{ "title": "Who Killed Whom", "sourceSnapshot": "New Naqqali public poem, extracted 22 October 2026", "scope": "Curated human death cases; named actors and explicitly described unnamed agents. Not an exhaustive body count.", "houses": [ { "id": "early", "name": "The first royal houses", "color": "#ae8a48" }, { "id": "qobad", "name": "Kay Qobad’s line", "color": "#b07348" }, { "id": "turan", "name": "Turan’s court & fighters", "color": "#4e8584" }, { "id": "nimruz", "name": "Nimruz & Kabul", "color": "#aa5c50" }, { "id": "keshvad", "name": "Gudarz’s house & Iranian champions", "color": "#8a7859" }, { "id": "lohrasp", "name": "House of Lohrasp", "color": "#8b8653" }, { "id": "arjasp", "name": "Arjasp’s forces", "color": "#7b709a" }, { "id": "sasanian", "name": "The later Iranian court", "color": "#626f92" }, { "id": "foreign", "name": "Other courts & figures", "color": "#6a9275" }, { "id": "last", "name": "The final reign", "color": "#8b697b" }, { "id": "unnamed", "name": "Unnamed killers · one case each", "color": "#89928d" } ], "people": [ { "id": "tur", "name": "Tur", "house": "early", "note": "Brother of Iraj and Salm.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "iraj", "name": "Iraj", "house": "early", "note": "Brother of Tur and Salm.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "salm", "name": "Salm", "house": "early", "note": "Brother of Tur and Iraj.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "manuchehr", "name": "Manuchehr", "house": "early", "note": "Grandson of Iraj through Iraj’s unnamed daughter.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "nohzar", "name": "Nohzar", "house": "early", "note": "Shah of Iran; captured and killed by Afrasiab.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "siavash", "name": "Siavash", "house": "qobad", "note": "His sons Forood and Kay Khosrow have different mothers.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "forood", "name": "Forood", "house": "qobad", "note": "Son of Siavash and Jarireh.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "kay_khosrow", "name": "Kay Khosrow", "house": "qobad", "note": "Grandson of Kay Kavus through Siavash, and of Afrasiab through Farangis. Displayed once in this house; both lines remain explicit.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "piran", "name": "Piran", "house": "turan", "note": "Father of Jarireh, by Golshahr.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "afrasiab", "name": "Afrasiab", "house": "turan", "note": "Father of Farangis and Manijeh, and maternal grandfather of Kay Khosrow.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "aghriras", "name": "Aghriras", "house": "turan", "note": "Son of Pashang of Turan.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "garsivaz", "name": "Garsivaz", "house": "turan", "note": "Son of Pashang of Turan and brother of Afrasiab.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "gurvi_zereh", "name": "Gurvi Zereh", "house": "turan", "note": "Siavash’s executioner; captured alive by Giv and later executed on Kay Khosrow’s order.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "surkha", "name": "Surkha", "house": "turan", "note": "Son of Afrasiab.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "pilsam", "name": "Pilsam", "house": "turan", "note": "Brother of Piran; killed by Rostam.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "tazhav", "name": "Tazhav", "house": "turan", "note": "Fatally wounds Bahram son of Gudarz; later killed by Giv.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "ashkabus", "name": "Ashkabus", "house": "turan", "note": "The Kashanian warrior killed by Rostam’s arrow.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "kamus", "name": "Kamus", "house": "turan", "note": "Captured by Rostam, then killed by the surrounding Iranian warriors.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "shideh", "name": "Shideh", "house": "turan", "note": "Son of Afrasiab.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "rostam", "name": "Rostam · son of Zal", "house": "nimruz", "note": "Son of Zal and Rudabeh. His maternal ancestry passes through Mehrab to Zahhak’s stock, with unspecified generations.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "sohrab", "name": "Sohrab", "house": "nimruz", "note": "Son of Rostam and Tahmineh; placed here once while both parentage links remain visible.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "faramarz", "name": "Faramarz", "house": "nimruz", "note": "Son of Rostam; no mother is assigned here.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "zavareh", "name": "Zavareh", "house": "nimruz", "note": "Rostam’s brother; kills Nush Azar in C8.22.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "shaghad", "name": "Shaghad", "house": "nimruz", "note": "Rostam’s half-brother; conspires in the fatal pit trap.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "kabul_king", "name": "King of Kabul · Shaghad’s host", "house": "nimruz", "note": "The ruler in C9 who has the hunting-ground pits dug. Not merged with Mehrab.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "alva_c8", "name": "Alva · C8", "house": "nimruz", "note": "The Alva killed by Nush Azar in C8.22. Kept scoped to this passage rather than merged with another occurrence of the name.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "zhendeh_razm", "name": "Zhendeh Razm", "house": "foreign", "note": "Tahmineh’s brother, killed by Rostam in the dark, before either recognizes the connection.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "gudarz", "name": "Gudarz", "house": "keshvad", "note": "Father of Giv.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "giv", "name": "Giv", "house": "keshvad", "note": "Son of Gudarz; husband of Banu Gashasp and father of Bijan.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "rohham", "name": "Rohham", "house": "keshvad", "note": "Son of Gudarz; inflicts Forood’s fatal wound.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "bahram_gudarz", "name": "Bahram · son of Gudarz", "house": "keshvad", "note": "Distinct from Bahram Chubin. Fatally wounded by Tazhav; dies after Giv kills Tazhav.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "rivniz", "name": "Rivniz", "house": "keshvad", "note": "Tus’s son-in-law; grouped with Iranian champions for display, not claimed as a descendant of Keshvad.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "zarasp_tus", "name": "Zarasp · son of Tus", "house": "keshvad", "note": "Tus’s son; grouped with Iranian champions for display, not claimed as a descendant of Keshvad.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "zarir", "name": "Zarir", "house": "lohrasp", "note": "Son of Lohrasp and father of Nastur.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "esfandiyar", "name": "Esfandiyar", "house": "lohrasp", "note": "Son of Goshtasb and Katayun; father of Bahman.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "nush_azar", "name": "Nush Azar · son of Esfandiyar", "house": "lohrasp", "note": "Distinct from other figures named Nush Azar. Killed by Zavareh in C8.22.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "mehr_nush", "name": "Mehr-e-Nush", "house": "lohrasp", "note": "Son of Esfandiyar; killed by Faramarz.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "bahman", "name": "Bahman", "house": "lohrasp", "note": "Also called Ardeshir. Father of Homahyi, whom he also takes to wife in the poem.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "bidarfesh", "name": "Bidarfesh", "house": "arjasp", "note": "Arjasp’s warlock, who kills Zarir with a poisoned weapon and is killed by Esfandiyar.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "arjasp", "name": "Arjasp", "house": "arjasp", "note": "King opposing Goshtasb; killed by Esfandiyar.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "kuhram", "name": "Kuhram", "house": "arjasp", "note": "Captured by Esfandiyar and hanged in C7.13.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "andariman_arjasp", "name": "Andariman · Arjasp’s house", "house": "arjasp", "note": "Hanged with Kuhram in C7.13; distinct from the warrior of that name in the Rukhs campaign.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "bahram_chubin", "name": "Bahram Chubin", "house": "sasanian", "note": "The general and claimant; distinct from Bahram son of Gudarz.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "gurdiyeh", "name": "Gurdiyeh", "house": "sasanian", "note": "Kills Tobarg in combat; later kills her husband Gostaham with five attendants holding him.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "gostaham_late", "name": "Gostaham · Gurdiyeh’s husband", "house": "sasanian", "note": "The later Gostaham, also called Bistam; distinct from champions of earlier books.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "khosrow_parviz", "name": "Khosrow Parviz", "house": "sasanian", "note": "Commissions Gostaham’s killing; later murdered by Mehr Ormozd.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "shiruyeh", "name": "Shiruyeh", "house": "sasanian", "note": "Also named Qobad; authorizes the covert killing of his father under pressure from conspirators.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "mehr_ormozd", "name": "Mehr Ormozd", "house": "sasanian", "note": "The named man who stabs Khosrow Parviz.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "saveh", "name": "King Saveh", "house": "foreign", "note": "Killed by Bahram Chubin’s arrow.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "makatura", "name": "Makatura", "house": "foreign", "note": "Killed by Bahram Chubin in the Khan’s presence.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "kulun", "name": "Kulun", "house": "foreign", "note": "The named assassin who stabs Bahram Chubin.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "tobarg", "name": "Tobarg", "house": "foreign", "note": "Sent after Gurdiyeh by the Khan; killed by her lance.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "saad", "name": "Sa’ad", "house": "last", "note": "The Shahnameh’s account has him kill the later general Rostam in single combat.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "rostam_general", "name": "Rostam · Hormizd’s son", "house": "last", "note": "The general of E10, not Rostam son of Zal. This graph follows the poem’s account.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "yazdegard_last", "name": "Yazdegard · the last Shah", "house": "last", "note": "Victim of the miller acting under Mahwi’s threat and command.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "mahwi", "name": "Mahwi", "house": "last", "note": "Orders the miller to kill Yazdegard.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "miller", "name": "The miller · E10", "house": "last", "note": "Unnamed in the cited killing passage; stabs Yazdegard under Mahwi’s orders.", "actorKind": "person" }, { "id": "surkha_guards", "name": "Guards · Surkha case", "house": "unnamed", "note": "The passage gives Surkha to waiting guards, then describes his beheading without naming an individual hand.", "actorKind": "collective" }, { "id": "kamus_warriors", "name": "Warriors · Kamus case", "house": "unnamed", "note": "The surrounding Iranian warriors kill the bound Kamus; no individual sword-hand is named.", "actorKind": "collective" }, { "id": "gurvi_executioners", "name": "Executioners · Gurvi case", "house": "unnamed", "note": "The agents carrying out Kay Khosrow’s command; the verse says “they” and supplies no individual name.", "actorKind": "collective" }, { "id": "garsivaz_headsman", "name": "Headsman · Garsivaz case", "house": "unnamed", "note": "The unnamed headsman summoned by Kay Khosrow, who performs the execution.", "actorKind": "role" } ], "relationships": [ { "id": "violence-001", "source": "tur", "target": "iraj", "type": "direct", "deathCase": "death-iraj", "ref": "A6.12.34", "evidence": [ { "id": "A6.12.34", "lines": [ "Tur heard, but not one answering word was said;", "Rage filled his heart and wind possessed his head." ] }, { "id": "A6.12.35", "lines": [ "He drew from his boot a water-hued blade;", "A shroud of blood across Iraj was laid." ] }, { "id": "A6.12.36", "lines": [ "That poison-bright and sharpened khanjar tore", "The Kayanian breast and opened up its core." ] }, { "id": "A6.12.37", "lines": [ "The slender cypress toppled to the earth;", "The royal girdle broke and lost its worth." ] }, { "id": "A6.12.38", "lines": [ "Blood streamed across his pomegranate face;", "The famed young sovereign fell from life’s embrace." ] }, { "id": "A6.12.39", "lines": [ "With khanjar Tur then cut off his crowned head,", "From elephant-like body drenched in red." ] } ], "note": "Tur wields the blade and cuts off Iraj’s head. Salm’s complicity is not represented as a second physical killer.", "scene": "The murder of Iraj", "kinship": "Brothers", "kinshipSource": "/genealogies/#v1-p3" }, { "id": "violence-002", "source": "manuchehr", "target": "tur", "type": "direct", "deathCase": "death-tur", "ref": "A6.21.19", "evidence": [ { "id": "A6.21.19", "lines": [ "Then Manuchehr sprang out to close the snare,", "And Tur found neither side a passage bare." ] }, { "id": "A6.21.20", "lines": [ "He wheeled his reins and turned his face away;", "A mighty uproar rose from the array." ] }, { "id": "A6.21.21", "lines": [ "Then Manuchehr drove after him at speed,", "And caught the blood-stained murderer on his steed." ] }, { "id": "A6.21.22", "lines": [ "He cried, “For Iraj’s blood your head is due!”", "Then cast his spear and drove it cleanly through." ] }, { "id": "A6.21.23", "lines": [ "He swept him from the saddle like a gust,", "Then dashed him down and hurled him in the dust." ] }, { "id": "A6.21.24", "lines": [ "He struck the head from Tur’s now lifeless frame,", "And left his flesh for beasts of field to claim." ] } ], "note": "Manuchehr pursues Tur, pierces him with a spear and beheads him.", "scene": "Manuchehr avenges Iraj", "kinship": "Iraj’s grandson kills Iraj’s brother", "kinshipSource": "/genealogies/#v1-p3" }, { "id": "violence-003", "source": "manuchehr", "target": "salm", "type": "direct", "deathCase": "death-salm", "ref": "A6.25.13", "evidence": [ { "id": "A6.25.13", "lines": [ "Still speaking, he drove hard along the track,", "Till narrow ground hemmed Salm and held him back." ] }, { "id": "A6.25.14", "lines": [ "One sword-stroke fell across the royal side;", "And split his body open, deep and wide." ] }, { "id": "A6.25.15", "lines": [ "He ordered Salm’s severed head raised high,", "Upon a spear that reached toward the sky." ] }, { "id": "A6.25.16", "lines": [ "The soldiers stood astonished at the sight,", "At Manuchehr’s fierce arm and battle-might." ] } ], "note": "Manuchehr kills Salm while pursuing him.", "scene": "Manuchehr avenges Iraj", "kinship": "Iraj’s grandson kills Iraj’s brother", "kinshipSource": "/genealogies/#v1-p3" }, { "id": "violence-004", "source": "afrasiab", "target": "nohzar", "type": "direct", "deathCase": "death-nohzar", "ref": "B1.11.10", "evidence": [ { "id": "B1.11.10", "lines": [ "Afrasiab fixed on him his burning gaze,", "While ancient hatred set his heart ablaze." ] }, { "id": "B1.11.11", "lines": [ "Afrasiab spoke of old feud and hate,", "Of Salm and Tur, and vengeance long in wait." ] }, { "id": "B1.11.12", "lines": [ "All reverence due to kings he cast aside,", "With words of scorn and harsh, relentless pride:" ] }, { "id": "B1.11.13", "lines": [ "“You merit every ill that now draws near.”", "He called for steel, his purpose stark and clear." ] }, { "id": "B1.11.14", "lines": [ "The sword was brought; he struck the crowned Shah dead,", "And with one stroke cut off his royal head." ] }, { "id": "B1.11.15", "lines": [ "His body was contemptuously cast", "Into the dust; his royal days were past." ] } ], "note": "Although an executioner first brings the prisoner, the narration then gives Afrasiab the sword and the fatal stroke.", "scene": "The captive Shah", "kinship": null, "kinshipSource": null }, { "id": "violence-005", "source": "afrasiab", "target": "aghriras", "type": "direct", "deathCase": "death-aghriras", "ref": "B1.13.9", "evidence": [ { "id": "B1.13.9", "lines": [ "Afrasiab stood silent at the word;", "No fitting answer from his lips was heard." ] }, { "id": "B1.13.10", "lines": [ "One filled with fire, one filled with wisdom’s light;", "What place then has wisdom in a Div’s spite?" ] }, { "id": "B1.13.11", "lines": [ "Like a drunken elephant, in rage he swayed,", "And for his answer reached to draw his blade." ] }, { "id": "B1.13.12", "lines": [ "Across his brother’s waist the sword cut through,", "And split his body cleanly into two." ] }, { "id": "B1.13.13", "lines": [ "When Zal received the news, his fury blazed;", "His wrath for famed Aghriras now was raised." ] } ], "note": "Afrasiab answers his brother’s plea for restraint by drawing his sword and killing him.", "scene": "Wisdom answered with a sword", "kinship": "Brothers", "kinshipSource": "/poem/b1/#B1.13.12" }, { "id": "violence-006", "source": "rostam", "target": "zhendeh_razm", "type": "direct", "deathCase": "death-zhendeh_razm", "ref": "B8.15.27", "evidence": [ { "id": "B8.15.27", "lines": [ "He came to Rostam, challenging aloud:", "“Who are you, stranger, hidden from the crowd?" ] }, { "id": "B8.15.28", "lines": [ "Come to the light and let me see your face;", "No unknown man walks freely through this place.”" ] }, { "id": "B8.15.29", "lines": [ "Then Rostam struck one fist against his neck;", "The blow allowed no warning and no check." ] }, { "id": "B8.15.30", "lines": [ "His soul departed at that single blow;", "He fell before he had a chance to know." ] }, { "id": "B8.15.31", "lines": [ "There Zhendeh’s days of feast and war were done;", "No banquet or new battle would be won." ] } ], "note": "Rostam kills Zhendeh Razm with a blow to the neck in the dark. The familial connection is not recognized at the time.", "scene": "Unrecognized kin", "kinship": "Brother-in-law: Tahmineh’s brother", "kinshipSource": "/genealogies/#v1-p7" }, { "id": "violence-007", "source": "rostam", "target": "sohrab", "type": "direct", "deathCase": "death-sohrab", "ref": "B8.21.5", "evidence": [ { "id": "B8.21.5", "lines": [ "Then Rostam, troubled, seized him by the neck,", "The warlike nahang, holding him in check." ] }, { "id": "B8.21.6", "lines": [ "The gallant youth, whose time had reached its end,", "Felt strength depart and could no more contend." ] }, { "id": "B8.21.7", "lines": [ "Then like a lion striking down its prey,", "Rostam dashed Sohrab upon earth that day." ] }, { "id": "B8.21.8", "lines": [ "He knew the youth would rise if left alive,", "And drew his khanjar lest he should revive." ] }, { "id": "B8.21.9", "lines": [ "He struck and opened wide the fallen breast;", "By that dark blow, fate’s sentence stood expressed." ] }, { "id": "B8.21.10", "lines": [ "Who thirsts for blood and stains the water-blue blade", "Shall find that Time has thirst for him repaid," ] }, { "id": "B8.21.11", "lines": [ "And every hair upon his body then", "Shall turn into a khanjar’s point again." ] }, { "id": "B8.21.12", "lines": [ "Sohrab writhed and breathed a bitter sigh,", "Then left all thought of good and ill to die." ] } ], "note": "Rostam inflicts the fatal khanjar wound before recognizing Sohrab as his son.", "scene": "Father and son", "kinship": "Father and son", "kinshipSource": "/genealogies/#v1-p7" }, { "id": "violence-008", "source": "gurvi_zereh", "target": "siavash", "type": "direct", "deathCase": "death-siavash", "ref": "B9.55.17", "evidence": [ { "id": "B9.55.17", "lines": [ "Then Gurvi Zereh took Garsivaz’s blade,", "A water-colored khanjar keenly made." ] }, { "id": "B9.55.18", "lines": [ "He dragged the prince by hair across the plain,", "Back to the place where shafts had flown like rain." ] }, { "id": "B9.55.19", "lines": [ "There they had bent the bow and loosed the dart,", "And tested eye and hand and archer’s art." ] }, { "id": "B9.55.20", "lines": [ "There Gurvi Zereh threw the prince below,", "The raging elephant laid helpless low." ] }, { "id": "B9.55.21", "lines": [ "No shame or fear restrained his savage hand;", "A golden basin waited on the sand." ] }, { "id": "B9.55.22", "lines": [ "He turned the prince as shepherds turn a sheep,", "Then struck the fatal stroke, both sure and deep." ] }, { "id": "B9.55.23", "lines": [ "The silver cypress fell beneath the sun,", "His blood poured dark; his living grace was done." ] }, { "id": "B9.55.24", "lines": [ "The basin filled; then Gurvi Zereh bore", "The blood to where the king had marked before." ] } ], "note": "Gurvi Zereh takes Garsivaz’s blade and carries out the killing. Neither Afrasiab nor Garsivaz is substituted for the physical executioner.", "scene": "The killing of Siavash", "kinship": null, "kinshipSource": null }, { "id": "violence-009", "source": "afrasiab", "target": "siavash", "type": "ordered", "deathCase": "death-siavash", "ref": "B9.53.100", "evidence": [ { "id": "B9.53.100", "lines": [ "The king replied: “No treason do I see;", "No crime that calls for death appears to me." ] }, { "id": "B9.53.101", "lines": [ "Yet seers have warned that danger still may rise,", "And through this man bring grief before my eyes." ] }, { "id": "B9.53.102", "lines": [ "If I should shed his blood, from Turan’s plain", "A cloud of dust will rise like darkened rain." ] }, { "id": "B9.53.103", "lines": [ "That dust will veil the sun and dim our view,", "And cloud the judgment of the wisest too." ] }, { "id": "B9.53.104", "lines": [ "Pain, grief, and bondage wait for us ahead;", "Yet freeing him may bring worse harm instead." ] }, { "id": "B9.53.105", "lines": [ "Though killing him will weigh upon my mind,", "To let him live may prove a worse design.”" ] }, { "id": "B9.55.24", "lines": [ "The basin filled; then Gurvi Zereh bore", "The blood to where the king had marked before." ] }, { "id": "B9.55.25", "lines": [ "He overturned it on the appointed ground,", "Where barren earth lay silent all around." ] } ], "note": "Afrasiab decides on Siavash’s death despite acknowledging no treason; the blood is then carried to the ground he designated. This records royal authorization, not his physical use of the blade.", "scene": "The killing of Siavash", "kinship": null, "kinshipSource": null }, { "id": "violence-010", "source": "garsivaz", "target": "siavash", "type": "plotted", "deathCase": "death-siavash", "ref": "B9.53.90", "evidence": [ { "id": "B9.53.90", "lines": [ "You cut the serpent’s tail and wounded head;", "Will you now clothe it richly in diba instead?" ] }, { "id": "B9.53.91", "lines": [ "If you should spare him, I will leave this land", "And die in exile, far from your command.”" ] }, { "id": "B9.53.92", "lines": [ "Then Damur came, with Gurvi Zereh near,", "Both shaken still, but speaking without fear:" ] }, { "id": "B9.53.93", "lines": [ "“Do not delay because of one man’s fate;", "To hesitate now would be far too late." ] }, { "id": "B9.53.94", "lines": [ "Attend instead to Garsivaz’s plea,", "And strike your foe before he can break free." ] }, { "id": "B9.53.95", "lines": [ "You set the trap and took him in your hand;", "Now strike at once and let your purpose stand." ] }, { "id": "B9.55.1", "lines": [ "Garsivaz cast a glance that Gurvi knew,", "And Gurvi toward the captive prince then drew." ] }, { "id": "B9.55.2", "lines": [ "In Gurvi shame and chivalry were dead,", "And mercy from his savage spirit fled." ] }, { "id": "B9.55.3", "lines": [ "He seized his hair and dragged him through the dust,", "While Siavash raised his voice in prayer and trust:" ] } ], "note": "Garsivaz presses for the killing, then gives the signal Gurvi understands. This is instigation, not the fatal stroke.", "scene": "The killing of Siavash", "kinship": null, "kinshipSource": null }, { "id": "violence-011", "source": "surkha_guards", "target": "surkha", "type": "direct", "deathCase": "death-surkha", "ref": "B10.6.75", "evidence": [ { "id": "B10.6.75", "lines": [ "He turned to Zavareh with iron tone,", "And gave the order, merciless as stone." ] }, { "id": "B10.6.76", "lines": [ "Zavareh brought the same basin and blade,", "Then gave him to the waiting guards arrayed." ] }, { "id": "B10.6.77", "lines": [ "The khanjar fell and severed head from breast,", "And in a breath young Surkha sank to rest." ] } ], "note": "Zavareh hands the captive to the waiting guards; the following passive beheading names no individual hand. The collective node is local to this case.", "scene": "Revenge falls on Surkha", "kinship": null, "kinshipSource": null }, { "id": "violence-012", "source": "rostam", "target": "surkha", "type": "ordered", "deathCase": "death-surkha", "ref": "B10.6.57", "evidence": [ { "id": "B10.6.57", "lines": [ "He said: “Bring him before me on the plain,", "And summon those who deal in death and pain." ] }, { "id": "B10.6.58", "lines": [ "Bring basin, khanjar; bind the captive’s hands,", "And coil the kamand round him in its bands." ] }, { "id": "B10.6.59", "lines": [ "Lay him like sheep upon the bloodied ground,", "As Siavash lay helpless, closely bound." ] }, { "id": "B10.6.60", "lines": [ "Strike off his head as Siavash was slain,", "And let the vulture shroud him on the plain.”" ] }, { "id": "B10.6.68", "lines": [ "But Rostam said: “May Afrasiab know", "The grief and pain his evil deeds now sow." ] }, { "id": "B10.6.69", "lines": [ "Let sorrow dwell within his heart always,", "And tears consume the measure of his days." ] }, { "id": "B10.6.70", "lines": [ "This youth springs from Afrasiab’s evil root,", "And schemes deceit, his father’s living fruit." ] }, { "id": "B10.6.75", "lines": [ "He turned to Zavareh with iron tone,", "And gave the order, merciless as stone." ] }, { "id": "B10.6.76", "lines": [ "Zavareh brought the same basin and blade,", "Then gave him to the waiting guards arrayed." ] }, { "id": "B10.6.77", "lines": [ "The khanjar fell and severed head from breast,", "And in a breath young Surkha sank to rest." ] } ], "note": "Rostam orders Surkha’s execution as retaliation for Siavash. Tus pleads for mercy; Zavareh delivers the captive to the guards.", "scene": "Revenge falls on Surkha", "kinship": null, "kinshipSource": null }, { "id": "violence-013", "source": "rostam", "target": "pilsam", "type": "direct", "deathCase": "death-pilsam", "ref": "B10.8.50", "evidence": [ { "id": "B10.8.50", "lines": [ "He spoke and spurred his swift steed, vengeance high,", "And swept against him like the wheeling sky." ] }, { "id": "B10.8.51", "lines": [ "He struck the belt with one tremendous blow,", "And like a ball from saddle made him go." ] }, { "id": "B10.8.52", "lines": [ "He bore him through Turan’s warring array,", "And cast him where Afrasiab held the day." ] }, { "id": "B10.8.53", "lines": [ "He cried, “Now cover Pilsam where he lay,", "In yellow diba bright against the clay.”" ] }, { "id": "B10.8.54", "lines": [ "Then Rostam turned his rein, and from the fore", "Rode to the army’s center as before." ] }, { "id": "B10.8.55", "lines": [ "Piran stood weeping for his brother slain,", "His lashes poured their tears like falling rain." ] } ], "note": "Rostam’s spear blow lifts Pilsam from the saddle; Piran mourns his brother as slain.", "scene": "Rostam and Pilsam", "kinship": null, "kinshipSource": null }, { "id": "violence-014", "source": "forood", "target": "rivniz", "type": "direct", "deathCase": "death-rivniz", "ref": "B12.7.17", "evidence": [ { "id": "B12.7.17", "lines": [ "Then Rivniz nearer to the summit came;", "Forood drew taut his shiz bow to aim." ] }, { "id": "B12.7.18", "lines": [ "From high a poplar shaft against him sped,", "And stitched his Roman helmet to his head." ] }, { "id": "B12.7.19", "lines": [ "The rider crashed; his charger turned away,", "His head sank deep in dust where Rivniz lay." ] }, { "id": "B12.7.20", "lines": [ "From Mayam Tus looked upward at the height,", "The mountain vanished wholly from his sight." ] } ], "note": "Forood shoots Rivniz through the helmet.", "scene": "The conflict at Mount Sepid", "kinship": null, "kinshipSource": null }, { "id": "violence-015", "source": "forood", "target": "zarasp_tus", "type": "direct", "deathCase": "death-zarasp_tus", "ref": "B12.8.13", "evidence": [ { "id": "B12.8.13", "lines": [ "Forood spurred forward, bowstring drawn with might,", "And struck Zarasp through the middle in his flight." ] }, { "id": "B12.8.14", "lines": [ "The shaft pinned body fast to saddle frame;", "Its arrowhead consumed his vital flame." ] }, { "id": "B12.8.15", "lines": [ "He fell; his steed forsook him where he lay,", "And raced full speed back down the mountain way." ] } ], "note": "Forood’s arrow pins Zarasp to the saddle and extinguishes his life.", "scene": "The conflict at Mount Sepid", "kinship": null, "kinshipSource": null }, { "id": "violence-016", "source": "rohham", "target": "forood", "type": "direct", "deathCase": "death-forood", "ref": "B12.12.40", "evidence": [ { "id": "B12.12.40", "lines": [ "Then Rohham from behind the battle cried,", "And drew his Indian sword in wrathful pride." ] }, { "id": "B12.12.41", "lines": [ "He struck the lion-youth upon the shoulder;", "Arm and shoulder fell; his blood ran colder." ] }, { "id": "B12.12.42", "lines": [ "Prince Forood cried; his charger thundered on,", "Though arm and shoulder from his frame were gone." ] }, { "id": "B12.12.43", "lines": [ "Then Bijan closed beside the fortress wall,", "And hamstrung Forood’s horse and made it fall." ] }, { "id": "B12.12.44", "lines": [ "Then Forood, wounded, went afoot inside,", "A few faithful attendants at his side." ] }, { "id": "B12.12.45", "lines": [ "They quickly barred the gate against the foe;", "Alas for Forood, marked for death and woe!" ] }, { "id": "B12.12.50", "lines": [ "Then with a fading glance and failing breath,", "He turned to them while drawing near to death." ] }, { "id": "B12.12.51", "lines": [ "With one last effort, as his spirit fled,", "He forced his failing lips to speak and said:" ] }, { "id": "B12.12.57", "lines": [ "He spoke; his cheeks grew pale as life withdrew,", "His grieving spirit from his body flew." ] } ], "note": "Rohham cuts away Forood’s arm and shoulder. Forood reaches the fortress and dies of his wounds. Bijan attacks his horse, but is not assigned the fatal human wound.", "scene": "The conflict at Mount Sepid", "kinship": null, "kinshipSource": null }, { "id": "violence-017", "source": "tazhav", "target": "bahram_gudarz", "type": "direct", "deathCase": "death-bahram_gudarz", "ref": "B12.24.54", "evidence": [ { "id": "B12.24.54", "lines": [ "The fight continued thus; brave Bahram bled", "From shafts that struck his limbs, his breast, his head." ] }, { "id": "B12.24.55", "lines": [ "When strength and vigor failed him in the fight,", "Tazhav struck from behind with all his might." ] }, { "id": "B12.24.56", "lines": [ "His sword struck hard upon the shoulder’s crown;", "Face-first from off the mound came Bahram down." ] }, { "id": "B12.24.57", "lines": [ "His sword-hand, severed from his body, fell;", "No strength remained in Bahram to repel." ] }, { "id": "B12.24.58", "lines": [ "Even cruel Tazhav’s heart burned at the sight;", "His face flared red as fire beneath the night." ] }, { "id": "B12.24.59", "lines": [ "He turned away in anguish and in shame,", "While hot blood boiled within his heart like flame." ] }, { "id": "B12.25.53", "lines": [ "When he had spoken, noble Bahram died;", "His spirit left his body as he sighed." ] } ], "note": "Tazhav strikes Bahram from behind, severing his sword-arm after earlier wounds. Bahram dies in the next section.", "scene": "Giv’s revenge for Bahram", "kinship": null, "kinshipSource": null }, { "id": "violence-018", "source": "giv", "target": "tazhav", "type": "direct", "deathCase": "death-tazhav", "ref": "B12.25.45", "evidence": [ { "id": "B12.25.45", "lines": [ "Then Bahram said to Giv: “All men must die;", "The world gives breath and takes it with a sigh." ] }, { "id": "B12.25.46", "lines": [ "Though harm from him has reached me on this day,", "He need not taste death’s bitterness this way." ] }, { "id": "B12.25.47", "lines": [ "My soul-gift, ravan-dad, let him remain,", "To keep my name alive beyond this pain.”" ] }, { "id": "B12.25.48", "lines": [ "But Giv beheld his brother, wounded, torn,", "And Tazhav bound before him and forlorn." ] }, { "id": "B12.25.49", "lines": [ "Giv cried and seized Tazhav by his beard,", "Then lopped his head like lark as vengeance neared." ] }, { "id": "B12.25.50", "lines": [ "Then Giv’s heart burned at what his hand had done;", "Within his soul grief’s bitter fire had begun." ] }, { "id": "B12.25.51", "lines": [ "He wept blood-tears and raised a piercing cry,", "The strangest ever heard beneath the sky:" ] }, { "id": "B12.25.52", "lines": [ "“Whether I kill, or you kill in my sight,", "My brothers and my kinsmen die in fight!”" ] }, { "id": "B12.25.53", "lines": [ "When he had spoken, noble Bahram died;", "His spirit left his body as he sighed." ] } ], "note": "Giv beheads Tazhav despite the dying Bahram’s plea to spare him.", "scene": "Giv’s revenge for Bahram", "kinship": null, "kinshipSource": null }, { "id": "violence-019", "source": "rostam", "target": "ashkabus", "type": "direct", "deathCase": "death-ashkabus", "ref": "B13.28.40", "evidence": [ { "id": "B13.28.40", "lines": [ "He reached toward his belt and chose with care", "A poplar shaft, straight-flying through the air." ] }, { "id": "B13.28.41", "lines": [ "Four eagle feathers balanced it for flight;", "Its polished arrowhead flashed clear and bright." ] }, { "id": "B13.28.42", "lines": [ "He took the bow of Chakh within his hand,", "And set his thumbstall to the deer-hide strand." ] }, { "id": "B13.28.43", "lines": [ "His left arm straight, his right drew back with might;", "The bow of Chakh cried out, its string drawn tight." ] }, { "id": "B13.28.44", "lines": [ "The nock drew backward till it reached his ear;", "The deer-hide string rang sharp and strong and clear." ] }, { "id": "B13.28.45", "lines": [ "The arrow-point drew close beside his hand;", "The bow bent fully under his command." ] }, { "id": "B13.28.46", "lines": [ "He loosed; it struck Ashkabus in the breast;", "The sky kissed Rostam’s hand and called him blessed." ] }, { "id": "B13.28.47", "lines": [ "Qazā cried, “Take!” and Qadar answered, “Give!”", "Falak cried, “Well struck!” and the Moon cried, “Live!”" ] }, { "id": "B13.28.48", "lines": [ "The Kashanian died upon the plain,", "As though his mother bore her son in vain." ] } ], "note": "Rostam’s arrow strikes Ashkabus in the breast; the narrative explicitly reports his death.", "scene": "The Kashanian champion", "kinship": null, "kinshipSource": null }, { "id": "violence-020", "source": "kamus_warriors", "target": "kamus", "type": "direct", "deathCase": "death-kamus", "ref": "B13.32.29", "evidence": [ { "id": "B13.32.29", "lines": [ "Now tell me how this captive chief should die,", "Since all his former glory has passed by.”" ] }, { "id": "B13.32.30", "lines": [ "Then Rostam flung Kamus upon the ground;", "The warriors left their ranks and gathered round." ] }, { "id": "B13.32.31", "lines": [ "Their swords cut flesh; blood drenched the stones and plain;", "So heaven turns from happiness to pain." ] }, { "id": "B13.32.36", "lines": [ "So ended brave Kamus’s mortal strife;", "He came to kill, but forfeited his life." ] } ], "note": "Rostam captures and delivers Kamus to the ranks. The warriors’ swords carry out the killing, so Rostam is not recorded as the sole physical killer.", "scene": "The captive Kamus", "kinship": null, "kinshipSource": null }, { "id": "violence-021", "source": "gudarz", "target": "piran", "type": "direct", "deathCase": "death-piran", "ref": "C3.39.44", "evidence": [ { "id": "C3.39.44", "lines": [ "Piran watched him approach, his foe in sight;", "He sprang down from a rock to meet the fight." ] }, { "id": "C3.39.45", "lines": [ "He hurled his khanjar, arrow-swift in flight;", "It struck Gudarz’s arm upon the height." ] }, { "id": "C3.39.46", "lines": [ "The wounded chieftain wheeled to face his foe;", "He felt his anger blaze and fiercer grow." ] }, { "id": "C3.39.47", "lines": [ "He hurled his javelin; its iron head", "Struck Piran’s breast and through his armor sped." ] }, { "id": "C3.39.48", "lines": [ "It pierced his liver and came out behind;", "Piran reeled back, with darkness in his mind." ] }, { "id": "C3.39.49", "lines": [ "His liver’s blood poured from his mouth; he died,", "His soul gone to his fallen comrades’ side." ] }, { "id": "C3.39.50", "lines": [ "Like some fierce lion, headlong down he crashed;", "The javelin’s steel had left his liver gashed." ] } ], "note": "After Piran wounds him, Gudarz throws the javelin that kills Piran.", "scene": "The Battle of the Twelve Rukhs", "kinship": null, "kinshipSource": null }, { "id": "violence-022", "source": "gurvi_executioners", "target": "gurvi_zereh", "type": "direct", "deathCase": "death-gurvi_zereh", "ref": "C3.47.63", "evidence": [ { "id": "C3.47.63", "lines": [ "He ordered Gurvi’s sinews stripped away,", "Drawn joint by joint from where the captive lay." ] }, { "id": "C3.47.64", "lines": [ "Then, as men slaughter sheep, they took his head;", "His severed joints lay slack, his life had fled." ] }, { "id": "C3.47.65", "lines": [ "He bade them cast him in the water’s flow:", "“Thus Afrasiab too shall fall as low.”" ] } ], "note": "The execution is performed by unnamed agents described as “they,” following the Shah’s command. Giv captured Gurvi alive; he is not recorded as killing him.", "scene": "The reckoning for Siavash", "kinship": null, "kinshipSource": null }, { "id": "violence-023", "source": "kay_khosrow", "target": "gurvi_zereh", "type": "ordered", "deathCase": "death-gurvi_zereh", "ref": "C3.47.55", "evidence": [ { "id": "C3.47.55", "lines": [ "Khosrow then looked on Gurvi, Zereh’s son,", "And sighed at all the evil he had done." ] }, { "id": "C3.47.56", "lines": [ "He saw that loathsome face, the hanging hair,", "Like some foul Div’s, a sight too grim to bear." ] }, { "id": "C3.47.57", "lines": [ "He said, “Creator, all is known to You,", "The hidden and the things laid plain to view." ] }, { "id": "C3.47.58", "lines": [ "Kavus had surely done some grievous wrong,", "Offending You, to whom all things belong," ] }, { "id": "C3.47.59", "lines": [ "To loose on Siavash this Div of hate;", "What rancor brought about so cruel a fate?" ] }, { "id": "C3.47.60", "lines": [ "But by the one God’s triumph and His might,", "Yazdan who guides the world and gives it light," ] }, { "id": "C3.47.61", "lines": [ "Yazdan who grants us good and shows the way,", "I shall pursue this blood-debt, come what may." ] }, { "id": "C3.47.62", "lines": [ "From Afrasiab I shall claim the debt", "Of Siavash’s blood, unpaid as yet.”" ] }, { "id": "C3.47.63", "lines": [ "He ordered Gurvi’s sinews stripped away,", "Drawn joint by joint from where the captive lay." ] }, { "id": "C3.47.64", "lines": [ "Then, as men slaughter sheep, they took his head;", "His severed joints lay slack, his life had fled." ] }, { "id": "C3.47.65", "lines": [ "He bade them cast him in the water’s flow:", "“Thus Afrasiab too shall fall as low.”" ] } ], "note": "Kay Khosrow orders the captive Gurvi’s torture and execution.", "scene": "The reckoning for Siavash", "kinship": null, "kinshipSource": null }, { "id": "violence-024", "source": "kay_khosrow", "target": "shideh", "type": "direct", "deathCase": "death-shideh", "ref": "C4.9.8", "evidence": [ { "id": "C4.9.8", "lines": [ "He sprang upon him like a lion bold", "That seizes on a gur within its hold." ] }, { "id": "C4.9.9", "lines": [ "Left hand on neck, his right upon the back,", "He raised and hurled him down with fierce attack." ] }, { "id": "C4.9.10", "lines": [ "His backbone broke like reeds beneath the strain;", "His sinews snapped, undone by crushing pain." ] }, { "id": "C4.9.11", "lines": [ "Then drawing forth his sharp and tempered blade,", "He pierced the heart that armor could not aid." ] }, { "id": "C4.9.12", "lines": [ "He tore the jowshan, grieving for the dead,", "Cast handfuls of the dust upon his head." ] }, { "id": "C4.9.13", "lines": [ "To Rohham: “This ill-omened chief,” he cried,", "“My mother’s valiant brother, now has died." ] }, { "id": "C4.9.14", "lines": [ "Treat him with kindness, though his life is done;", "Prepare a royal tomb for this king’s son." ] } ], "note": "Kay Khosrow kills Shideh in their single combat, then mourns him and orders an honorable burial.", "scene": "Kay Khosrow and Shideh", "kinship": "Maternal uncle and nephew", "kinshipSource": "/poem/c4/#C4.9.13" }, { "id": "violence-025", "source": "kay_khosrow", "target": "afrasiab", "type": "direct", "deathCase": "death-afrasiab", "ref": "C4.44.9", "evidence": [ { "id": "C4.44.9", "lines": [ "Then Khosrow came with sharpened sword in hand,", "His heart and mind obeying wrath’s command." ] }, { "id": "C4.44.10", "lines": [ "Then Afrasiab spoke, bereft of might:", "“I saw this very day in dreams at night." ] }, { "id": "C4.44.11", "lines": [ "Long has the turning sky passed overhead,", "And now the veil of fate is torn and shed." ] }, { "id": "C4.44.12", "lines": [ "O bitter seeker after vengeance, speak:", "Why slay your mother’s father, old and weak?”" ] }, { "id": "C4.44.24", "lines": [ "Khosrow replied, “Why set my life aflame,", "If you now seek my mother in your shame?" ] }, { "id": "C4.44.25", "lines": [ "My father guiltless fell; I was unborn,", "Yet by your wickedness the world was torn." ] }, { "id": "C4.44.26", "lines": [ "You struck a king for whom the crown and throne", "Of ivory wept with bitter, grieving moan." ] }, { "id": "C4.44.27", "lines": [ "Now is the day when God repays the ill;", "He pays ill back with ill, as justice will.”" ] }, { "id": "C4.44.28", "lines": [ "With Indian sword he struck the tyrant’s neck,", "And cast his lifeless body down, a wreck." ] }, { "id": "C4.44.29", "lines": [ "His face and white beard both were red with blood,", "While Garsivaz lost hope beside the flood." ] } ], "note": "Kay Khosrow himself strikes Afrasiab’s neck with his sword. Afrasiab explicitly calls him his daughter’s son.", "scene": "The final reckoning", "kinship": "Maternal grandfather and grandson", "kinshipSource": "/poem/c4/#C4.44.12" }, { "id": "violence-026", "source": "garsivaz_headsman", "target": "garsivaz", "type": "direct", "deathCase": "death-garsivaz", "ref": "C4.44.38", "evidence": [ { "id": "C4.44.38", "lines": [ "The cheeks of Garsivaz grew wan with fear,", "His heart was troubled as the end drew near." ] }, { "id": "C4.44.39", "lines": [ "They dragged him to the headsman in disgrace,", "In heavy bonds, with terror on his face." ] }, { "id": "C4.44.40", "lines": [ "With guards and executioners around,", "A fitting state for one so deeply bound." ] }, { "id": "C4.44.41", "lines": [ "In pain he came before the monarch’s view,", "And tears of blood ran down his lips of blue." ] }, { "id": "C4.44.42", "lines": [ "The king of kings recalled the fatal bowl,", "The khanjar and the deed that seared his soul." ] }, { "id": "C4.44.43", "lines": [ "He spoke of Tur and Salm and Fereydoon,", "And mighty Iraj, brought to death too soon." ] }, { "id": "C4.44.44", "lines": [ "He called the headsman, who came swift to heed,", "His naked sword prepared for bloody deed." ] }, { "id": "C4.44.45", "lines": [ "He cleft the culprit at the waist in two,", "While terror through the watching army flew." ] } ], "note": "Kay Khosrow calls the headsman; the headsman then cleaves Garsivaz. The physical act is kept separate from the royal command.", "scene": "The final reckoning", "kinship": null, "kinshipSource": null }, { "id": "violence-027", "source": "kay_khosrow", "target": "garsivaz", "type": "ordered", "deathCase": "death-garsivaz", "ref": "C4.44.42", "evidence": [ { "id": "C4.44.42", "lines": [ "The king of kings recalled the fatal bowl,", "The khanjar and the deed that seared his soul." ] }, { "id": "C4.44.43", "lines": [ "He spoke of Tur and Salm and Fereydoon,", "And mighty Iraj, brought to death too soon." ] }, { "id": "C4.44.44", "lines": [ "He called the headsman, who came swift to heed,", "His naked sword prepared for bloody deed." ] }, { "id": "C4.44.45", "lines": [ "He cleft the culprit at the waist in two,", "While terror through the watching army flew." ] } ], "note": "The Shah recalls Siavash’s killing and summons the headsman to execute Garsivaz.", "scene": "The final reckoning", "kinship": null, "kinshipSource": null }, { "id": "violence-028", "source": "bidarfesh", "target": "zarir", "type": "direct", "deathCase": "death-zarir", "ref": "C6.14.34", "evidence": [ { "id": "C6.14.34", "lines": [ "Arjasp rejoiced to hear him pledge the deed,", "And gave his saddle and his own proud steed." ] }, { "id": "C6.14.35", "lines": [ "He gave a poisoned javelin to throw,", "To pierce an iron mountain with its blow." ] }, { "id": "C6.14.36", "lines": [ "That foul enchanter, loathsome in his form,", "Rode toward Zarir amid the dust and storm." ] }, { "id": "C6.14.37", "lines": [ "But when he saw Zarir, his eyes all tears,", "His face all dust, amid the flying spears," ] }, { "id": "C6.14.38", "lines": [ "His gorz like Sahm’s great weapon in his hand,", "The slain piled up like hills across the land," ] }, { "id": "C6.14.39", "lines": [ "He dared not face that champion in the fight,", "But circled round him, hidden from his sight." ] }, { "id": "C6.14.40", "lines": [ "Unseen, he hurled the poisoned spear; it sped", "Through royal jowshan, dyed the armor red." ] }, { "id": "C6.14.41", "lines": [ "His kingly form was drenched in flowing blood;", "He tumbled from his charger to the mud." ] }, { "id": "C6.14.42", "lines": [ "Woe for that royal horseman, young and dear!", "Foul Bidarfesh came down and stripped Zarir." ] } ], "note": "Bidarfesh circles behind Zarir and throws the poisoned spear that kills him.", "scene": "Zarir and his avenger", "kinship": null, "kinshipSource": null }, { "id": "violence-029", "source": "arjasp", "target": "zarir", "type": "ordered", "deathCase": "death-zarir", "ref": "C6.14.30", "evidence": [ { "id": "C6.14.30", "lines": [ "He said, “O mighty Sun, in strength and frame", "Like Afrasiab, whose battles won him fame," ] }, { "id": "C6.14.31", "lines": [ "I bring my life to you, a loyal shield,", "Though sweet to me, upon this bitter field." ] }, { "id": "C6.14.32", "lines": [ "I will confront your Elephant in fight;", "If I can cast him down before your sight," ] }, { "id": "C6.14.33", "lines": [ "And fling him to the dust before your throne,", "Make me sepahbod, and the force my own.”" ] }, { "id": "C6.14.34", "lines": [ "Arjasp rejoiced to hear him pledge the deed,", "And gave his saddle and his own proud steed." ] }, { "id": "C6.14.35", "lines": [ "He gave a poisoned javelin to throw,", "To pierce an iron mountain with its blow." ] } ], "note": "Arjasp accepts Bidarfesh’s undertaking and equips him with the poisoned weapon. This records the commission, distinct from Bidarfesh’s attack.", "scene": "Zarir and his avenger", "kinship": null, "kinshipSource": null }, { "id": "violence-030", "source": "esfandiyar", "target": "bidarfesh", "type": "direct", "deathCase": "death-bidarfesh", "ref": "C6.17.17", "evidence": [ { "id": "C6.17.17", "lines": [ "The glorious Prince Esfandiyar was told", "That Nastur fought the warlock, foul and old." ] }, { "id": "C6.17.18", "lines": [ "He hastened there with all his strength and speed,", "Intent to reach the two in sudden need." ] }, { "id": "C6.17.19", "lines": [ "When that chief sorcerer saw who came so fast,", "He turned his charger from the fight aghast." ] }, { "id": "C6.17.20", "lines": [ "He hurled his poisoned weapon through the air,", "To strike the prince’s face, so bright and fair." ] }, { "id": "C6.17.21", "lines": [ "It missed; Esfandiyar caught it in flight,", "Then drove it through the warlock with his might." ] }, { "id": "C6.17.22", "lines": [ "He pierced the warlock’s liver with one blow;", "The point burst out behind in crimson flow." ] }, { "id": "C6.17.23", "lines": [ "Then Bidarfesh fell headlong from his steed,", "And learned the might of Kayanian blood and deed." ] }, { "id": "C6.17.24", "lines": [ "Esfandiyar dismounted where he died,", "And stripped Zarir’s bright armor from his side." ] }, { "id": "C6.17.25", "lines": [ "He severed then the warlock’s loathsome head,", "And led Zarir’s bright charger from the dead." ] } ], "note": "Nastur engages Bidarfesh, but Esfandiyar catches the poisoned weapon and throws the fatal blow. The prediction in C6.10 is not substituted for this narrated action.", "scene": "Zarir and his avenger", "kinship": null, "kinshipSource": null }, { "id": "violence-031", "source": "esfandiyar", "target": "arjasp", "type": "direct", "deathCase": "death-arjasp", "ref": "C7.12.27", "evidence": [ { "id": "C7.12.27", "lines": [ "From palace halls brave Esfandiyar sprang,", "His Indian sword held ready as steel rang." ] }, { "id": "C7.12.28", "lines": [ "He cried, “This merchant brings the wares long due:", "A blade of vengeance, sharp and proven true." ] }, { "id": "C7.12.29", "lines": [ "This gift from Lohrasp bears a royal seal;", "Goshtasb’s own mark upon its deadly steel.”" ] }, { "id": "C7.12.30", "lines": [ "They closed in savage combat, blade to blade,", "And sword-strokes rang where death already played." ] }, { "id": "C7.12.31", "lines": [ "At waist and head they struck with blow on blow,", "Till fierce Arjasp’s attack grew faint and slow." ] }, { "id": "C7.12.32", "lines": [ "No part of him was whole; he streamed with gore,", "His elephant-like bulk fell to the floor." ] }, { "id": "C7.12.33", "lines": [ "Then Esfandiyar struck off Arjasp’s head,", "And with it lay his empire’s power dead." ] }, { "id": "C7.12.34", "lines": [ "Such is the turning of the worldly wheel:", "Now sweetness, now the poison we must feel." ] }, { "id": "C7.12.35", "lines": [ "Why bind your heart to what must fade and go?", "Spare yourself toil; you cannot stay, you know." ] }, { "id": "C7.12.36", "lines": [ "With Arjasp slain, his uproar rose so high", "It reached to Saturn in the distant sky." ] } ], "note": "Esfandiyar fights Arjasp and cuts off his head.", "scene": "The fall of the Ruyin Dezh", "kinship": null, "kinshipSource": null }, { "id": "violence-032", "source": "esfandiyar", "target": "kuhram", "type": "ordered", "deathCase": "death-kuhram", "ref": "C7.13.59", "evidence": [ { "id": "C7.13.59", "lines": [ "With good and ill revealed, the prince then went", "Beside the fortress wall and pitched his tent." ] }, { "id": "C7.13.60", "lines": [ "He raised two lofty gibbets by the wall;", "From them he let the twisted nooses fall." ] }, { "id": "C7.13.61", "lines": [ "Head-down, Andariman hung at the gate;", "His brother Kuhram shared his gallows fate." ] } ], "note": "Esfandiyar raises the gibbets and has Kuhram hanged. The passage does not name an individual executioner; no separate physical agent is invented.", "scene": "The fall of the Ruyin Dezh", "kinship": null, "kinshipSource": null }, { "id": "violence-033", "source": "esfandiyar", "target": "andariman_arjasp", "type": "ordered", "deathCase": "death-andariman_arjasp", "ref": "C7.13.59", "evidence": [ { "id": "C7.13.59", "lines": [ "With good and ill revealed, the prince then went", "Beside the fortress wall and pitched his tent." ] }, { "id": "C7.13.60", "lines": [ "He raised two lofty gibbets by the wall;", "From them he let the twisted nooses fall." ] }, { "id": "C7.13.61", "lines": [ "Head-down, Andariman hung at the gate;", "His brother Kuhram shared his gallows fate." ] } ], "note": "Andariman is hanged with Kuhram under Esfandiyar’s authority. The physical hand is not individually named.", "scene": "The fall of the Ruyin Dezh", "kinship": null, "kinshipSource": null }, { "id": "violence-034", "source": "nush_azar", "target": "alva_c8", "type": "direct", "deathCase": "death-alva_c8", "ref": "C8.22.18", "evidence": [ { "id": "C8.22.18", "lines": [ "He mounted on his noble dun, astride,", "An Indian sword held flashing at his side." ] }, { "id": "C8.22.19", "lines": [ "A warrior named Alva, proud of heart,", "Felled horsemen, glad to play a warrior’s part." ] }, { "id": "C8.22.20", "lines": [ "He bore Rostam’s spear; he would not stray", "From close behind him as he went his way." ] }, { "id": "C8.22.21", "lines": [ "When Nush Azar saw Alva far away,", "He drew his sword out, ready for the fray." ] }, { "id": "C8.22.22", "lines": [ "He struck his head; his blade came down, well placed,", "And cleft the famous rider to the waist." ] }, { "id": "C8.22.23", "lines": [ "Zavareh spurred his warhorse toward the slain,", "And cried to Nush Azar across the plain:" ] }, { "id": "C8.22.24", "lines": [ "“You felled him; now stand firm, and face my might;", "I never counted Alva fit to fight.”" ] } ], "note": "Nush Azar strikes and kills the Alva named in this section. This victim is not silently merged with other appearances of the same name.", "scene": "The sons of Esfandiyar", "kinship": null, "kinshipSource": null }, { "id": "violence-035", "source": "zavareh", "target": "nush_azar", "type": "direct", "deathCase": "death-nush_azar", "ref": "C8.22.23", "evidence": [ { "id": "C8.22.23", "lines": [ "Zavareh spurred his warhorse toward the slain,", "And cried to Nush Azar across the plain:" ] }, { "id": "C8.22.24", "lines": [ "“You felled him; now stand firm, and face my might;", "I never counted Alva fit to fight.”" ] }, { "id": "C8.22.25", "lines": [ "Zavareh drove his spear into his chest;", "His head fell to the earth, his life at rest." ] }, { "id": "C8.22.26", "lines": [ "When famed Nush Azar on the field lay dead,", "His army’s Fortune faltered, turned, and fled." ] }, { "id": "C8.22.27", "lines": [ "His brother, Mehr-e-Nush, in anguish cried;", "His heart seethed at the loss of him who died." ] } ], "note": "Zavareh spears Nush Azar in the chest after Alva’s death.", "scene": "The sons of Esfandiyar", "kinship": null, "kinshipSource": null }, { "id": "violence-036", "source": "faramarz", "target": "mehr_nush", "type": "direct", "deathCase": "death-mehr_nush", "ref": "C8.22.30", "evidence": [ { "id": "C8.22.30", "lines": [ "Then Faramarz came fiercely to the fight,", "An Indian sword in hand, with tusker’s might." ] }, { "id": "C8.22.31", "lines": [ "With him the noble Mehr-e-Nush engaged;", "On either side the troops cried as they raged." ] }, { "id": "C8.22.32", "lines": [ "Both noble youths were of a lordly strain,", "A prince and Pahlevan upon the plain." ] }, { "id": "C8.22.33", "lines": [ "Like raging lions both rushed in to close,", "And with their swords exchanged each other’s blows." ] }, { "id": "C8.22.34", "lines": [ "Though Mehr-e-Nush fought fiercely in the field,", "He lacked the strength to make the hero yield." ] }, { "id": "C8.22.35", "lines": [ "He raised his sword to strike the famed man dead,", "And cast into the dust that noble head." ] }, { "id": "C8.22.36", "lines": [ "But his own steed’s neck took the falling blade;", "Its severed head upon the earth was laid." ] }, { "id": "C8.22.37", "lines": [ "Then Faramarz slew him, now forced to stand", "On foot; his blood made rubies of the land." ] }, { "id": "C8.22.38", "lines": [ "When Bahman saw his brother lying slain,", "The earth beneath him red with rose-like stain," ] } ], "note": "Faramarz kills Mehr-e-Nush after the prince accidentally kills his own horse.", "scene": "The sons of Esfandiyar", "kinship": null, "kinshipSource": null }, { "id": "violence-037", "source": "rostam", "target": "esfandiyar", "type": "direct", "deathCase": "death-esfandiyar", "ref": "C8.27.9", "evidence": [ { "id": "C8.27.9", "lines": [ "Esfandiyar perceived his long delay,", "And saw that Rostam kept the fight at bay." ] }, { "id": "C8.27.10", "lines": [ "He said, “Ill-thinking Sagzi, has your fight", "Not sated you with shaft and bowstring’s might?" ] }, { "id": "C8.27.11", "lines": [ "Now Goshtasb’s arrow you shall come to know,", "And Lohrasp’s point; a lion’s heart I show.”" ] }, { "id": "C8.27.12", "lines": [ "Then Rostam quickly fitted to his bow", "The shaft, as Simorgh taught, to strike his foe." ] }, { "id": "C8.27.13", "lines": [ "The arrow struck his eye and quenched the light;", "Before the prince, the whole world turned to night." ] }, { "id": "C8.27.14", "lines": [ "His cypress stature bent; his wisdom fled,", "And all his glory vanished as he bled." ] }, { "id": "C8.27.15", "lines": [ "The pious prince’s head bowed toward the land;", "His bow of Chakh fell slackly from his hand." ] }, { "id": "C8.28.57", "lines": [ "He spoke, then drew a sharp and sudden breath:", "“From Goshtasb came this wrong that brings my death.”" ] }, { "id": "C8.28.58", "lines": [ "His pure soul left the wounded body bare,", "Cast on the darkened dust, beyond all care." ] } ], "note": "Rostam shoots the eye-wound that proves fatal. Esfandiyar lives long enough to speak and blames Goshtasb; that expressed blame is not converted here into a second physical killing.", "scene": "The death of Esfandiyar", "kinship": null, "kinshipSource": null }, { "id": "violence-038", "source": "shaghad", "target": "rostam", "type": "plotted", "deathCase": "death-rostam", "ref": "C9.3.35", "evidence": [ { "id": "C9.3.35", "lines": [ "Yet Rostam and Zavareh took the way", "Among the pits, where Fate had marked its prey." ] }, { "id": "C9.3.36", "lines": [ "Rakhsh smelled the earth and drew his body small,", "Bunching himself as rounded as a ball." ] }, { "id": "C9.3.37", "lines": [ "He leapt in fear at what his nostrils found,", "And with his hooves he tore the yielding ground." ] }, { "id": "C9.3.38", "lines": [ "Rakhsh stepped along the path; his onward stride", "Led him between two pits, one on each side." ] }, { "id": "C9.3.39", "lines": [ "With eyes now veiled, Rostam in anger turned", "Against his horse, while Death more fiercely burned." ] }, { "id": "C9.3.40", "lines": [ "He lifted up the whip and struck his steed,", "And, angry, urged brave Rakhsh to greater speed." ] }, { "id": "C9.3.41", "lines": [ "Hemmed in between two pits, he sought a way", "To flee the grasp of Fate that claimed its prey." ] }, { "id": "C9.3.42", "lines": [ "Two feet sank in; no foothold anywhere,", "No room to struggle in that deadly snare." ] }, { "id": "C9.3.43", "lines": [ "The pit was lined with spear and sharpened blade;", "No strength could help; no flight could bring him aid." ] }, { "id": "C9.3.44", "lines": [ "Steel tore Rakhsh’s flank and pierced the man of might", "Through breast and leg, despite his strength in fight." ] }, { "id": "C9.4.1", "lines": [ "With strength he drew his body to the rim,", "Up from the pit where steel had wounded him." ] }, { "id": "C9.4.2", "lines": [ "When wounded Rostam opened up his eyes,", "He saw Shaghad, who plotted his demise." ] }, { "id": "C9.4.3", "lines": [ "He knew the hand that had contrived the snare,", "And knew his brother’s treachery laid bare." ] } ], "note": "Shaghad conspires in the pit trap, which fatally wounds Rostam. He does not deliver a hand-held fatal blow.", "scene": "Rostam’s last exchange", "kinship": "Half-brothers", "kinshipSource": "/poem/c9/#C9.4.3" }, { "id": "violence-039", "source": "kabul_king", "target": "rostam", "type": "plotted", "deathCase": "death-rostam", "ref": "C9.3.1", "evidence": [ { "id": "C9.3.1", "lines": [ "When evil-starred Shaghad left Kabul’s bounds,", "The king rode swiftly to the hunting grounds." ] }, { "id": "C9.3.2", "lines": [ "He chose the diggers from his fighting band,", "Men known among the soldiers of his land." ] }, { "id": "C9.3.3", "lines": [ "They honeycombed the hunting ground below", "With pits beneath the paths where riders go." ] }, { "id": "C9.3.4", "lines": [ "Within them, hafts set downward in the ground,", "Sharp blades and spears were planted all around." ] }, { "id": "C9.3.5", "lines": [ "No human eye, no wary beast, could spy", "What treachery beneath the earth might lie." ] }, { "id": "C9.3.6", "lines": [ "When Rostam set out, eager for the ride,", "Shaghad sent forth a horseman from his side:" ] }, { "id": "C9.3.7", "lines": [ "“The hero comes without an army; plead", "For his protection, pardon for your deed.”" ] }, { "id": "C9.3.8", "lines": [ "The king of Kabul, poison in his soul,", "With pleas upon his tongue, assumed his role." ] }, { "id": "C9.3.43", "lines": [ "The pit was lined with spear and sharpened blade;", "No strength could help; no flight could bring him aid." ] }, { "id": "C9.3.44", "lines": [ "Steel tore Rakhsh’s flank and pierced the man of might", "Through breast and leg, despite his strength in fight." ] } ], "note": "Kabul’s king has the pits dug and lined with weapons, then plays his part in luring Rostam to them.", "scene": "Rostam’s last exchange", "kinship": null, "kinshipSource": null }, { "id": "violence-040", "source": "rostam", "target": "shaghad", "type": "direct", "deathCase": "death-shaghad", "ref": "C9.4.30", "evidence": [ { "id": "C9.4.30", "lines": [ "The matchless hero took the bow in pain,", "And held it out despite his wounds and strain." ] }, { "id": "C9.4.31", "lines": [ "Shaghad, in terror of the arrows, fled,", "And put a tree between them, pale with dread." ] }, { "id": "C9.4.32", "lines": [ "A plane tree stood nearby, whose ancient frame", "Had stood through many years before he came." ] }, { "id": "C9.4.33", "lines": [ "Its trunk was hollow, yet its leaves still grew;", "It hid the wicked-minded man from view." ] }, { "id": "C9.4.34", "lines": [ "Though wounded, Rostam raised his hand to slay;", "He drew the bow and loosed the shaft away." ] }, { "id": "C9.4.35", "lines": [ "The shaft sewed tree and brother into one,", "And joy lit Rostam’s heart, his life near done." ] }, { "id": "C9.4.36", "lines": [ "Shaghad cried out when struck; his pain was brief;", "The hero’s shaft had brought him quick relief." ] }, { "id": "C9.4.37", "lines": [ "Then Rostam said, “To God I offer praise;", "For I have known Him all my living days." ] }, { "id": "C9.4.38", "lines": [ "Though life had reached my lips, revenge was won", "Before two nights had passed; the deed was done." ] }, { "id": "C9.4.39", "lines": [ "You gave me strength to strike this faithless foe", "Before my death, and deal revenge’s blow.”" ] }, { "id": "C9.4.40", "lines": [ "He spoke; his soul departed from its shell,", "And all the people mourned the man who fell." ] } ], "note": "Mortally wounded, Rostam shoots Shaghad through the tree before dying himself.", "scene": "Rostam’s last exchange", "kinship": "Half-brothers", "kinshipSource": "/poem/c9/#C9.4.35" }, { "id": "violence-041", "source": "bahman", "target": "faramarz", "type": "ordered", "deathCase": "death-faramarz", "ref": "D1.3.29", "evidence": [ { "id": "D1.3.29", "lines": [ "A roaring lion, when his strength was past,", "Seized that famed warrior, held him captive fast." ] }, { "id": "D1.3.30", "lines": [ "Before the Shah, they brought him from the fight;", "The Shah gazed for a while, still set on spite." ] }, { "id": "D1.3.31", "lines": [ "He ordered that a gibbet be prepared;", "No hope of life, no quarter, he declared." ] }, { "id": "D1.3.32", "lines": [ "They hung his elephantine frame on high,", "Alive and headfirst, underneath the sky." ] }, { "id": "D1.3.33", "lines": [ "Then Ardeshir, in vengeance for the slain,", "Had him shot dead beneath the arrows’ rain." ] } ], "note": "Bahman, also called Ardeshir, orders the captured Faramarz hung alive and shot dead. The archers are not individually named, so the record is a commanded death.", "scene": "Bahman’s vengeance", "kinship": null, "kinshipSource": null }, { "id": "violence-042", "source": "bahram_chubin", "target": "saveh", "type": "direct", "deathCase": "death-saveh", "ref": "E5.11.98", "evidence": [ { "id": "E5.11.98", "lines": [ "He reached the hill where Saveh held his state,", "Where he had sat enthroned before this fate." ] }, { "id": "E5.11.99", "lines": [ "He saw him fleeing on his Arab steed", "Across the desert at a headlong speed." ] }, { "id": "E5.11.100", "lines": [ "He chose a shaft whose point shone clear and keen,", "Four eagle feathers on its length were seen." ] }, { "id": "E5.11.101", "lines": [ "He took his Chakh bow in his practiced hand,", "And set his thumb against the deer-hide band." ] }, { "id": "E5.11.102", "lines": [ "He straightened his left arm and bent his right;", "The bowstring thundered as the shaft took flight." ] }, { "id": "E5.11.103", "lines": [ "It pierced King Saveh’s spine; he toppled down,", "Headlong to dust, with blood beneath his crown." ] }, { "id": "E5.11.104", "lines": [ "The crowned king, from his army swept away,", "Left bare his golden throne at break of day." ] }, { "id": "E5.11.105", "lines": [ "Such deeds the turning sky performs below,", "Showing no love, nor hate for friend or foe." ] }, { "id": "E5.11.106", "lines": [ "Fear most when seated on the loftiest throne;", "Disaster comes when safety seems your own." ] }, { "id": "E5.11.107", "lines": [ "The brave Bahram came on and dragged the dead", "Face-down through dust, then severed Saveh’s head." ] } ], "note": "Bahram Chubin’s arrow pierces Saveh’s spine; he then beheads the dead king.", "scene": "Bahram Chubin in battle", "kinship": null, "kinshipSource": null }, { "id": "violence-043", "source": "bahram_chubin", "target": "makatura", "type": "direct", "deathCase": "death-makatura", "ref": "E6.33.17", "evidence": [ { "id": "E6.33.17", "lines": [ "You spoke; now hear my answer, blow for blow;", "If you survive its message, you may go.”" ] }, { "id": "E6.33.18", "lines": [ "He chose a shaft to pierce the armor through;", "Before it, stone and iron softened too." ] }, { "id": "E6.33.19", "lines": [ "Through spine and mail the bodkin arrow sped,", "And pinned him to the saddle-tree stone-dead;" ] }, { "id": "E6.33.20", "lines": [ "For he had lashed his feet before the fight,", "Vowing never to turn his horse in flight:" ] }, { "id": "E6.33.21", "lines": [ "Now lifeless on the mane his head was thrown,", "Upright in death, as motionless as stone!" ] }, { "id": "E6.33.22", "lines": [ "Then Bahram told the Khan, “The chief lies dead;", "He needs a gravedigger to make his bed.”" ] }, { "id": "E6.33.23", "lines": [ "The Khan replied, “Look closer; there he lies", "Alive, asleep before our very eyes.”" ] }, { "id": "E6.33.24", "lines": [ "Chubin said, “O mighty sovereign, no;", "His body even now to dust must go." ] }, { "id": "E6.33.25", "lines": [ "May all your foes sleep thus in saddle-seat,", "Upon Turanian horses in defeat.”" ] }, { "id": "E6.33.26", "lines": [ "The brave Khan sent a horseman to survey", "That famed lion, who lay not far away." ] }, { "id": "E6.33.27", "lines": [ "He found him bound and lifeless on his horse;", "For him the turning sky had run its course." ] } ], "note": "Bahram Chubin’s arrow kills Makatura, whose body remains lashed to his saddle.", "scene": "Bahram Chubin in battle", "kinship": null, "kinshipSource": null }, { "id": "violence-044", "source": "kulun", "target": "bahram_chubin", "type": "direct", "deathCase": "death-bahram_chubin", "ref": "E6.37.65", "evidence": [ { "id": "E6.37.65", "lines": [ "Kulun replied, “I bear these words alone;", "No other ear may hear what I was shown.”" ] }, { "id": "E6.37.66", "lines": [ "Bahram said, “Come nearer; end this doubt;", "Speak in my ear and let the tale come out.”" ] }, { "id": "E6.37.67", "lines": [ "Kulun drew close, the knife beneath his sleeve,", "His vengeful heart prepared to strike and leave." ] }, { "id": "E6.37.68", "lines": [ "He feigned a whisper, bent as if to speak,", "Then struck the navel, laying Bahram weak!" ] }, { "id": "E6.37.69", "lines": [ "A cry rose from the chamber into air;", "The people rushed to him in dread and care." ] }, { "id": "E6.37.70", "lines": [ "Bahram cried, “Seize that man without delay;", "Ask who has guided him upon this way.”" ] }, { "id": "E6.37.71", "lines": [ "Then all within the palace rushed in wrath;", "They broke his leg and blocked the killer’s path." ] }, { "id": "E6.37.72", "lines": [ "The servants, furious, struck him with their fists,", "With palms and blows on face and arms and wrists." ] }, { "id": "E6.37.73", "lines": [ "From midday till midnight their blows would fall;", "He kept his lips shut, silent through it all." ] }, { "id": "E6.37.74", "lines": [ "When they had broken hands and feet with blows,", "They flung him in the court among his woes." ] }, { "id": "E6.37.75", "lines": [ "They gathered then in sorrow and dismay,", "About Chubin, still bleeding where he lay." ] }, { "id": "E6.37.76", "lines": [ "He still bled on and groaned in bitter pain;", "His cheeks turned lapis; life began to wane." ] }, { "id": "E6.38.3", "lines": [ "The Khan was stricken, pierced through heart and soul;", "His bloodshot eyes wept tears beyond control." ] }, { "id": "E6.38.4", "lines": [ "Amazed, he called his seasoned council near,", "And spoke of Bahram’s death with bitter fear." ] }, { "id": "E6.38.5", "lines": [ "Then all who heard the story wept for woe,", "And Chin burned inward, though no flames would show." ] } ], "note": "Kulun stabs Bahram Chubin while pretending to whisper. Bahram subsequently dies; the next section reports the death.", "scene": "The assassination of Bahram Chubin", "kinship": null, "kinshipSource": null }, { "id": "violence-045", "source": "gurdiyeh", "target": "tobarg", "type": "direct", "deathCase": "death-tobarg", "ref": "E6.42.37", "evidence": [ { "id": "E6.42.37", "lines": [ "Beneath her sable helm she showed her face,", "And spoke with royal courage, scorn, and grace." ] }, { "id": "E6.42.38", "lines": [ "“You saw Chubin’s great horsemanship in fight,", "And marveled at his deeds and all his might." ] }, { "id": "E6.42.39", "lines": [ "He was both mother and a father dear;", "His days are ended; now I face you here." ] }, { "id": "E6.42.40", "lines": [ "Now I shall test you; let our weapons show", "If I am fit to wed, and you shall know.”" ] }, { "id": "E6.42.41", "lines": [ "She spurred her battle-steed; her lance struck true,", "And then it pierced his jowshan through and through:" ] }, { "id": "E6.42.42", "lines": [ "She hurled him from his saddle to the plain,", "A lifeless corpse among the desert train!" ] }, { "id": "E6.42.43", "lines": [ "Then Izad Gashasp broke Chin’s stunned array,", "While on toward Iran she pressed her way." ] } ], "note": "Gurdiyeh’s lance pierces Tobarg’s armor and throws him dead from the saddle.", "scene": "Gurdiyeh: combat and conspiracy", "kinship": null, "kinshipSource": null }, { "id": "violence-046", "source": "gurdiyeh", "target": "gostaham_late", "type": "direct", "deathCase": "death-gostaham_late", "ref": "E6.46.49", "evidence": [ { "id": "E6.46.49", "lines": [ "She laughed: “If I have five friends at my side,", "This task will not confound me,” she replied." ] }, { "id": "E6.46.50", "lines": [ "She showed the royal letter to her train", "Of five sworn servants, trusted to remain;" ] }, { "id": "E6.46.51", "lines": [ "She pledged herself and clasped each helper’s hand,", "And bound them to the purpose she had planned." ] }, { "id": "E6.46.52", "lines": [ "She called the five to her and bade them stay", "Beside the chamber where her husband lay." ] }, { "id": "E6.46.53", "lines": [ "At night she quenched the lamps; a cushion spread", "Across his face and pressed upon his bed:" ] }, { "id": "E6.46.54", "lines": [ "Her five attendants held the sleeper fast,", "Until his drunken breathings were his last." ] }, { "id": "E6.46.55", "lines": [ "She struggled with the drunken man until", "His tongue, once quick with speech, lay mute and still." ] }, { "id": "E6.46.56", "lines": [ "The chief in darkness died, deprived of light;", "For Khosrow now the night itself grew bright." ] } ], "note": "Gurdiyeh smothers her husband while five attendants restrain him. Her agency is explicit, and the note preserves the attendants’ role.", "scene": "Gurdiyeh: combat and conspiracy", "kinship": "Wife and husband", "kinshipSource": "/poem/e6/#E6.46.52" }, { "id": "violence-047", "source": "khosrow_parviz", "target": "gostaham_late", "type": "ordered", "deathCase": "death-gostaham_late", "ref": "E6.46.11", "evidence": [ { "id": "E6.46.11", "lines": [ "I have a scheme; keep close what I shall say,", "Let not a whisper leak by night or day." ] }, { "id": "E6.46.12", "lines": [ "A letter must be sent her, soft and fine,", "Like Eden’s streams that flow with fragrant wine." ] }, { "id": "E6.46.13", "lines": [ "It must declare, ‘My friendship shall be true;", "In every place and task I shall help you." ] }, { "id": "E6.46.14", "lines": [ "Long was this secret hidden in my breast,", "But now the hour has come to speak the rest." ] }, { "id": "E6.46.15", "lines": [ "For Gordvi is myself in heart and will;", "His trust and mine are joined and settled still." ] }, { "id": "E6.46.16", "lines": [ "Devise some secret means, both sure and sound,", "To lay this rank affliction underground." ] }, { "id": "E6.46.17", "lines": [ "Lay Gostaham beneath the burial stone;", "Then win my heart and household as your own." ] }, { "id": "E6.46.18", "lines": [ "Your troops and partisans shall safely stand,", "And never suffer scorn in any land." ] }, { "id": "E6.46.19", "lines": [ "I shall give provinces to those you name,", "That each may rule with honor and with fame." ] }, { "id": "E6.46.20", "lines": [ "Come to my golden chambers as my bride,", "And let my vengeance thus be satisfied." ] }, { "id": "E6.46.21", "lines": [ "I pledge myself with oaths and further signs,", "With firm assurances and royal lines.’”" ] } ], "note": "Khosrow promises Gurdiyeh marriage and rewards if she has Gostaham killed. This is a commission conveyed by letter, not Khosrow’s physical act.", "scene": "Gurdiyeh: combat and conspiracy", "kinship": null, "kinshipSource": null }, { "id": "violence-048", "source": "mehr_ormozd", "target": "khosrow_parviz", "type": "direct", "deathCase": "death-khosrow_parviz", "ref": "E8.5.24", "evidence": [ { "id": "E8.5.24", "lines": [ "The man replied, “Mehr Ormozd is my name;", "Without a friend or fellow here I came.”" ] }, { "id": "E8.5.25", "lines": [ "Khosrow replied, “My final hour I see;", "The basest hand has come to murder me." ] }, { "id": "E8.5.33", "lines": [ "He drew a new cloth closely round his head,", "That he might not behold the face of dread." ] }, { "id": "E8.5.34", "lines": [ "Then Mehr Ormozd, with khanjar drawn to slay,", "Shut fast the door and pulled the robe away." ] }, { "id": "E8.5.35", "lines": [ "He plunged the blade into the monarch’s waist;", "The king expired, in death’s cold arms embraced." ] } ], "note": "Mehr Ormozd draws the khanjar and stabs the captive Khosrow Parviz.", "scene": "The murder of Khosrow Parviz", "kinship": null, "kinshipSource": null }, { "id": "violence-049", "source": "shiruyeh", "target": "khosrow_parviz", "type": "ordered", "deathCase": "death-khosrow_parviz", "ref": "E8.5.1", "evidence": [ { "id": "E8.5.1", "lines": [ "The men who had conspired against his reign", "Came to the royal court, a sullen train." ] }, { "id": "E8.5.2", "lines": [ "They stood before Qobad, grim men of guile,", "And pressed their dark design with speech of bile:" ] }, { "id": "E8.5.3", "lines": [ "“We said before, and now repeat our claim:", "Your heart’s concern and ours are not the same." ] }, { "id": "E8.5.4", "lines": [ "Two kings now share a single royal seat:", "One holds the throne, and one lies at his feet." ] }, { "id": "E8.5.5", "lines": [ "If love should grow between the son and sire,", "Your servants’ heads will answer to their ire." ] }, { "id": "E8.5.6", "lines": [ "This cannot be; of such things speak no more.”", "At this, the Shah grew frightened to the core." ] }, { "id": "E8.5.7", "lines": [ "He shook with fear, for there within their hand", "He was a slave, though lord of crown and land." ] }, { "id": "E8.5.8", "lines": [ "He said, “None but a man of evil name", "Would draw Shiruyeh to this snare of shame." ] }, { "id": "E8.5.9", "lines": [ "Go home, take counsel, find a man who may", "In secret take this grievous care away.”" ] }, { "id": "E8.5.10", "lines": [ "The Shah’s ill-wishers sought a murderer then,", "To kill by stealth the greatest one of men." ] }, { "id": "E8.5.18", "lines": [ "Zad Farrokh said, “Go, if your strength is true;", "Speak now no more of what you mean to do." ] }, { "id": "E8.5.19", "lines": [ "I have a bag of gold to pay your fee,", "And I shall hold you as a son to me.”" ] }, { "id": "E8.5.20", "lines": [ "He gave the man a khanjar keen and bright;", "The murderer hurried to the captive’s sight." ] } ], "note": "Under pressure from the conspirators, Shiruyeh authorizes a covert killing; Zad Farrokh pays and arms the murderer. The record preserves the authorization, without assigning the knife to Shiruyeh.", "scene": "The murder of Khosrow Parviz", "kinship": "Son and father", "kinshipSource": "/genealogies/#v3-p8" }, { "id": "violence-050", "source": "saad", "target": "rostam_general", "type": "direct", "deathCase": "death-rostam_general", "ref": "E10.4.14", "evidence": [ { "id": "E10.4.14", "lines": [ "Then Sa’ad’s shout and Rostam’s roar were heard,", "And through the shaken field the armies stirred." ] }, { "id": "E10.4.15", "lines": [ "Each left his army’s center and withdrew,", "And from the crowded field apart they drew." ] }, { "id": "E10.4.16", "lines": [ "They reached the shadow of a rocky height,", "And there the chieftains joined in single fight." ] }, { "id": "E10.4.17", "lines": [ "There Rostam roared like thunder in the sky,", "And made his blade at Sa’ad’s charger fly." ] }, { "id": "E10.4.18", "lines": [ "He struck the charger’s head with such great force", "That Sa’ad fell, flung from his crashing horse." ] }, { "id": "E10.4.19", "lines": [ "Then Rostam raised his sharpened blade to show", "The day of Doom to his unhorsed foe." ] }, { "id": "E10.4.20", "lines": [ "He meant to strike off Sa’ad’s head, but then", "The dust obscured the sight of both the men." ] }, { "id": "E10.4.21", "lines": [ "Then Rostam left his charger’s saddle-seat,", "And stood beside his charger on his feet." ] }, { "id": "E10.4.22", "lines": [ "He bound the courser’s rein about his waist,", "While blinding desert dust his eyes embraced." ] }, { "id": "E10.4.23", "lines": [ "Then Sa’ad rushed to strike him in that place,", "And struck his helm; blood streamed across his face." ] }, { "id": "E10.4.24", "lines": [ "As blood obscured his sight, the Arab’s power", "Prevailed against him in that desperate hour." ] }, { "id": "E10.4.25", "lines": [ "His next blow struck the chest and neck instead,", "And cast the mighty Pahlevan down dead." ] } ], "note": "In the poem’s account, Sa’ad kills the later general Rostam in single combat. This is not Rostam son of Zal, and this graph is not a reconstruction of historical Kadisiya.", "scene": "The other Rostam", "kinship": null, "kinshipSource": null }, { "id": "violence-051", "source": "miller", "target": "yazdegard_last", "type": "direct", "deathCase": "death-yazdegard_last", "ref": "E10.11.13", "evidence": [ { "id": "E10.11.13", "lines": [ "With tearful eyes, his face grown pale and wan,", "The miller cursed the deed as he went on." ] }, { "id": "E10.11.14", "lines": [ "“Almighty Judge, above all turning time,", "Wring Mahwi’s heart and soul for this dark crime," ] }, { "id": "E10.11.15", "lines": [ "For this abhorred command,” he cried in shame,", "With mouth gone dry and tear-stained cheeks he came." ] }, { "id": "E10.11.16", "lines": [ "He reached the Shah and cautiously drew near,", "As one who whispers secrets in the ear." ] }, { "id": "E10.11.17", "lines": [ "Then with a dirk he struck his royal side;", "The Shah cried “Ah!” and fell as life’s flame died." ] }, { "id": "E10.11.18", "lines": [ "His head and crown fell heavily; the bread", "Of barley lay before the monarch, dead." ] } ], "note": "The miller, afraid and lamenting the command, stabs Yazdegard. His reluctance is preserved in the evidence.", "scene": "The last Shah", "kinship": null, "kinshipSource": null }, { "id": "violence-052", "source": "mahwi", "target": "yazdegard_last", "type": "ordered", "deathCase": "death-yazdegard_last", "ref": "E10.10.4", "evidence": [ { "id": "E10.10.4", "lines": [ "When Mahwi pondered, in his heart he knew:", "“This man is Yazdegard; the tale is true.”" ] }, { "id": "E10.10.5", "lines": [ "He bade the miller, “Hasten, take his head;", "Delay, and you this instant shall be dead." ] }, { "id": "E10.10.6", "lines": [ "I will not leave one branch of all your race,", "But sweep your stock from every living place.”" ] }, { "id": "E10.11.4", "lines": [ "Then shameless Mahwi heard his son’s intent,", "And to the miller turned, on murder bent." ] }, { "id": "E10.11.5", "lines": [ "“Rise up,” he said, “take horsemen; ride, and kill", "My enemy: his blood I bid you spill." ] }, { "id": "E10.11.6", "lines": [ "If he escapes us now, he will be free;", "No hope remains to bring him back to me.”" ] } ], "note": "Mahwi commands the miller to kill Yazdegard, threatening him and his family. The miller is the physical killer.", "scene": "The last Shah", "kinship": null, "kinshipSource": null } ] }