Rudabeh (رودابه)

Rudabeh is the princess of Kabul, daughter of King Mehrab Kaboli and Queen Sindukht. Rudabeh is a descendant of Zahak, an evil, demonic tyrant who once destroyed Persia. Rudabeh falls in love with Zal. The king of Iran, Manuchehr and Sam would never approve of Zal marrying the "spawn" of their greatest enemy. She let down her long hair like a rope so her beloved Zal could climb to meet her. Respectfully, Zal refuses to climb her hair, worried he might harm her. Instead, he uses a rope to climb up, and they spend the night together. She is the mother of Rostam. Because Rostam was a massive baby, she faced a fatal labor until Zal used the Simurgh’s feather to perform the world's first mythical C-section (Rostamzad), saving her life. After Rostam was killed through the betrayal of his half-brother Shaghad, Rudabeh's life was defined by intense mourning. Bahman, son of Esfandiyar, invaded her family's homeland of Zabulistan and executed Faramarz (Rostam's son and Rudabeh's grandson) and imprisoned the elderly Zal. Rudabeh died shortly after the news of her family’s destruction reached her.