Shahnameh
The Shahnameh, or The Book of Kings, is an epic poem composed by the celebrated Persian poet, Firdausi. Finally completed in 1010, the epic is written in Pahlavi and consists of 60,000 verses which took Firdausi thirty-five years to compose. Firdausi presented the poem to the famous sultan, Mahmud Ghaznavi, who by that time had become ruler of Firdausi’s homeland, Khurasan.
The Shahnameh is based mainly on the Khvatay-Namak, a history of the kings of Persia (the ancient name for Iran) from mythical times to the beginning of the seventh century CE. Firdausi extended the poem to include events up to the mid-seventh century.
One of the best-known stories in the Shahnameh is that of Rustam, Persia’s greatest hero. Rustam was the son of Zal the White-Haired and the grandson of Saum the Mighty. Firdausi writes of the childhood of Rustam and of his long, full life. He tells also of Rustam’s great deeds of bravery and heroism, of his love for the princess Tahminah, and of their son Sohrab. Sohrab, who is perfect in every way, is also the source of Rustam’s greatest grief – for, like many other mythical heroes who unwittingly kill their own sons, Rustam kills Sohrab. Three tales about these mighty heroes are retold here - that of the birth and childhood of Zal, Rustam’s father; of the boyhood of Rustam himself; and that of Sohrab’s short life and tragic death.
The epic is a masterpiece of Persian literature and is celebrated across the Persian speaking world even today. It is also important to the contemporary followers of Zoroastrianism. It is the national epic of modern Iran.
