A Glance at the Newly Discovered Epopee: Zāl va Maqātel-e Dīv

The life story of Zāl - the son of Sam of Narīmān - is one of the most adventurous and astonishing stories of epic-heroic Iranian texts. Having white hair, being banished by his father, growing up in the Sīmorgh's nest, and finally living a long life, are among the features which differentiates Zāl from other heroes of national stories. In Šāhnāmeh, Zāl is a mighty hero in his youth, but as soon as Rostam reaches adulthood, Zāl secedes the battlefield due to the weakness of senility, and gives way to Rostam; thereafter, Zāl plays the role of a wise hero who advises the kings and other heroes. Apparently this drawback in his life provoked the future storytellers to create narrations, in which Zāl despite his oldness, is one of the greatest heroes with many heroic actions in battlefields. One of these stories is the battle of Zāl with demons in his youth, that ended up with his victory. In this paper, firstly the stories of Zāl in the epic-heroic texts of Iran is studied; afterward, the unknown epopee of “Zāl va Maqātel-e Dīv” is introduced, and the approximate time of its composition is estimated according to textual evidences.