| <P align=left>The Shahnameh or Shahnama (or Book of Kings in Persian), is the Iranian national epic written by the Persian poet, Ferdowsi, around 1000 AD. The Shahnama recounts the mythical history and historical past of Greater Iran since the creation of the world until the arrival of Islam and conquest of Persia by Muslims in the 7th century in more than 60,000 verses.<BR>Besides its literary importance, the Shahnama is written in almost pure Persian words and unmixed with Arabic Loanwords. Shahnama has been essential for revitalizing the Persian language after the influence of Arabic and Persian’s being banned in formal correspondence and literature. Shahnama is regarded by Persian speakers as a masterpiece which echoes Greater Iran’s history, cultural values, ancient Iranian religions (such as Zoroastrianism), and profound nationalism (Greater Iran is the field of Iranian cultural influence such as today Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, etc.). <BR>The Shahnama has 62 stories, 990 chapters, and about 60,000 rhyming couplets, making it more than seven times the length of Homer's Iliad. Ferdowsi started composition of the Shahnama in 977 A.D during Samanid era and completed it around 1010 A.D. during the Ghaznavid era.<BR>The Shahnama retells the history of Greater Iran, beginning with the creation of the world and the introduction of the civilization (such as discovering fire, cooking, metallurgy, law) to the Aryans and ends with the Arab conquest of Persia. Some of Shahnama’s characters live for hundreds of years, but most have normal life spans. There are many Shahs who come and go, as well as heroes and villains. The Shahnama is divided into three main parts: The Mythical Age, The Heroic Age, and The Historical Age. The Mythical Age recounts the mythology of Iran according to the Sassanid version of Zoroastrianism such as creation of the first Man, Keyumars, the first Aryan Kings and their sons and related events such as discovery of fire etc. This portion of the Shahnama is short, amounting to some 2100 verses or four percent of the entire book.<BR>The Heroic Age is the longest portion of Shahnama, retelling the history of Iran (according to folklore) from the reign of Manuchehr until the conquest of Iran by Alexander. The main source of this portion is Arsacid’s folklore most of which were based on Saka’s epics. Sakas were the third largest group of Iranians besides Persians and Medians.<BR>The Historical Age begins with a brief mention of the Arsacid dynasty proceeding by the story of Ardashir I, the founder of the Sassanid dynasty. After this, Sassanid history is related with a good deal of accuracy. The fall of the Sassanid dynasty and the Arab conquest of Iran are narrated romantically, and in very motivating poetic language. Here, one can see Ferdowsi himself lamenting over this catastrophe and over what he calls the arrival of “the army of darkness”.<BR>Some experts believe the main source of the Modern Persian language today is more or less the Ferdowsi’s Shahnama which have had lasting and profound cultural and linguistic influence.</P> |