TEHRAN – Today is the birthday anniversary of the third Shia Imam, Hussein ibn Ali (AS) and the spouse of the Iranian princess, Shahrbanu. Shahrbanu (or Shahr Banu), is believed to have been the eldest daughter of Yazdegerd III, the last Emperor of the Sassanid dynasty of Iran.

According to a commonly-told story, the spirit of Fatima Zahra, the daughter of Muhammad, mother of Hussein, appeared to Shahrbanu before the Islamic conquest of Persia and told her to be of good heart, because she was destined for a truly glorious marriage. Shahrbanu was shown an image of Hussein, her future husband.

After the defeat of her father Yazdegerd III, Shahrbanu and other members of the Persian royal house were taken captive by the victorious Arab armies in al-Mada'in, and sent to Medina. People flocked to see the captured daughter of the fallen King of Persia. The caliph, Omar ibn al-Khattab, demanded that the daughter of the King of Persia to be shown to him. The soldiers brought her to Omar, who reached out to lift her veil. The princess pulled away and cried out in Persian, "The face of Hormoz darkens from indignity!" ("Vay! Rooye Hormoz siyaah shod!") Omar believed that he had been insulted, and ordered that the princess be killed. Ali ibn Abu Talib, the father of Hussein, protested. "You do not know her language. She called on her ancestor, and did not insult you."

Omar then announced his intention of auctioning her as a slave; the bidding would surely be spirited and much money would be raised. Ali again protested. Ali then asked the princess, "Do you wish me to find you a husband?" The princess did not reply. Trying to prevent the auction from taking place, Ali said, "Her silence is a sign of approval." Facing Omar, Ali continued, "Why don't we let her choose a person from amongst this crowd as a husband, and we will pay for her dowry from the public treasury?" Grudgingly, Omar agreed. The beleaguered princess desperately scanned the crowd for a kind face. She saw Hussein. Ali's son, and was amazed. "I have seen this man in a dream!" she said. The crowd turned to gaze at Hussein; Ali went up to his son and said, "Hussein! From this girl, the most noble of humans shall be born." When Ali asked the princess her name, she replied, "The daughter of Jahan Shah (the King of the World)". Ali said, "So you shall be called Shahr Banu, (the Lady of the Land)."

Consequently, Shahrbanu was married to Hussein ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad, and the third Shia Imam. Her sister was married to Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr.

A Shia tradition maintains that she was in fact at the Battle of Karbala in October of AD 680 alongside her, soon-to-be-martyred husband, Imam Hussein ibn Ali, but was sent away by him, stating: "This is not your war but one between us the Arabs. Go to your people and seek refuge with them." Upon this, she is mounted on Hussein's famed white horse, Dhu'l-Junah ("Wide-Breasted"), and rushed out into Persia. Being followed, she gallops all the way to the city of Rayy, where the enemy finally catches up with her. Miraculously, the mountain there opens up and swallows her and the horse within, where they live to the present day.

Shahrbanu gave birth to Ali Zayn al Abidin (the fourth Shia Imam) in 658 CE. One legend has it that she died shortly after giving birth.

Today, there is a shrine to Shahrbanu at Rey (ancient Rhages), in the southern suburbs of Tehran, which has the miraculous property of being inaccessible to men, though women may visit it unimpeded. The nearby mountain, that supposedly swallowed her and her steed alive, is also named after her. It is fascinating to note that Shahrbanu's name means "The Lady of the Land"-- a title specifically belonging to the great patron Aryan Goddess of Persia and Armenia--Anahita/Anahid. Is this a marriage of the two mythologies and the two traditions: Persian and Islamic, in this allegorical form?