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| Rudâbe | |
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| Shahnameh character | |
 Zal andRudâbe |
Rūdāba orRudâbe (Persian:رودابه[ruːdɒːˈbe]) is aPersian mythological female figure inFerdowsi's epicShahnameh. She is the princess ofKabul, daughter ofMehrab Kaboli andSindukht, and later she becomes married toZal, as they become lovers. They had two children, includingRostam, the main hero of the Shahnameh.[1]
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The wordRudābeh consists of two sections. "Rud" and "āb", "Rud" meanschild and "āb" meansshining, therefore meansshining child (according toDehkhoda Dictionary).
TheShahnama describes Rudaba with these words:
It was this description and Rudaba's physical beauty that initially attractedZal. Rudaba also consulted her ladies-in-waiting about Zal. Zal came to the walls of Rudaba's palace where Rudaba let down her tresses to Zal as a rope. Zal declined the assistance and he immediately climbed his own prepared rope from base to summit.[2] Rudaba seated Zal on the roof and they both talked to each other for a long time.
Zal, consulted his advisors over Rudaba. They at last advised him to write a full account of the circumstances to his father, Sam. Sam and the Mubeds, knowing that Rudaba's father, chief of Kabul, was Babylonian from the family of Zahhak, did not approve of the marriage. Zal reminded his father of the oath he had made to fulfill all his wishes.
Finally, the ruler referred the question to astrologers, to discover whether the marriage between Zal and Rudaba would be prosperous or not and he was informed that a child of Zal and Rudabeh would be the conqueror of the world. When Zal arrived at the court of Manuchihr, he was received with honour, and having read the letter of Sam, the Shah approved of the marriage.
The marriage took place inKabul, where Zal and Rudaba first met each other.
InPersian mythology, Rudabeh's labor ofRostam was prolonged due to the extraordinary size of her baby.Zal was certain that his wife would die in labor. Rudabeh was near death when at last Zal recollected the feather of theSimurgh, and followed the instructions which he had received, by placing it on the sacred fire. The Simurgh appeared and instructed him upon how to perform acaesarean section (rostamzad), thus saving Rudabeh and the child, who later on became one of the greatest Persian heroes.
| Zahhak | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sām | Mehrab Kaboli | Sindukht | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Zāl | Rudaabeh | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rostam | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
An English translation of the story exists inThe story-book of the Shah; or, Legends of old Persia, in prose format.[3]
Scholarship points that the love story of Zal and princess Rudabah is related to an Afghan folktale tale namedThe Romance of Mongol Girl and Arab Boy.[4]
It has been noted by folktale collectors that Rudabah's long hair and the climbing incident are very reminiscent of the German story ofRapunzel.[5]
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