Shahnameh

Author: Abolqasem Ferdowsi
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101993235
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 1041

Book Description
The definitive translation by Dick Davis of the great national epic of Iran—now newly revised and expanded to be the most complete English-language edition A Penguin Classic Dick Davis—“our pre-eminent translator from the Persian” (The Washington Post)—has revised and expanded his acclaimed translation of Ferdowsi’s masterpiece, adding more than 100 pages of newly translated text. Davis’s elegant combination of prose and verse allows the poetry of the Shahnameh to sing its own tales directly, interspersed sparingly with clearly marked explanations to ease along modern readers. Originally composed for the Samanid princes of Khorasan in the tenth century, the Shahnameh is among the greatest works of world literature. This prodigious narrative tells the story of pre-Islamic Persia, from the mythical creation of the world and the dawn of Persian civilization through the seventh-century Arab conquest. The stories of the Shahnameh are deeply embedded in Persian culture and beyond, as attested by their appearance in such works as The Kite Runner and the love poems of Rumi and Hafez. For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

The Epic of Kings, Hero Tales of Ancient Persia

Author: Firdausi
Publisher: Phoemixx Classics Ebooks
ISBN: 3986778160
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 231

Book Description
The Epic of Kings, Hero Tales of Ancient Persia Firdausi - The Epic of Kings, Hero Tales of Ancient Persia (The Shahnameh) is an epic poem by the Persian poet Firdausi, written between 966 and 1010 AD. Telling the past of the Persian empire, using a mix of the mythical and historical, it is regarded as a literary masterpiece. Not only important to the Persian culture, it is also important to modern day followers of the Zoroastrianism religion. It is said that the poem was Firdausi's efforts to preserve the memory of Persia's golden days, following the fall of the Sassanid empire. The poem contains, among others, mentions of the romance of Zal and Rudba, Alexander the Great, the wars with Afrsyb, and the romance of Bijan and Manijeh.

Shahnameh

Author: Elizabeth Laird
Publisher: Lincoln Children's Books
ISBN: 9781847804976
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
The Shahnameh is a collection of stories and myths from ancient Iran, filled with kings, heroes, princesses, magical animals and demons. Written as an epic poem by the poet Ferdowsi in the 10th century, it is one of the great classics of Persian literature. The tales include the Simurgh, the giant bird who brings up an orphaned king in her nest on a craggy rock, wicked King Zahhak with his man-eating snakes, and above all the story of the great hero Rustam and his son Sohrab.Elizabeth Laird is passionate about bringing this great epic poem to the children of western cultures, as well as retelling it for Iranian children living in the West.

Zahhak the Legend of the Serpent King

Author: Ahmad Sadri
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781606998892
Category : Pop-up books
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
For the first time ever, a tale from the Persian Book of Kings springs to life in this stunningly produced and ingeniously crafted pop up book. Zahhak: The Legend of the Serpent King retells the myth of the misguided Prince Zahhak who is easily swayed by the devil to murder his father and usurp the thrown. Cursed with monstrous snakes that grow out of the king's shoulders, the Serpent King grows infamous throughout the land for his treachery and oppression. He rules for one thousand years before a noble and valiant Feraydun gains the strength and army to defeat the unjust King. The fantastic world of Zahhak: The Legend of the Serpent King literally pops off the page with intricately crafted spreads, two pop-up folds per page, and complex construction that will delight readers young and old with every turn of the page.

Rostam

Author: Abolqasem Ferdowsi
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 110114503X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 321

Book Description
The selected adventures of Persia's Hercules, from Iran's great national epic No understanding of world mythology is complete without acquaintance with Rostam, Iran's most celebrated mythological hero. According to the Shahnameh (the tenth-century Book of Kings), this titan, magnificent in strength and courage, bestrode Persia for 500 years. While he often served fickle kings - undergoing many trials of combat, cunning, and endurance - he was never their servant and owed allegiance only to his nation's greater good. Anyone interested in folklore, world literature, or Iranian culture will find Rostam both a rousing and illuminating read. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout world history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

The Shahnameh

Author: Hamid Dabashi
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231544944
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 269

Book Description
The Shahnameh, an epic poem recounting the foundation of Iran across mythical, heroic, and historical ages, is the beating heart of Persian literature and culture. Composed by Abu al-Qasem Ferdowsi over a thirty-year period and completed in the year 1010, the epic has entertained generations of readers and profoundly shaped Persian culture, society, and politics. For a millennium, Iranian and Persian-speaking people around the globe have read, memorized, discussed, performed, adapted, and loved the poem. In this book, Hamid Dabashi brings the Shahnameh to renewed global attention, encapsulating a lifetime of learning and teaching the Persian epic for a new generation of readers. Dabashi insightfully traces the epic’s history, authorship, poetic significance, complicated legacy of political uses and abuses, and enduring significance in colonial and postcolonial contexts. In addition to explaining and celebrating what makes the Shahnameh such a distinctive literary work, he also considers the poem in the context of other epics, such as the Aeneid and the Odyssey, and critical debates about the concept of world literature. Arguing that Ferdowsi’s epic and its reception broached this idea long before nineteenth-century Western literary criticism, Dabashi makes a powerful case that we need to rethink the very notion of “world literature” in light of his reading of the Persian epic.

The Shahnama of Shah Tahmasp

Author: Sheila Canby
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300194544
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 362

Book Description
"The publication of this book commemorates the one thousandth anniversary of the completion of the Shahnama, the Persian national epic, which was written down in more than 50,000 couplets by the poet Firdausi. It also celebrates the most lavishly illustrated version of this text, a manuscript produced for the Safavid Shah Tahmasp, who ruled Iran from 1524 to 1576"--Director's Foreword, p. 7.

Shahnameh for Kids - the Story of Zal and Simorgh

Author: Arsia Rozegar
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780692573501
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

Book Description
An illustrated children's book based on an ancient Persian tale. Inspired by Ferdowsi's Shahnameh.

Shahnameh for Kids - the Mighty Rostam

Author: Arsia Rozegar
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780999439302
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

Book Description
Join Rostam along with his loyal steed, Rakhsh, on their journey to rescue the Shah. An exciting hero's quest with dragons, monsters and more!Inspired by Ferdowsi's Persian Epic Poem, The Shahnameh.

The Epic of Kings

Author: Hakim Abol-Qasem Ferdowsi
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781409909774
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Hakim Abol-Qasem Ferdowsi Tusi, more commonly transliterated as Ferdowsi, (935-1020) was a highly revered Persian poet. He was the author of the Shahnameh (The Epic of Kings), the national epic of the Persian-speaking world as well as the entire Iranian realm. He started his composition of the Shahnameh (The Epic of Kings) in 977 A. D. After 30 years of hard work, he finished the book and went to present it to Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni. The latter showed lack of interest in Ferdowsi and his lifework. Ferdowsi returned to his hometown heartbroken and enraged. He died in poverty, embittered by royal neglect, though fully confident of his work's ultimate success and fame. He has a unique place in Persian history because of the strides he made in reviving and regenerating the Persian language and cultural traditions. His works are cited as a crucial component in the persistence of the Persian language, as those works allowed much of the tongue to remain codified and intact. Many modern Iranians see him as the father of the modern Persian language.