The+Shah-nameh+and+Rostam+&+Shorab

__**The Shah-nameh (Book of Kings)**__



__** History of The Shah-nameh: **__

The Shah-nameh was written in 1000 A.D by the famous Persian poet, Hakīm Abu'l-Qāsim Firdowsī Tūsī, better know as Ferdowsi. Ferdowsi spent 30 years of his life writing the Shah-nameh, which contains 50,000+ rhyming couplets, 62 stories and 990 chapters.



The book is filled with the history of Persia, their culture, people, as well as the heroes, villains, and mythical creatures of the area. the stories became so popular in large part due to the artwork, as well as moral lessons that it taught to those who would read it.

__** The Art: **__







**__Rostam and Sohrab__**

Rostam was a wanderer and hero of the land. He was troubled by a sense of foreboding, so he saddled his horse, Rakhsh and set out. When he stopped for the night, seven Turen knights stole Rakhsh. Rostam was very angered and troubled by the disapearance of his horse and followed the hoof prints across the border into Samengan.

The King of Samengan noticed Rostam wander into his domain on foot and welcomed him into his palace after promising to send a search for Rakhsh. While staying at the palace, Rostam meets the King's daughter, Tahmineh and asks for her hand in marriage. The King was delighted and agreed, Rostam was promised the Kingdom of Samengan. Rostam bore Tahmineh away on Rakhsh, who had been found, and she never returned.

Nine months later, Tahmineh had a son who was named Sohrab. Upon learning of his lineage, Sohrab decided to conquer Iran in the name of his father and meet Rostam in Samengan. The Sha of Iran called upon Rostam for assistance as Sohrab's invasion intensified. Father and son found themselves on oposite sides and their advisers were plotting, thus did not warn them of the others identity.

Rostam inevitably faced Sohrab in battle. Rostam broke Sohrab's back and was preparing to finish him off, when Sohrab, realizing that he was about to die, mentioned how horrible it was that he would never meet his father, a hero. Rostam realized that he had fatally wounded his own son and wept.Sohrab forgave his father before dying.

http://www.iranchamber.com/literature/shahnameh/08rostam_sohrab.php