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{{Short description|Heroic archer-figure of Iranian mythology}}
{{other uses|Arash (disambiguation)|Arash (name)}}
{{Use dmy dates |date=June 2025 }}
{{Infobox royalty
|name = Arash the Archer
|image = Sa'dabad Palace Darafshs (2).jpg
|image_size = 260px
}}

'''Arash the Archer''' ({{langx|fa|آرش کمانگیر|Āraš-e Kamāngīr}}) is a [[hero]]ic [[archer]]-figure of [[Persian mythology|Iranian mythology]]. According to [[Iranian folklore]], the boundary between Iran and [[Turan]] was set by an arrow launched by Arash, after he put his own life in the arrow's launch. The arrow was traveling for days before finally landing on the other side of the [[Oxus]] on the bark of a [[walnut tree]] hundreds of miles away from the original launch site atop a mountain.

==Origins of the name==
Although several sources (e.g. [[al-Biruni]]) appear to have considered 'Arash' to be the origin of the name 'Arshak' (i.e. [[Arsaces]]), the name of the [[Parthian Empire|Parthian dynasty]] derives from a [[Parthian language|Parthian]] or [[Eastern Iranian languages|Eastern Iranian]] equivalent of 'Ardashir', i.e. 'Artaxerxes', specifically [[Artaxerxes II]], from whom the Arsacids claimed descent. (Within the scheme of the mythologically conflated genealogies of Iranian dynasts, the Arsacids also claimed to descend—via the other Arash—from [[Kai Kobad]].)

As is typical for names from oral tradition, there are numerous variations of 'Arash'. In the [[Avesta]] the name appears as 'Erekhsha' (''Ǝrəxša'') "of the swift arrow,<!--(''khshuuivi.ishush'')--> having the swiftest arrow among the Iranians" (''[[Yasht]]'' 8.6). This [[Avestan]]-language form continues in Zoroastrian [[Middle Persian]] as 'Erash' (''Bundahishn'', ''Shahrastanha-i Eran'', ''Zand-i Vahuman Yasht'', ''Mah i Frawardin''), from which the anglicized 'Eruch'<!-- i.e. from the Indian Zoroastrian form --> derives. [[New Persian]] forms include 'Erash' and 'Irash' in [[al-Tabari]] and ibn al-Atir; Aarashshebatir in al-Tabari; 'Arash' in al-Talebi; 'Aarash' in Maqdesi, Balami, Mojmal, Marasi, [[al-Biruni]], and in the [[Vis o Ramin]] of Gorgani. Names with a stock epithet representing the Avestan "swift arrow" include al-Tabari's 'Aarashshebatir' and Mojmal's 'Arash-e Shewatir'. A surname form includes 'Arash/Aarash kaman-gir' "Arash, bow-expert." Also it’s a common name for people that lived there.

==Summary==
The basic story of the bowman runs as follows: In a war between the [[Arya (Iran)|Iranians]] and [[Turan]]ians over the "royal glory" (''[[Khvarenah|khwarrah]]''), the Turanian general [[Afrasiab]] has surrounded the forces of the righteous [[Manuchehr]], and the two sides agree to make peace. Both reach an agreement that whatever land falls within the range of a bow-shot shall be returned to the Manuchehr and the Iranians, and the rest should then fall to Afrasiab and the [[Aniran]]ians. An angel (in [[al-Biruni]] it is ''Isfandaramad'', i.e. the [[Amesha Spenta]] [[Spenta Armaiti]], in [[Middle Persian]] called ''Spendarmad'') instructs Manuchehr to construct a special bow and arrow, and Arash is asked to be the archer. Arash then fires the specially-prepared arrow at dawn, which then traveled a great distance (see below) before finally landing and so marking the future border between the Iranians and the Aniranians.

In Talebi and [[Muhammad Bal'ami|Bal'ami]], Arash is destroyed by the shot and disappears. In [[Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari|al-Tabari]], he is exalted by the people, is appointed commander of the archers and lives out his life in great honor. The distance the arrow travels varies: in one, it is a thousand leagues (''[[farsakh]]s''), and in another, forty days' walk. In several, the arrow traveled from dawn to noon; in others, from dawn until sunset. A few sources specify a particular date for the event. The Middle Persian ''Mah i Frawardin'' notes the 6th day of the 1st month (i.e. [[Haurvatat|Khordad]] of [[Fravashi|Frawardin]]); later sources associate the event with the name-day festivities of [[Tiregan]] (13th of [[Tishtrya|Tir]]) "presumably" provoked by the homonymity with the ''[[Yazata]]'' Tir or ''tir'' "arrow." ({{harvnb|Tafażżolī|1987|p=266|Ref=Tafazzoli}})

The location from which Arash fired his arrow varies as well. In the [[Avesta]] (which does not mention places in Western Iran), it is ''Airyo.khshaotha'', an unidentified location in the [[Karshvar|Middle Clime]]. Islamic-era sources typically place the location of the shot somewhere just south of the [[Caspian Sea]], variously in [[Tabaristan]] (Tabari, Talebi, Maqdesi, [[Ali ibn al-Athir|Ibn al-Athir]], Marashi) and (al-Biruni, [[Abu Saʿīd Gardēzī|Gardēzī]]); [[Amol]] fortress ([[Mojmal al-tawarikh|Mojmal]]); [[Mount Damavand]] (Balami) or [[Sari, Iran|Sari]] (Gorgani). The place the arrow landed is variously identified as 'Mount Khvanvant' in the Avesta (likewise an unknown location); a river in [[Balkh]] (Tabari, al-Atir); east of Balkh (Talebi); [[Bactria]]/[[Tokharistan]] (Maqdesi, Gardizi); the banks of the [[Oxus River]] (Balami) or [[Merv]] (Mojmal). According to al-Biruni, it hit a [[walnut tree]] between "[[Fargana]]" and Tabaristan "in the furthest reaches of [[Greater Khorasan|[Greater] Khorasan]]."

The name Arash remains a popular name among Iranians.

== Modern legend ==
[[Siavash Kasraie]], an Iranian poet, wrote the long poem of ''Arash the Archer'' in 1959. This epic narrative, based on the ancient Persian myth, depicts Arash's heroic sacrifice to liberate his country from foreign domination.<ref>[http://www.caroun.com/Literature/Iran/Poets/SiavoshKasrai/SiavoshKasrai.html Siavosh Kasrai, Iranian Poet], Caroun.com, Iranian literature</ref> [[Bahram Beyzai]] wrote ''Āraš'', which opened in 1977, as a response to Āraš-e kamāngīr. Neither a short story nor a play, Beyzai's ''Āraš'' was staged a number of times around the world, most notably at the Annenberg Auditorium at [[Stanford University]], in July 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/aras-avestan-erexsa|title=ĀRAŠ – Encyclopaedia Iranica|last=electricpulp.com|website=www.iranicaonline.org|access-date=19 April 2018}}</ref>

[[File:Peykan Zarrin Arash.jpg|thumb|Arash Kamangir's golden arrow]]

== Arash Kamangir's golden arrow ==
The unveiling ceremony of Arash Kamangir's golden arrow (peace, romantic defense) was held by the Nowruz World Institute on the occasion of World Peace Day (20 September 2020).<ref>{{Cite web |script-title=fa:رونمایی از پیکان زرین آرش کمانگیر- عکس خبری تسنیم |url=https://www.tasnimnews.com/fa/news/1399/06/31/2353553/%D8%B1%D9%88%D9%86%D9%85%D8%A7%DB%8C%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D9%BE%DB%8C%DA%A9%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%B2%D8%B1%DB%8C%D9%86-%D8%A2%D8%B1%D8%B4-%DA%A9%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86%DA%AF%DB%8C%D8%B1/photo/19 |access-date=2020-10-08 |publisher=[[Tasnim News Agency]] |language=fa }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-09-21 |script-title=fa:عکس/ رونمایی از پیکان زرین آرش کمانگیر |url=https://www.mashreghnews.ir/photo/1121011/عکس-رونمایی-از-پیکان-زرین-آرش-کمانگیر |access-date=2020-10-08 |website=مشرق نیوز |language=fa }}</ref> Arash Kamangir's symbolic look at an arrow adorned with gold and jewelry is in fact an artistic ideal in the form of depicting myths that are all peaceful.<ref>{{Cite web |script-title=fa:"آرش"های ایرانی همیشه زنده هستند |url=https://www.asianews.ir/fa/newsagency/2599/%D8%A2%D8%B1%D8%B4-%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C-%D8%B2%D9%86%D8%AF%D9%87-%D9%87%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%86%D8%AF |access-date=2020-10-08 |work=[[Asia (economic newspaper)|Asia]] |language=fa}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Arash Kamangir}}
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |last=Tafażżolī |first=Ahmed |ref=Tafazzoli |chapter=Āraš i |title=[[Encyclopædia Iranica]] |volume=2 |location=New York |publisher=[[Routledge & Kegan Paul]] |pages=266–267 |chapter-url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/aras-avestan-erexsa }}.
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=ʿĀbedi |first= Kāmyār | title=KASRA'I, Siavash |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Iranica]] | access-date=2009-08-20 |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kasrai-siavash-marxist-poet |location=New York |publisher=[[Routledge & Kegan Paul]] }}

{{refend}}

{{Shahnameh}}
{{Zoroastrianism}}<!-- barely, but there is no "Iranian folklore" category atm -->

[[Category:Iranian male archers]]
[[Category:People from Amol]]
[[Category:Legendary Iranian people]]
[[Category:Iranian folklore]]