Arnavāz

In the Shahnameh-related tradition Arnavāz appears in the mythic epoch of Jamshid, Zahhāk, and Fereydun. She is variously presented in redactions as kin to Jamshid (some recensions call her a daughter; others a sister) and is recorded as having been married to Zahhāk during his reign. After Fereydun defeats Zahhāk and imprisons him on Mount Damāvand, Arnavāz (with her sister Shahrnāz) is made to repent and is taken as a consort by Fereydun, becoming integrated into the new royal household and epic genealogy.

The supplied sources do not provide physical description, costume, or iconographic details for Arnavāz. In the epic material available in the summaries she is characterized through social and dynastic roles rather than by bodily or visual description.

No supernatural powers are ascribed in the provided materials. Her documented functions are social and political: she is recorded as a consort of Zahhāk who served as his adviser (the Shahnameh summary reports Zahhāk 'taught her how to commit crime' and that she was his advisor), and after Zahhāk's defeat she repents, is cleansed, and becomes a consort of Fereydun. In Shahnameh redactions cited in the summaries she is the mother of Iraj, making her a maternal ancestor in the ensuing dynastic narratives.