Just came across this in Gibbon and had to share it. It’s a story told Of Mahmud, the Gaznevide Sultan of Eastern Persia and parts of India in the 11th century AD.
A poor man came to the divan of Mahmud and complained that one of the Sultan’s Turks had come to his house the previous day, tossed him out and made use of all he possessed, including his wife, until the early hours. The Sultan listened and then told the man that the next time it happened he should report it to him personally.
The poor man returned 4 or 5 days later in the evening and informed the Sultan that the malefactor was back. Ordering his guards to accompany him the Sultan sped to the man’s house, surrounded it with his soldiers and then commanded that all the torches should be extinguished. The darkness enveloped the house and the Sultan and his men waited. Finally the culprit came forth from the house into the darkness of the night and was instantly executed without a word being said.
The Sultan then ordered the torches to be relit. The poor owner of the house watched in bemusement as he observed the Sultan falling on his knees in prayer. Mahmud then turned to the man and asked if he could come into his house and eat. Of course the man agreed and became even more puzzled as the Sultan greedily devoured three or four plates of food.
Finally the man could contain his curiosity no longer and asked his sovereign the reason for his actions. Mahmud then explained himself.
“When you came to me I instantly thought that the only Turk bold enough to act in such a fashion was my own son. I ordered the torches doused because I wanted Justice to be blind and impartial. When they were relit I fell to my knees in a prayer of thankfulness that the man executed was not my son. Finally I was so hungry because for the last 4 days I have eaten nothing, so worried was I that I would have to kill my son”
As the Italians say, se non è vero, è ben trovato, even if it ain’t true it’s a bloody good story! 