Hakīm Abol-Qāsem Ferdawsī Ṭūsī (Persian: حکیم ابوالقاسم فردوسی طوسی‎ ) (more commonly transliterated Ferdowsi-ye Tusi, also known as Firdawsi, Firdausi, Firdousi, Ferdosi or Ferdusi) (935–1020) is perhaps the most revered Persian poet. He was the author of the Shāhnāma, the national epic of Persia (modern Iran). Persian (local name: FārsÄ« or PārsÄ«) is an Indo-European language spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and by minorities in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, India, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Southern Russia, neighboring countries, and elsewhere. ... Firdawsi, classical Persian poet and author of the Shahnameh Hrosvit, Latin language poet and dramatist from Saxony Categories: | ... Firdawsi Categories: | ... The Persians are an Iranian people who speak the Persian language and share a common culture and history. ... A poet is someone who writes poetry. ... Shahnameh Scenes from the Shahnameh carved into reliefs at Tus, where Ferdowsi is buried. ... A national epic is an epic poem or similar work which seeks or is believed to capture and express the essence or spirit of a particular nation; not necessarily a nation-state, but at least an ethnic or linguistic group with aspirations to independence or autonomy. ... For other uses of this term see: Persia (disambiguation) The Persian Empire is the name used to refer to a number of historic dynasties that have ruled the country of Persia (Iran). ...

Life

Firdawsi (Ferdo'si) was born in the Iranian province of Khorasan, in a village near Tus (Baj), in 935. His father was a rich man and major land owner. His great epic, the Shāhnāma ("The epic of kings"), to which he devoted more than thirty-five years, was originally composed for eventual presentation to the Samanid princes of Khorasan, who were the chief instigators of the revival of Iranian cultural traditions after the Arab conquest of the seventh century. When he was just 23 years old, he found a “Shāhnāma” written by Abu-Mansour Almoammari which was not poem. It was one made from the older versions ordered by Abu-Mansour ibn Abdol-razzagh. It made a great change in the life of this poet. During Firdawsi’s lifetime the Samanid dynasty was conquered by the Ghaznavid Empire. Two or three years after completing the work, Firdawsi went to Ghazni the capital of Ghaznavids to present it to the king. There are various stories in medieval texts describing the lack of interest shown by the new king, Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni, in Firdawsi and his lifework. According to historians, Mahmud had promised Firdawsi a dinar for every distich written in the Shahnameh (60,000 dinars), but later retracted and presented him with dirhams (20,000 dirhams), which were at that time much less valuable than dinar (every 100 dirhams worth 1 dinar). Some think it was jealousy of other poets working at king’s court that led to this event. This difference gave fodder to Firdawsi's enemies in the court. Firdawsi rejected the money and by some accounts he gave it to a poor man who sold wine. He was wandering for a time in Sistan and Mazandaran. In the end he returned to Tus heartbroken. Firdawsi is said to have died around 1020 in poverty at the age of ninety and embittered by royal neglect, though fully confident of his work’s ultimate success and fame (clearly seen especially in last verses of his book). One tradition claims Mahmud re-sent the amount promised to Firdawsi’s village, but when the messengers reached his house, he had died a few hours earlier. The gift was then given to his daughter, since his son had died before his father at the age of 37. However, his daughter refused to receive the amount, thus making Firdawsi’s Shahnameh immortal.^{[citation needed]} Khorasan (Persian: خراسان) (also transcribed as Khurasan and Khorassan; Horasan in Turkish) is a region located in eastern Iran. ... Shahnameh Scenes from the Shahnameh carved into reliefs at Tus, where Ferdowsi is buried. ... The Samanids (875-999) (in Persian: Samanian) were a Persian dynasty in Central Asia and eastern Iran, named after its founder Saman Khoda. ... The Ghaznavid Empire (سلسله غزنویان in Persian) was a state in the region of todays Afghanistan that existed from 962 to 1187. ... Ghazni (Persian: غزنی , ÄžaznÄ«) is a city in eastern Afghanistan, with an estimated population of 149,998 people. ... Sultan (Arabic: سلطان) is an Islamic title, with several historical meanings. ... Mahmud and Ayaz The Sultan is to the right, shaking the hand of the sheykh, with Ayaz standing behind him. ... Categories: Iran geography stubs | Provinces of Iran ... Mazandaran (Persian: مازندران) is a province in northern Iran, bordering the Caspian (Mazandaran) Sea in the north. ... Events Hospice built in Jerusalem by Knights Hospitaller City of Saint-Germain-en-Laye founded Third Italian campaign of Henry II of Germany Canute the Great codifies the laws of England Births Harold II of England (approximate) Empress Agnes of Poitou, regent of the Holy Roman Empire (d. ...

Later the king ordered the money be used for repairing an inn in the way from Merv to Tus, named “Robat Chaheh” so that it may remain in remembrance of poet. This inn now lies in ruins, but still exists. Merv – Persian name: مرو; formerly Alexandria and Antiochia in Margiana (Greek: Αντιόχεια η Μαργιανή) – in current-day Turkmenistan, was a major oasis-city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, located near todays Mary. ... Categories: Iran geography stubs | Cities in Iran ...

Firdawsi was buried at the yard of his own home, where his mausoleum now lies. St. ...

Books

Scenes from the Shāhnāma carved into reliefs at Tus, where Firdawsi is buried.

His masterpiece, the Shāhnāma, is the most popular and influential of the Iranian national epics. The Shāhnāma, or the "Book of Kings," consists of the translation of an even older Pahlavi (Middle Persian) work. It has been exceptionally popular among Persians for over a thousand years. It tells the history of old Persia before the Arab conquest of the region. This tale, all written in poetic form and in Darī Persian, starts from 7000 years ago telling the story of old Persian Kings and their actions. Image File history File links Tus_shahnameh. ... Image File history File links Tus_shahnameh. ... Shahnameh Scenes from the Shahnameh carved into reliefs at Tus, where Ferdowsi is buried. ... Categories: Iran geography stubs | Cities in Iran ... Shahnameh Scenes from the Shahnameh carved into reliefs at Tus, where Ferdowsi is buried. ... A national epic is an epic poem or similar work which seeks or is believed to capture and express the essence or spirit of a particular nation; not necessarily a nation-state, but at least an ethnic or linguistic group with aspirations to independence or autonomy. ... The Pahlavi script was used broadly in the Sasanid Persian Empire to write down Middle Persian for secular, as well as religious purposes. ... Persian (local name: FārsÄ« or PārsÄ«) is an Indo-European language spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and by minorities in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, India, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Southern Russia, neighboring countries, and elsewhere. ... Persian (local name: FārsÄ« or PārsÄ«) is an Indo-European language spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and by minorities in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, India, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Southern Russia, neighboring countries, and elsewhere. ...

Illustrations, especially those of Master Mahmud Farshchian, are historical and use the different themes for the stories.

According to popular legend, Firdawsi was commissioned by Sultan Mahmoud Ghaznavi to write a book about his valour and conquests. However, the poet, though dedicating the book to the King for an agreed fee of 30 camels loaded with gold coins, decided to tell the story of the Kings that had made the land of Persia into an Empire throughout the ages. This task was to take the poet some thirty years or more upon which he included the verse:

Upon the presentation of the Shāhnāma, Sultan Mahmoud was furious for not being the subject of the book and finally out of bound of an agreement offered Firdawsi thirty camels loaded with Silver that was refused by the poet. Heart broken and poor the poet returned to his home town of Tus, the Sultan eventually realising his error and the true value of the Shāhnāma sent the agreed fee to the poet yet, upon the arrival of the camels the Firdawsi's coffin was being carried out through the exit gate of Tus to his grave. Ajami redirects here. ... Persian (local name: FārsÄ« or PārsÄ«) is an Indo-European language spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and by minorities in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, India, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Southern Russia, neighboring countries, and elsewhere. ...

Influence

Firdawsi is one of the undisputed giants of Persian literature. After Firdawsi's Shāhnāma 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 Firdawsi's Shāhnāma, but none of them could quite achieve the same degree of fame and popularity as Firdawsi's masterpiece.

Firdawsi has a unique place in Persian history because of the strides he made in reviving and regenerating the Persian language and cultural traditions. His works are cited as a crucial component in the persistence of the Persian language, as those works allowed much of the tongue to remain codified and intact. In this respect, Ferdowsi surpasses Nezami, Khayyam, Asadi Tusi, and other seminal Persian literary figures in his impact on Persian culture and language. Nezami (1141–1209) Nezami Ganjavi (Persian: ‎; Azerbaijani: ;‎ 1141 – 1209), whose full name was Nizām ad-Dīn Abū Muhammad Ilyās ibn-Yusūf ibn-Zakī ibn-Muayyid, is considered the greatest romantic epic poet in Persian literature, who brought a colloquial and realistic style to the Persian... Mohammed Zahur Khayyam, better known as Khayyam is an indian music composer whose career spanned across 4 decades (1953 - 1990). ... Asadi Tusi (born: Tus, Iranian province of Khorasan - died: 1072 Tabriz, Iran). ...

References

• E.G. Browne. Literary History of Persia. (Four volumes, 2,256 pages, and twenty-five years in the writing). 1998. ISBN 0-7007-0406-X
• Jan Rypka, History of Iranian Literature. Reidel Publishing Company. ASIN B-000-6BXVT-K

See also

• Shāhnāma
• List of Persian poets and authors
• Persian literature
• Sassanid dynasty
• Iranistics
• List of mausoleums