Shirin was a historical figure in the Great Red Sand, Sumeru and the last queen of Gurabad before its destruction. She was the half-Jinni daughter of Liloupar and Ormazd, the wife of Parvezravan, and the mother of Shiruyeh. Because of her role in driving Shiruyeh's actions, which led to Gurabad's destruction, both Shirin and her son have become villainous figures in tales related to the desert's history.
Profile[]
She was the half-Jinni daughter between the mortal hero Ormazd and the Jinni Liloupar, and later became the wife of Ormzad's adoptive son Parvezravan (Kisra Parvez). However, Liloupar's prophecies regarding Gurabad's fate and the loveless relationship between Shirin and Parvezravan eventually led her to plot his demise and with it, Gurabad's destruction, through their son Shiruyeh.
The Tale of Shiruyeh and Shirin is a novel of unverifiable accuracy based on the lives of Parvezravan, Shirin, and Shiruyeh.
Story[]
The shepherd Ormazd gained Liloupar's favor and with her assistance, united many desert city-states under Gurabad's control. However, he became an ordinary tyrant instead of the enlightened ruler which she hoped to become, and so Liloupar plotted to impose him with three generations of ruination.[1][2]
She gave him a daughter, Shirin, along with three prophecies and three admonitions. The prophecies were that: First, she would fall in love with a hero and their child would surpass their father; second, that Shirin's relatives would meet a "sweet end;" and third, only Shirin would be given possession of Gurabad. Liloupar's admonitions for Ormazd were that: First, Shirin's joy would "bring tears to her father's eyes;" second, they "should no longer feast at the same table as their daughter after she was wed;" and third, Shirin's child would be "an ill omen upon the king's land."[3]
Shirin went on to marry Kisra Parvez, Ormazd's adoptive son, as a reward for his accomplishments in Gurabad's glory. At some point, Kisra also came to learn of Liloupar's prophecies and admonitions. Much to Shirin's dismay, Kisra held no genuine love for her and simply used her as a means of gaining the throne. Embittered with her life, Shirin plotted revenge. In accordance with the admonitions he received, Ormazd forbade Shirin from attending banquets; she took advantage of this fact to have slaves serve him and all her siblings poisoned honey, killing them all at a grand banquet. With this, Kisra became King of Gurabad and took the name "Parvezravan." However, it is said that Shirin went mad upon seeing the consequences of her actions, and later stopped appearing in public altogether.[3]
Shirin bore Parvezravan a son, Shiruyeh; while Shirin doted on him, the king was wary of his son due to Liloupar's prophecy. Once he reached adulthood, Parvezravan banished Shiruyeh from Gurabad, and Shiruyeh was forced to hide his face behind a brass mask. Shirin took advantage of this to secretly meet with her son while disguised as a divine priestess, giving him a false prophecy to encourage him to kill his father and claim the throne for himself.[3]
Eventually, Shiruyeh returned to Gurabad and stabbed his father to death. However, he came to have remorse for his actions and despite receiving his mother's forgiveness, was plagued by nightmares. One night, while wandering the desert in a bout of insomnia, Shiruyeh fell into a deep chasm and disappeared. Soon afterwards, a plague arose from the chasm which killed half of Gurabad's population and led to its abandonment, which later became known as "Shiruyeh's Plague." It is believed that both Shirin and Shiruyeh became evil apparitions, with Shirin either imprisoned in a magic silver bottle by King Deshret later on, or continuing to wander the desert to this day.[3]
Trivia[]
Etymology[]
- Shirin was the wife of Khosrow II (Khosrow Parviz), both of whom became major figures in Persian literature. She is best known for her depictions in the Shahnameh and Khosrow and Shirin, the latter of which is a major inspiration for the in-game book The Tale of Shiruyeh and Shirin. However, there are several key differences: Genshin's Shirin had a loveless marriage with her husband and eventually used their son Shiruyeh to instigate Parvezravan's death and the fall of Gurabad. The historical Shirin and Khosrow were mutually in love with each other, while Shiruyeh was the son of Khosrow and his other wife Miriam; in Khosrow and Shirin, Shiruyeh murders Khosrow in order to marry Shirin himself, and she commits suicide to avoid this fate.
Other Languages[]
| Language | Official Name |
|---|---|
| English | Shirin |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 希琳 Xīlín |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 希琳 Xīlín |
| Japanese | シリン Shirin |
| Korean | 시린 Sirin |
| Spanish | Shirín |
| French | Shirin |
| Russian | Сирин Sirin |
| Thai | Shirin |
| Vietnamese | Shirin |
| German | Shirin |
| Indonesian | Shirin |
| Portuguese | Shirin |
| Turkish | Shirin |
| Italian | Shirin |
Change History[]
References[]
- ↑ Artifact, Desert Pavilion Chronicle: The First Days of the City of Kings
- ↑ Artifact, Desert Pavilion Chronicle: Legacy of the Desert High-Born
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Book: The Tale of Shiruyeh and Shirin, Vol. 2