In the Shahnameh, when Siavash is upset by Kai-Kaus’s behavior and leaves for Turan, one day Piran Vise, the minister of Afrasiyab, asks him to choose a wife so that he can have a son from Siavash’s lineage and become his successor.
Then he mentions his four daughters, one of whom is Jarireh and says that Jarireh is worthy of him and his wealth. Siavash accepts his request and chooses Jarireh as his wife shortly after that. In some editions of the Shahnameh, the story of Siavash and Jarireh is mentioned.
These verses are included in Moscow edition of the Shahnameh, as well as in the “The Story of Siavash”, Shahnameh Foundation’s edition, and in “Nameh-ye Bastan”, Dr Kazzazi’s edition (except for 3 verses), and also in some other editions of the Shahnameh. But, surprisingly, the mentioned verses (except the first verse) is completely removed in the Shahnameh published by Khaleghi Motlagh. In his edition, there is no indication of Siavash and Jarireh’s marriage. The Shahnameh of Khaleghi Motlagh is one of Shahnameh’s best and most respected editions. It is questionable why he did not include the story of Siavash and Jarireh’s wife in his edition. Is this part of Siavash’s story an addition?
The reason for Khaleghi Motlagh ignoring those verses in his edition is that such poems are not found in the two ancient manuscripts of the Shahnameh, which were the primary basis of Khaleghi Motlagh’s edition. Due to adherence to the old inscriptions, Khaleghi Motlagh refused to include the verses that were in other inscriptions. But this neglect, according to some editors of the Shahnameh, is incorrect and seriously damages the structure of the story of Foroud (Siavash’s son) that happens later.
Mehri Behfar, in her report on the Shahnameh, first writes that not including such verses in the heart of Siavash’s story raises two assumptions: either that those verses were not in the first compilation of the Shahnameh and Ferdowsi added the verses in his second revision, or that they are verses those later others added to Siavash’s story. Then, she recounts her opinion and believes these verses are significant sub-parts of this part of the story and are not additions. Apart from the fact that those verses are found in some old manuscripts of the Shahnameh, the tale of Foroud without this part will remain without a context and one of the valuable elements of the text, without a sequence (the sixth volume of the edition of the Shahnameh, page 380).
Dr Kazzazi also writes: “The story of Siavash’s marriage to Jarireh comes in the inscriptions with confusion; sometimes characters are added and sometimes omitted, and this increases the suspicion in one’s mind that this part of the story has been added to the mind… However, Ferdowsi has in detail written the story of Foroud, the son of Siavash and Jarireh, and therefore the story of Jarireh is the basis of the story of Foroud. It is more appropriate that these verses are included (“Nameh-ye Bastan, 3rd volume, page 396). Mojtaba Minavi also considered the verses accurate and belonged to Ferdowsi in “Dastan-e Siavash” (published by Shahnameh Foundation) and included them in his text. Therefore, the absence of these verses in Khaleghi Motlagh’s edition can be considered as a shortcoming on his part.
Name of Jarireh
Another point is about the name “Jarireh”. According to some researchers, this name has an Arabic form, and so cannot be an Iranian name. It is surprising that in his history, Tabari considered Siavash’s first wife’s name to be “Borz Afarid” and did not mention Foroud’s mother and that Piran was Jarireh’s father (Behfar, page 380). Dr Kazzazi also considered Borz-Afarid as an ancient version of Jarireh’s name.
Some other scholars of the Shahnameh have taken the name Jarireh from the name “Zarireh” in the Pahlavi language (Farhang Shahnameh, Hossein Shahidi, p249). Kazzazi also considered the name Jarireh with the adverb “maybe,” derived from the Pahlavi name “Zarirak.” If we accept this assumption, we should consider Jarireh as a variant of the Iranian name “Zarireh/Zarirak.”
