Rostam (Shāhnāme)

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Persian miniature painting : Rostam kills Esfandiyar with a magic arrow shot in the eyes of Simurghs .

Rostam ( Persian رستم Rostam [ rosˈtam ], Arabic transliteration: Rustam , Turkish transliteration: Rustem ), also Rostem in German texts, is the most famous hero of Persian mythology from the "Book of Kings" ( Shāhnāme ), the Persian national epic by Firdausi . Occasionally he is more precisely called Rostam-e Dāstān (the Rostam from the story), Rostam-e Zāl (Rostam [the son] of Zāl ), Pīltan ("the elephant body"), Tahamtan ("the one with the mighty / great body" , "The big guy") to distinguish him from other people of that name.

Character traits

Rostam's horse Rachsch kills a lion while Rostam sleeps. Persian miniature from a manuscript by Schahname .

The Persian hero Rostam, the prince and later ruler of Zabulistan , was born with the help of the miracle bird Simurgh , who advised the father Zāl and the mother Rudabeh to give birth by means of " caesarean section" ( caesarean section or perineal section ?) In the event of painful birth arrest , born.

Even as a boy, he was characterized by incredible strength, courage and cunning. The young hero's first deed tells of the fight against a frenzied elephant, which he killed with a very heavy club that he had received from his grandfather Sām . The battle between the kingdoms of Iran (not identical to the state of Iran ) and Turan forms the background for a large part of the further adventures. Like Herakles , Rostam, who was clad in a tiger skin ("Babr-e Bayān"), had tasks for the ruler. By defeating a wizard who blinded the King of Iran ( Kai Kawus ), he gives the country a new Shah . Since Rostam helped the father and predecessor of Kai Kawus, Kai Kobad , to the throne through his victory over the Turanian Afrasiab , he was nicknamed "Kronenverteiler" (Persian: tādsch bachsch ). As a fighter for the land of light, Iran, against the land of darkness, Turan, he wields lasso , club , lance , quiver and bow as well as his sword "Nahang" (Persian for sword, sea monster, water dragon, whale and crocodile). He also raised the son of Kai Kawus named Siyawasch .

Rostam defeats the Div . Depiction in the citadel of Karim Khan ( Arg e Karim Khan ), Shiraz , Iran, 19th century

Inextricably linked to the successes of Rostam is the support of his loyal horse Rachsch ("lightning"), who, through its supernatural abilities, repeatedly gives Rostam the opportunity to free itself from distress. Of course, Rachsch only obeys his master, does not allow himself to be ridden by others and shows almost human-like intelligence and skill.

Rostam successfully goes through seven adventures over time. But the epic also includes tragedy . Unknowingly, Rostam stabbed his unknown son Sohrab in a duel with the Turanian Tahmine . He recognizes this by a bracelet that he gave him when he was born. Likewise, the death of the hero, after he was older than 500 years, follows through betrayal of his family, especially his illegitimate half-brother Shagad (Šagād). Zavāre is mentioned as another brother of Rostam .

Because of its striking similarities, this tragedy is often compared to the Hildebrand song. Either the material is based on an Indo-European origin or a direct influence can be assumed. Rostam also shows clear similarities with the legend of the Irish warrior hero Cú Chulainn .

According to some Iranisten he embodies the club-swinging Keresaspa , in turn, as an incarnation of the Aryan Wind God Vayu appears. According to other opinions, he embodies Bahram .

In most of the miniatures contained in the Shahnameh manuscripts, Rostam is depicted with a tiger skin coat. The few exceptions include two manuscripts from 1307 and 1335 as well as some smaller manuscripts also from the beginning of the 14th century, when the Mongolian dynasty of the Ilkhan ruled the Iranian highlands. In the miniatures it contains, the hero wears Mongolian clothing. When the Ilkhan Empire gradually broke up around the middle of the 14th century, several small empires emerged, including the Injuid dynasty in Shiraz . The painting school under their patronage maintained an original style in which Rostam reappears with a tiger skin and Persian instead of Mongolian facial features. Most of the shāhnāme manuscripts in the 16th century also come from Shiraz. The classical period extends to the end of the 17th century. There is no known shahnameh manuscript from the 18th century.

Rostam's seven trials

The unreasonable, greedy King Kai Kavus commits follies from the consequences of which his faithful servant Rostam must free him. Against the advice of his heroes, Kai Kavus has set it in his head to conquer the land of Mazandaran . But this land is ruled by demons and wizards, which its army cannot cope with. Kai Kavus is promptly captured by the White Demon or White Diw ( Pers. Div-e Sepid ) in Mazandaran. So Rostam moves to Mazandaran to free Kai Kavus. On the way there, he pauses seven times and is each subjected to an examination. The seven tests (work, walks) Rostam (pers. Haft chān-e Rostam ) are:

  1. Rostam's horse Rachsch kills a lion while Rostam sleeps.
  2. Rostam crosses the desert and, guided by a wondrous ram, arrives at its source.
  3. Rostam defeats a dragon .
  4. Rostam thwarts a sorceress's evil plans . The evil sorceress turned into a beautiful woman and invited Rostam to dinner to poison him. But when Rostam happens to say “In God's name”, the spell breaks and Rostam kills the sorceress.
  5. Rostam wins the hero Olad , who he has captured, to fight the White Demon. After Rostam has punished Marshal Olads and defeated Olad, Rostam spares him in case he goes with him against the castle of the White Demon.
  6. Rostam fights against the leader of the "Mazandaran" army and bailiff of the White Demon, Ardschang Div (roughly: 'Colorful Demon'), in which he takes possession of the key to the White Demon's fortress.
  7. Rostam kills the white demon in a duel and frees Kai Kavus and the Persian army, whose eyesight he restored by wiping the eyes with the blood of the white demon. After that he installed Olad as king of Mazandaran.

Rostam meets Tahmine

After Rostam has successfully mastered the numerous tests and Iran and Turan can enjoy a short time of peace, Rostam goes hunting with his horse Rachsch. While resting, Rostam falls asleep and is thrown into the sea by the demon Akvan . Approaching Turks kidnap his horse and bring it to several mares in order to breed offspring from the horse. Rostam sets off in search of Rachsch in the nearby capital of Samangan . He is received in a festive manner by the King of Samagan. At midnight the daughter of the King of Samagan, Tahmine , goes to the bedchamber of Rostam.

Characterization of Rostam by Tahmine, translated by Jürgen Ehlers

“I've heard many stories about you that sounded like fairytale tales. And so I know: you are not afraid of dîvs and lions and panthers and crocodiles and you have a strong hand with sharp claws. In the dark of night you came to Turan alone, to this border here, courageously and without getting tired. You roast a wild ass all by yourself, and with your sharp sword you make the air weep. When they see the club in your hand, the lions 'hearts will tear and the panthers' fur. When the eagle sees your bare sword, it no longer dares to hunt the game. The lion bears the marks of your lasso, and the cloud rains blood for fear of your lance. When I heard such reports about you, I was amazed at you and filled with admiration. I longed for your body, your arms and shoulders, and now God has let you stay in this city. If you want me, I'm yours now. "

Characterization of Rostam by Tahmine, translated by Rückert

Tahmine visits Rostam

"Like a miracle saga 'I've heard from every mouth,
Heard at every hour', in every place the news,
how you are so brave, and don't be afraid of
tigers, elephants and crocodiles and lei.
You shield Iran all by yourself with your strength,
And Turan trembles when your lance shaft moves .
You ride into Turan all alone at night,
And roam there, and sleep there alone.
Such news was familiar to me from the rumor;
For a long time I wished to see you, today I saw you.
If you desire me to be a wife, I am your wife;
The moon and the sun never touched this body.
I grew deeply surrounded by the veil of my discipline;
This desire withdrew the reins of reason from me:
I ask God to carry a scion from you,
who once, equal in strength to you, ruled this castle.
Now, oh hero, I want to bring you this castle as your dowry.
Then, Rostem, then, Rostem, bring your horse to you! "

Tahmine's father agrees with Rostam and his daughter's connection:

“The knight in the night he gave the daughter's hand;
And as the news rang out, Freud was in town and country.
[…]
After a short joyful night when the morning broke,
Rostem broke the wall from Tehmina's arm and spoke,
while he took a golden chant from his arm,
[…] he
gave it to her and said: Dearest! keep this!
If a daughter will now bring you the year, then take
this gold ring and wrap it in her hair!
[…]
But if a son gives you the stars, then
tie his arm around his arm as I carried it, the symbol.
[…]
Nine moons had already gone to Tehminen,
When she gave birth to her son like a moon. "

Many years later Rostam will meet his son Sohrāb , who wears the identification mark hidden under his shirt on his chest rather than on his arm. Rostam kills Sohrāb in a duel. Only when he dies does Sohrāb reveal to him that he is his son. Another son of Rostam is mentioned in the Shahnameh Farāmarz.

reception

  • Several places and buildings in Afghanistan and Iran bear his name as part of the name (see Rostam ). How important this legendary figure is for Iran can be seen from an Achaemenid royal necropolis that bears his name: Naqsch-e Rostam .
  • Richard Wagner had the plan to edit an episode from Schack's translation of Firdausi's text into an opera . In conversation he expressed this idea to the count. The Bayreuth master had come so far that he wavered between two specific episodes, namely the saga of Rostam and Esfandiyar or the fall of Siyawasch .
  • The conductor and composer Loris Tjeknavorian , a pupil of Carl Orff , completed his opera Rostam und Sohrab (op.8a) in two acts, which dealt with the events from Rostam's marriage to Tahmine to Sohrab's death at the hands of his father, in 1963 . He wrote a piano piece (op. 11) and a suite (op. 8b) with the same title and another opera with the title Rostam and Esfandjar (op. 50).
  • The director Behrus Gharibpur brought the puppet opera Rostam and Sohrab based on the opera of the same name by the Iranian-Armenian composer Loris Tjeknavorian.
  • Rostam is referred to twice in the computer game Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time .
  • The American comic series Rostam: Tales from the Shahnameh by Hyperwerks retells the Rostam legend.

See also

literature

  • Friedrich Rückert (transl.): Firdosi's book of king ( Schahname ) translated by Friedrich Rückert. Edited from the estate by EA Bayer.
    • Sage I – XIII Berlin: Reimer, 1890 LII, 439 pp.
    • Sage XV – XIX Berlin: Reimer, 1894 X, 590 pp.
    • Say XX – XXVI. In addition to an appendix: Rostem and Suhrab in Nibelungen size. Alexander and the philosopher. Reimer, Berlin 1895, XI + 367 pp.
  • Friedrich Rückert: Rostam and Sohrab . New edition. Epubli, 2010 ISBN 978-3-86931-684-0 .
  • Friedrich Rückert: Rostem and Suhrab. A hero story in 12 books. Reprint of the first edition from 1838. epubli, Berlin, 2010, ISBN 978-3-86931-571-3 .
  • Friedrich Rückert: Firdosi's Book of Kings (Schahname) Sage I-XIII. Edited from the estate by EA Bayer, 1890. Reprint: epubli, Berlin 2010 ISBN 978-3-86931-356-6 .
  • Friedrich Rückert: Firdosi's Book of Kings (Schahname) Sage XV-XIX. Edited from the estate by EA Bayer. 1894. Reprint: epubli, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-86931-407-5 .
  • Friedrich Rückert (translator): Firdosi's Book of Kings (Schahname) . Edmund Alfred Bayer. Georg Reimer, Berlin 1895 (reprint: Imperial Organization for Social Service , Teheran 1976 ( The Pahlevi Commemorative Reprint Series )).
  • Abū'l-Qāsem Ferdausi: Rostam. The legends from the Shāhnāme. Translated from Persian and edited by Jürgen Ehlers . Philipp Reclam jun., Stuttgart 2002, ISBN 3-15-050039-7 .
  • Werner Heiduczek (ed.): The most beautiful sagas from Ferdousi's book of kings . 4th edition. Children's book publisher, Berlin 1989, ISBN 3-358-01413-4 . , Pp. 48-205.
  • Mahmoud Omidsalar: Rostam's Seven Trials and the Logic of Epic Narrative in the Shahnama . In: Asian Folklore Studies, Volume 60, 2001, pp. 259-293
  • Marianne Tölle (Ed.): Wise Lord of Heaven. Persia . Time Life Books, Amsterdam 1999, ISBN 90-5390-815-3 (Myths of Humanity).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jürgen Ehlers (ed. And trans.): Abū'l-Qāsem Ferdausi: Rostam - The legends from the Šāhnāme . Philipp Reclam jun., Stuttgart 2002, p. 367
  2. ↑ Jürgen Ehlers (ed. And trans.): Abū'l-Qāsem Ferdausi: Rostam - The legends from the Šāhnāme . Philipp Reclam jun., Stuttgart 2002, p. 368.
  3. ^ Basil William Robinson: The Vicissitudes of Rustam. In: Bernard O'Kane (Ed.): The Iconography of Islamic Art. Studies in Honor of Robert Hillenbrand . Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2005, pp. 253-268
  4. ^ Peter Lamborn Wilson , Karl Schlamminger: Weaver of Tales. Persian Picture Rugs / Persian tapestries. Linked myths. Callwey, Munich 1980, ISBN 3-7667-0532-6 , pp. 30–45 ( The Devils / Die Demonen ), here: pp. 32–43.
  5. ^ Friedrich Rückert: Rostem and Suhrab. A hero story in 12 books. Reprint of the first edition from 1838. epubli, Berlin, 2010, First Book, Chapter 7-2.
  6. ^ Friedrich Rückert: Rostem and Suhrab. A hero story in 12 books. Reprint of the first edition from 1838. epubli, Berlin, 2010, First Book, Chapters 8-1 to 10-1.