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Shahnameh (Persian Literature anthology)

Ferdowsi, c. 1010

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The Shahnameh, or Book of Kings, is the Persian national epic. It runs from the first mythic kings through the age of heroes down to historical rulers. Here it appears as James Atkinson's English verse and prose abridgement, inside a Persian literature anthology. The tales include the tyrant Zohak and the smith Kavah who rises against him, the champion Rustem and his horse Rakush, and the tragedy of Rustem fighting his own son Sohrab. Kings and heroes win glory, then fall to fate, treachery or pride.

Where it happens

  1. Tus Ferdowsi's home town, where the prose Shahnameh he drew on was compiled and where he is buried.12
  2. Ghazni Seat of Sultan Mahmud, the patron to whom Ferdowsi later addressed his poem.2
  3. Sistan Homeland of the heroes Sam, Zal and Rostam, who serve the Iranian kings.1
  4. Cambridge The Fitzwilliam Museum held an exhibition on the poem's art in 2010, a thousand years after its completion.1

Through time

  1. 977Ferdowsi begins work on the Shahnameh, meaning to continue Daqiqi's poem.2
  2. 994First version of the poem is completed under Samanid patronage.2
  3. 1010Ferdowsi finishes the epic, having rewritten parts to praise Sultan Mahmud.2
  4. 1025Ferdowsi dies, aged about 85.2
  5. 1829Turner Macan publishes the first complete edition of the Persian text.1
  6. 1832James Atkinson's English translation appears from the Oriental Translation Fund.1
  7. 1905The Warner brothers begin their nine-volume English translation, finished in 1925.1
  8. 2010Cambridge's Fitzwilliam Museum marks the poem's millennium with an exhibition.1

Who is in it, and behind it

Ferdowsi author

Poet from Tus, 940 to 1025, who spent decades composing the Shahnameh.2

Mahmud of Ghazni patron

Ghaznavid sultan for whom Ferdowsi revised parts of the poem; how he rewarded the poet is disputed.2

Daqiqi author

Fellow poet whose earlier work on the same subject Ferdowsi set out to continue after Daqiqi was killed by his slave.2

Mansur patron

Samanid prince who gave Ferdowsi generous patronage while he wrote the first version.2

James Atkinson translator

East India Company physician whose 1832 English translation for the Oriental Translation Fund is the one in this anthology.1

Turner Macan printer

Published the first complete edition of the Persian poem in 1829, based on 17 manuscripts.1

Rostam character

Greatest hero of the poem, from the Sistan line of Sam and Zal, whose seven labors and fight with Sohrab are major tales.1

Sohrab character

Young warrior whose story with Rostam is one of the best known sections of the poem.1

What it is about

History blended with myth

The poem moves from legendary kings to the Sasanian dynasty and its fall to Muslim armies, treating both as one continuous national story.1

A poem that fixed a language

Some scholars credit works like the Shahnameh with keeping Modern Persian close to the language of Ferdowsi's day.1

Heroes serving flawed kings

Rostam and his Sistan line keep the throne safe, yet the kings they serve are often rash or weak.1

Poet and patron in tension

Legends about Ferdowsi's reward from Mahmud shaped how the poem is remembered, including a satire against the sultan.2

Persian classics in translation

The anthology places Atkinson's Shahnameh beside the Rubaiyat, the Divan and other Persian works for English readers.3

In its own words

Even while that country was purely Iránian, it was always open to Semitic influences. The welding together of the two civilizations is the true signature of Persian history.
SPECIAL INTRODUCTION. The anthology's introduction explains why English readers took to Persian literature and what it owes to two traditions. Read on
Thou art the king, but wherefore on my head Cast fire and ashes? If thou hast the form Of hissing dragon, why to me be cruel? Why give the brains of my beloved children As serpent-food, and talk of doing justice?
KAVAH, THE BLACKSMITH. Kavah the blacksmith confronts the tyrant Zohak, the spark of the revolt that brings Feridun to the throne. Read on
I've traced his footsteps to your royal town, Here must he be, protected by your crown; But if retained, if not from fetters freed, My vengeance shall o'ertake the felon-deed.
STORY OF SOHRÁB. Rustem arrives angry at a king's court looking for his stolen horse, a scene that shows his temper and fame. Read on
He cannot be my son, unknown to me; Reason forbids the thought—it cannot be!
STORY OF SOHRÁB. Rustem doubts that the young warrior facing him could be his own son, just before their fatal fight. Read on
Everything being thus ready, Rustem, on the pretence of going to the sporting ground, must be conducted by that road, and he will certainly fall into one of the pits, which will become his grave.
THE DEATH OF RUSTEM. The plot against Rustem is laid out: pits lined with blades, covered over, on the road to the hunt. Read on
What is thy name, from whom art thou descended? For that commanding front, that fearless eye, Bespeaks illustrious birth. Art thou indeed Sikander, whom my fancy would believe thee, So eloquent in speech, in mien so noble?
SIKANDER. Dara questions a disguised Sikander (Alexander), in a scene where the invader walks into the enemy court. Read on
Afflict not even the Ant; though weak and small, It breathes and lives, and life is sweet to all.
FIRDUSI'S SATIRE ON MAHMUD. From Ferdowsi's satire on Mahmud, the poet warns the sultan to be merciful. Read on
Fear thee! I fear not man, but God alone, I only bow to his Almighty throne.
FIRDUSI'S SATIRE ON MAHMUD. The poet answers Mahmud with defiance, trusting his verse and his faith above any ruler. Read on

The shape of the book

97 chapters, 142,545 words. Point at a bar.

How it came to be here

Ferdowsi, a poet from Tus, began the poem around 977 and finished it in 1010. He worked from an earlier prose Book of Kings that traced back to a Sasanian chronicle, and wrote it in Early New Persian. Over 50,000 couplets long, it helped keep the Persian language stable for a thousand years. Turner Macan printed the first complete edition in 1829. James Atkinson published his English translation for the Oriental Translation Fund in 1832, and this anthology reprints that version with other Persian classics.

Free to read elsewhere

Sources

  1. Shahnameh - Wikipedia
  2. Ferdowsi - Wikipedia
  3. The Persian Literature, Comprising The Shah Nameh, The Rubaiyat, The Divan, and The Gulistan - Project Gutenberg

Text: PG 10315. US public domain (Project Gutenberg licence).

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