The King

10. Taj, the Daughter of the Shah

The king had many daughters, but little Taj Olsultan was different. She was born of the marriage with Foruq, who was a woman of the Qajar tribe, the same tribe as that of the shah. Foruq was also the shah’s cousin.

Foruq was expected to bear a son for the monarchy who would later succeed the shah. Dozens of sons had been produced by the other wives, but they didn’t count. Only a son of Foruq could be the crown prince. As fate would have it, however, she did not immediately become pregnant. The entire royal medical staff examined her, and all the aged women of the tribe included her in their lengthy prayers. Female shamans from every corner of the land were admitted to her bedside until finally she was found to be with child. Great was the joy. But instead of a son she bore a daughter, who was given the name Taj Olsultan.

Now there was hope and the shah could often be found in Foruq’s bed. But to everyone’s great disappointment Foruq bore four more daughters. After the last daughter was born the shah stopped sleeping with her.

Foruq complained to the queen, who called the shah to account. ‘How dare you? What does this mean, seeking the solace of other women? Foruq is the only one who can give you an heir.’

‘I am neither willing nor able,’ said the shah.

‘To do what?’

‘I am not able to sleep with her.’

‘Why not?’ shouted his mother.

‘I am a man, and I cannot function any more with Foruq,’ he confessed.

‘Then think of something. Or the sons of your other wives will rise up in revolt later on and tear the country into a hundred pieces.’

‘That changes nothing. If I can’t, I can’t. It is undoubtedly God’s will. We must not be ungrateful. Perhaps life has something else in store for us: perhaps our daughter Taj Olsultan will bear a son for us.’

‘The shah must stop this nonsense. She is only a child.’

‘When she is grown, we will look for a suitable husband for her from our own tribe. You know our history. Such things happen. Our father was a good example. He was not the son of the ruling king. No, he was the son of the king’s brother. We don’t know what secrets life holds. Let us be patient and wait.’

From that moment on Taj Olsultan was treated like a precious jewel.

The shah always went to see his daughter whenever he felt sad. According to custom the wife who bore the crown prince did not live in the harem. Her children were regarded as princes. Because Taj Olsultan was the shah’s favourite and would one day produce an heir for him, she did not live in the harem with the other women and children. She had a separate apartment of her own, where one of the shah’s old retainers cared for her as if she were a queen.

The night the shah’s half-brothers were hung, the shah could not sleep. He had nightmares and dreamt that he too was hanging from a gallows and that the wind was playing with his body. Even though he had been hung he was still alive. Looking down from the gallows he could see masses of people gazing up at him. He tried to cry for help, but the cord round his neck stifled his voice, and his hands had been tied behind his back. His felt his soul slipping away. Gathering all his strength he tried to move his legs to show that he was still alive, but this just caused the cord to tighten even more round his throat. He woke up drenched in sweat.

Dazed, he drank two glasses of water from a pitcher on a nearby table. Then he pulled the curtain aside. It was still dark. Slowly he realised that he should not have had his brothers hung, that this act would unleash waves of hostility in the land and that God would punish him severely. He should have listened to the vizier.

The shah picked up the lantern. Followed by his curious cat he left the palace through the back door and entered the garden of the living quarters where his favourite daughter slept, pushing the door open with great care. The old servant woke immediately.

‘Is she asleep?’ he whispered. ‘That’s fine then. Let her sleep. I’m going to rest here.’

Straightaway the woman placed a mattress on the floor beside the girl’s bed. The shah lay down and his cat nestled at his feet. The old woman pulled a blanket over him and bolted the door.

Early in the morning she gently wakened the girl.

‘The king is sleeping here,’ she said.

The girl smiled, got out of bed and crept under the blanket with the shah. ‘Bonjour, monsieur,’ she whispered in his ear.

The shah opened his eyes and threw his arm round her. ‘Bonjour, madame. Comment ça va, ma fille?’

‘Very well, Father.’

‘Have you been working hard on your French?’

‘Yes, Father.’

‘And your English?’

‘Not very hard, Shah-my-Father.’

‘Why not?’

‘Your doctor speaks to me in French whenever he sees me and it’s funny. But I don’t like English.’

‘Like it or not — learn their language; you’re going to need it.’

‘But it’s so difficult,’ she complained.

‘Enough. Come and massage my back,’ he said, rolling over on his stomach.

The girl stood on his back and massaged his shoulders with her feet.

‘How delightful to have such a daughter,’ sighed the shah.

‘But you have so many daughters,’ she said with a smile.

‘That’s not true. They are the daughters of our wives. I have just one daughter and that is you. The other girls are not mine.’

‘Why not?’ asked Taj Olsultan with surprise.

‘Because you are the only one I love,’ said the shah.

‘Why?’

‘You are my own flesh and blood, and my firstborn. Let me tell you a secret. I want to revise the law so that later you can become the shah.’

‘The shah?’

‘You will succeed me.’

‘But that’s impossible. I’m a girl.’

‘Catherine, the queen of Russia, was also a girl, but she became one of the most powerful women ever. I want you to become just as powerful.’

‘What do you have to know to be shah?’

‘We will teach you everything.’ The shah was already looking forward to the lessons.

‘But I don’t want to be a queen. Why don’t you ask my mother?’

‘Your mother? We have no need of her.’

‘And my grandmother? She’s already queen.’

‘But she will be dead before I die.’

‘You mustn’t speak of my mother and your own mother that way,’ protested the girl.

The shah fell silent. It pleased him that this young girl made no attempt to disguise her opinions or to curry favour with him.

‘It’s light outside,’ the old woman told the shah.

The shah kissed his daughter and went out to the garden, much relieved. With a stick in his hand he walked past the tall trees and returned to his own room, where the chamberlain had his breakfast waiting for him.