Pashang () is the name of two separate characters in Persian Mythology. According to Ferdowsi's epic, the Shahnameh, he is of the race of Tur, the son of Fereydun and the father of Afrasiab. He was an early king of Turan. In Bal'ami's Tarikhnama he is the son of Keyumars, the first king in the world, and is murdered by demons. In some manuscripts, the name is written Hushang.
Pashang and the origins of the Iran–Turan conflict
In
Ferdowsi Shahnameh,
Pashang is portrayed as an early ruler of Turan, descended from
Tur, son of
Fereydun. He is best known as the father of
Afrasiab, a central antagonist in the Iranian–Turanian wars across the epic. Pashang’s counsel to Afrasiab following the weakness and death of
Nowzar provides the narrative impetus for renewed Turanian aggression against Iran, framing a dynastic and moral division that reverberates through later episodes. Though his appearances are brief, Pashang’s role establishes the intergenerational logic of vengeance and rivalry that structures much of
Ferdowsi narrative.
[ AFRĀSĪĀB, Encyclopaedia Iranica (E. Yarshater), updated 2018.][ Shāh-nāmeh, Encyclopædia Britannica.][ A. G. & E. Warner (trans.), The Shahnama of Firdausi, vol. 2 (complete public-domain translation), esp. episodes on Pashang and the opening Iran–Turan campaigns.][ Fitzwilliam Museum, Shahnameh project – Structure and themes, University of Cambridge.]
