JAMŠID (or JAM), mythical king of Iran; Middle Persian Jam, Jamšēd, Avestan Yima (Old Indic Yama), with the epithet xšaēta (Elamite Persepolis tablets Yamak-šedda; Benveniste, 1966, p. 96; Hallock, p. 771; Hinz, p. 273). The common noun, meaning “twin,” is attested once in Old Avestan in the dual (yə̄mā, see below) and in Old Indic from the Rigveda on (singular, dual, plural), and is used to denote one of a pair of twins, twin brothers or sisters, or several individual twins. On the name, see also Mayrhofer, I, no. 406. This entry is divided into two sections.
ii. Jamšid in Persian Literature
(Multiple Authors)
Originally Published: December 15, 2008
Last Updated: December 15, 2008
