Abstract
There are two Sogdian manuscripts bearing the name of Rostam, the hero of the Shāhnāme. They are of a completely different order: one contains part of a tale about Rostam and his horse Rakhsh, while the other presents a prayer that is debatable whether it belongs in a Zoroastrian or Manichaean context. Both refer to traditions found in other Iranian languages.
The text of the tale is found on a manuscript, part of which was brought back by Paul Pelliot and belongs to the Bibliothèque nationale, and part of which is part of Aurel Stein's treasures at the British Library.
The second text dates back to Count Otani's expeditions, but was only recently found in the Lüshun Museum (China), on the verso of a Chinese manuscript, by Yoshida. It contains a series of wishes "may you be like...", following a form of series of this form in Avestic. Here, for example, they are "... flawless as a pearl", and precisely "... a bold knight like Rostam! Appearing thus among valuables and abstract entities, there are in addition Rostam's grandfather Sām, his son Sohrāb, his comrade Godarz, as well as kings Faridun and Kay Kawus, and also the Simorgh (in its Sogdian form, sēnmargh).
