The historians of the Islamic era identified Hushang the Pishdad as a descendant of Gayomard and as a king who ruled the seven climes of the world with wisdom, prudence, and justice for 40 years (Tabari: 1.99–100). Hushang is celebrated as the first man to civilize the world and introduce the usage of fire. Once, as Hushang is about to kill a snake, the stone he is throwing at the serpent strikes a rock and ignites fire. After discovering fire, Hushang extracts metals from rocks, melts iron, manufactures such instruments as axes and saws, and builds log houses. Hushang is also credited with the introduction of the concept of agricultural production by drawing water for irrigation of crops from rivers as well as teaching men to hunt wild animals for their meat and about domesticating animals as well. He is said to have built houses and temples for the purpose of worshipping and venerating God. The historian Tabari credited Hushang with being the first ruler who cut trees, built homes, extracted metals from mines, introduced iron, manufactured metallic instruments, encouraged people to cultivate the land, and ordered them to kill wild animals and use their skins to make clothing and rugs and slaughter cows, buffalos, and wild beasts and eat their meat (Tabari: 1.111–112). Until then, humans lived on fruit and clad themselves in leaves. According to Tabari, the Persians also viewed Hushang as the first king to introduce a system of laws, and he was the first monarch to rule with justice and fairness (Tabari: 1.112). Hushang fights and defeats the evil spirit and his army of demons (Tabari: 1.112).
In the Shahnameh [Book of Kings], the poet Ferdowsi describes the first man, Gayomart, as the first king of the world, a monarch who establishes the rules and ceremonies of kingship. He lives in the mountains and wears animal skins. He teaches his people how to prepare food and clothing. He subdues wild animals and forces them to obey his authority. Gayomart has a son, Siyamak. The beautiful Siyamak is loved and adored by everyone, but he has a dangerous enemy in Ahriman, the evil spirit who is jealous of the beauty and wisdom of the young man. Ahriman and his demonic son organize an army and attack Gayomart. Siyamak leads his father’s army to the battlefield. When the battle is joined Siyamak is killed, but he leaves behind a son whose name is Hushang.
The news of Siyamak’s death devastates Gayomart, who mourns for a year. A year after Siyamak’s death, the angel Sorush delivers a message from God that Gayomart should cease weeping and mourning and instead raise an army against the evil spirit. Gayomart has raised Siyamak’s surviving son, Hushang, and loves him dearly. The grandfather and grandson gather their forces and march against the evil spirit and his supporters. When the two armies join in battle, Hushang defeats the enemy forces and kills the son of Ahriman, who has served as the commander of his father’s army. Shortly after exacting his revenge, Gayomart dies after a reign of 30 years. He is succeeded by his grandson, Hushang, who ascends the throne as the founder of the Pishdadian dynasty.
See also: Legendary Kings: Gayomard; Tahmures
Further Reading
Biruni, Abu Rayhan. Athur ul-Bakiya [Vestiges of the Past]. Translated by C. Edward Sachau as The Chronology of Ancient Nations. London: W. H. Allen, 1879.
Ferdowsi. Shahnameh. Edited by Djalal Khaleghi-Motlagh. New York: Mazda Publishers, 1997.
Ibn al-Balkhi. Farsnama. Edited by G. Le Strange and R. A. Nicholson. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1921.
Pahlavi Texts, Part I: The Bundahishn. Translated by E. W. West. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1965.
Pahlavi Texts, Part III: Dina-i Mainog-i Khirad. Translated by E. W. West. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1965.
Sunjana, Peshotun Dustoor Behramjee. The Dinkard. 1876; reprint, n.p.: CreateSpace, 2013.
Tabari. Tarikh-e Tabari, Vol. 2. Translated from Arabic into Persian by Abol Qassem Payandeh. Tehran: Asatir Publications, 1984.
Yarshater, Ehsan. “Iranian National History.” In The Cambridge History of Iran, Vol. 3(I), edited by Ehsan Yarshater, 359–480. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983.
The Zend-Avesta, Part II: The Sirozahs, Yashts and Nyayish. Translated by James Darmesteter. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1965.
Iraj
A prince and a king in the legendary history of Greater Iran. In Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh [Book of Kings] Iraj appears as the youngest son of the legendary king Fereydun. Fereydun, a descendant of the great king of the Pishdadian dynasty, Jamshid, overthrows and imprisons the tyrannical king Zahhak. Fereydun rescues also the sisters of King Jamshid, Arnavaz and Shahrenaz, who were held as hostage by Zahhak, and marries them. By the age of 50, Fereydun has three sons. The mother of the first two sons is Shahrenaz, while the third has been born to Arnavaz. Searching for three wives for his three sons, Fereydun dispatches an ambassador to the court of the king of Yemen who has three daughters and requests their hands in marriage. In response, the king of Yemen proposes that Fereydun’s sons visit his court so he can meet his future sons-in-law. After the sons of Fereydun visit the king of Yemen, he consents to the marriage between his daughters and the three princes. While the newly engaged are returning to the court, Fereydun decides to test the characters of his sons. Thus, he turns himself into a fire-breathing dragon and awaits their arrival along the road. When Fereydun’s first son sees a roaring dragon blocking the road, he flees quickly, declaring that an intelligent and prudent man should never become engaged in a battle against such a dangerous dragon. The second son snatches an arrow, places it on his bow, and approaches the dragon, saying that he is not frightened by the sight of a terrifying monster and will fight it if he must. Unlike his two older brothers, the third son walks fearlessly to the dragon and demands that he remove himself from the road because he is confronting the three mighty sons of King Fereydun. Having tested the character and courage of each of his three sons, Fereydun returns home.
After the three princes and their new brides arrive at his court, Fereydun confers a name on each of his sons. The oldest, who had reacted with caution and foresight to the dragon on the road, is named Salm. The second son, who displayed bravery and courage, is called Tur, and the third son, who had exhibited extraordinary audacity and courage, is named Iraj, whose name derives from the word ēr (noble), sharing a common etymological root with the word “Iran.” After giving each a name, Fereydun divides his vast kingdom among his three sons. Salm receives the lands of the west, centered in Rum (Asia Minor), while Tur acquires the countries of the east, including Turan and China. The third son, Iraj, is appointed as the ruler of the middle kingdom, which is centered in Iran. This division ignites the jealousy of the two older brothers toward Iraj. Salm and Tur believe that despite their seniority, their father has discriminated against them by handing the best kingdom in the world to their younger brother. After some grinding of teeth and holding back their deep-seated rage and resentment, Salm writes to his brother Tur and expresses his outrage at the injustice of being the oldest son and yet receiving a faraway land as his royal inheritance. Tur, who shares his older brother’s disappointment, agrees to meet with Salm. Once together, the two brothers compose a message to their father and dispatch an ambassador to deliver it to Fereydun. In their message, Salm and Tur complain about the injustice of receiving kingdoms at the two ends of the earth, while Iraj was bequeathed the best kingdom in the world. They demand that their father remove Iraj from the throne of Iran and banish him to a faraway place. After receiving the message from his sons Fereydun is outraged, but he is even more shocked by the response from his youngest son, Iraj, who suggests that he should consider stepping down from the throne as a means of appeasing his two older brothers. Iraj travels to the camp of his two brothers to negotiate a peaceful resolution to their dispute. Through a letter, Fereydun informs Salm and Tur that their youngest brother has decided to abdicate the throne, and his only expectation is that they treat Iraj with kindness and compassion. Instead of receiving Iraj with sympathy and magnanimity, however, Salm and Tur, who are outraged by the serene composure of Iraj and his popularity among their troops, decide to eliminate him despite his pleas for brotherly comprom
ise and compassion. The murder of Iraj is incited by Salm and carried out by Tur. The brothers then send the decapitated head of Iraj to their father, who is devastated by the heinous crime committed by his two sons. In the midst of lamentations and mourning for his ill-fated son, the grief-stricken Fereydun is informed that Mahafarid, a wife of Iraj, has given birth to a beautiful girl who resembles her father.
Fereydun raises the child as his own, and when she reaches the appropriate age he arranges for a marriage between her and his own nephew, Peshang. A son is born from this union who is named Manuchehr. Fereydun appoints Manuchehr as his successor and raises him as an educated, courageous, and honorable young man. When they hear of the rise of Manuchehr to power and prominence, Salm and Tur, who are frightened by the prospect of a confrontation with the young prince, dispatch an ambassador with gifts to express their love for him and convey their regrets and apologies for murdering Iraj. In response, Fereydun sends a threatening message to Salm and Tur informing them that they will soon meet Manuchehr on the battlefield. Not long after, the army of Iran, under the command of Manuchehr and marching behind the standard of Kaveh, the blacksmith who had revolted against the tyrant Zahhak, clashes with the combined forces of Salm and Tur. After a long campaign Manuchehr’s forces prevail, and Tur is killed on the battlefield. The remainder of the enemy forces retreat, but Manuchehr proves to be a relentless fighter who is not willing to end the battle until and unless he has either captured or killed Salm. This task is accomplished in the next battle between the two armies. The victorious Manuchehr then sends a message to Fereydun informing the great king of his impressive victories. When Manuchehr returns to the court of Fereydun, he dismounts and kisses the ground to greet the great king. Fereydun takes Manuchehr’s hand and places him on the throne. Shortly after the victories over Salm and Tur, Fereydun dies, and Manuchehr assumes the reins of power. But the wars between Iran, which is named after Iraj, and Turan, which is named after Tur, continue for several generations. Indeed, the long wars between the two powerful kingdoms form the central theme of Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh [Book of Kings].
The earliest reference to Iraj is made in the Avesta, the Zoroastrian holy book. Farvardin Yasht mentions the holy Manushchitra (Manuchehr), the son of Airyu or Airya (Iraj) (The Zend-Avesta, Part II: Farvardin Yasht, 131). In the same Yasht, a reference is made to “Sairimyan countries,” or the lands and countries inherited by Sairima or Salm, the oldest son of Fereydun (The Zend-Avesta, Part II: Farvardin Yasht, 143). The Pahlavi text Bundahishn presents Airich or Ērich as one of the three sons of Fereydun who is murdered together with his sons by Salm and Tuj (Pahlavi Texts, Part I: Bundahishn, 31.9–10). Fereydun, however, keeps the daughter of Airich/Ērich in concealment. When this daughter grows up, she gives birth to a girl. After the mother of the newly born is also killed, Fereydun hides her and her offspring for 10 generations before Manushchihar (Manuchehr) is born. Manushchihar kills Salm and Tuj in revenge for Airich (Pahlavi Texts, Part I: Bundahishn, 31.9–14). Another Pahlavi text, Dina-i Mainog-i Khirad, attributes the origin of the “estrangement” of the non-Iranians (Aniran) such as the Arumans (Romans) and the Turanians from the Iranians to “that malice which was generated by them through the slaughter of Airich/Ērich [Iraj]” (Pahlavi Texts, Part III: Dina-i Mainog-i Khirad, 11.25). Here, Iraj appears as the grandfather of Manushchihar (Manuchehr) who punishes Salm and Tuj (Tur) for “disturbing the world” (Pahlavi Texts, Part III: Dina-i Mainog-i Khirad, 27.41).
Historians of the Islamic era repeated the story of Fereydun and his three sons. Tabari wrote that Fereydun divided the Earth between his three sons. Tuj received the land of the Turks and the Khazars as well as China. Salm was bestowed with the kingship of Rum, Georgia, and the land of Slavs. The middle kingdom, which incorporated Iran, India, Sind, and Hejaz (western Arabia), became the domain of Iraj (Tabari: 1.154). When Tuj and Salm realized that their father had favored their younger brother, they joined forces and killed Iraj and his two sons (Tabari: 1.154–155).
See also: Legendary Kings: Faranak; Jamshid; Kaveh; Zahhak
Further Reading
Bundahishn. Edited by Mehrdad Bahar. Tehran: Tus Publications, 1991.
Bundahishn-e Hendi. Translated and edited by Roqiyeh Behzadi. Tehran: Moasese-ye Motaleat va Tahqiqat-e Farhangi, 1990.
Ferdowsi. Shahnameh. Edited by Djalal Khaleghi-Motlagh. New York: Mazda Publishers, 1997.
Ibn al-Balkhi. Farsnama. Edited by G. Le Strange and R. A. Nicholson. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1921.
Mir Seyyed Zahir ud-Din Maràshi. Tarikh-e Tabarestan va Ruyan va Mazandaran. Edited by Mohammad Hossein Tasbihi. Tehran: Sharq Publishers, 1967.
Pahlavi Texts, Part I: The Bundahishn. Translated by E. W. West. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1965.
Pahlavi Texts, Part III: Dina-i Mainog-i Khirad. Translated by E. W. West. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1965.
Shahbazi, Shapur A. “Iraj.” Encyclopaedia Iranica, 2004, http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/iraj.
Tabari. Tarikh-e Tabari, Vol. 2. Translated from Arabic into Persian by Abol Qassem Payandeh. Tehran: Asatir Publications, 1984.
Tafazzoli, Ahmad. “Ferēdūn.” Encyclopaedia Iranica, 1999, http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/feredu-.
The Zend-Avesta, Part I: The Vendidad. Translated by James Darmesteter. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1965.
The Zend-Avesta, Part II: The Sirozahs, Yashts and Nyayish. Translated by James Darmesteter. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1965.
Jamshid
Jamshid, the legendary king of Greater Iran, appears as Yima in the Avesta, the Zoroastrian holy book. In the Avesta, Yima is introduced as the son of Vivanghvant, a descendant of the first man, Gaya Maretan (Gayomard) (The Zend-Avesta, Part III: Yasna, 9.3). Yima is described as “brilliant, he of the many flocks, the most glorious of those yet born, the sun-like one of men” (The Zend-Avesta, Part III: Yasna, 9.4). We read that “in the reign of Yima swift of motion” there was “neither cold nor heat, there was neither age nor death, nor … envy” (The Zend-Avesta, Part III: Yasna, 9.5; The Zend-Avesta, Part II: Ram Yasht, 4.16). While he ruled the seven climes of Earth, food and drink “were never failing for feeding creatures,” and flocks, men, waters, and plants “were undying” (The Zend-Avesta, Part II: Zamyad Yasht, 32). He also took from the daevas (demons) “both riches and welfare, both fatness and flocks, both weal and Glory” (The Zend-Avesta, Part II: Zamyad Yasht, 32). Thus, as long as he ruled, “there was neither cold wind nor hot wind, neither old age nor death” (The Zend-Avesta, Part II: Zamyad Yasht, 32). But when Yima “began to find delight in words of falsehood and untruth,” or, as the Persian poet Ferdowsi wrote, when Jamshid claimed to be a god, the divine glory (i.e., khvarnah) “was seen to flee away from him in the shape of a bird” (The Zend-Avesta, Part II: Zamyad Yasht, 34). When his glory departed the great and bright Yima “in the shape of a Varaghna bird” (probably a raven, which is one of the incarnations of the genius of victory), then Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, seized that glory (The Zend-Avesta, Part II: Zamyad Yasht, 35). The glory was eventually seized by another hero of legendary Iran, Thraetaona (Fereydun), “the heir of the valiant Āthwya clan, who was the most victorious of all victorious men next to Zarathustra” (The Zend-Avesta, Part II: Zamyad Yasht, 36).
As the Avestan account was transformed into a historical narrative, Yima appears as Jamshid, one of the greatest of ancient Iran’s legendary kings of the Pishdadian dynasty. He rules men and demons for over 616 years and 6 months (Pahlavi Texts, Part I: Bundahishn, 14.4). It is Jamshid who teaches “the fashioning of metal; the spinning and weaving of silk and cotton; the making of linen from flax; the mining of gold and silver; the production of perfume and spices, and the erecting of houses and baths with quarried stone” (Avery: 146–147). The greatness of Jamshid in Iranian legendary history is such that the commencement of Nowruz, the Iranian New Year, and the construction of Persepolis, the magnificent palace complex of the Persian Achaemenid kings, both were attributed
to him. Indeed, the name of Persepolis in Persian is Takht-e Jamshid (Throne of Jamshid).
In the end, however, the pitfall of Jamshid is that he falls in love with pride and declares himself divine (Avery: 147). With this declaration, khvarnah or farr-e izadi (divine glory) deserts him, and Jamshid falls victim to the tyrannical king Zahhak. In the Avesta, Zahhak appears as Azhi Dahaka, a demon. In the historical accounts, he is transformed into a great-grandson of King Siyamak, the son of the first man, Gayomard (Gayomart, Kayumars), on his father’s side and a descendant of the evil spirit Ahriman on his mother’s side.
In the Shahnameh [Book of Kings], the Persian poet Ferdowsi portrays Zahhak as the son of an Arab king. While his royal father is a generous and compassionate ruler, Zahhak is a scheming, devious, shrewd, ruthless, and brutal prince. His demonic and tyrannical character attracts the devil, who approaches Zahhak and encourages him to murder his father so that he can ascend the throne. Though Zahhak resists the temptation to kill his father and replace him on the throne, he is eventually seduced to participate in a plot hatched by the devil to eliminate his father, a generous and compassionate king. After the devil murders his father, Zahhak assumes the reins of power. The devil now reappears as a master in culinary arts, feeding Zahhak the most delicious and scrumptious dishes. Greatly impressed by his skillful and gifted chef, the king asks the devil whether he has a wish that he can fulfill. The devil responds that his only wish is to express his love for Zahhak by kissing his shoulders. Zahhak consents to this request. The devil kisses the king’s shoulders, and shortly thereafter two snakes sprout on Zahhak’s shoulders. Frightened by the appearance of the two serpents, Zahhak consults with physicians, but none of them can offer a healing remedy. The devil appears yet once again, this time as a healer and a physician, and prescribes a solution, which he claims will eventually result in the disappearance and death of the serpents. He proposes feeding the brains of young men to the serpents on a daily basis. This way, claims the devil, the serpents will not harm the king. Zahhak acquiesces to the devil’s remedy as the best solution for his affliction and orders his henchmen to detain and kill young men and feed their brains to the serpents who have sprung from his shoulders.
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