New NaqqaliLoading the episodes…
Every arrow runs from champion to Shah, including a future Shah before his accession. Select a name, group or line; hover to preview. On small screens, scroll the graph sideways. The list below contains the same episodes.
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Shahs, champions and their episodes
Select an episode to read its passages and why it is classed as it is. “Several kinds of tie” refers to the full selection; other filters can hide one of those kinds.
ABOUT THIS THIRD VIEW
Service has more than one voice.
Episodes, not permanent allegiance
Each episode quotes its couplets from the New Naqqali translation as published on 22 October 2026. Sharing a reign or a scene is not enough to count as service.
Four kinds of relationship
Service means an explicit pledge, office, military charge or battle assignment. Protection means a rescue or escort. Counsel includes advice and remonstrance. Defiance means an open challenge or breach. A protest is not automatically rebellion.
The office and the person
Royal princes and later commanders appear alongside the heroic Pahlevans. Lohrasp is both champion and Shah. Zal’s pledge for Rostam is labeled as a pledge on his behalf; Sahm’s account of Fereydoon is labeled retrospective.
Two Rostams, distinct lives
Rostam son of Zal and Rostam son of Ormozd occupy separate places. The narrative reaches from the early Shahs to Yazdegard, with large gaps: the selection supports close reading, not a complete history of royal command.