The Persian Empire
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See also: K&Q, Arsacid/Parthian: Arsaces I; K&Q, Seleucid: Seleucus I Nicator; Seleucus III Soter; Peoples: Seleucids
Further Reading
Appian. Appian’s Roman History. Translated by Horace White. London and New York: William Heinemann, 1912.
Bevan, Edwin Robert. The House of Seleucus, Vol. 1. n.p.: Furnas, 2011.
Bickerman, E. “The Seleucid Period.” In The Cambridge History of Iran, Vol. 3(I), edited by Ehsan Yarshater, 3–20. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983.
Diodorus Siculus. Translated by C. H. Oldfather. London: William Heinemann, 1933.
Justin. The History of the World. Translated by G. Turnbull. London, 1742.
Seleucus III Soter
The fifth king of the Seleucid dynasty, which ruled vast territories in Iran, Mesopotamia, and Asia Minor. Seleucus III ruled for two years between 225 and 223 BCE. He was the son of the Seleucid monarch Seleucus II Callinicus. Seleucus III ascended the Seleucid throne after his father fell from his horse and died. Shortly after he was proclaimed king, Seleucus III invaded Asia Minor with the goal of recovering Pergamum in present-day western Turkey, which had been seized by his cousin, Attalus I. When the battle was joined, Attalus defeated the Seleucid army under the command of the Seleucid general Andromachus. This humiliating defeat forced Seleucus III to organize a second campaign against Attalus I, this time under his own command. In 223 BCE, while in Phrygia in western Anatolia, Seleucus III was murdered before engaging the enemy. He was succeeded by his younger brother, Antiochus III.
See also: K&Q, Seleucid: Antiochus III; Seleucus II Callinicus; Peoples: Seleucids
Further Reading
Appian. Appian’s Roman History. Translated by Horace White. London and New York: William Heinemann, 1912.
Bevan, Edwin Robert. The House of Seleucus, Vol. 1. n.p.: Furnas, 2011.
Bickerman, E. “The Seleucid Period.” In The Cambridge History of Iran, Vol. 3(I), edited by Ehsan Yarshater, 3–20. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983.
Diodorus Siculus. Translated by C. H. Oldfather. London: William Heinemann, 1933.
Seleucus IV Philopator
The seventh king of the Seleucid dynasty, which ruled vast territories in Mesopotamia and Iran. Seleucus IV Philopator succeeded his father, Antiochus III, in 187 BCE. Seleucus IV inherited an empire in decline. His father had been defeated by the Romans in the Battle of Magnesia in 190 BCE. In the Treaty of Apamea signed in 188 BCE, Antiochus III had renounced all his claims to any territorial possessions north and west of the Taurus Mountains of southern Asia Minor. He had also agreed to send his son, the future Antiochus IV, as a hostage to Rome; pay a heavy war indemnity; and surrender his naval fleet as well as his elephants. Upon ascending the Seleucid throne, Seleucus IV sent his son Demetrius to Rome as a hostage and requested the Romans to allow his brother, Antiochus, to return to Syria. When Antiochus arrived in Athens on his way back to Syria, Seleucus IV was murdered by Helliodorus, one of his court officials. Helliodorus, who had intended to seize the throne, was himself murdered, and Antiochus IV was installed on the throne in 175 BCE (Appian: XI.VIII.45).
See also: K&Q, Seleucid: Antiochus III; Antiochus V Eupator; Demetrius I Soter; Peoples: Seleucids
Further Reading
Appian. Appian’s Roman History. Translated by Horace White. London and New York: William Heinemann, 1912.
Bevan, Edwin Robert. The House of Seleucus, Vol. 1. n.p.: Furnas, 2011.
Bickerman, E. “The Seleucid Period.” In The Cambridge History of Iran, Vol. 3(I), edited by Ehsan Yarshater, 3–20. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983.
Diodorus Siculus. Translated by C. H. Oldfather. London: William Heinemann, 1933.
LEGENDARY KINGS, HEROES, AND VILLAINS
OVERVIEW ESSAY
Iran’s legendary history played an important role in shaping Iranian identity and lending legitimacy to the dynasties of pre-Islamic Persia, particularly the Sasanians, who ruled from 224 to 651 CE. Iran’s legendary heroes and villains were mentioned for the first time in the Avesta, the Zoroastrian holy book, as mythological luminaries. They were later transformed into historical figures, including kings, queens, princes, princesses, and army commanders of the two great legendary dynasties of Iran, namely the Pishdadians and the Kayanids or Kayanians. The villains who appeared for the first time as evil and demonic figures in the Avesta were later converted into similar historical personages, portrayed as either tyrannical and bloodthirsty usurpers or as the royal bigwigs, dignitaries, and generals of the kingdom of Turan, a powerful legendary state whose armies frequently invaded Iran and on several occasions brought the Iranian state to the verge of extinction.
The best example of transition from an Avestan luminary to a historical figure is provided by Yima, who through a metamorphosis reappears in legendary accounts as Jamshid, a powerful king of the Pishdadian dynasty. In the Avesta, Yima is introduced as the son of Vivanghvant, a descendant of the first man, Gaya Maretan (Gayomard). Yima is described as the most brilliant and glorious of men yet born. He is credited with bringing his people health and freedom from hunger and thirst. Yima brings good weather and likewise looks after the flocks and herds under his people’s care. However, he appears to have come under the sway of flattery and become susceptible to lies and falsehoods. His divine glory (khvarnah), which previously had enabled his good deeds, flees from him in the shape of a bird alighting from his shoulder.
As the Avestan account was transformed into a historical narrative, the Avestan Yima emerged as Jamshid, one of the greatest of ancient Iran’s legendary kings of the Pishdadian dynasty. Jamshid rules men and demons for over 616 years and 6 months. Like Yima, Jamshid looks after his people by teaching them skills important to their prosperity and livelihood. He instructs them in metalworking, masonry, spinning, and weaving, as well as the mining of precious metals, the production of spices, and the making of perfumes. Jamshid’s greatness in Iranian legendary history is such that he is credited with establishing Nowruz as the Iranian New Year and constructing Persepolis, the magnificent palace complex of the Persian Achaemenid kings. The name of Persepolis in Persian is, in fact, Takht-e Jamshid, or Throne of Jamshid.
The heroic adventures and the extraordinary accomplishments of Jamshid and other legendary heroes and villains were recorded and preserved in verse by Iran’s greatest epic poet, Ferdowsi, in his masterpiece the Shahnameh [Book of Kings]. Written around 1000 CE, the Shahnameh has played a central role in shaping the cultural identity of the people of Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Iran. By preserving the historical memory of his people and highlighting the spirit of their heroic past, Ferdowsi imbued his countrymen with a strong sense of pride in their cultural, artistic, and literary achievements. By assembling and marshaling the legends and folktales of ancient Persia, which were slowly being forgotten, Ferdowsi provided his readers with a window through which they could journey back to their ancient history and encounter its many heroes and heroines. Through the Shahnameh, Ferdowsi also revitalized the Persian language. His book encapsulates the story of the pre-Islamic dynasties of Greater Persia, beginning at the dawn of history and with the appearance of the first man, Gayomard. The Shahnameh recounts the establishment of the legendary Pishdadian dynasty and from there continues all the way to the invasion of Persia by Muslim Arabs and the fall of the Persian Sasanian Empire in 651 CE.
Afrasiyab
The king of the legendary kingdom of Turan and the shrewd, brutal, and formidable foe of the kings of Iran beginning with Manuchehr and ending with Kay Khosrow. In the Zoroastrian holy scripture the Avesta, Afrasiyab (Afrasiab) appears as Frangrasyan, “the Turanian murderer” (The Zend-Avesta: Aban Yasht, 41–42). He is included in a list of the legendary heroes who worship Anahita, the goddess of waters. In “his cave under the earth” Frangrasyan offers a sacrifice of “a hundred male horses, a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs” to the goddess of waters, Aredvi Sura Anahita, begging of her a boon so that he may “seize hold of
that Glory, that is waving in the middle of the sea Vouru-Kasha and that belongs to the Aryan people, to those born and to those not yet born, and to the holy Zarathustra” (The Zend-Avesta: Aban Yasht, 41–42). Anahita, however, refuses to grant him her blessing.
In the Shahnameh [Book of Kings], the Persian epic poet Ferdowsi presents Afrasiyab as the king of Turan who fights the kings of Iran for 200 years. Afrasiyab plays an important role in several stories of the Shahnameh. He ascends the throne of Turan during the reign of the legendary king of Iran, Manuchehr (Manōchihr). Afrasiyab organizes a large and strong army and invades and occupies Iran, trapping Manuchehr and his army in the mountains of Tabarestan (present-day Mazandaran in northern Iran). Manuchehr is forced to fight numerous battles before he can liberate his kingdom from the Turanian ruler. Upon the death of Manuchehr, his son Nowzar ascends the throne of Iran. Weak, self-indulgent, greedy, gluttonous, and incompetent, Nowzar alienates his commanders and government officials as well as the ordinary people. Despite repeated warnings from his dignitaries, the king fails to address the growing chaos in his kingdom. With Iran in shambles, the shrewd and opportunistic Afrasiyab marches his army against Nowzar. Despite their heroism on the battlefield, the Iranians are defeated and humiliated, and their king Nowzar is captured. The humbled Iranian king is brought to Afrasiyab. After reminding his prisoner of the vendetta between the kings of Iran and Turan, Afrasiyab decapitates Nowzar with his own sword. Though Nowzar has two sons, the Iranian dignitaries refuse to allow them to ascend the throne, as they are believed to lack the sufficient training and qualities to rule. With the royal line coming to a sudden end, the court dignitaries select an old member of the Iranian nobility, Zab/Zav (Uzava of the Avesta, whose name is pronounced Zāb or Zāv), as the new ruler. When Zab dies, his son Garshasp ascends the throne. Both Zav and Garshasp, however, fail to restore the glory and power of the Iranian state. With the death of Garshasp, the throne of Iran is vacant. Once again the Turanians, under the command of Afrasiyab, use the weakness of the Iranian state to attack. At this juncture, the Iranian leaders appeal to the great hero Zal (pronounced as Zāl) to lead the resistance against the foreign invaders. The aging Zal appoints his son Rostam as the commander of Iran’s army. But both Zal and Rostam are painfully aware that aside from a strong army and a capable general, the country also needs a new leader who possesses farr (divine glory) and the sufficient qualifications to rule. They therefore select a descendant of the great king Fereydun, who lives in the Alborz Mountains of northern Iran. This young and capable man is Kay Qobad (Kavi Kavata of the Avesta), who ascends the throne of Iran as the founder of the Kayanian dynasty.
The conflict between Iran and Turan intensifies during the reign of the Kayanian dynasty. The principal cause of friction between the two warring kingdoms is the murder of the Iranian crown prince Siyavash (Siyavarshana or Siyavakhsh of the Avesta and Pahlavi texts) by Afrasiyab. The legendary king of Iran Kay Kavus (Kavi Usa of the Avesta) designates his son Siyavash as his crown prince. The wife of Kay Kavus and the queen of Iran is Sudabeh, who falls in love with her stepson, Siyavash. Sudabeh attempts to seduce Siyavash, but the Iranian crown prince rejects her advances. Siyavash’s rebuff enrages Sudabeh, who accuses Siyavash of raping her. Convinced of the truthfulness and honesty of his queen and outraged by the nature of her accusation, Kay Kavus orders his son Siyavash to undergo an ordeal that would demonstrate his guilt or innocence. This test of innocence requires the accused to ride a horse through a large bonfire. If the accused is innocent, he will emerge out of the fire unscathed. However, if he is guilty, the fire will consume him as he rides through it. Siyavash accepts the trial. He rides through the fire and survives the ordeal unharmed. Recognizing the slanderous nature of his queen’s allegations, Kay Kavus orders his henchmen to execute her. Siyavash, however, intercedes and begs his father to forgive his queen and spare her life. Kay Kavus, who remains enamored with and enchanted by his queen, forgives her.
Soon Afrasiyab, at the head of a Turanian army, invades Iran. Kay Kavus appoints his son Siyavash as the commander of the Iranian forces. After a long campaign, the Iranians manage to defeat the Turanians and force them to sue for peace. The victorious Siyavash negotiates a peace treaty with the Turanians, which requires Afrasiyab to send 100 hostages to the Iranian court. Afrasiyab agrees to the terms of the treaty and sends the hostages to the Iranian court. The news that his son has concluded a peace treaty with the hated Afrasiyab enrages the Iranian king, Kay Kavus. The king sends a message to Siyavash demanding that he continue the successful military campaign against the Turanians until their king, Afrasiyab, has been captured or killed. Siyavash refuses to violate the treaty he has signed and decides to leave Iran. He travels to Turan, the historical enemy of Iran, and seeks the protection of Afrasiyab, the very king he had defeated.
At first Afrasiyab welcomes the Iranian crown prince, who is renowned for his courage, valor, and splendor, and showers him with royal honors and gifts. Afrasiyab also arranges a marriage between Siyavash and his daughter Farangis. The warm relationship between Siyavash and Afrasiyab deteriorates, however, as a result of intrigues by members of Afrasiyab’s own family, particularly the Turanian king’s brother Garsivaz. Garsivaz accuses Siyavash of maintaining secret contact with his father and claims that the Iranian prince covets the Turanian throne for himself. Alarmed by his brother’s allegations, Afrasiyab sends an army against Siyavash, who surrenders peacefully. Siyavash is then brought in bondage to the royal court of Turan, where he is beheaded by the order of Afrasiyab. Afrasiyab also orders the murder of his own daughter, Farangis, but the intercession of his wise minister, Piran, saves the life of the princess and her unborn son, Kay Khosrow.
Kay Khosrow is raised among shepherds, with distant supervision from the Turanian dignitary Piran, who has saved his and his mother’s lives. With assistance from several Iranian heroes and dignitaries, including the greatest of Iran’s legendary heroes, Rostam, Kay Khosrow and his mother escape to Iran and are welcomed by the king, Kay Kavus, who designates his grandson as his heir apparent. Kay Khosrow grows up to become an intelligent, handsome, and gifted young man. To avenge his father’s death, Kay Khosrow organizes an army and marches against Afrasiyab, his maternal grandfather. The Iranians and Turanians fight numerous battles before the Iranian army, led by Kay Khosrow, defeats the Turanians and kills their king, Afrasiyab. According to Zoroastrian texts, Afrasiyab is defeated and killed by Kay Khosrow on the shores of Lake Chao Chast on the day of Khordad in the month of Farvardin, or the sixth day of the first month of the Iranian calendar, which corresponds with the celebration of Greater Nowruz (New Year). Kay Khosrow completes his victory by destroying the Turanian temple of idols, which is located on the shores of the same lake.
Aside from his involvement in long and fierce battles against the legendary kings of Iran, Afrasiyab also plays a prominent role in several other stories of Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh [Book of Kings]. For example, Afrasiyab appears in the romantic love story of Bijhan and Manijheh as the king and father who refuses to allow his daughter, Manijheh, to marry the Iranian hero, Bijhan. Accompanied by his friend and companion Gorgin, the legendary Iranian warrior, Bijhan enters the territory of Turan. Encouraged by Gorgin, Bijhan manages to meet the beautiful Manijheh. Bijhan and Manijheh fall in love, and the Turanian princess convinces the Iranian knight to meet her in her bedroom, where the two lovers are discovered by Afrasiyab. Afrasiyab orders Bijhan to be imprisoned in a deep well, which is covered by a large and heavy rock. Manijheh manages to sneak some food and water through a crack in the rock. Meanwhile, Gorgin returns to Iran. Embarrassed by the entire episode, he is forced to share the news of Bijhan’s capture. The only individual capable of rescuing Bijhan is Iran’s greatest legendary hero, Rostam, who agrees to travel to Turan. Rostam finds Bijhan and lifts him out of the well, and after Bijhan and Manijheh are reunited, Rostam brings them back with him to Iran.
See also: Legendary Kings: Kay Khosrow; Rostam; Siyavash
Bundahishn. Edited by Mehrdad Bahar. Tehran: Tus Publications, 1991.
Bundahishn: The Sacred Books of the East; Pahlavi Texts. Translated by E. W. West. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1965.
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.
Ferdowsi, Abulqasem. Shahnameh. Translated by Dick Davis. New York: Penguin Classics, 2007.