What do you think?
an Enormous Poetic Opus and is The National Epic of the Persian-speaking world.
1664 pages
First published January 1, 1010
About the author
Abolqasem Ferdowsi
259 books358 followersAbolqasem Ferdowsi (Persian: ابوالقاسم فردوسی), the son of a wealthy land owner, was born in 935 in a small village named Paj near Tus in Khorasan which is situated in today's Razavi Khorasan province in Iran.
He devoted more than 35 years to his great epic, the Shāhnāmeh. It was originally composed for 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. Ferdowsi started his composition of the Shahnameh in the Samanid era in 977 A.D. During Ferdowsi's lifetime the Samanid dynasty was conquered by the Ghaznavid Empire. After 30 years of hard work, he finished the book and two or three years after that, Ferdowsi went to Ghazni, the Ghaznavid capital, to present it to the king, Sultan Mahmud.
Ferdowsi is said to have died around 1020 in poverty at the age of 85, embittered by royal neglect, though fully confident of his work's ultimate success and fame, as he says in the verse:
" ... I suffered during these thirty years, but I have revived the Iranians (Ajam) with the Persian language; I shall not die since I am alive again, as I have spread the seeds of this language ..."
He devoted more than 35 years to his great epic, the Shāhnāmeh. It was originally composed for 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. Ferdowsi started his composition of the Shahnameh in the Samanid era in 977 A.D. During Ferdowsi's lifetime the Samanid dynasty was conquered by the Ghaznavid Empire. After 30 years of hard work, he finished the book and two or three years after that, Ferdowsi went to Ghazni, the Ghaznavid capital, to present it to the king, Sultan Mahmud.
Ferdowsi is said to have died around 1020 in poverty at the age of 85, embittered by royal neglect, though fully confident of his work's ultimate success and fame, as he says in the verse:
" ... I suffered during these thirty years, but I have revived the Iranians (Ajam) with the Persian language; I shall not die since I am alive again, as I have spread the seeds of this language ..."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 374 reviews
June 28, 2019
بی نظیر و تمام!
May 21, 2013
The history of the world is a history of jerks. Starting with Gilgamesh, our earliest epic hero, who makes everyone wrestle him until they are exhausted then goes off to sleep with their wives while they pray to the gods to deliver them, to Achilles sulking in his tent, the Athenians sentencing Socrates to die because he talks too much, or Tacitus writing of how Caligula, Claudius, and Nero ruled through assassination and manipulation.
Sure, there are always a few level-headed, intelligent fellows, like Caesar, Odysseus, the Sire de Coucy--and in the Shahnameh, Rostam--but even they can't escape the machinations of the headstrong, foolish jerks that surround them. As far as Epics go, the Shahnameh is one of the darkest I've read, with a jerk quotient that's off the charts. The whole thing progresses as a series of blood feuds, deadly (and tragic) misunderstandings, endless duels over minor points of honor, fathers against sons, sons against mothers, uncles against everyone, mistrust and malicious rumor, and greed-driven betrayals.
Sure, there are a few genuinely reasonable guys throughout, but you can always bet that, in the end, some unstable noble with a chip on his shoulder is going to mess everything up. However, that isn't to say that the jerks are nonsensical or comically evil--pretty much every one has a good side, a sense of honor, a family--it's just that most of them seem to have the emotional self-control of a toddler.
It reminded me of the nobles in A Distant Mirror who would spend all of their crusading gold on matching green silk doublets and then show up to the battle without armor or supplies. Certainly, I never found the characters' actions unlikely, though I would have appreciated a bit more explanation from Ferdowsi on precisely why certain individuals kept making the same stupid errors. Much of the depth and sympathy in the Iliad stems from the fact that Homer uses the power of rhetoric to make it easy to understand the motivations behind all the pointless conflicts.
Ferdowsi is a masterful writer, however, and his prose is full of a vital energy, a poetry of odd and evocative metaphors that made the scenes something more than simply real--made them mythical. The image of an elephant's legs being so stained with man's blood that they seem to be 'pillars of coral', or Rustam's statement that, though he serves the Shah, he is still king of the world, his horse a throne, his sword a seal, his helm a crown, or this description of the coming of a Great Prophet (though I am unsure which one) to Persia:
Unfortunately, this translation is incomplete, ending before the coming of Eskandar (Alexander the Great), the full poem being longer than the Iliad and Odyssey combined, so it seems the rest shall have to wait.
Also delightful, particularly for the devoted fantasist, is the depiction of remarkable and wondrous magics of many sorts, from guardian spirits and races of magical beings, both fair and wicked, to great wizard-kings who transform into poison-spitting serpents and watch the world through crystal globes. It is always inspiring to witness depictions of magic that truly surprise and mystify the reader, capable of suggesting a marvelous world somewhere beyond our own.
Of course, to any student of the tradition of the cultural epic, the great work which captures the spirit of a people and an age, and sets the precedent for all works to follow, few works are equal in scope, artistry, and influence--perhaps only that of Homer and Virgil, the Ramayana and Mahabharata of India, the Four Great Novels of China, and the Bible.
Sure, there are always a few level-headed, intelligent fellows, like Caesar, Odysseus, the Sire de Coucy--and in the Shahnameh, Rostam--but even they can't escape the machinations of the headstrong, foolish jerks that surround them. As far as Epics go, the Shahnameh is one of the darkest I've read, with a jerk quotient that's off the charts. The whole thing progresses as a series of blood feuds, deadly (and tragic) misunderstandings, endless duels over minor points of honor, fathers against sons, sons against mothers, uncles against everyone, mistrust and malicious rumor, and greed-driven betrayals.
Sure, there are a few genuinely reasonable guys throughout, but you can always bet that, in the end, some unstable noble with a chip on his shoulder is going to mess everything up. However, that isn't to say that the jerks are nonsensical or comically evil--pretty much every one has a good side, a sense of honor, a family--it's just that most of them seem to have the emotional self-control of a toddler.
It reminded me of the nobles in A Distant Mirror who would spend all of their crusading gold on matching green silk doublets and then show up to the battle without armor or supplies. Certainly, I never found the characters' actions unlikely, though I would have appreciated a bit more explanation from Ferdowsi on precisely why certain individuals kept making the same stupid errors. Much of the depth and sympathy in the Iliad stems from the fact that Homer uses the power of rhetoric to make it easy to understand the motivations behind all the pointless conflicts.
Ferdowsi is a masterful writer, however, and his prose is full of a vital energy, a poetry of odd and evocative metaphors that made the scenes something more than simply real--made them mythical. The image of an elephant's legs being so stained with man's blood that they seem to be 'pillars of coral', or Rustam's statement that, though he serves the Shah, he is still king of the world, his horse a throne, his sword a seal, his helm a crown, or this description of the coming of a Great Prophet (though I am unsure which one) to Persia:
He reared throughout the realm a tree of godly foliage, and men rested beneath its branches. And whosoever ate of the leaves thereof was learned in all that regardeth the life to come, but whosoever who ate of the branches was perfect in wisdom and faith.
Unfortunately, this translation is incomplete, ending before the coming of Eskandar (Alexander the Great), the full poem being longer than the Iliad and Odyssey combined, so it seems the rest shall have to wait.
Also delightful, particularly for the devoted fantasist, is the depiction of remarkable and wondrous magics of many sorts, from guardian spirits and races of magical beings, both fair and wicked, to great wizard-kings who transform into poison-spitting serpents and watch the world through crystal globes. It is always inspiring to witness depictions of magic that truly surprise and mystify the reader, capable of suggesting a marvelous world somewhere beyond our own.
Of course, to any student of the tradition of the cultural epic, the great work which captures the spirit of a people and an age, and sets the precedent for all works to follow, few works are equal in scope, artistry, and influence--perhaps only that of Homer and Virgil, the Ramayana and Mahabharata of India, the Four Great Novels of China, and the Bible.
October 13, 2014
سرایش شاهنامه
قصه ی سرایش شاهنامه معروف است. فردوسی برای تظلّم به غزنه (پایتخت محمود غزنوی) می رود. در قصر شاه، سه شاعر نامدار دربار را می بیند. می پرسند "کیستی؟" می گوید "شاعرم."
شاعران دربار، برای دست انداختن دهقان زاده ی دهاتی، می گویند "ما هر یک فی البداهه یک مصرع می گوییم، تو مصرع چهارم را بگوی تا قدرت شاعری هر یک معلوم شود."
می سرایند:
چون عارض تو ماه نباشد روشن
همرنگ رخت گل نبوَد در گلشن
مژگانت همی گذر کند از جوشن
و فردوسی می سراید:
مانند سنان گیو در جنگ پشن
سه شاعر دیگر مبهوت می مانند و می پرسند "گیو و پشن کیستند؟" و فردوسی شرح داستان باستان را باز می گوید. پس او را به سلطان غزنه معرفی می کنند و سلطان پیشنهاد سرایش شاهنامه را می دهد.
منبع اصلی فردوسی در سرایش شاهنامه، ظاهراً شاهنامه ی ابومنصوری است. کتابی منثور که توسط چهار دانشور زرتشتی (ماخ و شاهوی و یزدانداد و شادان) روایت شده است و اکنون، جز مقدمه ی آن، باقی نمانده است.
بخشی که من خواندم
اسکندر و درخت سخنگو
بخش اسکندر، مرز بین افسانه و تاریخه. از طرفی، بعضی از قسمت هاش واقعیه، مثل مردن اسکندر در بابل در سنین جوانی، یا شاگرد ارسطو بودنش، یا شکست دارا (داریوش سوم) و کشته شدن دارا به دست افراد خودش و...
از طرفی بیشتر قسمت هاش افسانه است. مثل جستجو در ظلمات به دنبال آب حیات، یا دیدن اسرافیل، یا دیدن درخت سخنگو که خبر مردنش رو بهش میده.
شیوه ی داستان پردازی فردوسی، از یه جهت خیلی جالبه و اون پرداختن به بعضی جزئیاته که شاید ما اطلاعی ازش نداشته باشیم. مثل این که نامه های پر ارزش رو روی پارچه ی حریر می نوشتن، یا این که چطور فرستاده ها به درگاه شاهان می رفتن یا چیزهای مشابه.
اما از طرف دیگه، روایتش بیشتر جاها خیلی خسته کننده و تکراری میشه. پر از حرف های و پندهای تکراری، یا توصیف های مشابه و مکرره. مثلاً نامه های پادشاهان (بخش اسکندر پر از این نامه نگاری ها بود) همیشه مشتمل بر حداقل بیست بیت هستش و مضموناً همه عین همدیگه هستن. همین طور شرح جنگ ها یا تاجگذاری شاه ها، یا ورود شاه ها به شهرها، یا توصیف هدایایی که شاه ها برای هم میفرستن.
اگه این حدیث های مکرر، حذف میشدن، شاهنامه شاید نصف میشد، مخصوصاً حدس میزنم که بخش تاریخی شاهنامه پر از این نوع حدیث های مکرر باشه.
قصه ی سرایش شاهنامه معروف است. فردوسی برای تظلّم به غزنه (پایتخت محمود غزنوی) می رود. در قصر شاه، سه شاعر نامدار دربار را می بیند. می پرسند "کیستی؟" می گوید "شاعرم."
شاعران دربار، برای دست انداختن دهقان زاده ی دهاتی، می گویند "ما هر یک فی البداهه یک مصرع می گوییم، تو مصرع چهارم را بگوی تا قدرت شاعری هر یک معلوم شود."
می سرایند:
چون عارض تو ماه نباشد روشن
همرنگ رخت گل نبوَد در گلشن
مژگانت همی گذر کند از جوشن
و فردوسی می سراید:
مانند سنان گیو در جنگ پشن
سه شاعر دیگر مبهوت می مانند و می پرسند "گیو و پشن کیستند؟" و فردوسی شرح داستان باستان را باز می گوید. پس او را به سلطان غزنه معرفی می کنند و سلطان پیشنهاد سرایش شاهنامه را می دهد.
منبع اصلی فردوسی در سرایش شاهنامه، ظاهراً شاهنامه ی ابومنصوری است. کتابی منثور که توسط چهار دانشور زرتشتی (ماخ و شاهوی و یزدانداد و شادان) روایت شده است و اکنون، جز مقدمه ی آن، باقی نمانده است.
بخشی که من خواندم
اسکندر و درخت سخنگو
بخش اسکندر، مرز بین افسانه و تاریخه. از طرفی، بعضی از قسمت هاش واقعیه، مثل مردن اسکندر در بابل در سنین جوانی، یا شاگرد ارسطو بودنش، یا شکست دارا (داریوش سوم) و کشته شدن دارا به دست افراد خودش و...
از طرفی بیشتر قسمت هاش افسانه است. مثل جستجو در ظلمات به دنبال آب حیات، یا دیدن اسرافیل، یا دیدن درخت سخنگو که خبر مردنش رو بهش میده.
شیوه ی داستان پردازی فردوسی، از یه جهت خیلی جالبه و اون پرداختن به بعضی جزئیاته که شاید ما اطلاعی ازش نداشته باشیم. مثل این که نامه های پر ارزش رو روی پارچه ی حریر می نوشتن، یا این که چطور فرستاده ها به درگاه شاهان می رفتن یا چیزهای مشابه.
اما از طرف دیگه، روایتش بیشتر جاها خیلی خسته کننده و تکراری میشه. پر از حرف های و پندهای تکراری، یا توصیف های مشابه و مکرره. مثلاً نامه های پادشاهان (بخش اسکندر پر از این نامه نگاری ها بود) همیشه مشتمل بر حداقل بیست بیت هستش و مضموناً همه عین همدیگه هستن. همین طور شرح جنگ ها یا تاجگذاری شاه ها، یا ورود شاه ها به شهرها، یا توصیف هدایایی که شاه ها برای هم میفرستن.
اگه این حدیث های مکرر، حذف میشدن، شاهنامه شاید نصف میشد، مخصوصاً حدس میزنم که بخش تاریخی شاهنامه پر از این نوع حدیث های مکرر باشه.
June 19, 2013
This is perhaps the greatest collection of stories I have ever read! It is a true "dream book"; if you love wonder stories, myths and heroic epics this is the kind of saga you dream about. Every story is better than the one preceding it and it keeps mounting until it reaches heights of imagination and storytelling that are all but untouchable. As in Persian poetry the language is rich, layered and achingly beautiful. It is basically a long family saga but it never gets too complicated to follow.
A perfect book: humanizing, imagination-expanding and a towering work of literature.
A perfect book: humanizing, imagination-expanding and a towering work of literature.
June 15, 2026
The Book of Kings (Shahnameh) is an epic poem of approximately 50,000 verses, on which Ferdowsi worked for thirty-three years, from 977 to 1010 AD. It is a masterpiece of poetry and historiography, comparable to the Divine Comedy, the Iliad, and the Odyssey. The work recounts the history of Persia, from its first mythological kings to the fall of the Sasanian Empire and the Arab conquest. It is an act of preservation of a millennia-old civilization in the face of the risks posed by the Islamic expansion of the seventh century AD.
Persia is one of the places where human civilization was born. Under the leadership of Cyrus II, it became the center of an empire that is estimated to have contained roughly 40% of the world's population. The richness of Persian culture is beyond dispute, yet in the West we know surprisingly little about it, despite sharing common Indo-European origins with the Iranian peoples. Much of this history and culture is preserved in this book, which I regret having read only in its English translations.
I believe it is worth recalling, especially in these days, the legendary story of Kaveh's rebellion against Zahhak, an episode narrated by Ferdowsi in this very book.
Zahhak, heir to the throne of the Tayy tribe, was a young man of noble birth but unstable character, easily influenced by others. Ahriman, the spirit who embodies evil in Zoroastrianism, decides to exploit his weaknesses, corrupt him, and turn him into an instrument of chaos. Taking human form, he gains the prince's trust and convinces him to murder his father and usurp the throne. Yet once Zahhak ascends to power, Ahriman curses him: two ravenous serpents grow from his shoulders, feeding on human brains.
Fearing that he himself might be devoured by the monstrous creatures, Zahhak summons all the physicians and sages of the kingdom, hoping that someone can free him from the curse. No one succeeds, and in order to survive, the king is forced to feed the serpents by sacrificing his own subjects.
At the same time, Jamshid, ruler of the world, becomes arrogant and loses the khvarenah, the divine right to rule. Zahhak presents himself as the savior of the people, gathers an army, and hunts Jamshid for years until he finally captures him and has him sawn in two.
Zahhak then rules Persia as a tyrant for a thousand years. Every day he kidnaps and kills two young people to feed the serpents growing from his shoulders. Although everyone knows of his wickedness, no one dares challenge his power.
One night, however, the tyrant dreams of three mighty warriors confronting him. The youngest strikes him with a mace, binds him, and drags him toward Mount Damavand. The dream torments him for days until he asks the kingdom's sages to interpret it. His advisors dare not tell him the truth, until the bravest among them finally speaks: the dream foretells the end of his reign at the hands of Fereydun, the rightful heir to the throne of the Shahs.
To prevent the prophecy from coming true, Zahhak orders a search for the child destined to overthrow him. Fereydun is born in secret. His mother, Faranak, manages to hide him from the tyrant's spies, entrusting him first to a hermit and later to a miraculous cow named Barmayeh, who nourishes and protects him. When this refuge is discovered as well, Faranak takes her son into the mountains, far from the reach of the Serpent King, where the boy grows strong, just, and aware of his royal destiny.
Meanwhile, Zahhak's daily violence becomes unbearable. Two young people are sacrificed every day to feed the serpents, symbols of a power that literally devours its own people. To conceal the massacres, the king's officials force the fathers of the victims to sign documents attesting to the ruler's supposed justice.
It is in this context that Kaveh emerges, a blacksmith of the people whose seventeen sons have already been killed by Zahhak.
When Kaveh's last remaining son is claimed by the palace, the blacksmith loses all fear. Summoned to court to sign yet another declaration of loyalty to the tyrant, he refuses, tears the document apart before everyone, and denounces Zahhak as a usurper and a monster.
He then performs a gesture that will become legendary: he raises his leather apron, fastens it to a spear, and lifts it high as a banner. Thus is born the Derafsh-e Kaviani , the standard of rebellion.
The people, until then paralyzed by fear, recognize in Kaveh an authentic voice. The revolt spreads, and the blacksmith leads the crowd to Fereydun, now a grown man. In him, the Persians see not only the legitimate heir to the throne, but the embodiment of the justice that had been lost and of the khvarenah taken from Jamshid and profaned by Zahhak.
Fereydun marches against Zahhak armed with a mace, just as foretold in the prophetic dream. The struggle is not merely political but cosmic: it is the battle between asha—order and truth—and druj—falsehood and chaos—the two fundamental principles of Zoroastrianism.
Zahhak is defeated, but not killed. Fereydun chains him and imprisons him on Mount Damavand, where, according to legend, the tyrant is destined to remain until the end of time.
The story is not merely a myth. It is a profound reflection on power, moral responsibility, and the moment when collective fear can be broken by the actions of a single ordinary man. Kaveh is neither a king nor a predestined hero, but a craftsman who decides that he will no longer sign a lie.
In this sense, his rebellion is one of the most powerful political myths in the Persian tradition: the idea that legitimacy does not reside in force or terror, but in justice, and that even the longest-lasting tyrant can fall when the people stop feeding his serpents.
I hope that, in these days, the Iranian people may rediscover their own history. May they return to peace by reclaiming a freedom that has been denied to them for far too many years.
Persia is one of the places where human civilization was born. Under the leadership of Cyrus II, it became the center of an empire that is estimated to have contained roughly 40% of the world's population. The richness of Persian culture is beyond dispute, yet in the West we know surprisingly little about it, despite sharing common Indo-European origins with the Iranian peoples. Much of this history and culture is preserved in this book, which I regret having read only in its English translations.
I believe it is worth recalling, especially in these days, the legendary story of Kaveh's rebellion against Zahhak, an episode narrated by Ferdowsi in this very book.
Zahhak, heir to the throne of the Tayy tribe, was a young man of noble birth but unstable character, easily influenced by others. Ahriman, the spirit who embodies evil in Zoroastrianism, decides to exploit his weaknesses, corrupt him, and turn him into an instrument of chaos. Taking human form, he gains the prince's trust and convinces him to murder his father and usurp the throne. Yet once Zahhak ascends to power, Ahriman curses him: two ravenous serpents grow from his shoulders, feeding on human brains.
Fearing that he himself might be devoured by the monstrous creatures, Zahhak summons all the physicians and sages of the kingdom, hoping that someone can free him from the curse. No one succeeds, and in order to survive, the king is forced to feed the serpents by sacrificing his own subjects.
At the same time, Jamshid, ruler of the world, becomes arrogant and loses the khvarenah, the divine right to rule. Zahhak presents himself as the savior of the people, gathers an army, and hunts Jamshid for years until he finally captures him and has him sawn in two.
Zahhak then rules Persia as a tyrant for a thousand years. Every day he kidnaps and kills two young people to feed the serpents growing from his shoulders. Although everyone knows of his wickedness, no one dares challenge his power.
One night, however, the tyrant dreams of three mighty warriors confronting him. The youngest strikes him with a mace, binds him, and drags him toward Mount Damavand. The dream torments him for days until he asks the kingdom's sages to interpret it. His advisors dare not tell him the truth, until the bravest among them finally speaks: the dream foretells the end of his reign at the hands of Fereydun, the rightful heir to the throne of the Shahs.
To prevent the prophecy from coming true, Zahhak orders a search for the child destined to overthrow him. Fereydun is born in secret. His mother, Faranak, manages to hide him from the tyrant's spies, entrusting him first to a hermit and later to a miraculous cow named Barmayeh, who nourishes and protects him. When this refuge is discovered as well, Faranak takes her son into the mountains, far from the reach of the Serpent King, where the boy grows strong, just, and aware of his royal destiny.
Meanwhile, Zahhak's daily violence becomes unbearable. Two young people are sacrificed every day to feed the serpents, symbols of a power that literally devours its own people. To conceal the massacres, the king's officials force the fathers of the victims to sign documents attesting to the ruler's supposed justice.
It is in this context that Kaveh emerges, a blacksmith of the people whose seventeen sons have already been killed by Zahhak.
When Kaveh's last remaining son is claimed by the palace, the blacksmith loses all fear. Summoned to court to sign yet another declaration of loyalty to the tyrant, he refuses, tears the document apart before everyone, and denounces Zahhak as a usurper and a monster.
He then performs a gesture that will become legendary: he raises his leather apron, fastens it to a spear, and lifts it high as a banner. Thus is born the Derafsh-e Kaviani , the standard of rebellion.
The people, until then paralyzed by fear, recognize in Kaveh an authentic voice. The revolt spreads, and the blacksmith leads the crowd to Fereydun, now a grown man. In him, the Persians see not only the legitimate heir to the throne, but the embodiment of the justice that had been lost and of the khvarenah taken from Jamshid and profaned by Zahhak.
Fereydun marches against Zahhak armed with a mace, just as foretold in the prophetic dream. The struggle is not merely political but cosmic: it is the battle between asha—order and truth—and druj—falsehood and chaos—the two fundamental principles of Zoroastrianism.
Zahhak is defeated, but not killed. Fereydun chains him and imprisons him on Mount Damavand, where, according to legend, the tyrant is destined to remain until the end of time.
The story is not merely a myth. It is a profound reflection on power, moral responsibility, and the moment when collective fear can be broken by the actions of a single ordinary man. Kaveh is neither a king nor a predestined hero, but a craftsman who decides that he will no longer sign a lie.
In this sense, his rebellion is one of the most powerful political myths in the Persian tradition: the idea that legitimacy does not reside in force or terror, but in justice, and that even the longest-lasting tyrant can fall when the people stop feeding his serpents.
I hope that, in these days, the Iranian people may rediscover their own history. May they return to peace by reclaiming a freedom that has been denied to them for far too many years.
May 28, 2025
In an excellent new translation, Shahnameh reads like a modern epic, not a thousand-year old poem. I loved the adventures of kings and heroes, especially Rostam, in the mythology and epic traditions section. However, the succession of kings in the historical traditions section dragged in parts, particularly when kings espoused their philosophies for ruling. Nevertheless, it was a fascinating look into the mindset of an ancient and rich culture.
May 20, 2020
Shahnameh: The Epic of Persian Kings is a formidable book & most translations do not include the entire manuscript. Having read parts of the translation by Dick Davis, I was informed that a new translation was in the works, just as I prepared for a visit to Iran during the summer of 2012 & quite conveniently taking a mini-course on the book, taught by Prof. Ahmad Sadri, who just happened to be the person doing the new translation. The new translation in an oversized format within a slipcase, with wonderful illustrations by Hamid Rahmanian, appeared in 2013.
The Shahnameh comes with a considerable preamble because it is perhaps the most important book within Iran, a mix of mythology, history & epic poetry, detailing 4 love stories & 4 tragedies, 60,000 lines in all and the source of performance art in Iranian cafes & elsewhere in the country.
It is said to be twice the size of Homer's Odyssey & Iliad combined, expressed in an active voice (unlike Homer), with some of the tales going back to the 5th century B.C.E. and ending at about the time of the time of the Arab conquest of Iran in 651 C.E. The conquest caused the displacement of the Zoroastrian religion by Islam, though Zoroastrian New Year is still proudly celebrated in Iran in March.
Reading the new translation is akin to reading a graphic novel, with beautiful computer-generated illustrations by Rahmanian on every page, making it far more visually dynamic than other translations. The author of the Shahnameh, Ferdowsi (which means paradise in Farsi or Persian) speaks directly to the reader & often inserts what might be called guidelines for ethical action.
Among the things the book accomplished was to preserve the language of Iran when the conquering Arabs had demanded that it be replaced by Arabic. Thus, the Shahnameh is not just an epic book of stories but a source of Iranian pride that incorporates science, art, philosophy & especially Persian culture & language, all in ferment after the Arab conquest.
The stories of folk heroes such as the knight Rostam (a sort of Persian superman figure who lived 800 years) match Persia (today's Iran) against the forces of the mythical empire of Turan, or "the East", an area that today includes Turkmenistan, the old Silk Road area of China & similar regions and Rostam seems the invincible force called on periodically to rescue those kings who have made decisions that imperil them. Rostam is also a sort of "Oedipus in reverse", killing his own unrecognized son.
As a word of warning, there are countless bloody battles & beheadings, including some of the more heroic folks within the epic. Alas, even valiant & always resourceful Rostam & his incredible horse Rakhsh are ultimately betrayed by a family member and perish.
While the Persian kings are portrayed with halos, they are quite fallible & often need to be rescued and their various misdirections of authority are explained by authorial cautions in italics. Ferdowi calls the specific chapters "tales" but cautions that they are allegorical--rendered myths or "truths revealed in disguise". There is a magical quality about the book, in part because of the exceedingly colorful illustrations by Rahmanian but also because of the inserted bits of wisdom offered by Ferdowsi:
It seems appropriate to have at long last read The "Persian Book of Kings" because the epic book by Absolqasen Ferdowsi was finally completed after 30+ years in 1010 & so by doubling that date, we have 2020. At book's end, the author comments:
The Shahnameh comes with a considerable preamble because it is perhaps the most important book within Iran, a mix of mythology, history & epic poetry, detailing 4 love stories & 4 tragedies, 60,000 lines in all and the source of performance art in Iranian cafes & elsewhere in the country.
It is said to be twice the size of Homer's Odyssey & Iliad combined, expressed in an active voice (unlike Homer), with some of the tales going back to the 5th century B.C.E. and ending at about the time of the time of the Arab conquest of Iran in 651 C.E. The conquest caused the displacement of the Zoroastrian religion by Islam, though Zoroastrian New Year is still proudly celebrated in Iran in March.
Reading the new translation is akin to reading a graphic novel, with beautiful computer-generated illustrations by Rahmanian on every page, making it far more visually dynamic than other translations. The author of the Shahnameh, Ferdowsi (which means paradise in Farsi or Persian) speaks directly to the reader & often inserts what might be called guidelines for ethical action.
Among the things the book accomplished was to preserve the language of Iran when the conquering Arabs had demanded that it be replaced by Arabic. Thus, the Shahnameh is not just an epic book of stories but a source of Iranian pride that incorporates science, art, philosophy & especially Persian culture & language, all in ferment after the Arab conquest.
The stories of folk heroes such as the knight Rostam (a sort of Persian superman figure who lived 800 years) match Persia (today's Iran) against the forces of the mythical empire of Turan, or "the East", an area that today includes Turkmenistan, the old Silk Road area of China & similar regions and Rostam seems the invincible force called on periodically to rescue those kings who have made decisions that imperil them. Rostam is also a sort of "Oedipus in reverse", killing his own unrecognized son.
As a word of warning, there are countless bloody battles & beheadings, including some of the more heroic folks within the epic. Alas, even valiant & always resourceful Rostam & his incredible horse Rakhsh are ultimately betrayed by a family member and perish.
While the Persian kings are portrayed with halos, they are quite fallible & often need to be rescued and their various misdirections of authority are explained by authorial cautions in italics. Ferdowi calls the specific chapters "tales" but cautions that they are allegorical--rendered myths or "truths revealed in disguise". There is a magical quality about the book, in part because of the exceedingly colorful illustrations by Rahmanian but also because of the inserted bits of wisdom offered by Ferdowsi:
There is no parity between joy & grief in this den of strife; One thing remains after we're gone: a good name; And that's the lesson of Kay Khosrow's life.Out of context, this may seem like fortune cookie wisdom but appearing after battles lost, children slain, willful alliances that fail, family disloyalty & untold mistakes of judgement, Ferdowsi's commentary is uplifting. The author believes in divine forces, inescapable fates and reminds the reader that life in impermanent, thus cautioning to avoid greed & attempt to be happy because all else is illusory.
Life is full of mysteries to ponder; None can unravel this riddle of existence: So don't squander your labors on the surface of the stories; Look instead at the truths behind the signs; Where faith & reason are at peace.
The fickle world, capriciously grants favors & ever inflicts unjust pain. Fortunate is the one who supplants worries for serenity of the heart, calms his covetous nature & shares his wealth, without fears & petty qualms.
It seems appropriate to have at long last read The "Persian Book of Kings" because the epic book by Absolqasen Ferdowsi was finally completed after 30+ years in 1010 & so by doubling that date, we have 2020. At book's end, the author comments:
Magnificent buildings decay by the dint of time; And exposure to the elements wrecks even a house of flint; For 3 decades have I suffered to restore; This Persian tongue & now my work is done.*There is a helpful genealogy of the main characters + an excellent introduction to the illustrations by Hamid Rahmanian, a creative effort that took 10,000 hours to achieve. **Included within my review are photo images of the translator, my friend Ahmad Sadri; the image of the author, Ferdowsi + two examples of the wonderful illustrations by Hamid Rahmanian in this new version of the Shahnameh, an epic book I very much enjoyed.
May 14, 2020
در جنگ مشهور دوازده رخ، از جنگهای کین سیاوش
کیخسرو لشکر ایران را به چهار بخش تقسیم می کند و
سالاری آن را به رستم، لهراسب، اَشکَش و گودرز می سپارد و
به رعایت داد و مدارا و صلح ، سفارش می کند
بگودرز فرمود پس شهریار
چو رفتی کمر بستهٔ کارزار
نگر تا نیازی به بیداد دست
نگردانی ایوان آباد پست
کسی کو بجنگت نبندد میان
چنان ساز کش از تو ناید زیان
که نپسندد از ما بدی دادگر
سپنجست گیتی و ما برگذر
بپند فراوانش بگشای گوش
برو چادر مهربانی بپوش
بهر کار با هر کسی دادکن
ز یزدان نیکی دهش یاد کن
...
هفدهم خرداد نودونه
.
.
.
در جنگ هماون ،از جنگهای کین سیاوش
ایرانیان به سختی شکست می خورند و
.از خاندان پُر اولاد گودرز کِشواد، سی و هشت پهلوان نامی کشته می شوند
،این مویه و سوگ و جامه دران گودرز سپهبد کهنسال ست بر پیکر فرزندان از دست شده
از زبان فردوسی در شاهنامه
وزین روی لشکر همه مستمند
پدر بر پسر سوگوار و نژند
همه دشت پر کشته و خسته بود
بخون بزرگان زمین شسته بود
چپ و راست آوردگه دست و پای
نهادن ندانست کس پا بجای
همه شب همی خسته برداشتند
چو بیگانه بد خوار بگذاشتند
بر خسته آتش همی سوختند
گسسته ببستند و بردوختند
فراوان ز گودرزیان خسته بود
بسی کشته بود و بسی بسته بود
چو بشنید گودرز برزد خروش
زمین آمد از بانگ اسپان بجوش
همه مهتران جامه کردند چاک
به سربر پراگند گودرز خاک
همی گفت کاندر جهان کس ندید
به پیرانِ سر این بد که بر من رسید
چرا بایدم زنده با پیر سر
بخاک اندر افگنده چندین پسر
ازان روزگاری کجا زادهام
ز خفتان میان هیچ نگشادهام
بفرجام چندین پسر ز انجمن
ببینم چنین کشته در پیش من
...
:گودرز جامه چاک می کند و خاک می ریزد ...می گوید
(کسی در گیتی رنج به اندازه من ندید، از روزی که زاده شدم لباس رزم از تن بر نگرفته ام وحالا پاداشم دیدن کشته ی بیشمار پسرانم ست مقابل دیدگانم)
یک خرداد نود و نه
.
.
.
بدون فردوسی چه از ایران مانده بود؟
بی تردید هیچ
فردوسی به یقین مهمترین و ماناترین فرد تاریخ ایران زمین است
آنچه از زبان و فرهنگ و تاریخ و تمدن سرزمین اهورایی مانده
وامدار رنج و تلاش و هنر بی همتای اوست
.
ستایش بر حکیم ابوالقاسم فردوسی که عمر بر سر آفرینش این کتاب گذاشت و
،جز رنج و سختی و هتک و پلشتی ندید
.که ماندگاران آفرینندگانند
.
چند بخش شاهنامه را که کمتر از آن یاد شده و
من بیشتر دوست دارم
اینجا به یادگار می گذارم
.
شاید تنها قسمتی از شاهنامه ست که فردوسی از همه ی امشاسپندان در کنار هم نام می برد
مربوط است به فراخواندن کیخسرو رستم را، برای نجات بیژن از چاه افراسیاب و
آمدن رستم...به پیشواز رفتن دگر پهلوانان ...و ستایش و احترام جهان پهلوان به کیخسرو
ز اسب اندر آمد جهان پهلوان
کجا پهلوانان بپیشش نوان
بپرسید مر هریکی را ز شاه
ز گردنده خورشید و تابنده ماه
نشستند گردان و رستم بر اسب
بکردار رخشنده آذرگشسب
چو آمد بر شاه کهترنواز
نوان پیش او رفت و بردش نماز
ستایش کنان پیش خسرو دوید
که مهر و ستایش مر او را سزید
برآورد سر آفرین کرد و گفت
مبادت جز از بخت پیروز جفت
چو هرمزد بادت بدین پایگاه
چو بهمن نگهبان فرخ کلاه
همه ساله اردیبهشت هژیر
نگهبان تو با هش و رای پیر
چو شهریورت باد پیروزگر
بنام بزرگی و فر و هنر
سپندارمذ پاسبان تو باد
خرد جان روشن روان تو باد
چو خردادت از یاوران بر دهاد
ز مرداد باش از بر و بوم شاد
دی و اورمزدت خجسته بواد
در هر بدی بر تو بسته بواد
دِیت آذر افروز و فرخنده روز
تو شادان و تاج تو گیتی فروز
چو این آفرین کرد رستم بپای
بپرسید و کردش بر خویش جای
بدو گفت خسرو درست آمدی
که از جان تو دور بادا بدی
...
اردیبهشت نود و نه
کیخسرو لشکر ایران را به چهار بخش تقسیم می کند و
سالاری آن را به رستم، لهراسب، اَشکَش و گودرز می سپارد و
به رعایت داد و مدارا و صلح ، سفارش می کند
بگودرز فرمود پس شهریار
چو رفتی کمر بستهٔ کارزار
نگر تا نیازی به بیداد دست
نگردانی ایوان آباد پست
کسی کو بجنگت نبندد میان
چنان ساز کش از تو ناید زیان
که نپسندد از ما بدی دادگر
سپنجست گیتی و ما برگذر
بپند فراوانش بگشای گوش
برو چادر مهربانی بپوش
بهر کار با هر کسی دادکن
ز یزدان نیکی دهش یاد کن
...
هفدهم خرداد نودونه
.
.
.
در جنگ هماون ،از جنگهای کین سیاوش
ایرانیان به سختی شکست می خورند و
.از خاندان پُر اولاد گودرز کِشواد، سی و هشت پهلوان نامی کشته می شوند
،این مویه و سوگ و جامه دران گودرز سپهبد کهنسال ست بر پیکر فرزندان از دست شده
از زبان فردوسی در شاهنامه
وزین روی لشکر همه مستمند
پدر بر پسر سوگوار و نژند
همه دشت پر کشته و خسته بود
بخون بزرگان زمین شسته بود
چپ و راست آوردگه دست و پای
نهادن ندانست کس پا بجای
همه شب همی خسته برداشتند
چو بیگانه بد خوار بگذاشتند
بر خسته آتش همی سوختند
گسسته ببستند و بردوختند
فراوان ز گودرزیان خسته بود
بسی کشته بود و بسی بسته بود
چو بشنید گودرز برزد خروش
زمین آمد از بانگ اسپان بجوش
همه مهتران جامه کردند چاک
به سربر پراگند گودرز خاک
همی گفت کاندر جهان کس ندید
به پیرانِ سر این بد که بر من رسید
چرا بایدم زنده با پیر سر
بخاک اندر افگنده چندین پسر
ازان روزگاری کجا زادهام
ز خفتان میان هیچ نگشادهام
بفرجام چندین پسر ز انجمن
ببینم چنین کشته در پیش من
...
:گودرز جامه چاک می کند و خاک می ریزد ...می گوید
(کسی در گیتی رنج به اندازه من ندید، از روزی که زاده شدم لباس رزم از تن بر نگرفته ام وحالا پاداشم دیدن کشته ی بیشمار پسرانم ست مقابل دیدگانم)
یک خرداد نود و نه
.
.
.
بدون فردوسی چه از ایران مانده بود؟
بی تردید هیچ
فردوسی به یقین مهمترین و ماناترین فرد تاریخ ایران زمین است
آنچه از زبان و فرهنگ و تاریخ و تمدن سرزمین اهورایی مانده
وامدار رنج و تلاش و هنر بی همتای اوست
.
ستایش بر حکیم ابوالقاسم فردوسی که عمر بر سر آفرینش این کتاب گذاشت و
،جز رنج و سختی و هتک و پلشتی ندید
.که ماندگاران آفرینندگانند
.
چند بخش شاهنامه را که کمتر از آن یاد شده و
من بیشتر دوست دارم
اینجا به یادگار می گذارم
.
شاید تنها قسمتی از شاهنامه ست که فردوسی از همه ی امشاسپندان در کنار هم نام می برد
مربوط است به فراخواندن کیخسرو رستم را، برای نجات بیژن از چاه افراسیاب و
آمدن رستم...به پیشواز رفتن دگر پهلوانان ...و ستایش و احترام جهان پهلوان به کیخسرو
ز اسب اندر آمد جهان پهلوان
کجا پهلوانان بپیشش نوان
بپرسید مر هریکی را ز شاه
ز گردنده خورشید و تابنده ماه
نشستند گردان و رستم بر اسب
بکردار رخشنده آذرگشسب
چو آمد بر شاه کهترنواز
نوان پیش او رفت و بردش نماز
ستایش کنان پیش خسرو دوید
که مهر و ستایش مر او را سزید
برآورد سر آفرین کرد و گفت
مبادت جز از بخت پیروز جفت
چو هرمزد بادت بدین پایگاه
چو بهمن نگهبان فرخ کلاه
همه ساله اردیبهشت هژیر
نگهبان تو با هش و رای پیر
چو شهریورت باد پیروزگر
بنام بزرگی و فر و هنر
سپندارمذ پاسبان تو باد
خرد جان روشن روان تو باد
چو خردادت از یاوران بر دهاد
ز مرداد باش از بر و بوم شاد
دی و اورمزدت خجسته بواد
در هر بدی بر تو بسته بواد
دِیت آذر افروز و فرخنده روز
تو شادان و تاج تو گیتی فروز
چو این آفرین کرد رستم بپای
بپرسید و کردش بر خویش جای
بدو گفت خسرو درست آمدی
که از جان تو دور بادا بدی
...
اردیبهشت نود و نه
June 9, 2018
ریویو ادیت شد:
شاهنامه در خانواده همیشه جایگاه خاصی داشته و از اولین متونی بوده که همیشه میخواستم بخونمش. اولین تجربههای خوندن خودم با کتاب کودکهای مصوری از شاهنامه بود که یه سری داستانهای جذاب شاهنامه رو با تصویرگری و با داستان متنی ساده شده بیان کرده بودند. بعدش یه سری نوجوان وجود داشت که در اینها ترکیب متن ساده شده داستانی و خود شعرها بود و یکم به متن اصلی نزدیکتر میشدی. دوران راهنمایی بودم که وارد جو خوندن شعرهای کلاسیک ایرانی شدم و جرات کردم خود متن اصلی شعرها رو کامل بخونم و فهمیدم به ترسناکیای که فکر میکردم نیستند و با پرسوجو و ممارست میشه فهمید چی میگن و لذت برد ازشون. شاهنامهخوانی از روی خود متن اصلی شاهنامه (چاپ مسکو)رو همراه یکی از همکلاسیهام سال دوم راهنمایی شروع کردیم و یه سالی طول کشید.
از همون اول هم، بخش اساطیری و پهلوانی شاهنامه برام جذابترین قسمتها بودنپ. با اینکه اون زمان به تاریخ باستان هم علاقه داشتم، اما با بخش تاریخی شاهنامه اونطور که باید ارتباط نگرفتم. شاید چون رنگ و بوی پهلوانی و اسطورهای بخشهای قبلی رو نداشت. ولی بخش اساطیری برام یه جرقه بود که برم سراغ اسطورهها و دنیای اونها رو بیشتر بشناسم.
برای همین هم بعدها شعرهای قسمت داستانی شاهنامه رو بازخوانی کردم اما دیگه سراغ کلش نرفتم.
راجع به متن بخوام از چیزایی که یادمه بگم که اولاش خوندن شعرهاش سخت بود اما بعد که عادت میکنی یه سری عبارت و لغات و مدل توصیفی خاصی داره که تکرار میشه و اتفاقا به شیوهای گفته که خیلی قابل درکه اگه تو بطن خود داستان پیش ببریش.
از چیزایی که توی شعرهای شاهنامه خیلی لذتبخشه، واجآراییها و ریتمیه که فردوسی به کار برده؛ جوری که انگار وسط میدون جنگی و صدای شمشیرها و هیاهو رو حس میکنی. این ترکیب صدا و کلمات هم به عمق حماسی شاهنامه اضافه میکنه و هم باعث میشه راحتتر با داستانهاش ارتباط بگیری
یکمم چیزای مفیدی که مرتبط با شاهنامه و کاراکتراش قبلا نوشته بودم بیارم ریویو یکم مفید بشه.
با توجه به چیزی که تو طومار نقالی هفت لشکر آوردم بذار به کیومرث (گئومرت) اشاره کنیم: در زبان اوستایی از دو جز گَیو (به معنی زندگانی) و مَرَتَن (به معنی میرنده یا فناپذیر) تشکیل یافتهاست.
* طبق بندهش:
کیومرث، نخستین بشر را، اهورامزدا آفرید.
کیومرث به مدت سی سال تنها در کوهساران بسر برد. در هنگام مرگ از او نطفهای خارج شد و به وسیله اشعه خورشید تصفیه شد و در خاک محفوظ بماند. پس از چهل سال از آن نطفه، گیاهی بشکل دو ساقه ریباس بهم پیچیده در مهرماه و مهر روز (جشن مهرگان) از زمین بروییدند.
پس از آن از شکل گیاهی به صورت انسانی تبدیل شدند که در قامت و چهره شبیه هم بودند(مشی و مشیانه) یکی نر موسوم به مشی و دیگری ماده موسوم به مشییانه. پس از پنجاه سال آن دو با هم ازدواج کردند و بعد از نه ماه از آنها یک جفت نر و ماده پدید آمد از این یک جفت هفت جفت پسر و دختر متولد شد.
یکی از ان هفت جفت موسوم بود به سیامک و زنش نساک از سیامک و نساک یک جفت متولد شدند به نامهای فرواک و زنش فراواکیین از آنان پانزده جفت پدید آمد که کلیه نژادهای همه کشورها از پشت آنان است که یکی از ان پانزده جفت هوشنگ و زنش گوزنگ نام داشتند ایرانیان از پشت آنان میباشند.
تو اسطوره های ایران مَشی و مَشیانه (مهله و مهلانه) نخستین جفت انسان محسوب میشن.
* طبق داستان های اوستا؛ میگن که وقتی اهریمن بر جهان چیره گشت و همه جا تیره شد به کیومرث گفت تورا از کجا شروع به خوردن کنم؟
کیومرث گفت از پاهایم تا مدتی طول بکشد و از تماشای دنیا لذتی ببرم اما اهریمن خلاف کرد و از سر وی شروع به خوردن کرد تا اینکه اهرمن به بیضههایش رسید و در آن هنگام نطفه ای ازش خارج شد، پس از چهل سال گیاه ریواسی رویید این گیاه دارای یک ساقه پانزده برگ بود و از آن دو تن هویدا شد ابتدا چنان به هم پیوند خورده بودند که معلوم نبود کدام ماده و کدام نر است.
پس اورمزد به آنان گفت: من شما را از نظر اندیشه بهترین آفریدم پس پندار نیک، گفتار نیک، و رفتار نیک داشته باشید و دیوان را ستایش نکنید.
آنان با با راهنمایی فرشتگان کشاورزی و آتش آموختند پس گوسفندی و بزی یافتند از بز را دوشیدند و شیرش را خوردند و گوسفند را با آتشی که از چوب شمشاد بود تقدیم ایزدان کردند،
سپس برگها و پوستین را رها و از پشم برای خود جامه بافتند و کلبه ای برای امان بودن از خورشید ساختند و آهن را یافتند و با سنگ آن را کوبیدند و تیغی فراهم ساختند.
آنان پنجاه سال آمیزش نکردند.
اما پس از پنجاه سال میل جنسی در آنان بیدار شد و پس از نه ما دو فرزند نر و ماده به دنیا میآورند؛ اما آنان را میبلعند !
اما اورمزد میل فرزند خواری را از آنان گرفته و آنان را میبخشد.
سپس آنان دارای هفت جفت فرزند نر و ماده میشوند که جفت هفتم سیامک و نشاگ اند که حاصل این دو فرواگ و فرواگین و حاصل این دو نیز هوشنگ و گوزک اند، ( ایرانیا از نژاد سیامک و فرواگ اند. بقیه میشن هندی ها و اعراب و...).
*تو شاهنامه اولش بعد از آغاز کتاب و مقدمهش؛ وقتی شروع میکنه داستان شاهها رو بگه با کیومرث بدین صورت شروع میکنه:
پژوهنده ی نامه ی باستان
که از پهلوانان زند داستان
چنین گفت کآیین تخت و کلاه
کیومرث آورد و او بود شاه
چو آمد به برج حمل آفتاب
جهان گشت با فر و آیین و آب
بتابید ازآن سان ز برج بره
که گیتی جوان گشت ازآن یکسره
کیومرث شد بر جهان کدخدای
نخستین به کوه اندرون ساخت جای
سر بخت و تختش برآمد به کوه
پلنگینه پوشید خود با گروه
ازو اندر آمد همی پرورش
که پوشیدنی نو بد و نو خورش
به گیتی درون سال سی شاه بود
به خوبی چو خورشید بر گاه بود...
فردوسی, شاهنامه, کیومرث, بخش اول
که میاد میگه کیومرث اولین شاه دنیا بوده و شیوه زندگی و دامپروری رو اون یاد آدم ها داده.
از طرفی دیگه آیین احترام به پادشاه و نماز هم کیومرث یاد داده.
پس همینطور که مشخصه شاهنامه کیومرث رو اولین بشر نمیدونه؛ اولین شاه میدونه.
راجع به ادامه نسلش هم سیامک رو پسرش میدونه ولی داستان وسرونوشتش همون مبارزه با بچه اهریمن و تلف شدنشه.
*مهرداد بهار دیدگاه متفاوتی داره برا اولین بشر داره. میگه طبق مطالعات تاریخی و اسطوره شناختی، اسطوره کیومرث بعد از کشف و استفاده آهن باید درست شده باشه. تو اسطوره های قدیمی تر اولین بشر جم بوده.
*یکی از کتاب های تاریخی قدیمی کتاب تاریخ مسعودیه به اسم مروج الذهب که تو اون میگه آداب خوردن هم کیومرث یاد بشر داده:
گیومرث نخستین کسی بود که فرمود تا هنگام غذا خاموشی گزینند تا طبیعت سهم خود را بگیرد و تن را با غذای که بدان میرسد اصلاح کند و جان آرام گیرد و هریک از اعضاء در کار دریافت صافی غذا تدبیری برای تندرستی تن کند و آنچه به کبد و دیگر اعضاء گیرندهٔ غذا میرسد مناسب و شایستهٔ اصلاح آن باشد.
از چیزای معروف شاهنامه رو مخ بودن کاووسشاهه.:)) یه جایی تو رزم کاووس با شاه هاماوران، گودر میاد کاووس رو این مدلی توصیف میکنه:
خرد نیست او را نه دانش نه رای
نه هوشش بجایست و نه دل بجای
(میگه عقل و دانش و نظر درست حسابی نداره، هوش و حواسش هم سر جاش نیست)
یک اندیشه او همی نغز نیست
تو گویی به سرش اندرون مغز نیست
(میگه انقدر فکراش داغونن انگار مغز نداره تو جمجمهاش ⦚ اینیکی بیت تو چاپ مسکو نیست، تو چاپ امیرکبیر هست انگار)
از کارای دیگه کاووس به نقشش تو داستان رستم و سهراب هم اشاره کنیم که رستم بعد از اینکه سهراب رو میزنه و سهراب داره میمیره دیگه و این داستانا؛ گودرز رو میفرسته بره پیش کاووس که شاه اون زمان بوده و فر داشته و فلان که نوشدارو بگیره بدن سهراب بخوره نمیره.
بعد گودرز سریع میره سراغ کاووس و نوشدارو میخواد برا پسر رستم.
کاووس که هم دیده بود و هم شنیده بوده سهراب چطوریه و چقدر خفن بوده، میگه اگه این پسره زنده بمونه دیگه کسی حریف این پدر و پسر نمیشه که. نوشدارو رو نمیده و سهراب میمیره و فوقع ما وقع.
یکی از معانی اژدها تو متون قدیمی ایرانی، شجاع و دلیر بودنه.
بعد زال برا رستم میاد افراسیاب رو اینطور توصیف میکنه:
(افراسیاب با اسفندیار قاطی نشه، افراسیاب رو بعدا کیخسرو به کین سیاوش میکشه ولی قبلش با رستم میجنگه، بعد اصلا افراسیاب جلو رستم کم میاره خودش اعتراف میکنه که خب ربطی به این بحث نداره.)
بدو گفت زال ای پسر گوشدار
یک امروز با خویشتن هوشدار
که آن ترک در جنگ نر اژدهاست
در آهنگ و در کینه ابر بلاست
درفشش سیاهست و خفتان سیاه
ز آهنش ساعد ز آهن کلاه
همه روی آهن گرفته به زر
نشانی سیه بسته بر خود بر
ازو خویشتن را نگهدار سخت
که مردی دلیرست و پیروز بخت
#فردوسی, شاهنامه, کیقباد
یه سری میگفتن این اژدها گفتن به افراسیاب بخاطر قدرت جادوگری ایه که داره، اما لزوما این نیست چون تو شاهنامه اشخاص متفاوتی نر اژدها خطاب شدهن؛ مهراب و سام و ...
اما جادوگری افراسیاب داستانش چیه؟
میگن یه سری جادو بلد بوده (کنار جاودانگیش و ...) که انجام میداده.
به عنوان مثال:
در اساطیر اوستایی یه خشکسالی ای رخ میده که دلیلش رو اسطورهه میذاره برا جادوگری افراسیاب.
ولی تو شاهنامه یه جورایی میگه جادوگری نیست و اتفاقیه که برا دو طرف ایران و توران رخ میده و اصلا میکشدتشون به صلح.
ولی همین بحث جادوی خشکسالی رو تو همه نمونههای متون پهلوی، اوستایی و .. راجع بهش میگن و یه جورایی ربط میدن بهش. اصلا جشن آبانگان رو میگن روز پیروزی زو بر افراسیابه یه سری جاها.
زَوْ کیه؟ یکی از شاه های ایران، پسر تهماسب.
تو شاهنامه میاد میگه بخاطر خشکسالی اینا باهم صلح میکنن و بارون میاد.
یکم از افراسیاب اسطوره بگیم:
افراسیاب تو اوستا فْرنگْرَسیَن Frangrāsyāk عه، یعنی هراسآور.
این شاه توران تو اسطوره ها از نیروهای خفن اهریمن رو زمین بوده.
تو اسطوره ها تو یه زیرزمین طوری یه قصری داشته که ستاره و خورشید برا خودش درست کرده بوده و چهار تا رود میومده توش: اب، شیر، شراب و یادم نیست چی.
افراسیاب دنبال به دست آوردن فر تلاش های زیادی میکنه، یه جا کلی چیز میز قربونی میکنه برا آناهیتا تا فرّ رو ازش بگیره.
یه تایمی نیمچه دستش بهش میرسه البته.
اونم وقتی بوده که یه زنگیاو نامی میاد به دروغ میشه شاه ایران، بعد ایرانیا میرن پیش افراسیاب ازش کمک میخوان که اینو سرنگون کنند.
ولی خب به دست نمیاره فرّ رو
بعد داستان مرگش تو اوستا هم همون مدلیه که کیخسرو وقتی به خونخواهی سیاوش پاشده بوده رفته بوده سراغش؛ زار و خفیف کنار رود خونه پیداش میکنه که داشته در میرفته؛ بعد با شمشیر نصفش میکنه.
بعدش حالا زاری و ... میکنه و میگه مراسم تدفین بگیریم براش.
ولی خب میکشتش.
یه چیز دیگه، طبق مینوی خرد، اهریمن افراسیاب رو جاودان کرده بوده ولی خدا عوض میکنه اینو (همونطور که برا اسکندر و ضحاک رخ داده.)
از اون طرف البته خدا هم جمشید، کیکاووس و فریدون رو جاودان میکنه ولی اهریمن عوض میکنه.
تو اسطوره ها و اعتقاد باستانی ایرانیان اهورامزدا و اهریمن تقریبا قدرتی برابر دارن یه سری جاها.
شاهنامه در خانواده همیشه جایگاه خاصی داشته و از اولین متونی بوده که همیشه میخواستم بخونمش. اولین تجربههای خوندن خودم با کتاب کودکهای مصوری از شاهنامه بود که یه سری داستانهای جذاب شاهنامه رو با تصویرگری و با داستان متنی ساده شده بیان کرده بودند. بعدش یه سری نوجوان وجود داشت که در اینها ترکیب متن ساده شده داستانی و خود شعرها بود و یکم به متن اصلی نزدیکتر میشدی. دوران راهنمایی بودم که وارد جو خوندن شعرهای کلاسیک ایرانی شدم و جرات کردم خود متن اصلی شعرها رو کامل بخونم و فهمیدم به ترسناکیای که فکر میکردم نیستند و با پرسوجو و ممارست میشه فهمید چی میگن و لذت برد ازشون. شاهنامهخوانی از روی خود متن اصلی شاهنامه (چاپ مسکو)رو همراه یکی از همکلاسیهام سال دوم راهنمایی شروع کردیم و یه سالی طول کشید.
از همون اول هم، بخش اساطیری و پهلوانی شاهنامه برام جذابترین قسمتها بودنپ. با اینکه اون زمان به تاریخ باستان هم علاقه داشتم، اما با بخش تاریخی شاهنامه اونطور که باید ارتباط نگرفتم. شاید چون رنگ و بوی پهلوانی و اسطورهای بخشهای قبلی رو نداشت. ولی بخش اساطیری برام یه جرقه بود که برم سراغ اسطورهها و دنیای اونها رو بیشتر بشناسم.
برای همین هم بعدها شعرهای قسمت داستانی شاهنامه رو بازخوانی کردم اما دیگه سراغ کلش نرفتم.
راجع به متن بخوام از چیزایی که یادمه بگم که اولاش خوندن شعرهاش سخت بود اما بعد که عادت میکنی یه سری عبارت و لغات و مدل توصیفی خاصی داره که تکرار میشه و اتفاقا به شیوهای گفته که خیلی قابل درکه اگه تو بطن خود داستان پیش ببریش.
از چیزایی که توی شعرهای شاهنامه خیلی لذتبخشه، واجآراییها و ریتمیه که فردوسی به کار برده؛ جوری که انگار وسط میدون جنگی و صدای شمشیرها و هیاهو رو حس میکنی. این ترکیب صدا و کلمات هم به عمق حماسی شاهنامه اضافه میکنه و هم باعث میشه راحتتر با داستانهاش ارتباط بگیری
یکمم چیزای مفیدی که مرتبط با شاهنامه و کاراکتراش قبلا نوشته بودم بیارم ریویو یکم مفید بشه.
با توجه به چیزی که تو طومار نقالی هفت لشکر آوردم بذار به کیومرث (گئومرت) اشاره کنیم: در زبان اوستایی از دو جز گَیو (به معنی زندگانی) و مَرَتَن (به معنی میرنده یا فناپذیر) تشکیل یافتهاست.
* طبق بندهش:
کیومرث، نخستین بشر را، اهورامزدا آفرید.
کیومرث به مدت سی سال تنها در کوهساران بسر برد. در هنگام مرگ از او نطفهای خارج شد و به وسیله اشعه خورشید تصفیه شد و در خاک محفوظ بماند. پس از چهل سال از آن نطفه، گیاهی بشکل دو ساقه ریباس بهم پیچیده در مهرماه و مهر روز (جشن مهرگان) از زمین بروییدند.
پس از آن از شکل گیاهی به صورت انسانی تبدیل شدند که در قامت و چهره شبیه هم بودند(مشی و مشیانه) یکی نر موسوم به مشی و دیگری ماده موسوم به مشییانه. پس از پنجاه سال آن دو با هم ازدواج کردند و بعد از نه ماه از آنها یک جفت نر و ماده پدید آمد از این یک جفت هفت جفت پسر و دختر متولد شد.
یکی از ان هفت جفت موسوم بود به سیامک و زنش نساک از سیامک و نساک یک جفت متولد شدند به نامهای فرواک و زنش فراواکیین از آنان پانزده جفت پدید آمد که کلیه نژادهای همه کشورها از پشت آنان است که یکی از ان پانزده جفت هوشنگ و زنش گوزنگ نام داشتند ایرانیان از پشت آنان میباشند.
تو اسطوره های ایران مَشی و مَشیانه (مهله و مهلانه) نخستین جفت انسان محسوب میشن.
* طبق داستان های اوستا؛ میگن که وقتی اهریمن بر جهان چیره گشت و همه جا تیره شد به کیومرث گفت تورا از کجا شروع به خوردن کنم؟
کیومرث گفت از پاهایم تا مدتی طول بکشد و از تماشای دنیا لذتی ببرم اما اهریمن خلاف کرد و از سر وی شروع به خوردن کرد تا اینکه اهرمن به بیضههایش رسید و در آن هنگام نطفه ای ازش خارج شد، پس از چهل سال گیاه ریواسی رویید این گیاه دارای یک ساقه پانزده برگ بود و از آن دو تن هویدا شد ابتدا چنان به هم پیوند خورده بودند که معلوم نبود کدام ماده و کدام نر است.
پس اورمزد به آنان گفت: من شما را از نظر اندیشه بهترین آفریدم پس پندار نیک، گفتار نیک، و رفتار نیک داشته باشید و دیوان را ستایش نکنید.
آنان با با راهنمایی فرشتگان کشاورزی و آتش آموختند پس گوسفندی و بزی یافتند از بز را دوشیدند و شیرش را خوردند و گوسفند را با آتشی که از چوب شمشاد بود تقدیم ایزدان کردند،
سپس برگها و پوستین را رها و از پشم برای خود جامه بافتند و کلبه ای برای امان بودن از خورشید ساختند و آهن را یافتند و با سنگ آن را کوبیدند و تیغی فراهم ساختند.
آنان پنجاه سال آمیزش نکردند.
اما پس از پنجاه سال میل جنسی در آنان بیدار شد و پس از نه ما دو فرزند نر و ماده به دنیا میآورند؛ اما آنان را میبلعند !
اما اورمزد میل فرزند خواری را از آنان گرفته و آنان را میبخشد.
سپس آنان دارای هفت جفت فرزند نر و ماده میشوند که جفت هفتم سیامک و نشاگ اند که حاصل این دو فرواگ و فرواگین و حاصل این دو نیز هوشنگ و گوزک اند، ( ایرانیا از نژاد سیامک و فرواگ اند. بقیه میشن هندی ها و اعراب و...).
*تو شاهنامه اولش بعد از آغاز کتاب و مقدمهش؛ وقتی شروع میکنه داستان شاهها رو بگه با کیومرث بدین صورت شروع میکنه:
پژوهنده ی نامه ی باستان
که از پهلوانان زند داستان
چنین گفت کآیین تخت و کلاه
کیومرث آورد و او بود شاه
چو آمد به برج حمل آفتاب
جهان گشت با فر و آیین و آب
بتابید ازآن سان ز برج بره
که گیتی جوان گشت ازآن یکسره
کیومرث شد بر جهان کدخدای
نخستین به کوه اندرون ساخت جای
سر بخت و تختش برآمد به کوه
پلنگینه پوشید خود با گروه
ازو اندر آمد همی پرورش
که پوشیدنی نو بد و نو خورش
به گیتی درون سال سی شاه بود
به خوبی چو خورشید بر گاه بود...
فردوسی, شاهنامه, کیومرث, بخش اول
که میاد میگه کیومرث اولین شاه دنیا بوده و شیوه زندگی و دامپروری رو اون یاد آدم ها داده.
از طرفی دیگه آیین احترام به پادشاه و نماز هم کیومرث یاد داده.
پس همینطور که مشخصه شاهنامه کیومرث رو اولین بشر نمیدونه؛ اولین شاه میدونه.
راجع به ادامه نسلش هم سیامک رو پسرش میدونه ولی داستان وسرونوشتش همون مبارزه با بچه اهریمن و تلف شدنشه.
*مهرداد بهار دیدگاه متفاوتی داره برا اولین بشر داره. میگه طبق مطالعات تاریخی و اسطوره شناختی، اسطوره کیومرث بعد از کشف و استفاده آهن باید درست شده باشه. تو اسطوره های قدیمی تر اولین بشر جم بوده.
*یکی از کتاب های تاریخی قدیمی کتاب تاریخ مسعودیه به اسم مروج الذهب که تو اون میگه آداب خوردن هم کیومرث یاد بشر داده:
گیومرث نخستین کسی بود که فرمود تا هنگام غذا خاموشی گزینند تا طبیعت سهم خود را بگیرد و تن را با غذای که بدان میرسد اصلاح کند و جان آرام گیرد و هریک از اعضاء در کار دریافت صافی غذا تدبیری برای تندرستی تن کند و آنچه به کبد و دیگر اعضاء گیرندهٔ غذا میرسد مناسب و شایستهٔ اصلاح آن باشد.
از چیزای معروف شاهنامه رو مخ بودن کاووسشاهه.:)) یه جایی تو رزم کاووس با شاه هاماوران، گودر میاد کاووس رو این مدلی توصیف میکنه:
خرد نیست او را نه دانش نه رای
نه هوشش بجایست و نه دل بجای
(میگه عقل و دانش و نظر درست حسابی نداره، هوش و حواسش هم سر جاش نیست)
یک اندیشه او همی نغز نیست
تو گویی به سرش اندرون مغز نیست
(میگه انقدر فکراش داغونن انگار مغز نداره تو جمجمهاش ⦚ اینیکی بیت تو چاپ مسکو نیست، تو چاپ امیرکبیر هست انگار)
از کارای دیگه کاووس به نقشش تو داستان رستم و سهراب هم اشاره کنیم که رستم بعد از اینکه سهراب رو میزنه و سهراب داره میمیره دیگه و این داستانا؛ گودرز رو میفرسته بره پیش کاووس که شاه اون زمان بوده و فر داشته و فلان که نوشدارو بگیره بدن سهراب بخوره نمیره.
بعد گودرز سریع میره سراغ کاووس و نوشدارو میخواد برا پسر رستم.
کاووس که هم دیده بود و هم شنیده بوده سهراب چطوریه و چقدر خفن بوده، میگه اگه این پسره زنده بمونه دیگه کسی حریف این پدر و پسر نمیشه که. نوشدارو رو نمیده و سهراب میمیره و فوقع ما وقع.
یکی از معانی اژدها تو متون قدیمی ایرانی، شجاع و دلیر بودنه.
بعد زال برا رستم میاد افراسیاب رو اینطور توصیف میکنه:
(افراسیاب با اسفندیار قاطی نشه، افراسیاب رو بعدا کیخسرو به کین سیاوش میکشه ولی قبلش با رستم میجنگه، بعد اصلا افراسیاب جلو رستم کم میاره خودش اعتراف میکنه که خب ربطی به این بحث نداره.)
بدو گفت زال ای پسر گوشدار
یک امروز با خویشتن هوشدار
که آن ترک در جنگ نر اژدهاست
در آهنگ و در کینه ابر بلاست
درفشش سیاهست و خفتان سیاه
ز آهنش ساعد ز آهن کلاه
همه روی آهن گرفته به زر
نشانی سیه بسته بر خود بر
ازو خویشتن را نگهدار سخت
که مردی دلیرست و پیروز بخت
#فردوسی, شاهنامه, کیقباد
یه سری میگفتن این اژدها گفتن به افراسیاب بخاطر قدرت جادوگری ایه که داره، اما لزوما این نیست چون تو شاهنامه اشخاص متفاوتی نر اژدها خطاب شدهن؛ مهراب و سام و ...
اما جادوگری افراسیاب داستانش چیه؟
میگن یه سری جادو بلد بوده (کنار جاودانگیش و ...) که انجام میداده.
به عنوان مثال:
در اساطیر اوستایی یه خشکسالی ای رخ میده که دلیلش رو اسطورهه میذاره برا جادوگری افراسیاب.
ولی تو شاهنامه یه جورایی میگه جادوگری نیست و اتفاقیه که برا دو طرف ایران و توران رخ میده و اصلا میکشدتشون به صلح.
ولی همین بحث جادوی خشکسالی رو تو همه نمونههای متون پهلوی، اوستایی و .. راجع بهش میگن و یه جورایی ربط میدن بهش. اصلا جشن آبانگان رو میگن روز پیروزی زو بر افراسیابه یه سری جاها.
زَوْ کیه؟ یکی از شاه های ایران، پسر تهماسب.
تو شاهنامه میاد میگه بخاطر خشکسالی اینا باهم صلح میکنن و بارون میاد.
یکم از افراسیاب اسطوره بگیم:
افراسیاب تو اوستا فْرنگْرَسیَن Frangrāsyāk عه، یعنی هراسآور.
این شاه توران تو اسطوره ها از نیروهای خفن اهریمن رو زمین بوده.
تو اسطوره ها تو یه زیرزمین طوری یه قصری داشته که ستاره و خورشید برا خودش درست کرده بوده و چهار تا رود میومده توش: اب، شیر، شراب و یادم نیست چی.
افراسیاب دنبال به دست آوردن فر تلاش های زیادی میکنه، یه جا کلی چیز میز قربونی میکنه برا آناهیتا تا فرّ رو ازش بگیره.
یه تایمی نیمچه دستش بهش میرسه البته.
اونم وقتی بوده که یه زنگیاو نامی میاد به دروغ میشه شاه ایران، بعد ایرانیا میرن پیش افراسیاب ازش کمک میخوان که اینو سرنگون کنند.
ولی خب به دست نمیاره فرّ رو
بعد داستان مرگش تو اوستا هم همون مدلیه که کیخسرو وقتی به خونخواهی سیاوش پاشده بوده رفته بوده سراغش؛ زار و خفیف کنار رود خونه پیداش میکنه که داشته در میرفته؛ بعد با شمشیر نصفش میکنه.
بعدش حالا زاری و ... میکنه و میگه مراسم تدفین بگیریم براش.
ولی خب میکشتش.
یه چیز دیگه، طبق مینوی خرد، اهریمن افراسیاب رو جاودان کرده بوده ولی خدا عوض میکنه اینو (همونطور که برا اسکندر و ضحاک رخ داده.)
از اون طرف البته خدا هم جمشید، کیکاووس و فریدون رو جاودان میکنه ولی اهریمن عوض میکنه.
تو اسطوره ها و اعتقاد باستانی ایرانیان اهورامزدا و اهریمن تقریبا قدرتی برابر دارن یه سری جاها.
December 20, 2018
Time is beneficial when reading this one.
I originally started this July 2017 and am now finished December 2018. That would be a year and a half spent with this book. And it's so incredibly appropriate because this book is a chronicle of Persia's history told through the lineage of its kings.
This book begins with the Persian creation story with all of its absolute wild, unpredictable magical elements. The early stories contain magic & mythological creatures. I'm sure if you grew up with classic Western Fairy tales, there's one that will shock you: 'Western writers stole that idea from here!' Trust me, once you read it, it's unmistakable which one I'm referring to.
The bulk of this amazing book are travelling, letters, battles, marital allegiances, powerful women & the men who fail to take the solid advice of their ladies. Some of the battles are pretty exciting to read when the dust rises up & we lose sight of who's winning. Other battles & shifts of kingly power are difficult to follow because anytime you condense 1000's of years of history into 900 pages, there's going to be A LOT of names mentioned with how they all relate to each other. Don't fret though, just read on.
Dick Davis' language sings all through Persia's history. His approach to task is fantastic. He condenses each of the original books. The original length is a collection of encyclopedias of course. So he's vey systematic about what he includes and how he showcases some of the more poetic scenes. In his introduction, he admits to leaving out some offending passages that newcomers to Persian literature could be turned off by. Instead, he evens out the coverage of many kings which is a slight change from the original author, Ferdowsi's approach. He does this to give a more comprehensive coverage of the original book within a limited number of pages. Some kings still receive a whole lot more attention & this reflects the original.
What I appreciate most of all with Davis' translation is he renders this epic poem into a highly readable edition for those completely unfamiliar with Persian Literature or even the culture of this entire world & its history. It doesn't read like a beginner's book, there's still plenty of complexity to keep the most avid reader busy looking up references for a few years at least.
For those poetic scenes, often they are key moments in the story that I'm sure Persian folks know well & love. Davis kept them in poetic language with meter & rhyme. These are some of the most beautiful parts of the book & makes me want to read a poetic translation of The Shahnameh. Not only because they are emotionally driven scenes but also because Davis writes like a poet.
Here's an example from near the beginning. This brief poem describes the birth of Rostam, the greatest hero in this book. And one of the coolest characters I've read during my epics project so far.
"He'll master all the beasts of earth and air,
He'll terrify the dragon in its lair;
When such a voice rings out, the leopard gnaws
In anguished terror its unyielding claws;
Wild on the battlefield that voice will make
The hardened hearts of iron warriors quake;
Of cypress stature and of mammoth might,
Two miles will barley show his javelin's flight."
(Rostam, The Son of Zal-Dastan,
The Birth of Rostam,
Page 104-105)
The one shortcoming is I wish this edition contains a map for the various locations everyone traveled to. There are quite a few and a map would improve my understanding of the text immensely. I'm sure many of these place names have been renamed over time so google maps is no help whatsoever. I've tried searching for maps of The Shahnameh online, but with no English success so far.
If you're interested in getting into Persian Literature, of course the well known poems of Rumi and other mystics are a great starting point. As an introduction, I highly recommend The Conference of the Birds, also translated by Dick Davis.
This could be a great book if you enjoy epic long tomes filled with adventure, complex who's who, some mythological elements, history & some references to writing as it's developing throughout history with plenty of battle scenes & some romance mixed in.
Keep in mind, it's 900 pages with almost constant warfares, so it's certainly not for everyone. The shifts in power & keeping track of who's who & why they have a grievence was the most grinding aspect of this read. The battles certainly were not grinding to read for some reason.
A brief video review:
https://youtu.be/5gzhH0DRNP8
I originally started this July 2017 and am now finished December 2018. That would be a year and a half spent with this book. And it's so incredibly appropriate because this book is a chronicle of Persia's history told through the lineage of its kings.
This book begins with the Persian creation story with all of its absolute wild, unpredictable magical elements. The early stories contain magic & mythological creatures. I'm sure if you grew up with classic Western Fairy tales, there's one that will shock you: 'Western writers stole that idea from here!' Trust me, once you read it, it's unmistakable which one I'm referring to.
The bulk of this amazing book are travelling, letters, battles, marital allegiances, powerful women & the men who fail to take the solid advice of their ladies. Some of the battles are pretty exciting to read when the dust rises up & we lose sight of who's winning. Other battles & shifts of kingly power are difficult to follow because anytime you condense 1000's of years of history into 900 pages, there's going to be A LOT of names mentioned with how they all relate to each other. Don't fret though, just read on.
Dick Davis' language sings all through Persia's history. His approach to task is fantastic. He condenses each of the original books. The original length is a collection of encyclopedias of course. So he's vey systematic about what he includes and how he showcases some of the more poetic scenes. In his introduction, he admits to leaving out some offending passages that newcomers to Persian literature could be turned off by. Instead, he evens out the coverage of many kings which is a slight change from the original author, Ferdowsi's approach. He does this to give a more comprehensive coverage of the original book within a limited number of pages. Some kings still receive a whole lot more attention & this reflects the original.
What I appreciate most of all with Davis' translation is he renders this epic poem into a highly readable edition for those completely unfamiliar with Persian Literature or even the culture of this entire world & its history. It doesn't read like a beginner's book, there's still plenty of complexity to keep the most avid reader busy looking up references for a few years at least.
For those poetic scenes, often they are key moments in the story that I'm sure Persian folks know well & love. Davis kept them in poetic language with meter & rhyme. These are some of the most beautiful parts of the book & makes me want to read a poetic translation of The Shahnameh. Not only because they are emotionally driven scenes but also because Davis writes like a poet.
Here's an example from near the beginning. This brief poem describes the birth of Rostam, the greatest hero in this book. And one of the coolest characters I've read during my epics project so far.
"He'll master all the beasts of earth and air,
He'll terrify the dragon in its lair;
When such a voice rings out, the leopard gnaws
In anguished terror its unyielding claws;
Wild on the battlefield that voice will make
The hardened hearts of iron warriors quake;
Of cypress stature and of mammoth might,
Two miles will barley show his javelin's flight."
(Rostam, The Son of Zal-Dastan,
The Birth of Rostam,
Page 104-105)
The one shortcoming is I wish this edition contains a map for the various locations everyone traveled to. There are quite a few and a map would improve my understanding of the text immensely. I'm sure many of these place names have been renamed over time so google maps is no help whatsoever. I've tried searching for maps of The Shahnameh online, but with no English success so far.
If you're interested in getting into Persian Literature, of course the well known poems of Rumi and other mystics are a great starting point. As an introduction, I highly recommend The Conference of the Birds, also translated by Dick Davis.
This could be a great book if you enjoy epic long tomes filled with adventure, complex who's who, some mythological elements, history & some references to writing as it's developing throughout history with plenty of battle scenes & some romance mixed in.
Keep in mind, it's 900 pages with almost constant warfares, so it's certainly not for everyone. The shifts in power & keeping track of who's who & why they have a grievence was the most grinding aspect of this read. The battles certainly were not grinding to read for some reason.
A brief video review:
https://youtu.be/5gzhH0DRNP8
May 24, 2010
شاهنامه کتاب مقدس فرهنگ ایران زمین است ما ایرانیان به چه کسی بیشتر از فردوسی مدیونیم ؟
کتابی که با خواندش مغرور و مفتخر از ایرانی بودنمان میشویم .
شاید که هرچه که بر سر ما میرود از بی توجهیمان به شاهنامه این شاه بیت زبان پارسی است.
کتابی که با خواندش مغرور و مفتخر از ایرانی بودنمان میشویم .
شاید که هرچه که بر سر ما میرود از بی توجهیمان به شاهنامه این شاه بیت زبان پارسی است.
September 26, 2014
The olden kings gave us the gift of a peaceful holiday.
Calling for wine and musicians at the onset of spring
They forgave, they forgot, and drank their worries away.
This is a review of the edition of Shanameh published by the Quantuck Lane Press. It is an adaptation, as labeled on the first page; it is certainly shorter than the full text as listed for the Penguin etc. editions. But it is accompanied by beautifully ornate, full illustrations on every page, original to the edition, and the text certainly seems adequate to get a good sense of the full work. This is a large scale (about 14 inches tall and 10 wide) deluxe production. The one I have from the library is covered in bright green cloth with a gold and maroon emblem on the front. The illustrations are stunning, and repay close attention. You can see several two-page spreads using the ‘more’ button below the large picture of the cover at:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shahn...
There is a long tradition of illustrations for the Shanameh, both for Iranian patrons and for export to the Ottoman Empire and India. The introduction doesn’t discuss how this fits into Islamic prohibitions of figurative art. There was a major exhibition of Shanameh art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art several years ago, and it would be interesting to compare these contemporary, but traditional, illustrations with the ones in the catalog:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
Wikipedia says Ferdowsi wrote this between 977 and 1010. It portrays Iran from earliest time until the Islamic conquest in the seventh century. The only religion mentioned in it is Zoroastrianism.
The translation/adaptation is a mix of prose and poetry, although my extracts here only quote the infrequent poetic pieces. Ferdowsi’s original consists of 50,000 couplets. As in the Bible, some people live for hundreds of years, while others age and die around them. There are fairies and demons, although in this adaptation humans are by far the main characters.
I’m not going to try to summarize the Wikipedia commentary of the Shanameh’s importance in Persian history, language and literature here; but learning about the role of the poem would be well worth while. The lack of any useful forward or notes in this book is a drawback but it is clearly not meant as a scholarly or complete version--this edition is about the story and the art.
At first the names and genealogy go by at dizzying speed, but the story settles in to a tale of three of four generations of two main familes in Persia and a handful in Turan, to the northeast of modern Iran (Turkmenestan). A surface reaction is that nothing changes from Herodotus to today’s New York Times: the lead story is endless rounds of vengeance and beheadings. Massive armies and endless battles. For generations and generations. This is the national epic of Iran, the stories all children presumably hear from infancy. They also hear beautiful prose and poetry, and they hear about heros who try to cauterize the last emotional wounds and stop the cycle of revenge.
False confidence leads a foolish man to slaughter.
He stomps on solid ground but it turns out to be
A layer of straw floating on a puddle of water.
At a deeper level, there is an epic story of dynasties and political negotiations about what kind of government will prevail. Ferdowsi is also an incredible psychologist. His kings and warriors are always in flux between their impetuous impulses and reflective wisdom.
The world is full of mysteries as it makes and breaks.
Love and wisdom forsook them both, nor did
One of them pause to correct his mistakes.
Fish, onager, and beasts of burden in their mangers
Know their own, but greed so blinded father and son
That they faced each other as strangers.
He portrays many of the early kings of Persia and weak or disastrous rulers, who embroiled their countries in unnecessary wars and were vindictive or unappreciative of the brave defenders. Other rulers, however, were upright and wise, and fostered art, science and justice. There is a touching story of one king at only sixty years old, worn down by his duties, climbing a mountain in winter to die, disappearing, and the heroes who accompanied him against his counsel dying in the blizzard as well. One gets a sense of the different cultural background of simultaneous political and military leaders and dynasties that I read as a very old tradition that may be a source of the later approach to the very different scopes of political and religious rule, when compared to the modern West. Just a guess.
Women are not omitted. There is a story that is very close to the Greek Phaedre, with disastrous results. Other women are mothers with wise advice, beautiful daughters and brides, and brave widows committing mass suicide to avoid capture as war booty. Horses are just about as important as lovers. As the supreme hero Rostam is finally returned in state to his city after a gruesome death by treachery at the end of the work, his faithful horse is treated to the same honored trip via a bejeweled platform on an elephant.
Magnificent buildings decay by the dint of time
And exposure to the elements wrecks even a house of flint
But the poetic edifice I have erected in rhyme
Shall endure the contagion of the rain and the sun.
For three decades have I thus suffered to restore
This Persian tongue and now my work is done.
Calling for wine and musicians at the onset of spring
They forgave, they forgot, and drank their worries away.
This is a review of the edition of Shanameh published by the Quantuck Lane Press. It is an adaptation, as labeled on the first page; it is certainly shorter than the full text as listed for the Penguin etc. editions. But it is accompanied by beautifully ornate, full illustrations on every page, original to the edition, and the text certainly seems adequate to get a good sense of the full work. This is a large scale (about 14 inches tall and 10 wide) deluxe production. The one I have from the library is covered in bright green cloth with a gold and maroon emblem on the front. The illustrations are stunning, and repay close attention. You can see several two-page spreads using the ‘more’ button below the large picture of the cover at:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shahn...
There is a long tradition of illustrations for the Shanameh, both for Iranian patrons and for export to the Ottoman Empire and India. The introduction doesn’t discuss how this fits into Islamic prohibitions of figurative art. There was a major exhibition of Shanameh art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art several years ago, and it would be interesting to compare these contemporary, but traditional, illustrations with the ones in the catalog:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
Wikipedia says Ferdowsi wrote this between 977 and 1010. It portrays Iran from earliest time until the Islamic conquest in the seventh century. The only religion mentioned in it is Zoroastrianism.
The translation/adaptation is a mix of prose and poetry, although my extracts here only quote the infrequent poetic pieces. Ferdowsi’s original consists of 50,000 couplets. As in the Bible, some people live for hundreds of years, while others age and die around them. There are fairies and demons, although in this adaptation humans are by far the main characters.
I’m not going to try to summarize the Wikipedia commentary of the Shanameh’s importance in Persian history, language and literature here; but learning about the role of the poem would be well worth while. The lack of any useful forward or notes in this book is a drawback but it is clearly not meant as a scholarly or complete version--this edition is about the story and the art.
At first the names and genealogy go by at dizzying speed, but the story settles in to a tale of three of four generations of two main familes in Persia and a handful in Turan, to the northeast of modern Iran (Turkmenestan). A surface reaction is that nothing changes from Herodotus to today’s New York Times: the lead story is endless rounds of vengeance and beheadings. Massive armies and endless battles. For generations and generations. This is the national epic of Iran, the stories all children presumably hear from infancy. They also hear beautiful prose and poetry, and they hear about heros who try to cauterize the last emotional wounds and stop the cycle of revenge.
False confidence leads a foolish man to slaughter.
He stomps on solid ground but it turns out to be
A layer of straw floating on a puddle of water.
At a deeper level, there is an epic story of dynasties and political negotiations about what kind of government will prevail. Ferdowsi is also an incredible psychologist. His kings and warriors are always in flux between their impetuous impulses and reflective wisdom.
The world is full of mysteries as it makes and breaks.
Love and wisdom forsook them both, nor did
One of them pause to correct his mistakes.
Fish, onager, and beasts of burden in their mangers
Know their own, but greed so blinded father and son
That they faced each other as strangers.
He portrays many of the early kings of Persia and weak or disastrous rulers, who embroiled their countries in unnecessary wars and were vindictive or unappreciative of the brave defenders. Other rulers, however, were upright and wise, and fostered art, science and justice. There is a touching story of one king at only sixty years old, worn down by his duties, climbing a mountain in winter to die, disappearing, and the heroes who accompanied him against his counsel dying in the blizzard as well. One gets a sense of the different cultural background of simultaneous political and military leaders and dynasties that I read as a very old tradition that may be a source of the later approach to the very different scopes of political and religious rule, when compared to the modern West. Just a guess.
Women are not omitted. There is a story that is very close to the Greek Phaedre, with disastrous results. Other women are mothers with wise advice, beautiful daughters and brides, and brave widows committing mass suicide to avoid capture as war booty. Horses are just about as important as lovers. As the supreme hero Rostam is finally returned in state to his city after a gruesome death by treachery at the end of the work, his faithful horse is treated to the same honored trip via a bejeweled platform on an elephant.
Magnificent buildings decay by the dint of time
And exposure to the elements wrecks even a house of flint
But the poetic edifice I have erected in rhyme
Shall endure the contagion of the rain and the sun.
For three decades have I thus suffered to restore
This Persian tongue and now my work is done.
November 2, 2020
یک نکته ای که در مورد شاهنامه برام جالبه اینه که پهلوونا به راحتی گریه می کنن. در یک قصه ی حماسی اساطیری مردها ابایی از گریه کردن ندارن.
May 15, 2026
"Such is the passing world that you must leave,
All men must die, and it is vain to grieve.
No learning will suffice against Death’s hand,
Whose might no arms or helmet can withstand;
And—king or prophet—in the end you must
Descend to dirt, and slumber in the dust.
Pursue desire, consider life a game
And, if you can, look out for luck and fame—
But know the world’s your enemy; your head
Will lie in dust, the grave will be your bed."
Homer who? I only know Ferdowsi!! I'm kidding, I'm kidding, Homer's great too.
Having previously read Rostam and Sohrab, I knew what to expect with Shahnameh. What took me by surprise though, is that it's not fully in-verse.
The translation is good, and very approachable, but I definitely missed the poetry more often than not. It's also somewhat abridged, so I guess I'll have to read the whole thing in Farsi at some point, challenge accepted.
But guys, this is truly EPIC, in every sense of the word. You have not lived until you've read the Shahnameh. It might take you a hot minute to get through it due to the length, but I promise, it's worth it.
At no point did it feel daunting, or like the pacing slowed down, I flew through these 1k pages like *that*. Every single section was interesting, though I do have my favourites.
I already can't wait to read it a second time. Maybe I'll go with the audio for my next read, I think it has sound effects added as well? We'll see.
All men must die, and it is vain to grieve.
No learning will suffice against Death’s hand,
Whose might no arms or helmet can withstand;
And—king or prophet—in the end you must
Descend to dirt, and slumber in the dust.
Pursue desire, consider life a game
And, if you can, look out for luck and fame—
But know the world’s your enemy; your head
Will lie in dust, the grave will be your bed."
Homer who? I only know Ferdowsi!! I'm kidding, I'm kidding, Homer's great too.
Having previously read Rostam and Sohrab, I knew what to expect with Shahnameh. What took me by surprise though, is that it's not fully in-verse.
The translation is good, and very approachable, but I definitely missed the poetry more often than not. It's also somewhat abridged, so I guess I'll have to read the whole thing in Farsi at some point, challenge accepted.
But guys, this is truly EPIC, in every sense of the word. You have not lived until you've read the Shahnameh. It might take you a hot minute to get through it due to the length, but I promise, it's worth it.
At no point did it feel daunting, or like the pacing slowed down, I flew through these 1k pages like *that*. Every single section was interesting, though I do have my favourites.
I already can't wait to read it a second time. Maybe I'll go with the audio for my next read, I think it has sound effects added as well? We'll see.
July 25, 2021
به مدد امیر خادم و پادکست فوقالعادهش با توضیحات شفاف و دقیقش، خوندن شاهنامه رو در کمتر از یک سال و با فهم خیلی درست از قبل تموم کردم.
April 1, 2024
۵/۵
چون دانش کافی برای صحبت در مورد شاهنامه رو ندارم، فوران احساسات!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
اولین بار که وارد این جهان پر از شگفتی شدم توی پیشدبستانی انیمیشن داستانهای شاهنامه ( ساخن مرکز همدان بود اگر اشتباه نکنم) رو دیدیم. از اون روز هربار که جسته و گریخته، چه با کتاب چه با کارتون و چه با پادکست ، به این جهان برگشتم و توی گوشه و کنارش سرک کشیدم، بیشتر از قبل عاشقش شدم. حتی اولین بار از دروازهی این جهان وارد سرزمین میانه شدم. بگذریم...
جهان شاهنامه پر از انسان بودنه. پر از خشم، عشق، احساس گناه، غرور، شادی، اندوه و البته به مقدار کافی جادو! (من هنوز از نظر روانی بین داستانهای ضحاک و اسفندیار و سیاوش تکه و پاره شدم و جا موندم).
مدت ها بود میخواستم یه بار به طور یکپارچه کتاب رو از اول تا آخر بخونم. البته چون ادبیات کتاب یه جاهایی خیلی برام دشوار بود همراه پادکستهای فردوسی خوانی مختلف خوندم. امشب باورم نمیشد رسیدم به آخرش. جهانی که توی گوشه و کنارش برای خودم چندتا آلونک ساختم تا هر وقت اوضاع سخت شد بتونم اونجا پناه بگیرم.
پ.ن. به خودم قول داده بودم تا آخر تعطیلات نوروز تمومش کنم و خوشحالم که تونستم.
چون دانش کافی برای صحبت در مورد شاهنامه رو ندارم، فوران احساسات!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
اولین بار که وارد این جهان پر از شگفتی شدم توی پیشدبستانی انیمیشن داستانهای شاهنامه ( ساخن مرکز همدان بود اگر اشتباه نکنم) رو دیدیم. از اون روز هربار که جسته و گریخته، چه با کتاب چه با کارتون و چه با پادکست ، به این جهان برگشتم و توی گوشه و کنارش سرک کشیدم، بیشتر از قبل عاشقش شدم. حتی اولین بار از دروازهی این جهان وارد سرزمین میانه شدم. بگذریم...
جهان شاهنامه پر از انسان بودنه. پر از خشم، عشق، احساس گناه، غرور، شادی، اندوه و البته به مقدار کافی جادو! (من هنوز از نظر روانی بین داستانهای ضحاک و اسفندیار و سیاوش تکه و پاره شدم و جا موندم).
مدت ها بود میخواستم یه بار به طور یکپارچه کتاب رو از اول تا آخر بخونم. البته چون ادبیات کتاب یه جاهایی خیلی برام دشوار بود همراه پادکستهای فردوسی خوانی مختلف خوندم. امشب باورم نمیشد رسیدم به آخرش. جهانی که توی گوشه و کنارش برای خودم چندتا آلونک ساختم تا هر وقت اوضاع سخت شد بتونم اونجا پناه بگیرم.
پ.ن. به خودم قول داده بودم تا آخر تعطیلات نوروز تمومش کنم و خوشحالم که تونستم.
January 13, 2017
شاهنامه از سه بخش : اساطیری از کیومرث تا فریدون، پهلوانی از کاوه تا رستم و تاریخی...من بخش اساطیری و پهلوانی رو بیشتر دوست داشتم و این دو بخش رو با علاقه بیشتری خوندم
از آن پس نمیرم که من زنده ام
که تخم سخن من پراگنده ام
من داستان فریدون و ضحاک، رستم و سهراب، و داستان های مربوط به پادشاهی اسکندر و کشور گشایی ها وجهانگردی هاش و داستان سیاوش رو بیشتر از بقیه قسمت ها پسندیدم.
یه همت عظیمی میخواست کل شاهنامه رو خوندن که من بالاخره موفق شدم
از آن پس نمیرم که من زنده ام
که تخم سخن من پراگنده ام
من داستان فریدون و ضحاک، رستم و سهراب، و داستان های مربوط به پادشاهی اسکندر و کشور گشایی ها وجهانگردی هاش و داستان سیاوش رو بیشتر از بقیه قسمت ها پسندیدم.
یه همت عظیمی میخواست کل شاهنامه رو خوندن که من بالاخره موفق شدم
February 27, 2007
An extraordinary book, I believe that this book has saved my mother tongue respectful language, Persian, it has saved our history. All true iranians owe Ferdousi. This is the book we need to remember ourselves.
August 7, 2013
PERSIAN MASTERPIECES OF WORLD LITERATURE--RUMI'S "BOOK OF LOVE & SUFI POEMS," OMAR KHAYYAM'S "RUBAIYAT," ATTAR'S "PARLIAMENT OF THE BIRDS," NIZAMI'S "LAYLA & MAJNUN," FIRDUSI'S "SHAHNAMA," POEMS AND GHAZALS OF HAFIZ & GHALIB ---FROM THE WORLD LITERATURE FORUM RECOMMENDED CLASSICS AND MASTERPIECES SERIES VIA GOODREADS—-ROBERT SHEPPARD, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Goethe honored Persian Literature as one of the four great literary traditions of World Literature, or "Weltliteratur" as he named it. In his "West-Oestlicher Divan" or (West-East Divan) he celebrated a German translation of the poems of the immortal Persian poet Hafiz (1326-90)as a major revelation of the genius of Persian poetry and its place in World Literature. He called on all writers in Germany and the West to rise to their cosmopolitan duty to widen their cultural horizons globally beyond their own familiar tradition of the West in order to strengthen their own creative powers and participate in the globalization of literature and human consciousness:
"I am more and more convinced, that poetry is the universal possession of mankind, revealing itself everywhere and at all times in hundreds and hundreds of men . . . I therefore like to look about me in foreign nations, and advise everyone to do the same. National literature is now a rather unmeaning term; the epoch of world literature is at hand, and everyone must strive to hasten its approach."
Matthew Arnold, another keen admirer of Persian Literature who included the classic tale of "Sohrab and Rustum" in his own poetry, seconded Goethe's view on the crucial necessity for all educated and civilized people in the West and elsewhere---writers, critics and readers, to look for "the best that has been known and thought in the world" without respect to borders, languages, political or religious differences, stating in his seminal essay "The Function of Criticism at the Present Time:"
"But criticism, real criticism, obeys an instinct prompting it to try to know the best that is known and thought in the world, irrespectively of practice, politics, and everything of the kind; and to value knowledge and thought as they approach this best, without the intrusion of any other considerations whatever......one may say, that to get anywhere near this standard, every critic should try and possess one great literature, at least, besides his own; and the more unlike his own, the better."
It is in this spirit that World Literature Forum has embarked on this series of "Recommended Classics and Masterpieces of World Literature," on LinkedIn, Facebook, Goodreads and Wordpress, including this entry on Persian Literature, to introduce to the literary community and global Republic of Letters in the age of Globalization and the Internet, new authors, works and international perspectives.
INTRODUCTION TO PERSIAN LITERATURE'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO WORLD LITERATURE
The immense contribution of Persian literature and culture to World Literature and the history of global civilization is highly underappreciated, especially in recent times of political and religious conflict. Most of us in the West get our first impressions of Persian civilization from our reading of 5th century Greek history,foremost Herodtodus, in which the Ancient Greeks in the infancy of their own national history, and when "The West" was a mere notional concept, successfully resisted the invasions of a much greater "superpower" Persian Empire under Darius and Xerxes, followed centuries later by the an Greek triumph over it under Alexander the Great. At this time Persia was already the heir and transmitter of a Mesopotamian culture of 3000 years, including contributions from Sumerian, Assyrian, Babylonian and later Egyptian cultures that became part of the Achemaenid Persian Empire.
From the time of Alexander our cultural myopia often loses sight of the immense further contributions of Persian culture, both inside and outside the confines of Iran proper, down to the present. Nietzsche's landmark book "Also Sprach Zarathrustra," (Thus Spake Zarathrustra) reminds us of the continuing philosophical and spiritual contributions of Persian culture, across various centuries and dynasties. In the field of Renaissance Studies, or "Early Modern Studies" the contribution of the Arabic Golden Age (750-1250) to the rise of the Western Renaissance through preservation and transmission of the Greek and Roman classics such as Aristotle and Plato through Arabic translations is beginning to be known and appreciated. Less well recognized, however, is the crucial role of Persian culture in enabling that transmission, and thereby the Renaissance itself.
THE PERSIANS AS KEY ENABLERS OF THE WESTERN RENAISSANCE
Even before the rise of Islam Persia was instrumental in preserving the works and culture of classical antiquity from the intolerant Christian suppression under the Byzantine Empire. The thousand year old Great Library of Alexandria was first burnt and destroyed in the Christian represssion of "pagan" culture under the fundamentalist Theodosius, with the job probably being finalized in the Muslim conquest of Egypt. Many classical scholars fled the Byzantine Christian repression in both Alexandria and Constantinople, along with many Nestorian Christians who were branded "heretics," and settled in Persia, finding work and asylum at the renown Academy of Gondishapur of the Sassanian Persian dynasty. There they were employed in a systematic project to translate all outside works into Persian and preserve their texts and scholarly tradition.
With the coming of Islam and its conquests the Persian scholarly, administrative and technocratic community once again played a highly critical role in enabling the rise of the Arabic Golden Age that then passed on the knowledge and texts of the classical world to enable the Western Renaissance. A critical turning point was the establishment of the Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad, which occured largely because of Persian support, especially that of the elite and scholarly Persian Barmacids, who then became the Vizirs under the Abbasid Caliphs, most memorably in the case of the Barmacid Jafar, who served as the Vizir of the Caliph Haroun al-Rashid in Baghdad, immortalized in the tales of the "One Thousand and One Nights."
By necessity the non-urban Arab conquerors turned to professional administrators, scholars and technocrats bred in the older empires such as the Persians. Though armed with the authority and force of the newly founded religion the aid of such scholarly, administrative and technocratic elites such as the Barmacids (Barmakids) of Persia was crucial in preventing the breakdown of the new domain. A crucial turning point in history was when after internecine conflict in the succession to the leadership after Mohammad, the Abbasid Caliphate took power and moved the headquarters from the Ummayad capital in Damascus to the newly founded capital in Baghdad. Moving the power center from the Arabian tribal lands allowed the Persians to assume a dominant role in its administration, though hereditary succession still derived from the lineage of Mohammad. The Persian language came into common use within the royal court and in administration on a widespread basis.
Crucially for literature, culture and the flourishing of the Arab Golden Age civilization, the Persian scholars and admiistrators succeeded in changing the culture of the Caliphate from a narrow Arab ethnocentricity to an inclusive cosmopolitan outlook open to outside influences and progressive internal development, albeit within the framework of the consensus of the Islamic religion and guiding Arabic traditions. The Barmacid Vizirs under Haroun Al-Rashid and Mamun established a key institution, the "House of Wisdom" or "Bayt-al-Hikma" which in and of itself, along with replicated instituions elsewhere in the Caliphate, may be credited with preservation of the bulk of the heritage of classical antiquity and perhaps enabling the rise of the Renaissance in the West. Especially under the Caliph Manun the House of Wisdom grew to become a national library, a center of translation from all languages and cultures into Arabic and Persian and a national Academy of Arts and Sciences supporting scholarly research, writing and projects.
The House of Wisdom was based on and inherited much of the resource base of the prior Sassanid Academy of Gondishapur. Scholars were employed and recruited as civil servants with tenure and high pay and engaged in independent research and scientific experimentation. The faculty was cosmopolitan and drawn from all cultures and religions. The head of the translation department was a Christian, Husayn ibn Ishaq (809-873). Scholars associated with the House of Wisdom included Al-Khwarizmi, the inventor of algebra, algorithims and the mathematician who introduced the Indian decimal system and zero into Arabic science and mathematics as later copied in the West, Alhazen (al-Haythem) the pioneer of Optics, Al-Kindi, master of cryptography, and the Banu Musa Brothers whose "Book of Ingenious Machines" founded the study of Arabic mechanics and engineering. The House of Wisdom's goal was to translate all the world's knowledge into Arabic and Persian, including that of the Greek and Roman heritage, Egyptian, Mesopotamian and Indian.
Interestingly, the Barmacids who became the Abbasid Caliph's Vizirs, or prime ministers, though new Muslims,were descended from Buddhist administrators of the monestery Nava Vihāra (Nawbahar) west of Balkh in the Sassanid Persian empire. The monestery was a renown center of learning referred to by the Chinese master translator Xuanzong, who was translating Indian scriptures into Chinese during the Tang Dynasty around the same period. This Barmacid Buddhist origin also facilitated the transfer of Indian mathematics and philosophy to the Arab world at an early time. The Barmacids also after the Arab defeat of the Chinese at the Battle of Talas brought Chinese paper-making technology to the Arab world, setting up the two first paper mills in Baghdad and in Cordoba in Spain, both of which became enduring centers of scholarship and publishing. It is no exaggeration to believe that without the House of Wisdom in Baghdad, emulated in many other Muslim cities, Aristotle and much of the heritage of antiquity might have been lost to the West, and their "re-birth" in the Renaissance made impossible.
KEY MASTERPIECES OF WORLD LITERATURE FROM PERSIA
THE IMMORTAL SUFI MYSTIC POET RUMI
Jalal al-Din Rumi (1207-1273) is one of the great poets of the Persian language, a Sufi mystic who was the founder of the Mevlevi Sufi and Dervish mystic order and a spiritual explorer of the realms of desire, passion and the quest for union of the soul with God, Allah. Rumi was a scholar and professor when he encountered a famous wandering Dervish, Shams al-Din Tabrizi, who persuaded him to abandon his academic studies and devote himself to the mystic path. From that time he received illumination and the love of God became the basis of his life. Contrary to Muslim practice Rumi gave music and dance a central place in his religious expression, developing the order of dervish dancers as a spiritual approach to unity with God. His diwan (collected poems) and ghazals (love poems) display a wide range of emotions and themes, from sexual love and passion, drunkenness, mystical longing to the holiest intimacy with the mystic presence of God, Allah. His broad tolerance and openness of spirit and keen sense of individuality is expressed in his lyrical voice:
What can I do, Submitters to God? I do not know myself.
I am neither Christian nor Jew, neither Zoroastrian nor Muslim,
I am not from east or west, not from land or sea,
not from the shafts of nature nor from the spheres of the firmament,
not of the earth, not of water, not of air, not of fire.
I am not from the highest heaven, not from this world,
not from existence, not from being.
I am not from India, not from China, not from Bulgar, not from Saqsin,
not from the realm of the two Iraqs, not from the land of Khurasan
I am not from the world, not from beyond,
not from heaven and not from hell.
I am not from Adam, not from Eve, not from paradise and not from Ridwan.
My place is placeless, my trace is traceless,
no body, no soul, I am from the soul of souls.
I have chased out duality, lived the two worlds as one.
One I seek, one I know, one I see, one I call.
He is the first, he is the last, he is the outer, he is the inner.
Beyond "He" and "He is" I know no other.
I am drunk from the cup of love, the two worlds have escaped me.
I have no concern but carouse and rapture.
If one day in my life I spend a moment without you
from that hour and that time I would repent my life.
If one day I am given a moment in solitude with you
I will trample the two worlds underfoot and dance forever.
O Sun of Tabriz (Shams Tabrizi), I am so tipsy here in this world,
I have no tale to tell but tipsiness and rapture.
OMAR KHAYYAM'S "RUBAIYAT"
Omar Khayyam (1048-1131) was a renown mathematician, poet, astronomer, scientist and founders of the field of algebra. In the Islamic world he is more remembered for his mathematical contributions than his poetry, whereas in the West he has been immortalized by the loose adaptaion of his verse in "The Rubaiyat" by Edward FitzGerald.
The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit,
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.
But helpless pieces in the game He plays,
Upon this chequer-board of Nights and Days,
He hither and thither moves, and checks… and slays,
Then one by one, back in the Closet lays.
A Book of Verses underneath the Bough,
A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread—and Thou,
Beside me singing in the Wilderness,
And oh, Wilderness is Paradise enow.
Myself when young did eagerly frequent
Doctor and Saint, and heard great Argument
About it and about: but evermore
Came out of the same Door as in I went.
Into this Universe, and why not knowing,
Nor whence, like Water willy-nilly flowing:
And out of it, as Wind along the Waste,
I know not whither, willy-nilly blowing.
And that inverted Bowl we call The Sky,
Whereunder crawling coop’t we live and die,
Lift not thy hands to It for help—for It
Rolls impotently on as Thou or I.
ATTAR'S "PARLIAMENT OF THE BIRDS"
Farid al-Din al-'Attar (1119-1190) was another great mystic poet influenced by the Sufi tradition. His most famous work is the symbolic and allegorical "Parliament of the Birds" in which a flock of diverse birds led by the Hoopoe set off on a questing journey to find the ultimate bird, the Simurgh, and make him their King. Over many trials and hardships of a world-spanning flight all but thirty of the birds perish before reaching the land of their intention. But there is nothing there. Then the thirty survivors realize that they themselves are the yearned for Simurgh. They then transcendentally merge into one, and by so doing they also perish in the divine, in the ultimate act of Sufi fulfillment and realization.
NIZAMI'S "LAYLA AND MAJNUM
Nizami Ganjavi (1141-1209) is considered the greatest romantic epic poet in Persian Literature. One of his best known tales is that of "Layla and Majnun" which is often considered "The Persian Romeo and Juliet," a tale of "star-crossed lovers." In it Majnun falls hopelessly and insanely in love with Layla. Her father forbids her to marry him, citing his poverty and his eccentric madness into which his love has spilled over. Majnun abandons himself to wandering in the desert and peering after her from afar, while Layla submits to her father's will and marries another, but refuses to consummate the union. In the end Layla dies of a broken heart and Majnun. Later Majnun is found dead beside her grave, leaving behind a poem carved in a nearby rock:
I pass by these walls, the walls of Layla
And I kiss this wall and that wall
It’s not Love of the houses that has taken my heart
But of the One who dwells in those houses
FIRDUSI'S "SHAHNAMAH"
Firdusi (Firdawsi) is considered the greatest epic poet of Persian Literature, celebrated for his "Shahnamah" or "The Book of Kings." The Shahnamah is a national epic which recounts the kings and dynasties of Iran's past. Being written in a Muslim context it begins with the creation and gives accounts of Persia's Zoroastrian heritage limited by the Muslim worldview. It contains such epic tales as that of "Sohrab and Rustum" in which a king kills his own son, not recognizing him, which was also rendered by Matthew Arnold in English.
HAFIZ
Shams al-Din Muhammad Shirzai (1317-1389) is known by his pen-name Hafiz and is considered the father of the "ghazal" or love poem. He led a rich and full life, like many other Persian young men, though Muslim, enjoying excesses of women and wine. Hafiz is celebrated for interweaving the erotic and the mystic, the melancholy of mortality and fate, as well as philosophical paradoxes into his intensely emotional love songs.
GHALIB
Ghalib (1797-1869) was born in Agra in Muslim northern India and wrote ghazals and poems in both Persian and Urdu. This reminds us that Persian was a literary, court and governmental language used alongside Arabic from the Ottoman Empire to Iran and throughout India, such that Persian Literature is not by any means confined to Iran. Urdu in India and Pakistan is heavily influenced by Persian as a legacy of the Mughul Empire, which used Persian as its official language. Ghalib like Hafiz and Rumi wrote ghazals of sensuous love, wine, women, song and the decay of the Mughul empire as it lost control to the British. Like Byron he was an aristocratic rebel with a touch of self-destructiveness about him. More modern in his consciousness, he exhibits a scepticism towards both political loyalty and religious orthodoxy and faith.
SPIRITUS MUNDI AND PERSIAN LITERATURE
The tradition of Persian Literature is reflected in my own contemporary epic novel, Spiritus Mundi. The protagonists in Spiritus Mundi embark on a quest to create a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly, a globalized version of the EU Parliament as a new organ of the UN. En route, taking a theme from Attar's "Parliament of the Birds" they discover that they themselves constitute and embody the object of their quest, the People of the World, just as the thirty birds came to constitute the mystic "Simurgh" which they had sought. One of the characters in Spiritus Mundi Mohammad ala Rushdie, is a Sufi novice of the Mevlevi dervish order and Sufi themes abound in the work, including poems from Rumi and Mohammad's spiritual musings on Sufism in the modern world, as well as "Opening the Gates of Ijtihad" as means of renovating modern Islam.
For a fuller discussion of the concept of World Literature you are invited to look into the extended discussion in the new book Spiritus Mundi, by Robert Sheppard, one of the principal themes of which is the emergence and evolution of World Literature:
For Discussions on World Literature and n Literary Criticism in Spiritus Mundi: http://worldliteratureandliterarycrit...
Robert Sheppard
Editor-in-Chief
World Literature Forum
Author, Spiritus Mundi Novel
Author’s Blog:
http://robertalexandersheppard.wordpr...
Spiritus Mundi on Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17...
Spiritus Mundi on Amazon, Book I: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CIGJFGO
Spiritus Mundi, Book II: The Romance http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CGM8BZG
Copyright Robert Sheppard 2013 All Rights Reserved
Goethe honored Persian Literature as one of the four great literary traditions of World Literature, or "Weltliteratur" as he named it. In his "West-Oestlicher Divan" or (West-East Divan) he celebrated a German translation of the poems of the immortal Persian poet Hafiz (1326-90)as a major revelation of the genius of Persian poetry and its place in World Literature. He called on all writers in Germany and the West to rise to their cosmopolitan duty to widen their cultural horizons globally beyond their own familiar tradition of the West in order to strengthen their own creative powers and participate in the globalization of literature and human consciousness:
"I am more and more convinced, that poetry is the universal possession of mankind, revealing itself everywhere and at all times in hundreds and hundreds of men . . . I therefore like to look about me in foreign nations, and advise everyone to do the same. National literature is now a rather unmeaning term; the epoch of world literature is at hand, and everyone must strive to hasten its approach."
Matthew Arnold, another keen admirer of Persian Literature who included the classic tale of "Sohrab and Rustum" in his own poetry, seconded Goethe's view on the crucial necessity for all educated and civilized people in the West and elsewhere---writers, critics and readers, to look for "the best that has been known and thought in the world" without respect to borders, languages, political or religious differences, stating in his seminal essay "The Function of Criticism at the Present Time:"
"But criticism, real criticism, obeys an instinct prompting it to try to know the best that is known and thought in the world, irrespectively of practice, politics, and everything of the kind; and to value knowledge and thought as they approach this best, without the intrusion of any other considerations whatever......one may say, that to get anywhere near this standard, every critic should try and possess one great literature, at least, besides his own; and the more unlike his own, the better."
It is in this spirit that World Literature Forum has embarked on this series of "Recommended Classics and Masterpieces of World Literature," on LinkedIn, Facebook, Goodreads and Wordpress, including this entry on Persian Literature, to introduce to the literary community and global Republic of Letters in the age of Globalization and the Internet, new authors, works and international perspectives.
INTRODUCTION TO PERSIAN LITERATURE'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO WORLD LITERATURE
The immense contribution of Persian literature and culture to World Literature and the history of global civilization is highly underappreciated, especially in recent times of political and religious conflict. Most of us in the West get our first impressions of Persian civilization from our reading of 5th century Greek history,foremost Herodtodus, in which the Ancient Greeks in the infancy of their own national history, and when "The West" was a mere notional concept, successfully resisted the invasions of a much greater "superpower" Persian Empire under Darius and Xerxes, followed centuries later by the an Greek triumph over it under Alexander the Great. At this time Persia was already the heir and transmitter of a Mesopotamian culture of 3000 years, including contributions from Sumerian, Assyrian, Babylonian and later Egyptian cultures that became part of the Achemaenid Persian Empire.
From the time of Alexander our cultural myopia often loses sight of the immense further contributions of Persian culture, both inside and outside the confines of Iran proper, down to the present. Nietzsche's landmark book "Also Sprach Zarathrustra," (Thus Spake Zarathrustra) reminds us of the continuing philosophical and spiritual contributions of Persian culture, across various centuries and dynasties. In the field of Renaissance Studies, or "Early Modern Studies" the contribution of the Arabic Golden Age (750-1250) to the rise of the Western Renaissance through preservation and transmission of the Greek and Roman classics such as Aristotle and Plato through Arabic translations is beginning to be known and appreciated. Less well recognized, however, is the crucial role of Persian culture in enabling that transmission, and thereby the Renaissance itself.
THE PERSIANS AS KEY ENABLERS OF THE WESTERN RENAISSANCE
Even before the rise of Islam Persia was instrumental in preserving the works and culture of classical antiquity from the intolerant Christian suppression under the Byzantine Empire. The thousand year old Great Library of Alexandria was first burnt and destroyed in the Christian represssion of "pagan" culture under the fundamentalist Theodosius, with the job probably being finalized in the Muslim conquest of Egypt. Many classical scholars fled the Byzantine Christian repression in both Alexandria and Constantinople, along with many Nestorian Christians who were branded "heretics," and settled in Persia, finding work and asylum at the renown Academy of Gondishapur of the Sassanian Persian dynasty. There they were employed in a systematic project to translate all outside works into Persian and preserve their texts and scholarly tradition.
With the coming of Islam and its conquests the Persian scholarly, administrative and technocratic community once again played a highly critical role in enabling the rise of the Arabic Golden Age that then passed on the knowledge and texts of the classical world to enable the Western Renaissance. A critical turning point was the establishment of the Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad, which occured largely because of Persian support, especially that of the elite and scholarly Persian Barmacids, who then became the Vizirs under the Abbasid Caliphs, most memorably in the case of the Barmacid Jafar, who served as the Vizir of the Caliph Haroun al-Rashid in Baghdad, immortalized in the tales of the "One Thousand and One Nights."
By necessity the non-urban Arab conquerors turned to professional administrators, scholars and technocrats bred in the older empires such as the Persians. Though armed with the authority and force of the newly founded religion the aid of such scholarly, administrative and technocratic elites such as the Barmacids (Barmakids) of Persia was crucial in preventing the breakdown of the new domain. A crucial turning point in history was when after internecine conflict in the succession to the leadership after Mohammad, the Abbasid Caliphate took power and moved the headquarters from the Ummayad capital in Damascus to the newly founded capital in Baghdad. Moving the power center from the Arabian tribal lands allowed the Persians to assume a dominant role in its administration, though hereditary succession still derived from the lineage of Mohammad. The Persian language came into common use within the royal court and in administration on a widespread basis.
Crucially for literature, culture and the flourishing of the Arab Golden Age civilization, the Persian scholars and admiistrators succeeded in changing the culture of the Caliphate from a narrow Arab ethnocentricity to an inclusive cosmopolitan outlook open to outside influences and progressive internal development, albeit within the framework of the consensus of the Islamic religion and guiding Arabic traditions. The Barmacid Vizirs under Haroun Al-Rashid and Mamun established a key institution, the "House of Wisdom" or "Bayt-al-Hikma" which in and of itself, along with replicated instituions elsewhere in the Caliphate, may be credited with preservation of the bulk of the heritage of classical antiquity and perhaps enabling the rise of the Renaissance in the West. Especially under the Caliph Manun the House of Wisdom grew to become a national library, a center of translation from all languages and cultures into Arabic and Persian and a national Academy of Arts and Sciences supporting scholarly research, writing and projects.
The House of Wisdom was based on and inherited much of the resource base of the prior Sassanid Academy of Gondishapur. Scholars were employed and recruited as civil servants with tenure and high pay and engaged in independent research and scientific experimentation. The faculty was cosmopolitan and drawn from all cultures and religions. The head of the translation department was a Christian, Husayn ibn Ishaq (809-873). Scholars associated with the House of Wisdom included Al-Khwarizmi, the inventor of algebra, algorithims and the mathematician who introduced the Indian decimal system and zero into Arabic science and mathematics as later copied in the West, Alhazen (al-Haythem) the pioneer of Optics, Al-Kindi, master of cryptography, and the Banu Musa Brothers whose "Book of Ingenious Machines" founded the study of Arabic mechanics and engineering. The House of Wisdom's goal was to translate all the world's knowledge into Arabic and Persian, including that of the Greek and Roman heritage, Egyptian, Mesopotamian and Indian.
Interestingly, the Barmacids who became the Abbasid Caliph's Vizirs, or prime ministers, though new Muslims,were descended from Buddhist administrators of the monestery Nava Vihāra (Nawbahar) west of Balkh in the Sassanid Persian empire. The monestery was a renown center of learning referred to by the Chinese master translator Xuanzong, who was translating Indian scriptures into Chinese during the Tang Dynasty around the same period. This Barmacid Buddhist origin also facilitated the transfer of Indian mathematics and philosophy to the Arab world at an early time. The Barmacids also after the Arab defeat of the Chinese at the Battle of Talas brought Chinese paper-making technology to the Arab world, setting up the two first paper mills in Baghdad and in Cordoba in Spain, both of which became enduring centers of scholarship and publishing. It is no exaggeration to believe that without the House of Wisdom in Baghdad, emulated in many other Muslim cities, Aristotle and much of the heritage of antiquity might have been lost to the West, and their "re-birth" in the Renaissance made impossible.
KEY MASTERPIECES OF WORLD LITERATURE FROM PERSIA
THE IMMORTAL SUFI MYSTIC POET RUMI
Jalal al-Din Rumi (1207-1273) is one of the great poets of the Persian language, a Sufi mystic who was the founder of the Mevlevi Sufi and Dervish mystic order and a spiritual explorer of the realms of desire, passion and the quest for union of the soul with God, Allah. Rumi was a scholar and professor when he encountered a famous wandering Dervish, Shams al-Din Tabrizi, who persuaded him to abandon his academic studies and devote himself to the mystic path. From that time he received illumination and the love of God became the basis of his life. Contrary to Muslim practice Rumi gave music and dance a central place in his religious expression, developing the order of dervish dancers as a spiritual approach to unity with God. His diwan (collected poems) and ghazals (love poems) display a wide range of emotions and themes, from sexual love and passion, drunkenness, mystical longing to the holiest intimacy with the mystic presence of God, Allah. His broad tolerance and openness of spirit and keen sense of individuality is expressed in his lyrical voice:
What can I do, Submitters to God? I do not know myself.
I am neither Christian nor Jew, neither Zoroastrian nor Muslim,
I am not from east or west, not from land or sea,
not from the shafts of nature nor from the spheres of the firmament,
not of the earth, not of water, not of air, not of fire.
I am not from the highest heaven, not from this world,
not from existence, not from being.
I am not from India, not from China, not from Bulgar, not from Saqsin,
not from the realm of the two Iraqs, not from the land of Khurasan
I am not from the world, not from beyond,
not from heaven and not from hell.
I am not from Adam, not from Eve, not from paradise and not from Ridwan.
My place is placeless, my trace is traceless,
no body, no soul, I am from the soul of souls.
I have chased out duality, lived the two worlds as one.
One I seek, one I know, one I see, one I call.
He is the first, he is the last, he is the outer, he is the inner.
Beyond "He" and "He is" I know no other.
I am drunk from the cup of love, the two worlds have escaped me.
I have no concern but carouse and rapture.
If one day in my life I spend a moment without you
from that hour and that time I would repent my life.
If one day I am given a moment in solitude with you
I will trample the two worlds underfoot and dance forever.
O Sun of Tabriz (Shams Tabrizi), I am so tipsy here in this world,
I have no tale to tell but tipsiness and rapture.
OMAR KHAYYAM'S "RUBAIYAT"
Omar Khayyam (1048-1131) was a renown mathematician, poet, astronomer, scientist and founders of the field of algebra. In the Islamic world he is more remembered for his mathematical contributions than his poetry, whereas in the West he has been immortalized by the loose adaptaion of his verse in "The Rubaiyat" by Edward FitzGerald.
The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit,
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.
But helpless pieces in the game He plays,
Upon this chequer-board of Nights and Days,
He hither and thither moves, and checks… and slays,
Then one by one, back in the Closet lays.
A Book of Verses underneath the Bough,
A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread—and Thou,
Beside me singing in the Wilderness,
And oh, Wilderness is Paradise enow.
Myself when young did eagerly frequent
Doctor and Saint, and heard great Argument
About it and about: but evermore
Came out of the same Door as in I went.
Into this Universe, and why not knowing,
Nor whence, like Water willy-nilly flowing:
And out of it, as Wind along the Waste,
I know not whither, willy-nilly blowing.
And that inverted Bowl we call The Sky,
Whereunder crawling coop’t we live and die,
Lift not thy hands to It for help—for It
Rolls impotently on as Thou or I.
ATTAR'S "PARLIAMENT OF THE BIRDS"
Farid al-Din al-'Attar (1119-1190) was another great mystic poet influenced by the Sufi tradition. His most famous work is the symbolic and allegorical "Parliament of the Birds" in which a flock of diverse birds led by the Hoopoe set off on a questing journey to find the ultimate bird, the Simurgh, and make him their King. Over many trials and hardships of a world-spanning flight all but thirty of the birds perish before reaching the land of their intention. But there is nothing there. Then the thirty survivors realize that they themselves are the yearned for Simurgh. They then transcendentally merge into one, and by so doing they also perish in the divine, in the ultimate act of Sufi fulfillment and realization.
NIZAMI'S "LAYLA AND MAJNUM
Nizami Ganjavi (1141-1209) is considered the greatest romantic epic poet in Persian Literature. One of his best known tales is that of "Layla and Majnun" which is often considered "The Persian Romeo and Juliet," a tale of "star-crossed lovers." In it Majnun falls hopelessly and insanely in love with Layla. Her father forbids her to marry him, citing his poverty and his eccentric madness into which his love has spilled over. Majnun abandons himself to wandering in the desert and peering after her from afar, while Layla submits to her father's will and marries another, but refuses to consummate the union. In the end Layla dies of a broken heart and Majnun. Later Majnun is found dead beside her grave, leaving behind a poem carved in a nearby rock:
I pass by these walls, the walls of Layla
And I kiss this wall and that wall
It’s not Love of the houses that has taken my heart
But of the One who dwells in those houses
FIRDUSI'S "SHAHNAMAH"
Firdusi (Firdawsi) is considered the greatest epic poet of Persian Literature, celebrated for his "Shahnamah" or "The Book of Kings." The Shahnamah is a national epic which recounts the kings and dynasties of Iran's past. Being written in a Muslim context it begins with the creation and gives accounts of Persia's Zoroastrian heritage limited by the Muslim worldview. It contains such epic tales as that of "Sohrab and Rustum" in which a king kills his own son, not recognizing him, which was also rendered by Matthew Arnold in English.
HAFIZ
Shams al-Din Muhammad Shirzai (1317-1389) is known by his pen-name Hafiz and is considered the father of the "ghazal" or love poem. He led a rich and full life, like many other Persian young men, though Muslim, enjoying excesses of women and wine. Hafiz is celebrated for interweaving the erotic and the mystic, the melancholy of mortality and fate, as well as philosophical paradoxes into his intensely emotional love songs.
GHALIB
Ghalib (1797-1869) was born in Agra in Muslim northern India and wrote ghazals and poems in both Persian and Urdu. This reminds us that Persian was a literary, court and governmental language used alongside Arabic from the Ottoman Empire to Iran and throughout India, such that Persian Literature is not by any means confined to Iran. Urdu in India and Pakistan is heavily influenced by Persian as a legacy of the Mughul Empire, which used Persian as its official language. Ghalib like Hafiz and Rumi wrote ghazals of sensuous love, wine, women, song and the decay of the Mughul empire as it lost control to the British. Like Byron he was an aristocratic rebel with a touch of self-destructiveness about him. More modern in his consciousness, he exhibits a scepticism towards both political loyalty and religious orthodoxy and faith.
SPIRITUS MUNDI AND PERSIAN LITERATURE
The tradition of Persian Literature is reflected in my own contemporary epic novel, Spiritus Mundi. The protagonists in Spiritus Mundi embark on a quest to create a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly, a globalized version of the EU Parliament as a new organ of the UN. En route, taking a theme from Attar's "Parliament of the Birds" they discover that they themselves constitute and embody the object of their quest, the People of the World, just as the thirty birds came to constitute the mystic "Simurgh" which they had sought. One of the characters in Spiritus Mundi Mohammad ala Rushdie, is a Sufi novice of the Mevlevi dervish order and Sufi themes abound in the work, including poems from Rumi and Mohammad's spiritual musings on Sufism in the modern world, as well as "Opening the Gates of Ijtihad" as means of renovating modern Islam.
For a fuller discussion of the concept of World Literature you are invited to look into the extended discussion in the new book Spiritus Mundi, by Robert Sheppard, one of the principal themes of which is the emergence and evolution of World Literature:
For Discussions on World Literature and n Literary Criticism in Spiritus Mundi: http://worldliteratureandliterarycrit...
Robert Sheppard
Editor-in-Chief
World Literature Forum
Author, Spiritus Mundi Novel
Author’s Blog:
http://robertalexandersheppard.wordpr...
Spiritus Mundi on Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17...
Spiritus Mundi on Amazon, Book I: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CIGJFGO
Spiritus Mundi, Book II: The Romance http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CGM8BZG
Copyright Robert Sheppard 2013 All Rights Reserved
July 15, 2009
My literary travels around Iran continued this month with Shahnameh, and boy was it a long trip. Clocking in at 854 pages (not including glossaries and indices), it took me nearly a month to read, and not for lack of interest; the stories are, for the most part, fascinating.
Originally, my plan was to sample stories from Shahnameh to get an idea of Persian mythology. Shahnameh is roughly the Persian equivalent of The Odyssey or Beowulf, covering stories of Persian heroes and historical events. Unlike Western epics, however, it does not focus on one hero, but chronologically explores the reigns of Persia's kings from roughly 600 BC to the Arab invasions of the 7th Century AD. 1300 years is quite a lot to cover, even in 854 pages, and the translator, Dick Davis, still chose to leave out what I'm guessing are the really boring parts.
The translation is well-written and intriguing, but not entirely in verse (unlike the original). Davis chooses select portions to commit to poetry, using prose for the majority of the text, and this was fine with me. It made for a quicker read while dealing with the essence of the story.
I loved the early stories the best, those about Sam, Zal, and Rostam, the epic heroes on par with Achilles. Rostam in particular is a legendary warrior (not a Persian king) whose trials and travails keep the Persian nation safe and secure from the various invading forces.
And boy, was Persia invaded a LOT.
The later stories take on more of a historical account that can be likened to Herodotus or Thucydides, and frankly, it's a bit repetitious:
New king is crowned! New king rules justly. King marries daughter of Chinese/Byzantine emperor to form alliance. Someone gets invaded anyway. Hero goes off to fight and save Persia. King slights hero and he gets cranky. King recognizes fault/King gets angry, begins to rule unjustly/drinks too much. King repents of flaws on deathbed. New king is crowned! (repeat)
Actually, the middle bit about the hero sounds a lot like Achilles, but this plot sequence begins with Rostam and recycles all the way through the reigns of various kings. With Rostam it is new and interesting, but by the time I got to Bahram Chubineh 700 pages later, it was old hat. In his forward, Davis makes it clear that the deliberately cut the repetitious bits, but when the stories of kings and heroes mirror each other due to flaws in human nature, there's not much to be done.
Overall, I'd recommend the first 300 pages or so. The rest is interesting, but if you're tight for time you can still get the general idea.
Originally, my plan was to sample stories from Shahnameh to get an idea of Persian mythology. Shahnameh is roughly the Persian equivalent of The Odyssey or Beowulf, covering stories of Persian heroes and historical events. Unlike Western epics, however, it does not focus on one hero, but chronologically explores the reigns of Persia's kings from roughly 600 BC to the Arab invasions of the 7th Century AD. 1300 years is quite a lot to cover, even in 854 pages, and the translator, Dick Davis, still chose to leave out what I'm guessing are the really boring parts.
The translation is well-written and intriguing, but not entirely in verse (unlike the original). Davis chooses select portions to commit to poetry, using prose for the majority of the text, and this was fine with me. It made for a quicker read while dealing with the essence of the story.
I loved the early stories the best, those about Sam, Zal, and Rostam, the epic heroes on par with Achilles. Rostam in particular is a legendary warrior (not a Persian king) whose trials and travails keep the Persian nation safe and secure from the various invading forces.
And boy, was Persia invaded a LOT.
The later stories take on more of a historical account that can be likened to Herodotus or Thucydides, and frankly, it's a bit repetitious:
New king is crowned! New king rules justly. King marries daughter of Chinese/Byzantine emperor to form alliance. Someone gets invaded anyway. Hero goes off to fight and save Persia. King slights hero and he gets cranky. King recognizes fault/King gets angry, begins to rule unjustly/drinks too much. King repents of flaws on deathbed. New king is crowned! (repeat)
Actually, the middle bit about the hero sounds a lot like Achilles, but this plot sequence begins with Rostam and recycles all the way through the reigns of various kings. With Rostam it is new and interesting, but by the time I got to Bahram Chubineh 700 pages later, it was old hat. In his forward, Davis makes it clear that the deliberately cut the repetitious bits, but when the stories of kings and heroes mirror each other due to flaws in human nature, there's not much to be done.
Overall, I'd recommend the first 300 pages or so. The rest is interesting, but if you're tight for time you can still get the general idea.
March 9, 2020
Just magnificent in every way. The essence of Shahnameh can be found in these lines:
Such is the passing world that you must leave,
All men must die, and it is vain to grieve.
No learning will suffice against Death's hand,
Whose might no arms or helmet can withstand;
And—king or prophet— in the end you must
Descend to dirt, and slumber in the dust.
Pursue desire, consider life a game
And, if you can, look out for luck and fame—
But know the world's your enemy; your head
Will lie in dust, the grave will be your bed.
Such is the passing world that you must leave,
All men must die, and it is vain to grieve.
No learning will suffice against Death's hand,
Whose might no arms or helmet can withstand;
And—king or prophet— in the end you must
Descend to dirt, and slumber in the dust.
Pursue desire, consider life a game
And, if you can, look out for luck and fame—
But know the world's your enemy; your head
Will lie in dust, the grave will be your bed.
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November 28, 2018مدتها بود که قصد خواندن شاهنامه رو داشتم اما به خاطر حجیم بودنش می ترسیدم تا اینکه امروز به صورت اتفاقی با پادکست شاهنامه خوانی با صدای آقای امیر خادم آشنا شدم و بالاخره این پروژه با کمک ایشون شروع شد
به مرور زمان ریویو کاملتر خواهد شد
شاهنامه خوانی
به مرور زمان ریویو کاملتر خواهد شد
شاهنامه خوانی
December 10, 2012
I am not so presumptuous as to review the Shahnameh. Does one review Shakespeare or Augustine? But I will comment on Dick Davis' excellent translation. Some people complain that it's written in prose; others complain that it's written in poetry. Yet the magic of this translation is the incorporation of the two. As he says in the introduction, Davis' goal is not to faithfully reproduce the tens of thousands of lines of poetry that took Ferdowsi 30 years to write. Rather, he opts for a combination of prose and poetry that emulates the way that the Shahnameh is most often performed in a style called "Naqqali". Basically, Davis is presenting the poem to us in the way that uncounted Iranians have received it for hundreds of years -- don't complain!!
December 15, 2014
Who am I to rate or review Abolqasem Ferdowsi's ancient and classic Shahnameh, The Persian Book of Kings? Since I only know a smattering of Persian, nor can I comment on Dick Davis' translation from the original into English, which I have heard is excellent, but cannot verify. This is a volume which I dip into and will still be doing so in the years ahead, so I will take it from my currently reading list even though I am halfway. It is fascinating and I am enjoying it but that is not the only reason to rate a book. The scope of the original Shahnameh is huge: it covers 700 years of the history of Persia from creation to the Arab conquest, written in verse, in nine volumes. If it needs rating at all, it would be presumptuous to give less than five stars.
February 14, 2020
This book which is of enormous importance to the development of Iranian and the larger Turkic culture that it inevitably rates five stars. It is like Dante's Divine Comedy in that it casts judgement on the events, politics and culture of an extremely time long period. Like the Divine Comedy it should be approached with a great deal of caution. Without the right cultural baggage, the pleasures of the two works are virtually inaccessible.
Bravo to Dick Davis for a readable translation and to Penguin for a handsome volume with delightful illustrations.
Bravo to Dick Davis for a readable translation and to Penguin for a handsome volume with delightful illustrations.
January 10, 2016
بدون شرح دشواریها، در یک جلد، کیفیت کاغذ پایین اما قیمت مناسب. یه جورایی چاپ دانشجویی حساب میشه این نسخه
February 2, 2025
خیلی سخته چیزی گفتن درمورد شاهنامهی بزرگ.
بنابراین اینجا از دکتر خادم عزیز تشکر میکنم و ابراز خوشبختی بابت زیستن در زمانهای که چنین گوهرهایی رو در اختیارم گذاشت.
بهمن ۱۴۰۳
بنابراین اینجا از دکتر خادم عزیز تشکر میکنم و ابراز خوشبختی بابت زیستن در زمانهای که چنین گوهرهایی رو در اختیارم گذاشت.
بهمن ۱۴۰۳
April 18, 2023
3.5 stars
Not quite what I was expecting. I thought this might be more like the varied stories of 1001 Arabian Nights, and the first few were like that. But after awhile, they started becoming pretty much the same story. Dude gets pissed off at some slight, decapitates his brother/father/bestie as a result, war ensues. Still, it was interesting from an academic point of view. There were stories in here that reminded me of other ancient myths, such as Troy, or Cain and Abel, for instance.
The production was very well done. The narrator did a somewhat better job with female voices than most male narrators manage, but he still made them sound too similar to his little kid voices. Some listeners might get annoyed by the sound effects or music, but I liked it for the most part. Except the weeping woman effects. I could've done without those.
Not quite what I was expecting. I thought this might be more like the varied stories of 1001 Arabian Nights, and the first few were like that. But after awhile, they started becoming pretty much the same story. Dude gets pissed off at some slight, decapitates his brother/father/bestie as a result, war ensues. Still, it was interesting from an academic point of view. There were stories in here that reminded me of other ancient myths, such as Troy, or Cain and Abel, for instance.
The production was very well done. The narrator did a somewhat better job with female voices than most male narrators manage, but he still made them sound too similar to his little kid voices. Some listeners might get annoyed by the sound effects or music, but I liked it for the most part. Except the weeping woman effects. I could've done without those.
March 13, 2025
آه چه جالب الان که آخرین بیتهای شاهنامه رو خوندم فهمیدم که فردوسی سرودن شاهنامه رو ٢۵ اسفند و تو همچین روزایی تموم کرده. خیلی برام بامزه بود این همزمانی بعد از ١٠١۵ سال
سر آمد کنون قصهی یزدگرد / به ماه سفندارمد روز ارد
شاهنامه با چیزی که همیشه فکر میکردم خیلی فرق داشت خیلی هیجانانگیزتر و جذابتر از تصورم بود و یه جاهایی واقعاً شگفتزدم کرد. یه دنیای پر از شجاعت و غرور، طنزهای ظریف و تراژدیهای عمیق، و البته پر از شکوه و افتخارِ ایرانی بودن.
من پادکست امیر خادم رو گوش کردم و از همه نظر عالی بود.
سر آمد کنون قصهی یزدگرد / به ماه سفندارمد روز ارد
شاهنامه با چیزی که همیشه فکر میکردم خیلی فرق داشت خیلی هیجانانگیزتر و جذابتر از تصورم بود و یه جاهایی واقعاً شگفتزدم کرد. یه دنیای پر از شجاعت و غرور، طنزهای ظریف و تراژدیهای عمیق، و البته پر از شکوه و افتخارِ ایرانی بودن.
من پادکست امیر خادم رو گوش کردم و از همه نظر عالی بود.
September 2, 2022
Took me over 2 months to read but what an interesting journey it was.
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