In a world where loyalty to the throne is valued more highly than all other things, heroic Prince Esfandiyar must carry out an unthinkably shameful act. The tyrannical king Goshtasp commands his son, Esfandiyar, to embark on a journey across the Persian desert to confront the mighty hero Rostam and bind him in chains. Though Esfandiyar knows of Rostam’s innocence, loyalty and honor mandate that he obey King Goshtasp’s decree. His father has placed him in an unimaginable position: he must choose whether to carry out the highest injustice in the land against a blameless man or to defy the king, an act tantamount to sacrilege. Either path condemns him.
Believing he has no choice in the matter and seeing no way of avoiding the disastrous battle, Esfandiyar sets off on what he thinks is a hopeless quest across the desert accompanied by his wise brother, Pashutan, and his young son, Bahman. Along the way they meet a mystical traveler who performs the dance of the whirling dervish and warns them about trusting too much in the ways of men. “Let no one think there is room for fear. No man can escape,” she says. Growing more and more fearful about his imminent fate, Esfandiyar ventures to an extraordinary place amid the desert rocks, a glistening pool of ancient dragon blood, where legend has it that he whose skin touches the blood would be made unassailable, their body turned hard as brass. There he meets another strange and terrifying figure who warns him against seeking worldly power for himself. “What you seek is seeking you,” she whispers before disappearing. When Esfandiyar and his companions finally reach Rostam’s fortress at Zabol, the surehearted prince confronts the ancient warrior and battle ensues, the fallout of which no one could have predicted.
The Last Allegiance interrogates the often-competing loyalties that bind the human heart. To whom or to what are we obliged? And at what cost? This medieval Persian epic, based on the story told by Abu’l Qasim Ferdowsi and drawing from the wisdom of Hafiz, Rumi, and Attar, has been freely adapted for a contemporary audience to probe our understanding of the consequences of unwavering adherence both to the laws of men and those of Heaven. Esfandiyar, Pashutan, and Bahman determinedly grapple with conflicting convictions about the nature of God and human accountability.