In the Zoroastrian cosmology, the world is the site of an epic, ongoing struggle between two entities: the creator deity Ahur\u0101 Mazda (\u201cLord Wisdom\u201d) and his main adversary Angra Mainyu (\u201cDestructive Spirit\u201d). Similarly, in Sh<\/em>\u0101hnameh<\/em>, the early plot is driven by the struggle between two broadly-painted forces: on one side are Kiumars, the first king and his successors; on the other side are Ahriman (Middle-Persian name for Angra-Mainyu) and his descendants, the D\u012bvs. The earliest stages of this struggle involve direct confrontations between the two sides and their armies, battles that take place in a relatively primitivistic environment. But as Sh<\/em>\u0101hnameh<\/em> moves forward, the simple dualistic nature of the story evolves, becoming increasingly nuanced and complex. The kings that succeed Kiumars must manage a world of ever-growing complications. Their foremost asset in this context is farr <\/em>\u2013 loosely translated as \u201cDivine Glory.\u201d Farr<\/em> also originates in the Avesta<\/em>, where it is a magic force or power of a luminous and fiery nature belonging to the gods. In Sh<\/em>\u0101hnameh<\/em>, farr<\/em> is a quality that connects the kings to the universal creator; it provides the kings with power, and with guidance to use this power virtuously.<\/p>\n One of those kings who is fully endowed with farr<\/em> is Jam\u0161id, the immediate predecessor of Zahh\u0101k. Jam\u0161id rules over the mytho-historical land called Iran-Zamin, and his reign is characterized by the gifts and skills that he bestows upon the kingdom: medicine, fragrance, weaving, extraction of gems, and many more. The D\u012bvs are under his thumb and serve him as builders of castles and palaces. Jam\u0161id\u2019s world is at the height of wellness, prosperity, and peace. All of this is by virtue of his farr<\/em>, his connection to the highest power. In effect, Jam\u0161id functions as a channel for divine wisdom and benevolence \u2014 he receives it from the creator and bestows it upon his people.<\/p>\n Ferdowsi writes:<\/p>\n The world was at peace by virtue of the triumphant Jam\u0161id But \u2014 at the height of his power and glory, Jam\u0161id loses sight of this divine connection, and becomes wrapped up in a vanity that borders on narcissism. Once he sees himself as the sole creator of all that is great and good, his farr<\/em> immediately begins to wane, and so does his power. As a result, chaos and turmoil reign in his kingdom.<\/p>\n At this point Ferdowsi pauses the tale of Jam\u0161id and takes us to the land of T\u0101zi\u0101n<\/em>, (a term that was used by Iranians to refer to Arabs.) In this land rules a king named Mard\u0101s, who is described by Ferdowsi as god-fearing. Mard\u0101s has a son named Zahh\u0101k, who the poet says \u201chas not benefited from love.\u201d Ferdowsi further describes Zahh\u0101k as impetuous, impulsive, unwise, and corrupt. Zahh\u0101k owns 10,000 horses, and \u201cspends most of his days in the saddle, seeking grandiosity for himself.\u201d In modern terms, one could say that the absence of love creates a void in Zahh\u0101k \u2014 and he is ensnared by a driving quest to fill that void with more and more of what the material world deems valuable: fame, status, power.<\/p>\n As such, Zahh\u0101k now becomes fertile ground for evil. His neediness and insatiable want seem to serve as an invitation for Eblis (an Arabic name for the devil), who comes to Zahh\u0101k one day at dawn. Sh<\/em>\u0101hnameh <\/em>previously referred to the devil by the Zoroastrian name Ahriman, and the change of name has prompted speculation about Ferdowsi\u2019s motives. Some have argued that this switch (as well as Ferdowsi\u2019s casting of Zahh\u0101k as a T\u0101zi) is a not-so-veiled reference to the Arab invasion of Iran, which happened some three centuries before Ferdowsi\u2019s birth in 940. But insight can also be found by examining the etymology of the word \u201cEblis.\u201d Eblis is rooted in the Greek diabolos <\/em>(from which we get the word \u201cdevil\u201d) \u2014 bolos<\/em> from ballein<\/em> (\u201cto throw\u201d) and dia<\/em> as a prefix meaning apart, in two different directions. This notion of being thrown apart \u2014 separated, divided, estranged \u2014 is integral to Ferdowsi\u2019s characterization of Zahh\u0101k, and shows up thematically well before Eblis approaches Zahh\u0101k in his tale. Jam\u0161id is estranged from his divine connection and his farr<\/em>. Zahh\u0101k\u2019s father Mard\u0101s is estranged from his god and lives in fear of it; and Zahh\u0101k is doubly estranged \u2014 both from his father (having received no love from him) and from himself (desperate to be someone other than who he already is).<\/p>\n But more so than his choice of name, it\u2019s Ferdowsi\u2019s rendering of Eblis\u2019s character and modus operandi that highlights how he re-conceptualizes the Zoroastrian notion of evil. Here the devil is not a demonological character doing battle with gods and angels, but a force that tempts, recruits, and harnesses susceptible humans to carry out his own agenda. Ferdowsi\u2019s Eblis plays the long game: he takes hold of Zahh\u0101k in three stages, progressively separating, dividing, and alienating him. At each stage, Eblis changes his appearance and plays a different role, in human disguise. He first appears as a friendly sage, offering Zahh\u0101k great knowledge \u2014 in exchange for a pledge of allegiance. Zahh\u0101k is presented with a choice and, in his desperation to be more than who he is, surrenders his will to Eblis. He agrees to do everything Eblis tells him to do. Once Zahh\u0101k is separated from his own free will and sovereignty, Eblis proposes that Zahh\u0101k kill his father Mard\u0101s, as a way to kick-start the young prince\u2019s ascent to the throne of T\u0101zi\u0101n. When Zahh\u0101k balks at this idea, Eblis offers to do the deed himself, and merely asks for Zahh\u0101k\u2019s silence \u2014 to which Zahh\u0101k eventually agrees. His silence is an act of complicity in the murder of his father, and shows Zahh\u0101k\u2019s estrangement from his own compassion and conscience.<\/p>\n Zahh\u0101k becomes King of T\u0101zi\u0101n, and Eblis reappears as a renowned chef, offering his services. Zahh\u0101k hands Eblis the keys to his royal kitchen in what amounts to a second act of surrendering sovereignty. In Sh<\/em>\u0101hnameh<\/em> Eblis is the first to prepare meals from the flesh and blood of animals; and as Zahh\u0101k feasts on these he becomes increasingly vicious and bloodthirsty, taking on the characteristics of a predator and falling further away from his humanity. Eblis then asks to kiss Zahh\u0101k\u2019s shoulders as a gesture of great respect and honor, and Zahh\u0101k grants the wish. At that moment Eblis vanishes, and from Zahhak\u2019s shoulders two fearsome snakes sprout out, each as thick as a tree branch.<\/p>\n Shocked and distressed, Zahh\u0101k casts about for a remedy, to no avail. At last Eblis appears for a third time, disguised as a doctor, and offers a solution (albeit to a problem he himself created). He prescribes that the snakes be kept calm with their proper food, specifically human brains (in Persian, maghz<\/em>), until they eventually die. And so it is that every day, \u00a0two innocent youths are captured and killed, their brains fed to Zahh\u0101k\u2019s snakes.<\/p>\n Now,<\/u> Ferdowsi takes us back to Iran-Zamin where Jam\u0161id\u2019s farr<\/em> is totally depleted, and the people long for a new leader to fill the power vacuum \u2014 a strongman who can rule with an iron fist and bring an end to all the turmoil. A delegation is sent to the land of T\u0101zi\u0101n, inviting the fearsome Zahh\u0101k \u2014 the Serpent King \u2014 to become the new king of Iran-Zamin. By rendering Zahh\u0101k\u2019s ultimate ascent as an act of selection, Ferdowsi illustrates the human propensity to make catastrophic and ultimately self-destructive choices, especially in times of upheaval and uncertainty.<\/p>\n The Avesta, <\/em>the primary collection of Zoroastrian religious texts, tells of a creature named A\u017ei-Dah\u0101k \u2014 a compound of a\u017ei <\/em>(\u201csnake\/serpent\u201d) and dah\u0101k <\/em>(that which stings). A\u017ei-Dah\u0101k is a dragon-like, three-headed creature with three mouths, six eyes, and 10,000 tricks up its sleeve. It has been created by Ahriman to battle alongside the forces of Ahur\u0101 Mazda and depopulate the world.<\/p>\n As with any legend, the story of A\u017ei-Dah\u0101k has changed as it has been passed down through the centuries; elements have been added and\/or moved around. Ferdowsi brings his own powerful insights into human character and behavior, and masterfully blends them into the mythos. He re-imagines the fantastical monster A\u017ei-Dah\u0101k as the prince Zahh\u0101k \u2014 a relatable human being afflicted with prototypical human wants and shortcomings.<\/p>\n Before Zahh\u0101k, the kings of Sh<\/em>\u0101hnameh<\/em> confront Ahriman and his minions head-to-head, as enemies, in physical battles; but Zahh\u0101k is the first character who in effect forms a mutual relationship with a dark force, and eventually internalizes it. Zahh\u0101k now becomes a tool, a surrogate, a proxy for evil, carrying out Eblis\u2019s project of taking over the world and slowly destroying humanity. As such, Ferdowsi\u2019s version of the Zahh\u0101k tale is really a tale of haunting, of possession.<\/p>\n Within the Book of Kings<\/em>, Zahh\u0101k becomes the epitome of the anti-king; he is a creature of many vices in a tale that emphasizes the virtues of kings. In Sh<\/em>\u0101hnameh<\/em> these virtues, ideally, include justice, generosity, truthfulness and tolerance. But during Zahh\u0101k\u2019s reign all of these values are turned on their heads. His is a dark reign of terror and oppression, when \u201cvirtue is despised, and falsehood is exalted.\u201d Dissenters are put to death and women are forced into the service of Zahh\u0101k. All throughout this time, the two snakes are fed \u2014 although it is really the insatiable dragon which lives inside Zahh\u0101k that requires sustenance. More and more people are deprived of their maghz<\/em> \u2014 their brains. The word maghz<\/em> also means center or core, and so the feeding of the snakes can also be seen as a different form of depopulation \u2014 not a purging of humans, but a purge of our core humanity, that which is essential to us.<\/p>\n And so it goes, Ferdowsi says, for nearly 1,000 years. But towards the end of his reign Zahh\u0101k has a very disturbing dream, in which he is shown his own downfall at the hands of a young man called Fer\u0113yd\u016bn.<\/p>\n Not surprisingly, Fer\u0113yd\u016bn\u2019s roots can also be traced back to Zoroastrian mythology. In the Avesta<\/em>, the one who vanquishes A\u017ei-Dah\u0101k is a character named \u0398ra\u0113taona. <\/em>The name, roughly translated as \u201cPossessor of Three Powers,\u201d marks \u0398ra\u0113taona<\/em> as an apt adversary for a three-headed dragon. According to various traditions, \u0398ra\u0113taona<\/em> is a godlike or at least superhuman character, with supernatural powers. He is either an immortal or the progeny of an immortal. When he exhales, he projects hail stones from his right nostril and fire-stones from his left. He is a sorcerer-like healer who can cure illness and rid bodies of vermin infestations, turn his enemies to stone, and keep people suspended in the air for days at a time. In the Avesta<\/em>, \u0398ra\u0113taona <\/em>is able to defeat A\u017ei-Dah\u0101k with help from the Gods of Water, Wind and Strength. But how does this character appear in Sh<\/em>\u0101hnameh<\/em>?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Just as Ferdowsi transformed the Avestan<\/em>, three-headed dragon into a decidedly human character, he also turns the god-like \u0398ra\u0113taona<\/em> into Fer\u0113yd\u016bn, a character of more human dimensions who is cared for, nurtured and trained to become a powerful warrior-king.<\/p>\n When Fer\u0113yd\u016bn is born his father Abtin has already been killed and his brain fed to Zahh\u0101k\u2019s snakes. But Far\u0101nak, Fer\u0113yd\u016bn\u2019s loving and protective mother, keeps him hidden and safe from Zahh\u0101k\u2019s minions \u2014 first on a farm and later atop the legendary Mount Alborz<\/em>. In each place Fer\u0113yd\u016bn finds a surrogate father: initially the keeper of the farm, and later a sage who lives on the mountain. Both men bestow great care upon Fer\u0113yd\u016bn, in stark contrast to the relationship that Ferdowsi establishes between Zahh\u0101k and his father.<\/p>\n At age 16, Fer\u0113yd\u016bn returns from the mountaintop and asks Far\u0101nak about his true father. When he discovers the truth, Fer\u0113yd\u016bn declares that he is going to bring an end to Zahh\u0101k and his reign. But his mother questions whether he can single-handedly defeat Zahh\u0101k, who after all commands vast armies.<\/p>\n At this point in the story Ferdowsi introduces a character named K\u0101veh, a blacksmith who has already lost 17 of his children to Zahh\u0101k\u2019s snakes. When his last remaining son is taken away, K\u0101veh bursts into Zahh\u0101k\u2019s palace and questions his legitimacy as a king. Zahh\u0101k releases K\u0101veh\u2019s son, but demands that K\u0101veh sign an official declaration proclaiming Zahh\u0101k a fair and just king. K\u0101veh tears up the document, and storms out of the palace with his son. He then fashions a makeshift banner from his leather blacksmith’s apron, rallies the Iranian people around it, and leads them to Fer\u0113yd\u016bn \u2014 effectively supplying him with a provisional army. Fer\u0113yd\u016bn adopts K\u0101veh\u2019s banner as his own, decorates it with silk and jewels, and carries it along with K\u0101veh and his followers to depose Zahh\u0101k.<\/p>\n There is no mention of K\u0101veh in the Avesta<\/em>, Bundahishn<\/em> or similar texts. It\u2019s unclear whether he appeared in folk versions of the Zahh\u0101k story previous to Sh<\/em>\u0101hnameh<\/em>, or if he is a creation of Ferdowsi\u2019s imagination. Either way, in Sh<\/em>\u0101hnameh<\/em>, K\u0101veh becomes an early iteration of the eventual archetype of the warrior (in Persian, pahlev\u0101n<\/em>), and the patriarch of a long line of warriors. But K\u0101veh\u2019s place in the Iranian cultural imagination is really as the archetypal resistance fighter \u2014 someone who dares to risk everything to stand up to tyranny and demand justice, to speak truth to power and question the legitimacy of an oppressive ruler. K\u0101veh and his blacksmith\u2019s flag become symbols of popular uprising against the forces of tyranny, symbols that endure to this day.<\/p>\n With the help of K\u0101veh and his companions, Fer\u0113yd\u016bn breaks into the palace, strikes Zahh\u0101k on the head with his mace and brings him to his knees. As he is about to deliver a second, fatal blow, Fer\u0113yd\u016bn receives a divine guidance that advises him not to kill Zahh\u0101k, but rather to chain him up and imprison him on Mount Dam\u0101vand, the highest peak in the Alborz chain. Once again it\u2019s worth noting Ferdowsi\u2019s modification of the earlier versions of the myth. In most of those versions, A\u017ei-Dah\u0101k is destroyed, or if he\u2019s allowed to live, it\u2019s because vermin would pour out from his corpse and take over the world. Ferdowsi\u2019s telling is devoid of such fantastic notions. Zahh\u0101k is simply locked up in a faraway cave, inaccessible to his cohorts and allies. The implication here may be that our authoritarian tendencies, our own inner Zahh\u0101k, can never be fully destroyed. At best, it can be kept at bay and not enabled \u2014 in a sense, deactivated.<\/p>\n At the end of the tale of Zahh\u0101k, Fer\u0113yd\u016bn becomes the next king of Iran-Zamin, returning farr<\/em> and the other original kingly virtues to the throne. Here again Ferdowsi emphasizes the idea that his Fer\u0113yd\u016bn is not a god nor even superhuman, but very much an everyman, a stand-in for any one of us when we champion values that counter the greed and oppression represented by Zahh\u0101k.<\/p>\n The poet writes:<\/p>\n Glorious Fer\u0113yd\u016bn was not an angel \u2014 not forged of musk and ambergris! <\/p>\n This essay was adapted from a presentation by the author at a conference titled \u201cUnveiling the Mythos of Iran,\u201d organized by Dr. Maryam Sayyad & Cross-Cultural Expressions at the Philosophical Research Society.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Omid Arabian recounts the legend of the serpent king from Ferdowsi’s epic “Sh\u0101hnameh,” exploring human psychology and the roots of tyranny.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":404,"featured_media":27166,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,2774],"tags":[2831,2832,2829,867,2830,2828,2827,1354,2826],"article-category":[],"article-type":[],"coauthors":[2764],"class_list":["post-27012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-essay","category-tmr-33-stories-from-the-markaz","tag-angels","tag-devil","tag-evil","tag-iran","tag-kings","tag-legends","tag-mythology","tag-persian-poetry","tag-tyranny"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nas he continually received messages from the Divine.<\/p>\n![\"Eblis.](\"https:\/\/themarkaz.org\/oldmarkaz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/3-Eblis.-Detail-of-an-illustration-from-the-Shahnameh-of-Shah-Tahmaasp-Google-Art-Project.jpg\")
![\"Jams\u030cid](\"https:\/\/themarkaz.org\/oldmarkaz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Jamsid-on-his-throne-carried-by-deevs.-Detail-of-an-illustration-from-a-manuscript-of-the-Shahnameh-Royal-Collection-Trust.jpg\")
\nZoroastrian Roots<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"Fere\u0304ydu\u0304n,](\"https:\/\/themarkaz.org\/oldmarkaz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/5-Fereydun-Kaveh-and-his-followers-on-the-way-to-Zahhaks-palace.-Detail-of-an-illustration-from-the-Shahnameh-of-Shah-Tahmaasp-Google-Art-Project.jpg\")
\nThe Birth of a Powerful Warrior-King<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"Zahha\u0304k](\"https:\/\/themarkaz.org\/oldmarkaz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/6-Zahhak-is-nailed-to-the-walls-of-a-cave.-Detail-of-an-illustration-from-Baysonghori-Shahnameh-of-Shah-Tahmaasp-Wikimedia-Commons.jpg\")
\nThrough Justice and Generosity he found virtue;
\nif you practice these values, then you, too, are Fer\u0113yd\u016bn.<\/p>\n