- "The throne itself does not have a will of its own. This is how I think of it. Depending upon who sits on it, it can be a seat of justice or it can be the seat of inhuman cruelty. As long as it is a man, and not a god, doing the governing, he can never be perfect. But should he neglect to make efforts to reach for perfection, a king will surely tumble down the slippery slope towards evil with no one around to stop him."
- ― Farangis to Ester about kingship in The Heroic Legend of Arslan (anime), "The Highway of Blood and Sweat"
Arslan was the adopted son of Andragoras III and Tahamine. He was the Crown Prince of Pars and the leader of the resistance against the Lusitanian invasion of Pars. Arslan would become the greatest man of his time, leading his camp against Zahhāk's forces, driving back the Lusitanians, and reforming the Kingdom. He was the nineteenth and last King of Pars and became known as the Liberator.
History[]
Early Life[]
Arslan was born in P.E. 306 to a knight's family. At the age of 5, he was adopted into the Royal House of Pars, the House of Kaykhusraw, and became the heir to the throne.
He mostly lived outside the palace and studied at a private school. Until 10-11, he was raised by a wet nurse and her husband, who was a knight. Arslan was told that they died from food poisoning after drinking wine.
Life as an Exiled Prince[]
Three years after his move to the Royal Palace, Arslan had his maiden battle on the Fields of Atropatene against the Lusitanians. His adoptive father, King Andragoras III, led the Parsian army, but they were ultimately defeated due to the treachery of Marzban Kharlan and strategy of guest general Silvermask.[1]
Arslan managed to flee the battle with Daryun, who became his personal guard and most trusted subordinate.
Reign as the Liberator[]
Arslan ruled the Kingdom of Pars until year 325 of the Parsian Era.
After his coronation, Arslan chose Kishward as Ērān of Pars, as none of the other Marzbān wanted to bear this responsibility.
On his 18th birthday, his army defeated that of Misr. After that, he became a Sherghir in a hunting ceremony, which was held with Sindhura.
To counter attack Turk's invasion into Sindhura, Arslan made an long expedition toward Sindhura through the land of Turan and Turk. His army defeated them including Turk's troop consisting of Turanians led by Hilmes.
He became the first person after hundreds of years to see one of the evil creatures that depended on Zahhāk's power; Arslan was attacked by an "Afra-virada"(black winged monkey-like creature), which flew into his room breaking the window.
After Ester's death, he invited Parahuda, who had been working together with Ester, as one of his important generals. Then, Arslan appointed 16 subordinates as Generals, including Daryun, Narsus, Elam, Farangis, etc. They were his most reliable companions. However, he lost one of them only after 20 days of the ceremony; Zarāvant was killed.
To prevent Kishward from making a suicidal attack in a battle to punish himself, as Gurazeh and Jimsa were killed during a mission under Kishward's command (though the mission itself is not the cause of their death), Arslan relieved him from Eran's duty following Narsus's opinion. Instead, he appointed Daryun as new Eran.
As there was a possibility of Misr's advance toward Pars, he led his army to the border with some of his generals. His army won. However, outside of the battle, he lost Narsus and Alfarīd. After this, Arslan had to fight against Zahhāk and other enemies with 10 remaining Generals.
In the final battle against Zahhāk, Arslan was mortally wounded, but still managed to kill the demon.
Etymology[]
Arslan is a meaning "gladiator or lion hunter" in Turkish.
Genealogy[]
| Gotarzes II 240 - 301 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Osroes V 274 - 304 † | Tahamine b. 284 | Andragoras III 276 - 321 † | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hilmes 293 - 325 † | Irina d. 324 † | ARSLAN 306 - 325 † | stepsister unknown | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Notes
References
- ↑ Yoshiki Tanaka, The Heroic Legend of Arslan, The Capital Ablaze, "The Battle of Atropatene"
| Kings of Pars | |
|---|---|
| Hero King Kaykhusraw (unknown - P.E. 28) · Osroes I (28 - unknown) · Osroes II · Tigranes · Cinnamus · Gotarzes I · Artabaz · Osroes III · Andragoras I · Katolikos · Osroes IV · Andragoras II · Yazdegerd I · Ohrmazd · Yazdegerd II · Gotarzes II (unknown - 301) · Osroes V† (301 - 304) · Andragoras III† (304 - 321) · Arslan† (321 - 325) | |
| † Did not die of old age | |