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Shahnameh - The first monument of modern Persian
In the Museum for Islamic Art’s collection there is a painting from one of the greatest illuminated manuscripts ever created, “the Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp.” We are taking a look at the story behind this painting in the context of Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh, a poem that has shaped Persian identity for over a thousand years. In this painting, we meet Zal, the white-haired child rescued by the mystical Simurgh in a scene alive with wonder and sorrow. We then follow the extraordinary journey of its most lavishly illustrated edition from the royal workshops of 16th-century Safavid Persia to fragments scattered across the globe.
Story of a nation
Following the Arab conquest and the death of the last Sasanian ruler in 651, Arabic started gaining greater prominence in the region, while elements of Persian culture became less visible. They were not forgotten though, as the people held on to traditions, memories, and stories, keeping them alive. In the tenth century, Persian culture experienced a cultural revival. At its heart was Ferdowsi, a Persian poet, who gathered tales still remembered and surviving texts, shaping them into the Shahnameh, an epic of more than 50,000 couplets.
The Shahnameh (the Book of Kings) is a monumental undertaking by Ferdowsi recounting the mythical origins and tales of legendary heroes, and the ancient kings of Iran from the dawn of time to the Arab Conquest in 651 A.D. The Shahnameh thus became both the story of a nation and the first major monument of the modern Persian language. Its significance extends to the present day, as a living memory of Iran and a cornerstone of Iranian identity.
Shahnameh's impact extended far beyond literature, it became a very significant narrative of a nation, shaping cultural memory and political imagination. Its stories traveled across the Persianate world - from Uzbekistan to India, from the plains of Turkey to the valleys of Afghanistan - allowing generations to see themselves within its tales. Across centuries, both local and foreign dynasties continued to commission new, often lavishly illustrated copies of the epic. By appropriating this cultural treasure and integrating its values, rulers used the Shahnameh as an ideological tool to affirm their rightful succession to the kings of old. When the Seljuks established the Rum Sultanate in Turkey, the Sultans assumed titles taken from ancient Persian mythology, and Kayqubad I (1220 to 1237) even had some passages from the Shahnameh inscribed on the walls of Konya and Sivas. Even foreign rulers adopted the epic as a means of legitimacy, weaving themselves into Iran’s storied past through its verses and imagery. Two centuries before the famous Shahnameh of Tahmasp, the Mongols commissioned the great Tabriz Shahnameh, employing artists from Shiraz.
The Story Depicted in the Painting from Shahnameh in Berlin
The painting here visually depicts the story of Simurgh and the father/son duo of Sam and Zal at Mountain Alborz. This painting is part of the collection at the Museum for Islamic Art in Berlin since 1977.
In this painting we see Simurgh, a mystical mother bird coming to its nest, and next to it there are two baby simurghs in the nest. In the nest we also see a young man with white hair. This young man is Zal, one of the great heroes of Shahnameh. He will be the father of one of the greatest heroes of Shahnameh, Rostam, in the future. But Zal’s father, who is also one of the heroes called Sam, abandoned Zal when he was a child because of the unusual color of his hair. He left him in the mountains of Alborz to die.
The story goes that Simurgh finds Zal and brings him to its nest. Initially, she considers giving him to her chicks to eat, but compassion overtook instinct, and she raised the boy with her own children. Meanwhile, Sam, the father of Zal is troubled by the images of Zal in his dreams. Zal is described in the Shahnameh as a silver body and as a beautiful shining person. After passage of many years his father regrets what he had done, feels sorrow and sets out to look for his son.
This is the moment that is depicted in this painting and it’s a wonderful depiction because you can see the boy looking to Simurgh, the mother bird who raised him, almost as if saying: “I don’t want to leave, it’s awful. I love your nest, this is where I grew up.” And the bird saying something like: “You should go down. You will be another person when you see what you don’t know yet. The future is bright, so I give you a feather, if you have any problem, call me.” This is an important moment, because Rostom, his son, is saved by the same feather.
I. 5/77, "Father Sam brings back his son Zal from Mount Alborz", around 1530. Miniature / Paper, gouache, gold, silver, gold powder. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Museum für Islamische Kunst
At the bottom right of the painting you see the father, one might imagine that he’s calling out to the son saying: “Oh, I’m sorry”. You can also see other persons beside him. One is looking and pointing “Oh, he’s there” and the other one is looking in the nature.
Nature is an important aspect in the painting. It is depicted as full of wonders. The wonders of nature are a recurring theme in the Persian literature. In Ferdowsi’s epic, nature is where the boy is living, where he grows up, nature is good and it is full of wonders and its wild. On a closer look, we can see stones with faces, animals reacting as though aware of human deeds, a landscape imbued with vitality.
The golden horizon, painted in luminous tones, suggests either the beginning or end of a day, a symbolic marker of a new era for both Zal and Sam, a turning point from which heroes like Rostam will emerge to serve kings.
Who is Simurgh?
The Simurgh remains one of the most enchanting figures in Persian mythology. It traces its roots to the old Persian Senmurv, motifs of which appear in textiles from Uzbekistan and Afrasiab, and in Sasanid cities like Ktesiphon, where houses displayed the creature as a symbol of protection and good fortune. The figure of Senmurv faded after the fall of the Sasanid Empire but it reemerged as the Simurgh in Ferdowsi’s Persian mythology. Early depictions of Simurgh painted her more like a chicken than a celestial bird. Mystical poetry, such as The Conference of the Birds ‘Mantiq-ut-Tayr’, reimagined her as the mother of all birds.
With the arrival of the Mongols in the 13th century, the visual depiction of Simurgh changed dramatically. Chinese motifs influenced Persian art, merging with local tradition to produce the Mongol-Chinese Simurgh, a creature that embodies transregional artistic exchange while retaining deep Persian identity. This new style appears in palace decorations from the early 1270s, shortly after the founding of major Mongol palaces in Iran, linking the painting’s imagery to a broader, cross-cultural artistic history.
Different depictions of Senmurv/Simurgh over the years:
The depictions of the Senmurv/Simurgh change with time and context. Its appearance and form are therefore as varied as the blending of dog, peacock, eagle, and imagination across generations allows.
Image Index
From right to left:
Book art, album folio from the Shahnameh, the hero Sam brings back his son Zal from Mount Alborz, I. 5/77. Credit: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Museum für Islamische Kunst / Farwah Rizvi
Manuscript, Qazwini manuscript “The wonders of creation” folio depicting mythical creature Simurgh in a medieval Islamic context. 1280, Iran-Iraq. Cod.arab. 464, f. 65v. Credit: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Oriental and Asia Department. Creative Commons Mark 1.0
Sassanid hexagonal stucco tile depicting a winged simurgh in a circular medallion, likely from Ctesiphon. I. 6701, 3rd–5th century. Credit: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Museum für Islamische Kunst / Johannes Kramer CC BY-SA 4.0
Album folio from the Shahnameh, Scene from Shahnameh: Zal asks Simurgh for help for his son Rustam. I.4596, fol 5. ca.1765-1785, India. Credit: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Museum für Islamische Kunst / Ingrid Geske
Manuscript illustration of mythical creatures as described by Al-Qazwini. ca. 14th century. I. 6943, fol. 82v. Credit: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Museum für Islamische Kunst / Margaret Shortle
Wall relief of a Senmurv, a dog-peacock mythical creature; acquired 1939 by Dr. Erdmann from Aschéroff, Cairo. 7th–8th century, Sasanids Iran. I. 6642. Credit: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Museum für Islamische Kunst / Johannes Kramer CC BY-SA 4.0
Illustration of a simurgh. ca. 13th - 4th century. Diez A folio 73 S. 46 Nr. 10. Credit: Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Germany
Octagonal embossed silver platter with multiple senmurv figures, symbolizing imperial power; eastern Iran or Central Asia. 10th–11th century, Samanids, Iran. I. 4926 Credit: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Museum für Islamische Kunst / Johannes Kramer
The Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp
Illustrated manuscripts emerged centuries after Ferdowsi first wrote the epic of Shahnameh, and of the many manuscripts that survive, only a few rise to historical and artistic prominence. The most lavishly illustrated copy was produced during the Safavid period in the royal workshops of Tabriz, better known as Shahnameh of Tahmasp.
The manuscript was commissioned in 1520s by the first Safavid ruler, Shah Ismail. Safavids had disrupted the established religious order by making Shi’ism the state religion and Shah Ismail was revered by his followers as the prophesized messianic figure, Mahdi. But after the Safavids’ crushing defeat by the Ottomans at Chaldiran in 1514, things started to take a turn. Its possible that Shah Ismail initiated the monumental project of producing the Shahnameh as a way to recalibrate his reign’s image and reinforce Safavid legitimacy. The new Shahnameh was to be grander and more important than any of its predecessors. Shah Ismail died before the manuscript was completed and the work was continued under his son Shah Tahmasp reaching completion around 1530.
Miniatures in the Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp
The manuscript spans 758 pages, adorned with 258 detailed paintings, some of which required years to finish. Artists of extraordinary skill came together in the royal workshops of Tabriz to work on this manuscript. Among the finest were Sultan Muhammad of Tabriz, Mir Musavvir from present-day Uzbekistan, Dust Muhammad from Afghanistan, and Aqa Mirak, all celebrated masters of the Safavid court. Each page size is about 48 x 32 cm with text written in quality Nastaliq script.
Shah Tahmasp was a great patron of arts and calligraphy. He supplied his artists with precious materials such as ground gold and lapis lazuli, yet it’s probable that over time his growing religious inclination led him to abandon the arts. By the mid-1550s, the royal painting atelier was likely dissolved as Shah Tahmasp moved his court from Tabriz to Qazvin where he stayed until his death, and many artists from the royal workshops sought patronage elsewhere including the Mughal courts of India.
A Royal Gift
In the 1560s, Shah Tahmasp presented the Shahnameh manuscript, along with other precious gifts, as part of an ascension gift to the Ottoman Sultan Selim II, though the exact reasons remain unknown. It remained in the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul for centuries, where Ottoman scholars even added notes and commentaries around 1800. In the early twentieth century it was dispersed; its paintings are today found in museums and private collections around the world.
Transcription & Translation of the entry in the Inventory Book
Entry for the painting I. 5/77 in the log of the Museum for Islamic Art, Berlin, 1955–1999.
Transcription
Nr: I. 5/77
Herkunft: Iran (Tabriz), 3. Jahrzehnt des 16. Jh.
Gegenstand: Miniatur, "wie der Held Sam zum Berg AlBurz kommt, seinen Sohn Zal abzuholen, der von dem Vogel Simurg im Nest zusammen mit seinen Jungen aufgezogen worden ist." Blatt 63 mit umseitigen Titelleisten aus den sog. Houghton -Schahname, das eine 1527 ??? dat. Widmung an Schah Tahmasp enthält. Vermutlich Maler "D" - wohl 'Abd al-'Aziz - offenbar Schüler des zweiten Leiters der Hofwerkstatt Sultan Muhammad. Goldpudergrund, die violette und türkisfarbene Felslandschaft mit Goldgrund links über die Rahmung hinausragend.
Material / Masse: Papier, Temperafarbe, Gold, Blatt 47 x 31,3 cm, Mini-Rahmung 28,2 x 18-18,5 cm
Art der Bewerbung: Ankauf, Chur (London)
Datum der Rechnung: 8.8.1977
Preis (Brutto): 364.247,- DM,
Bemerkung: 161.500,- $ Urspr. A.A. Houghton, Bezahlt am 30.11. aufgrund von Währungsgefälle: 359.789,70 DM + EUS 18.788,43 DM, Zus. 378.578,13 DM
Translation
No.: I. 5/77
Origin: Iran (Tabriz), 3rd decade of the 16th century.
Subject: Miniature depicting "the hero Sam coming to Mount AlBurz to fetch his son Zal, who was raised in a nest by the bird Simurg with his young." Sheet 63 with title strips on the reverse from the so-called Houghton Shahnameh, which contains a dedication to Shah Tahmasp dated 1527. Presumably by the painter "D" – probably 'Abd al-'Aziz – evidently a student of the second director of Sultan Muhammad's court workshop. Gold powder ground, the purple and turquoise rocky landscape with gold ground projecting beyond the frame on the left.
Material / Dimensions: Paper, tempera paint, gold, sheet 47 x 31.3 cm, mini-frame 28.2 x 18-18.5 cm
Type of bid: Purchase, Chur (London)
Date of invoice: August 8, 1977
Price (gross): 364,247 DM
Value: $161,500 Originally: A.A. Houghton. Paid on November 30th due to currency differences: 359,789.70 DM + 18,788.43 DM, total: 378,578.13 DM
View the inventory book of the Museum for Islamic Art (1955–1999) online
The way from the Topkapi Palace to private property is not known. It was in possession of the Rothschild family around the time of the end of Ottoman Empire and eventually acquired by Arthur H. Houghton Jr, who was the chairman of the Metropolitan Museum of Art for many years. In 1960, in a move to reduce his tax burden, Houghton Jr. took apart the book's binding, keeping 118 pages for himself, bestowing 78 to the Metropolitan Museum of Art while auctioning the remaining among private and public collections. In July 1994, on the tarmac of Vienna airport, a clandestine swap saw the government of Iran acquire the remaining 118 paintings and all of the text pages of the 16th century Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp from the heirs of Houghton in return for Willem de Kooning’s Woman III.
The two paintings in the Berlin collection come from the 62 paintings sold off at auctions to private and museum collections. Klaus Brisch, the then director of the Museum for Islamic Art in West Berlin arranged funds, as it is often a challenge, to acquire two paintings. The painting with Simurgh was acquired in 1977, while the Islamic Art collection was divided into East and West Berlin, which eventually reunited in 2001.
A note from Stefan Weber, the Director of the Museum for Islamic Art
The Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp really stands out among other Shahnamehs and the broader Safavid style. What draws you to it is a sense that there’s something truly special about it. At a very specific moment in art history, many different traditions came together.
When Ismail and Tahmasp invited artists from across regions, they brought with them influences from Asia, Turkmenistan, and the old Mongolian tradition. When different artists meet like this, a unique moment can occur - one that creates a new style and a lasting legacy. This book captures exactly that moment. It set the tone for Safavid art, which continues to impress even today.
What makes this monument of art remarkable is its ability to bring together these diverse traditions. Today, this is especially important because Iran is often misunderstood. Many of us know little about its culture, and news coverage can give distorted impressions. Seeing this work allows us to appreciate the genius, creativity, and culture of the people who created it.
This connects closely to the mission of our museum. Through culture, people meet each other on an equal footing. When you look closely, you see unexpected connections - like how the Simurgh resembles Harry Potter’s phoenix. Monuments like this become bridges: spaces where we can meet, interact, and discover shared histories.
That’s the role of a museum - not just to collect, interpret, and research art, but to preserve the memory of diverse cultures and provide an open space for discussion and exploration. In practice, we do this every day. People from Iran often come to act as guides, speaking in their own language or in English and German, sharing their knowledge with our visitors. With 900,000 visitors a year, many encounter something new or discover a perspective they hadn’t considered before. It’s incredibly rewarding to see them explore and make it their own.
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