Samak The Ayyar
A Tale of Ancient Persia
Farhang Foundation proudly presents
Freydoon Rassouli and Jordan Mechner
We are delighted to welcome Freydoon Rassouli (artist, author and translator) and Jordan Mechner (author, screenwriter, graphic novelist and game designer) to our latest edition of #FarhangConnect to talk about their new collaboration on SAMAK THE AYYAR, A TALE OF ANCIENT PERSIA, translated by Freydoon Rassouli and adapted by Jordan Mechner for Columbia University Press.
The adventures of Samak, a trickster-warrior hero of Persia’s thousand-year-old oral storytelling tradition, are beloved in Iran. Samak is an ayyar, a warrior who comes from the common people and embodies the ideals of loyalty, selflessness, and honor—a figure that recalls samurai, ronin, and knights yet is distinctive to Persian legend.
Translated from the original Persian by Freydoon Rassouli and adapted by Prince of Persia creator Jordan Mechner, this timeless masterwork can now be enjoyed by English-speaking readers. A thrilling and suspenseful saga, Samak the Ayyar also offers a vivid portrait of Persia a thousand years ago.
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About Freydoon Rassouli
Freydoon Rassouli is an artist, author, and translator whose books include Fusionart, Rumi Revealed, and The Book of Creativity. His artworks have been exhibited widely, and he painted two major street murals in Venice, California, and downtown Los Angeles.
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About Jordan Mechner
Jordan Mechner is a New York Times best-selling author, screenwriter, graphic novelist, and game designer. He is the creator of Prince of Persia, one of the world’s most successful video game franchises, which he also adapted as a feature film. His books include the Eisner-nominated graphic novel Templar (2013).
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