Afrasiab

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Scene from the Shahnameh. Afrasiab (standing figure) executes Nauzar (lying down). Wellcome Library.
This article is about an Iranian mythical hero. For the village in Iran, see Afrasiab, Iran. For the ancient site of northern Samarkand, see Afrasiyab (Samarkand). For other uses, see Afrasiyab.

In Iranian legend, Afrasiab (Persian: افراسياب afrāsiyāb; Avestan: Fraŋrasyan; Middle Persian: Frāsiyāv, Frāsiyāk) is the mythical king and hero of Turan. He is the main antagonist of the Persian epic Shahnameh, written by Ferdowsi.

Name and origin

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The oldest attested form of the name is the Avestan Fraŋrasyan, which Émile Benveniste derived from *fra-hrasya- 'to make disappear, to fell, to destroy'. This etymology is connected with a myth in which Afrasiab holds back rain. The Persian form of the name is derived from a version of the name which ends in āb 'water' (*Frahrasyāpa- > *Frārasyāp > Frāsīāb).[1]

Painting of Afrasiab in the Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp

According to the Shahnameh (Book of Kings) by the Persian epic poet Ferdowsi, Afrasiab was the king and hero of Turan and an archenemy of Iran. He is the most prominent of all Turanian kings in Iranian mythology. He is a great warrior, an able commander, and an agent of Ahriman. He possesses supernatural powers and is intent on destroying the Iranian lands.[1] He is brother to Garsivaz, and the son of Pashang. He was an enemy of Rostam and Kay Khosrow, and was defeated by them.

According to Islamic sources, Afrasiab was a descendant of Tūr (Avestan: Tūriya-), one of the three sons of the Iranian mythical King Fereydun (the other two sons being Salm and Iraj). In Bundahishn, he is named as the seventh grandson of Tūr. In Avestan traditions, his common epithet mairya- 'deceitful, villainous'[2] can be interpreted as meaning 'an evil man'. He lived in a subterranean fortress made of metal, called Hanakana.

According to Avestan sources, Afrasiab was killed by Haoma near the Čīčhast (possibly either referring to Lake Hamun in Sistan or some unknown lake in today's Central Asia), and according to the Shahnameh he met his death in a cave known as the Hang-e Afrasiab, or the dying place of Afrasiab, on a mountaintop in Azerbaijan. The fugitive Afrasiab, having been repeatedly defeated by the armies of his adversary, the mythical King of Iran Kay Khosrow (who happened to be his own grandson, through his daughter Farangis), wandered wretchedly and fearfully around, and eventually took refuge in this cave and died.

Hypotheses

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Ernst Hertzfeld believed that the name Parsondes is etymologically identical to the name Afrasiab.[3][4][5][6] Tabari in his works mentions the derivative Afrasiab / Aspandiat under the name of the Hephthalite king Akhshunvar or Akhshunvaz.[7]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Yarshater, E. (1984). "Afrāsīāb". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. I/6: Afghanistan–Ahriman (Online ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation. pp. 570–576. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
  2. ^ Nyberg H. S., Die Religionen des Alten Iran, Berlin (1938), p. 257
  3. ^ Kramers, Johannes Hendrik (1954). Analecta Orientalia: Posthumous Writings and Selected Minor Works. E.J. Brill. p. 247.
  4. ^ Herzfeld, Ernst (1947). Zoroaster and His World by Ernst Herzfeld. Princeton University Press. pp. 707–708.
  5. ^ Dulęba, Władysław (1995). The Cyrus Legend in the Šāhnāme. Enigma Press. pp. 63, 80. ISBN 978-83-86110-19-3.
  6. ^ Herzfeld, Ernst (1982). Archaeologische Mitteilungen aus Iran (in German). Dietrich Reimer. p. 179.
  7. ^ Tabakov, Dimitŭr (1999). Horizontăt na poznaniâta: Bălgarite prez vekovete Хоризонтът на познанията: Българите през вековете [The horizon of knowledge: Bulgarians through the centuries] (in Bulgarian). Propeller 92. p. 165. ISBN 978-954-9669-39-8.
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