Arjāsp ( fa, اَرجاسْپ) is a Turanian king in

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 ...

, the national epic 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 Iranian culture and Iranian languages have had ...

. Iranica mentions him as a chief of an ancient Iranian tribe named Xyōns. He is son of Shavāsp, the brother of

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 ki ...

. However, the unknown author of Moǰmal al-tavārikh mentions him as a grandson of Afrasiab, and Bal'ami mentions him as Afrasiab's brother. In Shahnameh, after

Zoroaster Zoroaster,; fa, زرتشت, Zartosht, label= Modern Persian; ku, زەردەشت, Zerdeşt also known as Zarathustra,, . Also known as Zarathushtra Spitama, or Ashu Zarathushtra is regarded as the spiritual founder of Zoroastrianism. He is ...

presents his new religion to

Kay 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 latter accepts the religion as the official religion of Iran, but Arjāsp, the king of Turan, does not accept it and retain his ancient religion and then invade Iran. Goshtasp is unable to repel his attacks, but Goshtasp's son, Esfandiar, defeats him. Beside Shahnameh, Arjāsp is mentioned in other sources. In the

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 Per ...

text

Yadegar-e Zariran ''Ayādgār ī Zarērān'' (and other approximations of ambiguous Book Pahlavi ''ʾbyʾtkʾr y zlyln''), meaning "Memorial of Zarēr", is a Zoroastrian Middle Persian heroic poem that, in its surviving manuscript form, represents one of the earlie ...

, Arjāsp is captured, mutilated, and then released. 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'' ...

, it is said that Arjāsp was defeated in the mountain Mad-Frayād between Padešxwārgar and Kumish. Several years later, Goshtasp imprisoned Esfandiar, accusing him to rebel and usurp the throne. He then left

Balkh ), named for its green-tiled ''Gonbad'' ( prs, گُنبَد, dome), in July 2001 , pushpin_map=Afghanistan#Bactria#West Asia , pushpin_relief=yes , pushpin_label_position=bottom , pushpin_mapsize=300 , pushpin_map_caption=Location in Afghanistan ...

for

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 ...

. When Arjāsp learns about Goshtasp's absence and Esfandiar's imprisonment, he invades Iran. Arjāsp kills

Lohrasp Luarsab ( ka, ლუარსაბ) is a Georgian male name derived from the Persian Lohrāsp, a name of the legendary Kayanid king from Ferdowsi’s ''Shahnameh The ''Shahnameh'' or ''Shahnama'' ( fa, شاهنامه, Šāhnāme, lit=The Bo ...

, Goshtasp's father, and takes his two daughters as captive and imprisons them in Dez-e Rooyin. Unable to defeat Arjāsp,

Jamasp Jamasp (also spelled Zamasp or Djamasp; pal, 𐭩𐭠𐭬𐭠𐭮𐭯; fa, جاماسپ ''Jāmāsp'') was Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 496 to 498/9. He was a son of Peroz I and younger brother of Kavad I. Jamasp was installed on the Sasan ...

, Goshtasp's vizier, releases Esfandiar and the latter repels Arjāsp army from Iran, kills him and releases his sisters,

Homai Homai is a suburb of Auckland in New Zealand surrounded by Manukau Central, Wiri, Hillpark, Clendon Park and Manurewa. It was formerly under the local governance of the Manukau City Council. It has since been integrated with the rest of Auckl ...

and Beh-Afarid.

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 i ...

Bal'ami Abu Ali Muhammad Bal'ami ( fa, ابو علی محمد, d. 992-997 CE), also called Amirak Bal'ami () and Bal'ami-i Kuchak (, "Bal'ami the Younger"), was a 10th-century Persian historian, writer, and vizier to the Samanids. He was from the influ ...

, and Ebn al-Balkhi mention his name as Kharzāsp, and Ebn Khordādbeh refers to him as Hazārasf. According to Iranica, the two latter forms are misreadings of the Pahlavi word.

References

{{Shahnameh Shahnameh characters