
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