Goshtasp

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Goštāsp , also Gushtasp , is the ninth king of the heroic age in Persian mythology . He comes from the mythical family of the Iranian Kayanids . Goštāsp is the son of Lohrāsp and father of Esfandiyār and Paschotan. His role as a Shah is detailed in Firdausi's Shāhnāme . Goshtasp was therefore also the first ruler who belonged to Zoroastrianism and spread this religion in Iran. The series of the first fifteen mythological kings, which the Avesta calls, ends with Goštāsp .

Goštāsp in shahname

Goštāsp's youth are already described in the chapter on Lohrāsp. At a festival Goštāsp demands from his father that he regulate the succession to the throne in his favor, which the latter refuses at this point in time. Angry, Goštāsp leaves his father's court and can only be brought back with great difficulty. After a short time he left his father's court and went to Greece, where he married the Byzantine emperor's daughter Katajun (also: Katāyūn, see also the story of Zariadres ), who gave birth to a son, Esfandiyār . Lohrāsp made a name for himself as a fearless hero and faithful follower of the emperor. The Eastern Roman emperor sends Goštāsp to the court of his father Lohrāsp to demand tribute payments from Iran. Lohrāsp decides that Goštāsp should immediately succeed him as Shah in order to avoid the tribute payments:

“Throne and Zelter and golden shoe
Bring him and Kron 'and flag to it!
I give this kingdom to my son
And don't ask for thanks in return! "

Goštāsp begins a war against Turan , which is not very successful. He instructs Esfandiyār to continue the warfare and promises him the throne if he successfully ends the war against Turan. Esfandiyār wins, but Goštāsp does not keep his promise, but has Esfandiyār arrested because he fears that Esfandiyār will seek his life after he has denied him the throne. After another attack by the Turan army, Esfandiyār is released again. Goštāsp renews his promise that he will hand over the throne to his son if he defeats the Turan army one more time. But this time too, the victorious Esfandiyār comes away with nothing. Instead of giving him the throne, Goštāsp instructs Esfandiyār to arrest Rostam and put him in chains. Goštāsp secretly hopes that Rostam, who evades arrest, will defeat and kill his son, which is what happens in the end. The grieving Goštāsp is cursed by his daughters with the words:

"You should be ashamed of your white beard, because you killed your son in the hope of your own gain."

Goštāsp now turns to his grandson Bahman , the son of Esfandiyār, and asks him to come to the court to be his successor. The brother of Goštāsp is mentioned in the Shahnameh Zarir, Esfandiyar's uncle.

literature

  • Abu'l-Qasem Ferdausi: Rostam - The legends from the Šāhnāme. Translated from Persian and edited by Jürgen Ehlers, Reclam, Stuttgart 2002, ISBN 3-15-050039-7 .
  • Friedrich Rückert : Firdosi's Book of Kings (Schahname) Sage XX-XXVI. Edited from the estate by EA Bayer. Reprint: epubli, Berlin 2010. ISBN 978-3-86931-555-3 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jürgen Ehlers (ed. And trans.): Abū'l-Qāsem Ferdausi: Rostam - The legends from the Šāhnāme . Philipp Reclam jun., Stuttgart, 2002, ISBN 3-15-050039-7 , p. 365
  2. ↑ Friedrich Rückert: Firdosi's King's Book (Schahname) Sage XX-XXVI. Edited from the estate by EA Bayer. Reprint: epubli, Berlin 2010, p. 319.
  3. ↑ Abu'l-Qasem Ferdausi: Rostam - The legends from the Šāhnāme. Translated from Persian and edited by Jürgen Ehlers, Reclam, Stuttgart 2002, p. 335.
predecessor Office successor
Lohrāsp King of Shāhnāme
1800–2300 after Gayomarth 		Bahman