''Kay'' (meaning "king") was a ruling title used in Iranian mythology by the

Kayanians 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 ...

of the

Avesta The Avesta (, Book Pahlavi: (), Persian language, Persian: ()) is the text corpus of Zoroastrian literature, religious literature of Zoroastrianism. All its texts are composed in the Avestan language and written in the Avestan alphabet. Mod ...

, later to be adopted by the

Kushano-Sasanians The Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom (or Indo-Sasanians) was a polity established by the Sasanian Empire in Bactria during the 3rd and 4th centuries. The Sasanian Empire captured the provinces of Sogdia, Bactria and Gandhara from the declining Kushan Emp ...

, followed by the

Sasanian The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranians"), was an Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, the length of the Sasanian dynasty's reign ...

monarchs of

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 ...

. Some legendary rulers who held the title include

Kay Kavus The name Kay is found both as a surname and as a given name. In English-speaking countries, it is usually a feminine name, often a short form of Katherine or one of its variants; but it is also used as a first name in its own right, and also as a ...

Kay Khosrow Kay Khosrow () is a legendary king of Iran of Kayanian dynasty and a character in the Persian epic book ''Shahnameh''. He was the son of the Iranian prince Siavash who married princess Farangis of Turan while in exile. Before Kay Khosrow wa ...

, and

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 ...

References

Sources

* * * {{cite book , last1=Schindel , first1=Nikolaus , authorlink1=, editor-last=Potts, editor-first=Daniel T., title=The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran , date=2013 , publisher=Oxford University Press , isbn=978-0199733309 , chapter=Sasanian Coinage Iranian words and phrases Royal titles Government of the Sasanian Empire Titles in Iran