Rostam Kills the Dragon

Rostam Kills the Dragon

Rostam is the epic hero of the story, Rostam and Sohrab, part of the Persian epic of Shahnama in Persian mythology. On his quest to rescue King Kavus from demons, Rostam had to succeed in many trials of courage and strength. In this part of the story, he was asleep, unaware that a dragon was approaching. He was woken up several times by Rakhsh, his faithful horse. But each time, the Dragon made itself invisible, and Rostam fell back to sleep. Finally Rostam saw the dragon and drew his sword to kill it. With the help of Rakhsh, he was able to sever the dragon's head. The Shahnama is an epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi and is the national epic of Iran and the Persian speaking world. The poem tells the mythical and to some extent the historical past of the Persian empire from the creation of the world until the Islamic conquest of Persia in the 7th century. This image is from a Persian manuscript of the Shahnama which dates from the 15th century.

FERDOWSI

Album / Science Source / New York Public Library

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3900 x 2836 px | 31.6 MB

33.0 x 24.0 cm | 13.0 x 9.5 in (300 dpi)