Bahram
Bahram may refer to:
People
[edit]Other uses
[edit]- Bahram (Shahnameh), a heroic character in the Iranian epic poem Shahnameh
- Bahram (horse), the 1935 Triple Crown Champion of British Thoroughbred Racing
- Bahram, Iran (disambiguation), several places
Etymology
[edit]The name Bahram derives from the name of the ancient Iranian god of victory. It ultimately goes back to Old Iranian *Vṛθragna and Avestan Vərəθraγna, and developed through Middle Persian forms such as Warahrān and Wahrām into New Persian Bahrām.[1]
The Avestan noun vərəθraγna- originally meant "smiting of resistance", while the related adjective vərəθraγan- meant "victorious". Vərəθraγna was the warrior deity and personification of victory in the ancient Iranian and Zoroastrian pantheon.[2]
The word is inherited from the common Indo-Iranian period and is cognate with Vedic Sanskrit vṛtrahán, a well-known epithet of Indra meaning "slayer of Vṛtra" or "smiter of Vṛtra". The correspondence reflects an ancient Indo-Iranian concept of overcoming or destroying hostile resistance.[2]
The reconstructed Parthian form was *Warθagn. Iranian forms of the name were also borrowed into Armenian, producing forms such as Vahagn and Vrām.[1]
In Middle Persian, Wahrām became both the name of the god of victory and a common personal name, borne by several Sasanian kings. Middle Persian astronomical and astrological texts also used Wahrām as the name of the planet Mars, reflecting the identification of Vərəθraγna with the Greek war god Ares.[2]
See also
[edit]- Behram (disambiguation)
- Bihram, a Mandaean celestial being and given name
- Vahram (disambiguation)
- Verethragna or Bahram, a Zoroastrian yazata
- Behram Khan, a 1946 Indian film about the Mughal commander Bairam Khan
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