According to local tradition, as reported in the 1960s and noted earlier by A. V. Williams Jackson, the Tarāsh-e Farhād is attributed to the legendary architect of Khosrow II named Farhad. Farhad features in Nizami Ganjavi's famous tragic romance Khosrow and Shirin, which he started writing in c. 1180. According to Nizami (died 1209), Farhad completed three monumental works: the creation of the milk channel, a passage cut through the mountain at Bisotun, and the portrait of princess Shirin. From the 15th to the 20th century, the story of Farhad and Shirin was a popular theme in various forms of visual art, including miniatures. A miniature of c. 1575 depicts Farhad and Shirin near the pool at Mount Behistun, while the hillside on the same artwork shows a large flat piece of stone with effigies of Farhad and Shirin. This slab is clearly identifiable as the Tarāsh-e Farhād. The Encyclopedia Iranica adds: