Comparative Analysis of the Story of Zahhak in Koosh Nameh and Shahnameh

Koosh Nameh is an epic book which was written by Iranshah ibn Aby al-Khayr one hundred years after the Shahnameh. Although the writer has imitated the style of Shahnameh to some extent, there are major differences between the two books in terms of stories due to the fact that it relies on a different source in prose for telling stories. This book of poetry tells the story of an antihero called elephantine Koosh-e-Peelgoosh, Zahhak’s nephew, who was selected as the governor of China so that he could destroy all homeless members of the House of Jamshid there. In fact, this work of art narrates the story of the kingdom of Zahhak beyond the borders of Iran up to the time of the birth of Abtin and Fereydun. One of the stories that are narrated in this book is the story of Zahhak which is highly different form the story narrated in Shahnameh. The present study tries to compare the story of Zahhak as told in this book with the one narrated in Shahnemeh and elucidates the major differences between them.