Simurgh

Here’s my take on the Simurgh (or Simorgh, or Senmurw, or Sina-Mru), the legendary chimerical "bird" of Persian mythology. This creature, although it is able to carry a camel or an elephant in the air - like the Rokh of arabian tales, to which it is related - is naturally benevolent, and is distinguished by its intelligence and its hidden knowledge.

At the time of the Sassanid Empire (from 224 to 651 AD), of which it was the official emblem, the Simurgh was represented with the head and paws of a dog (or paws of a lion), the rest of its body evoking the peacock. Later, human-headed Simurghs appeared in Persian art. But from the Mongol invasions and the arrival of Chinese artistic influences, the animal lost its chimerical aspect, taking a form very close to the Fenghuang (the Chinese Phoenix) and Zhu Que (the Vermilion Bird of the South).
The Simurgh has a nest in the Tree of Knowledge, emerging from the waters of Vourukasha, the cosmic ocean. This same tree carries the seeds of all the plants in the world, including those of the sacred plant Haoma, capable of curing all diseases (a property shared by the plumage of the Simurgh). So when the creature flew up, shaking the leaves of the huge plant, all kinds of seeds fell to the earth, including those of the Haoma ; the chimerical bird was rightly perceived as a symbol of fertility, and as a bridge between earth and heaven, where its domain was. Moreover, it is said that the Simurgh is immortal, and that it was able to witness the destruction and then the rebirth of the world, three times. As a result, this quasi-divinity would have stored the knowledge of all ages.

The Simurgh plays a central role in the epic the Book of Kings (Shahnameh in Persian), written by Ferdowsi around the year 1000, illustrating its kindness towards humanity. When King Saam noticed the albinism of his son Zal, he took it for a bad omen, and abandoned the infant in the mountain. The baby's cries reached the ears of the large creature, which came to him. The benevolent Simurgh took the child to its nest atop the mountain and raised him as if he were its own cub, imparting to him its immense knowledge of the world. But when the albino prince became a wise young man, he expressed the wish to return among his fellows. The maternal creature, though terribly sad, did not object ; but it entrusted its "son" with one of its feathers, which he should burn if he needed help.
After returning to his family, Zal met Rudabeh, daughter of Mehrab Kaboli, king of Kabul. They fell in love, got married, and Rudabeh was to become a mother. Alas, the delivery lasted, and the young woman suffered martyrdom, her terrible efforts proving in vain. Refusing to see his wife die in childbirth, Prince Zal remembered the golden feather that had been given to him, and burned it. The Simurgh flew straight to the palace, and taught him how to perform a caesarean section (the creature will probably have used its healing plumage to instantly heal the abdominal incision, once the baby was out). Thus Rudabeh survived, together with her son Rostam ; he later became the strongest of Persian heroes, who fought against the daeva Akvan, one of the henchmen of Ahriman, the god of evil.

An ancient Persian story tells that if not simply immortal, the Simurgh lives 1700 years, before setting itself on fire before being reborn, like the Phoenix of the Greeks. Its plumage is said to have the color of copper, and it has a deep animosity towards snakes, just like the Garuda of the Hindus.