Warlike Heroines in the Persian Alexander Tradition: The Cases of Arāqīt and Burāndukht

Abstract

The eleventh-century Iskandar-nāma and the twelfth-century Dārāb-nāma are discussed as examples of the epic prose romance in classical Persian literature, with Arāqit in the first, and Burāndukht in the second, as examples of warlike women. The similarities and differences in the roles of these two heroines in their relationships to Alexander are examined, first, as adversaries, and then, as lovers, of the king.