History Literature / TheShahnameh

* [[HijackedByJesus Hijacked By Mohammad]]: Deliberately averted... for the most part.

* [[HijackedByJesus Hijacked By Mohammad]]: Deliberately averted. Other authors at the time tried to match up Persia's ancient legends with Muslim beliefs, but Ferdowsi let the original legends stand on their own.
* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: The second third of the book mostly concerns semi historical characters or characters based on historical people performing greatly exaggerated or outright fantastic feats, i.e., Alexander the Great probably didn't kill dragons or visit Mecca in real life, Bahram V most likely didn't win his throne back from a usurper by winning a lion-taming match, and even though a patriotic warrior named Rostam probably did live and rule in Sistan, he sure as hell never killed a mad white elephant with a single blow of a mace at age 5!

* CarryABigStick: When he isn't wrestling his foes, Rostem prefers to carry around a mace.

** Tears off a demon's head with his bare hands.
** Kills the White Demon in a long and bloody fight.

* FounderOfTheKingdom: Keyumars, the first king to rise among humanity, and Shah of Iran.

** also the reaction of the whole world after Zahhak's revolution. Jamshid was arrogant enough to claim to be a god, but he never opressed his people and arts and sciences were flourishing under his patronage. The leader of the revolution who quickly crowned himself as the new Shahanshah turned out to be a [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEveil rapist]], [[Sociopath completely incapable of love]], and the host of two snakes which had to be fed human brains every day.

* BigBad: Three of the most famous examples would be:
** Zahhak, a tyrant with two snakes growing out his shoulders whom Zahhak must feed human brains to.

* FemmeFatale: Soodabeh is the very attractive wife of Key Kavous who tries to seduce her stepson, Siavash. When Siavash turns her down twice, she claims Siavash sexually assaulted her. Even though the evidence is against her, she uses the aborted deformed babies of a witch to cast doubt on Siavash, who finally proves his innocence by riding through a huge fire and coming out unharmed. Even then she tries to frame Zal for losing the babies which doesn't work and Key Kavous sentences her to be hanged. Siavash knows his father will soon regret having her killed and will hold Siavash in contempt for her death, so he asks for Soodabeh to pardoned. Soon despite all she's done she bewitches her husband once again and starts poisoning his mind against Siavash. When Afrasiab wages war on Iran, Siavash volunteers to go to battle to get away from Soodabeh and her schemes and this ultimately leads to his tragic death.

* GoodVersusGood: Rostam versus Esfandiar is this. Esfandiar wants to arrest Rostam so that he can become king, because he thinks his time has come and he would do a good job and he's probably right. Rostam has dedicated his life to defending Iran and thinks it's unfair and unreasonable that he should be humiliated.
* GreenEyedMonster: Shoqad is this toward his half brother Rostam whom he thinks Zal favors, because Zal sends Shoqad away at a young age to Kabul and generally keeps him away from the rest of the family and Iran. In reality Zal loves Shoqad very much, but when Shoqad was born it was foretold that he would bring about the end of Zal's legacy and a great loss to Iran. Ironically this perceived favoritism and abandonment coupled with Rostam's achievements and standing is what fuels Shoqad's deep hatred and jealousy.

* HotBlooded: Sohrab fits the trope. He angrily smacks down a captured Persian when he (rightfully) suspects the soldier is giving him false information, then he rides alone to the Persian army, demands a single combat, and vows to hang their king!

* IAmXSonOfY: On his third Labor, Rostam encounters a murderous talking dragon. When the Dragon asks Rostam's name so he knows who he's about to kill, Rostam proudly gives him not only his own name but also his father Zal, grandfather Sahm and great grandfather Nariman's name.
* ItsAllAboutMe: Goshtasp is willing to send his son Esfandiar to his death to stay king. Unfortunately the prince takes after his father in this regard. Esfandiar is willing to dishonor Rostam to become king, even after all Rostam has done for Iran. Esfandiar is decidedly the more honorable of the two though.
* ItsAllMyFault: Rostam feels this way about Sohrab's death — he is somewhat right. [[spoiler: Losing his son like that]] is why he's so attached to Siavash and why he goes on a rampage when he is killed.

* KnowWhenToFoldEm: When confronted with a terrible dragon (really Feridoun in disguise) the son of Feridoun who would later be named Salm wasted no time in retreating. Unusually for this kind of story, this isn't portrayed as an act of cowardice: Feridoun outright says that anybody who charges blindly against monsters is foolhardy rather than courageous. At the same time, Tur is praised for his bravery in the face of the dragon, but Iraj is most highly regarded for warning the dragon away, thus demonstrating both prudence ''and'' courage.
* ManlyTears: Like most epics the Shahnameh contains many examples. Most prominent would be Rostam, the manliest character in the entire book, bitterly crying when he [[spoiler: realizes he's just killed his own son.]]

* MeaningfulName: Pretty much everyone.

** also the reaction of the whole world after Zahhak's revolution. Jamshid was arrogant enough to claim to be a god, but he never opressed his people and arts and sciences were flourishing under his patronage. The leader of the revolution who quickly crowned himself as the new Shahanshah turned out to be a [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEveil rapist, [[Sociopath completely incapable of love, and the host of two snakes which had to be fed human brains every day.

** When Esfandiar arrives to arrest Rostam they shake hands and Esfandiar squeezes Rostam's hand so hard the veins under his nails pop and start to bleed. Not only does this not faze Rostam, he delivers some good humored badass boasts and goes home to prepare for battle.

** optimized in Rostam, a towering muscular man with a long beard, who wears tiger skin under his armour plates, and (according to tradition not Shahnameh) the skull of a demon he killed as his helmet, while riding a huge horse and carrying a mace shaped like a bulls head.

* AchillesHeel: Esfandiyār bathed in a pool of invincibility, except he closed his eyelids, leaving him vulnerable to EyeScream. The Persian expression for 'Achilles Heel' is literally "Esfandiar's eye".

* AlwaysChaoticEvil: The Divs, Ahriman's monstrous children.
* AndThisIsFor: Two examples involving Rostm are:

** The White Demon, a cave-dwelling albino who rules Mazandaran.

* GoodVersusGood: Rostam versus Esfandiar is this. Esfandiar wants to arrest Rostam so that he can become king, because he thinks his time has come and he would do a good job and he's probably right. Rostam has dedicated his life to defending Iran and thinks it's unfair and unreasonable that he should be humiliated and he's definitely right!

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: The second third of the book mostly concerns semi historical characters or characters based on historical people performing greatly exaggerated or outright fantastic feats, i.e., a strong and patriotic warrior named Rostam probably did live and rule in Sistan, but he sure as hell never killed a WHALE or behead a demon!!!

* HotWitch: On his fourth Labor, Rostam comes across a witch disguised as a beautiful woman who entices him with food and wine. Just as he's about to put the food in his mouth though Rostam gives thanks to Mitra. Upon hearing god's name the witch instantly revert to her true form.

* MeaningfulName: many examples in the early and middle parts of the book.

** Zal: White hair
** Sohrab: rosy complexion
** Siavash: (rider of the) Black stallion

** optimized in Rostam, a towering muscular man with a long beard, who wears tiger skin under his armour plates, and (according to tradition not Shahnameh) the skull of a demon he killed as his helmet, while riding a huge horse and carrying a mace shaped like a bulls head!!!
* [[RealMenLoveJesus Real Men Love Ohrmazd]]: The heroes are all prominently pious, in direct contrast with the bad guys.

* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Rostam will not rest until EVERYONE responsible for Siavash's execution is dead, even his own king's wife!

* TakeThat: The fact that Ferdowsi wrote in Persian instead of Arabic and that most of the villains in the tale (including the aforementioned ''[[{{Squick}} brain eating]]'' Zahhak) come from Arabia might suggest Ferdowsi was a little peeved about the Arabs conquering his country.

** Rostam is cautious and untrusting to a fault when it comes to fighting the Turanian champion who unknown to him [[spoiler: is his son]]. Considering Sohrab's immense strength and fighting prowess and considering his own age, Rostam denies his true identity even when Sohrab repeatedly asks him if he is indeed Rostam, because Rostam fears that he might lose and the Turanians would be unstoppable if they no longer feared the threat of Persia’s greatest warrior. Lying mortally wounded in Rostam's arms Sohrab tells [[spoiler: his father,]] "I gave you every hint there was, your love did not budge an inch!"
** Esfandiar's obsession with becoming king causes him to ignore his mother's advice and play into his father's hand by fighting Rostam to gain the crown. It's never a good idea to fight Rostam, even if you are invincible like Esfandiar!

** Rostam and the Persian champions toward Persia. This is the most important theme of the whole book and applies to the author Ferdowsi too. Undying loyalty to Iran!
* TheUriahGambit: What Gushtasp plans for his son Esfandiyār to avoid relinquishing the throne by sending him against Rostem.

* GeniusBruiser: Rostam, Siavash, Esfandiar and many other heroes are not only strong fighters and good tacticians, they're quite eloquent, witty, and knowledgeable. Rostam is mentioned to have played the tanbour and he could sing.

** Salm and Iraj were also decent people before their jealousy of Iraj got the better of them.

* GodIsGood: The Zoroastrian creator god Ohrmazd and his angels care deeply about creation, and aid the righteous heroes in their struggles.

* GodOfEvil: Ahriman, who is opposed by his brother (or creator) Ohrmazd.

* KnowWhenToFoldEm: When confronted with a terrible dragon (really Feridoun in disguise) the son of Feridoun who would later be named Silim wasted no time in retreating. Unusually for this kind of story, this isn't portrayed as an act of cowardice: Feridoun outright says that anybody who charges blindly against monsters is foolhardy rather than courageous. At the same time, Tur is praised for his bravery in the face of the dragon, but Irij is most highly regarded for warning the dragon away, thus demonstrating both prudence ''and'' courage.

* KnowWhenToFoldEm: When confronted with a terrible dragon (really Feridoun in disguise) the son of Feridoun who would later be named Silim wasted no time in retreating. Unusually for this kind of story, this isn't portrayed as an act of cowardice: Feridoun outright says that anybody who charges blindly against monsters is foolhardy rather than courageous. At the same time, Tur is praised for his bravery in the face of the dragon, but Irij is most highly regarded for warning the dragon away, thus demonstrating both prudence *and* courage.

* TheCorruptor: Ahriman, in spades.

* FounderOfTheKingdom: Keyumars, the first king to rise among humanity, and Shah of Iran. Notable for being such a badass that after he defeated the Divs in a great war, they were so terrified of him that they taught humanity the art of writing in exchange for their lives-- the only time humans managed to get something helpful out of the Divs.

* FounderOfTheKingdom: Keyumars, the first king to rise among humanity, and Shah of Iran. Notable for being such a badass that after he defeated the Divs in a great war, they were so terrified of him that taught humanity the art of writing in exchange for their lives-- the only time humans managed to get something helpful out of the Divs.

* BadassBoast: The Shahnameh is full of these.
** Some very good examples in the fight between Rotam and Ashkboos. Here is an excerpt:
When Ashkboos beats the Persian champion Roham and sends him riding for the hills, Rostam decides to step in and restore morale to the Persian army and goes to the battlefield on foot, armed with only a bow and a few arrows. Ashkboos asks Rostam, "What is your name? Who shall weep for your headless body?" to which Rostam replies,
-->''My mother named me Your Death!\\
Fate made me the hammer that smashes your helmet!''
Ashkboos declares that because Rostam has come to challenge him on foot he's as good as dead, to which Rostam replies:
-->''Where you come from, lions, whales and panthers...,\\
Do they all come riding to a fight?!\\
I shall dismount you like myself,\\
And both sides will laugh at you!''
Ashkboos says the only weapons he sees on Rostam are sad jokes (mocking the fact that Rostam is minimally armed). Rostam shoots a giant arrow at Ashkboos's horse, making good on his earlier promise and laughs:
-->''Hold it's head in your lap and mourn him!\\
That way you can delay the fight for a while!''
Trembling with fear, Ashkboos starts shooting arrows at Rostam which all miss. Rostam simply [[PreMortemOneLiner says]]:
-->''You trouble yourself in vein...\\
Your two arms and malevolent soul!''
Ashkboos joins his beloved horse...
** A decidedly tragic example is when Sohrab delivers one to his opponent as he lies dying:
-->''Whether you become a fish in the sea,\\
Or fade into the darkness of night,\\
Or If you become a twinkle in the starry sky,\\
And forsake the earth all together,\\
My father will come seeking vengeance,\\
When he learns, my bed is in the ground!\\
Of all these warriors present,\\
One will bring the news to Rostam,\\
That ‘your son Sohrab is stricken down’\\
Then he will come looking for you!!!''
The irony is of course, [[spoiler: he is saying all this to his father Rostam.]]
** When Esfandiar tell's Rostam that he's there to arrest Rostam and take him to his father with his hands tied, Rostam goes on a long badass boast which culminates in:
-->''Who told you to go bind Rostam's hands?!\\
Not even the heaven's can tie my hands!\\
For even if the heavens tell me to accept this\\
The heaven's will feel the weight of my mace!\\
Never since I grew to old age from childhood,\\
Have I stood for such dishonor!''

** Rostam: tall and powerful
** Zal: white hair

** Siavash: (rider of the) black stallion

** Simorq for Zal: He finds the baby Zal abandoned in mountains and raises him. When they part ways he gives Zal three of his feathers and tells Zal to summon him by burning a feather in times when he's in desperate need of help.