Abolqasem Ferdowsi

Biography

Abu'l-Qâsem Ferdowsi Tusi (c. 940-1020 CE) was born into a family of Persian landowners (dehqans) in the village of Paj, near the city of Tus in the Khorasan region of northeastern Iran. The dehqans were Iranian aristocrats who had flourished under the Sasanian dynasty and whose power, though diminished, survived into the Islamic era. They saw themselves as guardians of pre-Islamic Persian culture and took it upon themselves to preserve the ancient tales of legendary kings and heroes. Ferdowsi grew up during the Samanid period, a time when Persian language and culture experienced a renaissance after centuries of Arab domination.

Ferdowsi's life work began when he undertook to complete and expand upon an earlier prose version of the Shahnameh commissioned by the Samanids. His contemporary, the poet Daqiqi, had begun versifying this chronicle but was murdered by a slave after completing only 1,000 verses, which Ferdowsi later incorporated into his own work with due acknowledgment. For thirty-five years, from 977 to 1010 CE, Ferdowsi labored on his epic masterpiece, spending his family's considerable wealth in the process and gradually falling into poverty. His dedication to preserving Persian heritage through poetry consumed his life, including the heartbreak of losing his beloved son, whose death he mourned in an elegy inserted into the Shahnameh.

When Ferdowsi completed his epic of nearly 60,000 couplets in 1010, he presented it to Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni, expecting the promised reward of 60,000 gold dinars. Instead, the sultan's courtiers deceived both ruler and poet, delivering only 60,000 silver dirhams—one-tenth of the promised amount. Insulted and impoverished, Ferdowsi reportedly gave the money away and wrote a satirical attack on the sultan before fleeing into exile. He died around 1020 in his hometown of Tus, ironically just as Sultan Mahmud—having learned of the deception—sent the full reward. Ferdowsi's prediction proved prophetic: his name has indeed lived forever through the Shahnameh, which remains the cornerstone of Persian literature and cultural identity.

Major Works & Series

Literary Significance & Legacy

Ferdowsi's Shahnameh stands as one of the most important works in world literature, comparable to Homer's epics in scope and cultural significance. Written at a time when Persian culture was under threat from Arabic influence, the epic served as a crucial vehicle for preserving pre-Islamic Persian history, mythology, and language. The work's deliberate use of Persian vocabulary over Arabic terms helped standardize and preserve the Persian language, making it largely comprehensible to modern Persian speakers even after a thousand years. The Shahnameh became the foundation upon which all subsequent Persian literature was built.

The epic's influence extends far beyond literature into the realms of art, music, politics, and national identity throughout the Persian-speaking world. Ferdowsi's masterpiece inspired countless painters, musicians, and storytellers, while its heroes and stories became part of the cultural DNA of Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and other Persian-influenced regions. The work's emphasis on justice, honor, and resistance to tyranny has made it a source of inspiration for political movements and cultural revival efforts. Modern scholars recognize the Shahnameh as a foundational text for understanding Persian civilization and one of humanity's great literary achievements.

Best Starting Points

• The Story of Rostam and Sohrab
  The most famous and emotionally powerful episode in the Shahnameh, telling the tragic tale of the great hero Rostam who unknowingly kills his own son in battle. This story exemplifies Ferdowsi's mastery of character development and emotional depth.
• The Seven Labors of Rostam
  A thrilling adventure sequence that showcases the epic's mythological grandeur and Ferdowsi's gift for vivid storytelling, following the hero Rostam through seven supernatural challenges.
• The Story of Siavash
  A complex tale of innocence, betrayal, and sacrifice that demonstrates the epic's sophisticated treatment of moral themes and political intrigue in the ancient Persian court.
• Penguin Classics Translation by Dick Davis
  An accessible modern prose translation that captures the essence of Ferdowsi's poetry while making this monumental work approachable for contemporary readers unfamiliar with Persian literature.

Famous Characters

• Rostam
  The greatest hero of the Shahnameh, a warrior of superhuman strength and courage whose adventures span several generations of the epic, embodying the ideal of Persian heroism and honor.
• Sohrab
  Rostam's son, whose tragic death at his father's hands in single combat represents one of literature's most powerful examples of dramatic irony and paternal tragedy.
• Kay Khosrow
  A wise and just king who represents the ideal ruler in Persian tradition, balancing royal authority with spiritual wisdom and moral responsibility.
• Siavash
  A noble prince whose innocence and purity lead to his martyrdom, symbolizing the tragic cost of virtue in a corrupt world and becoming a Christ-like figure in Persian mythology.
• Jamshid
  The legendary king of the golden age who ruled justly for centuries before pride led to his downfall, representing the cycle of rise and fall that governs all earthly power.
• Zahhak
  The serpent-shouldered tyrant whose thousand-year reign of terror represents absolute evil and oppression, serving as the archetypal villain against whom heroes must struggle.