Author: Kamran Kashiri/ Illustrator: Ali Akbar
To ancient Iranians the origin of the world has been rooted in the existence of two increate entities: the essence of being, life and fertility personified through Ahura Mazda (the Wise Lord) — the Limitless Light, and the essence of destruction, death and decay embodied by Ahriman (evil) — the Limitless Darkness. These two beings were parted by the Void. Ahriman was not aware of Ahura Mazda’s existence, but the latter, by the virtue of his wisdom, knew of Ahriman’s ravenous will for evil. Consequently Ahura Mazda created the world in the shape of an egg; with the sky as the shell and the earth as its yolk. He then created man and the beasts of the earth, and in their creation offered each a choice to stand with him against Ahriman in a 9000 year struggle of supremacy over the forces of darkness to keep the world in the hands of the light. Among the created beings mankind had the greatest significance, for they were to lead this battle.
After time Ahriman became aware of these machinations and made his own evil army of demons to plague the world. He broke the sky and polluted any good creation upon which he could lay his hands. Yet the forces of light resisted and fought back. Thus began a 9000 year period in which the boundaries of good and evil came to be muddied; a period in which we still live. During this age of conflict the responsibility of man, as leaders in the battle for light, was to choose whether to remind resolute in their stand with Ahura Mazda, or give in to the forces of darkness. Those who remained true and fought were blessed with the heavenly gift to prevail over evil so long as they stood by the strictures of Ahura Mazda; this gift was known as the Glory. If man chose not to follow the light they would lose that Glory and succumb to the perils of evil; destroying both themselves and that for which they stood.
It is from here that we can begin our story.
The rise of Jamshid, the glorious king
After the death of Tahmuras, the conqueror of demons and the glorious king who defeated Ahriman, his son Jamshid or Jam took his place as the king of men. The world had once more descended into chaos. Jamshid was a devout follower of the light; hence he was bestowed with the Glory and succeeded in bringing the world back into order. Truly, Jamshid was so mighty that he was able to keep all the powers of evil at bay for centuries…
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