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{{short description|Iranian king}}
{{for-multi|other people|Jamshid (name)|the village in Iran|Jamshid, Iran}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2025}}
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[[Image:Jamshid Halved.jpg|thumb|[[Persian people|Persian]] painting, depicting Jamshid being sawn in half before [[Zahhak]]]]
'''Jamshid''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|dʒ|æ|m|ˈ|ʃ|iː|d}}; [[Classical Persian]]: {{lang|fa|جمشید}} ''Jamshēd'' {{IPA|fa|d͡ʒamˈʃeːd|}}; [[Middle Persian|Middle]] and [[New Persian]]: جم ''Jam'' {{IPA|fa|d͡ʒæm|}}), also known as '''''Yima''''' ({{langx|ae|𐬫𐬌𐬨𐬀}} {{IPA|ae|jiˈma|}}), is the fourth [[Shah]] of the mythological [[Pishdadian dynasty]] of [[Greater Iran|Iran]] according to ''[[Shahnameh]]''.

In [[Persian mythology]] and [[folklore]], Jamshid is described as the fourth and greatest king of the [[Epigraphy|epigraphically]] unattested [[Pishdadian Dynasty]] (before the [[Kayanian dynasty]]). This role is already alluded to in [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrian]] scripture (e.g. ''[[Yasht]]'' 19, ''[[Vendidad]]'' 2), where the figure appears as ''Yima xšaēta'' ({{langx|ae|𐬫𐬌𐬨𐬀⸱𐬑𐬱𐬀𐬉𐬙𐬀}}) "radiant Yima", from which the name 'Jamshid' is derived.

Both ''Jam'' and ''Jamshid'' remain common Iranian and Zoroastrian male names that are also popular in surrounding areas of Iran such as [[Afghanistan]] and [[Tajikistan]]. [[Edward FitzGerald (poet)|Edward FitzGerald]] transliterated the name as ''Jamshyd''. In the eastern regions of [[Greater Iran]], and by the [[Zoroastrians]] of the [[Indian subcontinent]] it is rendered as ''[[Jamshed]]'' based on the [[Persian language|Classical Persian]] pronunciation.

==Etymology==
The name ''Jamshid'' is originally a compound of two parts, ''Jam'' and ''shid'', corresponding to the [[Avestan language|Avestan]] names ''Yima'' and ''Xšaēta'', derived from the [[Proto-Iranian language|Proto-Iranian]] ''*Yamah Xšaitah'' ('Yama, the brilliant/majestic').<ref>{{cite book |last1=Daryaee |first1=Touraj |first2=Soodabeh |last2=Malekzadeh |chapter=King Huviška, Yima, and the Bird: Observations on a Paradisiacal State |title=Central Asia and Iran - Greeks, Parthians, Kushans and Sasanians |editor=Edward Dąbrowa |publisher=Jagiellonian University Press |date=2015 |page=108}}</ref> ''Yamah'' and the related Sanskrit ''[[Yama]]'' are interpreted as "the twin",<ref>{{cite thesis |editor1=UESUGI, Heindio |editor2=CATT, Adam Alvah |title=Old Avestan Dictionary |series=Asian and African Lexicon |volume=67 |publisher=Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa; Tokyo Language of Foreign Studies |date=2024 |pages=390, 392 |isbn=9784863375420 |url=https://tufs.repo.nii.ac.jp/records/2000891?fbclid=IwY2xjawIjxtpleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHU_wEN8RlNX-wtTxQwPC1vz6TMALFWt3X7LyHH1mKEafRc1LPERE55jYDA_aem_sq4WyS6sHMu9Q84BIgwaug}}</ref> perhaps reflecting an [[Indo-Iranians|Indo-Iranian]] belief in a primordial Yama and Yami pair. By regular sound changes (y → j, and the loss of the final syllable) an [[Old Persian]] form equivalent to Avestan ''Yima'' became [[Middle Persian]] ''Jam'', which was subsequently continued into [[New Persian]].

There are also a few functional parallels between Avestan Yima and [[Sanskrit]] Yama; for instance, ''Yima'' was the son of ''Vivaŋhat'', who in turn corresponds to the [[Vedas|Vedic]] ''[[Vivasvat]]'', "he who shines out", a name for the [[Solar deity|sun-god]] [[Surya]]. Both Yamas in [[Persian mythology|Iranian]] and [[Historical Vedic religion|Indian myth]] guard Hell with the help of two four-eyed dogs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/iml/iml08.htm|title=Indian Myth and Legend: Chapter III. Yama, the First Man, and King of the Dead}}</ref><ref name="Sherman2008">{{cite book|author=Sherman, Josepha |title=Storytelling: An Encyclopedia of Mythology and Folklore|date=August 2008|publisher=Sharpe Reference|isbn=978-0-7656-8047-1|pages=118–121}}</ref>

Oettinger,<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb127237012 |title=Oettinger}}</ref> in the course of voicing his contention that the story of Yima was originally a [[flood myth]], and that original [[Sanskrit]] flood myths had as their protagonist Yama, mentions that [[Norse mythology|Scandinavian mythology]] features a cognate of Yima and Yama, in the form of the primordial being [[Ymir]], a giant from whose corpse the cosmos was fashioned and the shedding of whose blood caused a great flood.<ref>N. Oettinger, Before Noah: Possible Relics of the Flood myth in Proto-Indo-Iranian and Earlier, [in:] Proceedings of the 24th Annual UCLA Indo-European Conference, ed. S.W. Jamison, H.C. Melchert, B. Vine, Bremen 2013, p. 169–183</ref> Ymir was still associated with a flood in mediaeval Iceland, [[Snorri Sturluson]] recording that his pagan forbears had believed that the death of Ymir had caused a great flood, killing all but one of the [[Frost Giants]]. This sole named survivor was [[Bergelmir]], who - [[Noah]]-like - escaped drowning with his wife by floating on a lúðr (wooden vessel of some kind) and so lived on to perpetuate his race. The role of Bergelmir in the myth of Ymir may have been influenced by [[Christian mythology]], but the association of Ymir with a great flood may be attributable to an authentic pre-Christian tradition.<ref>Lindow, John. Norse Mythology a Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs. Oxford University Press, 2002</ref> Oettinger's main argument concerned the way in which Indic "Yama" and the Iranic "Yima" - both [[cognates]] of the Norse "Ymir" -  also related to the flood.<ref>N. Oettinger, Before Noah: Possible Relics of the Flood myth in Proto-Indo-Iranian and Earlier, [in:] Proceedings of the 24th Annual UCLA Indo-European Conference, ed. S.W. Jamison, H.C. Melchert, B. Vine, Bremen 2013, p. 169–183</ref>

''*Xšaitah'' meant "bright, shining" or "radiant". By regular sound changes (initial xš → š (sh); ai → ē; t → d between vowels; and dropping of the final syllable) ''*xšaitah'' became Persian ''shēd''. In [[Iranian Persian]], the vowel /ē/ is pronounced as /i/. Consequently, ''Jamshēd'' (as it is still pronounced in [[Afghanistan]] and [[Tajikistan]]) is now pronounced ''Jamshid'' in [[Iran]]. The suffix ''-shid'' is the same as that found in other names such as ''khorshid'' ("the Sun" from Avestan ''[[Hvare-khshaeta|hvarə-xšaēta]]'' "radiant Sun").

The modern [[Turkish language|Turkish]] name ''[[Cem (given name)|Cem]]'' is derived from the Persian ''Jam''.

One contributor{{who|date=February 2019}}{{where|date=February 2019}} has posited that Persian ''jam'' is the root of [[Arabic language|Arabic]] ''[[ajam]]'', assuming that this Arabic word for the Persian-speaking population was derived from a Persian [[Endonym and exonym|endonym]], meaning the people of Jam. However, this is incorrect. ʿAjam comes from the Arabic root ʿ(ʿayn) ج (jim) م (mim), meaning to speak incomprehensibly, and was used among Arabs, initially, for all peoples who spoke languages that were incomprehensible to Arabic speakers, whether they spoke Persian, [[Fula people|Fulani]], or a Turkic language. Later, Arabs used this word as a derogatory term for Persian speakers to distinguish them from Arabic speakers. The word ʿajam or ʿajami is still used in other parts of the [[Muslim world|Islamic world]] to denote languages other than Arabic, particularly in the [[Sahara]]n and [[Sub-Saharan Africa|sub-Saharan regions]].{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

==In the Avesta==
'''Source:'''<ref>Quotations in the following section are from [[James Darmesteter]]'s translation [http://www.avesta.org/vendidad/vd2sbe.htm] of the ''Vendidad '', as published in the 1898 American edition of [[Max Müller]]'s ''[[Sacred Books of the East]]''</ref>

In the second chapter of the ''[[Vendidad]]'' of the [[Avesta]], the [[Omniscience|omniscient]] Creator [[Ahura Mazda]] asks Yima, a good [[shepherd]], to receive his law and bring it to men. However, Yima refuses, and so Ahura Mazda charges him with a different mission: to rule over and nourish the earth, to see that the living things prosper. This Yima accepts, and Ahura Mazda presents him with a golden seal and a dagger inlaid with gold.

Yima rules as king for three hundred years, and soon the earth was full of men, flocks of birds and herds of animals. He deprived the ''daevas'', who were demonic servants of the evil Ahriman, of wealth, herds and reputation during his reign.  Good men, however, lived lives of plenty, and were neither sick nor aged. Father and son walked together, each appearing no older than fifteen.  Ahura Mazda visits him once more, warning him of this [[overpopulation]]. Yima, shining with light, faced southwards and pressed the golden seal against the earth and boring into it with the poniard, says "O [[Armaiti|Spenta Armaiti]], kindly open asunder and stretch thyself afar, to bear flocks and herds and men."

The earth swells and Yima rules for another six hundred years before the same problem occurred once more. Once again he pressed the seal and dagger to the earth and asked the ground to swell up to bear more men and beasts, and the earth swells again. Nine hundred years later, the earth was full again. The same solution is employed, the earth swelling again.

The next part of the story tells of a meeting of Ahura Mazda and the [[Yazata]]s in ''[[Airyanem Vaejah]]'', the first of the "perfect lands". Yima attends with a group of "the best of mortals", where Ahura Mazda warns him of an upcoming catastrophe: "O fair Yima, son of Vivaŋhat! Upon the material world the evil winters are about to fall, that shall bring the fierce, deadly frost; upon the material world the evil winters are about to fall, that shall make snow-flakes fall thick, even an arədvi deep on the highest tops of mountains."

The Vedivdad mentions that Ahura Mazda warns Yima that there will come a harsh winter storm followed by melted snow.<ref>Skjærvø, Prods Oktor. An Introduction to Zoroastrianism. 2006.</ref> Ahura Mazda advises Yima to construct a ''Vara'' (Avestan: enclosure) in the form of a multi-level cavern, two miles (3&nbsp;km) long and two miles (3&nbsp;km) wide. This he is to populate with the fittest of men and women; and with two of every animal, bird and plant; and supply with food and water gathered the previous summer. Yima creates the Vara by crushing the earth with a stamp of his foot, and kneading it into shape as a potter does clay. He creates streets and buildings, and brings nearly two thousand people to live therein. He creates artificial light, and finally seals the Vara with a golden ring.<blockquote>[[Henry Corbin]] interprets this story as a spiritual event and describes it as follows: Yima "received the order to build the enclosure, the Var, where were gathered together the elect from among all beings, the fairest, the most gracious, that they might be preserved from the mortal winter unleashed by the demonic Powers, and some day repopulate a transfigured world. Indeed, the Var of Yima is, as it were, a city, including houses, storehouses, and ramparts. It has luminescent doors and windows that themselves secrete the light within, for it is illuminated both by uncreated and created lights."<ref>[[Henry Corbin|Corbin, Henry]] (1977). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=feE9DwAAQBAJ Spiritual Body and Celestial Earth: From Mazdean Iran to Shi'ite Iran]''. Princeton University Press. pp.22-23.</ref></blockquote>Norbert Oettinger argues that the story of Yima and the Vara was originally a flood myth, and the harsh winter was added in due to the dry nature of [[Eastern Iran]], as flood myths didn't have as much of an effect as harsh winters. He has argued that the Videvdad 2.24's mention of melted water flowing is a remnant of the [[flood myth]].<ref>N. Oettinger, Before Noah: Possible Relics of the Flood myth in Proto-Indo-Iranian and Earlier, [in:] Proceedings of the 24th Annual UCLA Indo-European Conference, ed. S.W. Jamison, H.C. Melchert, B. Vine, Bremen 2013, p. 169–183</ref>

==In tradition and folklore==
{{multiple image
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 | image1 = Jamshid (The Shahnama of Shah Tahmasp).png
 | caption1 = Jamshid in the [[Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp|''Shahnameh'' of Shah Tahmasp]]
 | image2 = Tomb of Ferdowsi - Front facade.jpg
 | caption2 = Ferdowsi ''[[Shahnameh]]''
}}
{{Blockquote
|text=''They say the Lion and the Lizard keep<br>The Courts where Jamshyd gloried and drank deep;<br>And Bahrám, that great Hunter—the Wild Ass,<br>Stamps o'er his Head, but cannot break his Sleep.''
|author=quatrain 18, ''[[Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam|Rubáiyát of]] [[Omar Khayyám]]''<br>1884 (2nd ed.) [[Edward Marlborough FitzGerald|FitzGerald]] translation
}}
Over time, the Avestan hero ''Yima Xšaēta'' became the world-ruling [[Shah|Shāh]] ''Jamshid'' of [[Persia]]n legend and mythology.

According to the ''[[Shahnameh|Shāhnāma]]'' of the poet [[Ferdowsi|Firdausī]], Jamshid was the fourth king of the world. He had command over all the angels and demons of the world, and was both king and high priest of Hormozd ([[middle Persian]] for [[Ahura Mazda]]). He was responsible for a great many inventions that made life more secure for his people: the manufacture of armor and weapons, the weaving and dyeing of clothes of linen, silk and wool, the building of houses of brick, the mining of jewels and precious metals, the making of perfumes and wine, the art of medicine, the navigation of the waters of the world in sailing ships. The ''[[sudreh]]'' and ''[[kushti]]'' of the [[Zoroastrianism]] are also attributed to Jamshid.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}} Traditional mythology also credits him with the invention of music.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Farhat |first=Hormoz |author-link=Hormoz Farhat |year=2012 |title=An Introduction to Persian Music |journal=Catalogue of the Festival of Oriental Music |publisher=[[University of Durham]] |location=Durham |url=http://www.dl.edi-info.ir/An%20Introduction%20to%20Persian%20Music.pdf }}</ref> From the skin-clad followers of [[Keyumars]], humanity had risen to a great civilization in Jamshid's time.

Jamshid also divided the people into four groups:

* [[Kātouzians]]: The priests who conducted the worship of Hormozd
* Neysārians: The warriors who protected the people by the might of their arms
* Nāsoudians: The farmers who grew the grain that fed the people
* Hotokhoshians: The artisans, who produced goods for the ease and enjoyment of the people

Jamshid had now become the greatest monarch the world had ever known. He was endowed with the royal ''farr'' ([[Avestan language|Avestan]]: ''[[khvarena]]''), a radiant splendor that burned about him by divine favor. One day he sat upon a jewel-studded throne and the [[daeva|''div''s]] who served him raised his throne up into the air and he flew through the sky. His subjects, all the peoples of the world, marvelled and praised him. On this day, which was the first of the month of [[Fravashi|Farvardin]], they first celebrated the holiday of ''[[Norouz|Nawrōz]]'' ("new day"). In the variant of the [[Zoroastrian calendar]] followed by the Zoroastrians of India, the first day of the month of Farvardin is still called ''Jamshēd-i Nawrōz''.

Jamshid was said to have had a magical seven-ringed cup, the ''[[Cup of Jamshid|Jām-e Jam]]'' which was filled with the elixir of immortality and allowed him to observe the universe.

Jamshid's capital was erroneously believed to be at the site of the ruins of [[Persepolis]], which for centuries (down to 1620 CE) was called ''Takht-i Jamshēd'', the "Throne of Jamshid". However, Persepolis was actually the capital of the [[Achaemenid]] kings and was destroyed by [[Alexander the Great|Alexander]]. Similarly, the sculptured tombs of the Achaemenids and [[Sassanid Empire|Sāsānians]] near Persepolis were believed to be images of the legendary hero [[Rostam]], and so were called ''[[Naqsh-e Rustam]]''.

Jamshid ruled well for three hundred years. During this time longevity increased, sicknesses were banished, and peace and prosperity reigned. But Jamshid's pride grew with his power, and he began to forget that all the blessings of his reign were due to God. He boasted to his people that all of the good things they had come from him alone, and demanded that he should be accorded divine honors, as if he were the Creator.

From this time the ''farr'' departed from Jamshid, and the people began to murmur and rebel against him. Jamshid repented in his heart, but his glory never returned to him. The vassal ruler of [[Arabia]], [[Zahhak|Zahhāk]], under the influence of [[Angra Mainyu|Ahriman]], made war upon Jamshid, and he was welcomed by many of Jamshid's dissatisfied subjects. Jamshid fled from his capital halfway across the world, but he was finally trapped by Zahhāk and brutally murdered by being [[Death by sawing|sawn asunder]]. After a reign of seven hundred years, humanity descended from the heights of civilization back into a Dark Age.

===Legend of the discovery of wine===
King Jamshid is featured prominently in one [[apocryphal]] tale associated with the [[history of wine]] and its discovery.{{Citation needed|reason=If there is a biblical reference, what that biblical reference is should be stated as a reference, not only to show that this is correct, but also to allow people to view the reference for themselves.|date=February 2024}} According to Persian legend, the king banished one of his [[harem]] ladies from his kingdom, causing her to become despondent and wishing to commit [[suicide]]. Going to the king's warehouse, the girl sought out a jar marked "[[poison]]" which contained the remnants of grapes that had spoiled and were deemed undrinkable. Unbeknownst to her, the "spoilage" was actually the result of [[fermentation (wine)|fermentation]] caused by the breakdown of the grapes by [[yeast]] into [[ethanol|alcohol]]. After drinking the so-called poison, the harem girl discovered its effects to be pleasant and her spirits were lifted. She took her discovery to the king, who became so enamored with this new "wine" beverage that he not only accepted the girl back into his harem but also decreed that all grapes grown in [[Persepolis]] would be devoted to winemaking. While most wine historians view this story as pure legend, there is archaeological evidence that wine was known and extensively traded by the early Persian kings.<ref name="Pellechia pg XI-XII">T. Pellechia (2006). ''Wine: The 8,000-Year-Old Story of the Wine Trade''. London: Running Press. {{ISBN|1-56025-871-3}}. pp. XI–XII.</ref>

==See also==
* [[Arnavāz]]
* [[Noah]]
* [[Solomon]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* [http://www.avesta.org/vendidad/vd2sbe.htm 2nd ''Fargard'' of James Darmesteter's translation of the ''Vendidad'']
* [http://www.artarena.force9.co.uk/heroic1.htm The Heroic Age of Persia]

==External links==
{{Commons category|Jamshid}}
*[http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15324coll10/id/36222/rec/1 ''A king's book of kings: the Shah-nameh of Shah Tahmasp''], an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Jamshid

{{S-start}}
{{succession box|
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 before=[[Tahmuras]] |
 title=Legendary Kings of the [[Shahnameh|Shāhnāma]]|
 years=100–800 (after [[Keyumars]])|
 after=[[Zahhak|Zahhāk]]}}
{{S-end}}
{{Avesta}}
{{Shahnameh}}
{{Zoroastrianism}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Longevity myths]]
[[Category:Zoroastrianism]]
[[Category:Mythological kings]]
[[Category:Pishdadian dynasty]]
[[Category:Ymir]]