Biderafsh ( fa, بیدِرَفْش,
Middle Persian: Wīdrafš, from
Old Iranian: *wi-drafša, meaning "with unfurled banner") is a
Turanian {{Short description, List of groups of people
Turanian is a term that has been used in reference to diverse groups of people. It has had currency in Turanism, Pan-Turkism, and historic Turkish nationalism.
Many of the uses of the word are obsolete. ...
hero in
Shahnameh, 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 ...
of
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 ...
. He fought in
Arjasp
Arjāsp ( fa, اَرجاسْپ) is a Turanian king in Shahnameh, the national epic of Greater Iran. Iranica mentions him as a chief of an ancient Iranian tribe named Xyōns. He is son of Shavāsp, the brother of Afrasiab. However, the unknown auth ...
's army against Iranians.
When
Arjasp
Arjāsp ( fa, اَرجاسْپ) is a Turanian king in Shahnameh, the national epic of Greater Iran. Iranica mentions him as a chief of an ancient Iranian tribe named Xyōns. He is son of Shavāsp, the brother of Afrasiab. However, the unknown auth ...
, the king of
Turan, learns that Iranians have converted to
Zoroastrianism, he writes a threatening letter to
Goshtasp
Vishtaspa ( ae, 𐬬𐬌𐬱𐬙𐬁𐬯𐬞𐬀 ; peo, 𐎻𐏁𐎫𐎠𐎿𐎱 ; fa, گشتاسپ ; grc, Ὑστάσπης ) is the Avestan-language name of a figure of Zoroastrian scripture and tradition, portrayed as an early followe ...
, the then king of
Iran and asks him to recant the new faith. Biderafsh and Nāmkhāst were sent to Iran as envoys of this letter. In the ensuing war between Iran and Turan that takes place because of Goshtasp's rejection,
Zarir __NOTOC__
Zarer (also spelled Zarir, Zariadres and Zareh) was a Sasanian prince who attempted to seize the throne from his brother Balash () in 485. He only appears in the work of the contemporary Armenian historian Ghazar Parpetsi. After the death ...
, Goshtasp's brother, was killed by Biderafsh. Biderafsh himself in turn was killed by
Esfandiar. Beside Shahnameh, Biderafsh is mentioned in other sources such as
Tabari,
Bal'ami and
Ebn Balkhi, and also in
Ayadegar-e Zariran, a
Middle Persian epic.
References
{{Shahnameh
Shahnameh characters