For ages the battle of Rostam and White Deev has been one of the most popular subjects among Iranian book illustrators, tile-makers, and coffee-house painters.
In the Persian epic of Shahnameh, Div-e Sepid (White Demon) is the chieftain of the Deevs of Mazandaran. He is a huge being and is skilled in sorcery. He destroys the army of Kay Kavus by conjuring a dark storm of hail, boulders, and tree trunks. He then captures Kay Kavus, his commanders, and paladins; he blinds them and imprisons them in a dungeon. The greatest Persian mythical hero Rostam undertakes his “Seven Labours” to free his sovereign. In the end, Rostam slays Deev-e Sefid and uses his heart and blood to cure the blindness of the king and the captured Persian heroes. Rostam also takes the Deev’s head as a helmet and is often pictured wearing it.
Rostam kills White Deev, Timurid period, Circa 1400, Dublin Chester Beatty Library
Rostam kills White Deev
Rostam kills White Deev
Rostam kills White Deev from an Ottoman Shahnameh in Turkish, ~1590, (British Library)
Rostam kills White Deev from Shah Tahmasb Shahnameh, Attributed to Abdolvahhab directed by Mir Mossavar, 1525-1530, Cleveland Museum
