Afrasiyab Executes Nauzar Wellcome L0068903

Afrasiab ( fa, ''afrāsiyāb''; ae, Fraŋrasyan;

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 ...

: ''Frāsiyāv, Frāsiyāk'') is the name of the mythical king and hero of

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 ...

. He is the main antagonist of the Persian epic

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 ...

, written by Ferdowsi.

The mythical king and hero

Afrasiyab (The Shahnama of Shah Tahmasp)

According to the ''

'' (''Book of Kings''), by the Persian epic poet Ferdowsi, Afrasiab was the king and hero of Turan and an archenemy of Iran. In Iranian mythology, Afrasiab is considered by far the most prominent of all

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. ...

kings; he is a formidable warrior, a skilful general, and an agent of

Ahriman Angra Mainyu (; Avestan: 𐬀𐬢𐬭𐬀⸱𐬨𐬀𐬌𐬥𐬌𐬌𐬎 ''Aŋra Mainiiu'') is the Avestan-language name of Zoroastrianism's hypostasis of the "destructive/evil spirit" and the main adversary in Zoroastrianism either of the ...

, who is endowed with magical powers of deception to destroy Iranian civilization.Yarshater, E., "Afrasiab", ''

Encyclopædia Iranica ''Encyclopædia Iranica'' is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times. Scope The ''Encyc ...

'' - digital library; accessed January 18, 2007. He is brother to

Garsivaz Garsivaz (also Garsiwaz, Gersiwaz or Karsivaz) ( fa, گَرسیوَز ) is a mythical Turanian character, referred to in ''Shahnameh'' ('Book of Kings') by the Persian epic-poet Ferdowsi. He is the brother of Afrasiab Afrasiab ( fa, ''afrāsi ...

, and the son of

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 ...

. According to Islamic sources, Afrasiab was a descendant of Tūr (Avestan: ''Tūriya-''), one of the three sons of the Iranian mythical King

Fereydun Fereydun ( ae, 𐬚𐬭𐬀𐬉𐬙𐬀𐬊𐬥𐬀, Θraētaona, pal, 𐭯𐭫𐭩𐭲𐭥𐭭, ; New Persian: , ''Fereydūn/Farīdūn'') is an Iranian mythical king and hero from the Pishdadian dynasty. He is known as an emblem of victory, just ...

(the other two sons being

Salm Salm may refer to People * Constance de Salm (1767–1845), poet and miscellaneous writer; through her second marriage, she became Princess of Salm-Dyck * Salm ibn Ziyad, an Umayyad governor of Khurasan and Sijistan * House of Salm, a European ...

and

Iraj Iraj ( fa, ایرج - ʾīraj; Pahlavi: ērič; from Avestan: 𐬀𐬌𐬭𐬌𐬌𐬀 airiia, literally "Aryan") is the seventh Shah of the Pishdadian dynasty, depicted in the ''Shahnameh''. Based on Iranian mythology, he is the youngest son of ...

). In ''

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'' ...

'', he is named as the seventh grandson of Tūr. In Avestan traditions, his common epithet ''mairya-'' (deceitful, villainous) can be interpreted as meaning 'an

evil Evil, in a general sense, is defined as the opposite or absence of good. It can be an extremely broad concept, although in everyday usage it is often more narrowly used to talk about profound wickedness and against common good. It is general ...

man'. He lived in a subterranean fortress made of metal, called Hanakana. According to Avestan sources, Afrasiab was killed by

Haoma ''Haoma'' (; Avestan: 𐬵𐬀𐬊𐬨𐬀) is a divine plant in Zoroastrianism and in later Persian culture and mythology. ''Haoma'' has its origins in Indo-Iranian religion and is the cognate of Vedic ''soma''. Etymology Both Avestan ''haoma'' ...

near the ''Čīčhast'' (possibly either referring to

Lake Hamun Lake Hāmūn ( fa, دریاچه هامون, ''Daryācheh-ye Hāmūn''; ps, هامون ډنډ), or the Hamoun Oasis, is a seasonal lake and wetlands in the endorheic Sīstān Basin in the Sistan region on the Afghanistan–Iran border. In Iran, ...

Sistan Sistān ( fa, سیستان), known in ancient times as Sakastān ( fa, سَكاستان, "the land of the Saka"), is a historical and geographical region in present-day Eastern Iran ( Sistan and Baluchestan Province) and Southern Afghanistan ( ...

or some unknown lake in today's Central Asia), and according to Shahnameh he met his death in a cave known as the Hang-e Afrasiab, or the dying place of Afrasiab, on a mountaintop in

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...

. The fugitive Afrasiab, having been repeatedly defeated by the armies of his adversary, the mythical King of Iran Kay Khosrow (who happened to be his own grandson, through his daughter

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 ...

), wandered wretchedly and fearfully around, and eventually took refuge in this cave and died.

Hypotheses

Ernst Hertzfeld believed that the name

Parsondes Parsondes was the king of the Cadusii, who, according to Ctesias, was a Mede of Persian origin. Name The name Parsondes probably comes from the important city of Parsindu, which was located among the mountains of Namri, on the road to Ecbatana. ...

is etymologically identical to the name Afrasiab.

Tabari ( ar, أبو جعفر محمد بن جرير بن يزيد الطبري), more commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Muslim historian and scholar from Amol, Tabaristan. Among the most prominent figures of the Islamic Golden Age, al-Tabari ...

in his works mentions the derivative Afrasiab / Aspandiat under the name of the Hephtalite king Akhshunvar or Akhshunvaz.

References

External links

Ehsan Yarshater Ehsan Yarshater ( fa, احسان يارشاطر, April 3, 1920 – September 1, 2018) was an Iranian historian and linguist who specialized in Iranology. He was the founder and director of The Center for Iranian Studies, and Hagop Kevorkian Profe ...

"Afrāsiāb"
''

''
Afrasiab featured in Rostam Comic Book

The battle of Rustam and Afrasiab
on Asian miniature {{Shahnameh Shahnameh characters

The mythical king and hero

Hypotheses

See also

References

External links