Folio from a Shahnama (Book of kings) by Firdawsi; recto: text, Faridun captures Zahhak; verso: Faridun strikes Zahhak with the ox-headed mace

The Shahnama, the Persian national epic, was composed about 1010 by the poet Firdawsi. Recounting the history and myths of Iran from the rise of the legendary Pishdaddian dynasty to the fall of the historical Sasanians in 651 C.E., the text's colorful mixture of fact and fantasy provided artists with many obvious subjects for pictorial representation.

The hero Feridun enters the story towards the beginning, when the evil king Zahak dreams that Feridun would strike him down with an ox-headed mace and put an end to his reign of darkness. Feridun, whose father had been killed by Zahak, wages various campaigns against the tyrant and even manages to enthrone himself in Zahak's castle. When Zahak discovers this, enraged and wielding a scimitar, he lowers himself through a window into the castle's interior to slay Feridun, who is holding court with some of his female companions. Before Zahak can complete his grisly task, as predicted, Feridun strikes him down with  his ox-headed mace.  As he is about to deliver a second and final blow, the angel Surush swoops down, proclaiming, "His time has not yet come," and tells Feridun to put Zahak in chains and take him to Mount Damavand to perish.

This bold, tightly conceived painting with its elegant, sinuous lines and vibrant palette, energized by exquisite details, brilliantly captures the excitement and tension of the moment.  Reverberating throughout the composition, spiraling arabesques, which are counter-balanced by the heavy, off-centered throne and the "weight" of the architecture, accentuate the drama of Feridun's victory over Zahak, and by extension, that of good over evil—a central theme in the Shahnama.