Manuchehr (منوچهر)

Manuchehr, a Pishdadiyan king, enters the world with a job description already waiting for him: avenge his grandfather Iraj and try not to let the entire kingdom implode in the process. Born from Iraj’s daughter — thanks to a carefully arranged “let’s-fix-this-bloodline” plan by Fereydun — he’s basically destiny’s favorite employee, whether he likes it or not.

To his credit, he actually delivers. He spends 120 years ruling with justice, which in this universe counts as a minor miracle, and manages to kick off what people later call a golden age. Of course, that involves hunting down and killing Tur and Salm, the uncles who thought fratricide was a solid long-term strategy. Revenge: achieved. Family therapy: still not a thing.

Naturally, peace doesn’t last, because this is still the Shahnameh and humans refuse to learn. The war with Turan drags on until it settles into a kind of exhausted stalemate, leaving Manuchehr stuck in Mazandaran like a king grounded by history itself. Resolution comes not through diplomacy, but via Arash the Archer, who fires a single arrow from Mount Damavand to mark the border — because when negotiations fail, just outsource your foreign policy to a guy with incredible upper-body strength.

During all this, Manuchehr has Sam — yes, that Sam, father of Zal — holding things together on the battlefield, proving once again that every king survives on the competence of at least one overqualified subordinate.

After a long, stable, and suspiciously successful 120-year reign, Manuchehr finally dies, passing the throne to Nowzar. Which, given the family track record, is less a conclusion and more the opening scene of the next inevitable disaster.