page_title: Siyâvash
section_title: Early life
hierarchical_section_title: Siyâvash / Early life
caption_attribution_description: English: Evil tongues slander good Prince Siyawush at the court of Afrasiyab, his father-in-law and king of Turan. Finally, the king decides to have Siyawush murdered, and also has his daughter Farangis whipped to make her abort the couple’s unborn child. Farangis and her son, Kay Khusraw, miraculously survive, and in time, he revenges his father’s dishonorable death.
context_page_description: Siyâvash or Siyâvosh, is a major figure in Ferdowsi's epic, the Shahnameh. He was a legendary Iranian prince from the earliest days of the Iranian Empire. A handsome and desirable young man, his name literally means "the one with the black horse" or "black stallion". Ferdowsi, the author of the Book of Kings, names his horse Shabrang Behzād literally "night-coloured purebred".
  As a young man well-versed in the arts of war, he is granted entry to court by his father, Kay Kavus, the shah of Iran. However, his stepmother, Sudabeh, the Queen of Iran, develops a burning sexual desire for him. Refusing her advances, Siavash will have nothing to do with her plans for intercourse. She fakes a rape and abortion scene and blames the double calamity on Siavash who is forced to prove his innocence by riding through a colossal mountain of fire. Despite his proven innocence, the Shah eventually grows cold towards Siavash as he does not want to punish the woman he loves or anger her father, a powerful ally in the East.
context_section_description: Iranian knights discover a beautiful young woman while on a hunting trip, a favourite pastime of the army hierarchy. They cannot decide on who should possess her for his own pleasure, and a major dispute erupts between them. Finally, they decide to take her to the Shah, Kay Kavus, for his judgement. The Shah decides to keep her as his own concubine. Siavash is the result of their union. However, as his mother is not an aristocrat, the Shah decides to send him to Rostam, the ultimate hero of Iranian mythology, for training in the military arts.
  Rostam instructs the young Siavash in the arts of riding, archery, hunting, conduct and speaking the truth. These were the fundamentals in the Acheamenian system of education and are reflected in the Shahnameh on several occasions. After a few years instruction, Siavash asks Rostam to return to the Court, so that he can prove his worth as a young prince.
  At first, Siavash is well received at Court. The ladies swoon over his youthful good looks, while the men are impressed by his mastery of the arts. The Shah even appoints him Ruler of Ctesiphon, the ancient capital of the Parthians (now situated near Baghdad). The Queen, Sudabeh, develops an instantaneous, and all consuming sexual desire for the young prince, and starts a series of plans to entice him to enter her chambers. She praises Siavash in front of the Court, and invites him to "visit his sisters," and become better acquainted with them. Siavash is not impressed with this proposal and suspects an ulterior motive. The Shah, well-aware of his own queen's connections-she was the daughter of the Shah of Hamavaran-insists that Siavash listen to his "mother" and visit his sisters. In her chambers, the Queen organises a magnificent reception for Siavash . He is seated on a throne, expensive perfumes are lavished upon the chamber, and the ladies sing and dance for his pleasure.
  The Shah decides that Siavash should marry one of the ladies, and orders him to choose one immediately, but Siavash refuses to do so, sensing his father's plans for a political union under the guise of marriage. The Queen can no longer control her desire for Siavash. She proposes to have her husband, the Shah of Iran, murdered so that she and Siavash can rule together, but he absolutely refuses to have anything to do with her. Queen Sudabeh realises that Siavash might reveal her plans to her husband, resulting in her certain death.
  She orders one of the witches in her service to find 2 aborted foetuses and place them in a dish. She then runs to the Shah, ripping her robes, screaming, wailing, and crying. The Shah is deeply disturbed by the sight of his wife, bloodied and in tatters. The Queen accuses Siavash of raping her. She provides the aborted foetuses as evidence of his violence towards a "pregnant" Queen.
  The Shah is devastated by the news, but listens to Siavash's plea of innocence. He first smells Siavash's robes and finds no sign of seduction or perfume upon them. Then he smells the robes of the Queen and finds them laced with the most exquisite of perfumes: a sure sign of seduction. Nevertheless, he imprisons Siavash, and orders that hundreds of beasts of burden be used to bring fire wood. A gigantic mountain of fire is set alight in front of the Palace, and Siavash is ordered to ride through the blaze: for if he is innocent, he will emerge unscathed, and if guilty, he should surely perish. Siavash, armed as a cataphract, covered in camphor and with a white cape, the symbol of innocence, mounts his faithful black steed and charges straight into fire. The Court holds its breath, as he disappears into the fire. Shortly after, the white knight emerges on his valiant black war horse unscathed, unharmed, and victorious.
  Kay Kavus, the Shah, orders the immediate execution of the Queen for bringing shame on his name and kingdom. Wise and sober as ever, Siavash begs for clemency. He knows that the Shah loves his wife and will soon regret her passing. Not long after, the fickle Shah might even accuse Siavash of orchestrating the whole fiasco. The Shah is rem
caption: The Slaying of Siyâvash
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