Hushang

thumb|Hushang Slays the Black Div (mythology)|Div. Miniature by [[Sultan Mohammed from the Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp]] Hūshang (; , ), also spelled Hōshang, is an early hero-king in Iranian mythical history. He is known from Avestan, Middle Persian, and Sasanian-based Persian and Arabic sources. He appears to have been one of several 'first man/king' figures in different Iranian traditions, along with Jamshid, Keyumars, and Tahmuras. In the Avesta, he is called Haoshyangha and is given the epithet , whence Persian . While this title is given only to Hushang in the Avesta, in later tradition the first Iranian dynasty (the Pishdadians), including Hushang's predecessor and successors, are called by this title. According to Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, which drew from the traditional history developed in the late Sasanian period, Hushang was the second king of the Pishdadian dynasty and the grandson of the first man and king Keyumars.

==Etymology== In the Avesta, Hushang is called Haoshyangha ( ). Older sources interpreted the second part of the name as , composed of 'dwelling' and 'giving rise to', thus meaning 'he who produces good dwellings' or 'promoter of culture and sedentary living'. According to another interpretation, the second part of the name is , a variant of 'selecting, deciding', giving the whole name * the meaning 'good (religious) choice'. Hushang's epithet / () was interpreted in Sasanian times as meaning 'he who first set the law of sovereignty', which has been accepted by some modern scholars. Others interpret the name as meaning 'set at the beginning' in the sense of 'first man'. Some have noted the similarity between the name and Paralatos, the name of the progenitor of the Paralatae or "Royal Scythians" who was a grandson of Targitaus, the first man according to Scythian mythology. Hushang is called Ushanj or Ushhanj in Arabic sources.