Iran / Persia: Rustam tears a Turkish rider - probably Kamus, a vassal of Afrasiab - off his horse. Illustration from an early 14th century Shahnameh, Isfahan
The Shahnameh or Shah-nama (Persian: شاهنامه Šāhnāmeh, 'The Book of Kings') is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c.977 and 1010 CE and is the national epic of Iran and related Perso-Iranian cultures. Consisting of some 60,000 verses, the Shahnameh tells the mythical and to some extent the historical past of Greater Iran from the creation of the world until the Islamic conquest of Persia in the 7th century.
The work is of central importance in Persian culture, regarded as a literary masterpiece, and definitive of ethno-national cultural identity of Iran. It is also important to the contemporary adherents of Zoroastrianism, in that it traces the historical links between the beginnings of the religion with the death of the last Zoroastrian ruler of Persia during the Muslim conquest.
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Quick links to other images in this gallery:
![Iran / Persia: A beheading. Possibly depicting the execution of the Turanian ruler Afrasiab by the Iranian king. Illustration from an early 14th century Shahnameh, Isfahan](http://c15008555.r55.cf2.rackcdn.com/9736bf00ea91b5311c1eb07bda6d23e9/CPA0016346.jpg)
![Iran / Persia: Suhrab, son of Rustam, discovers he has been fighting with Gurdafarid when he rips her helmet off and discovers she is a woman. Illustration from an early 14th century Shahnameh, Isfahan](http://c15008555.r55.cf2.rackcdn.com/9736bf00ea91b5311c1eb07bda6d23e9/CPA0016347.jpg)
![Iran / Persia: Rustam tears a Turkish rider - probably Kamus, a vassal of Afrasiab - off his horse. Illustration from an early 14th century Shahnameh, Isfahan](http://c15008555.r55.cf2.rackcdn.com/9736bf00ea91b5311c1eb07bda6d23e9/CPA0016348.jpg)
![Iran / Persia: Rudaba gives birth to Rustam (Rostam). To the right is the Simurgh or Persian phoenix, which has just been called by Rustam's father Zal through the burning of one of the bird's feathers. Illustration from an early 14th century Shahnameh, I](http://c15008555.r55.cf2.rackcdn.com/9736bf00ea91b5311c1eb07bda6d23e9/CPA0016349.jpg)
![Iran / Persia: Siwayu proves his innocence by riding through fire. Illustration from an early 14th century Shahnameh, Isfahan](http://c15008555.r55.cf2.rackcdn.com/9736bf00ea91b5311c1eb07bda6d23e9/CPA0016350.jpg)
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