The Legend of ‘Salsal and Shamameh’ Became a Book

According to the Iran Book News Agency (IBNA) in Isfahan, the author of the book, ‘The Legend of Salsal and Shamameh,’ said about this book: ‘The legend of Salsal and Shamameh’ is based on folk tales that have passed down orally among the people of the Orient for centuries. This legend relates to the Buddha of Bamiyan, which was one of the unique signs of Buddhist civilization in that region and human art history, and was destroyed by the Taliban. This legend is about two statues carved into the mountains of Bamiyan, Afghanistan. In the book Salsal and Shamameh, a romantic narrative unfolds where two lovers, ‘Salsal’ and ‘Shamameh,’ attempt to unite but face many obstacles.

Salahuddin Koushini further added: Salsal, who is the city’s champion, meets Shamameh, the daughter of the city’s ruler, during a horse racing competition and falls in love with her. Salsal rides a deer named ‘Red Wind’ and Shamameh rides a horse named ‘Rahayal.’ They decide to marry during an excursion, but Shamameh’s father sets three conditions for the marriage: The first condition is that Salsal, as the city’s champion, must hunt seven black wolves that harm the people and their property. The second condition is to obtain the crown of the Goddess Izd Banu, which is kept by the Simurgh, and place it on Shamameh’s head. The third condition is to obtain the Greek book of wisdom for righteous governance, ensuring eternal rule.

The author of the book ‘The Legend of Salsal and Shamameh’ continued: It is interesting to note that despite the importance of the Buddha of Bamiyan as a unique human artifact and the brilliant period of the Kushan dynasty, which spread Greek thought in Balkh, the legend of Salsal and Shamameh has not been noted by poets and writers, and they have not used it as source material for creating stories or poetry. This work marks the beginning of the introduction of the Salsal and Shamameh legend into literature.

Koushini concluded: Prior to this, Khalilullah Khalili wrote a very fleeting story about this topic, which differs significantly in terms of the form of the legend and its content from this story. Khalili’s story was not published as a book. This story is about Salsal’s effort to fulfill all three conditions and the champion’s union with Shamameh.