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Line 7: According to the ''[[Shahnameh]]'' (''Book of Kings''), by the Persian epic poet [[Ferdowsi]], Afrasiab was the king and hero of Turan and an archenemy of Iran. In Iranian mythology, Afrasiab is considered by far the most prominent of all [[Turanian]] kings; he is a formidable warrior, a skilful general, and an agent of [[Ahriman]], who is endowed with magical powers of deception to destroy Iranian civilization.<ref name="ei">Yarshater, E., "Afrasiab", ''[[Encyclopædia Iranica]]'' - digital library; accessed January 18, 2007.</ref> According to Islamic sources, Afrasiab was a descendant of [[Tur (son of Fereydun)|Tūr]] (Avestan: ''Tūriya-''), one of the three sons of the Iranian mythical King [[Fereydun]] (the other two sons being [[Salm (son of Fereydun)|Salm]] and [[Īrāj|Iraj]]). In ''[[Bundahishn]]'', he is named as the seventh grandson of Tūr. In [[Avesta|Avestan traditions]], his common epithet ''mairya-'' (deceitful, villainous<ref>Nyberg H. S., ''Die Religionen des Alten Iran'', Berlin (1938), p. 257</ref>) can be interpreted as meaning 'an [[evil]] man'. He lived in a subterranean fortress made of metal, called Hanakana According to Avestan sources, Afrasiab was killed by [[Haoma]] near the ''Čīčhast'' (possibly either referring to [[Lake Hamun]] in [[Sistan and Baluchestan Province|Sistan]] or some unknown lake in today's Central Asia), and according to Shahnameh he met his death in a cave known as the Hang-e Afrasiab, or the dying place of Afrasiab, on a mountaintop in [[Azerbaijan]]. The fugitive Afrasiab, having been repeatedly defeated by the armies of his adversary, the mythical King of Iran [[Kai Khosrow|Kay Khosrow]] (who happened to be his own grandson, through his daughter [[Farangis]]), wandered wretchedly and fearfully around, and eventually took refuge in this cave and died. | |||