Shabdiz ( ''Shabdēz'',
lit. "night-colored", "black") was the legendary black stallion of
Khosrau Parvez, one of the most famed
Sassanid
The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranian peoples, Iranians"), was an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, th ...
Persian kings (reigned 590 to 628CE). Shabdiz, meaning "midnight", was reputedly the "world's fastest horse" according to ancient Persian literature. In
Nizami's romantic epic ''
Khosrau and Shirin'', it is Khosrau's 'beloved' Shabdiz that whisks his future bride, Shirin, to meet him after Shirin has fallen in love with Khosrau's portrait. A musician,
Barbad
Barbad (; ) was a Persian musician-poet, music theorist and composer of Sasanian music. He served as chief minstrel-poet under the Shahanshah Khosrow II (). A '' barbat'' player, he was the most distinguished Persian musician of his time and ...
, through a song - potentially risking his life - informed the king of Shabdiz's death.
[ Browne, Edward Granville. ''A Literary History of Persia from the Earliest Times Until Firdawsí''. Elibron, 1999. . p. 3.]
References
Legendary horses
Khosrow II
{{Shahnameh-stub