Abstract: The subject of the study is N.S. Gumilev's poem "Zvezdnyi uzhas" ["Star Horror"] - one of the poet's last works, which has ambivalent semantics and contains the potential of polyvalent interpretation. The object of the study is the conflict of the poem "Zvezdnyi uzhas", which has a historical meaning and casts light on the conflicts of the distant past. On the other hand, through the plot of the poem, the realities of the present and its perception by contemporaries at the junction of epochs are read. The authors consider in detail such aspects of the topic as the identification of the tribe to which the main characters of the poem belong as a conflict-causing factor, the implicature of the conflict is also considered in the context of the collection "Ognennyi stolp" ["Pillar of Fire"]. Particular attention is paid to the conflict with the Zend tribe mentioned in the text, which is considered in the categories of the opposition of the true and imaginary, and the ambivalence of the conflict and the plot is also highlighted. The main conclusions of the study are various ways of reading the main conflict of the poem: the conflict of the old and the new, tradition and change, fathers and children; the poem also presents the conflict of various religious movements. A special contribution of the authors to the study of the topic is the possibility of reading this poem in the categories of various types of conflict, including the conflict associated with N.S. Gumilev's fascination with Zoroastrianism. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that for the first time the connection of the text of "Star Horror" with Zoroastrianism and ancient Persian traditions and motifs is shown. N.S. Gumilev consciously turned to Zoroastrian mythology not only in his early but also in his late work, and "Star Horror" in this respect has multiple interpretations of the plot and conflict. The question of attribution of the tribe, which is the main character of the text, is raised in connection with the mention of specific realities, the name of the tribe "Zend" indicated in the text is analyzed against the background of N.S. Gumilev's interest in the Persian theme in later poems.