@article{THESIS,
      recid = {11909},
      author = {Cox, Kennedy},
      title = {From the Senmurw to the Simorg: Persian Identity in Early  Islamic Iran Reflected in Mythical Birds},
      publisher = {University of Chicago},
      school = {M.A.},
      address = {2024-06},
      number = {THESIS},
      abstract = {In the middle of the 6th century, the Sasanian Empire's  400-year reign ended with the Arab Muslim conquest, leading  to significant social, political, and religious shifts that  impacted Persian identity. From the 7th to 13th centuries,  as Islamic Caliphates replaced the Zoroastrian Sasanians,  the mythical bird Senmurw transformed into the Simorg. This  evolution mirrored the broader changes in Persian identity.  Around the turn of the millennium, Persians turned to their  pre-Islamic history and mythology to reinvigorate the  Persian culture and identity. The Persian elites reinvented  the Senmurw, allowing it to exist as the Simorg in a new  Islamic context and therefore preserve cultural aspects of  pre-Islamic Persia. This research examines the  transformation of the Senmurw into the Simorg as a  reflection of Persians adapting themselves to an Islamic  context. My contention is reflected further in the  mythologies of the Rukh and Anqa as they absorbed some of  the changes to the characteristics of the Simorg.},
      url = {http://knowledge.uchicago.edu/record/11909},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.6082/uchicago.11909},
}