Sam: The Champion of the Shahnameh
Sam (Sam-e Nariman), the great champion of the Shahnameh: Iran's hero under three kings, father of Zal whom he abandoned to the Simurgh, and grandfather of Rostam.
Read article →Kurdish History Journal
The archive
Shah Khoshin: The Yarsani Manifestation of Luristan
Shah Khoshin, the third divine manifestation of the Kurdish Yarsani faith: the child of light born of a virgin in Luristan, in the epoch before Sultan Sahak.
Read article →Perdiwar: The Holy Sanctuary of the Yarsani Faith
Perdiwar, the holiest sanctuary of the Kurdish Yarsani faith: the place on the Sirwan river in Hawraman where Sultan Sahak founded the Ahl-e Haqq, revered as their Kaaba.
Read article →Baba Tahir: The Naked Dervish of Hamadan
Baba Tahir Hamadani, the 11th-century Naked dervish-poet of the do-bayti quatrains: revered as a saint in the Kurdish Yarsani faith and claimed across the Iranian world.
Read article →Sitiya Zin: The Noble Lady of Yazidism
Sitiya Zin (Siti Zin), the noble lady of Yazidism: daughter of Sheikh Adi, wife of Ezdina Mir, and mother of the saints of the Sun and the Moon.
Read article →Sheikh Hasan: The Yazidi Master of the Pen
Sheikh Hasan (Sexisin), the Yazidi Master of the Pen: one of the Seven Divine Beings, patron of writing and forefather of the Adani sheikhs, the faith's literate caste.
Read article →Ezdina Mir: The Yazidi Prince and Father of Saints
Ezdina Mir (Ezdine Mir), the 12th-century prince who ruled the Yazidis before Sheikh Adi: father of the four Shemsani saints and forefather of the Shemsani sheikhs.
Read article →Sheikh Fakhradin: The Yazidi Saint of the Moon
Sheikh Fakhradin (Sex Fexredin), the Yazidi saint of the Moon: one of the Seven Divine Beings, the philosopher and poet who composed the sacred qewls, son of Ezdina Mir.
Read article →Sheikh Mend: The Yazidi Lord of Snakes
Sheikh Mend, the Yazidi saint known as the Lord of Snakes: son of Sheikh Fakhradin, ruler of the Kurdish Emirate of Kilis and Ayyubid commander honoured by Saladin.
Read article →Sakiro: The Voice of the Serhad
Sakiro (1936-1996), the king of the dengbejs: the powerful Serhad voice and heir to Evdale Zeynike who kept Kurdish song alive through exile and the language ban.
Read article →Meryem Xan: The Voice That Broke the Silence
Meryem Xan (1904-1949), the first Kurdish woman to record her songs: the pioneering female dengbej who broke the silence for generations of Kurdish women singers.
Read article →Cembeli and Binevsa Narin: A Kurdish Love Epic
Cembeli, Prince of Hakkari, and Binevsa Narin: one of the great Kurdish dengbej love-epics, a mountain tale of love divided by feud and pride, and the hero of Kurdish love.
Read article →Evdale Zeynike: The King of the Dengbej
Evdale Zeynike, the blind 19th-century bard called the king of the dengbej and the Homer of the Kurds: the legendary founder of the Kurdish oral-epic tradition.
Read article →Filite Quto: A Kurdish Epic of Honour
Filite Quto, one of the greatest Kurdish dengbej epics: a 19th-century tale of a caravan toll, tribal honour, a refused rifle and a blood-feud on the Xerzan plain.
Read article →Ashi: The Lady of Reward and Fortune
Ashi, the Zoroastrian yazata of reward and fortune: the radiant daughter of Ahura Mazda and charioteer of Mithra, who bestows the blessings earned by a righteous life.
Read article →Daena: The Maiden of Conscience
Daena, the Zoroastrian personification of conscience and religion: the maiden every soul meets after death, who is the living image of its own thoughts, words and deeds.
Read article →Apam Napat: The Child of the Waters
Apam Napat, the Child of the Waters: the mysterious Iranic yazata of fire-in-water who guards the farr, the royal glory, in the depths of the cosmic sea.
Read article →Vayu: The Ambivalent God of the Wind
Vayu, the dual-natured wind-god of Iranic religion: the warrior-yazata of the air who is both good and evil, and the space the soul must cross on the road after death.
Read article →Atar: The Sacred Fire at the Heart of the Faith
Atar, the sacred fire and yazata of Zoroastrianism: the son of Ahura Mazda and visible sign of truth, the Victorious Fire of the temples, and why Zoroastrians are not fire-worshippers.
Read article →Haoma: The Sacred Plant and the Draught of Immortality
Haoma, the sacred plant and yazata of Zoroastrian ritual: the golden draught of immortality, the first priest, granter of heroic sons, and the hermit Hom who captured Afrasiab.
Read article →Zurvan: Infinite Time and the Contested Myth of the Twins
Zurvan, the Iranic god of infinite time: the Zurvanite myth that made him father of the twins Ohrmazd and Ahriman, a contested heresy known through its enemies.
Read article →Garshasp: The Dragon-Slayer Who Sleeps Until the End of Time
Garshasp (Keresaspa), the great dragon-slaying hero of Iranic myth: the club-bearer who slew the horned dragon, ancestor of Rostam, who sleeps until he wakes to kill Zahhak at the end.
Read article →Rashnu: The Yazata of Justice and the Scales of the Soul
Rashnu, the Zoroastrian yazata of justice: the incorruptible judge who weighs the soul's deeds on golden scales at the Chinvat Bridge, with Mithra and Sraosha.
Read article →Kayumars: The First King and the First Man
Kayumars (Gayomard), the first king and first man of Iranic myth: the mountain sovereign in leopard-skins, the first death of his son Siamak, and the birth of humankind.
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