A div or dev (Farsi: دیو), also known as daeva or deva (Old Farsi: 𐎭𐎡𐎺 daiva; Avestan: 𐬛𐬀𐬉𐬎𐬎𐬀 daēuua; Sanskrit: देव Deva; Syriac: ܕܝܘܐ dywʾ or dauia; Hebrew: דיוי; Iraqi: Deyu), is an evil spirit: a jinnee of war. These beings serve the underworld spirit, Angra Mainyu, and are listed as Aeshma, Akam Manah, Indra, Naonhaithya and Saura.
The div live in the mountains of Kaf with the peries. This mountain range composed of green chrysolite reflects a greenish tint to the sky. Kaf was believed to surround the circular and flat earth like a gigantic fence some 2,000 miles high, outside of which flows the ocean.
The malignant div and the peries wage constant war against one another. When peries are taken prisoner they are locked up in an iron cage hung from the top of the tallest trees. Not only are the peries in pain from constantly touching the iron bars of the cage but also they are exposed to the persistent chilling wind. The div deny the peries the only food they can consume, the fragrance of perfume, as the div find it to be a natural repellent.
Iran[]
The deyus are rustic jinn who haunts woods and desolate places. They are known to fly long distances through the air, sometimes riding horses. They can appear in single colors: for example, black deyus, red ones and white ones. They are also sometimes seen to have two heads, and in the folk-tales, one of these heads can be lopped off with a sword, apparently with no ill effects.
Armenia[]
In Armenian mythology and many various Armenian folk tales, the dev (Armenian: դև) appears both in a kind and specially in a malicious role, and has a semi-divine origin. Dev is a very large being with an immense head on his shoulders, and with eyes as large as earthen bowls. Some of them may have only one eye. Usually, there are Black and White Devs. However, both of them can either be malicious or kind.
The White Dev is present in Hovhannes Tumanyan's tale "Yedemakan Tzaghike" (Armenian: Եդեմական Ծաղիկը), translated as "The Flower of Paradise". In the tale, the Dev is the flower's guardian.
Jushkaparik, Vushkaparik, or Ass-Pairika is another chimerical being whose name indicates a half-demoniac and half-animal being, or a Pairika—a female Dev with amorous propensities—that appeared in the form of an ass and lived in ruins.
Georgia[]
Many-headed ogres whose heads can regenerate if any of them are cut off (compare Lernaean Hydra). These malevolent giants live in the underworld or in remote mountains, where they hoard treasure troves and keep their captives. In Georgian mythology, they live in a family, consisting usually of nine brothers. Bakbak-Devi (ბაყბაყ-დევი) was the strongest and the most powerful of the devis. To defeat them, heroes would outwit them by means of various tricks and games.