Sudabeh or Sodaba () is a character in the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

epic ''

Shahnameh The ''Shahnameh'' (, ), also transliterated ''Shahnama'', is a long epic poem written by the Persian literature, Persian poet Ferdowsi between and 1010 CE and is the national epic of Greater Iran. Consisting of some 50,000 distichs or couple ...

''. She was princess of

Hamavaran Hāmāvarān () is a place in Shahnameh and other Iranian writings. The consensus between scholars is that Hamavaran is usually identified with Yemen. According to Abdolhossein Zarrinkoob, it is an altered form of Himyarite Kingdom. Hamavaran b ...

kingdom and later, becomes the wife of

Kay Kāvus Kay Kāvus (; ); sometimes ''Kai-Káús'' or ''Kai-Kaus'', Firdawsī, ''The Sháh námeh of the Persian poet Firdausí''. Oriental Translation Fund. Volume 21 of Publications, Oriental Translation Fund. Translated by James Atkinson. Printed for ...

, King of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, and stepmother to prince Siyavash.

The Story of Sudabeh

According to Shahnamah, a man from Syria and Egypt started a rebellion against Kay Kāvus. During that time Kay Kāvus was in

Sistan Sistān (), also known as Sakastān (, , current name: Zabol) and Sijistan (), is a historical region in south-eastern Iran and extending across the borders of present-day south-western Afghanistan, and south-western Pakistan. Mostly correspond ...

. After he heard about the rebellion, he prepared an army and went through the sea to stop the rebellion. He reached a place where Hamavaran (identified as the land of

Himyar Himyar was a polity in the southern highlands of Yemen, as well as the name of the region which it claimed. Until 110 BCE, it was integrated into the Qatabanian kingdom, afterwards being recognized as an independent kingdom. According to class ...

) was in front of him and the sea was behind it. Egypt was in his left while Barbarstan (probably Sudan or Somalia) was in his right. He was confronted by the king of Hamavaran, in Arab traditions, the king of Hamavaran was Dhul-Adhar. The king of Hamavaran surrendered and made an agreement with Kay Kāvus to obey his orders and to send him gold but only if Kay Kāvus went out of the land of Hamavaran. Kay Kāvus agreed and returned to Iran. One of the guards advised Kay Kāvus to marry the daughter of the king of Hamavaran whose name was Sudabeh and described to him how beautiful she was. Kay Kāvus sent to the king of Hamavaran telling him that he wants to marry his daughter and threatened him that he would not let him rule if he refused. The king of Hamavaran asked his daughter, Sudabeh, if she would agree to marry Kay Kāvus. Sudabeh agreed to marry Kay Kāvus and so the king of Hamavaran sent his daughter to Kay Kāvus with gifts that were made out of gold. The king of Hamavaran wasn't happy about his daughter, after one week he sent to Kay Kāvus asking him to visit him in Hamavaran. Sudabeh felt her father intention was to capture Kay Kāvus. She told Kay Kāvus not to go, but he refused and went to Hamavaran. The king of Hamavaran welcomed him and let him in one of the cities of Hamavaran called Shahah which was full of gold tracery. He served Kay Kāvus until the Iranians who were Kay Kavus trusted him. The king of Hamavaran conspired with Barbarstan and captured Kay Kāvus and killed the Iranians who were with him with the help of Barbarstan. He locked Kay Kāvus in a palace that was in a very high place. He then sent men dressed as women to Iran to bring Sudabeh. Sudabeh tore her clothes and slapped her face when she knew about what happened to her husband. The king of Hamavaran then sent her to the palace where Kay Kāvus is held and locked her with him. The story of the treachery of the king of Hamavaran spread throughout the region until it reached

Afrasiab Afrasiyab ( ''afrāsiyāb''; ; 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. Name and origin ''Afrā'' is the po ...

who prepared an army and took over Iran. The Iranians then escaped Iran, most of them went to

Zabulistan Zabulistan (, ''Zābolistān'', ''Zāwulistān'' or simply ), is an ancient and medieval name for a historical region that included mainly southeastern region ( Zabol) of Iran and some parts of what is now southern Afghanistan. By the tenth ce ...

. They told

Rostam use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = Kabulistan , death_cause = With the conspiracy of his half-brother Shaghad, he fell into a we ...

about what happened. He cried and promised to bring Kay Kāvus back from Hamavaran. The army of Hamavaran united with the army of Egypt and Barbarstan. Rostam was able to destroy all the army. The king of Hamavaran surrendered and made an agreement with Rostam to give him Kay Kāvus and Sudabeh but only if Rostam let him and the king of Egypt and Barbarstan go, Rostam agreed. The army of Egypt, Barbarstan and Hamavaran joined Rostam army went to fight against Afrasiab. Sudabeh is mostly famous for her role in Siyavash choosing exile. When young Siavash, who was raised by Rostam away from his father's Palace, returns, Sudabeh sees him and is instantly overwhelmed with

lust Lust is an intense desire for something. Lust can take any form such as the lust for sexuality (see libido), money, or power. It can take such mundane forms as the lust for food (see gluttony) as distinct from the need for food or lust for red ...

(or, more charitably, love) for him. She tricks Siavash into going to her private palace in order to visit his sisters. There she reveals her real intention to him and tries to seduce him. Siyavash resists her and refuses to betray his father. Sudabeh, who is disappointed, tries to manipulate her husband and turn him against his son. After much conflict, Siyavash decides to leave his father's Palace for good and goes to

Turan Turan (; ; , , ) 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 region, or a culture. The original Turanians were an Iranian tribe of th ...

. After Siyavash is assassinated in Turan, Rostam, who blames Sudabeh for the incident, murders her.Shah Namah by Hakim Abol-Ghasem Ferdowsi Toosi

The story of the murder of Sudabeh

When Siyavash took refuge in

, everyone thought that Siyavash had left

to get rid of Sudabeh. Siyavash was brutally murdered in Turan, and because Rostam had nursed Siyavash for many years and had prepared him for succession to the Iranian monarchy, he became distraught and blamed Sudabeh. When he heard about Siyavash's death in

Zabol Zabol () is a city in the Central District of Zabol County, Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Zabol is near the border with Afghanistan. Demographics Language and ethnicity The ...

, he came to Iran. The palace was very inflamed, and Rostam went out from Kavus without permission, pulled Sudabeh out of the palace, and killed her in public.

References

Sources

Ferdowsi Abu'l-Qâsem Ferdowsi Tusi (also Firdawsi, ; 940 – 1019/1025) was a Persians, Persian poet and the author of ''Shahnameh'' ("Book of Kings"), which is one of the world's longest epic poetry, epic poems created by a single poet, and the gre ...

Shahnameh. From the Moscow version. Mohammed Publishing. Potiphar's wife archetype in folklore

External links

{{Other Shahnameh characters Women in Shahnameh Shahnameh characters Shahnameh stories

The Story of Sudabeh

The story of the murder of Sudabeh

See also

References

Sources

External links