Bizhan or Bijan ( fa, بیژن) is one of the main Iranian heroes in the

Shahnameh The ''Shahnameh'' or ''Shahnama'' ( fa, شاهنامه, Šāhnāme, lit=The Book of Kings, ) is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c. 977 and 1010 CE and is the national epic of Greater Iran. Consisting of some 50,00 ...

, the

national epic A national epic is an epic poem or a literary work of epic scope which seeks or is believed to capture and express the essence or spirit of a particular nation—not necessarily a nation state, but at least an ethnic or linguistic group with as ...

Greater Iran Greater Iran ( fa, ایران بزرگ, translit=Irān-e Bozorg) refers to a region covering parts of Western Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, Xinjiang, and the Caucasus, where both Culture of Iran, Iranian culture and Iranian langua ...

. Bizhan is son of Giv and

Banu Goshasp Bānu Goshasp ( fa, بانو گشسپ) or Goshasp Banu is an important heroine in Iranian mythology. , death_place = Kabulistan , death_cause = With the conspiracy of his half-brother Shaghad, he fell into a wel ... due to not recog ...

and grandson of

Goudarz Goudarz ( fa, گودرز) is one of the main Iranian heroes in Shahnameh, the national epic of Greater Iran, and progenitor of one of its most prominent families. He is son of Kashvad, father of Giv and Roham and the grandfather of Bizhan. His f ...

and Rostam. Although he appears in almost all stories in the heroic age of Shahnameh, he has a significant role in the story of Bizhan and Manizhe, where he fell in love with Manizhe, the daughter of

Afrasiab Afrasiab ( fa, ''afrāsiyāb''; ae, Fraŋrasyan; Middle-Persian: ''Frāsiyāv, Frāsiyāk'') is the name of the mythical king and hero of Turan. He is the main antagonist of the Persian epic Shahnameh, written by Ferdowsi. The mythical king ...

, the king of

Turan Turan ( ae, Tūiriiānəm, pal, Tūrān; fa, توران, Turân, , "The Land of Tur") is a historical region in Central Asia. The term is of Iranian origin and may refer to a particular prehistoric human settlement, a historic geographical re ...

and longtime enemy of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. Beside Shahnameh, he has been celebrated in other epics such as

Faramarznameh ''Faramarz-nama'' or ''Faramarz-nameh'' ( fa, فرامرزنامه, italic=yes) is a Persian epic recounting the adventures of the hero Faramarz"FARĀMARZ-NĀMA" in Encyclopedia Iranica by Djalal Khaleghi-Motlagh. Accessed April 4, 2010/ref> who ...

. Another epic poem named

Bizhannameh BĪŽAN-NAMA ( fa, بیژن نامه) is a Persian epic poem of ca. 1,900 couplets relating the adventures of the legendary hero Bīžan son of Giv.William Hanaway, Jr., "BĪŽAN-NAMA" in Encyclopaedia Iranica.accessed February 2011 Zabiollah Saf ...

is dedicated to his adventures. It consists of almost 1,900 verses. It has been suggested that Bizhan is a

Parthian Parthian may be: Historical * A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern of Greater Iran * Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD) * Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language * Parthian shot, an archery skill famously employed by ...

figure. Vizhan is the name of the grandson of

Gotarzes I Gotarzes I ( xpr, 𐭂𐭅𐭕𐭓𐭆 ''Gōdarz'') was king of the Parthian Empire from 91 BC to 87 or 80 BC. He was the son and successor of Mithridates II (), and was succeeded by his son Orodes I. Name "Gotarzes" is from Middle Iranian ''G� ...

and the grandfather of

Gotarzes II Gotarzes II ( xpr, 𐭂𐭅𐭕𐭓𐭆 ''Gōtarz'') was king of the Parthian Empire from 40 to 51. He was an adopted son of Artabanus II. When his father died in 40, his brother Vardanes I was to succeed to the throne. However, the throne was s ...

. According to Nöldeke, noble Parthian families who were guardians of Iranian national epics, later attributed some of the exploits of the ancient heroes to their own ancestors.

Family tree

References

{{Shahnameh Shahnameh characters