Esfandiyār or Espandiyār (; ; ) is a legendary

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

hero and one of the characters of

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 ...

's ''

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 ...

(The Book of Kings)''. He was the son and the crown prince of the

Kayanian The Kayanians (; also Kays, Kayanids, Kaianids, Kiyani, Kayani, or Kiani) are a legendary dynasty of Persian/Iranian tradition and folklore which supposedly ruled after the Pishdadians, each of whom held the title Kay (such as Kay Khosrow), mea ...

King Goshtasp and Queen

Katāyoun Katāyoun () is a female figure in Shāhnāmeh and Iranian mythology. She is married to Goshtāsb and the mother of Esfandiār. In the Shāhnāme, she is the daughter of the Kaiser of Rûm, while in both the Avestā and in Pahlavi texts, she ...

. He was the grandchild of

Kay Lohrasp Kay Lohrasp () was a legendary Iranian king who ruled Iran after Kay Khosrow. He had two brave sons Vishtaspa (also known as Gushtasp) and the younger Zarir.Mazda-Yasni and Zorastranian Tales (Book Two) as retold by Kuku S Shabbir , , Vishtaspa ru ...

. Esfandiyār is best known for the tragic story of a battle with

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 ...

described in Ferdowsi's epic ''Shahnameh''. It is one of the longest episodes in ''Shahnameh'' and is one of its literary highlights.

Etymology

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 ...

word 'Sepandiār' is derived from or 'Spandyat' (the variance is due to ambiguities inherent in the

Pahlavi script Pahlavi may refer to: Iranian royalty *Seven Parthian clans, ruling Parthian families during the Sasanian Empire *Pahlavi dynasty, the ruling house of Imperial State of Persia/Iran from 1925 until 1979 ** Reza Shah Pahlavi (1878–1944), Shah of ...

), which in turn derives from meaning "Given by

Spenta Armaiti In Zoroastrianism, Spenta Armaiti (, "Holy Devotion") is one of the Amesha Spentas, the seven divine manifestations of Wisdom and Ahura Mazda. While older sources present the Amesha Spentas more as abstract entities, in later sources Spenta Armai ...

" which is later personified as sepandarmaz (سپندارمذ), but in original Avestan meant "creative harmonious thought" (usually referring to the physical laws of nature), but in time had come to mean holy or "Given by (the) holy" (See Amesha ''Spenta'' for other meanings of ''spenta'').

In the Shahnameh

According to the epic ''Shahnameh'', Esfandiyār was the Crown Prince and a Divine Warrior of ancient Iran who supported the prophet

Zarathustra Zarathushtra Spitama, more commonly known as Zoroaster or Zarathustra, was an Iranian religious reformer who challenged the tenets of the contemporary Ancient Iranian religion, becoming the spiritual founder of Zoroastrianism. Variously descr ...

, enabling him to spread the religion of

Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zoroaster, Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, ...

. He also fought against many apostates and enemies of Zarathustra to do so. In return, Zarathustra gave Esfandiyār a chain and armor from Heaven. The armor made him invulnerable and the chain had the power to bind anyone, even a demon or evil magician, making them unable to escape. Zarathustra also gave a Divine blessing to the prince and declared that anyone who spills the blood of Esfandiyār shall suffer a cursed life of bad omens until the day he dies and even after death would be condemned to hell. Esfandiyār's father, Goshtasp, had promised to give him the throne if he manages to repel an invasion in far-off provinces. Esfandiyār successfully carries out the order. Upon his return, Esfandiyār's father informs him that during his absence the king of

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 ...

Arjāsp had rebelled and attacked Iran's capital and abducted Esfandiyār's two sisters. Goshtasp sends Esfandiyār on another mission to suppress the rebellion and retrieve the abducted princesses. Esfandiyār sets out in haste passing through a difficult and dangerous path with 7 different battles which would be known later as 7 labors of Esfandiyār. These are: 1. Slaying two monstrous wolves. 2. Slaying two man-eating lions. 3. Slaying a Dragon. 4. Killing a wicked enchantress. 5. Fighting and killing a

Simurgh The simurgh (; ; also spelled ''senmurv, simorgh, simorg'', ''simurg'', ''simoorg, simorq'' or ''simourv'') is a benevolent bird in Persian mythology and Persian literature, literature. It bears some similarities with mythological birds from di ...

and its two offspring. 6. Braving a three-day-long storm. 7. Crossing a desert. Esfandiyār then successfully infiltrates the Fortress of Arjāsp known as Roin Dej. (lit. Invincible Fortress) Esfandiyār then kills Arjaasb, rescues his sisters and conquers the fortress. Upon Esfandiyār's return to Iran, Goshtasp, who did not want to part with his throne, hedges once again. Although Goshtasp is aware of a prediction that foretells the death of Esfandiyār at the hand of Rostam, he compels the young hero to go and bring the aging Rostam in chains for his arrogance and disrespect toward the king, promising that upon completing this mission he will give the throne to Esfandiyār and retire. Esfandiyār initially protests, reminding his father of Rostam's fame, great age, and services to the dynasty, but eventually complies with his father's wishes and sets out towards Rostam's home. Upon reaching the home of Rostam, Esfandiyār delivers the message, but Rostam refuses to comply to be put in chains, only agreeing to accompany the young prince to his father's palace. Esfandiyār insists, but Rostam, making numerous other concessions, stands his ground and the two eventually meet in single combat. In the subsequent battle, the invincible Esfandiyār is unaffected by Rostam's blows while Rostam is seriously wounded by Esfandiyār's arrows, which had diamond arrowheads and could easily pierce through Rostam's armor. Pleading respite to dress his wounds, Rostam withdraws. Rostam's father

Zāl use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates ...

who was raised by the legendary bird Simurgh (apparently there were two different Simurghs in Shahnameh, one which is slain in 7 labours of Esfandiyār and the other one which raised Zāl and lived in mountains of Iran) summons Simurgh by burning a feather given to him from Simurgh herself to ask help for curing his son. And Simurgh benevolently cures both Rostam and his horse Rakhsh who was also wounded by Esfandiyār's arrows. and then Rostam learns from the

that the only weapon that can affect Esfandiyār is a shot to the eyes from a special double-headed arrow, made from the branch of a tamarisk tree near the Persian Gulf. Simurgh also warns Rostam about the fate that awaits the killer of Esfandiyār and asks Rostam to consider surrendering to the Prince, and since he is a divine prince there would be no shame in surrendering to him. But Rostam refuses to accept either the shame of surrendering or being chained by anyone. Upon making this decision, Simurgh carries Rostam to the tamarisk tree, where he fashions the double head arrow with a feather of

and a twig of the

tamarisk The genus ''Tamarix'' (tamarisk, salt cedar, taray) is composed of about 50–60 species of flowering plants in the family Tamaricaceae, native to drier areas of Eurasia and Africa. The generic name originated in Latin and may refer to the Tamb ...

tree. When the battle resumes the next morning, Esfandiyār is blinded by a shot through the eye. Before dying, Esfandiyār tells Rostam to take his son Bahman under his wing and not to blame himself: it was the false promise of his father and the Arrow of Simurgh that killed him. Esfandiyār tells Rostam that Goshtasp should be guilty as the real murderer.

Etymology

In the Shahnameh

See also

References

Further reading