Simurgh: Difference between revisions

The '''simurgh''' ({{IPAc-en|s|ɪ|ˈ|m|ɜːr|g}}; {{lang-langx|fa|سیمرغ}}, also spelled ''senmurv, simorgh, simorg'', ''simurg'', ''simoorg, simorq'' or ''simourv'') is a benevolent bird in [[Persian mythology]] and [[Persian literature|literature]]. It isbears sometimessome equatedsimilarities with other [[mythological]] birds from different origins, such as the [[Phoenix (mythology)|phoenix]] ({{lang-langx|fa|link=no|ققنوس}} ''quqnūs'') and the [[Huma bird|humā]] ({{lang-langx|fa|link=no|هما}}),.<ref>Juan Eduardo Cirlot, A Dictionary of Symbols, Courier Dover Publications, 2002, p. 253</ref> though it must be understood as a completely different mythological creature of its own. The figure can be found in all periods of [[Greater Iran|Iranian]] art and literature and is also evident in the iconography of [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]],<ref>For example, on the wall of [[Samtavisi Cathedral]]</ref> [[medieval Armenia]],<ref>For example, fresco depiction of simurghs inside medallions (evoking motifs found on Sassanid textiles) in the church of Tigran Honents at [[Ani]]. P Donabedian and J. M. Thierry, ''Armenian Art'', New York, 1979, p. 488.</ref> the [[Byzantine Empire|Eastern Roman Empire]],<ref>For example, a row of simurghs are depicted inside the "Ağaçaltı" church in the [[Ihlara]] gorge. Thierry, N. and M., ''Nouvelles églises rupestres de Cappadoce'', Paris, 1963, pp. 84–85.</ref> and other regions that were within the realm of Persian cultural influence.

The [[Persian language|Persian]] word ''sīmurğ'' ({{lang|fa|[[wikt:سیمرغ|سیمرغ]]}}) derives from [[Middle Persian]] ''sēnmurw''<ref>A. Jeroussalimskaja, "Soieries sassanides", in ''Splendeur des sassanides: l'empire perse entre Rome et la Chine'' (Brussels, 1993) 114, 117–118, points out that the spelling ''senmurv'', is incorrect (noted by David Jacoby, "Silk Economics and Cross-Cultural Artistic Interaction: Byzantium, the Muslim World, and the Christian West", ''Dumbarton Oaks Papers'' 58 (2004): 197–240, esp. 212 note 82.</ref><ref name="Iranica">{{cite encyclopedia |year=20032002 |title=Simorg |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Iranica |publisher=Mazda Pub |location=Costa Mesa |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/simorg |last=Schmidt |first=Hanns-Peter |author-link=Hanns-Peter Schmidt}}</ref> (and earlier ''sēnmuruγ''), also attested in [[Pazend]] texts as ''sīna-mrū''. The Middle Persian word comes from [[Avestan]] {{transl|ae|mərəγō Saēnō}} "the bird Saēna", originally a raptor, likely an [[eagle]], [[falcon]], or [[sparrowhawk]], as can be deduced from the etymological cognate [[Sanskrit]] ''śyenaḥ'' (श्येनः) "raptor, eagle, [[bird of prey]]", which also appears as a divine figure.<ref>[[Manfred Mayrhofer|Mayrhofer, Manfred]] (1996). “śyená-”. In: ''Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen'' [Etymological Dictionary of Old Indo-Aryan] Volume II. Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, 1996. p. 662. (In German)</ref> ''Saēna'' is also a personal name. The word was lent to Armenian as ''siramarg'' ({{lang|hy|[[wikt:սիրամարգ#Old Armenian|սիրամարգ]]}}) '[[peacock]]'.<ref>{{citationCite web needed|title=Siramarg by Aram Sarkisian {{!}} Animators for Armenia {{!}} Animators for Armenia |url=https://animators-armenia.betterworld.org/auctions/animators-armenia/items/siramarg-by-aram-sarkisian |access-date=July2024-07-23 2021|website=BetterWorld |language=en}}</ref>

The Simurgh is depicted in [[Iranian art]] as a winged creature in the shape of a bird, gigantic enough to carry off an elephant or a whale. It appears as a peacock with the head of a dog and the claws of a lion – sometimes, however, also with a human face. The Simurgh is inherently benevolent.<ref andname=":0">{{Cite unambiguouslyweb female|last=TÜFEKÇİ |first=ALİ |date=2020-12-17 |title=Journey in search of truth: Metaphorical story of Simurgh, sovereign of birds |url=https://www.{{Citationdailysabah.com/arts/journey-in-search-of-truth-metaphorical-story-of-simurgh-sovereign-of-birds/news needed|access-date=November2024-07-23 2010|website=Daily Sabah |language=en-US}}</ref> Being part mammal, shethey sucklessuckle hertheir young.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{CitationCite web |last=Nair |first=Nitten needed|date=November2022-09-09 2010}}|title=Simurgh : The SimurghGiant hasBird teeth|url=https://mythlok.com/simurgh/ It|access-date=2024-07-23 |website=Mythlok |language=en-US}}</ref> The Simurgh has an enmity towards snakes, and its natural habitat is a place with plenty of water.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> Its feathers are said to be the colour of copper in some versions, and though it was originally described as being a dog-bird, later it was shown with either the head of a man or a dog.{{Citation<ref needed|datename=November":0" 2010}}/><ref name=":1" />

"''Si-''", the first element in the name, has been connected in [[folk etymology]] to Modern Persian ''si'' ("thirty"). Although this prefix is not historically related to the origin of the name ''simurgh'', "thirty" has nonetheless been the basis for legends incorporating that number – for instance, that the simurgh was as large as thirty birds or had thirty colours (''siræng''). Other suggested etymologies include Pahlavi ''sin murgh'' ("eagle bird") and Avestan ''saeno merego'' ("eagle").<ref name=":0" />

Iranian legends consider the bird so old that it had seen the destruction of the world three times over. The simurgh learned so much by living so long that it is thought to possess the knowledge of all the ages. In one legend, the simurgh was said to live 1,700 years before plunging itself into flames (much like the [[phoenix (mythology)|phoenix]]).<ref name=":0" />

The simurgh made its most famous appearance in [[Ferdowsi]]'s epic ''[[Shahnameh]]'' (Book of Kings), where its involvement with Prince [[Zal]] is described. According to the ''Shahnameh'', [[Zal]], the son of [[Saam]], was born albino. When Saam saw his albino son, he assumed that the child was the spawn of devils, and abandoned the infant on the mountain ''[[Hara Berezaiti|Alborz]]''.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Flights of Imagination: How Birds Have Been Reinvented As Mythical Creatures Around The World — Object Lessons Space |url=https://objectlessons.space/Flights-of-Imagination-How-Birds-Have-Been-Reinvented-As-Mythical |access-date=2024-07-23 |website=objectlessons.space |language=en}}</ref>

The child's cries were heard by the tender-hearted simurgh, who lived atop this peak, and she retrieved the child and raised him as her own. Zal was taught much wisdom from the loving simurgh, who has all knowledge, but the time came when he grew into a man and yearned to rejoin the world of men. Though the simurgh was terribly saddened, she gave him three golden feathers which he was to burn if he ever needed her assistance.<ref name=":2" />

Simurgh also shows up in the story of the [[Seven Trials of Esfandiyar]] in the latter's 5th labor. After killing the wicked enchantress, [[Esfandiyar]] fights a simurgh, and despite the simurgh's many powers, Esfandiyar strikes it in the neck, [[decapitating]] it. The simurgh's offspring then rise to fight Esfandiyar, but they, too, are slain.<ref name=":2" />

===In Persian Sufi poetry===

In classical and modern Persian literature the simorḡ is frequently mentioned, particularly as a metaphor for God in [[Sufism|Sufi mysticism]].<ref name="Iranica" /> In the 12th century ''[[The Conference of the Birds|Conference of the Birds]]'', Iranian [[Sufi]] poet [[Attar Neyshapuri|Farid ud-Din Attar]] wrote of a band of pilgrim birds in search of the simurgh. In the poem, the birds of the world gather to decide who is to be their king, as they have none. The [[hoopoe]], the wisest of them all, suggests that they should find the legendary simorgh, a mythical Persian bird roughly equivalent to the western [[Phoenix (mythology)|phoenix]]. The hoopoe leads the birds, each of whom represent a human fault which prevents man from attaining enlightenment. When the group of thirty birds finally reach the dwelling place of the simorgh, all they find is a lake in which they see their own reflection. This scene employs a pun on the Persian expression for "thirty birds" (''si morgh'').<ref>{{cite book|title=The World of Persian Literary Humanism|author=Hamid Dabashi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HQFNfOPAS04C&pg=PA124|page=124|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=2012|isbn=978-0674067592}}</ref>

The phrase also appears three times in Rumi's [[Masnavi]], e.g. in Book VI, Story IX: "The nest of the ''sī murğ'' is beyond [[Mount Qaf]]" (as translated by E.H. Whinfield).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Whinfield |first1=E.H. |title=Masnavi i Ma’naviMa'navi |date=2001 |publisher=Omphaloskepsis |location=Ames, Iowa |page=468 |url=https://ia601601.us.archive.org/11/items/MasnaviByRumiEnglishTranslation/rumi_masnavi.pdf |access-date=25 September 2022}}</ref>

Through [[culturalheavy assimilation]]Persian influence, the simurgh was introduced to the [[Arabic]]-speaking world, where the concept was conflated with other Arabic mythical birds such as the [[ghoghnus]], a bird having some mythical relation with the [[date palm]],<ref>[http://ommolketab.net/english/search/search.php?mid=9401676 Quranic articles; Vegetables in Holy Quran – The date-palm]{{dead link|date=August 2012}}</ref> and further developed as the ''rukh'' (the origin of the English word "[[roc (mythology)|roc]]").

*The title of [[Salman Rushdie]]'s first novel, ''[[Grimus]]'' (1975), is an anagram of Simurg.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.abebooks.co.uk/9788126906307/Salman-Rushdie-Critical-Essays-Vol-8126906308/plp|title=Salman Rushdie: Critical Essays Vol. 1|publisher=Atlantic Publishers}} Page v</ref>

File:Nadir Madrasah Phoenix.JPG|Decoration outside of [[Lyab-i Hauz|Nadir Divan-Beghi madrasah]], [[Bukhara]]