Iraj (Persian: ایرج - ʾīraj; Pahlavi: ērič; from Avestan: 𐬀𐬌𐬭𐬌𐬌𐬀 airiia, literally "Aryan") is seventh Shah of the Pishdadian dynasty of Shahnameh. Based on Iranian mythology, he is the youngest son of Fereydun. In the Avestan legends, Pahlavi literature, Sasanian-based Persian sources, some Arabic sources, and particularly in Shahnameh, he is considered the name-giver of the Iranian nation, the ancestor of their royal houses, and a paragon of those slain in defense of just causes.[1]
A page from Shahnameh, in Walters Art Museum, showing the murder of Iraj by his brothers
Murder scene of Iraj by his brothers, Salm and Tur, from National Library of Russia, St Petersburg – The calligraphy in the margins are Nastaliq
Family Tree
Arnavaz | Fereydun | Shahrnaz | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fereydun's Brother | Iraj | Salm | Tur | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pashang | Iraj's daughter | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manuchehr | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||