In Persian mythology, Aždahā is the dragon-like creature that appears in the Shahnameh as a dangerous monster.
The word aždahā comes from the broader Iranian tradition of dragon or monstrous serpent figures. In Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh, completed around the turn of the 11th century, dragon episodes form part of the heroic world faced by Persian kings and champions. The term can refer to a large, threatening serpent or dragon rather than one single universally fixed character.
Persian dragon imagery developed across Zoroastrian, Middle Persian, Islamic-era, and epic literary traditions. It often overlaps with the idea of a destructive serpent, while heroic tales use the creature as an obstacle demonstrating a warrior’s courage.
Aždahā should not be confused with the Simurgh, a benevolent or ambivalent giant bird associated with wisdom and healing. Nor is it the manticore, a separate hybrid beast with a human-like face and a lion’s body in later Persian and European bestiaries.