Zāl

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Simurgh with the infant Zāl

Zāl , also Sāl ( Persian زال), is a legendary figure (fighter) in Persian mythology . One of his names is Zāl-e Dāstān , "the Zāl from history". He was the son of Sām and the grandson of Nariman (adopted son of Garschasp ), like Zal both heroes in ancient Persia and protector of Iran, especially in the fight against Turan .

Since Zāl was born with snow-white hair, his terrified father abandoned him on Mount Damavand , where the baby was saved by the magical bird Simorgh . Simorgh raised Zal in his nest.

Since Zāl's father Sām later suffered from guilt, he looked for his son in the mountains and finally took him back with Simorgh's permission.

Zāl, also known as Zāl Zar ('old man', actually "old man") because of his white hair , went on a series of adventures and finally married Rūdābeh , who gave birth to his son Rostam , a great hero.

Zāl in Shahname - Legend VII

Zāl climbs into the palace to Rūdābeh
Zāl and Rūdābeh in the gold painting room

The story of Zāl is told in Sage VII of Shahname by Abū l-Qasem-e Ferdousīs . Manutschehr is the Shah of Iran. Sam, a heroic warrior in Sistan in the wake of Manūtschehr, gives birth to their son Zāl, who later falls in love with Rūdābeh. The scenes from the Zāl-Rūdābeh story are among the pearls of world literature, such as the description of Zāl's first visit to Rūdābeh and the behavior of the servants of Rūdābeh as skillful matchmakers.

Rūdābeh is the daughter of the ruler of Kabulistan mihrab and princess of Kabul , while Zāl is the son of Sām and thus great-grandson of Garschāsp of the fourth king of the heroic age. Zāl becomes ruler of Zabulistan after Manutscher and his son Nowzar . Mihrab is descended from Zahhak the Arab and is tributary to Sam. Mihrab invites Zāl to his palace in Kabul, but Zāl, as a devout Zoroastrian , refuses to come to the house of an “idolater”. Mihrab says angrily goodbye and insults him as a magician . Therefore, it would actually be impossible for Zāl and Rūdābeh to have a relationship. But precisely Mihrab, when asked by his daughter, describes Rūdābeh Zāl in such high tones that Rūdābeh falls madly in love with Zāl. She sends a message to Zāl through her servants that he should visit her secretly in the palace. Zāl, who has heard a lot about the beauty of Rūdābeh, climbs into the palace on a rope one evening and a momentous encounter ensues. From their relationship emerges Rostam, the supreme hero of Iran.

In his translation of the Schahname, Friedrich Rückert describes the first meeting of Zāl and Rūdābeh with the following verses:

“He took a rope from the servant's hand,
walled it, and threw it up and stood.
The pinnacle grasped the noose;
He rose quickly from top to bottom.
When he set foot on the wall there,
the fairy picture came and brought him greetings;
She took Destan's hand with her,
And we both walked off the edge drunk.
She walked down from the high hem,
And held the tall tree by the hand.
They came to the gold painting hall, they came for
the princely time.
It was a paradise adorned with shine,
And in it Huris the maidservants wreath.
Zal was astonished, astonished whether her, whether her
stature and countenance, grace and ornament,
with bracelets and necklaces and earrings,
emblazoned like a spring garden, two
cheeks like tulips in a bed,
and curls twisted ring to ring.
Zal likewise with princely
sat in splendor with the splendid maiden,
A sword hung around his breast,
The head surrounded by a ruby ​​wreath.
Rudabe did not get enough of it,
she looked at him with both eyes,
In such form and with such violence
that pebbles like gravel were his club.
The shine of his cheek that stirs up life,
the more she looked at him, the more she ignited.
Kiss and embrace and intoxication were cultivated;
Except that the lion does not kill the deer '.
...
The love in them grew at all times,
desire was near, reflection far; "

Sources and literature

  • Friedrich Rückert : Firdosi's Book of Kings (Schahname) Sage I-XIII. 1890. Reprint: epubli GmbH, Berlin, 2010, pp. 136-239. ISBN 978-3-86931-356-6 .
  • Jürgen Ehlers (Ed.): Abū'l-Qāsem Ferdausi: Rostam - The legends from the Šāhnāme . Philipp Reclam jun., Stuttgart, 2002, pp. 11–65 ( The story of Zāl ), 363 ( Dastān ) and 374 ( Zāl ).
  • Werner Heiduczek (with the assistance of Dorothea Heiduczek): The most beautiful legends from Firdausi's book of kings retold (based on Görres, Rückert and Schack. Expert advice and epilogue: Burchard Brentjes ). Der Kinderbuchverlag, Berlin 1982, ISBN 3-7684-5525-4 , new print (Werner Daustein) Hanau o. J., pp. 26–47 ( Second book: Destan Zal ... is raised by the miracle bird Simurg, solves the puzzles of Mobaden and marries Rodhabe ) and 48-63 ( Third book: Rustam ... gives Iran a new Shah ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Werner Heiduczek: The most beautiful sagas from Firdausi's book of kings retold (based on Görres, Rückert and Schack). Der Kinderbuchverlag, Berlin 1982, ISBN 3-7684-5525-4 , reprint (Werner Daustein) Hanau undated, pp. 26–31 ( second book: Destan Zal ... )
  2. ↑ Jürgen Ehlers (Ed.): Abū'l-Qāsem Ferdausi: Rostam - The legends from the Šāhnāme. Stuttgart, 2002, p. 397.
  3. ↑ Friedrich Rückert: Firdosi's King Book (Schahname) Sage I-XIII. 1890. Reprint: epubli GmbH, Berlin, 2010, pp. 162–164.