Is Shahmaran Based on a True Story?
Shahmaran is a new Netflix fantasy series directed by Umur Turagay. The show follows Sahsu, a young woman who decides to confront her grandfather because he left her mother years ago. However, little did she know that her journey would turn out to be tangled with mythological legends and prophecies. She gets acquainted with the community known as Mar, who is descended from Shahmaran, a mythical creature, and her life is turned upside down. The show’s storyline is unlike anything we have seen so far. But is it based on a true story?
Shahmaran is not based on a true story. The series is based on a legend of Shahmaran, a mythical creature that is described as half-woman and half-snake. The show is centered around the love story of Sashu and Maran and the community of Mar, which believes in the prophecy that one-day Shahmaran will return.
The Shahmaran legend has been passed down for generations, and the tale is a well-known one in the folklore of various cultures in the Middle East, particularly in Turkey and Iran. Considering that the show is based around a legend of a half-woman, half-snaked creature, we are more than happy to see how well the producers will turn the myth into a modern-day show. Further in the article, you can find out more about the show and the legend of Shahmaran.
Is Shahmaran based on a true story?
Shahmaran is a Turkish series directed by Umur Turagay starring Serenay Sarikaya in the role of Sahsu and Burak Deniz as Maran. The show tells a love story between them. But it is a love story like you have never seen before. The show is not based on a true story but on the legend of Shahmaran.
According to legend, Shahmaran is a creature described as having an upper body of a gorgeous woman and the lower body of a snake. The legend also says that Shahmaran possesses great wisdom and the power to heal and can grant immortality to those who find and capture her. The prophecy surrounding the myth state that one day, Shahmaran will reveal herself to the world and that her appearance will mark the beginning of a new era of peace and prosperity.
This prophecy is used as a basis of the storyline and all the tension and confrontations in the show. When Sahsu travels to Astana and hopes to confront her grandfather over mistakes he made in the past, she meets Maran. Maran and Sashu fall in love, but their love story becomes a center of attention in Maran’s community, Mar. This community believes in the prophecy that Shahmaran will one day return when a marked man from the Mar community and a chosen human girl fall in love. So when Sahsu and Maran meet each other, the Mar community becomes sure that they are the ones to fulfill the prophecy.
The show’s storyline is also centered around confrontations and differences in beliefs. With the Shahmaran legend in the center of it, many snake references and scenes are expected, along with the representation of the beauty of the woman’s body. The show tells its audience that the tale of Shahmaran started centuries ago with the betrayal. That statement refers to a love story of Shahmaran and a human named Jamasp, as that was the beginning of a myth and symbolism as it is known today.
Why is Shahmaran’s myth considered the story of betrayal?
To fully understand the reference to betrayal, you should know its story. The story goes that many years ago, even thousands, a kingdom of snakes lived underground. The snakes were called Maran, and the Queen of Marans was called Shahmaran. The Queen was described as a beautiful young woman with the upper body of a woman and the lower body part of a snake.
Legend states that Jamasp was the first human that had seen Shahmaran. Jamasp was a poor man who sold wood for a living. He accidentally discovered a cave full of honey alongside his friends. They brought Jamasp down into the cave to extract the honey and left him there so he could pull as much as possible.
Jamasp saw a hole in the cave and noticed light coming from the spot. He enlarged the hole with a knife in his pocket and was astounded by what he had discovered. He saw the most beautiful garden where unique flowers grew. There were also pools and snakes, many snakes. Jamasp stayed there and lived with Shahmaran and other snakes for many years. He learned a lot there and earned Shahmaran’s trust.
As he spent years away from his family, Jamasp started to miss them and asked Shahmaran for permission to leave. Shahmaran agreed to release him only if he promised he wouldn’t tell anyone about her location. Jamasp pledged that he wouldn’t betray her. For years, he kept his promise to tell no one where Shahmaran was.
However, when the king of the country got sick, his advisor said that the only remedy for the illness was to eat Shahmaran’s flesh. The news spread, and finding Shahmaran was everyone’s top priority. After Jamasp was forced to reveal his secret, he showed Shahmaran’s location, and Shahmaran was taken. Shahmaran told Jamasp: “Blanch me in an earthen dish, give my extract to the vizier, and feed my flesh to the sultan.” So, the advisor died, and the sultan recovered and made Jamasp his advisor.
So, to conclude, Jamasp betrayed Shahmaran, as he broke his promise and his betrayal got Shahmaran killed. There are many versions of the story, but the motive of betrayal is the center of all of them. Hopefully, we also get to see some understanding of the story in the show. Shahmaran airs on January 20 only on Netflix.
