Jamshid

**Jamshid ** ()  (, _Jamshīd_) (Middle- and New Persian: جم, _Jam_) (Avestan: 𐬫𐬌𐬨𐬀 _Yima_) (Dari/Pashto: یما _Yama_) is a famous name in many countries and he was  the fourth Shah of the mythological Pishdadian dynasty of Iran according to _Shahnameh_.

In Persian mythology and folklore, Jamshid is described as the fourth and greatest king of the ancient Iran Pishdadian Dynasty . This role is already alluded to in Zoroastrian scripture (e.g. _Yasht_ 19, _Vendidad_ 2), where the figure appears as Yima(-Kshaeta)

_Jamshid_ (Jamshed, Jamshyd) and as a short pronunciation Jam  remains a common Iranian and Zoroastrian male name that is also popular in surrounding areas of Iran and middle east.

## Etymology

The name _Jamshid_ is originally a compound of two parts, _Jam_ and _shid_, corresponding to the Avestan names _Yima_ and _Xšaēta_, _*Xšaitah_ meant "bright, shining" or "radiant". The modern Turkish name _Cem_ is derived from Persian _Jam_. also the word Ajam is derived from the word Jam. according to the book Documents on the Persian Gulf's name  the Persian _jam_  is the root of Arabic _Ajam_, assuming that this Arabic word for the Persian-speaking population was derived from a Persian endonym, meaning the people of Jam.

## In scripture

**Source:**

Yima rules as king for three hundred years, and soon the earth was full of men, flocks of birds and herds of animals. He deprived the _daevas_, who were demonic servants of the evil Ahriman, of wealth, herds and reputation during his reign.  Good men, however, lived lives of plenty, and were neither sick nor aged. Father and son walked together, each appearing no older than fifteen.  Ahura Mazda visits him once more, warning him of this overpopulation. Yima, shining with light, faced southwards and pressed the golden seal against the earth and boring into it with the poniard, says "O Spenta Armaiti, kindly open asunder and stretch thyself afar, to bear flocks and herds and men."

## In tradition and folklore

Over time, the Avestan hero _Yima Xšaēta_ became the world-ruling Shāh _Jamshid_ of Persian legend and mythology.

According to the _Shāhnāma_ of the poet Firdausī, Jamshid was the fourth king of the world. He had command over all the angels and demons of the world, and was both king and high priest of Hormozd . He was responsible for a great many inventions that made life more secure for his people: the manufacture of armor and weapons, the weaving and dyeing of clothes of linen, silk and wool, the building of houses of brick, the mining of jewels and precious metals, the making of perfumes and wine, the art of medicine, the navigation of the waters of the world in sailing ships.
Jamshid had now become the greatest monarch the world had ever known. Jamshid was said to have had a magical seven-ringed cup, the _Jām-e Jam_ which was filled with the elixir of immortality and allowed him to observe the universe.

Jamshid's capital was erroneously believed to be at the site of the ruins of Persepolis, which for centuries (down to 1620 CE) was called _Takht-i Jamshēd_, the "Throne of Jamshid".
However, Persepolis was actually the capital of the Achaemenid kings and was destroyed by Alexander. Similarly, the sculptured tombs of the Achaemenids and Sāsānians near Persepolis were believed to be images of the legendary hero Rostam, and so were called _Naqsh-e Rustam_.

### Legend of the discovery of wine

King Jamshid is featured prominently in one apocryphal tale associated with the history of wine and its discovery.

## Related pages

- Arnavāz
- Yama—Hindu god

## Further reading

- 2nd _Fargard_ of James Darmesteter's translation of the _Vendidad_
- The Heroic Age of Persia

## Other websites

- _A king's book of kings: the Shah-nameh of Shah Tahmasp_, an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Jamshid