Ferdowsi

Who was Ferdowsi?

Hakīm Abu'l-Qāsim Firdawsī Tūsī, most commonly known as Ferdowsi ; also spelled as Firdausi or Firdusi; 940 – 1020 CE, was a highly revered Persian poet. He is the author of the Shahnameh, the national epic of Iran and the Persian-speaking world.

The Shahnameh was originally composed by Ferdowsi for the princes of the Samanid dynasty, who were responsible for a revival of Persian cultural traditions after the Arab invasion of Persia in the seventh century. After the fall of the Samanids, he dedicated his work to the new ruler, Mahmud of Ghazni, who was also a great patron of Persian arts and literature.

The Shahnameh chronicles the legendary history of the pre-Islamic kings of Iran from Keyumars to Yazdegerd III. Ferdowsi spent over three decades working on the Shahnameh, which became one of the most influential works of Persian literature.