Z?l is a legendary Iranian King who hailed from Balochistan and is recognized as one of the greatest warriors of the Shahnameh epic. He is the father of the equally legendary Iranian hero, Rostam. The Shahnameh, also transliterated as Shahnama (The Book of Kings), is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between 977 and 1010 AD and is the national epic of Greater Iran. Consisting of some 50,000 couplets, the Shahnameh is the world's longest epic poem written by a single poet. It tells mainly the mythical and to some extent the historical past of the Persian Empire from the creation of the world until the Islamic conquest of Persia in the 7th century. Modern Iran, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan and the greater region influenced by the Persian culture (such as Georgia, Armenia, Turkey and Dagestan) celebrate this national epic. The work is of central importance in Persian culture, regarded as a literary masterpiece, and definitive of the ethno-national cultural identity of modern-day Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. "Zal Slays Khazarvan" attributed to 'Abd al-Vahhab. Tabriz, Iran (1525-30).