Introduction
Sohrab is the son of Rostam and Tahmineh, raised in Turan and grown into a mighty young warrior determined to seek out and be reunited with his famous but unknown father. His death, at his own father's hand in a duel where neither recognised the other until too late, is one of the most devastating and celebrated tragedies of the Shahnameh.
Family
Seeking his father
Raised by his mother Tahmineh with knowledge that his father was the great hero Rostam, but never having met him, Sohrab grew into an extraordinarily gifted warrior, driven by the ambition to find his father, unite him and himself in glory, and, together, conquer Iran and place Rostam on its throne.
The fatal duel
Leading a Turanian army into Iran partly in hope of drawing out and meeting his father, Sohrab eventually faced Rostam in single combat, neither recognising the other, since years had passed and each had reason to doubt the other's true identity, and Sohrab's own token of recognition, an armband from his mother, was never properly exchanged before the fighting began. After two days of combat, Rostam finally overcame and fatally wounded Sohrab, who, as he lay dying, revealed the armband and his mother's account, allowing Rostam to realise, in a moment of unbearable horror, that he had killed his own son.
A lasting tragedy
Sohrab's death, and Rostam's inconsolable grief upon recognising him, is regarded as one of the most powerful and emotionally devastating episodes in the whole of Persian literature, a story of mistaken identity, pride and the terrible cost of a father and son's separation.