Siyawasch
Siyâvash or Siyawusch ( Persian سياوش, DMG Siyāvoš , also Si (j) awusch ; in Avesta Syāwaršan ) is a character from the epic Shāhnāme by the poet Firdausi . Siyāwasch, son of Kai Kawus , the powerful Shah of Iran, was a legendary Persian prince of the Kayanid family . Siyāwasch went into exile in Turan because of his stepmother Sudabeh's false accusations of raping her , but was brutally killed there on the orders of the Turan king Afrasiab . Siyāwasch's death was avenged by his son Kai Chosrau . After long, subsequent armed conflicts between Iran and Turan, Afrasiab is ultimately killed by Kai Chosrau. Siyāwasch had another son, Kai Chosraus half-brother Forud (also Farud or Ferud).
Siyāwasch is considered a symbol of innocence in Persian literature . His name literally means the one with the black horse . Firdausi calls his horse Schabrang-e Behzād (شبرنگ بهزاد, 'Night-colored thoroughbred horse')
Siyāwasch in Shāhnāme - saga XV
Siyāwash and Rostam
When Siyāwasch was born, Rostam took him to Zabulistan on behalf of Kai Kawus' . When he was twelve years old, Rostam taught him horseback riding, archery and the use of the lasso. Other teachers taught him court life, the banquet, and ruling the kingdom. When Siyāwasch was young, he was keen to visit his father, Kai Kawus, and Rostam accompanied his student to the royal court.
Siyāwasch met Kai Kawus' expectations and was warmly welcomed. Siyāwash dined well in Kai Kawus' house. When his father saw that his son was successful in everything he did, he made him ruler of Kawarschan , also known as Mawarannahr .
Siyāwasch and Sudabeh
Sudabeh , daughter of the ruler of Hamavaran, one of the wives of his father Kai Kawus and thus stepmother of Siyāwasch, fell in love with Siyāwasch. Sudabeh went to the king, praised his son's character and suggested that he marry a royal maiden from her care. She asked that Siyāwash should go to the harem to see all the women there and choose one of them. The king permitted this and informed Siyāwasch about it, but Siyāwasch, modest and shy, suspected a ruse by Sudabeh in this offer and hesitated. On the orders of the king, Siyāwash finally entered the harem. On his first visit, Siyāwash paid no attention to Sudabeh and went straight to the other virgins, who sat him on a golden chair and talked to him for a while.
Kai Kawus repeated his wish that he should choose a woman from the harem, whereupon Siyāwasch is invited by Sudabeh for a second visit to the harem. Since Siyāwasch did not choose any of the beauties offered to him, Sudabeh asked him to marry Kai Kawu in the event of his death. She confessed her love to him and "kissed him with power" Siyāwasch eluded his stepmother's courtship, but she persuaded Kai Kawus to send Siyāwasch to her again because he had chosen her daughter to be his wife. On this third visit to the harem, Sudabeh Siyāwash threatened:
“In the seventh year the desire of my
power dribble blood from my cheeks.
Make me happy for once, have
mercy on my young days!
Even more than the Shah gave you,
I will adorn your crown and throne.
And if you want to resist my commandment,
And if you don't want to heal my misery,
I will set the foundation for your rule,
And sun and moon will be dark for you. "
Rejected again and again, she accused Siyāwasch of rape in front of her husband. On hearing this, the king thought that death alone could atone for this crime. At first the king believed that he could determine his son's innocence by smelling the two of them. He smelled Siyāwash's hands, which smelled of rose water; and then on the robe of the Sudabeh, which smelled strongly of wine. After this knowledge the king decided the death of Sudabeh.
Finally he decided to establish Siyāwash's innocence by divine judgment . Siyāwash prepared to undergo this terrible test and told his father not to worry. A hundred caravans brought the wood for two huge pyres, which were erected next to each other with a narrow passage and set on fire by ten men. Siyāwasch, armed with a golden helmet, clad in white and anointed with camphor as if for a funeral, mounted his black steed Schabrang and, after a prayer to the divine judge, was able to ride unharmed between the two fires. Sudebah was then sentenced to death by hanging at the request of the people, but pardoned at the request of Siyawasch, who was nevertheless unable to regain his father's favor.
Siyāwasch and Afrasiab
Afrasiab again threatened Iran with an invasion. Quick news was heard that Afrasiab was assembling an army to invade Iran; and Kai Kawus saw that this Tatar kept neither an oath nor an oath. Kai Kawus wanted to get ahead of him this time and march to Balch and make an example of the inhabitants. Siyāwash asked to participate and said that with the help of Rostam he would be successful. The king asked Rostam, who frankly said that the king did not have to personally participate in the campaign. After this assurance, the king opened his treasury and raised all the resources of the empire to equip the army. After a month the army marched towards Balkh, the site of the attack.
On the other hand, the ruler of Balghar Garsiwaz teamed up with the Tatar legions under the command of Barman at Balch. Both set out to fight the Persian enemy, but after three days of fighting they surrendered and were forced to surrender their fortress. When Afrasiab found out about this misfortune, he remembered a previous dream. He dreamed of a forest surrounded by snakes and a sky darkened by eagles. He asked his astrologers, but they were reluctant to interpret the dream. Finally, a interpreter named Saqim said that Afrasiab would lose within three days. Afrasiab had Garsiwaz sent to the Siyāwash headquarters with gifts consisting of horses, armor and swords, asking for peace.
Siyâvash was out in the meantime, the enemy across the Amu Darya to hunt. When Garsiwaz came to see him, he was received with honor and his question about peace was heard. A secret council should decide about it. The following were later asked of Afrasiab: a hundred of his best fighters as hostages and the return of all the provinces that the Turanians had conquered.
Garsiwaz was quickly sent to Afrasiab to inform him and the demands were implemented without delay. A hundred fighters were dispatched and Bukhara , Samarkand and Haj and the Punjab were turned over to Siyāwash. Afrasiab himself withdrew to Gungduz.
The negotiations were concluded and Siyāwasch sent Rostam a letter to his father. Kai Kawus was dissatisfied with the conditions and deposed his son Siyāwasch. Kai Kawus appointed Tus to the leader of the Persian army and ordered him to march against Afrasiab. Siyāwasch was supposed to return to his father with the hostages. Siyāwasch was offended by this order and turned to Bahram and Zangeh, son of Shawaran, for advice. They told him to write a letter to Kai Kawus, expressing his readiness for renewal of the war and the killing of the hostages. But Siyāwash thought he had to keep his promise and decided not to return to Iran and to stay in the land of Turan des Afrasiab.
Siyāwasch in Turan
Afrasiab received him warmly in Turan. The old Turan vizier Piran Visah gave him his daughter Jurairah (from Jarireh ) as his wife. Later married siyâvash still Farangis , the daughter of Afrasiab. Afrasiab gave the bride and her husband the rule of Hotan (also Chotan ). In Hotan Siyāwasch built the castle Gang or the city Gang-Dedsch on a mountain and later he built the city Siyāwaschgird (also Siawosch-Gard). Piran Visah and Garsiwaz both visited Siyāwasch's city. Garsiwaz began to belittle Afrasiab before him.
The news of Afrasiab's war preparations confirmed Siyāwash's suspicions that Garsiwaz was right. Siyāwasch and his companions did not fight the large opposing army. His men were all killed and beheaded. Women were brought to Kiman as slaves.
Afrasiab himself caught Siyāwasch and tried to shoot him with an arrow, but then stopped him. Instead, Siyāwasch was beheaded by Gurui (also Goruj):
“Siyawush, tied your hands tightly, your
neck pressed into a yoke, urge
to walk in front of you Guru,
wrapped in dust in tears.
They threw their wholesome body on the hot sand
with a shameless hand.
In front of him sits a basin Guru
And bent him like a slaughter sheep ,
cut his crowned head from his torso,
There he lay defoliated like the Zipress.
...
A raw shepherd in the desert of Kalu
does not cut the throat off the cow,
As he cut off the head of the Shah;
Nobody has seen or believed anything like this. "
Ferdosi describes the special kind of beheading and compares it to the slaughter of an animal. The death of Siyāwash is remembered by some Persians, especially in Shiraz on the day of Siyāwashun.
literature
- Friedrich Rückert : Firdosi's Book of Kings (Schahname) Sage XV-XIX. Edited from the estate by EA Bayer. Reprint: epubli, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-86931-407-5 , pp. 1–168.
- Jürgen Ehlers (ed. And translator): Abū'l-Qāsem Ferdausi: Rostam - The legends from the Šāhnāme . Philipp Reclam jun., Stuttgart, 2002, pp. 169–193 ( Siyāvoš ) and 372.
- Uta von Witzleben : Firdausi: Stories from the Schahnameh. Eugen Diederichs Verlag, Düsseldorf and Cologne 1960, pp. 131–248 ( The story of Siawosch ).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Encyclopaedia Iranica: Forūd (2)
- ↑ Friedrich Rückert: Firdosi's King's Book (Schahname) Sage XV-XIX. 1894. Edited from the estate by EA Bayer. Reprint: epubli, Berlin 2010. p. 18.
- ↑ Friedrich Rückert: Firdosi's King's Book (Schahname) Sage XV-XIX. 1894. Edited from the estate by EA Bayer. Reprint: epubli, Berlin 2010. p. 21.
- ↑ Arthur George Warner, Edmond Warner: The Shahnama of Firdausi. Kegan Paul, Trench, Truebner and Co, London 1909, Vol. II, pp. 200-225. (online) ( Memento of the original from August 19, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , for parallels in the material cf. Stephen Beler: The Diffusion of the Book of Sindbad. In: Fabula. 28, 1-2 (1987), pp. 34-58, esp. Pp. 41ff.
- ↑ Uta von Witzleben : Firdausi: Stories from the Schahnameh. Eugen Diederichs Verlag, Düsseldorf and Cologne 1960, pp. 184–188 ( Siawosch consults with Bahram and Sangeh )
- ↑ Uta von Witzleben : Firdausi: Stories from the Schahnameh. Eugen Diederichs Verlag, Düsseldorf and Cologne 1960, pp. 206–209 ( How Siawosch built Gang-Desh )
- ↑ Friedrich Rückert: Firdosi's King's Book (Schahname) Sage XV-XIX. Edited from the estate by EA Bayer. Reprint: epubli, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-86931-407-5 , pp. 145f.
