Borzu Nama
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The Borzu Nama (pronounced as Borzū-Nāma or Borzū-Nāme) () is a
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 ...
epic poem of about 65,000 couplets recounting the exploits and adventures of the legendary hero Borzu, son of SohrabWilliam L. Hanaway, "Borzu-Nama" in Encyclopedia Iranica.

accessed October, 2010BORZU-NĀMA (article 2) in Encyclopedia Iranica by Gabrielle van den Berg

accessed October, 2010. and grandson of
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 ...
.


Plot

Abraham Hyacinthe Anquetil-Duperron Abraham Hyacinthe Anquetil-Duperron (7 December 173117 January 1805) was the first professional French Indologist. He conceived the institutional framework for the new profession. He inspired the founding of the École française d'Extrême-Ori ...
identifies the author as 'Ata'i, who is further identified as 'Amid Abu'l 'Ala' 'Ata b. Yaqub Kateb Razi by Blochet. He was a poet of the
Ghaznavid The Ghaznavid dynasty ( ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a Persianate Muslim dynasty of Turkic ''mamluk'' origin. It ruled the Ghaznavid Empire or the Empire of Ghazni from 977 to 1186, which at its greatest extent, extended from the Oxus to the Indus Va ...
court and died around 1078-1079. The language of the Borzu-nama is characteristics of texts of the 11th century. The story is versified in the same meter and style 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 Shahnama. The Borzu-nama is possibly the longest of the post Shahnama
epic poems Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale Epic(s) ...
and includes material from
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 ...
national legends not used by
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 ...
. The story starts with Sohrab the son of
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 ...
. On his way from
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 ...
to fight the Iranians he marries a woman named Shahru. Before leaving, he gives her a token to give to their unborn child. The child is named Borzu by Shahru and she raises him without disclosing his father's identity. The young Borzu is recruited into
Afrasiab Afrasiyab ( ''afrāsiyāb''; ; 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. Name and origin ''Afrā'' is the po ...
's, the King of Turan, army. Borzu eventually forces his mother to reveal his father's name. On finding that it was Sohrab, he sets off to battle
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 ...
to avenge his father's death.
Afrasiab Afrasiyab ( ''afrāsiyāb''; ; 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. Name and origin ''Afrā'' is the po ...
then sends him with an army to
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
, but Borzu is captured by Rostam's son
Faramarz Faramarz () is an Iranian legendary hero (''pahlavan'') in Ferdowsi's ''Shahnameh'' ("Book of Kings"). He was son of Rostam and at last killed by Kay Bahman. The book Faramarz-nama, written about a hundred years after Shahnameh, is about Farama ...
and taken to
Sistan Sistān (), also known as Sakastān (, , current name: Zabol) and Sijistan (), is a historical region in south-eastern Iran and extending across the borders of present-day south-western Afghanistan, and south-western Pakistan. Mostly correspond ...
. Shahru is informed of Borzu's capture, and helps him escape. He is recaptured by
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, and not recognizing his grandfather, Borzu battles
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 ...
. His life is spared at the last minute when Shahru reveals their relationship. Borzu and Rostam embrace and Borzu joins the Iranian forces.
Afrasiab Afrasiyab ( ''afrāsiyāb''; ; 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. Name and origin ''Afrā'' is the po ...
learns of this and sends Susan-e Rameshgar, a musician and sorceress to capture Rostam and Borzu. Afrasiab arrives with his army and the epic takes up a long series of battles and adventures that include famous Iranian and Turanian heroes from the Shahnameh, along with Divs,
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
(fairies) and wizards. The tale concludes with the death of Borzu at the hands of a Div.


Editions

The Borzu-nama has not yet been published in a critical edition, but versions of the text have been included in the Shah Nama editions of both Turner Macan (pp. 2160–296) and Dabirsiāqi.


Possible influences

Friedrich von Suhtschek, in a discussion of the Iranian sources of the Grail legend, claimed, but did not prove, that the Borzu Nama is the direct source of
Wolfram von Eschenbach Wolfram von Eschenbach (; – ) was a German knight, poet and composer, regarded as one of the greatest epic poets of medieval German literature. As a Minnesinger, he also wrote lyric poetry. Life Little is known of Wolfram's life. Ther ...
’s Parzifal.


See also

*
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 ...
* List of Persian poets and authors *
Persian literature Persian literature comprises oral compositions and written texts in the Persian language and is one of the world's oldest literatures. It spans over two-and-a-half millennia. Its sources have been within Greater Iran including present-day ...


Notes

{{Persian literature Persian mythology Poems in Persian Epic poems in Persian