Abdul Aziz: Zal is Sighted by a Caravan (1525)

(Sackler Gallery, Washington D.C., USA)

An illustration made by the 16th century Iranian artist Abdul Aziz. This illustration comes from a copy of the 'Shahnama', or Book of Kings, the national epic of Greater Iran and the world's longest epic poem written by a single poet. The book tells the history of the Persian Empire from the creation of the world until the Islamic conquest of Persia in the 7th century. An important figure in the book is the legendary hero Rustam. Rustam himself was the son of the equally famous warrior Zal and Rudaba, the princess of Kabul. Zal was born "with a body like pure silver ... but his hair was that of an old man." His white hair was considered a curse from the evil spirit Ahriman and Zal's father Sam left his newborn in the Alborz Mountains. The baby was found by a simurgh, a benevolent, mythical bird, which took Zal to its nest with her own fledglings. Some years later a caravan passing the region noticed a noble youth with the chest a mountain of silver and his waist a reed living in the nest. Word of this remarkable presence finally reached Sam who traveled to the mountain to check the boy. Upon arriving Sam immediately saw that the boy was his own son and tried to climb toward him but to no avail. Sam prayed to God and asked for forgiveness and help. The simurgh brought Zal down to Sam and gave Zal three of its feathers: "Burn this if ever you have need of me, and may your heart never forget your nurse, whose heart breaks for love of you". The illustration shows Zal sitting high on the mountain with the simurgh flying toward him with a large cow. the passing caravan is shown in the lower right corner. Illustration from 1525.