Ab and Afrasiab

Till present, a considerable amount of research has been undertaken regarding Afrasiab’s character, the renowned Tourani commander whose evil character is among the most striking in the epic works of this land. This research is an attempt to find the mythological origin of this character by investigating ancient religious works, Middle Persian and Islamic texts according to their historical order of appearance. Moreover, in order to prove Benevenis’s claim that Afrasiab is most probably the consequence of Diva Famina (Epeousha), numerous evidence from the above texts are presented. In the course of this research attempt is also made to examine the origin of the myth of Arash , a character who is also associated with water and rain, to signify his role in persuading Afrasiab to withdraw .