Iraj

The names of the three sons of Traetaona in the earliest parts of the Avesta are not mentioned, although the Fravardin Yasht ^[1] speaks of five countries whose Fravashi of righteous husbands and wives should be read: these are Arias (Airya), tours (Tūra), Sairima (Sairima), Saini (Saini) and Dahi (Daha) (in that order) ^[2] . In the later texts, Ireg acts as an eponym of the Aryans (see also Tour and Selm ). As explained by Bundakhishna, the hay is the population of Chinistan, and the dahi are Sindh ^[3] .

The Avesta, lost by Chikhrdad-nask, included a story about the division of land between Salm, Tuj and Irik (Eraj) and their marriages with the daughters of Pat Srobo, king of the Arabs and descendant of Ace ^[4] .

“ Judgments of the spirit of reason ” state: “ ... by pure faith it was clearly established that the basis of the vileness of the Rumanians and Turans [in relation to] the Iranians was in that revenge, which manifested itself in their killing of Eraj, and she accompanied [them] until the day of resurrection ” ^{[5 ]} . The killers of Eraj are named Salm and Ace in this work ^[6] .

According to Bundahishnu , Heredge ruled for 12 years ^[7] . He had two sons: twins Vanitar and Anastob, and daughter Guza ^[8] . Salm and Tuj killed him and killed his children and grandchildren, but Manushchikhr avenged him ^[9] .

The marriage of the sons of Feridun and the spelling of names

Iredge was the youngest of Feridun 's three sons, Ernevaz was his mother. Feridun, when his sons grew up (but did not yet have names), ordered the sage Jendel to find three beauties as sons' wives. Jandel went to Yemen and delivered a speech to King Serw. Serv did not want to give his three daughters and turned to the elders for advice, having received it. Serva Jandel sent the answer to Feridun .

Feridun, before setting off on a journey, gave his sons advice that helped them avoid obstacles when traveling to Yemen. At first, they were able to recognize which of the three daughters was the eldest and which was the youngest. At night, the insidious Serv suggested that the young men go to bed in the garden and tried to conjure a cold, but the young men were saved by the power of Ised . Then Serv was forced to give his daughters to marry the princes and carry them back.

When the youths returned home, they were met by their father in the guise of a dragon and attacked them (which was the last test). The youngest son drew his sword , preparing to fight (which foreshadowed the weapon that would be typical of his descendants). Feridun , when the sons returned, he called the younger name Irej, and his wife the name of Ceha. Having divided the world between his sons, he gave the younger Iran .

Quarrel between brothers

The older brothers envied Irej and sent a message to Feridun, demanding to deprive Irej of power. Feridun condemned them and decided to send Irej with the army to punish the brothers. However, he refused and stated that he was striving only for peace. Feridun warned him against the treachery of his brothers.

Nevertheless, he came to the camp of the brothers. Tour addressed him with a speech stating that he, as the youngest, should not receive the central part of his father's kingdom. Irege said he was ready to give up power. However, Tour considered that this would not solve the problem, hit Irej with a bench, and although he asked for mercy, pierced him with a sword and chopped off his head.

The messenger sent the head to Feridun , Irej was mourned, and Feridun called on the creator to take revenge ^[10] (see Menuchehr ).

D. S. Raevsky suggests that some monuments of Scythian art can also depict the plot of the murder of the younger brothers ^[11] .

Sources:

• Zoroastrian texts. M., 1997. S. 98, 102.
• Denkard III 229, 282; VII 1, 28
• Firdousi . Shahnameh . (Series "Literary Monuments") In 6 volumes. T. 1. M., 1957. S. 85-118 (lines 2417-3402)

Literature:

• Chunakova O. M. Pahlavi dictionary of Zoroastrian terms, mythical characters and mythological symbols. M., 2004. S. 267.