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 →Kurdish History Journal
The archive
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.
Read article →Hushang and Tahmuras: The Kings Who Brought Fire and Writing
Hushang and Tahmuras, the early culture-hero kings of the Shahnameh: the discovery of fire and the Sadeh feast, and Tahmuras the demon-binder who won the gift of writing.
Read article →Kay Kavus: The Flawed King of the Kayanians
Kay Kavus, the proud and flawed Kayanian king of the Shahnameh: the Mazandaran disaster, the flight to heaven, and the tragedy of his son Siyavash.
Read article →Afrasiab: The Dread King of Turan
Afrasiab, the king of Turan and great archenemy of Iran in the Shahnameh: the usurper who murdered Siyavash and was destroyed by his own grandson Kay Khosrow.
Read article →Manuchehr: The Avenger-King of the Pishdadians
Manuchehr, the Pishdadian king of the Shahnameh who avenged Iraj, began the long Iran-Turan war, and reigned as the heroes Sam, Zal and Rostam arose.
Read article →Frashokereti: The Zoroastrian Renovation of the World
Frashokereti, the Zoroastrian end-times: the final renovation of the world, the saviour Saoshyant, the resurrection, the river of molten metal and the defeat of evil.
Read article →Arash the Archer: The Hero of the Sacrificial Arrow
Arash the Archer (Arash-e Kamangir), the Iranic hero who poured his life into one arrow shot from Mount Damavand to set a just border and free his people.
Read article →Sraosha (Soroush): The Yazata of Conscience
Sraosha (Soroush), the Zoroastrian yazata of obedience and conscience: the divine messenger who fights the demons by night and guards the soul at the Chinvat Bridge.
Read article →The Divs: Demons of Iranic Myth
The Divs, the demons of Iranic myth: the daevas who serve Ahriman, the White Div of Mazandaran slain by Rostam, and the trickster Akvan Div.
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