📌 Author's Note:Based on many comments I've received, I want to clarify something: Chapters 6 to 10 show the modern Cyrus's(Kourosh) reflections (while Kourosh is currently a newborn) on his historical predecessor, Cyrus the Great. The purpose of these chapters is both to familiarize readers with the actual historical events and to show how Kourosh's thoughts will eventually shape his decisions and the policies he will adopt. These sections are laying the groundwork for his future choices — and the point where his path will start to diverge from real history.
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Years passed like a fleeting breeze across the plains of Anshan and the mountains of Media, and Astyages, the king of the Medes, lived in a fabricated peace. He believed that by sending his daughter, Mandane, to a distant land and marrying her to Cambyses, a seemingly harmless king, he had managed to deceive the grim fate foretold by the Magi and escape its clutches. But this tranquility, like a bubble on water, did not last long. With each passing day, the seeds of fear began to sprout anew in his heart. By the time the great Cyrus reached the age of five, his boundless intelligence and wisdom among his peers in Persia, and his striking calmness which was the talk of the court, could no longer be hidden. This precocious flourishing, news of which reached Astyages with every movement in the Median court, revived the old nightmares. The Median king, seeing this child who was far beyond his years, had another troubled dream one night; a dream that shattered his peace forever and drove him into a deeper madness.
This time, in his dream, Astyages witnessed a scene even more terrifying than the first. He saw that from Mandane's womb, a great and branching vine had grown; a vine that grew at an incredible speed, its vast shadow casting itself not only over the towering palaces of Ecbatana but over all of Asia. Its leaves shone like green armor, and its roots seemed to penetrate the very depths of the earth. This image was even more frightening than the first dream, for it clearly showed the extent of the influence and power of this emerging being; a power that could encompass his entire realm and eclipse him in its shadow. Terror seized the king's entire being, as if this vine was squeezing not only his land but also his soul.
The Median king, with a trembling and fearful heart that pounded with the dread of the future, immediately sent for his daughter Mandane, who was at that time living in Anshan with the five-year-old Cyrus the Great. Swift messengers, by the king's command, set out for Persia to bring her and her grandson back to Ecbatana. Mandane, surprised by her father's sudden invitation, set off for the Median capital with Cyrus the Great, unaware of the grim fate that awaited them. She thought that her father, after so many years, might have missed her and his grandson, but the truth was more bitter than any assumption.
Mandane and little Kourosh were brought to Ecbatana, and contrary to Mandane's expectations, she was confined in a luxurious palace that was, in reality, a magnificent prison. Astyages kept her there to ensure he was safe from any threat posed by his grandson and to keep Cyrus under observation. The Median king once again gathered the Magi and shared his new dream with them. The Magi repeated the same answer as the previous year and confirmed the earlier prophecy with certainty. This reconfirmation completed Astyages's madness and drove him to a horrific and ruthless decision: he ordered that this young child, this innocent grandson, be eliminated, and the root of the threat be dried up forever. The death sentence, from the mouth of a despotic king, echoed in the hall and cast its ominous shadow over Cyrus's future.
The Median monarch, to carry out this cruel command, violently snatched Cyrus the Great from his mother Mandane's arms. Mandane's screams echoed through the palace, but no one dared to confront the king's wrath. Astyages entrusted the child to one of his loyal kinsmen named Harpagus. Harpagus, Astyages's trusted commander, was tasked with taking the child to the remote Zagros mountains and disposing of him. With a cold face and a sword in hand, Harpagus separated Cyrus the Great from his mother's arms and set off toward the wild. But along the way, when Cyrus the Great looked at him with eyes full of fear and innocence and let out a heart-wrenching cry, the heart that had been hardened by years on the battlefield softened, and his conscience ached.
Harpagus, torn between fear of the king's wrath and his own inner compassion, could not bring himself to carry out the order to kill. He knew well that if he disobeyed the king's command, his own life would be in danger, but killing an innocent child tormented his conscience. To save himself from the wrath of the king and of Mandane, who would not spare him if she learned of her son's death, he decided to save Cyrus the Great's life. He devised a plan that would both preserve Cyrus's life and deceive the king. Harpagus entrusted the child to Mithradates, a kind and intelligent shepherd who lived on the mountainside, and ordered him to kill the child and leave his body to the wild beasts. With a vow of silence and the threat of severe punishment, he warned Mithradates against revealing the secret and then returned to the court to pretend he had completed his mission perfectly, thus reassuring the king of his grandson's death.
Mithradates, the loyal and wise shepherd, carefully and compassionately brought Cyrus the Great to his simple home amidst the mountain wilderness. His small, mud-and-straw hut, nestled in the green plains of the Zagros, became a safe haven for the lost prince. On that very day, Mithradates's wife, Atossa, had lost her own child. The pain of losing her child crushed Atossa's soul, but upon seeing Cyrus the Great, a spark of hope ignited in her heart. With tearful eyes, she asked her husband to leave their own dead child to the beasts instead of Mandane's son and to raise the prince in their home. Mithradates, seeing his wife's sorrow and understanding the difficult position Harpagus was in, agreed. He knew that accepting this responsibility carried great risks, but in the face of such clear destiny, he had no choice but to submit.
After ten days, Mithradates sent one of his trusted men to Harpagus with a message that he could send someone to see the child's bones and be reassured. This action was convincing for Harpagus and kept him safe from the consequences of disobedience. Harpagus did so and ordered that what remained of the child be buried and that no more be said of the matter. Thus it was that Cyrus the Great was miraculously saved from death and was raised in the home of the kind and wise shepherd, Mithradates. This was the beginning of a new era for Cyrus; a period that would nurture him in a natural environment, far from courtly intrigues, preparing him to play a great role in history and helping to shape his independent and powerful character. The shadow of destiny, this time, had turned in his favor.