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Amir Arsalan-e Namdar () is a popular Persian epic, which was told to Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar, the Qajar dynasty Shah of Persia in the 19th century (though the Persian Iranian folklore itself is much older), by a storyteller named Mohammad Ali Naqib ol-Mamalek (). Mohammad never transcribed the poem himself, but Fachr-ed-Douleh, the daughter of the Shah—who also loved the story—eventually transcribed it and preserved it for posterity.
In 2020, Dariush Ahmadzadeh Rezvani published "A Concise Translation" called The Story of Prince Arsalan the Famous Amir, available on Kindle and Paperback from Amazon. Compared to Ansary's version, it is heavily abridged and shortened.
It is unclear which translation is closest to the original Persian, as one admits to being "concise" while the other admits to being lengthened.
Ansary's translation makes note throughout this segment that Khawaha is an accomplished astrologist, and that when Khawaja reads Arsalans stars at the time of his birth, he learns that Arsalan is blessed with incredible luck and fortune. However, Rezvani's translation says nothing of astrology. It is unclear whether astrology is part of the original story or not.
Khawaja and Arsalan go to the palace the next day, but before the Khedive can give Arsalan a job at court, they receive word that a Ferangi delegation from King Petrus, led by Almas Khan has arrived with a letter written in the Ferangi language. Arsalan is asked to read the letter, which instructs the Khedive to hand Khawaja, as well as Arsalan, son of Malik-Shah, to Almas Khan to be taken to Farang. The letter is also accompanied by a picture of Arsalan, so that the Khedive and Khawaja could not deny that Arsalan, the son of Khawaja Noman, was not the same Arsalan mentioned in the letter. Arsalan and Almas Khan speak in the Ferangi language, which no one else present is able to understand. Almas Khan angers Arsalan, and Arsalan cuts down Almas Khan with his sword, starting an altercation that wipes out the entire Ferangi delegation. The incident is a huge diplomatic incident, and Khedive asks Khawaja to take responsibility for it, since his son is the one who caused it. Khawaja states that if he gives his wealth to Khedive, and Khedive will give him an army, then Khawaja and Arsalan will go to Constantinople and take back from Sam Khan and King Petrus the land that rightfully belongs to Arsalan.
The plot continues well on past this point.
The story was also adapted into an Iranian musical film in 1966 with a script written by Esmail Koushan and Mohammad Ali Fardin playing the role of Arsalan, to much success.
Arslaan, an Indian fantasy television series produced by Sagar Arts based on the epic, aired on Sony TV in 2008 and starred Neil Bhatt in the titular role of Arsalan.
From 1986 to 2017, Japanese fantasy novel author Yoshiki Tanaka adapted the story to a series of 16 Novel and one side story under the title Arslan Senki or, The Heroic Legend of Arslan. The adaptation was very popular in Japan. It was adapted into two different manga series: A 1991-1996 run illustrated by Chisato Nakamura, and a 2014-present run illustrated by Hiromu Arakawa, the creator of worldwide hit Fullmetal Alchemist. Arakawa's version was adapted into an anime that garnered worldwide attention for the story. The anime covers the events of the first six of Tanaka's novels. Hiromu Arakawa's manga and the anime adaptation have both received English publications in the U.S., but neither Nakamura's manga adaptation nor Tanaka's novels have received the same treatment.
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