Bizhan (Shahnameh)

Bizhan[1] or Bijan (Persian: بیژن) is one of the main Iranian heroes in the Shahnameh, the national epic of Greater Iran.

Bizhan is son of Giv and Banu Goshasp and grandson of Goudarz and Rostam.

Although he appears in almost all stories in the heroic age of the Shahnameh, he has a significant role in the story of Bizhan and Manizhe, where he falls in love with Manizhe, the daughter of Afrasiab, the king of Turan and longtime enemy of Iran.

Another epic poem named Bizhannameh is dedicated to his adventures.

According to Theodor Nöldeke, noble Parthian families who were guardians of Iranian national epics, later attributed some of the exploits of the ancient heroes to their own ancestors.

Bizhan slaughters the wild boars of Irman, miniature from the Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp . The Keir Collection of Islamic Art