'Iran has an ancient tradition of storytelling and poetry where musicians play instruments to bring stories to life. The most important epic in Iran is called the Shahnameh (pronounced Shaah-naah-meh), which means "The Book of Kings". It was written by the poet Abolqasem Ferdowsi who lived about a thousand years ago. It took over 30 years to write, and has over 50,000 rhyming couplets. The Shahnameh is considered to be one of the greatest epics of world literature. The Phoenix of Persia is about a mythical bird, the Simorgh, one of the most magical characters in the Shahnameh. The Simorgh takes care of a tiny baby, who grows up to become Prince Zal - the hero of many other stories in the Shahanameh.' -- from introduction.