Rostam

Rostam or Rustam is a legendary hero in <a href="/facts/Persian_mythology/7jdnHA1e">Persian mythology</a>, the son of <a href="/facts/Z%C4%81l/YlIPJva7">Zāl</a> and <a href="/facts/Rudaba/sLgkqWFW">Rudaba</a>, whose life and work was immortalized by the 10th-century Persian poet <a href="/facts/Ferdowsi/5b1He35B">Ferdowsi</a> in the <a href="/facts/Shahnameh/34GaVlKn">Shahnameh</a>, or Epic of Kings, which contains pre-Islamic <a href="/facts/Iranian_folklore/XfjjDzu9">Iranian folklore</a> and history. However, the roots of the narrative date much earlier.
In the Shahnameh, Rostam and his predecessors are <a href="/facts/Marzban/YNGR4xLz">Marzbans</a> of <a href="/facts/Sistan/reeaj5nC">Sistan</a> (present-day <a href="/facts/Iran/24yukge8">Iran</a> and <a href="/facts/Afghanistan/v63Auu1C">Afghanistan</a>). Rostam is best known for his tragic fight with <a href="/facts/Esfandiy%C4%81r/2SRHA4G1">Esfandiyār</a>, the other legendary Iranian hero; for <a href="/facts/Rostam%27s_Seven_Labours/slKrQ2rv">his expedition</a> to <a href="/facts/Mazandaran_(Shahnameh)/WynBGCe1">Mazandaran</a> (not to be confused with the modern <a href="/facts/Mazandaran_Province/oC7f1Td3">Mazandaran Province</a>). He is also known for the story of his <a href="/facts/Rostam%27s_Seven_Labours/slKrQ2rv">Seven Labours</a>.
Rostam was always represented as the mightiest of Iranian paladins (holy warriors), and the atmosphere of the episodes in which he features is strongly reminiscent of the <a href="/facts/Parthian_Empire/2Yxcllsk">Parthian Empire</a>. 
He rides the legendary stallion <a href="/facts/Rakhsh/y1wggVD0">Rakhsh</a> and wears a special suit named <a href="/facts/Babr-e_Bayan/Tv2tVCex">Babr-e Bayan</a> in battles.

Rostam open-in-new

Rostam