batch.motif.persian-persian-literature-volume-1-gutenberg-l5019-l5036
---
record_id: batch.motif.persian-persian-literature-volume-1-gutenberg-l5019-l5036
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/persian-literature-volume-1.md
passage_locator:
label: KAI-KS / THE SEVEN LABORS OF RUSTEM / INVASION OF IRN BY AFRSIYB / THE RETURN
OF KAI-KS; lines 5019-5036
start: '5019'
end: '5036'
translation: Persian Literature, Volume 1
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-27-corpus; human
review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: After a victory, Rustem and his companions secure immense booty and withdraw
to previously mentioned sporting-grounds. Rustem sends Kai-ks a letter reporting
the victory. The party rests there for two weeks, enjoying hunting, then returns
home to pay respects to the Persian king. The passage closes with a reflective,
didactic meditation on the alternation of conquest and defeat, the frailty of
worldly hopes, and the passage of time.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The booty taken includes horses, treasure, armor, pavilions, and tents, and
is described as immense.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: After securing the booty, Rustem and his companions fall back to sporting-grounds
previously mentioned.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Rustem informs Kai-ks by letter that a victory has been gained.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The party remains two weeks resting from war and enjoying hunting.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The party returns home to pay their respects to the Persian king.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: A poetic reflection states that conquest and defeat vary human scenes, that
hopes are deceived in a frail dwelling, that certainty and safety are only dreams,
and that time sweeps over all things.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Rustem
description: A leader of the party who reports the victory by letter and returns
home with companions.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Rustem's companions
description: A group accompanying Rustem in withdrawing to the sporting-grounds,
resting, hunting, and returning home.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Kai-ks
description: Recipient of Rustem's letter reporting the victory.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: the Persian king
description: The king to whom the party returns home to pay respects.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
roles:
- id: role:1
label: victorious commander
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Rustem is associated with securing booty after victory and reporting the
victory to Kai-ks.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: messenger (letter-writer)
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Rustem informs Kai-ks by letter of the victory.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: companions-in-arms
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Companions accompany Rustem in withdrawal, rest, hunting, and return home.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: victory-recipient/overlord (informed by letter)
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Kai-ks is informed of the victory by Rustem's letter.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:5
label: king receiving homage
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The party returns home to pay respects to the Persian king.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
symbols: []
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Booty secured after victory
summary: Immense booty (horses, treasure, armor, pavilions, tents) is secured after
a victory.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Withdrawal to sporting-grounds and report by letter
summary: Rustem and his companions withdraw to the sporting-grounds; Rustem sends
Kai-ks a letter reporting the victory.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Rest and hunting interlude
summary: The party stays two weeks, resting from war and hunting.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Return home and homage to king; moral reflection
summary: The party returns home to pay respects to the Persian king, followed by
a poetic meditation on the instability of worldly fortune and the sweep of time.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Hero returns home after victory and reports to rulers
taxonomy_refs:
- return
- royal_legitimacy
basis: Rustem reports victory by letter to Kai-ks and the party returns home to
pay respects to the Persian king.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage presents a practical post-battle sequence; it does not explicitly
frame the return as a ritual of legitimation beyond paying respects.
- id: motif:2
label: Didactic reflection on impermanence of fortune and the sweep of time
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The closing verses explicitly reflect on alternating conquest/defeat, deceived
hope, and time sweeping over all things.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: This is general moralizing verse; linking it to a broader 'wisdom' motif
family is interpretive rather than a specific narrative motif.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 5019-5021
quote_or_summary: The booty in horses, treasure, armor, pavilions, and tents is
immense; after it is secured, the party withdraws.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/persian-literature-volume-1.md
rights_note: Public domain text; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 5021-5024
quote_or_summary: Rustem and companions fall back to the sporting-grounds; from
there Rustem informs Kai-ks by letter of the victory gained.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/persian-literature-volume-1.md
rights_note: Public domain text; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 5024-5026
quote_or_summary: They remain two weeks resting from war and enjoying hunting.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/persian-literature-volume-1.md
rights_note: Public domain text; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 5026-5027
quote_or_summary: The party returns home to pay their respects to the Persian king.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/persian-literature-volume-1.md
rights_note: Public domain text; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: quote
locator: lines 5028-5036
quote_or_summary: "“Thus conquest and defeat, / Vary the lights and shades of human
scenes… / Time sweeps o'er all things; why then should the wise / Mourn o'er events…”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/persian-literature-volume-1.md
rights_note: Public domain text; short quote.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: Narrative events are explicit; motif-family mapping is moderate because the
passage is largely logistical plus a general moral reflection.
reviewer_status:
status: needs_review
reviewer: ''
reviewed_at: ''
notes: Machine-generated draft from OpenAI Batch; not human-reviewed.
extracted_by: openai_batch:gpt-5.2
extracted_at: '2026-04-27'
notes: |-
No explicit mythic symbols from the provided symbol list appear in this passage (e.g., water, fire, mountain).
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-27-corpus
custom_id=motif_extract:persian-persian-literature-volume-1-gutenberg__l5019-l5036
passage_sha256=c18cb73cb873abaaabc56a816091369d5cf5fe2879783a3c8d780d744dfe8f8e