Rostam had a half-brother, Shaghad, who lived at the court of the king of Kabul. Shaghad envied Rostam’s fame and conspired with the king against him. They staged a quarrel, and Shaghad invited Rostam to Kabul, supposedly to make peace.
On a hunting ground they had deep pits dug, their floors bristling with spears and swords, and covered them with branches. When Rostam rode there with his brother Zavareh, Rakhsh sensed the danger and stopped. Rostam, who otherwise trusted his horse blindly, drove him on with the whip. Rakhsh leapt and fell into a pit; horse and rider were mortally wounded.
Dying, Rostam asked Shaghad to string his bow for him, so that no lion could attack him while he still lived. Shaghad gave him the bow and hid in fear behind an old plane tree. With his last strength Rostam shot an arrow that went through the tree and pinned Shaghad to the trunk. Then Iran’s greatest hero died. Ferdowsi describes the grief that came over the whole land as the end of an age.