Gostaham ( fa, گُسْتَهَم) is the name of a number of Iranian heroes in

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 ...

Son of Nowzar

The first Gostaham is the son of

Nowzar Nowzar () is the ninth Shah of the Pishdadian dynasty of Persia according to ''Shahnameh''. He is the son of Manuchehr and becomes the Shah of Iran after his father's death. His reign of seven years comes to an end when he is killed by Afrasiab d ...

and the younger brother of Tous. His name was first mentioned in the reign of his father. He was installed as a local ruler in

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 ...

Kay Khosrow Kay Khosrow ( fa, کیخسرو) is a legendary king of Iran of Kayanian dynasty and a character in the Persian epic book, ''Shahnameh''. He was the son of the Iranian prince Siavash who married princess Farangis of Turan while in exile. Befo ...

. He is among the heroes who disappeared (or died) in snow during Kay Khosrow's ascent to heaven. Beside Gostaham, four other Iranian heroes also disappeared in this accident. There's a mountain pass named Molla-ye Bižan in the Kohgiluya district where as believed by locals, is where the heroes disappeared. He was also mentioned in other sources. The unknown author of Mojmal al-tawārikò wrote what he was called "rāst-andāz" (sharpshooter) and "saḵt-kamān varāz" (sharp-shooting paladin). According to Iranica, he may be that Vistarav son of Naotara (Nowzar) mentioned in

Avesta The Avesta () is the primary collection of religious texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the Avestan language. The Avesta texts fall into several different categories, arranged either by dialect, or by usage. The principal text in the litu ...

Family Tree

Son of Gazhdaham

The second Gostaham is son of Gazhdaham and brother of

Gordafarid Gordāfarīd ( fa, گردآفريد) is one of the heroines in the '' Shāhnāmeh'' "The Book of Kings" or "The Epic of Kings", an enormous poetic opus written by the Persian poet Hakīm Abū l-Qāsim Ferdowsī Tūsī around 1000 AD. She was a c ...

during the reign of Kay Khosrow. In Shahnameh, he is a friend of Bizhan. Kay Khosrow does not let him to fight with Turanian heroes in the story of

Davazdah Rokh Davāzdah Rokh ( fa, دَوازدَه رُخ) (Twelve combats) is a story in Shahnameh. This relatively long story (almost 2,500 verses) is described as one of the finest stories of Shahnameh in terms of "plot, dramatic description, and insight into ...

(Twelve combats). Gostaham is angry of this decision and chase Lahhāk and Faršēd, brothers of

Piran Viseh Piran son of Viseh ( fa, پیران ویسه) is a Turanian figure in Shahnameh, the national epic of Greater Iran. Beside Shahnameh, Piran is also mentioned in other sources such as Tabari and Tha'ālibī. He is the king of Khotan and the spahb ...

and kills them. However he himself was severely injured and Bizhan takes him to Kay Khosrow and the latter saves his life by tying a panacean bead around his arm. When

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 ...

kills

Siyâvash Siyâvash ( fa, سیاوش, via Middle Persian Siyâwaxš, from Avestan Syâvaršan) or Siyâvoš or Siavash ( fa, سياووش), is a major figure in Ferdowsi's epic, the ''Shahnameh''. He was a legendary Iranian prince from the earliest days o ...

in Turan,

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 ...

sends Giv there to bring Kay Khosrow, Siavash's son, back to Iran. Giv finds Kay Khosrow and his mother,

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 ...

, after several years. When they arrive at Dez-e Sepid in the border of Iran and Turan, according to one tradition, Gostaham son of Gazhdaham is the castellan of the fortress.

References

{{Shahnameh Articles about multiple fictional characters Pishdadian dynasty Mythological princes