Shāhnāmé (Persian: شاهنامه )is an enormous poetic opus written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi around 1000 AD and is the national epic of the Persian-speaking world. The Shāhnāmeh tells the mythical and historical past of (Greater) Iran from the creation of the world up until the Islamic conquest of Persia in the 7th century.
Aside from its literary importance, the Shāhnāmeh, written in almost pure Persian unmixed with adoptions from Arabic, has bee...
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Shāhnāmé (Persian: شاهنامه )is an enormous poetic opus written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi around 1000 AD and is the national epic of the Persian-speaking world. The Shāhnāmeh tells the mythical and historical past of (Greater) Iran from the creation of the world up until the Islamic conquest of Persia in the 7th century.
Aside from its literary importance, the Shāhnāmeh, written in almost pure Persian unmixed with adoptions from Arabic, has been pivotal for reviving the Persian language after the massive influence of Arabic. This voluminous work, regarded by Persian speakers as a literary masterpiece, also reflects Persia's history, cultural values, ancient religions (Zoroastrianism), and profound sense of nationhood. Ferdowsi completed the Shâhnameh when national independence had been compromised. While there are memorable heroes and heroines of the classical type in this work, the real, ongoing hero is Persia itself. It is thus an important book for the Persian country.
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