Div (Dīv)

Accounts vary across sources. Later Persian tradition and medieval compilers present the divs as an ancient class of beings distinct from humans: Abu Ali Bal'ami's rendition of Tarikh al-Tabari is cited as saying divs were created before humans and jinn. Another medieval source (the Süleymanname) states that God created divs from the "fires of the stars, wind, and smoke," some with wings or exceptional speed; angels later fought and greatly reduced their numbers. Historically and conceptually the div are also described as a monotheistic reinterpretation or demonization of the Indo‑Iranian devas (deva → daeva → div), a process by which formerly divine or semi‑divine figures became classified as hostile or monstrous in Persian religious memory. In Islamicized contexts authors often equated divs with ʿifrīt and shayāṭīn, folding them into broader categories of evil spirits subject to God's final judgement.

Epic and folkloric sources give a variable but recurring physical profile. Typical descriptions render divs as humanlike in form but of gigantic size, frequently depicted with two horns on their heads and teeth compared to the tusks of a boar. Individual divs in the Shahnameh appear with variant attributes (e.g., named figures such as a "White Div" or a "Div King"), and armament ranges from primitive stones to full warrior's armour and metal weapons. Some medieval accounts (Süleymanname) attribute wings or extreme speed to certain divs. Narrative episodes also record shapeshifting or transformation motifs (for example, a Div King briefly taking the form of stone when captured).

Across the materials divs combine prodigious physical strength and martial capacity with magical faculties. They are portrayed as powerful and cruel, often preying upon humans and presenting a "relish for the taste of human flesh" in epic imagery. Many are described as masters of sorcery, able to afflict enemies with nightmares or magical assaults and to employ enchantment in combat. Their mobility may include flying or rapid movement in specific accounts. Behaviorally they are adversarial toward human communities and heroes (Shahnameh episodes cast them as principal antagonists whose harassment of peoples demands heroic response). Narrative motifs show they can be killed, bound, or executed by human heroes or royal authority, and in cosmological accounts angels or divine agents were able to slay many of them.