Shahnameh

Not to be confused with Shahab Nama or Chach Nama.

Shahnameh
The Book of Kings
by Ferdowsi
Court of Keyumars, Miniature by Sultan Muhammad from the Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp . Aga Khan Museum
Original titleشاهنامه
Written977–1010 CE
CountryIran
LanguageClassical Persian
Subject(s)Persian mythology, history of Iran
Genre(s)epic poem
MeterLines of 22 syllables with two rhyming couplets in the same metre (bahr-i mutaqarib-i mahzuf)[1]
Publication date1010
Published in English1832
Media typemanuscript
Linesc. 50,000 depending on manuscript
Full text
Shah Nameh at Wikisource
Plate with a hunting scene from the tale of Bahram Gur and Azadeh. The imagery on this plate represents the earliest known depiction of a well-known episode from the story of Bahram Gur, which seems to have been popular for centuries, but was only recorded in the Shahnameh, centuries after this plate was created. Iran, c. 5th century A.D. Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Shahnameh (Persian: شاهنامه, romanized: Šāhnāme, lit. 'The Book of Kings', modern Iranian Persian pronunciation [ʃɒːh.nɒː.ˈme]),[a] also transliterated Shahnama,[b] is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c. 977 and 1010 CE and is the national epic of Greater Iran. Consisting of some 50,000 distichs or couplets (two-line verses),[2] the Shahnameh is one of the world's longest epic poems, and the longest epic poem created by a single author.[3][4][5] It tells mainly the mythical and to some extent the historical past of the Persian Empire from the creation of the world until the Muslim conquest in the seventh century. Iran, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and the greater region influenced by Persian culture such as Armenia, Dagestan, Georgia, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan celebrate this national epic.[6]

The work is of central importance in Persian culture and Persian language. It is regarded as a literary masterpiece, and definitive of the ethno-national cultural identity of Iran.[7]

  1. ^ "History" (PDF). eprints.soas.ac.uk. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-02-25. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
  2. ^ Lalani, Farah (13 May 2010). "A thousand years of Firdawsi's Shahnama is celebrated". The Ismaili. Archived from the original on 5 August 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
  3. ^ "The Shahnameh: a Literary Masterpiece". The Shahnameh: a Persian Cultural Emblem and a Timeless Masterpiece. Archived from the original on 2023-12-25. Retrieved 2023-12-25.
  4. ^ "Shahnameh Ferdowsi". shahnameh.eu. Archived from the original on 2022-12-07. Retrieved 2023-12-25.
  5. ^ "Iran marks National Day of Ferdowsi". Mehr News Agency. 2023-05-15. Archived from the original on 2023-12-25. Retrieved 2023-12-25.
  6. ^ "The Book of Kings: The book that defines Iranians". BBC Culture. Archived from the original on 2021-03-14. Retrieved 2021-06-09.
  7. ^ Ashraf, Ahmad (30 March 2012). "Iranian Identity iii. Medieval Islamic Period". Encyclopædia Iranica. Archived from the original on 25 October 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2018.


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