Legends

Shirin on horseback visiting Farhad on Mount Bisotun, who is shown carving out the mountain. Created in 19th-century Qajar Iran

A legend began around Mount Bisotoun, as written about by the Persian poet Nezami about a man named Farhad, who was a lover of Shirin. The legend states that, exiled for his transgression, Farhad was given the task of cutting away the mountain; if he succeeded, he would be given permission to marry Shirin. After many years and the removal of half the mountain, he did find water, but was informed by Khosrow that Shirin had died. He went mad, threw his axe down the hill, kissed the ground and died. It is told in the book of Khosrow and Shirin that his axe was made out of a pomegranate tree, and, where he threw the axe, a pomegranate tree grew with fruit that would cure the ill. Shirin was not dead, according to the story, and mourned upon hearing the news.