Siyavash: A Mystic Character

Siyāvash, a character in Ferdowsi's epic, Shāhnāmeh, was the son of Kai Kavoos, king of Iran, Due to the treason of his stepmother, Sudābeh, Siyāvash selfexiled himself to Turan where he was killed innocently by order of the Turanian king, Afrāsiāb and was later on avenged by his son, Kai Khosrow. Siyāvash is one of the beloved characters in Shāhnāmeh who was wronged, and is a symbol of innocence in Persian Literature. In a sense he has a mystic character, a holly traveler (Sālek) who travels from the stage of spiritual quest (talab) to the stage of annihilation (fanā). He passes safely through fire, can prophesy the things to happen fourteen years after his death, and reminds us of the anthropos teleios (Perfect Man).