"Destroyer of Thousands": The Mace as Weapon and Symbol of Power

The mace as a war weapon evolved from primitive clubs, when the addition of stone spikes added to its effectiveness. Stone maces often shattered, however, limiting their value as weapons. With the development of copper or bronze heads, the mace became a powerful weapon of war, as well as a symbol of authority and justice. An important weapon throughout the world, the mace assumed special importance in the Middle East and East Asia.

Among the most famous of mythic maces is Sharur, "Destroyer of Thousands". Sharur was an enchanted mace which could both fly and speak. The symbol and weapon of the Akkadian god Ninurta, this object served as a communication device, spy drone, and in some versions, could transform into a flying lion!

Although not used extensively by Roman fighters, ancient Persian knights favored maces as weapons of war. At short range, a mace could be as deadly as a sword or battle ax. The Gorz was a mace with a head shaped like an ox, and plays a major role in Ferdowsi's The Shahnameh, including its use to defeat the dragon-demon Zahhak. It continues to have important symbolism in the Zoroastrian faith. A symbol of justice and heroism, it was considered a decisive weapon of war. The use of maces with animal or even human faces dates back to the Bronze Age in Iran.

For more pictures and links to amazing weapons from the Middle East, visit my Pinterest Board.

Faravahar

                                              Faravahar symbol on a Fire Temple in Yazd


The winged symbol of the Faravahar, a national symbol of Iran, is a winged disk associated with Zoroastrianism, the state religion of ancient Iran.

                                                           Faravahar at Persepolis

   "Farvahar001" by Roodiparse 

The components of the symbol are linked to Zoroastrian theology, with a man stretching his hand to heaven to symbolize wisdom, a ring for faithfulness, wings to give flight to the soul, and two trailing banners, which represent the individual's choice between good and evil.

The symbol is thought to represent a Fravashi, similar to a guardian angel. Its true origins may date even further back than the ancient religion of Zoroastrianism, since it may be influenced by royal seals from the Bronze Age.

Even after the Islamic conquest of Iran, Zoroastrian culture and festivals remained important in the country. After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, when earlier symbols of the monarchy were banned, the symbol's popularity continued to spread. Today it remains a popular item among Iranians both in the country and outside, seen on necklaces,

and iPhone cases

and even tattoos!

                                                       

The Emerald Studded Sword of Ancient Persia

     Shamshir-e Zomorrodnegar, the emerald-studded sword, is mentioned in the Persian epic of Amir Arsalan. In the story, Fulad-zereh, a giant horned Ifrit, is led astray from his duties as head general to the King of the Peri by his fondness for beautiful women. In love with the queen, he takes advantage of the King's death to turn the heir to the Peri king's throne and all his castle's inhabitants to stone. After spending time flying around trying to whisk away more lovely ladies, he learns that the hero Amir Arsalan is the only one who can slay him. The Ifrit's powerful witch of a mother enchants his body to resist all weapons, with one notable exception: Zomorrodnegar.

     The emerald-studded magic shamshir had originally belonged to King Solomon, and both worked as a magic charm and inflicted wounds treatable only with a potion made from brains. Fulad-zereh's brains, to be exact.

     Not eager to have his only weakness exposed, the Ifrit keeps Zomorrodnegar for himself, but falls in battle to Amir Arsalan, who then creates a gruesome concoction of the burnt remains of Fulad-zereh and his mother. The hero sprays the potion over the petrified castle, rescuing the court.

     A shamshir like Zomorrodnegar has a deeply curved blade and is typical of swords from the 16th century in Persia and India. Prior to the 9th century, swords in Persia were straight and double-edged. The curved edge of a shamshir facilitated slashing attacks while on horseback.

     As over the top as jewels on a sword might sound, ornate weapons that worked more as pieces of art than the means to kill other people are hardly rare, as the example at the top of this post (from the Metropolitan Museum of Art) demonstrates.

     Below are more examples of  of 18th Century Ottoman shamshirs, complete with decorative scabbards:

Review of "The Wrath and the Dawn" by Renee Ahdieh

   
     The Wrath and the Dawn is a YA retelling of 1001 Arabian Nights. Or, I should say, a retelling of the Arabian Nights' frame story, of a brave young woman who volunteers to be the bride of a serial killer ruler who murders his new brides the morning after their wedding night. Needless to say, this backstory is a little problematic for the modern reader. In The Wrath and the Dawn, the nesting tall tales that the original is famous for take a back seat to the main story, a romance between the latest bride Shahrzad  and the killer Caliph Khalid. There is a convoluted explanation for Khalid's mass murder spree which comes out late in the novel, but the main character's early attraction to a man who murdered her best friend (and many other young women) left a bad taste in my mouth. Overall, it was too reminiscent of a storyline where a rape victim falls in love with her assailant.

     As is evident from the thumbnail, the book's cover is gorgeous, and I had high hopes for the story inside. The novel does have solid writing, and a lovely amount of detail that evokes a sense of medieval Arabic life and culture. What it lacks are characters that fit into that world. Shahrzad comes across as more whiny than heroic, and her bizarre interactions with her handmaiden don't help. Khalid as a tortured romantic soul who --gosh darn it!-- doesn't want to be a mass killer of young woman, didn't cut it for me. Sharzad's other heartthrob, Tariq, who dashes around on an Arabian horse accompanied by a killer falcon, had more potential. Unfortunately, his character simply walks away from a major conflict at the end, leaving me confused. In fact, the second half of the book, between the unlikely actions of the characters and the improbable plot twists, left me bewildered. To make matters worse, the novel is actually book one of a trilogy, not a fun thing to discover as you turn the last few pages.

     Despite the fantastic background and setting, I'll be giving the rest of the series a pass. There's no explicit sex (in fact, I think some well-written sensual scenes might have added to this book) and a standard amount of sword slashing and violence. 

Review of "Hearts Before Diamonds" by Bryan Fields

A rollicking tale of adventure and love set in an alternate steampunk Asia, "Hearts Before Diamonds" is a short story revolving around Edward Wallace, an American expat in India who works as a 'problem solver' for a fee. When Timir, a new client hoping to thwart the arranged marriage of his beloved arrives, Wallace sets out to use his unique talents to see that true love wins out in the end.

Only a few teasing glimpses of the complex story world Fields has created are revealed in the plot, which proceeds with a galloping pace and plenty of action. America has an emperor, flying tigers terrorize the populace, and Diamond Princes who sell the gems from the fabled mines of King Solomon have to deal with dwarves who mine the precious stones.

References to Hindu deities, as well as Muslim concepts of the Jinn, are utilized in the story. Surprise twists are sprinkled throughout, and in a refreshing change, both class issues and sexual orientation are brought into the story world. None of this gets in the way of a great adventure, however.

"Hearts Before Diamonds" does a great job incorporating the diversity of Indian culture with a steampunk flair. Some mature themes are touched upon, but the story would appeal to older teens, and readers of any age interested in non-Western settings for Fantasy.

Persian Demonology

               

Demons in the Persian tradition go by many names, such as Div and Daeva, and are a class of supernatural creatures associated with wickedness and deceit. In some texts, the land of the Div is known as Mazandaran, not to be confused the present-day province in contemporary Iran.

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/41204334

Beautiful (and demon-free!) modern-day Mazandaran.

Being the devilish creatures that they are, the Div are known for doing the opposite of what's asked of them. They sleep during the day, and can change into dragons or even onagers (even though a venom-spitting giant serpent might be more of an impressive shape than a wild ass). Although they often try to trap people with magic, the Div may sometimes agree to serve humans as supernatural servants, usually after losing a battle.

The original term Daeva comes from Zoroastrian scripture, and early references describe the Div as false or lesser gods. Later references describe beings similar to the Western Christian view of devils, as sources of evil and destruction. Certain Div were associated with negative human attributes such as Eshm (wrath) and Varun (unnatural lust).

The Persian epic The Shahnama contains multiple stories of great battles between human heroes and ferocious Div, such as this confrontation with the White Demon, also known as the Div-e-Sepid, pictured below.

Although devils in the Western tradition are almost always associated with the color black and darkness, some of the demons in The Shahmaneh are linked instead to the color white. The Div were said to be born with light hair, a superstition that caused Sam, one of the main characters of The Shahmana, to reject his albino son Zal.  Despite the pleas of Zal's birth mother, Sam sent his white-haired child away to be left to die on a mountaintop. Fortunately for Zal, his lack of melanin wasn't an issue for his adoptive mother the Simurgh, a giant bird who raised the future hero in a huge nest on Mount Damavand, the highest peak in Iran (and the highest volcano in Asia).

The Persian and Arabic equivalent to the Western Satan is Iblis. In some sources, he's described a Jinn who rebels against God and refuses to bow to Adam. Here he appears in a Persian painting:

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On a lighter note, here's a fairy-tale type rendition of a young hero facing down a giant Div as a design on a stamp from Azerbaijan.

Check out more fantastic photos in the stunning The Shahnama of Shah Tahmasp: The Persian Book of Kings, by Sheila Canby.

Review of "Desert of Souls" by Howard Andrew Jones

A wonderful sword and sorcery tale set in medieval Baghdad, "The Desert of Souls" is close to historical fiction in its beautiful detail about everyday life in the Islamic golden age. The action is fast-paced and gripping. The historical notes about 8th Century Baghdad life are amazing, but the author succeeds in slipping in all the backstory without slowing down a rollicking sword and sorcery tale. The two main characters, Asim and Dabir, play off their respective roles as swordsman and scholar to take on a range of magical dangers. As in many novels revolving around Middle Eastern mythology, the Jinn are a malevolent force here. Key mythology points from the legends, including the story of the lost city of Ubar, swept away in a great sandstorm, are woven into the plot. Also included is a sense of the religious diversity of the time, where followers of the Zoroastrian religion play a key role. Religion is handled in a straightforward manner, as a key component of the character's lives, which fits in well with the historical time period. My main disappointment with the novel was the limited handling of female characters. Jones sets up a great young female character, Sabiyah, who rebels against her expected role as a wife and mother and thirsts for knowledge. But she ends up more as an unattainable love object rather than a flesh-and-blood character, and she is whisked away at the end of the book into an arranged marriage. I finished the book in one day, and would highly recommend it. It's one of the few novels I've come across, along with Saladin Ahmed's "Throne of the Crescent Moon" that uses a medieval Arabian setting for a sword and sorcery epic. The novel has the amount of violence most fans of traditional fantasy would expect, and although there is a romantic subplot, no sex to speak of. It's not aimed at a YA audience, but older teens interested in fantasy might find it interesting. I'm excited to read the next novel in the series!