Amir Arsalan

Amir Arsalan-e Namdar (Persian: امیر ارسلان نامدار) is a popular Persian epic, which was told to Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar, the Qajar Shah of Persia in the 19th century (though the Persian legend itself is much older), by a storyteller named Mohammad Ali Naqib ol-Mamalek (Persian: میرزا محمدعلی نقیب‌الممالک). Mohammad never transcribed the poem himself, but the daughter of the Shah—who also loved the story—eventually transcribed it and preserved it for posterity.

Plot

The epic narrates the adventures of its protagonist, Arsalan. The story begins with the Banu (lady) of Roum (Arabic and Persian name for Eastern Roman Empire or also known as Constantinople). Roum was conquered by European invaders, and its pregnant Banu forced to flee for her life. She is wedded to an Egyptian merchant and gives birth to her child, Arsalan. The merchant claims the child as his own. Eventually, of course, Arsalan learns of his royal lineage and decides to reclaim his throne.

Adaptations

This story was adapted as a screen play by Shapor Yasami in 1954, with actor Iloosh Khooshabeh portraying Arsalan. The story was also adapted into a musical film in 1965 with a script written by Esmail Koushan and Mohammad Ali Fardin playing the role of Arsalan, to much success.

Arslaan, an Indian fantasy television series produced by Sagar Arts based on the epic, aired on Sony TV in 2008 and starred Neil Bhatt in the titular role of Arsalan.

See also

• Aslan (disambiguation)
• Shamshir-e Zomorrodnegar
• Fulad-zereh
• Cup of Jamshid

External links

• Encyclopedia Iranica, Amir Arsalan
• (in Persian) Online PDF text of Amir Arsalan Archived 2018-08-31 at the Wayback Machine
• About the original storybook