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Shahbaz (Persian: شَهباز) is the name of a fabled bird in Persian mythology.[1] It is described as having a body similar to an eagle, being bigger than a hawkorfalcon, and having inhabited an area within the Zagros, the Alborz, and the Caucasus within Greater Iran. In ancient Persian mythology, the Shahbaz was a god who helped the Iranian peoples and guided the Faravahar to the Iranian lands.
The word Shahbaz literally translates to "royal falcon".[2][3][4] It was standard practice for the Persian Shah to keep a royal falcon or another bird of prey.[5] This symbol represented both strength and aggressiveness.[4] The ancient Egyptian deityofHorus is speculated[by whom?] to have been the archetype for the standard of Cyrus the Great[citation needed], who founded the Achaemenid Empire.
In Ancient Persian Culture, Similar Birds and animals(who have similarly been featured in religions and cultures) like the Falcon have also been a symbol of speed, agility, and power in Persian culture.[6]
British explorer Richard F. Burton considered the symbol to refer to the goshawk species Accipiter gentilis.[2] Shahbaz could have alternatively referred to another common bird over the skies of the Iranian Plateau: the eastern imperial eagle, though this observation has never been claimed by historians as merited.
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