Iraj (son of Freydun)
Iraj (Persian: ایرج - Iraj; Pahlavi: Ērič; from Avestan: Āiriyā) is a character in the Persian epic Šāhnāme. Based on Iranian mythology, he is the youngest son of Freydun. In the Avestan legends, Pahlavi literature, Sasanian-based Arabic and Persian sources, and particularly in Šāhnāme, he is considered the name-giver of the Iranian nation, the ancestor of their royal houses, and a paragon of those slain in defense of just causes.[1]
When Freydun divides his kingdom, he gives Iraj the farr, as well as the heartland of Iran. Salm and Tur conspire and kill Iraj. The revenge for the murder of the innocent king pits the clan of Iraj, supported by King Freydun, against the clan of Tur. Subsequently, Manučehr, Iraj's grandson from a slave maiden, kills both Salm and Tur. As for Freydun, he abdicated in favor of his grandson, Manučehr.[2]
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Firdawsi - The Murder of Iraj - Walters W60230B - Full Page.jpg
A page from Šāhnāme, in Walters Art Museum, showing the murder of Iraj by his brothers
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Salm and Tur murder Iraj.jpg
Murder scene of Iraj by his brothers, Salm and Tur, from National Library of Russia, St Petersburg – The calligraphy in the margins are Nastaliq
Sources
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