The Simurgh, the Great Bird of Persia between Ferdowsi and Attar

In Persian tradition the Simurgh is the greatest and wisest of birds. Unlike many Western fantastic creatures it is not a monster, but a benevolent and very ancient being that knows the secrets of the world and protects those who are worthy of it. Its history spans more than two millennia, from Zoroastrian religious texts to the national epic and mystical poetry, and its image has adorned textiles, ceramics and miniatures.

From the Avesta to Sasanian Art

The origins of the Simurgh go back to ancient Iranian religion. In the Avesta, the Zoroastrian holy book, a bird called Saena appears, whose name survives in the first part of the Persian word. In Middle Persian texts the Senmurv rests on a prodigious tree that grows in the middle of the cosmic sea and bears the seeds of all plants: when the bird alights or takes flight, the seeds fall and are scattered across the world.

In the art of the Sasanian period, between the third and seventh centuries AD, many scholars recognise the Senmurv in a composite creature with a dog's head, bird's wings and a peacock's tail, although not everyone accepts the identification. This figure appears on silver dishes, stucco work and precious silk textiles; fabrics with similar motifs reached medieval Europe, where they were sometimes used to wrap relics.

The Simurgh in the Book of Kings

The Simurgh's most famous role is found in the Shahnameh, the Book of Kings, the great epic poem composed by Ferdowsi and completed around 1010. The nobleman Sam, seeing that his newborn son has hair as white as an old man's, takes it as an ill omen and has him abandoned on Mount Alborz. The Simurgh finds the child, carries him to its nest and raises him together with its own young.

The child, Zal, grows up strong and handsome. When Sam, repentant, climbs the mountain to look for him, the Simurgh gives him back and presents the boy with some of its feathers: according to the poem, by burning one he will be able to summon it in time of danger. The bird intervenes several times in the family's story, first at the difficult birth of Rostam, Zal's son, then in the struggle against the hero Esfandiyar, when it advises Rostam to use an arrow of tamarisk wood.

Thirty Birds: Attar's Mystical Reading

In the twelfth century the mystical poet Farid al-Din Attar of Nishapur made the Simurgh the centre of his poem The Speech of the Birds, also known as The Conference of the Birds. The birds of the world decide to seek their king and set out led by the hoopoe. The journey crosses seven valleys, which represent the stages of the spiritual path, from the quest to love and knowledge, and on to poverty and the annihilation of the self.

Many birds give up along the way, and only thirty reach the goal. Here the poem reveals its wordplay: in Persian si murgh means precisely “thirty birds”. Gazing at the Simurgh, the pilgrims discover that they are seeing themselves, and understand that the king they were seeking was the reflection of their union. It is one of the most profound images of Sufi literature, often illustrated in Persian miniatures.

From guardian of the world's seeds to nurse of heroes, and on to mirror of the soul, the Simurgh has changed its function without losing its nature: it is a higher being that reveals itself to help and enlighten. In Iran its name and figure are still very widespread today, and remain one of the most recognisable symbols of Persian culture, from literature to the decorative arts.