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 well full of poisoned spears and was killed in Kabulistan. , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates = , burial_place = , burial_coordinates = , monuments = , nationality = , other_names = Rustam
Rustem , siglum = , citizenship = , education = , alma_mater = , occupation = , years_active = , era = , employer = , organization = , agent = , known_for = Seven Labours
Battle with Sohrab
Battle with Esfandiyārkilling Demon Albino , notable_works = , style = , net_worth = , height = , television = , title = , term = , predecessor = , successor = , party = , movement = , opponents = , boards = , criminal_charges = , criminal_penalty = , criminal_status = , spouse = Tahmina , partner = , children = Sohrab
Faramarz
Siyâvash (adopted son)
Banu Goshasp (In Banu Goshasp Nama) , parents = , mother = Rudaba , father = Zal , relatives = , family =

Sām Sām (), also transliterated Saam, is a mythical hero of ancient Persia, and an important character in the Shahnameh The ''Shahnameh'' (, ), also transliterated ''Shahnama'', is a long epic poem written by the Persian literature, Persian p ...

(grandfather)
Zavara (brother)
Shaghad (half brother) , callsign = , awards = , website = , module = , module2 = , module3 = , module4 = , module5 = , module6 = , signature = , signature_size = , signature_alt = , footnotes = Rostam or Rustam ( ) is a legendary hero in

Persian mythology Iranian mythology, or Persian mythology in western term (), is the body of the myths originally told by ancient Persians and other Iranian peoples and a genre of ancient Persian folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the worl ...

, the son of

Zāl use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates ...

and Rudaba, whose life and work was immortalized by the 10th-century Persian poet

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 ...

in the ''

Shahnameh The ''Shahnameh'' (, ), also transliterated ''Shahnama'', is a long epic poem written by the Persian literature, Persian poet Ferdowsi between and 1010 CE and is the national epic of Greater Iran. Consisting of some 50,000 distichs or couple ...

'', or ''Epic of Kings'', which contains pre-Islamic

Iranian folklore Iranian folklore encompasses the folklore, folk traditions that have evolved in Greater Iran. Oral legends Folktales Storytelling has an important presence in Iranian culture. In classical Iran, minstrels performed for their audiences at royal ...

and history. However, the roots of the narrative date much earlier. In the ''Shahnameh'', Rostam and his predecessors are

Marzban Marzbān, or Marzpān (Middle Persian: 𐭬𐭫𐭱𐭰𐭠𐭭𐭯 transliteration: mrzwpn, derived from Middle Persian: 𐭬𐭫𐭱 ''marz'' "border, boundary" and the Middle Persian suffix: 𐭡𐭭𐭯 ''-pān'' "guardian"; Modern Persian: ...

s of

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 ...

(present-day

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 ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

). Rostam is best known for his tragic fight with

Esfandiyār Esfandiyār or Espandiyār (; ; ) is a legendary Iranian hero and one of the characters of Ferdowsi's ''Shahnameh (The Book of Kings)''. He was the son and the crown prince of the Kayanian King Goshtasp and Queen Katāyoun. He was the grandc ...

, the other legendary Iranian hero; for his expedition to

Mazandaran Mazandaran Province (; ) is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Sari, Iran, Sari. Located along the southern coast of the Caspian Sea and in the adjacent Central Alborz mountain range and Hyrcanian forests, it is border ...

(not to be confused with the modern Mazandaran Province). He is also known for the story of his Seven Labours. Rostam was always represented as the mightiest of Iranian paladins (holy warriors), and the atmosphere of the episodes in which he features is strongly reminiscent of the

Parthian Empire The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power centered in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe ...

. He rides the legendary stallion Rakhsh and wears a special suit named Babr-e Bayan in battles.

Origins

While the narrative of the ''Shahname'' is the definitive work on Rostam, Ferdowsi did not invent the character; Rostam stories were popular as far back as the seventh century in Pars and originated much earlier, likely in Eastern Iranian-speaking territories. He famously wears the ''zīn-i palang'' or "panther-skin garment":

Background

In the ''Shahnameh'', Rostam is a native of Zabulistan, a historical region roughly corresponding to today's Zabul Province, southern

. His mother Rudaba was a princess of

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

. Rostam is the champion of champions and is involved in numerous stories, constituting some of the most popular (and arguably some of most masterfully created) parts of the ''Shahnameh''. In ''Shahnameh'', Rostam—like his grandfather Sam—works as both a faithful military general as well as king-maker for the Kayanian dynasty of Persia. As a young child, he slays the maddened white elephant of the king Manuchehr with just one blow of the mace owned by his grandfather Sam, son of Nariman. He then tames his legendary stallion, Rakhsh. The etymology of Rostam's name is from Common Iranian "*rautas-taxma-, "'river-strong', i.e. 'as strong as a river', Rostam's mother is ''Rūdāba'' "(she) of the River Water", and his father is

, who has white hair.

Birth and early life

Rostam's mother Rudaba, the princess of Kabul, was known for her peerless beauty, and Rostam's father was Zāl. Zāl was one of Persia's most powerful warriors and a great general who conquered many rebellious tribes and ruled over Zabulistan. Zāl was known for his wisdom and was unparalleled in riding and fighting on horseback. He once demonstrated his skills to Emperor Manuchehr to seek his approval to marry his lover Rudaba. In Persian mythology, Rudaba's labour in giving birth to Rostam was prolonged due to the extraordinary size of her baby - so much so that

, her lover and husband, felt sure that his wife would die in labour. Rudaba was indeed near death when Zāl decided to summon the Simurgh, which duly appeared and instructed him upon how to perform a ''Rostamzad'', a

Caesarean section Caesarean section, also known as C-section, cesarean, or caesarean delivery, is the Surgery, surgical procedure by which one or more babies are Childbirth, delivered through an incision in the mother's abdomen. It is often performed because va ...

, thus saving both Rudaba and the child. After Zāl's father, Sam, learned of his grandchild's birth, he rushed to see Rostam and was overjoyed. Rostam was brought up and trained by Zāl in warfare. When Rostam single-handedly slew a mad elephant, his father sent him on his first military assignment. Rostam's task was to conquer the fortress on the summit of Mt Sipand where his great grandfather, Nariman, once besieged it and was slain in the battle. Rostam breached the fortress, defeated the enemy, ransacked its treasury and reported his success to his father, Zāl, and grandfather, Sam.

Haft Khan

He undertakes a heroic journey to save his sovereign, the over-confident Kay Kāvus who is captured by the Divs of Mazandaran. This journey is called "Rostam's Seven Quests". There are some similarities between the legends of Rostam and those pertaining to the great Irish hero Cú Chulainn. They both defeat a ferocious beast as a young man, slay their sons in combat (" Rostam and Sohrab", a motif also found in the '' Hildebrandslied''), are virtually invincible in combat, and are murdered by treachery while killing their murderer on their last breath. Two Persian heroes, Rostam and Esfandiyār, share stories with the

Labours of Hercules The Labours of Hercules or Labours of Heracles (, , ) are a series of tasks carried out by Heracles, the greatest of the Greek heroes, whose name was later romanised as Hercules. They were accomplished in the service of King Eurystheus. The ep ...

Alternate views

It is written by the Royal Central Asian Society in the '' Journal of the Royal Central Asian Society'' that the struggle between Rostam and the Div-e Sepid "White Demon" represents a struggle between Persians and invaders from the northern Caspian provinces.

Death

In Shahnameh, the life spans of the heroes who are from the generation of

(Rostam's grandfather) are described as being very long, and that of Rostam fits this pattern: he has reached the age of six hundred at the time of his violent demise (dying at the hand of his envious half-brother Shaghad, who kills him by throwing him into a well full of poisoned spears). In this incident, Rostam's faithful steed Rakhsh and the hero's brother, Zavareh are also killed.

Descent and other relations

With Tahmineh, princess of Samangan, Rostam had a son called Sohrab, who was killed accidentally by his father in the time of Kay Kavus. In Banu Goshasp Nama Rostam later had a daughter called Banu Goshasp, who had a full brother called Faramarz, and both became renowned heroes in Turan and India. Goshasp, through her marriage with Giv had a son, Bijan. Rostam had also a half brother called Shaghad, who was always jealous of him and provoked his death. Just as famous as Rostam was his horse Rakhsh, which had an incredibly long life like Rostam, due to divine protection, and died at the same time as Rostam.

Historical basis

Ernst Herzfeld maintained that the dynasty of Gondophares represented the House of Suren, highest of the five premier families of

, invested with the hereditary right of commanding the royal armies, and placing the crown on the king's head at the coronation. Probably when around 129 BCE, nomad peoples, especially the Indo-Scythians (''Sacaraucae'',

Old Persian Old Persian is one of two directly attested Old Iranian languages (the other being Avestan) and is the ancestor of Middle Persian (the language of the Sasanian Empire). Like other Old Iranian languages, it was known to its native speakers as (I ...

''Sakaravaka'' "nomadic

Saka The Saka, Old Chinese, old , Pinyin, mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit (Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples, Eastern Iranian peoples who lived in the Eurasian ...

” or Saraucae) and the

Tocharians The Tocharians or Tokharians ( ; ) were speakers of the Tocharian languages, a group of Indo-European languages known from around 7,600 documents from the 6th and 7th centuries, found on the northern edge of the Tarim Basin (modern-day Xinj ...

attacked the eastern frontier of

Parthia Parthia ( ''Parθava''; ''Parθaw''; ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Medes during the 7th century BC, was incorporated into the subsequent Achaemeni ...

, defense was entrusted by the Parthian emperors to the Surens; and the latter eventually not only repelled the Indo-Scythians, but pursued them into Arachosia and the

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

, this event probably representing ''interitus Saraucarum'' ( the perishing of the Sacaraucae) of

Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus also anglicized as was a Gallo-Roman historian from the Celtic Vocontii tribe in Narbonese Gaul who lived during the reign of the emperor Augustus. He was nearly contemporary with Livy. Life Pompeius Trogus's grandfa ...

(Prologue 42). Echoes of these events are preserved in the legends of the Sistān cycle, partly incorporated in the ''Shahnameh'', but once also surviving as independent epics, such as the ''Garšāspnāma'' mentioned in the ''Tārikh-e Sistān'', and the ''Ketāb al-Sakisarān'' cited by

al-Masudi al-Masʿūdī (full name , ), –956, was a historian, geographer and traveler. He is sometimes referred to as the "Herodotus of the Arabs". A polymath and prolific author of over twenty works on theology, history (Islamic and universal), geo ...

. These related the deeds of the hero Garshasp and his descendants, Narimān, Sām, Zāl or Dastān, and above all of the latter's son Rostam. It is difficult to relate the Indo-Parthian names known from coins and history to those of the epic, which are possibly honorific titles, since a recently reported silver coin describes Gondophares (spelt in Greek script Hyndopharres) as ''surnamed'' Sām. A single ruler may of course have received more than one such title, and the historical names may be repeated in succeeding generations.

Family tree

Gallery

Mughal era manuscripts depicting Rostam's seven labours and other feats: File:Firdawsi - Rustam Kills a Dragon (the Third Feat) - Walters W60276B (cropped).jpg, The third feat of Rostam's seven labours: Rostam kills a dragon. File:Firdawsi - Rustam Drags the Khaqan of China from his Elephant - Walters W601245B - Full Page.jpg, Rustam drags the Khaqan of China from his elephant. File:Firdawsi - Rustam Shoots Ashkabus - Walters W601234A - Full Page.jpg, Rustam shoots Ashkabus. File:Firdawsi - Rustam Kills the White Div (the Seventh Feat) - Walters W601131B - Full Page.jpg, The final feat of Rostam's seven labours: Rostam kills the White Demon. File:Firdawsi - Rustam Rescues Bizhan from the Pit - Walters W601308B - Full Page.jpg, Rustam rescues Bizhan from the pit.

In popular and traditional culture

The word 'Rustam' is synonymous with physical prowess, especially for wrestlers in Persian, Urdu, Hindi and Persianate cultures generally. For example, The Great Gama was popularly referred to as Rustam-e-Hind, or "Rustam of India". Rustam remains a popular name in Persianate cultures from Turkey to India. In Afghanistan, there is a

Dari Dari (; endonym: ), Dari Persian (, , or , ), or Eastern Persian is the variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. Dari is the Afghan government's official term for the Persian language;Lazard, G.Darī – The New Persian ...

proverb A proverb (from ) or an adage is a simple, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and are an example of formulaic speech, formulaic language. A proverbial phrase ...

, "“Rostam’s name is better than Rostam.” Edward Zellem explained, “This proverb is used when a person’s name or reputation is better than his actual abilities”.p. 161. Zellem, Edward. 2015. ''Zarbul Masalha: 151 Afghan Dari Proverbs'', 3rd ed. Cultures Direct Press. 2015

References

Sources

* *

External links

* ''Shahnameh'', by Hakim Abol-Qasem Ferdowsi Tusi, the complete work (64 Epics), in Persian
ParsTech
). This work can be freely downloaded (File size, compiled in the form of an HTML help file: 1.4 MB). * Iraj Bashiri, ''Characters of Ferdowsi's Shahnameh''
Iran Chamber Society
2003.

English translation by Helen Zimmern.
''Shahnameh''
Helen Zimmern translation.
''Shahnameh''
Arthur and Edmond Warner translation.
New Translation of 'Persian Book of Kings' - March, 2006
from NPR, an
"The Epic of Iran" - April, 2006
from ''The New York Times''. Also, on 14 May 2006, ''Washington Post'' Pulitzer Prize winning book critic Michael Dirda reviewed Dick Davis's translation "Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings

The illustrated three-volume slipcase edition of this translation is . ; Persian sources
Complete Persian text

Shahnameh website
{{Authority control Kayanians Legendary Iranian people Heroes in mythology and legend Shahnameh characters National personifications