Nowzar () is the ninth

Shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

of the

Pishdadian dynasty The Pishdadian dynasty ( fa, دودمان پیشدادیان) is a mythical line of primordial kings featured in Zoroastrian belief and Persian mythology, who are presented in legend as originally rulers of the world but whose realm was eventuall ...

Persia 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 ...

according to ''

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 ...

''. He is the son of

Manuchehr Manūchehr Help:IPA/English">mænuː'tʃer.html" ;"title="Help:IPA/English.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Help:IPA/English">mænuː'tʃer">Help:IPA/English.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Help:IPA/English">mænuː'tʃer (, older Persian Manōčihr, Avestan � ...

and becomes the Shah 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 ...

after his father's death. His reign of seven years comes to an end when he is killed by

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 ...

during a battle. He is also 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 ...

as a great warrior and hero. Many future warriors traced back their origin to him and were labeled Nowzarian (نوذریان).

In the Shahnameh

On his deathbed, Nowzar's father,

, told Nowzar to be a humble, righteous king and warned of danger 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 ...

, where enemies of their ancestors rule. Nowzar took the throne and quickly became a weak and greedy king who overtaxed his subjects. Realizing that his kingdom was on the brink of collapse from uprising within and rival kingdoms without, Nowzar called on the warrior

Sām Sām ( fa, سام), also (sam) transliterated Saam, is a mythical hero of ancient Persia, and an important character in the Shahnameh epic. He was the son of Nariman, grandson of Garshasp and father to Zāl. He was Iran's champion during the rule ...

for help. After rejecting a rebellion that offered to make him king, Sām reminded Nowzar of the counsel his father gave him and Nowzar promised to be a righteous and just king from then on. While Nowzar tried to stabilize Iran,

Pashang Pashang ( fa, پَشَنْگ) is the name of two separate characters in Persian Mythology. According to Ferdowsi's epic the ''Shahnameh'', he is of the race of Tur the son of Fereydun and the father of Afrasiab. He was an early king of Turan. In ...

, the king of Turan, sent his son,

, to invade the weakened kingdom of Iran. Nowzar led an army against the invaders, but he was captured and killed by Abrasiab.

Family Tree

References

Sources

* Abolqasem Ferdowsi, Dick Davis trans. (2006), ''Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings'' , modern English translation (abridged), current standard * Warner, Arthur and Edmond Warner, (translators) ''The Shahnama of Firdausi'', 9 vols. (London: Keegan Paul, 1905-1925) (complete English verse translation) *

Shirzad Aghaee Shirzad ( fa, شيرزاد, also Romanized as Shīrzād) is a village in Tolbozan Rural District, Golgir District, Masjed Soleyman County, Khuzestan Province Khuzestan Province (also spelled Xuzestan; fa, استان خوزستان ''Ostān-e ...

, ''Nam-e kasan va ja'i-ha dar Shahnama-ye Ferdousi''(Personalities and Places in the Shahnama of

Ferdousi , image = Statue of Ferdowsi in Tus, Iran 3 (cropped).jpg , image_size = , caption = Statue of Ferdowsi in Tus by Abolhassan Sadighi , birth_date = 940 , birth_place = Tus, Samanid Empire , death_date = 1019 or 1025 (87 years old) , de ...

, Nyköping, Sweden, 1993. () * Jalal Khāleghi Motlagh, Editor, ''The Shahnameh'', to be published in 8 volumes (ca. 500 pages each), consisting of six volumes of text and two volumes of explanatory notes. See
Center for Iranian Studies, Columbia University
Mythological kings Pishdadian dynasty {{Shahnameh-stub