Iraj

Iraj (Persian: ایرج - ʾīraj‎; Pahlavi: ērič; from Avestan: 𐬀𐬌𐬭𐬌𐬌𐬀 airiia, literally "Aryan") is seventh Shah of the Pishdadian dynasty of Shahnameh. Based on Iranian mythology, he is the youngest son of Fereydun. In the Avestan legends, Pahlavi literature, Sasanian-based Persian sources, some Arabic sources, and particularly in Shahnameh, he is considered the name-giver of the Iranian nation, the ancestor of their royal houses, and a paragon of those slain in defense of just causes.[1]

A page from Shahnameh, in the gallery of Arthur M. Sackler, showing Iraj being slain by his elder brothers Salm and Tur

When Fereydun divides his kingdom, he gives Iraj the Farr -- the favor of God -- as well as the heartland of Iran. Salm and Tur conspire and kill Iraj. The revenge for the murder of the innocent king pits the clan of Iraj, supported by King Fereydun, against the clan of Tur. Subsequently, Manučehr, Iraj's grandson from a slave maiden, kills both Salm and Tur. As for Fereydun, he abdicated in favor of his grandson, Manučehr.[2]

• 
  A page from Shahnameh, in Walters Art Museum, showing the murder of Iraj by his brothers
• 
  Murder scene of Iraj by his brothers, Salm and Tur, from National Library of Russia, St Petersburg – The calligraphy in the margins are Nastaliq
• 
  From a Folio in Abu'l Qasim Firdausi's, Shahnameh