Sudabeh or Sodaba ( fa, سودابه) is a character in 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 5 ...

''. She was princess of Hamavaran kingdom and later, becomes the wife of

Kay Kāvus Kay Kāvus ( fa, کی‌کاووس; ae, 𐬐𐬀𐬎𐬎𐬌 𐬎𐬯𐬀𐬥 Kauui Usan); sometimes ''Kai-Káús'' or ''Kai-Kaus'', Firdawsī, ''The Sháh námeh of the Persian poet Firdausí''. Oriental Translation Fund. Volume 21 of Publicat ...

, King 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 ...

, 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 ( 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 ( ...

. 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) 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 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 kin ...

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

Zabulistan Zabulistan ( fa, زابلستان ''Zābulistān''/''Zābolistān''/''Zāwulistān'' or simply ''Zābul'', ps, زابل ''Zābəl''), was a historical region in southern Afghanistan roughly corresponding to the modern provinces of Zabul and ...

. 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 w ...

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 a psychological force producing intense desire for something, or circumstance while already having a significant amount of the desired object. Lust can take any form such as the lust for sexuality (see libido), money, or power. It ...

(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. 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 Turan, everyone thought that Siyavash had left

in order to get rid of Sudabeh. Prince Siavash 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 very upset and blamed Sudabeh. When he heard about Siyavash's death in

Zabol Zabol ( fa, , also transliterated as Zâbol or Zābul) is a city and capital of Zabol County, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran. Zabol is near the border with Afghanistan. Referred to as Sistan until the late 1920s, the city was renamed Zabo ...

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

References

Sources

Ferdowsi , 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) , d ...

Shahnameh. From the Moscow version. Mohammed Publishing.

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