Rud’s father—whom we know was a potter and also a coppersmith—and his apprentices (that is, the inhabitants of Sialk, who had copper-smelting furnaces in their homes) brought into the world something now known as “commerce.” Until the day Rud’s father and the other inhabitants of Sialk created industry, trade had […]

After Rud the Second and her husband Tam went to the city of Giyan (near present-day Nahavand), a chronic and unprecedented ailment appeared in Sialk: severe intestinal pain accompanied by diarrhea and fever. Rud could not understand what the illness was or how it should be treated. Those who contracted […]

Once it was understood that copper could be used to reap wheat, all the inhabitants of Sialk wanted copper and asked the potter to smelt it for them. Tam, who wished to marry Rud the Second, said, “I will not leave Sialk without copper; I must take some to Giyan […]

The burly, handsome youth set out for Sialk, and after entering the city he went into Rud’s house; before he saw the copper, he caught sight of “Rud the Second,” the Iran-ban’s young daughter. Tam was so shaken by the sight of the girl that he forgot about the copper. […]

Rud’s father—who had invented bread-baking—continued his work of smelting metal and smelted copper without yet being able to make use of it. The sole use for copper was to harden the pots. As noted, to the northwest of Sialk, beside Iran’s central lake, there was a city named “Giyan,” whose […]