Giv or Gev ( fa, گیو) is a legendary Iranian knight and one of the main heroes in the

New Persian New Persian ( fa, فارسی نو), also known as Modern Persian () and Dari (), is the current stage of the Persian language spoken since the 8th to 9th centuries until now in Greater Iran and surroundings. It is conventionally divided into thr ...

epic poem An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...

of ''

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 5 ...

'' (Book of Kings), 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 a ...

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 ...

. A member of the

House of Karen House of Karen (Middle Persian: ''Kārēn'', Parthian: ''𐭊𐭓𐭍𐭉 Kārēn,'' fa, کارن ''Kārin'' or ''Kāren''), also known as Karen-Pahlav (''Kārēn-Pahlaw'') was one of the Seven Great Houses of Iran during the rule of Parthian ...

, he is the son of Godarz, brother of

Roham Rohām ( fa, رهام) is an Iranian hero, described in the Iranian epic poem Shahnameh. Roham is son of Goudarz, grandson of Keshvad and the father of Farhad. He fought in the Keykhosrow wars and in wars to avenge his father's defeat. Family ...

and father of Bizhan, as well as a descendant of Kaveh the Blacksmith. Giv also appears in another New Persian text, the ''Banu Goshasp-nama'', where he marries

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 ...

, the daughter of the mythological warrior

Rostam use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = Kabulistan , death_cause = With the conspiracy of his half-brother Shaghad, he fell into a w ...

. The character of Giv is most likely based on a historical figure—the father of the Parthian monarch

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 ...

(). Giv is mentioned in the

Middle Persian Middle Persian or Pahlavi, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg () in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasanian Empire. For some time after the Sasanian collapse, Middle P ...

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheisti ...

document of ''

Bundahishn ''Bundahishn'' (Avestan: , "Primal Creation") is the name traditionally given to an encyclopedic collection of Zoroastrian cosmogony and cosmology written in Book Pahlavi. The original name of the work is not known. Although the ''Bundahishn'' ...

'' as "Beirazd the wrestler," where he is referred to as one of the immortals that will aid the

eschatological Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of the present age, human history, or of the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic), which teach that nega ...

Zoroastrian saviour

Saoshyant Saoshyanet (Avestan: 𐬯𐬀𐬊𐬳𐬌𐬌𐬀𐬧𐬝 saoš́iiaṇt̰) is the Avestan language expression that literally means "one who brings benefit", and which is used in several different ways in Zoroastrian scripture and tradition. In par ...

. The medieval historian al-Tabari (died 923) records Giv's name as ''Bīy'', while Hasan ibn Muhammad Qumi refers to him as ''Bīb'', and credits him with the foundation of a rural district in the city of Qom. The

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

orientalist

Theodor Nöldeke Theodor Nöldeke (; born 2 March 1836 – 25 December 1930) was a German orientalist and scholar. His research interests ranged over Old Testament studies, Semitic languages and Arabic, Persian and Syriac literature. Nöldeke translated several ...

states that the names ''Bīy'' and ''Bīb'' are derived from the older form ''Wēw'', which was still in use by

Hamza al-Isfahani Hamza ibn al-Hasan bnal-Mu'addib al-Isfahani ( ar, حمزه الاصفهانی; – after 961), commonly known as Hamza al-Isfahani (or Hamza Isfahani; ) was a Persian philologist and historian, who wrote in Arabic during the Buyid era. A Persia ...

(died after 961) in his ''Mujmal al-tawarikh''. Giv brought Kay Khosrow back from

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 ...

to Iran after a seven-year search. As a reward, he received the invincible mailcoat of Siyavash. Despite Giv's leading role as a commander-in-chief of the army during the reign of

Kay Kavus The name Kay is found both as a surname (see Kay (surname)) and as a given name. In English-speaking countries, it is usually a feminine name, often a short form of Katherine or one of its variants; but it is also used as a first name in its own r ...

and Kay Khosrow, his personality is to some extent eclipsed by that of Godarz and Bizhan.

The story of Kay Khosrow

Kay Khosrow is one of the greatest kings of Shahnameh and he is the son of

Siavash Siyâvash ( fa, سیاوش) or Siavash ( fa, سياووش) is an Iranian legendary prince, a major figure in Ferdowsi's epic, the ''Shahnameh''. Siyâvash or various other transliterations from Persian/Farsi/Azerbaijani languages may also refer to ...

and

Farangis Farangis ( fa, فَرَنگیس) or Frigis ( fa, فریگیس) is a female character in the Persian epic ''Shahnameh''. She is the eldest daughter of Afrasiab, king of Turan. She is also the second and favourite wife of Siyâvash, the saintlike ...

and the grandson of

. Kay Khosrow was born and grown up in

. One day the Soroush (angel) comes to

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. Hi ...

in his dream and tells him that the son of Siavash is in Turan and Iranians should go there and bring him back to Iran. He tells Goudarz that only his son, Giv, could do this job. Goudarz then sends Giv to Turan in search of Kay Khosrow and after seven years, Giv finally finds Kay Khosrow and brings him back to Iran.

Disappearance

Giv along with most of other Iranian heroes, disappears in snow during Kay Khosrow's ascent, because they don't have Farr-e Izadi (a divine force).

Family tree

References

Sources

* * {{Shahnameh Shahnameh characters