Fritillaria imperialis, the crown imperial, imperial fritillary or Kaiser's crown, is a species of flowering plant in the lily family Liliaceae, native to a wide stretch from the Anatolian plateau of Turkey, Iraq and Iran to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Northern India and the Himalayan foothills. It is also widely cultivated as an ornamental and reportedly naturalized in Austria, Sicily, and Washington State, USA. The common names and also the epithet "imperialis", literally "of the emperor", refer to the large circle of golden flowers, reminiscent of an emperor's crown.
Fritillaria imperialis
Fritillaria Imperialis in Dena, Iran
Crown imperial plain, Fars, Iran
Fritillaria imperialis in botanic garden, Germany
Siyâvash or Siyâvoš or Siavash is a major figure in Ferdowsi's epic, the Shahnameh. He was a legendary Iranian prince from the earliest days of the Iranian Empire. A handsome and desirable young man, his name literally means "the one with black stallions". Ferdowsi, the author of the Book of Kings (Shahnameh), names his horse Shabrang Behzād.
The Slaying of Siyâvash
Siyavash is Pulled from His Bed and Killed
Siyavash faces Afrasiyab across the Jihun River, from Master of the Jainesque Shahnama, 15th century, Sultanate India.
The blood-red flowers of Fritillaria imperialis are said, in Iranian folklore, to bow their heads and weep for the blameless and martyred Siyâvash and this may be the identity of the plant Khune Asyavushan ('the blood of Siyâvash')
