In the Persian epic of Shahnameh

Shahnameh

The Shahnameh or Shah-nama is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c.977 and 1010 AD and is the national epic of Iran and related societies...

 Div-e Sepid (Lit.White Demon) is the chieftain

Tribal chief

A tribal chief is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies with social stratification under a single leader emerged in the Neolithic period out of earlier tribal structures with little stratification, and they remained prevalent throughout the Iron Age.In the case of ...

 of Divs (Persian for Demons) of Mazandaran. He is a huge being. He possesses great physical strength and is skilled in sorcery

Magic (paranormal)

Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...

 and necromancy

Necromancy

Necromancy is a claimed form of magic that involves communication with the deceased, either by summoning their spirit in the form of an apparition or raising them bodily, for the purpose of divination, imparting the ability to foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge...

. He destroys the army of Key Kavus by conjuring a dark storm of hail

Hail

Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is referred to as a hail stone. Hail stones on Earth consist mostly of water ice and measure between and in diameter, with the larger stones coming from severe thunderstorms...

, boulders, and tree trunks using his magical skills. He then captures Kay Kavus, his commanders, and paladins; blinds them, and imprisons them in a dungeon. The greatest Persian

Persian people

The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...

 mythical hero Rostam

Rostam

Rostam is the national hero of Greater Iran from Zabulistan in Persian mythology and son of Zal and Rudaba. In some ways, the position of Rostam in the historical tradition is parallel to that of Surena, the hero of the Carrhae. His figure was endowed with many features of the historical...

 undertakes his "Seven Labors" to free his sovereign. At the end, Rostam

Rostam

Rostam is the national hero of Greater Iran from Zabulistan in Persian mythology and son of Zal and Rudaba. In some ways, the position of Rostam in the historical tradition is parallel to that of Surena, the hero of the Carrhae. His figure was endowed with many features of the historical...

 slays Div-e Sepid and uses his heart and blood to cure the blindness of the king and the captured Persian heroes. Rostam also takes the Div's head as a helmet and is often pictured wearing it.

"White Devil" Alternative Views

It is written by the Royal Central Asian Society in the Journal of the Royal Central Asian Society that the struggle between Rustam and the white demon represents a struggle between Persians and invaders from the north, from the Caspian provinces.

The Div Sefid is believed by scholar Joseph J. Reed to have been a northern prince. The scholar Warner believes that he is a personification of the Mazandaranians, who by their climate are an unhealthy pale color. Some scholars hold the opinion that these divs of Mazandaran are merely wild people of the jungle. Others are in the opinion that they are a group of enemy kings of ancient Mazandaran (which might have been different from its modern location) and Tabaristan. It is theorized by the Folklore Society (Great Britain) that Ahriman himself was believed as having white skin. Scholar P. Molesworth Sykes believes that the name "White Div" represents a white nation.

According to one source Zal

Zal

Zāl , also transliterated Zaal, is a legendary Persian warrior from the old Persian "The Book of Kings/ The king of books" or Shahnameh.-Background:...

 spoke of the horrid race of white-skinned people. This however contradicts with the fact that Zal was an albino himself

External links

• Rostam: Battle with The Deevs (Publisher: Hyperwerks 2008), The Story of The White Deev AKA "Div-e-Sepid" or "Div-e-Sefid" ISBN 978-0-9770213-3-8, modern English Graphic Novel.Find book here