The Saga of Siavash

EN- Short Story- The Saga of Siavash

Podcast &Video clip at the bottom of the page

Information about this story:

A presentation of the research institute "Andishe Online Germany (AOG)".

Excerpt from the book "The Miracle of Guadalupe”

Author: Faramarz Tabesh

Date of completion/publication of the original Persian version: April 04, 2021/April 12, 2021

Publication date of the English version: May 21, 2024

The following text was translated from German into English by Faramarz Tabesh.

This short story is a free interpretation of the beautiful saga of Siavash [1], the legendary Persian prince who embodied integrity and honesty and a symbol of self-fighting against the ego. It is an excerpt from the epic Shahnameh [2] by Hakim of Tus [3], Ferdowsi the Great [4].

........

In the main story of Shahnameh, Siavash is killed on the orders of Afrasiab [5] and by the hand of one of Afrasiab's acquaintances (Gorvi), based on a conspiracy initiated by Garsivaz (Afrasiab's brother). But in this short story, I have changed the narrative slightly and Considered Kaykawus [6], the father of Siavash, his killer. Because I believe that Kaykawus' weakness towards Sudabeh [7], his wife, made Siavash flee to Afrasiab. In this context, even Rostam blamed Kaykawus.

However, the true story is the one Ferdowsi [8] the Great in Shahnameh has narrated.

F. Tabesh

The Saga of Siavash

In the large, majestic bedroom on the north side of the palace, there was a huge window through which the light of the moon shone in and illuminated part of the room. The window also allowed a light breeze to blow inside.

The royal bed in the hall faced the window, and the moon was clearly visible from this angle.

The hall's ceiling was very high, and the scent of perfume, always kept in a special perfume dispenser, filled the hall.

The halls´ floor was covered with an exquisite Persian carpet, the colors of which were elaborately designed. On this carpet stood a beautiful table, a unique product of Persian inlay masters, which could attract the attention of all onlookers, even those unfamiliar with this unique art.

A relatively large crystal vase with many flowers was on the table. On some walls of the room, paintings by famous Iranian painters completed this hall's beauty and splendor.

On the royal bed lay Kaykawus, half-naked, holding a wooden goblet of pure wine, eyes half-closed, gazing at the moon and its radiance.

Suddenly, the vast bedroom door opened with a soft sound, and Kaykawus saw the tall figure of a woman in the light of the burning torches and immediately recognized who she was.

Sudabeh walked slowly and seductively towards the king's bed, stood right next to it, took her white silk top, tossed it aside, and took her place beside her husband with a smooth movement.

The scent of perfume emanating from the woman's body gradually completed the man's drunkenness, induced by the pleasant weather, the beautiful light of the moon, and the intoxicating effect of pure wine.

This state reached its climax when the woman leaned her half-naked body against the man.

Sudabeh knew precisely what she was doing, what effect these feminine actions had on her husband, and what she was trying to achieve with this enchantment.

As Sudabeh continued her game, she hesitated for a few moments to allow the effect she had deliberately created, together with the intoxication caused by the wine and the surroundings, to flow into Kaykawus' veins and, from there, to take hold of all aspects of his psyche. Then, at the right moment, she put her mouth to the man's ear and whispered to him softly, with feminine seduction, a reversed and heavily manipulated story.

In her fake narration, she claimed Siavash had declared his love for her.

When Kaykawus heard his wife's story, he became increasingly angry. The effect of the scene Sudabeh had prepared for him prevented him from thinking about this story and analyzing it rationally.

Everything that had caressed the man's soul until then suddenly turned dark at the end of the woman's demonic story and turned into great anger.

........

In the courtyard of the palace garden, Siavash sat on the steps leading to the pavilion entwined with nasturtiums, disappointed by his father's wife's Shameless bid and disgusted by what had happened. Suddenly, the sound of firm footsteps brought him to his senses. Siavash lifted his head and saw his father standing before him, his face red with anger.

.......

After a long time, the passage of time slowed down. In this beautiful place, in the moonlight and next to the beautiful nasturtium flowers, the first drops of blood fell from Siavash's neck like a volcanic eruption. Surprisingly, these drops of blood mixed and formed a new design each time—a design of honesty, righteousness, purity, and innocence.

At the same time as this tragedy, Sudabe held a cloth to her nose and smelled it tenderly. She had torn this cloth from Siavash's shirt as he ran away, but she still held it in her hand.

The plain is brimming with the blood of Siavash,

and the heart of the tulip is overflowing with the injustice of Sudabeh.

See the difference between father and son

The father is full of lust, while the son is full of righteousness.

Wherever a tulip blooms

it has certainly grown from the blood of the righteous.

In memory of the god of words and poetry, the great sage Ferdowsi

I made a few minor poems from the great story.

Faramarz Tabesh

Footnotes and explanations

[1] Siyavosh or Siavash

He was a character from the epic poem Shahnameh by Ferdowsi. Siavash, son of Kaykawus, the mighty king of Iran, was a legendary Persian prince from the Kayanid dynasty. He went into exile in Turan because his stepmother Sudabe had falsely accused him of rape, but was brutally murdered there on the orders of the Turanian king Afrasiab.

The Iranians believe that the red Fritillaria imperialis (Blood-red hanging tulips) grew for the first time from the blood of Siavash. The Persians call these flowers Siavash tulips.

[2] Shahnameh

The Shahnameh, the "Book of Kings," is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between 977 and 1010 AD. It is the national epic of Greater Iran.

The Shahnameh consists of around 50,000 distichs or couplets (two-liners) and is one of the longest epic poems in the world and the longest epic poem written by a single author.

It mainly recounts the mythical and partly historical past of the Persian Empire, from the foundation of the world to the conquest of the country by the Muslims in the seventh century.

[3] Tus

Tus is an ancient city in north-eastern Iran. It is the birthplace of Ferdowsi the Great.

[4] Ferdowsi

Ferdowsi is one of the most important Persian poets and author of the Shahnameh (Book of Kings). He is considered one of the most influential figures in Persian literature and one of the most outstanding personalities in world literary history.

[5] Afrasiab

According to the Shahnameh of the Persian epic poet Ferdowsi, Afrasiab was the king and hero of Turan and an arch-enemy of Iran. In Iranian mythology, Afrasiab is considered the most important of all Turanian kings.

Afrasiab was a formidable warrior, a skilled general, and an agent of Ahriman (the devil) endowed with magical powers of deception to destroy Iranian civilization.

He was the brother of Garsivaz and the son of Pashang.

[6] Kaykawus

Kaykawus is a mythical ancient Iranian king. He was the sixth king of the Heroic Age and brother of Arash, whose myth is told in the Persian national epic Shahname.

Zarathustra's writings already mention the princes Kawus and Arash, sons of Kai Kobad (Kaygobad).

In ancient Persian, Kai (Kay-Kai) means king or great king.

[7] Sudabeh

She was Siavash's stepmother. She had expressed her love for Siyawash, but since Siavash had rejected this love, Sudabe told her husband a false story about the incident. This matter triggered a series of events.

[8] Rostam

Rostam is the greatest legendary hero of Persian mythology, the son of Zal and Rudaba, whose life and works are described by the tenth-century Persian poet Ferdowsi.

Rostam has always been portrayed as Iran's most potent holy warrior, and the atmosphere of the episodes he appears in strongly resembles that of the Parthian Empire. His horse was a legendary stallion named Rakhsh.

Useful websites related to the Shahnameh:

English:

https://heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/shahnameh/characters.htm

Farsi:

https://wikishahnameh.com/%D9%84%DB%8C%D8%B3%D8%AA-%D8%B4%D8%AE%D8%B5%DB%8C%D8%AA-%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%B4%D8%A7%D9%87%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%87/