Drought, Famine and Prosperity: The Slaying of the Dragon and the Legitimation of Iranian Kingship in Persian Epics (Fifth/Eleventh to Eighth/Fourteenth Centuries)

In Persian epic poetry, the killing of the dragon by a king or the king’s champion is usually implicitly, but sometimes explicitly, linked to the legitimisation of kingship, since the malevolent beast obstructs the flow of vital water resources such as rivers, causing drought and famine. In fact, one of the most important aspects of the political art of Persian rulers, whether legendary or historical, in both the pre-Islamic and Islamic periods has always been to ensure a prosperous reign, and in this sense Persian authors systematically associate good governance with prosperity and the flourishing of the fields, and thus ultimately with the abundance of water. The figure of the dragon, an imaginary animal, is one that holds symbolic value, and hence the field of investigation in this article is primarily mythological and symbolic rather than historical per se. To this end, the mythological-religious background of the demonic figure of the dragon (azhdahā) in pre-Islamic Persia will be examined first, and then its role in the medieval Persian epics of the fifth/eleventh to eighth/fourteenth centuries.