ABSTRACT
The first shipbuilder among the Persians was the legendary Jamshid of the Pishdadian dynasty, who traversed “the waters with his ships and passed from region to region with celerity.” Thereafter, in the reign of Dahhak, a large punitive expedition was despatched against Bahu or Sarandib-Shah of Ceylon, a vassal of Maharaj, the ruler of India. With the transfer of government from the Pishdadians to the Kayanians the scene of action shifts from Sarandib to Hamawaran. In touring through his territory Kay Ka’us passes through Nimruz and reaches the coast of Makran and resolves to make a sudden descent upon Hamawaran. Kay Khusraw, grandson and successor to Kay Ka’us, was hot on the trail of Afrasiyab, whose way of life has fallen into the sear, the yellow leaf. Safety lies in flight, and flight took him along Mount Ispuruz “of the Alburz range bordering Mazandaran” towards the sea “which can be none other than the Caspian.”
