Fereydun- Persian HeroHero"King of Kings"
Also known as: Feridun, Thraetaona, Fredon, and فریدون
Titles & Epithets
Domains
Symbols
Description
Hidden on Mount Alborz and nursed by a miraculous cow, Fereydun grew to overthrow the serpent-shouldered tyrant Zahhak. He struck him down with an ox-headed mace and bound him beneath Mount Damavand, Iran's highest peak, where he remains until the end of time.
Mythology & Lore
Born for Rebellion
Fereydun was born into the darkest period of Zahhak's reign, when two young men were killed daily to feed the serpents growing from the tyrant's shoulders. His father was slain by Zahhak, and his mother hid the infant on Mount Alborz, where the miraculous cow Purmayeh nursed him. He grew to manhood in secret, marked from birth for the confrontation that would end a thousand years of tyranny.
The Kaviani Banner
The uprising was sparked by Kaveh the blacksmith, whose sons had been killed to feed Zahhak's serpents. Kaveh raised his leather apron on a spear as a banner of revolt. This became the Kaviani Derafsh, the legendary royal standard of Iran. Kaveh found Fereydun and together they raised an army. The people, long oppressed, rallied to their cause.
Armed with his ox-headed mace, the gurz-e gav-sar, Fereydun defeated Zahhak's forces and struck down the tyrant. On the counsel of the angel Sorush, he did not kill Zahhak but bound him with chains and imprisoned him in a cave beneath Mount Damavand. There the tyrant remains until the end of time, when he will break free for the final battle before being destroyed at the Frashokereti.
Three Sons, Three Kingdoms
Fereydun ruled justly for five hundred years. In old age, he divided his kingdom among his three sons: Salm received the West, Tur received Turan, and Iraj received Iran, the choicest portion. Jealousy drove Salm and Tur to murder Iraj. That fratricide began the Iran-Turan wars that run through the entire Shahnameh, generation after generation of blood repaying blood.