Introduction
Bidarafsh is a Turanian villain of the Shahnameh, the Persian Book of Kings: a sorcerer-warrior and envoy of the enemy king Arjasp, remembered above all as the treacherous slayer of the noble Iranian hero Zarir in the great holy war over the new faith.
In that war between the Iranian king Goshtasp and the Turanian Arjasp over the religion of Zoroaster, Bidarafsh was a leading warrior of the enemy and one of the envoys who carried Arjasp's threatening demand that Iran recant the faith. In the fighting, he treacherously slew the noble commander Zarir, the brother of the king, a deed that brought him lasting infamy, until he was himself slain in vengeance by Zarir's young son, the boy Bastur.
Like all the figures of the Book of Kings, Bidarafsh belongs to the shared epic heritage of the Iranian peoples, a tradition the Kurds hold in common with the Persians, the Lurs, and others of the Iranic world. His tale is rooted, moreover, in the ancient Memorial of Zarer, one of the oldest surviving Iranian heroic poems. To know Bidarafsh is to encounter the treacherous slayer of a beloved hero, the villain whose deed sets in motion one of the most affecting tales of vengeance in the epic.
Contents
References and Further Reading
Who Is Bidarafsh?
Bidarafsh, also spelled Biderafsh, Widrafsh, or Bidirafsh, is a Turanian warrior and sorcerer of the Shahnameh, a leading figure of the enemy in the great war over the new faith between the Iranian king Goshtasp and the Turanian king Arjasp. He was one of the envoys whom Arjasp sent to Iran with his threatening demand that the Iranians recant the new religion, and in the war that followed, he was a leading warrior of the enemy. He is remembered above all for the treacherous slaying of the noble Iranian commander Zarir, the brother of the king, whom he killed in the fighting, a deed of lasting infamy. Bidarafsh was himself slain in vengeance by Zarir's young son, the boy Bastur, who shot him through the heart. He is one of the notable villains of this part of the epic, the slayer of a beloved hero.
Warrior and Envoy of Arjasp
Bidarafsh was a leading warrior of the Turanian side and a figure of standing in the court of the enemy king Arjasp. When Arjasp learned that the Iranians had embraced the new faith of Zoroaster, he sent envoys to Iran with a threatening letter demanding that the king Goshtasp recant the new religion, and Bidarafsh was one of these envoys.
As an envoy of Arjasp, Bidarafsh was among those who carried the enemy king's demand and threat to the court of Iran, a leading representative of the Turanian cause against the new faith. When Goshtasp, on the counsel of the prophet, rejected the demand, the war broke out, and Bidarafsh took his place as a leading warrior of the enemy in the fighting. His role as both envoy and warrior marks him as a figure of standing on the Turanian side, not a mere common soldier but a leading man of the enemy, trusted to carry the king's demand and to fight in the forefront of the war. It is in this double role, as envoy of the threat and as warrior of the war, that Bidarafsh enters the tale, the leading enemy figure whose deeds would bring him infamy. His standing as a warrior and envoy of Arjasp sets him as a significant figure of the enemy side, the man who would commit the treacherous deed for which he is chiefly remembered, the slaying of the noble Zarir.
Key Takeaways
Bidarafsh is a Turanian warrior and sorcerer of the Shahnameh.
He was an envoy of Arjasp who carried the demand that Iran recant the faith.
In the war over the faith, he was a leading warrior of the enemy.
He treacherously slew the noble Iranian commander Zarir.
He was avenged and slain by Zarir's young son, the boy Bastur.
His tale is rooted in the ancient Memorial of Zarer.
Quick Facts
Name: Bidarafsh (also Biderafsh, Widrafsh)
Role: Turanian warrior and sorcerer; envoy of Arjasp
Allegiance: Turan, the enemy of the faith
Served: Arjasp, the Turanian king
Famous deed: The treacherous slaying of Zarir
Victim: Zarir, the noble Iranian commander
Avenger: Bastur, the young son of Zarir
Manner of his death: Slain by Bastur's arrow
Ancient source: The Memorial of Zarer (Ayadgar-i Zariran)
Heritage: Shared Iranic epic tradition
The War of the Faith
Bidarafsh appears in the great war over the new faith between Iran and Turan. When the Iranian king Goshtasp embraced the religion of the prophet Zoroaster and made it the religion of Iran, the Turanian king Arjasp, rejecting the faith, demanded that Iran recant, sending envoys, Bidarafsh among them, with a threatening letter.
When Goshtasp, on the counsel of the prophet, refused to recant and rejected the demand, Arjasp invaded Iran, and a great and terrible war broke out between the two realms over the new religion, a holy war of the faith against its enemies. Bidarafsh took his place in this war as a leading warrior of the Turanian side, fighting against the Iranians and their faith. The war brought grievous losses to the house of Goshtasp, and it is in the fighting of this war that Bidarafsh committed the deed for which he is remembered, the slaying of the noble commander Zarir. The war of the faith, begun by Arjasp's rejection of the new religion and his invasion, is the setting for Bidarafsh's infamy, the conflict in which he, as a leading enemy warrior, slew one of Iran's noblest heroes. His role in this holy war, as a warrior of the enemy who struck down a champion of the faith, marks him as one of the villains of the conflict, the slayer of a martyr-hero. The war of the faith provides the backdrop against which Bidarafsh's treacherous deed and his own eventual death take place.
The Slaying of Zarir
The deed for which Bidarafsh is chiefly remembered, and which earned him lasting infamy, is the slaying of the noble Iranian commander Zarir, the brother of the king Goshtasp and one of the noblest heroes of the holy war. In the fighting, Bidarafsh slew the great commander, a grievous blow to Iran and to the cause of the faith.
The tradition presents the slaying of Zarir as a treacherous deed, accomplished by guile rather than in fair and open combat, for Zarir was a mighty hero, not easily to be overcome by honest force. Bidarafsh, in the tellings, killed the noble commander by stealth or by sorcery, striking him down in a manner that the tradition marks as treacherous and dishonourable. The death of Zarir was mourned as the martyrdom of a hero, one of the noblest champions of the faith, and the manner of his death, by the treachery of Bidarafsh, added to the infamy of the deed and to the grief of Iran. The slaying of Zarir is the central deed of Bidarafsh in the epic, the act that defines him as a villain and that sets in motion the vengeance that would follow. It is for this treacherous killing of a beloved hero that Bidarafsh is chiefly remembered, the dishonourable slayer of the noble Zarir. The deed brought him lasting infamy and would bring upon him, in turn, his own death at the hands of the hero's avenging son, the boy Bastur. The slaying of Zarir is thus the pivotal event of Bidarafsh's tale, the treacherous deed that is both his moment of triumph and the cause of his downfall.
The Sorcerer of the Enemy
In the tradition, particularly in the ancient Memorial of Zarer, Bidarafsh is marked as a sorcerer, a worker of dark magic, a quality that deepens his villainy and helps to explain how he was able to overcome so mighty a hero as Zarir by treachery rather than fair force.
The epithet of the sorcerer, attached to Bidarafsh in the ancient sources, sets him among the workers of dark magic on the enemy side, and links him to the recurring theme in the epic of sorcery as a weapon of the foes of Iran and of the faith. As a sorcerer, Bidarafsh could accomplish by magic and guile what he might not have achieved by honest combat, and his slaying of the noble Zarir by treachery is in keeping with this character. The portrayal of Bidarafsh as a sorcerer thus serves to deepen his villainy, marking him not merely as an enemy warrior but as a worker of dark and treacherous arts, a fitting slayer, by guile and magic, of a noble and honourable hero. This quality of the sorcerer distinguishes Bidarafsh among the enemy warriors and adds to the infamy of his deed, for it was by sorcery and treachery, not by fair valour, that he struck down the champion of the faith. The character of the sorcerer of the enemy is an important part of Bidarafsh's portrayal, the dark and treacherous quality that befits the slayer of the noble Zarir and that marks him as one of the villains of the holy war.
The Vengeance of Bastur
The treacherous slaying of Zarir did not go unavenged, for the noble commander left a young son, the boy Bastur, who would take vengeance upon Bidarafsh for his father's death.
When word came of his father's death, the young Bastur went out to the battlefield, found his father's body, and lamented him, and then, though forbidden to fight on account of his youth, defied the king's command and rode into battle to avenge his father. In the ancient Memorial of Zarer, the boy Bastur avenged his father by shooting an arrow through the heart of Bidarafsh, the sorcerer who had slain Zarir, so taking vengeance for his father's death with his own hand. That the treacherous slayer of the noble Zarir should be brought down by the hero's own young son, a mere boy, is a fitting and satisfying reversal, the punishment of the villain by the avenging child. The vengeance of Bastur is the resolution of Bidarafsh's tale, the downfall of the villain in just retribution for his treacherous deed. In some other tellings, the slaying of Bidarafsh is credited to the great hero Esfandiyar, Zarir's nephew, but the most ancient and celebrated version gives the vengeance to the boy Bastur. Either way, the treacherous slayer of Zarir met his own death in vengeance for his deed, the villain brought low in just retribution. The vengeance of Bastur upon Bidarafsh is the satisfying close of the tale, the punishment of the treacherous sorcerer for the slaying of the noble hero.
Symbolism and Meaning
Bidarafsh embodies, above all, the figure of the treacherous villain, the enemy who triumphs by guile and dark arts rather than by honest valour. As the sorcerer who slew the noble Zarir by treachery, he represents the dishonourable foe, the worker of dark magic whose deeds are marked by stealth and guile, in contrast to the honest valour of the heroes he opposes.
Bidarafsh embodies, too, the role of the villain whose deed sets in motion a tale of vengeance, for it is his treacherous slaying of Zarir that calls forth the affecting vengeance of the boy Bastur. In this, Bidarafsh serves a necessary function in the heroic tale, the villain whose wrong must be answered, the slayer whose own death completes the pattern of crime and just retribution. And as a sorcerer and enemy of the faith, he embodies, too, the forces of dark magic and of opposition to the new religion against which the heroes of the holy war contend. In all this, Bidarafsh is a significant figure, embodying the treacherous villain, the worker of dark arts, and the foe whose wrongful deed sets in motion the tale of vengeance. He is the sorcerer who slew the noble Zarir, one of the notable villains of the holy war of the faith, whose infamy is matched only by the satisfying justice of his own downfall at the hands of the hero's avenging son.
Bidarafsh and the Kurds
Bidarafsh, like all the figures of the Shahnameh, belongs to the shared epic and mythological heritage of the Iranian peoples, a tradition that the Kurds hold in common with the Persians, the Lurs, and others of the Iranic world. His tale is rooted, moreover, in the ancient Memorial of Zarer, one of the oldest surviving Iranian heroic poems, a work of the most ancient layers of the shared Iranian tradition.
For the Kurds, as an Iranian people, the figures and tales of the Shahnameh, and of the ancient heroic tradition from which it springs, are part of the wider cultural and mythological world to which they belong. The tale of Bidarafsh, and of his slaying of Zarir and his own downfall, reaches back to the most ancient layers of this shared tradition, in the Memorial of Zarer, a poem far older than Ferdowsi's epic. It is honest and accurate to understand Bidarafsh as part of this shared Iranic heritage, rather than as a uniquely Kurdish figure; indeed, he is a villain of the enemy side, a Turanian sorcerer. As an Iranian people, the Kurds share in the broad and ancient heritage of the epic, of which the tale of the treacherous Bidarafsh and the noble Zarir is a part, belonging to the common store of Iranian heroic story that the Kurds value as their own alongside the other heirs of the tradition. In presenting Bidarafsh, then, we present a figure of the shared and ancient Iranian heritage to which the Kurds, as an Iranic people, are heirs alongside their neighbours.
Debates and Misconceptions
Who killed Bidarafsh, Bastur or Esfandiyar? The traditions differ. In the ancient Memorial of Zarer, the oldest source, it is the boy Bastur, the young son of Zarir, who avenges his father by shooting Bidarafsh through the heart. In some other tellings and summaries, the slaying of Bidarafsh is credited to the great hero Esfandiyar, Zarir's nephew and the son of Goshtasp. The most ancient and celebrated version gives the vengeance to the boy Bastur, and this is the most touching and widely remembered form of the tale. The variation reflects the different sources and layers of the tradition.
Was Bidarafsh a sorcerer or simply a warrior? The tradition, particularly the ancient Memorial of Zarer, marks Bidarafsh as a sorcerer, a worker of dark magic, as well as a warrior and envoy of Arjasp. This quality of the sorcerer deepens his villainy and helps to explain how he was able to overcome so mighty a hero as Zarir by treachery and guile rather than by fair combat. He is best understood as both a leading enemy warrior and a worker of dark arts, the treacherous sorcerer of the enemy side.
Is Bidarafsh a specifically Kurdish figure? No; like all the figures of the Shahnameh, he belongs to the shared epic heritage of the Iranian peoples, a tradition the Kurds hold in common with the Persians, the Lurs, and others of the Iranic world, rather than a uniquely Kurdish figure. Indeed, he is a villain of the Turanian enemy side. As an Iranian people, the Kurds share in the broad and ancient heritage of the epic, whose figures, heroes and villains alike, are part of the common Iranian tradition to which the Kurds, alongside their neighbours, are heirs.
Related Topics
Zarir: the noble hero treacherously slain by Bidarafsh
Bastur: the boy who avenged his father by slaying Bidarafsh
Arjasp: the Turanian king whom Bidarafsh served
Goshtasp: the Iranian king and brother of Zarir
Esfandiyar: the prince credited in some tellings with slaying Bidarafsh
Zoroaster: the prophet whose faith the war defended
Lohrasp: the aged former king of the same era
The Shahnameh: the Persian Book of Kings, the great epic of Iran
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Bidarafsh in the Shahnameh?
Bidarafsh, also spelled Biderafsh or Widrafsh, is a Turanian warrior and sorcerer of the Shahnameh, an envoy of the enemy king Arjasp and a leading warrior of the enemy in the great war over the new faith. He is remembered above all as the treacherous slayer of the noble Iranian commander Zarir, the brother of King Goshtasp, whom he killed by guile in the fighting. He was himself avenged and slain by Zarir's young son, the boy Bastur.
How did Bidarafsh kill Zarir?
The tradition presents the slaying of Zarir as a treacherous deed, accomplished by guile or sorcery rather than in fair and open combat, for Zarir was a mighty hero not easily overcome by honest force. Bidarafsh, marked in the ancient sources as a sorcerer, killed the noble commander by stealth or dark magic, striking him down in a manner the tradition condemns as treacherous and dishonourable, a grievous blow to Iran and the cause of the faith.
Who avenged Zarir's death?
Zarir was avenged by his young son, the boy Bastur. When word came of his father's death, Bastur went out to the battlefield, lamented his father, and then, though forbidden to fight for his youth, defied the king and rode into battle. In the ancient Memorial of Zarer, the boy avenged his father by shooting an arrow through the heart of Bidarafsh, the sorcerer who had slain Zarir. In some other tellings, the slaying is credited to the hero Esfandiyar.
Was Bidarafsh a sorcerer?
Yes; the tradition, particularly the ancient Memorial of Zarer, marks Bidarafsh as a sorcerer, a worker of dark magic, as well as a warrior and envoy of Arjasp. This quality deepens his villainy and helps explain how he overcame so mighty a hero as Zarir by treachery and guile rather than by fair combat. He is best understood as both a leading enemy warrior and a worker of dark arts, the treacherous sorcerer of the enemy side.
What was Bidarafsh's role before the war?
Before the war, Bidarafsh was one of the envoys whom the Turanian king Arjasp sent to Iran with a threatening letter, demanding that the king Goshtasp and the Iranians recant the new faith of Zoroaster. When Goshtasp, on the prophet's counsel, rejected the demand, the war broke out, and Bidarafsh took his place as a leading warrior of the enemy. His role as both envoy and warrior marks him as a figure of standing on the Turanian side.
Is Bidarafsh a Kurdish figure?
Bidarafsh belongs to the shared epic heritage of the Iranian peoples, a tradition the Kurds hold in common with the Persians, the Lurs, and others of the Iranic world, rather than a uniquely Kurdish figure. Indeed, he is a villain of the Turanian enemy side. As an Iranian people, the Kurds share in the broad and ancient heritage of the epic, whose figures, heroes and villains alike, are part of the common Iranian tradition to which the Kurds are heirs alongside their neighbours.
References and Further Reading
Memorial of Zarer (Ayadgar-i Zariran) - avesta.org
Esfandiyar - Encyclopaedia Iranica