On the Celebrated Lands of Iran and the Kayanid HouseOn the Celebrated Lands of Iran and the Kayanid House

Abstract

Chapter 31 describes the sixteen lands of Iran and the adversary that Ahriman sent against each one. The Bundahišn’s list is modeled on the first chapter of the Vidēvdād, which describes Ērānwēz and fifteen adjacent countries, most of which are located in today’s northeastern Iran, Afghanistan, and Central Asia. As is often the case in Sasanian reimaginings of Avestan geography, the chapter reascribes originally eastern toponyms to the southwestern districts that were the heartland of the Sasanian Empire as a form of mythic relocation.