Table of Contents
Why is the Shahnameh considered a classic of Persian literature?
Consisting of some 50,000 “distichs” or couplets (two-line verses), the Shahnameh is one of the world’s longest epic poems. 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.
What is the meaning of Shahnameh?
Ferdowsi. The Shahname, literally meaning ‘Book of Kings,’ is structured according to the mythical and historical reign of 50 Persian Kings.
Is the Shahnameh worth reading?
It is a religious, historical and cultural tapestry, in which different layers of the ancient and medieval Iranian culture are interwoven. The Shahname is a book worth reading for everyone, and lucky is the one who can enjoy it in the original Classical Persian.
What culture is the Mahabharata?
The Mahābhārata was one of the two most important factors that created the “Hindu” culture of India (the other was the other all-India epic, the Rāmāyaṇa, pronounced approximately as Raa-MEYE-a-na), and the Mahābhārata and Rāmāyaṇa still exert tremendous cultural influence throughout India and Southeast Asia.
Who commissioned Shahnameh?
Around 1524, the Safavid ruler Shah Tahmasp (reigned 1524–76) commissioned an illustrated manuscript of the Shahnama. He recruited the most talented painters, calligraphers, illuminators, and binders to work in the royal workshop and spared no expense.
What is the plot of Shahnameh?
THE SHAHNAMEH (Book of Kings) is the national epic of Iran composed by the poet Ferdowsi between 980 and 1010 AD. It tells the story of ancient Persia, beginning in the mythic time of Creation and continuing forward to the Arab-Islamic invasion in the seventh century.
What is the other name for Shahnameh?
The Shahnameh (Persian: شاهنامه Šāhnāmah pronounced [ʃɒːhnɒːˈme], “The Book of Kings”, also transliterated Shahnama), 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.
Who wrote the Shahnameh?
Ferdowsi
Shahnameh/Authors
Under the patronage of the Samanid dynasty, Hakīm Abul-Qāsim Firdawsī Tūsī (Ferdowsi) began his epic poem in 977, taking thirty-three years to complete it. The Shahnameh was written at a time when modern Persian had started to flourish and the structures and standards for the language were being set.
Why was the Shahnameh written?
The Shahnameh (“Book of Kings”, composed 977-1010 CE) is a medieval epic written by the poet Abolqasem Ferdowsi (l. c. 940-1020 CE) in order to preserve the myths, legends, history, language, and culture of ancient Persia.
Was Sheikh Saadi a Shia?
Saadi was a Sunni Muslim. According to Annemarie Schimmel the tendency of Shia to associate with the Sunni poet became the norm after Twelver Shiaism became the state religion of the Safavid Empire.
Is Shahnameh a modern Persian book?
The Shahnameh continues to be one of the main pillars of the modern Persian language. The Shahnameh, the seminal Persian literary work, is based primarily on a prose translation of an earlier Pahlavi work, known as the Xvatāynamāk (Book of Kings), from the pre-Islamic Sassanid era (224–651).
What is the meaning of Mahabharata in English?
The Mahābhārata (US: /məhɑːˈbɑːrətə/, UK: /ˌmɑːhəˈbɑːrətə/; Sanskrit: महाभारतम्, Mahābhāratam, pronounced [mɐɦaːˈbʱaːɽɐtɐm]) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the Rāmāyaṇa.
How many parts are there in the Shahnameh?
The Shahnameh contains 62 stories, told in 990 chapters with 50,000 rhyming couplets. It is divided into three parts—the mythical, heroic, and historical ages.
Written in modern Persian, the Shahnameh is a work of poetry, historiography, folklore, and cultural identity and is a continuation of the age-old tradition of storytelling in the Near East. Under the patronage of the Samanid dynasty, Hakīm Abul-Qāsim Firdawsī Tūsī (Ferdowsi) began his epic poem in 977, taking thirty-three years to complete it.