Legend of Rudabeh

Rudabah or Rudaba was a princess in Persian mythology. To understand the story of Rudaba which is inextricably intertwined with Zal we need to start before her birth.

Zal (sometimes written as Zaal) was a son of Sam who was a great Persian hero. Sam was the son of another hero of Persia. His name was Nariman and he was also a son of a hero named Garshasp. And he was ... you probably get the picture, right?

Zal was born with white hair ('Zal' can be roughly translated as 'albino'). This was considered a bad omen and his father Sam blamed an evil spirit Ahriman for that. Zal was abandoned as a kid in Alborz Mountain. A mythological bird Simurgh, a bit similar to more known phenix from other mythologies adopted him and raised him in his nest.

Years later, a passing caravan spotted a young man in the nest. His white hair and silver mountain on his chest made a remarkable presence so the rumors about him spread fast and reached Sam. Sam talked to his counselors who advised him to check on his son. Sam had found the nest but couldn't reach it. So he prayed to the gods and asked for forgiveness. He wanted his son back.

Then Simurgh came and helped the father and the son to join again. When parting, Simurgh gave a feather to Zal and told him to burn it if he got into great trouble. The bird would know for his call and come to the rescue.

Zal spent some time in the court of his father and when Sam went to war started running the kingdom. Then he heard the song about Rudabeh. Rudabeh was the daughter of another king. He was Mehrab Kaboli.

The name 'Rudabeh' could be translated as 'the child of light'. Songs were praising her beauty, mentioning her silvern shoulders and long black hair. It compared her eyes to narcissus, the blackness of her eyelashes to raven's feathers, and her breasts to pomegranates. Zal fell in love without ever meeting her. The song was so persuasive.

He came to the Rudabah's palace and started inquiring about her. She heard about him as well and started getting information on her own. Her ladies-in-waiting were of great help. They arranged that young ones could meet.

The wall was tall but Rudabah's braids were so long she left them down so Zal could climb up. He didn't want to injure her and used a rope he brought with him. They talked for a very long time. Well, apparently they didn't just talk because she became pregnant.

Rudabah's father didn't approve of the marriage and Zal's father was hesitant at the idea too. He knew Rudabeh was a descendant of evil serpent King Zahhak who had human brain-eating serpents on his shoulders. Zal told his father about his promise of fulfilling all of Zal's wishes. The court astrologers advised Sam to bless the marriage because the son of Zal and Rudabeh would be a great hero, a conquerer of the world. Mehrab Kaboli still didn't want to hear about the marriage and turned to the Emperor who demanded that Zal shows his skills.

Zal defeated all his best warriors, solved the hardest puzzles, and proved to be worthy of Rudabah's hand. Young ones could finally marry each other. The wedding celebration lasted for 30 days.

Yet new troubles came very soon. When Rudabah started giving birth it looked that she and her baby would not survive. He was too big for a normal birth. Then Zal decided to use the Simurgh's feather. The bird came right away and showed how to touch Rudabah's belly so it would open and the baby could be taken out. This is the oldest known depiction of Caesarean section.

This is how Rostam, another great Persian hero was born. Zal and Rudabeh had later another son but Rostam was the one who became a legend. One of the greatest ever. His story is material for another time.

The legend of Rudaba shares many elements with several other more or less well-known legends and tales. Today, Rapunzel is probably the most popular of all.

Here are a few similarities:

• father abandoning his child,
• isolation of young beautiful lady from outside world,
• high walls as a barrier,
• beautiful long hair,
• mighty opponents who try to separate the young lovers,
• a life-threatening cut,
• lovers have two kids,
• a happy ending is achieved by supernatural powers.