Shahnameh

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The Shahnameh (Persian: شاهنامه ) (The Book of Kings or The Epic of Kings, also written Shahnama), written by Ferdowsi around 1000 AD, is the national epic of Iran (Persia) and tells the mythical and historical past of Iran from the creation of the world up until the country's Islamization in the 7th century. This masterpiece of world literature is not only of utmost literary importance but has been groundbreaking for the development of the Persian language, and constitutes a monument in the cultural heritage of Iran.

It has been called the "Persian Quran" by Ibn al-Athir, even though this title is not known among the Persian speakers but somehow indicates the importance of this book for all Persian speakers from Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan, to other Persian speakers of central Asia, as well as in India, Pakistan and as far as China.

There is an ongoing controversy among scholars about the sources of the Shahnameh. Ferdowsi's epic is probably based mainly on an earlier prose version which itself was a compilation of old Iranian stories and historical facts and fables. However, there is without any doubt also a strong influence of oral literature, since the style of the Shahnameh shows characteristics of both written and oral literature.

Some of the characters of the Epic are of Indo-Iranian heritage, and are mentioned in sources as old as the Avesta. Its language, Persian with very few Arabic loanwords used, is characteristic of the Persian epic style. The Shahnameh of Ferdowsi, an epic poem of over 60,000 couplets, is based mainly on a prose work of the same name compiled in the poet's earlier life in his native Tus. This prose Shahnameh was in turn and for the most part the translation of a Pahlavi work, a compilation of the history of the kings and heroes of Iran from mythical times down to the reign of Khosrau II (590-628 A.D.), but it also contains additional material continuing the story to the overthrow of the Sassanids by the Arabs in the middle of the 7th century A.D. The first to undertake the versification of this chronicle of pre-Islamic and legendary Persia was Daqiqi, a poet at the court of the Samanids, who came to a violent end after completing only 1000 verses. These verses, which deal with the rise of the prophet Zoroaster, were afterward incorporated by Ferdowsi, with due acknowledgements, in his own poem.

After Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, a number of other works similar in nature surfaced over the centuries within the cultural sphere of the Persian language. Without exception, all such works were based in style and method on Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, but none of them could quite achieve the same degree of fame and popularity.

Some experts believe the main reason the Modern Persian language today is more or less the same language as that of Ferdowsi's time over 1000 years ago is due to the very existence of works like Ferdowsi's Shahnameh which have had lasting and profound cultural and linguistic influence. In other words, the Shahnameh itself has become one of the main pillars of the modern Persian language. Studying Ferdowsi's masterpiece also became a requirement for achieving mastery of the Persian language by subsequent Persian poets, as evidenced by numerous references to the Shahnameh in their works.

The Shahnameh is one of the few original national epics in the world. Many peoples of the world have their "own" national epics, but more often than not, the original theme of such national epics are borrowed from other, usually neighbouring, cultures. This is not the case with the Shahnameh, which is based on original Persian stories.

The Shahnameh has 62 stories, 990 chapters, and contains 60,000 rhyming couplets, making it more than seven times the length of Homer's Iliad. There have been a number of English translations, almost all abridged. In 1925, the brothers Arthur and Edmond Warner published the complete work in nine volumes, now out of print.

1 Introduction
2 The Mythical Age
3 The Heroic Age
4 The Historical Age
5 The Shahnameh's Message
6 Shahnameh Scholars
7 See also
8 Sources and references

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Introduction

The Shahnameh, also known as the Persian Quran, is an impressive monument of poetry and historiography, being mainly the poetical recast of what Master Ferdowsi and his predecessors regarded as the account of Iran's ancient history; an account which already existed in a less appealing form in prose works, especially in the Shahnameh of Abu Mansur Abd-al-Razzaq. A small portion of Ferdowsi’s work, in passages scattered throughout the Shahnameh, is entirely of his own conception. In addition to the profound descriptions of various scenes and phenomena, this work expresses his reflection on life, his religious and ethical beliefs and his admiration of virtue, his praise for his patrons, and his references to the sources he used. The rest of the work is divided into three successive parts: the mythical, heroic, and historical ages.

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The Mythical Age

After an opening in praise of God and Wisdom, the Shahnameh gives an account of the creation of the world and of man as believed by Sasanians. This introduction is followed by the story of the first man, Gayumarth, who also became the first king after a period of mountain dwelling. His grandson (Hushang, son of Siamak) accidentally discovered fire and established the Sadeh Feast in its honor. Stories of Tahmureth, Jamshid, Zahhak, Kaveh, Freydun and his three sons Salm, Tur, and Iraj, and his grandson Manuchehr are explained in this section. This portion of the Shahnameh is relatively short, amounting to some 2100 verses or four percent of the entire book, and it narrates the events with the simplicity, predictability, and swiftness of a historical work. Naturally, the strength and charm of Ferdowsi’s poetry have done much to make the story of this period attractive and lively. +

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The Heroic Age

Almost two-thirds of the Shahnameh is devoted to the age of heroes, extending from Manuchehr’s reign until the conquest of Alexander the 4th c. BCE Macedonian warlord. The main feature of this period is the major role played by the Sagzi (Saka) or Sistani heroes who appear as the backbone of the Persian Empire. Garshasp is briefly mentioned as is his son Nariman, whose own son Sam acted as the leading paladin of Manuchehr while reigning in Sistan in his own right. His successors were his son Zal and his son Rostam, the bravest of the brave, and then Faramarz.

The feudal society in which they lived is admirably depicted in the Shahnameh with accuracy and lavishness. Indeed, Masters’s descriptions are so vivid and impressive that the reader feels himself participating in the events or closely viewing them. The tone is significantly epic and moving, while the language is extremely rich and varied. +

Among the stories described in this section are the romance of Zal & Rudabe, the Seven Stages (or Labors) of Rostam, Rostam and Sohrab, Siavash and Sudabe, Rostam and Akvan Div, the romance of Bižan and Maniže, the wars with Afrasiab, Daqiqi’s account of the story of Goshtasp and Arjasp, and Rostam and Esfandyar.

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It is noteworthy to mention that the legend of Rostam and Sohrab is attested only in the Shahnameh and, as usual, begins with a lyrical and detailed prelude. Here Ferdowsi is in the zenith of his poetic power and has become a true master of storytelling. The thousand or so verses of this tragedy comprise one of most moving tales of world literature.

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The Historical Age

A brief mention of the Ashkanian (Arsacids) dynasty follows the history of Alexander and precedes that of Ardeshir the founder of Sassanid dynasty. After this, the Sassanian history is related with a good deal of accuracy. The fall of the Sassanian and the Arab conquest of Iran are narrated romantically, and in a most moving poetic language. Here, the reader could easily see Ferdowsi himself lamenting over this catastrophe, and over what he calls the arrival of “the army of darkness”.

According to Ferdowsi, the final edition of the Shahnameh contained some sixty thousand distiches. But this is a round figure; most of the relatively reliable manuscripts have preserved a little over fifty thousand distiches. Nezami-Aruzi reports that the final edition of the Shahnameh sent to the court of Soltan Mahmud was prepared in seven volumes.

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The Shahnameh's Message

Ferdowsi’s style is that of a superb poet. His epic language is so rich, moving and lavish that it truly enchants the reader. Personal touches in the Shahnameh prevent it from falling into a dry reproduction of historical narratives. No history has been so eagerly read, so profoundly believed, and so ardently treasured in Iran, as has the Shahnameh of Ferdowsi. If a history were ever to influence its readers, the Shahnameh has done and still does so in the finest way. Where many Iranian military and religious leaders failed, Ferdowsi succeeded. With the Shahnameh, the revival and immortality of a nation became possible.

Ferdowsi did not expect his reader to pass over historical events indifferently, but asked him to think carefully, to see the grounds for the rise and fall of individuals and nations; and to learn from the past in order to improve the present, and to better shape the future.

The Shahnameh stresses that since the world is transient, and since everyone is merely a passerby, one is wise to avoid cruelty, lying, avarice, and other evils; instead one should strive for justice, truth, order, and other virtues which bring happiness, ease, and honor.

The singular message that the Shahnameh of Ferdowsi strives to convey is the idea that the history of Iranzamin was a complete and immutable whole: it started with Gayumarth, the first man, and ended with his fiftieth scion and successor, Yazdegerd III, six thousand years of history of Iran. The task of Ferdowsi was to prevent this history from losing its connection with future Iranian generations.

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