Bizhan & Manizeh

In this episode I continue with Persian mythology and the stories presented by the Persian epic poem the Shahnameh. Much of the Shahnameh covers a terrible centuries-long feud between the kingdoms of Iran or Persia, and Turan, a mythical land in Central Asia.This feud began in the distant past but accelerated when Afrasyab rose to power in Turan. He invaded Persia several times and killed in battle a Persian king named Nowsar. Relations were bad but they could still get worse.When the honourable Persian prince Seyavash left Persia to stay in Turan and he married Afrasyab’s daughter, things looked like they might turn around. But the king was turned against him and Seyavash was executed. His son Kay Khosrow would swear vengeance against his father’s murderers.I’ve covered these events from the Shahnameh in past episodes. If you haven’t listened already, I’d recommend going back to them. THIS episode will cover the climax of the feud, and the final confrontation between Kay Khosrow and the manipulative Turanian king Afrasyab. At the end I’ll compare the Shahnameh’s Afrasyab to his equivalent in the older Zoroastrian religious texts.

This episode (90) will focus on another epic poem starring the Persian hero Faramarz. It is called the Faramarznameh but is commonly referred to as the Longer Faramarznameh by scholars to distinguish it from the other (shorter) Faramarznameh which I covered a few episodes ago.The poem is divided into approximately three parts. In the first part, the Persian king Kay Khosrow sends Faramarz on a military campaign to India. The second portion follows Faramarz’s travels in India and seems to be closely inspired by Garshasp’s similar travels in the Garshaspnameh, another epic poem. The final third covers Faramarz’s love for a fairy princess and the trials that come out of that.

The famous tragic romance of Bizhan and Manizeh is a highly celebrated story from the Persian Shahnameh. Persian legend is marking by a constant antagonism between two warring kingdoms - Iran (Persia) and Turan. The relationship between Bizhan, a young Iranian warrior, and Manizeh, the daughter of Turan's nefarious king, both bridges and exacerbates this national divide. Its also creates another job for the Shahnameh's ultimate hero, Rostam. 

Faramarz was a popular hero in medieval Iran. In the Faramarznameh, the hero, still a young man, is sent with an army to India to help an allied king fight a rebellious warlord. Along the way Faramarz fights against ferocious beasts, a monstrous demon, and has a long philosophical discussion with a sage.

This episode (87) will be a little different. The first part covers the hero Rostam’s struggle against the monstrous Akvan Div. In the second part, I include other shorter Rostam-related adventures, specifically stories about some of his children like Faramarz, Banu Goshasp, and Jahangir. 

This episode (86) focuses on Tus the Golden-Footed, one of the most compelling yet frustrating secondary characters in the Shahnameh epic poem. A strong warrior and brave leader but with a weak reputation among his fellow nobles, these stories show him to be arrogant and impulsive , but also explain why Tus feels he is unfairly deprived of the respect he deserves.

Following the tragedy of Seyavash, his father Kay Kavus was no longer suited to rule Iran. This episode (85) tells how Seyavash’s son Kay Khosrow was spared and how the Persian hero Giv wandered the land of Turan looking for Persia’s new king. 

This episode (84) will cover the myth of Seyavash, a large part of the Shahnameh epic poem. Seyavash is presented as a perfect prince – strong, capable, wise, and handsome. But, these qualities are a double-edged sword for Seyavash. Sudabeh, Kay Kavus, and Persia’s enemy Afrasyab are all brought into his story, with tragic results.

This episode (83) features two more stories of the legendary Persian king Kay Kavus’s foolishness as recorded in the Shahnameh. The first involves a woman named Sudabeh, and the second again involves the mischief of divs.

This episode (82) will cover another of the Iranian hero Rostam’s adventures from the Shahnameh, an epic poem composed in Persian around 1010 AD. With the tragic story of Sohrab we begin to see Rostam’s flaws, his actions that come from them, and his despair that results.