New NaqqaliWOMEN OF THE SHAHNAMEH / 01
A constellation of women.
Ten books. Eighteen principal figures. Follow the mothers, lovers, warriors, rulers and the nurturing Simorgh whose stories connect across the poem.
Gathering the constellation…
Select a name, line or book title to explore. Drag a figure gently, or drag the background to pan; use + / − to zoom. Each color marks one of the ten books. Lines are a documented selection; an unconnected figure can still be central to her own story.
THE THREADS BETWEEN THEM
Connections in this view
A family path can pass through another person. A story connection can join women who never meet. Select a connection to read what it means and the couplets behind it.
BEYOND THE PRINCIPAL CAST
The wider index
The index lists 50 entries: 49 named women, including the poem’s reference to Fatima, and the nurturing Simorgh. Eight women beyond the principal eighteen already have connections in the constellation; more will follow.
READING THIS CONSTELLATION
A place for each story.
Each book is an island
Each group of figures is one of the ten books. All eighteen principal figures are drawn the same size, and neither where a figure sits nor the weight of her lines ranks her importance. Choose “Add connected women” to show other women linked to them as smaller outlined circles.
Every thread has evidence
Family ties, narrated interactions and connections through another character have different line styles. Each one explains the connection and quotes the couplets behind it, from the New Naqqali translation as published on 22 October 2026. Shared themes or co-mentions alone do not create a line.
Names remain distinct
Homahyi Chehrzad, Bahman’s daughter, is a different woman from Goshtasb’s daughter Homahyi. The nurturing Simorgh is separate from the bird slain by Esfandiyar. Every figure has notes on her other names and who she is.
A growing collection
The wider index also includes women the poem names only briefly. For each woman it lists the couplets that name her; this is not a count of every time she speaks or appears. Unnamed women and groups of women are not yet included.