Babr-e Bayan

Babr-e Bayān^[1] (Persian: بَبْرِ بَیان‎‎) or Palangine (پلنگینه) is the name of a suit that Rostam, the legendary Iranian hero wore in wars. The suit had a number of preternatural features. It was invulnerable against fire, water and weapon. Its color was dark and apparently it was hairy. Rostam, before going to battle, wore three levels of defensive suits, he first put on a zereh, then a gabr or jowshan, and lastly the Babr-e Bayan. According to some verses in Shahnameh, Babr-e Bayan had been made out of the skin of a leopard (the name Palangine refers to this). This account is also mentioned in some Sogdian texts. According to Faramarznameh, after the death of Rostam, the suit was passed to his son, Faramarz.^[1]

Etymology

The name Babr-e Bayan consists of two components. Babr, the first component, simply means tiger in English. Bayan, the second component, is not a Persian word and its origin is uncertain. There are several suggestions for this but none of them are convincing. In an account, when Rostam was 14 years old, he killed a dragon known as Babr-e Bayan in India. The dragon lived in the sea, but he came out of the sea one day every week. When Rostam killed the creature, he made a suit for himself out of its skin. There are similar accounts to this in other Persian epic poems.^[1]

Another suggestion is that Bayan is the name of a city, most probably Bayana in India. Another city named Bayan is also mentioned by early Islamic geographers, the city was located near Tigris in Khuzestan.^[1]

References

1. Khaleghi-Motlagh, Dj. "BABR-E BAYĀN". ENCYCLOPÆDIA IRANICA. Retrieved 16 March 2016.