The medieval story of al-Nadirah is about the

fall of Hatra The fall of Hatra, capital of the Kingdom of Hatra under Sanatruq II, took place in the 3rd century after a lengthy siege by the Sasanian king Shapur I. Hatra was plundered and abandoned, and its kingdom dissolved. Background During the Roman-P ...

and its princess, who fell in love with the young king

Shapur I Shapur I (also spelled Shabuhr I; pal, 𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩, Šābuhr ) was the second Sasanian King of Kings of Iran. The dating of his reign is disputed, but it is generally agreed that he ruled from 240 to 270, with his father Ardas ...

while he was besieging the city. This partially fictional narrative is recorded in Persian and Arabic sources of the early Islamic period, and some of its elements inspired some modern stories. Its general theme has common features with some Greek and Roman legends.

Plot

According to early

Islamic Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the mai ...

traditions, al-Nadirah ( ar, النضيرة ''an-Naḍīrah''; fa, نضیره ''Nazirah'') was the daughter of al-Dayzan or Satirun (

Sanatruq II , temple name = , house = , house-type = , father = Abdsamiya , mother = , religion = , occupation = , signature_type = , signature = , module = Sanatruq II (Hatran Aramaic: 𐣮𐣭𐣨𐣣� ...

), the king of Araba. She betrayed the fortified capital,

Hatra Hatra ( ar, الحضر; syr, ‎ܚܛܪܐ) was an ancient city in Upper Mesopotamia located in present-day eastern Nineveh Governorate in northern Iraq. The city lies northwest of Baghdad and southwest of Mosul. Hatra was a strongly fortified ...

, to the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

king

after seeing and falling in love with him while he was besieging the city. She did this by intoxicating her father and the guards of the city gates, or by revealing to the enemy the

talisman A talisman is any object ascribed with religious or magical powers intended to protect, heal, or harm individuals for whom they are made. Talismans are often portable objects carried on someone in a variety of ways, but can also be installed perm ...

on which the city's ownership depended. Shapur I captured and destroyed Hatra and killed its king. He departed with al-Nadirah and married her at

Ayn al-Tamr Ayn al-Tamr or Ain al-Tamur ( ar, عين التمر) is a city in central Iraq, located about 67 km west of Karbala near Razzaza Lake. The oasis of Ayn al-Tamr comprises many villages which are famous for palm orchards and mineral water. The cit ...

. One night al-Nadirah could not sleep, complaining that her bed is too rough for her. It then turned out that a myrtle leaf was stuck in her skin and was irritating her. Astonished by her softness, Shapur I asked her how did her father bring her up, and she described how well he treated her. Shapur I realizes al-Nadirah's ingratitude towards her father and has her executed in a brutal manner.

Sources

The story is mentioned in

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

and

literature and the poetry of the early Islamic period, including

al-Tabari ( ar, أبو جعفر محمد بن جرير بن يزيد الطبري), more commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Muslim historian and scholar from Amol, Tabaristan. Among the most prominent figures of the Islamic Golden Age, al-Tabari ...

's ''

Tarikh al-Tabari The ''History of the Prophets and Kings'' ( ar, تاريخ الرسل والملوك ''Tārīkh al-Rusul wa al-Mulūk''), more commonly known as ''Tarikh al-Tabari'' () or ''Tarikh-i Tabari'' or ''The History of al-Tabari '' ( fa, تاریخ طب� ...

'',

Mirkhond Muhammad ibn Khvandshah ibn Mahmud, more commonly known as Mirkhvand ( fa, میرخواند, also transliterated as Mirkhwand; 1433/34 – 1498), was a Persian historian active during the reign of the Timurid ruler Sultan Husayn Bayqara (). He ...

's '' Rawzat as-Safa''',

Ibn Khallikan Aḥmad bin Muḥammad bin Ibrāhīm bin Abū Bakr ibn Khallikān) ( ar, أحمد بن محمد بن إبراهيم بن أبي بكر ابن خلكان; 1211 – 1282), better known as Ibn Khallikān, was a 13th century Shafi'i Islamic scholar w ...

's ''Wafayāt al-Aʿyān'', and

Ferdowsi Abul-Qâsem Ferdowsi Tusi ( fa, ; 940 – 1019/1025 CE), also Firdawsi or Ferdowsi (), was a Persians, Persian poet and the author of ''Shahnameh'' ("Book of Kings"), which is one of the world's longest epic poetry, epic poems created by a sin ...

's '' Shahnama'', where she is recorded as ''Mālikah'' (), daughter of king Tā'ir (), while the Persian king is

Shapur II Shapur II ( pal, 𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩 ; New Persian: , ''Šāpur'', 309 – 379), also known as Shapur the Great, was the tenth Sasanian King of Kings (Shahanshah) of Iran. The longest-reigning monarch in Iranian history, he reigned fo ...

, instead of Shapur I.

Analysis

According to

Theodor Nöldeke Theodor Nöldeke (; born 2 March 1836 – 25 December 1930) was a German orientalist and scholar. His research interests ranged over Old Testament studies, Semitic languages and Arabic, Persian and Syriac literature. Nöldeke translated several ...

, al-Tabari's story is derived from the Greek tale of

Scylla In Greek mythology, Scylla), is obsolete. ( ; grc-gre, Σκύλλα, Skúlla, ) is a legendary monster who lives on one side of a narrow channel of water, opposite her counterpart Charybdis. The two sides of the strait are within an arrow's r ...

and her father

Nisos In Greek mythology, Nisos or Nisus (Ancient Greek: Νῖσος) was a King of Megara. Family Nisos was one of the four sons of Pandion II, King of Athens, and Pylia, daughter of King Pylas of Megara. He was the brother of Aegeas, Pallas, ...

. Some consider it as a Middle Eastern version of the

Tarpeia In Roman mythology, Tarpeia (), daughter of the Roman commander Spurius Tarpeius, was a Vestal Virgin who betrayed the city of Rome to the Sabines at the time of their women's abduction for what she thought would be a reward of jewelry. She w ...

theme. The theme of Al-Nadirah's legend was used in

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consisti ...

's fairy tale "

The Princess and the Pea "The Princess and the Pea" ( da, "Prinsessen paa Ærten"; direct translation: "The Princess on the Pea") is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a young woman whose royal ancestry is established by a test of her sensitivity. ...

" and

Ahmed Shawqi Ahmed Shawqi (also written Chawki; ar, أحمد شوقي, , ; ; 1868–1932), nicknamed the Prince of Poets ( ar, أمير الشعراء ''Amīr al-Shu‘arā’''), was an Arabic poet laureate, to the Arabic literary tradition. Life Raised ...

's ''Waraqat al-As'' (''The Myrtle Leaf'').

References

{{reflist Hatra Medieval Arabic literature Shapur I Medieval Arabic poems Love in Arabic literature Legendary Arab people Medieval legends Fictional princesses Middle East in fiction Fictional Iraqi people Islamic fiction Medieval Persian literature Love stories Romance characters Women from the Sasanian Empire Women in pre-Islamic Arabia