Rostam- Persian HeroHero"Champion of the World"

Miraculous Birth

Rostam's father Zal was the white-haired prince of Sistan whom the Simurgh had raised on her mountain, and his mother Rudabeh was a princess of Kabul descended from the dragon-king Zahhak. When Rudabeh went into labor, the child was so large that she could not deliver naturally and seemed certain to die. Zal burned one of the Simurgh's feathers, a gift from his foster mother for dire emergencies, and the great bird appeared.

Following the Simurgh's instructions, a skilled mobad performed what the Shahnameh describes as an operation to remove the child from Rudabeh's side. The infant Rostam emerged already of extraordinary size, requiring ten wet nurses to feed him, and the nurses themselves required the food of many women to keep their milk flowing. He grew with supernatural speed, eating enough for five men by the time he was weaned. While still a youth, he killed a maddened white elephant that had escaped and terrorized the royal court, striking it down with a single blow of his grandfather Sam's ox-headed mace.

Rakhsh the Mighty

Before Rostam could take his place as champion, he needed a horse capable of bearing him. No ordinary horse could support his weight. He searched through all the herds of Persia until he found Rakhsh, a rose-colored colt of exceptional size and spirit. When Rostam pressed his hand on Rakhsh's back to test his strength, other horses collapsed. Rakhsh stood firm.

Rakhsh fought alongside Rostam in every battle, trampling enemies and once attacking a lion while Rostam slept. For centuries they rode together. The horse's intelligence saved Rostam's life more than once, most notably during the seven labors, when Rakhsh roused the sleeping hero as a dragon crept toward their camp.

The Seven Labors

When King Kay Kavus marched into the demon-haunted land of Mazandaran against all counsel and was blinded and imprisoned there, Rostam rode out alone to free him. The road required seven trials.

A lion attacked their camp while Rostam slept. Rakhsh killed it before Rostam woke. A waterless desert nearly finished them both, until Rakhsh led Rostam to a hidden spring. Then came the dragon of the wasteland, a creature so vast its body covered the ground like a hill of darkness. Twice the beast approached while Rostam slept, vanishing each time he stirred. The third time, Rakhsh stamped and bit until Rostam caught sight of the creature. He fought it in a terrible struggle, hacking it apart while Rakhsh trampled its writhing body.

A sorceress appeared next as a beautiful woman offering food and wine. When Rostam invoked God's name, her face split into its true shape and he cut her down. He captured a warrior named Aulad, who guided him the rest of the way. He fought the demon Arzhang in complete darkness, overpowering it through sheer strength.

The last trial waited below ground. Rostam descended into the cavern of the White Demon, the lord of all demons in Mazandaran. He grappled with the creature in pitch darkness, tore out its heart, and carried the liver into daylight. The demon's blood, rubbed into the eyes of Kay Kavus and his imprisoned court, restored the sight the demons had stolen.

The Tragedy of Sohrab

During his youth, Rostam had spent a night with Tahmineh, princess of Samangan, and left her pregnant when he departed. He gave her an armlet: a son should wear it on his arm, a daughter in her hair, so the child could one day find its father.

The child was Sohrab, who grew into a mighty warrior and set out to find Rostam. But Afrasiab's agents, fearing what might happen if father and son united, manipulated both sides until the two met in battle without recognizing each other. Three times they fought. On the third day, Rostam dealt Sohrab a mortal wound. Only then, as Sohrab lay dying, did he show the armlet.

Rostam sent desperately to Kay Kavus for a healing potion the king possessed. Kavus delayed. The potion arrived too late. Sohrab died in Rostam's arms.

Rostam and Esfandiar

Prince Esfandiar, son of King Goshtasp, was an invincible warrior whose body had been made proof against weapons by Zoroaster himself. Yet Goshtasp, jealous of his son's renown and unwilling to yield the throne, sent Esfandiar on an impossible mission: to bring Rostam back to court in chains.

Esfandiar obeyed, bound by filial duty. Rostam refused to submit, bound by his own honor. Each man recognized the justice of the other's position. They feasted together, spoke with mutual respect, and still could find no resolution.

When negotiation failed, they fought. Their first day of combat lasted until nightfall. Rostam's weapons could not pierce Esfandiar's enchanted body, while Esfandiar's arrows found their mark. The old champion was driven back wounded. That night, in desperation, Rostam burned one of the Simurgh's feathers, as his father had done at his birth, and the great bird appeared one final time. She revealed Esfandiar's single vulnerability: his eyes, which had been closed when Zoroaster's blessing was bestowed. Guided by the Simurgh, Rostam fashioned a double-pointed arrow from tamarisk wood and shot Esfandiar through both eyes.

The dying prince cursed Rostam, prophesying that his killer would never know peace.

Death by Treachery

Rostam's half-brother Shaghad, resentful and treacherous, conspired with the king of Kabul to destroy the aging champion. They dug deep pits along a hunting road, lined them with swords and spears planted point upward, and covered them with earth and branches. Then they lured Rostam to Kabul under the pretense of reconciliation.

Rakhsh sensed the danger and balked. Rostam, angered by what he took for stubbornness, struck the horse and drove him on. Both horse and rider plunged into the deepest pit, impaled on the concealed weapons. Zavareh, Rostam's brother, fell into another pit nearby. With his last strength, the dying champion asked for his bow. The conspirators, believing him too weak to draw it, granted the request. Rostam nocked an arrow, drew the great bow one final time, and shot Shaghad clean through, pinning the traitor to the tree behind which he had hidden.