Shahbaz (bird)

Shahbaz (Persian: شَهباز) is the name of a fabled bird in Persian mythology.^[1] It is described as having a body similar to an eagle, being bigger than a hawk or falcon, and having inhabited an area within the Zagros, the Alborz, and the Caucasus within Greater Iran. In ancient Persian mythology, the Shahbaz was a God who helped the Iranian peoples and guided the Faravahar to the Iranian lands.

History

The word Shahbaz literally translates to "royal falcon".^[2]^[3]^[4] It was standard practice for the Persian Shah to keep a royal falcon or another bird of prey.^[5] This symbol represented both strength and aggressiveness.^[4] The ancient Egyptian deity of Horus is speculated^{[by whom?]} to have been the archetype for the standard of Cyrus the Great^{[citation needed]}, who founded the Achaemenid Empire.

British explorer Richard F. Burton considered the symbol to refer to the goshawk species Accipiter gentilis.^[2] Shahbaz could have alternatively referred to another common bird over the skies of the Iranian Plateau: the eastern imperial eagle, though this observation has never been claimed by historians as merited.

References

^ Mark, Joshua J. (16 January 2020). "Ancient Persian Gods, Heroes, and Creatures – The Complete List". World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
^ ^a ^b Burton, Sir Richard Francis (1852). Falconry in the valley of the Indus.
^ Brill, E. J. First Encyclopaedia of Islam 1913–1936.
^ ^a ^b Altmann, Peter (3 December 2019). Banned Birds: The Birds of Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14. Mohr Siebeck. pp. 17–18. ISBN 978-3-16-158163-2.
^ Khan, Hazrat Inayat (28 September 2020). The Sufi Message of Hazrat Inayat Khan: The Smiling Forehead. Library of Alexandria. p. 69. ISBN 978-1-61310-665-5.

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[1] Mark, Joshua J. (16 January 2020). "Ancient Persian Gods, Heroes, and Creatures – The Complete List". World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved 4 April 2022.

[Burton-2] Burton, Sir Richard Francis (1852). Falconry in the valley of the Indus.

[3] Brill, E. J. First Encyclopaedia of Islam 1913–1936.

[:0-4] Altmann, Peter (3 December 2019). Banned Birds: The Birds of Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14. Mohr Siebeck. pp. 17–18. ISBN 978-3-16-158163-2.

[5] Khan, Hazrat Inayat (28 September 2020). The Sufi Message of Hazrat Inayat Khan: The Smiling Forehead. Library of Alexandria. p. 69. ISBN 978-1-61310-665-5.

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Shahbaz (bird)

History

See also

References