The three sons of Feridoun the Glorious, who ruled the world, were: Silim, the prudent; Tur, the courageous; and Irij, both prudent and brave. When the land of Feridoun was divided after his death, Irij was given Iran. He and his heirs ruled with great power; but the power of the grandson of Irij, Minuchihr, was greatest of all because the captain of his army was Saum.

In due time a child, called Zal, was born to Saum and his wife. Because Zal was born with white hair, he was thought to be a child of ill omen. Saum dared not let him live and had him placed on a lonely mountaintop to die of exposure. There a great bird called the Simurgh rescued him and reared him. When Zal became a man he was reunited with his father, married a woman named Rudabeh, and became the father of Rustem.

The stories of these great Persian heroes were passed on by storytellers for many years, although some are said to have been written down as they happened in the sixth and seventh centuries. The oft-repeated legends and the written records were collected in about 1000 by a man named Firduisi in a book he called The Shah Nameh, The Book of Kings.

From Hero Tales From Many Lands