Pahlevan of Iran ( fa, پهلوان ایران) is a

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...

for pahlevani wrestling (''koshti pahlavāni'') held annually in

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 ...

. Though the competition has ancient roots, its modern form began in 1944. The champion earns the title of ''Pahlevan'' and the right to wear the ''Bazouband'' (championship armband). Described as "tangled up with the soul of

Iranian peoples The Iranian peoples or Iranic peoples are a diverse grouping of Indo-European peoples who are identified by their usage of the Iranian languages and other cultural similarities. The Proto-Iranians are believed to have emerged as a separat ...

", the title is athletically and culturally prestigious in

. The ''Pahlevan'' armband was formerly awarded by the

Shah of Iran This is a list of monarchs of Persia (or monarchs of the Iranic peoples, in present-day Iran), which are known by the royal title Shah or Shahanshah. This list starts from the establishment of the Medes around 671 BCE until the deposition of th ...

and is now presented by the

president of Iran The president of Iran ( fa, رئیس‌جمهور ایران, Rayis Jomhur-e Irān) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The president is the second highest-ranking official of Iran after the Supreme Leader. The president ...

. Many ''Pahlevan'' have gone on to win medals in international competition. Mostafa Tousi

Early Period (651-1450)

* Abu Moslem-e Khorasani * Yaghub-e Layth *

Arslan Isra'il Arslan Isra'il, also known as Arslan Yabgu (died 1032) was a Turkic chieftain, who was from the Kınık tribe, which would later establish the Seljuk Empire. His name Arslan means "the lion". Arslan was son of the warlord Seljuk and uncle to th ...

Babak khorramdin , native_name_lang = , birth_date = 795 or 798 , birth_place = Ardabil, Abbasid Caliphate , spouse = Banu , death_date = probably 7 January 838 (age 40 or 43) , death_place = Samarra, Abbasid Caliphate , years_active ...

* Asad Kermani * Abdul Razagh Bashtini * Shirdel Kohneh Savar * Mahmood Kharazmi (Pahlavan-e Bozorg), was known as Pouriya-ye Vali * Mohammad Abol-seyyed Abolkheyr * Mahmood Malani * Darvish Mohammad Khorassani

Middle Period (1450-1795)

* Mirza Beyk-e Kashani * Beyk-e Khorassani * Hossein-e Kord * Mir Baqer * Jalal Yazdi * Kabir-e Esfahani (Pahlavan-e Bozorg) * Kalb Ali Aqa Jar

Pre-Modern period (1795-)

*Haj Seyyed Hasan Razaz (Pahlavan-e Bozorg), also known as Pahlavan Shoja'at *Ali Asghar Yazdi *Haj Reza Qoli Tehrani *Mohammad Mazar Yazdi *Shaban Siyah Qomi *Yazdi Bozrog (Pahlavan-e Bozorg) *Akbar Khorasani *Abolqasem Qomi *Hossein Golzar-e Kermanshahi *Sadeq-e Qomi *Mirza

Hashem Akbarian Pahlavan Mirza Hashem Akbarian ( fa, میرزا هاشم اکبریان) (1897 (Persian year 1275) – 1971) was an Iranian practitioner of traditional wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such ...

Tefaghi, Moblsaz Esfahani *Yazdi Kuchak (last official Pahlavan of Iran) *Aziz Khan Rahmani /Kurdistani also known by Sanandaji(Gold Medal in 1945)

List of Modern Pahlevans

In ''Shahnameh''

There are many Pahlevan in the epic poem ''

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 ...

''. But the meaning of Pahlavan in Shahnameh is not only attributed to the wrestler. In ''Shahnameh'', the word Pahlevan is referred to its ancient status as a title of honour granted by Shah of Persia. Pahlavan title was granted by the shah to the candidates whom beside their athletic manner, honesty, righteous were brave warrior; and the hero

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was given the title of ''Jahan Pahlavan'' ( fa, جهان پهلوان), a title higher than Pahlavan, which most recently is used for Gholamreza Takhti.

References

{{reflist * Wrestling competitions in Iran