Zahhāk or Zahāk () ( fa, ضحّاک), also known as Zahhak the Snake Shoulder ( fa, ضحاک ماردوش, Zahhāk-e Mārdoush), is an evil figure in Persian mythology, evident in ancient Persian

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, rangin ...

as Azhi Dahāka ( fa, اژی دهاک), the name by which he also appears in the texts of the '' Avesta''. In

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 P ...

he is called Dahāg ( fa, دهاگ) or Bēvar Asp ( fa, بیور اسپ) the latter meaning "he who has 10,000 horses". In

Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheisti ...

, Zahhak (going under the name Aži Dahāka) is considered the son of Ahriman, the foe of

Ahura Mazda Ahura Mazda (; ae, , translit=Ahura Mazdā; ), also known as Oromasdes, Ohrmazd, Ahuramazda, Hoormazd, Hormazd, Hormaz and Hurmuz, is the creator deity in Zoroastrianism. He is the first and most frequently invoked spirit in the ''Yasna'' ...

. In the '' Shāhnāmah'' of

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 ...

, Zahhāk is the son of a ruler named Merdās.

Etymology and derived words

''Aži'' (nominative ''ažiš'') is the

Avestan Avestan (), or historically Zend, is an umbrella term for two Old Iranian languages: Old Avestan (spoken in the 2nd millennium BCE) and Younger Avestan (spoken in the 1st millennium BCE). They are known only from their conjoined use as the scrip ...

word for "serpent" or "dragon". It is

cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical ef ...

to the Vedic Sanskrit word ''ahi'', "snake", and without a sinister implication. The original meaning of ''dahāka'' is uncertain. Among the meanings suggested are "stinging" (source uncertain), "burning" (cf.

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

''dahana''), "man" or "manlike" (cf. Khotanese ''daha''), "huge" or "foreign" (cf. the Dahae people and the Vedic

dasa ''Dasa'' ( sa, दास, Dāsa) is a Sanskrit word found in ancient Indian texts such as the ''Rigveda'' and '' Arthasastra''. It usually means "enemy" or "servant" but ''dasa'', or ''das'', also means a " servant of God", "devotee," " votary" or ...

s). In Persian mythology, ''Dahāka'' is treated as a proper noun, while the form ''Zahhāk'', which appears in the '' Shāhnāme'', was created through the influence of the unrelated

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

word ''ḍaḥḥāk'' (ضَحَّاك) meaning "one who laughs". The Avestan term ''Aži Dahāka'' and the Middle Persian ''azdahāg'' are the source of the Middle Persian

Manichaean Manichaeism (; in New Persian ; ) is a former major religionR. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 founded in the 3rd century AD by the Parthian prophet Mani (AD ...

demon of greed ''Az'', Old Armenian mythological figure '' Aždahak'', Modern Persian '''aždehâ''/'' aždahâ','' Tajik Persian '''azhdahâ',''

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Kurdish ''ejdîha'' (ئەژدیها) which usually mean "dragon". The name also migrated to Eastern Europe, assumed the form " azhdaja" and the meaning "dragon", "dragoness" or "water snake" in Balkanic and Slavic languages. Despite the negative aspect of ''Aži Dahāka'' in mythology, dragons have been used on some banners of war throughout the history 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 separate ...

. The Azhdarchid group of

pterosaur Pterosaurs (; from Greek ''pteron'' and ''sauros'', meaning "wing lizard") is an extinct clade of flying reptiles in the order, Pterosauria. They existed during most of the Mesozoic: from the Late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous (228 ...

s are named from a Persian word for "

dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted a ...

" that ultimately comes from ''Aži Dahāka''.

Aži Dahāka (Dahāg) in Zoroastrian literature

Aži Dahāka Zahhāk or Zahāk () ( fa, ضحّاک), also known as Zahhak the Snake Shoulder ( fa, ضحاک ماردوش, Zahhāk-e Mārdoush), is an evil figure in Persian mythology, evident in ancient Persian folklore as Azhi Dahāka ( fa, اژی دهاک) ...

is the most significant and long-lasting of the ''aži''s of the Avesta, the earliest religious texts of

. He is described as a monster with three mouths, six eyes, and three heads, cunning, strong, and demonic. In other respects Aži Dahāka has human qualities, and is never a mere animal. Aži Dahāka appears in several of the Avestan myths and is mentioned parenthetically in many more places in Zoroastrian literature. In a post-Avestan Zoroastrian text, the ''Dēnkard'', Aži Dahāka is possessed of all possible sins and evil counsels, the opposite of the good king Jam (or

Jamshid Jamshid () ( fa, جمشید, ''Jamshīd''; Middle- and New Persian: جم, ''Jam'') also known as ''Yima'' (Avestan: 𐬫𐬌𐬨𐬀 ''Yima''; Pashto/Dari: یما ''Yama'') is the fourth Shah of the mythological Pishdadian dynasty of Iran acc ...

). The name Dahāg (Dahāka) is punningly interpreted as meaning "having ten (''dah'') sins". His mother is Wadag (or Ōdag), herself described as a great sinner, who committed incest with her son. In the Avesta, Aži Dahāka is said to have lived in the inaccessible fortress of Kuuirinta in the land of Baβri, where he worshipped the yazatas Arədvī Sūrā ( Anāhitā), divinity of the rivers, and

Vayu Vayu (, sa, वायु, ), also known as Vata and Pavana, is the Hindu god of the winds as well as the divine massenger of the gods. In the '' Vedic scriptures'', Vayu is an important deity and is closely associated with Indra, the king of ...

divinity of the storm-wind. Based on the similarity between Baβri and

Old Persian Old Persian is one of the two directly attested Old Iranian languages (the other being Avestan) and is the ancestor of Middle Persian (the language of Sasanian Empire). Like other Old Iranian languages, it was known to its native speakers as ( ...

Bābiru (

Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...

), later Zoroastrians localized Aži Dahāka in Mesopotamia, though the identification is open to doubt. Aži Dahāka asked these two yazatas for power to depopulate the world. Being representatives of the Good, they refused. In one Avestan text, Aži Dahāka has a brother named Spitiyura. Together they attack the hero Yima (

) and cut him in half with a saw, but are then beaten back by the yazata Ātar, the divine spirit of fire. According to the post-Avestan texts, following the death of Jam ī Xšēd (

), Dahāg gained kingly rule. Another late Zoroastrian text, the ''Mēnog ī xrad'', says this was ultimately good, because if Dahāg had not become king, the rule would have been taken by the immortal demon Xešm ( Aēšma), and so evil would have ruled upon the earth until the end of the world. Dahāg is said to have ruled for a thousand years, starting from 100 years after Jam lost his Khvarenah, his royal glory (see

). He is described as a sorcerer who ruled with the aid of demons, the daevas (divs). The Avesta identifies the person who finally disposed of Aži Dahāka as Θraētaona son of Aθβiya, in Middle Persian called Frēdōn. The Avesta has little to say about the nature of Θraētaona's defeat of Aži Dahāka, other than that it enabled him to liberate Arənavāci and Savaŋhavāci, the two most beautiful women in the world. Later sources, especially the Dēnkard, provide more detail. Feyredon is said to have been endowed with the divine radiance of kings ('' Khvarenah'', New Persian ''farr'') for life, and was able to defeat Dahāg, striking him with a mace. However, when he did so, vermin (snakes, insects and the like) emerged from the wounds, and the god Ormazd told him not to kill Dahāg, lest the world become infected with these creatures. Instead, Frēdōn chained Dahāg up and imprisoned him on the mythical Mt. Damāvand (later identified with

Damāvand Mount Damavand ( fa, دماوند ) is a dormant stratovolcano, the highest peak in Iran and Western Asia and the highest volcano in Asia and the 2nd highest volcano in the Eastern Hemisphere (after Mount Kilimanjaro), at an elevation of . ...

). The Middle Persian sources also prophesy that at the end of the world, Dahāg will at last burst his bonds and ravage the world, consuming one in three humans and livestock. Kirsāsp, the ancient hero who had killed the Az ī Srūwar, returns to life to kill Dahāg.

Zahhāk in the Shāhnāma

's epic poem, the Shāhnāmah, written c. 1000 AD and part of Iranian folklore, the legend is retold with the main character given the name of Zahhāk and changed from a supernatural monster into an evil human being.

Zahhāk in Arabia

According to

, Zahhāk was born as the son of a ruler named Merdās ( fa, مرداس). Because of his

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

lineage, he is sometimes called Zahhāk-e Tāzī ( fa, ضحاکِ تازی), meaning "Zahhāk the Tayyi". He is handsome and clever, but has no stability of character and is easily influenced by his counselors. Ahriman therefore chooses him as a tool to sow disorder and chaos. When Zahhāk is a young man, Ahriman first appears to him as a glib, flattering companion, and by degrees convinces him to kill his own father and inherit his kingdom, treasures and army. Zahhāk digs a deep pit covered over with leaves in a path to a garden where Merdās would pray each morning; Merdās falls in and is killed. Zahhāk thus ascends to the throne. Ahriman then presents himself to Zahhāk as a marvelous cook. After he presents Zahhāk with many days of sumptuous feasts (introducing meat to the formerly vegetarian human cuisine), Zahhāk is willing to give Ahriman whatever he wants. Ahriman merely asks to kiss Zahhāk on his two shoulders, and Zahhāk permits this. Ahriman places his lips upon Zahhāk's shoulders and suddenly disappears. At once, two black snakes grow from Zahhāk's shoulders. They cannot be surgically removed, as another snake grows to replace one that has been severed. Ahriman appears to Zahhāk in the form of a skilled physician. He counsels Zahhāk that attempting to remove the snakes is fruitless, and that the only means of soothing the snakes and preventing them from killing him is to sate their hunger by supplying them with a stew made from two human brains every day.

Zahhāk the Emperor

Armenian Princess Tigranuhi before wedding with Ajdahak

At this time,

, the ruler of the world, becomes arrogant and loses his divine right to rule. Zahhāk presents himself as a savior to discontented Iranians seeking a new ruler. Collecting a great army, Zahhāk hunts Jamshid for many years before finally capturing him. Zahhāk executes Jamshid by sawing him in half and ascends to Jamshid's prior throne. Among his slaves are two of Jamshid's daughters, Arnavāz and Shahrnāz (the Avestan Arənavāci and Savaŋhavāci). Each day, Zahhāk's agents seize two men and execute them so that their brains can feed Zahhāk's snakes. Two men, called Armayel and Garmayel, seek to rescue people from being killed from the snakes by learning cookery and becoming Zahhāk's royal chefs. Each day, Armayel and Garmayel save one of the two men by sending him off to the mountains and faraway plains, and substitute the man's brain with that of a sheep. The saved men are the mythological progenitors of the Kurds. Ajdahak Dream

Zahhāk's tyranny over the world lasts for centuries. One night, Zahhāk dreams of three warriors attacking him. The youngest warrior knocks Zahhāk down with his mace, ties him up, and drags him off toward Mount Damāvand as a large crowd follows. Zahhāk wakes and shouts so loudly that the pillars of the palace shake. Following Arnavāz's counsel, Zahhāk summons wise men and scholars to interpret his dream. His hesitant counsellors remain silent until the most fearless of the men reports that the dream is a vision of the end of Zahhāk's reign at the hands of Fereydun, the young man with the mace. Zahhāk is thrilled to learn the identity of his enemy, and orders his agents to search the entire country for Fereydun and capture him. The agents learn that Fereydun is a boy being nourished on the milk of the marvelous cow Barmāyeh. The spies trace Barmāyeh to the highland meadows where it grazes, but Fereydun and his mother have already fled before them. The agents kill the cow, but are forced to return to Zahhāk with their mission unfulfilled.

Revolution against Zahhāk

Zahhāk lives the next few years in fear and anxiety of Fereydun, and thus writes a document testifying to the virtue and righteousness of his kingdom that would be certified by the kingdom's elders and social elite, in the hope that his enemy would be convinced against exacting vengeance. Much of the summoned assembly indulge the testimony out of fear for their lives. However, a blacksmith named Kāva (Kaveh) speaks out in anger for his children having been murdered to feed Zahhāk's snakes, and for his final remaining son being sentenced to the same fate. Zahhāk orders for Kāva's son to be released in a bid to coerce Kāva into certifying the document, but Kāva tears up the document, leaves the court, and creates a flag out of his blacksmith's apron as a standard of rebellion – the Kāviyāni Banner, ''derafsh-e Kāviyānī'' (درفش کاویانی). Kāva proclaims himself in support of Fereydun as ruler, and rallies a crowd to follow him to the Alborz mountains, where Fereydun is now living as a young man. Fereydun agrees to lead the people against Zahhāk and has a mace made for him with a head like that of an ox. Fereydun goes forth to fight against Zahhāk, who has already left his capital, which falls to Fereydun with small resistance. Fereydun frees all of Zahhāk's prisoners, including Arnavāz and Shahrnāz. Kondrow, Zahhāk's treasurer, pretends to submit to Fereydun, but discreetly escapes to Zahhāk and reports to him what has happened. Zahhāk initially dismisses the matter, but he is incensed to learn that Fereydun has seated Jamshid's daughters on thrones beside him like his queens, and immediately hastens back to his city to attack Fereydun. Zahhāk finds his capital held strongly against him, and his army is in peril from the defense of the city. Seeing that he cannot reduce the city, he sneaks into his own palace as a spy and attempts to assassinate Arnavāz and Shahrnāz. Fereydun strikes Zahhāk down with his ox-headed mace, but does not kill him; on the advice of an angel, he binds Zahhāk and imprisons him in a cave underneath Mount Damāvand. Fereydun binds Zahhāk with a lion's pelt tied to great nails fixed into the walls of the cavern, where Zahhāk will remain until the end of the world.

Place names

Zahhak Castle Zahhak Castle (or citadel) is a castle in Hashtrud, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran. It is named after Zahhak, a figure in Persian mythology. According to various experts, it was inhabited from the second millennium BC until the Timurid era. It ...

" is the name of an ancient ruin in Hashtrud,

East Azerbaijan Province East Azerbaijan Province ( fa, استان آذربایجان شرقی ''Āzarbāijān-e Sharqi''; az-Arab, شرقی آذربایجان اوستانی) is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is located in Iranian Azerbaijan, bordering Armeni ...

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 ...

which according to various experts, was inhabited from the second millennia BC until the Timurid-era. First excavated in the 19th century by British archeologists, Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization has been studying the structure in 6 phases.

In popular culture

*The tale of Zahhak's defeat of Jamshid and subsequent defeat to Fereydun serves as the backstory of the 1992 Sega Game Gear video game '' Defenders of Oasis''. A descendant of Zahhak is a major antagonist in the game's plot. *In the ''Xenaverse'', Zahhak (referred to as '' Dahak'') is the supernatural adversary whom both Xena and later Hercules on '' Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'' must defeat in order to save the world from utter destruction. When Dahak appears on Hercules, his appearance is like a crustacean. *In ''

Final Fantasy Legend III ''Final Fantasy Legend III'', known in Japan as ''SaGa 3: Jikuu no Hasha'', is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the Game Boy. The third entry in the '' SaGa'' series, it was released in Japan in 1991 and in North A ...

'' (known outside the United States as ''SaGa 3''), intermediate boss Dahak is depicted as a multiple-headed lizard. *In '' Prince of Persia: Warrior Within,'' the Prince of Persia flees from a powerful shadowy figure called The Dahaka. *In '' Future Card Buddyfight,'' the buddy of the main antagonist is named Demonic Demise Dragon, Azi Dahaka. *The Marvel MAX '' Terror Inc.'' issues feature an immortal villain named Zahhak, bound to two demonic snakes. Unless fed with other people's brains, they start eating his own. *In the Quest Corporation video game '' Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber'', Ahzi Dahaka is a venerable dragon of the Earth element that is commonly encountered during the latter half of the game. *In '' High School DxD'', Azi Dahaka is an evil dragon who leads an antagonist group with another evil dragon named Apophis. *In the light novel series '' Problem Children Are Coming from Another World, Aren't They?'', Azi Dahaka is represented as a three-headed white dragon and is one of the main antagonists in the series. *In the ''

Shadowverse ''Shadowverse'' is a digital collectible card game developed and published by Cygames. It was released free-to-play for iOS and Android devices in June 2016. macOS and Windows versions were released in October 2016. ''Shadowverse'' employs an an ...

'' card game Azi Dahaka appear as a legendary Dragoncraft-class card come from Chronogenesis Expansion. *In the ''

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game The ''Pathfinder Roleplaying Game'' is a fantasy role-playing game (RPG) that was published in 2009 by Paizo Publishing. The first edition extends and modifies the System Reference Document (SRD) based on the revised 3rd edition ''Dungeo ...

'', Dahak is the god of chromatic dragons, and the son of the dragons Apsu and Tiamat. He seeks to kill his father and reign over all dragonkind. *Aži Dahāka served as an inspiration for the boss Azhdaha () in '' Genshin Impact'', a legendary dragon (Vishap) sealed underground by Liyue's Geo Archon, Morax.

Other dragons in Iranian tradition

Besides Aži Dahāka, several other dragons and dragon-like creatures are mentioned in Zoroastrian scripture: * ''Aži Sruvara'' - the 'horned dragon' *''Aži Zairita'' - the 'yellow dragon,' that is killed by the hero Kərəsāspa, Middle Persian Kirsāsp. (''Yasna'' 9.1, 9.30; ''Yasht'' 19.19) * ''Aži Raoiδita'' - the 'red dragon' conceived by Angra Mainyu's to bring about the ''' daeva''-induced winter' that is the reaction to

's creation of the '' Airyanem Vaejah''. (''Vendidad'' 1.2) * ''Aži Višāpa'' - the 'dragon of poisonous slaver' that consumes offerings to Aban if they are made between sunset and sunrise (''Nirangistan'' 48). * ''Gandarəβa'' - the 'yellow-heeled' monster of the sea 'Vourukasha' that can swallow twelve provinces at once. On emerging to destroy the entire creation of ''Asha'', it too is slain by the hero Kərəsāspa. (''Yasht'' 5.38, 15.28, 19.41)

The Aži/Ahi in Indo-Iranian tradition

Stories of monstrous serpents who are killed or imprisoned by heroes or divine beings may date back to prehistory and are found in the myths of many Indo-European peoples, including those of the Indo-Iranians, that is, the common ancestors of both the Iranians and Vedic Indians. The most obvious point of comparison is that in Vedic Sanskrit ''ahi'' is a cognate of

''aži''. However, In Vedic tradition, the only dragon of importance is Vrtra, but "there is no Iranian tradition of a dragon such as Indian Vrtra" (Boyce, 1975:91-92). Moreover, while Iranian tradition has numerous dragons, all of which are malevolent, Vedic tradition has only one other dragon besides - ''ahi budhnya'', the benevolent "dragon of the deep". In the Vedas, gods battle dragons, but in Iranian tradition, this is a function of mortal heroes. Thus, although it seems clear that dragon-slaying heroes (and gods in the case of the Vedas) "were a part of Indo-Iranian tradition and folklore, it is also apparent that Iran and India developed distinct myths early." (Skjaervø, 1989:192)

Adaptations

Persians and I The trilogy of ''Persians and I'' (Parsian va Man, fa, ) is the first modern Iranian mythical and epic fantasy series novels written by Arman Arian ( fa, , links=no), a Persian author, novelist and researcher. Since the successive release of ...

The Last Fiction ''The Last Fiction'' ( fa, آخرین داستان, Akharín Dāstān) is an animated film adaptation of the story of "Zahhak", a page from the historical identity of Iranians and one of the central tales of ''Shahnameh'' by Ferdowsi. Ashkan Rahgo ...

* The Legend of Mardoush *

The Mobarak ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

References

Bibliography

* * Ingersoll, Ernest, et al., (2013). ''The Illustrated Book of Dragons and Dragon Lore''. Chiang Mai: Cognoscenti Books. ASIN B00D959PJ0 * * * *

External links

Discussion of ''Az'' at Encyclopedia IranicaA king's book of kings: the Shah-nameh of Shah Tahmasp
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Zahhak {{s-end Ancient Iranian legendary creatures Legendary serpents Longevity myths Mythical many-headed creatures Persian legendary creatures Shahnameh characters Shahnameh stories Zoroastrian eschatology