Rostam and Sohrab
Encyclopedia
Rustam and Sohrab is a tragedy from the Persian epic Shahnameh
. It tells the tragic story of the heroes Rustam and his son, Sohrab
.
. Once, following the traces of his lost horse, he entered the kingdom of Samangan. The king hosted Rustam, while his horse was being searched for. There Rustam met princess Tahmina and married her. Very soon he left the kingdom and never came back.
Meanwhile, Tahmina gave birth to his son and named him Sohrab. Rustam and Sohrab never met until a new war between Iran
and Turan
started many years later. By then Sohrab was known as the best fighter of Turan army.
As no one else dared to fight Rustam, Sohrab was sent to wrestle with the legendary Persian hero. However, the name of the hero was kept in secret, as Sohrab knew that Rustam was his father. On the battle field without stating the reason Sohrab told his rival that he would not fight against Rustam. Thus Rustam did not reveal his name.
After a very long and heavy wrestle, Rustam felt weak and afraid to spoil his reputation, so he stabbed his son in the heart. Tahmina, who came to the field to keep them from bloodshed, was too late and Sohrab died on his mourning father's hands.
Shahnameh
The Shahnameh or Shah-nama is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c.977 and 1010 AD and is the national epic of Iran and related societies...
. It tells the tragic story of the heroes Rustam and his son, Sohrab
Sohrab
Sohrāb or Suhrāb is a character from the Shahnameh, or the Tales of Kings by Ferdowsi in the tragedy of Rostam and Sohrab. He was the son of Rostam, who was an Iranian warrior, and Tahmineh, the daughter of the king of Samangam, a neighboring country. He was slain at a young age by his father...
.
Plot
Rustam is a Persian hero and one of the favorites of King KaykausKaykaus
Kaykaus may refer to:* Kaykaus I * Kaykaus II...
. Once, following the traces of his lost horse, he entered the kingdom of Samangan. The king hosted Rustam, while his horse was being searched for. There Rustam met princess Tahmina and married her. Very soon he left the kingdom and never came back.
Meanwhile, Tahmina gave birth to his son and named him Sohrab. Rustam and Sohrab never met until a new war between Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and Turan
Turan
Tūrān is the Persian name for Central Asia, literally meaning "the land of the Tur". As described below, the original Turanians are an Iranian tribe of the Avestan age. As a people the "Turanian" are one of the two Iranian peoples both descending from the Persian Fereydun but with different...
started many years later. By then Sohrab was known as the best fighter of Turan army.
As no one else dared to fight Rustam, Sohrab was sent to wrestle with the legendary Persian hero. However, the name of the hero was kept in secret, as Sohrab knew that Rustam was his father. On the battle field without stating the reason Sohrab told his rival that he would not fight against Rustam. Thus Rustam did not reveal his name.
After a very long and heavy wrestle, Rustam felt weak and afraid to spoil his reputation, so he stabbed his son in the heart. Tahmina, who came to the field to keep them from bloodshed, was too late and Sohrab died on his mourning father's hands.