Plate with a hunting scene from the tale of Bahram Gur and Azadeh. Culture: Sasanian. Dimensions: Height 1.62 in. (4.11 cm), Diameter 7.9 in. (20.1 cm). Date: ca. 5th century A.D..The imagery on this plate represents the earliest known depiction of a well-known episode from the story of Bahram Gur or Bahram V, the Sasanian king (r. 420 -438). The story seems to have been popular for centuries--both in Sasanian times and under the Islamic rule that followed--but was only recorded in the Shahnamah, or Book of Kings, by Firdausi in the early eleventh century A.D., centuries after this plate was created. The Shahnamah recounts how Bahram Gur, challenged to feats of archery by his favorite musician, Azadeh, changed a male gazelle to a female and a female to a male and pinned the hind leg of an animal to its ear. This plate directly refers to the story of Bahram Gur because the horns of the male have been shot off with an arrow, transforming his appearance into that of a female, while the tw