About Rustam

Rustam, the son of Zal, stands out as the most celebrated and complex character in the
Shahnameh and to this day he is considered Iran greatest folk hero. Known for his extraordinary
strength, bravery and loyalty. Rustam is a Negahban, a protector of Iran monarchy. He
steadfastly assists weaker and less courageous kings against their enemies.

The birth and childhood of Rustam

Rustam, the son of Zal and Rudabeh is his mother. Rudabeh gives birth a huge son like a lion
cub. Rustam is a miracle baby and has grown into a boy within 5 days and to the height and
strength of a young man within weeks. As a child he is the only on able to kill a white elephants
that is rampaging unstoppable through the palace.

The Seven Trials of Rostam

The Seven Labors of Rustam were a series of acts carried out by the greatest of the Iranian
heroes, Rostam, The story was retold by Ferdowsi in his epic poem, Shahnameh. The Seven
Labours were seven difficult tasks undertaken by Rostam, accompanied, in most instances, only
by his faithful and sagacious steed Rakhsh, although in two labours he was accompanied also by
the champion, Olad.
According to the traditional narrative, the story starts when Kay Kāvus's expedition
to Mazandaran fails, and his army is captured by the Divs. Rostam undertakes to liberate it, and
achieves his goal by performing the labours. The traditional order of the seven is as follows:

• The First Labour:

Rostam falls asleep among the reeds. After a short time, a fierce lion appears, and mounts a
ferocious attack on his horse Rakhsh; but Rakhsh, although hard-pressed, succeeds in killing the
savage beast with his teeth and hooves. Rostam, awakened by the tumult, and seeing the dead
lion and the wounded Rakhsh before him, makes haste to heal his beloved steed, before
remounting him and continuing on his way toward Mazanderan.

• The Second Labour:

Rostam enters a desert, in which no water is to be found. Both horse and rider become oppressed
with thirst and therefore, Rostam prays to God. Sweltering under the burning sun, Rostam sees a
sheep pass by, which he hails as the harbinger of good. Rising up and grasping his sword in his
hand, he follows the animal, and comes to a fountain of water, where he devoutly returns thanks
to God for the blessing which has preserved his existence.

• The Third Labour:

At midnight a monstrous serpentine dragon emerges from the forest; Rakhsh approaches his
sleeping master and neighs and beats the ground so furiously, that he succeeds in waking him.
Rostam looks around, but, seeing nothing, because the dragon has already vanished, grumbles
and goes back to sleep. The dragon appears a second time and once again the faithful horse
succeeds in rousing his master. Rostam is even angrier than before; but at this moment sufficient
light is providentially given him to allow him to see the monster that has been causing Rakhsh
such alarm. Rostam then slays the dragon.

• The Fourth Labour:

Rostam, back in the saddle once more, continues his journey through enchanted lands, and
comes, at evening, to a beautiful glade refreshed by limpid streams, where he finds, much to his
surprise, a ready-roasted deer, together with the bread and salt to accompany it. He sits down to
the mysterious banquet, but it vanishes at the sound of his voice. Next he sees a tambourine and a
flask of wine: taking up the instrument, he plays upon it, improvising a ditty about his own
wanderings, and the kinds of exploit which he loves best. The song reaches the ears of the
alluring sorceress responsible for the fairy banquet, who suddenly appears and sits down at his
side. Rostam offers up a prayer of thanks for having been supplied with food, wine, and music in
so inhospitable a place as the desert of Mazanderan, and, not realising that the enchantress is, in
fact, a demon in disguise, he places in her hands a cup of wine in the name of God; but, at the
mention of the Creator, the temptress is forced to resume her true form - that of a black fiend.
Seeing this, Rostam holds her fast with his lasso, before drawing his sword and cleaving her in
two.
This labour bears a marked resemblance to an episode involving the temptation of Sir Perceval in
the Grail quest section of the thirteenth century Arthurian text known as the Vulgate cycle and
also as the Lancelot-Grail. This resemblance may be due to the borrowing of material from the
Persian text into the European. Such borrowings have been detected before in certain Arthurian
romances - notably in the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach[1] and the Jungerer
Titurel of Albrecht von Scharfenberg, in which the description of the Grail temple is strongly
reminiscent of the Takht-e Soleymān.[2]

• The Fifth Labour:

Rostam conquers the Mazandarani champion Olad Deev, who describes the caves of the demons.

• The Sixth Labour:

Rostam enters the city of Mazanderan, releases Shah Kai Kavus - still blind from the sorcery of
the demons - and slays Arzhang Div.

• The Seventh Labour:

Rostam overthrows and kills Div-e-Sepid, the White Demon. The blood of the White Demon's
heart restores Kai Kavus's sight. Rostam also kills the magician king of Mazandaran (not to be
confused with Mazandaran Province) and returns to Estakhr accompanied by the Shah.

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