Faridun: The King Who Chained the Serpent-Tyrant
- Sherko Sabir
- Jun 1
- 6 min read
Introduction
Faridun is one of the greatest heroes of Iranic mythology: the rightful king who, with the help of Kawa the Blacksmith, overthrew the serpent-tyrant Zahhak and chained him beneath Mount Damavand. His triumph is the climax of one of the oldest and most beloved stories of the Iranian world, the victory of justice over a thousand years of darkness.
For the Kurds, Faridun's story is bound up with the dearest of all their festivals, for the night of Zahhak's fall is remembered as Newroz. Heir to an ancient line and aided by the people's revolt, Faridun is the hero-king in whom tyranny is ended and a new age begins, a figure shared across the whole Iranic world.
Contents
Who Is Faridun?
Faridun (also Fereydun; Avestan Thraetaona) is a legendary hero-king of Iranic mythology, famous above all for overthrowing the tyrant Zahhak. A descendant of the ancient kings and a child of prophecy, he leads, with the blacksmith Kawa and the risen people, the revolt that ends Zahhak's reign, and binds the tyrant in chains beneath Mount Damavand. He then rules as a just king and divides the world among his three sons.
Key Takeaways
Faridun is the Iranic hero-king who overthrew the serpent-tyrant Zahhak.
He was a child of prophecy, hidden in infancy and nursed by the marvellous cow Barmayeh.
With Kawa the Blacksmith and the people, he ended Zahhak's thousand-year tyranny.
He chained Zahhak beneath Mount Damavand rather than killing him, by divine command.
He divided the world among his sons Salm, Tur and Iraj, beginning a long feud.
Quick Facts
Name: Faridun (also Fereydun, Feridun; Avestan Thraetaona; Pahlavi Fredon)
Tradition: Iranic mythology; the Shahnameh of Ferdowsi; the Avesta
Role: The hero-king who overthrew the tyrant Zahhak; a model of just kingship
Dynasty: The Pishdadian, the first mythical dynasty of Iran
Parents: Abtin and Faranak; a descendant of Jamshid
Raised by: Hidden in the mountains, nursed by the marvellous cow Barmayeh
Allies: Kawa the Blacksmith and the people, who rose against Zahhak
Great deed: Chained Zahhak beneath Mount Damavand with an ox-headed mace
Legacy: Divided the world among his sons Salm, Tur and Iraj
Attestation: One of the oldest heroes of Iranic myth, shared by the Kurds
The Child of Prophecy
Faridun was born into peril. The tyrant Zahhak, warned in a dream that a man of that name would one day cast him down, hunted the child from his birth. Faridun's father, Abtin, a descendant of the ancient king Jamshid, was killed by the tyrant's agents, and the infant was hidden away by his mother Faranak to save his life.
In the mountains the child was nursed, in the oldest tellings, by a marvellous cow named Barmayeh, whose milk sustained him until Zahhak's men drew near and the cow was slain. Raised in secret, and at last learning his lineage and his destiny from his mother, Faridun grew into the hero the prophecy had foretold, carrying within him the farr, the divine glory of rightful kingship.
The Fall of Zahhak
By now the tyranny of Zahhak, the snake-shouldered king who fed young men's brains to the serpents on his shoulders, had grown unbearable. The breaking point came with Kawa the Blacksmith, who had lost his sons to the serpents. Kawa rose in open revolt, raised his leather apron on a spear as a banner, the famous Kaviani standard, and rallied the people to seek out Faridun, the rightful heir, in the mountains.
Faridun took up the cause, forged for himself an ox-headed mace, and marched on the tyrant. He struck Zahhak down, but as he raised his weapon to kill him, a divine voice commanded that the serpent-king be not slain but bound. So Faridun chained Zahhak in a cave deep beneath Mount Damavand, where he is said to lie to this day, straining against his fetters. The night of that liberation is remembered by the Kurds as Newroz, the festival of the new day.
The King and the Division of the World
With Zahhak chained, Faridun was crowned king, and his reign became a byword for justice and prosperity after the long night of tyranny. He freed the tyrant's prisoners, restored what had been broken, and was remembered as one of the great good kings of the Pishdadian age, endowed with the divine glory that marks the true sovereign.
In his old age Faridun divided the world among his three sons: Salm received the west, Tur the lands of Turan, and the youngest, Iraj, the heartland of Iran. But the elder brothers, consumed with envy, murdered Iraj, and from that crime sprang the long and bitter feud between Iran and Turan, the wars that would echo down the generations to the age of Rostam. Even the triumph of Faridun, then, carried within it the seed of future sorrow.
Symbolism
Faridun embodies the Iranic ideal of just kingship restored. Against Zahhak, who stands for tyranny, lies and the rule of the demonic, Faridun is the rightful king who comes with the farr, the divine glory, to set the world right. Together with Kawa, who represents the revolt of the people, he forms one of the great myths of liberation in all of world tradition.
His decision to chain rather than kill Zahhak gives the myth its lasting depth: evil is bound and held at bay, not finally destroyed, and must always be guarded against. And in the tragic division of his kingdom, Faridun's story teaches that even the wisest of victories can sow the seeds of new conflict, a theme that runs through the whole of the Iranic epic.
Debates and Misconceptions
Is Faridun Kurdish or Persian? Like the other figures of the Shahnameh, he belongs to the shared Iranic heritage. His roots reach back to the Avestan dragon-slayer Thraetaona, and his great literary home is the Persian epic, but he is equally claimed by the Kurds, for whom the fall of Zahhak that he completes is the very story of Newroz. He is a hero of the wider family of Iranian peoples.
When is Zahhak's fall celebrated? In Kurdish tradition the liberation is joined to Newroz, the spring new year, when fires are lit in memory of Kawa's revolt. In some older Iranian and Zoroastrian traditions, the victory of Faridun and Kawa over Zahhak is instead associated with the autumn festival of Mehrgan. The two reflect different strands of a very old story rather than a contradiction.
Related Topics
Kawa the Blacksmith: the blacksmith whose revolt brought Faridun to power
Zahhak: the serpent-tyrant Faridun overthrew and chained
Newroz: the festival that celebrates the night of Zahhak's fall
Rostam: the great hero of the later wars that sprang from Faridun's division
The Shahnameh: the Persian epic in which Faridun's story is told
Mount Damavand: the peak beneath which Zahhak lies chained
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Faridun?
Faridun (Fereydun) is a legendary hero-king of Iranic mythology who overthrew the tyrant Zahhak and chained him beneath Mount Damavand, then ruled as a just king. He is known in the Avesta as Thraetaona.
How did Faridun defeat Zahhak?
Aided by the revolt of Kawa the Blacksmith and the people, Faridun struck Zahhak down with an ox-headed mace and, by divine command, chained him in a cave beneath Mount Damavand rather than killing him.
Why didn't Faridun kill Zahhak?
As he raised his weapon, a divine voice commanded him to bind the tyrant instead of slaying him. So Zahhak was chained beneath Mount Damavand, where tradition says he remains, the symbol of an evil held at bay but never wholly destroyed.
What happened after Faridun became king?
He ruled justly for a long age, then divided the world among his three sons, Salm, Tur and Iraj. The elder two murdered Iraj, beginning the long feud between Iran and Turan.
Is Faridun part of Kurdish tradition?
Yes, as part of the shared Iranic heritage. His overthrow of Zahhak is the climax of the story whose liberation the Kurds celebrate as Newroz.
References and Further Reading
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