Then the King appointed for the Stoker servants and suite，and gave him a new litter and a princely equipage and said to the Emirs，'Whoso loveth me，let him honour this man and offer him a handsome present.'So each and every of the Emirs brought him his gift according to his competence；and the King named him Zibl Khan，[58] and conferred on him the honourable surname of al Mujahid.[59] As soon as the gear was ready，he went up with the Wazir Dandan to the King，that he might take leave of him and ask his permission to depart.The King rose to him and embraced him，and charged him to do justice between his subjects and bade him make ready for fight against the Infidels after two years.
Then they took leave of each other and the King，[60] the Fighter for the Faith highs Zibl Khan，having been again exhorted by Zau alMakan to deal fairly with his subjects，set out on his journey，after the Emirs had brought him Mamelukes and eunuchs，even to five thousand in number，who rode after him.The Grand Chamberlain also took horse，as did Bahram，captain of the Daylamites，and Rustam，captain of the Persians，and Tarkash，captain of the Arabs，who attended to do him service；and they ceased not riding with him three days' journey by way of honour.
Then，taking their leave of him，they returned to Baghdad and the Sultan Zibl Khan and the Wazir Dandan fared on，with their suite and troops，till they drew near Damascus.Now news was come，upon the wings of birds，to the notables of Damascus，that King Zau alMakan had made Sultan over Damascus a King named Zibl Khan and surnamed AlMujahid；so when he reached the city he found it dressed in his honour and everyone in the place came out to gaze on him.The new Sultan entered Damascus in a splendid progress and went up to the citadel，where he sat down upon his chair of state，whilst the Wazir Dandan stood in attendance on him，to acquaint him with the ranks of the Emirs and their stations.
Then the Grandees came in to him and kissed hands and called down blessings on him.The new King，Zibl Khan，received them graciously and bestowed on them dresses of honour and various presents and bounties；after which he opened the treasuries and gave largesse to the troops，great and small.Then he governed and did justice and proceeded to equip the Lady Kuzia Fakan，daughter of King Sharrkan，appointing her a litter of silken stuff.Moreover he furnished the Wazir Dandan equally well for the return journey and offered him a gift of coin but he refused，saying，'Thou art near the time appointed by the King，and haply thou wilt have need of money，or after this we may send to seek of thee funds for the Holy War or what not.'Now when the Wazir was ready to march，Sultan alMujahid mounted to bid the Minister farewell and brought Kuzia Fakan to him，and made her enter the litter and sent with her ten damsels to do her service.
Thereupon they set forward，whilst King 'Fighter for the Faith'returned to his government that he might order affairs and get ready his munitions of war，awaiting such time as King Zau al Makan should send a requisition to him.Such was the case with Sultan Zibl Khan，but as regards the Wazir Dandan，he ceased not faring forward and finishing off the stages，in company with Kuzia Fakan till they came to Ruhbah[61] after a month's travel and thence pushed on，till he drew near Baghdad.Then he sent to announce his arrival to King Zau alMakan who，when he heard this，took horse and rode out to meet him.The Wazir Dandan would have dismounted，but the King conjured him not to do so and urged his steed till he came up to his side.Then he questioned him of Zibl Khan highs AlMujahid，whereto the Wazir replied that he was well and that he had brought with him Kuzia Fakan the daughter of his brother.At this the King rejoiced and said to Dandan，'Down with thee and rest thee from the fatigue of the journey for three days，after which come to me again.'
Replied the Wazir 'With joy and gratitude，'and betook himself to his own house，whilst the King rode up to his Palace and went in to his brother's daughter，Kuzia Fakan，a girl of eight years old.When he saw her，he rejoiced in her and sorrowed for her sire；then he bade make for her clothes and gave her splendid jewelry and ornaments，and ordered she be lodged with his son Kanmakan in one place.So they both grew up the brightest of the people of their time and the bravest；but Kuzia Fakan became a maiden of good sense and understanding and knowledge of the issues of events，whilst Kanmakan approved him a generous youth and freehanded，taking no care in the issue of aught.And so they continued till each of them attained the age of twelve.Now Kuzia Fakan used to ride a horseback and fare forth with her cousin into the open plain and push forward and range at large with him in the word；and they both learnt to smite with swords and spike with spears.But when they had reached the age of twelve，King Zau alMakan，having completed his preparations and provisions and munitions for Holy War，summoned the Wazir Dandan and said to him，'Know that I have set mind on a thing，which I will discover to thee，and I want shine opinion thereon；so do thou with speed return me a reply.
