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Ferdowsi (Persian:ابوالقاسم فردوسی توسی) was born into a family of Persian landowners (dehqans) in 940 in the village of Paj, near the city ofTus, in theKhorasan region of theSamanid Empire, which is located in the present-dayRazavi Khorasan province of northeasternIran.[8] Little is known about Ferdowsi's early life. The poet had a wife, who was probably literate and came from the samedehqan class.[3] Thedehqans were landowning Iranian gentry who had flourished under theSasanian dynasty (the last pre-Islamic dynasty to rule Iran) and whose power, though diminished, had survived into the Islamic era which followed the Islamic conquests of the 7thcentury. Thedehqans were attached to the pre-Islamic literary heritage, as their status was associated with it (so much so thatdehqan is sometimes used as a synonym for "Iranian" in theShahnameh). Thus they saw it as their task to preserve the pre-Islamic cultural traditions, including tales of legendary kings.[3][8]
He had a son, who died at the age of 37, and was mourned by the poet in an elegy which he inserted into theShahnameh.[3]
The Islamic conquests of the 7th century brought gradual linguistic and cultural changes to the Iranian Plateau. By the late 9th century, as the power of the caliphate had weakened, several local dynasties emerged in Greater Iran.[8] Ferdowsi grew up in Tus, a city under the control of one of these dynasties, theSamanids, who claimed descent from the Sasanian generalBahram Chobin[9] (whose story Ferdowsi recounts in one of the later sections of theShahnameh).[10] The Samanid bureaucracy used theNew Persian language, which had been used to bring Islam to the Eastern regions of the Iranian world and supplanted local languages, and commissioned translations ofPahlavi texts into New Persian.Abu Mansur Muhammad, adehqan and governor of Tus, had ordered his ministerAbu Mansur Mamari to invite several local scholars to compile a proseShahnameh ("Book of Kings"), which was completed in 1010.[11] Although it no longer survives, Ferdowsi used it as one of the sources of his epic. Samanid rulers were patrons of such important Persian poets asRudaki andDaqiqi, and Ferdowsi followed in the footsteps of these writers.[12]
Details about Ferdowsi's education are lacking. While it is likely that he learned Arabic in school, there is no evidence in theShahnameh that he knew either Arabic or Pahlavi.[3]
Ferdowsi was aShia Muslim, although varying views exist on what Shiite sect he belonged to. Khaleghi-Motlagh, followingTheodor Nöldeke, notes that Ferdowsi displays a contradictory attitude towards religion in theShahnameh: on the one hand, he shows a "lenient" attitude towards religion, but on the other hand, he believed that his sect was the "only true Islamic one." Khaleghi-Motlagh concurs with Nöldeke that Ferdowsi was "above all adeist and monotheist who at the same time kept faith with his forbears." Ferdowsi criticized philosophers and those who tried to prove the existence of God. He saw God's creation as the only evidence of His existence and believed everything in life to be the product of God's will. Khaleghi-Motlagh and others have suggested that a certainfatalism in Ferdowsi's work contradicts his "absolute faith in the unicity and might of God," and that this may have been the legacy of theZurvanism of the Sasanian period.[3]
Depiction of Ferdowsi reading the Shahnameh to Mahmud of Ghazni, AfghanistanFerdowsi and the three Ghaznavid court poets
It is possible that Ferdowsi wrote some early poems which have not survived. He began work on theShahnameh around 977, intending it as a continuation of the work of his fellow poet Daqiqi, who had been assassinated by his slave. Like Daqiqi, Ferdowsi employed the proseShahnameh of Abd-al-Razzaq as a source. He received generous patronage from the Samanid prince Mansur and completed the first version of theShahnameh in 994.[3] When the TurkicGhaznavids overthrew the Samanids in the late 990s, Ferdowsi continued to work on the poem, rewriting sections to praise the GhaznavidSultan Mahmud. Mahmud's attitude to Ferdowsi and how well he rewarded the poet are matters which have long been subject to dispute and have formed the basis of legends about the poet and his patron (see below). The Turkic Mahmud may have been less interested in tales from Iranian history than the Samanids.[8] The later sections of theShahnameh have passages which reveal Ferdowsi's fluctuating moods: in some he complains about old age, poverty, illness and the death of his son; in others, he appears happier. Ferdowsi finally completed his epic on 8 March 1010. Virtually nothing is known with any certainty about the last decade of his life.[3]
Ferdowsi was buried in his own garden, burial in the cemetery ofTus having been forbidden by a local cleric who considered him a heretic.[13] A Ghaznavid governor of KhorasanAfghanistan constructed a mausoleum over the grave and it became a revered site. Thetomb, which had fallen into decay, was rebuilt between 1928 and 1934 by theSociety for the National Heritage of Iran on the orders ofReza Shah, and has now become the equivalent of a national shrine.[14]
Except for hiskunya (ابوالقاسم –Abul-Qâsem, meaning 'father of Qasem') and hispen name (فِردَوسی –Ferdowsī, meaning 'paradisic'), nothing is known with any certainty about his full name. According to Djalal Khaleghi-Motlagh, the information given by the 13th-century authorBundari about Ferdowsi's name should be taken as the most reliable. Bundari calls the poet al-Amir al-Hakim Abu'l-Qasem Mansur ibn al-Hasan al-Ferdowsi al-Tusi.[b] From an early period on, he has been referred to by different additional names and titles, the most common one beingحکیم /Hakīm ("philosopher").[3] Based on this, his full name is given inPersian sources asحکیم ابوالقاسم فردوسی توسی /Hakīm Abol-Qâsem Ferdowsī Tusī. Due to the non-standardised transliteration from Persian into English, different spellings of his name are used in English works, includingFirdawsi,Firdusi,Firdosi,Firdausi, etc. TheEncyclopaedia of Islam uses the spellingFirdawsī, based on the standardised transliteration method of theGerman Oriental Society.[2] TheEncyclopædia Iranica, which uses a modified version of the same method (with a stronger emphasis on modern Persian intonations), gives the spellingFerdowsī.[3][c] The modernTajik transliteration of his name inTajik Cyrillic isҲаким Абулқосим Фирдавсӣ Тӯсӣ (Hakim Abdulqosim Firdavsí Tŭsí).
Many legends have been composed about Ferdowsi and theShahnameh. Most appear to have arisen from the enthusiasm of Ferdowsi’s admirers and the imaginative elaborations ofShahnameh reciters, and are often unsupported by historical sources or by the text of theShahnameh itself.[16]
Among these are: the story that a Middle Persian (Pahlavi) version of theShahnameh traveled fromCtesiphon to theHejaz,Abyssinia, andIndia before returning to Iran in the hands ofYa'qub ibn al-Layth al-Saffar; Ferdowsi’s confrontation with three Ghaznavid court poets (Unsuri,Farrukhi, andAsjadi); his alleged flight toBaghdad, India,Tabaristan, orQuhistan after composing ahajw-nama (satire); the claim that he presented theShahnameh toMahmud of Ghazni out of poverty in order to provide a dowry for his daughter; the tale that—on the advice of Ahmad ibn Hasan Maymandi—Mahmud sent silver instead of gold; Ferdowsi’s supposed gift of that reward to a seller offuqāʿ (a kind of malt beverage) and to a bathhouse attendant; and finally Mahmud’s remorse, with the gold reward arriving only as Ferdowsi died.[17]
By contrast, Jalal Khaleghi-Motlagh—observing that information about Ferdowsi’s life after about 1009–1010 (c. 400 AH) does not extend beyond the report of theChahār Maqāla—argues that although some details (including those transmitted by Nizami ʿArūżī) are doubtful, there is not always decisive evidence to reject them, and some are corroborated when compared with other sources. For example, the account of Ferdowsi’s journey to Ghazna and his encounter with Mahmud appears in theTarikh-e Sistan. Khaleghi-Motlagh also notes that poets such asNizami Ganjavi andʿAttar allude to Ferdowsi’s conflict with Mahmud, Mahmud’s ingratitude, and to the episode offuqāʿ-drinking and the giving away of the royal reward. On the basis of theChahār Maqāla, he reports thefuqāʿ episode, Ferdowsi’s flight from Ghazna, his move to Herat, and a journey to Tabaristan to the Bavandid rulerIspahbad Shahriyar. However, he regards stories of travel to Baghdad and Isfahan—found in some manuscript prefaces and later accretions to theShahnameh—as legendary.[18][19]
In addition, theBaysunghuri Preface preserves an anecdote attributed to theSafarnama ofNasir Khusraw: in 1045–1046 (437 AH), on the road toSarakhs, Nasir Khusraw supposedly saw a large caravanserai in the village of Chāha, said to have been built with the reward Mahmud had sent Ferdowsi. Because Ferdowsi had already died, the story continues, his heir refused the reward. This passage is not found in the extant manuscripts of theSafarnama, though Hasan Taqizadeh considered it likely to be accurate; Theodor Nöldeke initially regarded it as an invention but later revised his view.[18][19]
In the twentieth century, legends about Ferdowsi were also taken up for political purposes.Reza Shah—who promotednationalism—is reported to have admired Ferdowsi.[20] During Reza Shah’s reign,Abdolhossein Sepanta produced the filmFerdowsi (1934–1935), presenting a dramatized account of Ferdowsi’s life; earlier,Ali Nasr had prepared a stage play titledFerdowsi (1921–1922). Left-wing polemics likewise made use of Ferdowsi’s image; for example, Ali Hessouri andAhmad Shamlou harshly criticized him, portraying him as an ideologue of repression and social conservatism in the service of preserving class hierarchy.[21][22]
Legend-making nevertheless continued and was sometimes praised as an art in itself. Many writers and artists in later periods recast Ferdowsi’s life in narrative form. For instance,Bahram Beyzai in his screenplayDibache-ye Novin-e Shahnameh (1986–1987) depicts Ferdowsi as an angry outsider, sacrificing his wealth to revive Iran’s ancient heritage and receiving only accusations and insults in return.[23] Satem Ulughzade likewise portrayed Ferdowsi according to his own interpretation in the historical novelFerdowsi (1990–1991).[24]
At the same time, scholars searching for Ferdowsi’s historical life amid legendary material have achieved partial success. What follows summarizes some of the better-attested points.
Most modern researchers place Ferdowsi’s birth in 940 (329 AH) in the village of Pazh in the district ofTus in Khurasan. Nizami ʿArūżī (d. 1164–1165; 560 AH)—the earliest author to write a dedicated account of Ferdowsi’s life—also located his birth in the village of “Bāz” (identified with Pazh).[18] Some later sources proposed nearby villages such as Shadab and Razan, but many contemporary scholars consider these suggestions unsubstantiated.[25]
The year 940 (329 AH) is commonly inferred from Ferdowsi’s own references to his age in three passages. In one, within the episode of the “Great War of Kay Khusraw”, he mentions his poverty at sixty-five and then recalls that, at fifty-eight, he heard a great tumult in the world and that “Fereydun” had come to life again and taken the world—understood as an allusion to Mahmud’s accession.[26] Since Mahmud’s consolidation of power in eastern Iran is dated to 996–997 (387 AH), this reckoning yields a birth around 940.[18]
When I had reached fifty and eight years, I grew younger again, though youth had passed. I heard a clamour rising from the world, and thought grew keen, and body free of harm: “O nobles and you proud-necked champions, who has sought the sign of glorious Fereydun? Fereydun, wakeful-hearted, lived again; time and earth became his servants.”
In another passage, in the reign ofBahram Bahramiyan, he gives his age as sixty-three and further specifies a calendrical detail that has been used to support the same birth year. A third time, at the close of theShahnameh, he states that he was seventy-one and gives the completion date as 1009–1010 (400 AH); subtracting seventy-one again points to 940.[27]
Some scholars, however, have proposed different dates. Nöldeke argued that Ferdowsi was born shortly after 931–932 (320 AH).[28] Rokn al-Din Homayounfarrokh proposed 925–926 (313 AH).[29]
Ferdowsi’skunya is “Abu’l-Qasim”, and his pen name and fame-name is “Ferdowsi”. No certain information is available about his given name or family. In various sources and in the prefaces of someShahnameh manuscripts, his name is reported as Mansur, Hasan, or Ahmad; his father’s as Hasan, Ahmad, or Ali; and his grandfather’s as Sharafshah. Among these, the most widely accepted form is “Abu’l-Qasim Ferdowsi of Tus”. The reason he adopted “Ferdowsi” as a pen name is unclear; one suggestion links it to his meeting withMahmud of Ghazni, as though Mahmud bestowed the epithet with the sense of “a man from paradise”.[18]
According to legend, Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni promised Ferdowsi a gold piece for every couplet of theShahnameh, to be paid upon its completion. After thirty years of work, the poet was instead given silver by a hostile courtier, prompting Ferdowsi to give the money away and flee after writing a satire on the sultan.[30] Mahmud later discovered the deception and sent the promised gold, but it arrived inTus just as Ferdowsi’s funeral procession was leaving the city.[30]
Older sources such asʿAjāʾib al-Makhlūqāt, Hamdallah Mustawfi’sTarikh-e Gozideh, and an early “third” preface to theShahnameh give his personal name as Hasan. Other sources—such as the Arabic translation associated with al-Bundari of Isfahan, the “Florence manuscript” preface, and the Baysunghuri Preface and texts derived from it—report Mansur. The earliest source to mention Ferdowsi by name, pen name, and city is Asadi Tusi’sGarshaspnama.[31]
For his father,Tarikh-e Gozideh and the same early preface give the name Ali. After reviewing the earliest sources, Mohammad-Amin Riahi argued that “Hasan ibn Ali” is plausible and considered it more compatible with other indications sometimes used to suggest an affinity with certain branches ofShiʿism, while still emphasizing—like many researchers—that Ferdowsi should not be portrayed as sectarian.[32][33][34]
Some later and less reliable sources supply additional names for his father. Nöldeke rejected “Fakhr al-Din” on the grounds that honorifics ending in “al-Din” became common only later and were associated with powerful rulers, making such a title unlikely for Ferdowsi’s father.[35][28][32]
In the Bundari tradition, ʿUmar Farrokh recorded Ferdowsi’s lineage as “Abu’l-Qasim Mansur ibn Ahmad ibn Farrokh Ferdowsi”.[36] In his edition of al-Hakim al-Nishaburi’sTarikh-e Nishapur, Mohammad-Reza Shafiʿi Kadkani discusses a method derived from contemporary naming conventions in Khurasan, suggesting that if Ferdowsi’skunya (Abu’l-Qasim) is certain but his given name is disputed between Hasan and Mansur, the conventional pairing ofkunya and given name might favor Hasan.[37]
From Ferdowsi’s brief remarks, he is generally understood to have been adehqān (a member of the Iranian landed gentry) or of dehqān stock. Dehqāns were landholding elites in the early Islamic centuries who often converted to Islam in part to preserve their social and economic position, while maintaining a strong attachment to pre-Islamic Iranian customs and striving to protect inherited traditions. Their children were raised with Iranian etiquette and cultural norms and were seen as guardians of a national cultural memory.[18][38][39]
Little reliable information exists about Ferdowsi’s childhood and youth; the early sources largely contain legend. Nevertheless, close attention to the linguistic structure and historical-cultural texture of theShahnameh suggests that, during his formative years, he accumulated substantial learning by reading and reflecting on earlier poetry and prose—resources that later became material for his composition of theShahnameh.[40]
Ferdowsi’s youth unfolded under theSamanids, whose rulers patronizedPersian literature. He lived in a milieu where stories of Iran’s ancient past were widely cherished—an atmosphere he himself evokes in theShahnameh preface when he recalls the making of a “Book of the Famous” (theShahnameh-ye Abu Mansuri).[41][42][43]
On the basis of theShahnameh, Ferdowsi has often been thought to have been familiar with Arabic and with the poetic canons of Arab poets, as well as with Middle Persian (Pahlavi).[44] Nöldeke held that Ferdowsi had not studied religious and philosophical sciences in a formal scholarly manner and possessed them largely at the level of general literacy; he also argued that Ferdowsi did not know Pahlavi. Other scholars, including Hasan Taqizadeh and some later researchers, argued for broader learning; Badiʿ al-Zaman Foruzanfar and Ahmad Mahdavi Damghani likewise attributed significant competence in Arabic prose and poetry. On Pahlavi, some researchers accepted that Ferdowsi had some form of knowledge, while others—including Nöldeke, Mohammad-Taqi Bahar, Shahbazi, and Khaleghi-Motlagh—were unconvinced.[18]
Khaleghi-Motlagh suggests that Nöldeke’s overall caution is largely persuasive: Ferdowsi likely learned Arabic but was not a master stylist in Arabic prose or verse; and although he may have understood Middle Persian material when read aloud, the difficulty of Pahlavi script and scribal practice makes it unlikely that he could himself read it fluently. In any case, theShahnameh provides no clear proof of Pahlavi literacy.[45] TheShahnameh does contain occasional allusions to astronomy, philosophy, and other fields, but these do not by themselves demonstrate specialized mastery; what is unmistakable is Ferdowsi’s command of Persian language and of Iranian cultural-historical tradition.[46]
Little is known of Ferdowsi’s life before he began composing theShahnameh. It is reported that his son was born in 969–970 (359 AH), implying that Ferdowsi married before 968–969 (358 AH). Nothing certain is known about his wife. Some scholars identified a woman mentioned at the beginning of the “Bijan and Manijeh” episode as his wife; if so, she is often imagined as cultivated, possibly able to play the harp, and—like Ferdowsi—of dehqān background. Ferdowsi’s son is said to have died in 1005–1006 (396 AH) at the age of thirty-seven, when Ferdowsi was sixty-seven; Ferdowsi laments this reversal of the natural order and prays for his son’s forgiveness.[18][47]
According to Nizami ʿArūżī’s report as discussed by Khaleghi-Motlagh, Ferdowsi left only a daughter, and he sought the royal reward for her marriage portion. After Ferdowsi’s death, the daughter refused the reward, and the money was spent on improving the caravanserai at Chāha.[18][47]
Scenes from theShahnameh carved into reliefs at Ferdowsi's mausoleum in Tus, Iran
Ferdowsi'sShahnameh is the most popular and influentialnational epic inIran and other Persian-speaking countries. TheShahnameh is the only surviving work by Ferdowsi regarded as indisputably genuine.
He may have written poems earlier in his life but they no longer exist. A narrative poem,Yūsof o Zolaykā (Joseph and Zuleika), was once attributed to him, but scholarly consensus now rejects the idea it is his.[3]
There has also been speculation about the satire Ferdowsi allegedly wrote about Mahmud of Ghazni after the sultan failed to reward him sufficiently.Nezami Aruzi, Ferdowsi's early biographer, claimed that all but six lines had been destroyed by a well-wisher who had paid Ferdowsi a thousanddirhams for the poem. Introductions to some manuscripts of theShahnameh include verses purporting to be thesatire. Some scholars have viewed them as fabricated; others are more inclined to believe in their authenticity.[48]
The beginning of Ferdowsi’s composition of theShahnameh, based on theShahnameh of Abu Mansur, is usually placed at around the age of thirty; however, judging from Ferdowsi’s poetic ability, it can be inferred that he also composed poetry in his youth, and may even have begun versifying parts of theShahnameh at that time, drawing on older tales preserved in oral tradition among the people.[49][43] This hypothesis may help explain the numerous divergences among the manuscript recensions of theShahnameh, insofar as earlier versions of such scattered narratives may have served as exemplars for copyists. In addition to rational considerations, legendary accounts likewise suggest that Ferdowsi composed certain stories separately, that copies of these circulated, and that they were transmitted from hand to hand. Ferdowsi’s own remarks in the concluding portion of theShahnameh also point to this. Among the stories thought to have been composed during his youth are the narratives of the “first few reigns” in theShahnameh,[50] as well asBijan and Manijeh,Rostam and Esfandiyar,Rostam and Sohrab, the tale ofAkwan Div, and the story ofSiyavash.[51][52]
Apart from the verses that Ferdowsi himself attributes toDaqiqi, the only work securely established as his is theShahnameh itself. Other works have also been ascribed to him, though most of these attributions are unfounded. The most famous is the masnaviYusuf and Zulaykha, which the “Preface to theBaysunghur Shahnameh” counts as Ferdowsi’s composition. Modern scholarship has rejected this attribution; among others,Mojtaba Minovi concluded in 1976 that its author was “a mediocre versifier named Shamsi”.[51] Other poems have likewise been attributed to Ferdowsi—such as a number ofqet‘e (occasional poems),chaharpareh (quatrain stanzas),ruba'i,qasida, andghazal—but scholars have been highly doubtful that he composed them.[53] In particular, the qasidas are often regarded as products of theSafavid period.[54] In anthologies such asMakhzan al-Ghara'ib,Lubab al-Albab,Tazkira-ye Atashkadeh,Haft Iqlim,Riyaz al-Shu‘ara, andTazkira-ye Botkhaneh, qasidas, qet‘es, and ruba‘is have been attributed to Ferdowsi, though some remain doubtful.Hermann Ethé collected these poems and translated them intoGerman. However,Hasan Taqizadeh argued that some of these pieces cannot be genuine, since they differ markedly from Ferdowsi’s language and style and from the poetry of the 10th century CE.[55] Among these attributions, the authenticity of one ghazal, two qet‘es, and two ruba‘is, and their assignment to Ferdowsi, has been considered relatively plausible.[53]
TheShahnameh is Ferdowsi’s best-known work and one of the greatest monuments ofPersian literature. Ferdowsi began composing it at a time whenPersian (Dari) had developed the necessary capacities to express a wide range of subjects, but had not yet become fully standardized throughout Persian-speaking lands; local dialects still preserved distinctive vocabulary and idioms, and the compilers of theMasālik wa Mamālik noted several points relevant to this situation.[56]
Ferdowsi had already composed some narratives during the reign ofMansur ibn Nuh, the Samanid amir. Later, around 980–981 CE, in the reign ofNuh II (Mansur’s son), and after the death of Daqiqi, he began versifying the proseShahnameh of Abu Mansur.[57] It is thought that Daqiqi had begun the versification of theShahnameh by order of the Samanid ruler. Accordingly, Ferdowsi initially intended to travel toBukhara—the Samanid capital—to obtain authorization to continue Daqiqi’s work, secure financial support, and consult a copy of the proseShahnameh compiled for Abu Mansur Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Razzaq, which was presumably kept in the Samanid court library and used by Daqiqi. However, after a friend from his hometown—identified in the Baysonghori Preface as Muhammad Lashkari—made a manuscript of that source available to him,[42] he abandoned the journey and began the work in his own city. At first he benefited from the patronage of Amirak Mansur, son of Abu Mansur Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Razzaq, but this period did not last long and ended with Mansur’s death.[51][58][49] Mansur ibn Abu Mansur Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Razzaq, known as Amirak Mansur, was the son of the ruler ofTus in Ferdowsi’s time. Amirak Mansur was arrested inNishapur around 987–988 CE, taken to Bukhara, and then killed.[58]
Ferdowsi completed theShahnameh in about 994–995 CE, three years before Mahmud’s accession.[51][59] This was the first recension of theShahnameh, and for nearly sixteen further years he worked to expand and refine it.[59] These years coincided with the fall of the Samanids and the rise of SultanMahmud of Ghazni.[16] It is clear that the first recension did not include praise of Mahmud; it is thought that the praise of Mansur ibn Abu Mansur may have been more extensive than in the text as it survives, and the first recension may even have been dedicated to Amirak Mansur.[60] In about 1003–1004 CE, at the age of sixty-five, Ferdowsi decided to present theShahnameh to Sultan Mahmud and therefore undertook a new recension.[61] In the second recension he completed the portions relating to the reign of theSasanian kings.[62]
The completion of the second recension is dated to 8 March 1010, when Ferdowsi was seventy-one years old.[51][63][64]
When the year came to seventy-one, I drew the heavens under verse.
May the body of King Mahmud be ever prosperous; may his head be green, and his heart and soul rejoicing.
So I praise him that, so long as in the world there is speech, of the manifest and the hidden,
My praise will be among the great, and his praise will only increase—
May that wise man be everlasting, and his deeds ever according to his heart’s desire.
Now the tale of Yazdegerd is ended, in Spandarmad, on the day of Ard;
From the Hijra, five times eighty have passed, in the name of the world-judging Creator.
According toNizami Aruzi, Ali Deylam wrote out theShahnameh in seven volumes, and Ferdowsi, together with Budalaf, took it to the court ofGhazni to Sultan Mahmud. There, with the assistance of the vizier Ahmad ibn Hasan Maymandi, it was presented to the sultan.[65]
However, due to slander by envious courtiers and because of Ferdowsi’s religious beliefs, Mahmud is said to have been displeased with the work and failed to honor it: instead of an initial reward of sixty thousand dinars, fifty thousand dirhams were allocated, and ultimately only twenty thousand dirhams were paid.[51][63] After this episode and until the end of his life, Ferdowsi added further passages to theShahnameh, many of them complaints and criticisms directed at Mahmud and reflections on the bitterness of the times. On the basis of a verse in theHajw-nama, Ferdowsi again refers to his age in the years after the completion of theShahnameh, calling himself eighty years old:[51][66]
Now my life has neared eighty; my hope has all at once been blown away.
Based on remarks attributed to Nizami Aruzi andFarid al-Din Attar, the total time spent composing theShahnameh is given as twenty-five years. In theHajw-nama, however, “thirty years” is mentioned in three places, and “thirty-five years” once. If one assumes a start date of 978–979 and an end date of 1010, the period of composition would amount to thirty-three years.[63] According to Jalal Khaleghi-Motlagh, considering the date of composition of “Bijan and Manijeh” and Ferdowsi’s revisions after 1010, Ferdowsi devoted about thirty-five years of his life to theShahnameh.[51]
Another work attributed to Ferdowsi is theHajw-nama, a satire condemning Sultan Mahmud, said by Nizami Aruzi to have comprised one hundred verses, of which six survive.[67][49] Various recensions have circulated, ranging in length from thirty-two to one hundred sixty verses. Some scholars have rejected the attribution of such aHajw-nama to Ferdowsi—for example, Mahmud Shirani argued that many verses are borrowed from theShahnameh itself or from other masnavis, and that the remaining verses are literarily weak, concluding that the text is a fabrication.[66] Mohammad-Amin Riahi, however, noted that theHajw-nama is mentioned in theShahriarnameh of Uthman Mukhtari—an encomiast ofMas'ud III (Mahmud’s grandson)—which predates Nizami Aruzi’sChahar Maqala, and therefore considered it plausible that Ferdowsi had composed a satire of this kind.[68] Scholars such as Nöldeke, Taqizadeh, and Safa have likewise maintained that theHajw-nama has an authentic core and that some of its verses may be genuine.[67] Nöldeke suggested that the phrase “this book” in some verses indicates that Ferdowsi appended theHajw-nama to theShahnameh in order to suppress scattered panegyrical verses within theShahnameh that praised Mahmud.[66] Khaleghi-Motlagh has also argued that, despite the fabricated nature of many lines, the existence of an underlying authentic basis should not be dismissed; he further notes that theHajw-nama contains fine verses not borrowed from theShahnameh, and suggests that Shirani’s position may reflect a desire to defend Mahmud.[51] Based on the verse in theHajw-nama that refers to Ferdowsi’s eightieth year, it is dated to before about 1018.[51][66]
Statue of Ferdowsi by Abolhassan Sedighi in Ferdowsi Square,Tehran
In the 2nd and 3rd centuries AH, in addition to the general populace, many prominent figures from Ancient Iranian families rose to revive Iran’s ancient culture and to re-establish an independent Iranian rule. On the one hand, theKhwaday-Namag and otherPahlavi books were translated fromMiddle Persian intoArabic byIbn al-Muqaffaʿ and others—encouraged by theBarmakids and the Sahl family—during the Translation movement, and over the course of a century these works spread across various regions of Iran. According to Morteza Ravandi, theSaffarids—especiallyYa'qub ibn al-Layth—played a prominent role in the expansion ofPersian literature. With the rise of the Samanid state—and particularly during the reign ofNasr II (whichRichard N. Frye considers the Samanids’ “golden age”)—these currents converged, andBukhara became a center for intellectuals, families such as the Jayhānīs and theBalʿamīs, and scholars such as Abū Ṭayyib Muṣʿabī.[69][70]
(Notes: Although Ravandi and some other historians have called the Samanids’ cultural–literary movement “Shu'ubiyya,” in many sourcesShu'ubiyya refers more specifically to a movement that flourished in the 2nd–3rd centuries AH (from the late Umayyad period to shortly before the end of the Abbasid era), often expressing the superiority of non-Arabs over Arabs.)[69]
Frye says that the number of poets of this period recorded in biographical anthologies (tadhkiras)—such as al-Thaʿālibī’sYatīmat al-dahr and Muḥammad ʿAwfī’sLubāb al-albāb—is striking, and that religious scholars, poets, historians, and other learned figures adorned the court of Nasr II. At that time, Persian and Arabic books were written in the capital and other cities, and the library of Bukhara amazed scholars such asIbn Sīnā.[71]
The relative social equality of Transoxiana (compared with the more rigidly stratified society of Iran proper) helped prepare the ground for an egalitarian society there; thus, the Iranian renaissance began not in Iran itself, but in Transoxiana. According to Frye, this renaissance was an Islamic–Iranian “Renaissance” nurtured under the Samanids, whose Iranian aspect outweighed its Arabic aspect. By this process, the Samanids helped make Islam a world culture and showed that Islam need not be tied to the Arabic language.[72]
In this period, religious and non-religious works were translated from Arabic intoPersian (Dari). Balʿamī translated theHistory of al-Ṭabarī from Arabic into Persian. Works on medicine and pharmacology were written, andal-Khwarizmi compiled an encyclopedic work. Poets, too, perhaps enjoyed an even higher status.Daqiqi began versifying Iran’s pre-Islamic history by order ofNuh II, but his death left the project unfinished—work that Ferdowsi later completed, thereby preserving, to some extent, the heritage ofMiddle Persian literature from being lost.[73]
In Ferdowsi’s time, the intensity of theShu'ubiyya movement had somewhat diminished; nevertheless, some patriotic Iranians still reflected on their ancestral past.[74] Ravandi says that, accordingly, many Iranian scholars and writers took steps to revive the History of ancient Iran. To that end, historical, literary, and social writings that had survived theArab conquest were gathered and prepared as source material for the composition of histories andShāhnāmas. Abū al-Muʾayyad Balkhī wrote a proseShāhnāma, and Masʿūdī Marvazī composed one in verse.[75] From childhood, Ferdowsi witnessed efforts by those around him to safeguard ancient values; he himself matured intellectually in such a milieu and became a determined follower of the same path.[76]
Persian language and literature in Ferdowsi’s time
Lazard believes that the distance ofKhorasan andTransoxiana from theBaghdad caliphate, together with the existence of Iranian dynasties (which were effectively independent), explains why Persian literature arose in eastern Iran and why its development remained largely confined to those lands until the late 4th century AH. These Iranian rulers—especially the Samanid amirs—sought to promote a national and patriotic literature; however, this aim should not be taken as the sole or fundamental motive, since a deep-rooted, broad-based movement grounded in social conditions produced this demand. Unlike regions such asFars andJibal—closer to Baghdad and more strongly shaped by Arabic culture—in eastern Iran the class ofdehqāns still endured, largely intact, and Arabic culture had only a limited effect on their daily life. It is thought that they supported the emergence and growth of a poetic tradition that combined features of formalArabic poetry with Iranian customs preserved in popular and semi-popular verse. Another factor was that in the 3rd century AH,Middle Persian was still in use in Fars among Zoroastrian priests; therefore—unlike eastern Iran, where Dari predominated—there was little room in western Iran for the rise of a new literary language. Also, in the east, knowledge and use of Arabic were less widespread, and Arabic as a literary language lacked the strength to prevent the emergence of a new language.Zoroastrianism (Mazdayasna) andDevyasna traditions were not deeply rooted in that region; instead, Iranian culture persisted through many oral narratives and poems in Dari. Yet this semi-popular culture—standing against the Arabic-influenced culture of the elite—required more elevated works to stand alongside Arabic-oriented culture.[77]
In Persian literature,epic poetry held a place alongsidelyric poetry; epic as a genre was unfamiliar in Arabic poetry and was thoroughly Iranian, signaling the continuity of literature before and after Islam. Linking themes—such as an ethical outlook, counsel grounded in reason, and reflection on the transience of worldly life—sustained this continuity. Islam’s influence on these themes was limited, while their Iranian roots were ancient and deep. Even some lyrical themes, such as descriptions of nature, had roots in pre-Islamic literature.[78]
According toZabīḥ-Allāh Ṣafā, one feature of Persian poetry in the 4th century and the first half of the 5th century AH was the great number of poets—an especially notable point given that Persian poetry at the time was largely limited to eastern Iran. Poets’ mastery and their ability to express novel themes with clarity were other hallmarks of the period. Beyond the favorable environment, the “naturalness” of the language for poets should be considered: poets did not need extensive study to learn Persian, unlike 6th-century AH poets inIraq-i Ajam andAzerbaijan and elsewhere. Another characteristic was the sheer abundance of verse: the number of couplets attributed toRudaki is reported as 1,300,000 in one account and (more plausibly) 100,000 in another; and theShāhnāma itself is often reported as 60,000 couplets. Similar claims were made for other poets of the period. The loss of much of this poetry is attributed, first, to the archaic language and diction becoming unfamiliar to later audiences, and second, to repeated incursions by eastern neighboring peoples into Transoxiana and Khorasan, which destroyed many books and libraries. Other features of Persian poetry in this era include simplicity and fluency of expression and thought, the evolution and diversification ofmetrical patterns compared with the 3rd century AH, and the freshness of themes and ideas. Poetry also reflected poets’ lived experience and social, military, and political conditions—due to their realism, familiarity with their environment, and relatively limited interest in ornate fantasy (except in some lyrical andghazal-like poems). The comfortable lives of many poets also meant that poetry more often spoke of pleasure, joy, and ease, giving readers a stronger sense of vitality.[79]
Mohammad-Ali Eslami Nodoushan argues that three major epic traditions—Homer’sIliad andOdyssey, the HinduMahabharata, and theRamayana—share an “Aryan” background with Ferdowsi’sShahnameh, and that this shared heritage helps explain similarities among them. At the same time, he maintains that Ferdowsi was not directly influenced by Homer, because the cultural environment of Ferdowsi’s Iran would not have made Homer’s works accessible to him.[80]
Several scholars have identified traces of pre-Islamic Iranian religious ideas in theShahnameh. One line of interpretation emphasizes Ferdowsi’s use ofZurvanism, noting the prominence ofZurvan and the recurring theme of conflict between the twin figuresOhrmazd andAhriman. This interpretive framework is often linked to the epic’s repeated representations of struggle—especially in narratives of conflict between Iran andTuran and in episodes featuring antagonistic, demon-like forces.[81]
In the Zurvanite myth, Ohrmazd is attacked by his counterpart Ahriman; similarly, theShahnameh frequently portrays thediv as a primordial enemy. In the stories ofKeyumars,Siamak,Tahmuras,Hushang, andJamshid, thediv play a foundational role in shaping the narrative world.[82]
By contrast, Sajjad Aydinlou argues that Ferdowsi’s engagement withMazdayasnian andMithraic ideas is more prominent than his use of other religious currents. As an example, he interpretsZal’s white hair and Sam’s rejection of him not as a retelling of the Zurvanite account of Ahriman’s birth, but as reflecting a Mazdayasnian notion that physical “defects” can signify an Ahrimanic intrusion into creation. He connects this to other narrative motifs, including accounts involving demons and the origin of beings from them, and also to Sam’s marriage toperi-descent figures such as Peri-dokht, a daughter of the emperor of China.[83]
Other scholars have pointed to additional Mazdayasnian features in theShahnameh, including references to theZend andAvesta in stories set before the appearance ofZoroaster, the “three goods” associated with Mazdayasnian ethics, accounts of social groupings, praise of fire, and a number of idioms and motifs related to animals (including horses).[84]
Aydinlou also disputes the view that the religion of theShahnameh’s kings prior toGoshtasp should be understood primarily as Zurvanite. He argues that evidence for Zoroastrian and Mithraic elements in pre-Zoroaster Iran is stronger, and suggests that, on internal and external indications,Rostam is more plausibly read through a Mithraic lens than a Zurvanite one, even if no single identification can be treated as conclusive.[83]
Henry Corbin argues thatSuhrawardi, in developingIlluminationist philosophy, treated “Khosravani wisdom” as a tradition whose traces could be disclosed not only in theQuran but also in theShahnameh. In this reading, heroic epic can be interpreted as bearing an esoteric dimension, creating links between heroic narrative and mystical epic.[85][86][87]
Farzad Qaemi describes the epistemic structure of Khosravani wisdom as grounded in the “emanation” of multiplicity from unity, such that each material entity is understood to have a supra-material archetype. On this view, theShahnameh’s opening praise of God as “the Lord of life and wisdom” aligns with conceptions in whichAhura Mazda is associated with the originating substance of soul and intellect. Qaemi adds that, based on current knowledge, it remains difficult to determine whether such formulations should be traced first toGreek thought or to traditions shaped byZoroastrianism.[88]
Elyas Nooraei similarly emphasizeslight as a central theme in Khosravani wisdom and argues that it appears both in theShahnameh and in Suhrawardi’s Illuminationism. He interprets Ferdowsi’s message as oriented around “spiritual intellect” and light, and connects this to the idea offarr-e izadi (khvarenah), which he treats as a key basis for legitimacy and authority in the epic’s portrayal of rulers such asKay Khosrow.[89]
Accounts of Iran’s heroic past accumulated over centuries. By the late Sasanian period, major materials of the Iranian epic tradition were reportedly collected in Middle Persian in a chronicle-like work known as theKhwadāy-nāmag (“Book of Kings”), whose final redaction has been associated with the reign ofYazdegerd III. The work itself has not survived, though later authors refer to multiple related and derivative materials; among surviving texts, the verse narrativeAyādgār ī Zarērān is often singled out. With the rise of New Persian, these materials were reworked, and under the Samanids a number of prose and verse “Shahnamehs” were produced. Scholars have noted that epic diction in this period tends to use fewer Arabic loanwords and preserves older Iranian vocabulary, a feature sometimes attributed to Middle Persian written sources and/or to oral tradition.[90]
Lazard further argues that Ferdowsi’s principal written source was theShahnameh of Abu Mansur (Shahnameh-ye Abu Mansuri), compiled by a committee of four Zoroastrians who apparently drew not only on theKhwadāy-nāmag but also on additional materials.[91] Similar assessments are associated with scholars such as Khaleghi-Motlagh,Shapur Shahbazi, andDabirsiaghi.[92][93][94]
Shu‘ubiyya is commonly described as a movement that emerged among non-Arab Muslim groups—especially Iranians—in the 8th–9th centuries CE, in part as a response to ethnic and social hierarchies that privileged Arabs, particularly under the Umayyads.[95] It promoted the equal standing of peoples and criticized ethnic chauvinism as inconsistent with Islamic teachings. Over time, some writers associated with the trend produced polemics that emphasized the merits of non-Arabs (ʿajam) and minimized Arab cultural contributions.[96]
Zarrinkub links the movement’s overlap with currents such as Shi‘ism and the Kharijites in anti-Umayyad opposition to Umayyad policies that sought to establish what he characterizes as an “exclusively Arab state” and to maintain harsh attitudes toward themawali.[97] He further argues that the movement expanded under the Abbasids, partly because Abbasid politics relied heavily on Khurasani support and displayed less overt Arab chauvinism, allowing some space for such polemics so long as they did not cross into accusations of heresy. He also notes that a range of Muslim groups shared with Shu‘ubiyya the principle of equality among Muslim peoples, and that a number of Shu‘ubiyya works are listed inAl-Fihrist.[98]
Some scholars have described Ferdowsi (like Daqiqi) as adopting a Shu‘ubiyya-leaning perspective when emphasizing Iranian national memory; in this context, Safa and others have connected accusations of “Rāfiḍī” sentiment toward Ferdowsi with such tendencies.[99] Zarrinkub also argues that Ferdowsi’s account of theArab conquest of Iran and related wars reflects narratives that were added to “Books of Kings” traditions bymobads after Yazdegerd III, thereby introducing a tone of ethnically inflected hostility while also explaining defeat through divine decree.[100]
Khorasani style and earlier poets (especially Rudaki and Daqiqi)
This period is often treated as a formative era for Persian epic versification. Poets such as Mas'udi Marvazi,Daqiqi, and Ferdowsi produced major epic works that helped normalize the versification of prose heroic narratives and influenced later epic composition, including in the Seljuk period. At the same time, lyric poetry developed through figures such asRudaki andShahid Balkhi, while panegyric, didactic verse, and storytelling also became widespread.[101]
Lazard argues that Ferdowsi’s achievement in rhetoric and poetic craft builds on more than a century of Persian literary development by earlier writers who stabilized the language’s structures and expanded its expressive range. In this view, without that prior maturation of New Persian, theShahnameh would not have been possible.[102]
Mohammad Ja‘far Yahaghi suggests that scattered epic compositions by poets without surviving collected works—and by poets such asAbu Shakur Balkhi, Daqiqi, and Mas‘udi—often written inmotaqāreb metre, likely provided precedents forShahnameh-style writing and may have influenced Ferdowsi. He notes that Ferdowsi mentionsRudaki explicitly in the episode about bringingKalila wa Dimna from India and translating it into Pahlavi, praising Rudaki’s poetic treatment of it.[103]
Yahaghi further argues that Rudaki and Ferdowsi both belong to a broader “rationalist” cultural climate associated with Samanid patronage of Persian, which fostered a flourishing of language and Iranian intellectual identity and prepared the ground for theShahnameh. He also notes parallels in themes such as culture, intellect, mortality, and devotion to the Prophet’s family, though he cautions that these resemblances may reflect shared intellectual contexts rather than direct borrowing.[104]
Regarding Daqiqi, it has been argued that Ferdowsi’s decision to incorporate Daqiqi’s verses into theShahnameh was motivated less by convenience than by a desire to preserve Daqiqi’s work.[105] Ferdowsi frames this decision in the story of dreaming of Daqiqi, where Daqiqi requests that Ferdowsi not be “stingy” and include his verses.[106] Ferdowsi then evaluates Daqiqi’s poetic strengths and limits, praising him as an accomplished panegyrist while criticizing aspects of his narrative technique, and he nonetheless credits Daqiqi as a pathfinder in the epic project.[107][108]
Later scholarship has described Daqiqi, on the basis of the surviving corpus, as a capable poet whose contemporaries praised his talent.[109] At the same time, comparisons with Ferdowsi have highlighted differences in pacing and narrative economy. Khaleghi-Motlagh argues that Daqiqi’s verse sometimes slows narrative momentum through repetition or extended detail, and that aShahnameh composed entirely in Daqiqi’s manner would likely have been longer but less effective as an epic.[110]
Khaleghi-Motlagh also notes that, despite such critiques, Daqiqi cannot be treated as unfamiliar with epic expression. Some of his descriptive passages resemble Ferdowsi’s style closely; however, determining whether this similarity reflects Daqiqi’s influence on Ferdowsi or shared dependence on earlier epic materials is difficult, given the limited survival of earlier sources.[111]
Influence of Ferdowsi on Iranian and world literature
In theShahnameh, Ferdowsi linked Iran’s pre-Islamic culture with its post-Islamic culture—an unbroken cultural continuity extending from roughly two or three millennia ago to the present, a continuity owed in large part to him. Without theShahnameh, Persian literature could scarcely have developed; and without Ferdowsi, figures such asKhayyam,Rumi, andHafez would likewise have been unable to cultivate and refine their own intellectual and poetic visions.[80]
Nearly all epic works composed after Ferdowsi in Persian literature are influenced by theShahnameh. It may be assumed that epic poets of the fifth and sixth centuries AH were also influenced by works preceding Ferdowsi, in much the same way as Ferdowsi himself is thought to have been.[112][113] TheShahnameh’s diverse impacts can be seen acrossPersian literary genres. For example,Sanā’ī is apparently the first poet to have drawn on the heroes and narratives of theShahnameh within the mystical mode oflyric poetry in order to express ethical, philosophical, and mystical concepts; after him, this type of engagement with theShahnameh expanded broadly in both verse and prose. Likewise, within another branch of lyric writing—namelylove poetry—one may find scattered but notable examples, including such allusions in the poetry ofSa‘dī andQā’ānī.[114] Many other Persian lyric poets were also shaped by theShahnameh, includingQatrān of Tabriz,Nāṣer-e Khosrow, Azraqī of Herat, Mas‘ūd Sa‘d Salmān, ‘Othmān Mokhtārī of Ghazna, Sanā’ī of Ghazna,Anvarī,Sūzanī of Samarkand, Amīr Mo‘ezzī of Nishapur,Khāqānī,Rūmī, Emāmī of Herat,Sa‘dī, Awhadī of Marāgha,Ebn-e Yamīn,‘Obeyd Zākānī,Hāfeẓ,Jāmī, and many others.[115][116]
During theBazgasht-e Adabī (“Literary Return”), alongside a renewed interest in poets such as Sa‘dī and Hāfeẓ and in poets such as ‘Onṣorī, Farrokhī, and Manūčehrī, Ferdowsi and hisShahnameh also received considerable attention. One example isShahanshāh-nāma by Fatḥ-‘Alī Ṣabā, composed in imitation of theShahnameh and devoted to the military campaigns ofFatḥ-‘Alī Shāh.[117]
Interest in theShahnameh increased further with the rise of modern nationalism after theConstitutional Revolution and with the celebration of the millennial commemoration of Ferdowsi in 1934, as well as growing attention from Orientalist scholars. Many plays have also been written on the basis ofShahnameh narratives. Poets such asMīrzādeh ‘Eshqī,‘Āref Qazvīnī,Moḥammad-Taqī Bahār,Moḥammad-Ḥosayn Shahryār, Ḥosayn Masrūr, and modern poets such asFereydūn Moshīrī andMehdī Akhavān Sāles—among many others—drew inspiration from Ferdowsi and theShahnameh in their own works.[118][119]
Mausoleum of Ferdowsi in Tus, Iran
Beyond Ferdowsi’s influence within Persian literature, countless translations, studies, and editions relating to Ferdowsi and theShahnameh have been produced worldwide. According toKetāb-shenāsī-ye Ferdowsī va Shāhnāmeh (Bibliography of Ferdowsi and the Shahnameh), compiled byIraj Afshār—which covers writings on Ferdowsi and theShahnameh from their beginnings up to 2006—and including works attributed to Ferdowsi such asYūsuf o Zoleykhā, a total of 5,942 items had been identified by 2006. These include articles, lectures, chapters, standalone books and independent collections, translations and quotations, dated and undated manuscripts and selections (including prose retellings), editions of theShahnameh and its summaries (whether of the whole work or one or more of its stories), works compiled on the basis of theShahnameh, plays based on it, and editions ofYūsuf o Zoleykhā published during this period.[120]Ferdowsi is one of the undisputed giants ofPersian literature. After Ferdowsi'sShahnameh, a number of other works similar in nature surfaced over the centuries within the cultural sphere of thePersian language. Without exception, all such works were based in style and method on Ferdowsi'sShahnameh, but none of them could quite achieve the same degree of fame and popularity as Ferdowsi's masterpiece.[121]
One of Ferdowsi's poems: "Think for God's gratification – be intellectual and truthful", written on the wall of a school in Iran
Ferdowsi 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. In this respect, Ferdowsi surpassesNizami,Khayyam,Asadi Tusi and other seminal Persian literary figures in his impact on Persian culture and language.[citation needed] Many modern Iranians see him as the father of the modern Persian language.
Ferdowsi in fact was a motivation behind many future Persian figures. One such notable figure wasReza Shah Pahlavi, who established anAcademy of Persian Language and Literature, in order to attempt to remove Arabic and French words from the Persian language, replacing them with suitable Persian alternatives. In 1934, Reza Shah set up a ceremony inMashhad,Khorasan, celebrating a thousand years of Persian literature since the time of Ferdowsi, titled "Ferdowsi Millennial Celebration", inviting notable European as well as Iranian scholars.[122]Ferdowsi University of Mashhad is a university established in 1949 that also takes its name from Ferdowsi.
The Persians regard Ferdowsi as the greatest of their poets. For nearly a thousand years they have continued to read and to listen to recitations from his master work, theShah-nameh, in which the Persian national epic found its final and enduring form. Though written about 1,000 years ago, this work is as intelligible to the average, modern Iranian as theKing James Version of the Bible is to a modern English-speaker. The language, based as the poem is on aDari original, is pure Persian with only the slightest admixture of Arabic.
Contemporary writer Zana Vahidzadeh (Dana Pishdar) has reflected on Ferdowsi’s legacy, emphasizing that the Shahnameh is not only a monument of Persian language but also a repository of collective memory. In his view, Ferdowsi’s verses continue to serve as a bridge between Iran’s pre-Islamic past and modern cultural identity, ensuring that questions of nationhood and heritage remain vivid in the Persian imagination.[125]
The library atWadham College, Oxford University was named the Ferdowsi Library, and contains a specialised Persian section for scholars.
The Sasanian KingKhusraw and Courtiers in a Garden, page from a manuscript of theShahnameh (Book of Kings), late 15th–early 16th century,Brooklyn Museum
Scene from theShahnameh: the Akvan Div throws the sleeping Rostam into the sea
^Al-Amir andal-Hakim are honorary titles.Abu'l-Qasem is akunya.Mansur is a given name.Ibn al-Hasan is a patronymic ('son of Hasan').Al-Ferdowsi is a pen name (takhallus).Al-Tusi is anisba ('from Tus').
^The spellingFerdowsi is based on the modern Iranian Persian pronunciation, whileFirdawsi reflects the historical pronunciation. The diphthongow of modern Iranian Persian was historically pronounced asaw. This is also how it is pronounced in modern Dari (Afghan Persian). The 'short' vowele of modern Iranian Persian was historically pronouncedi (modern Dari pronunciation is closer to the latter).[15]
^"Search Results – Brill Reference".referenceworks.brillonline.com. Retrieved5 January 2019.Abū l-Qāsim Firdawsī (320–416/931–1025) was a Persian poet, one of the greatest writers of epic and author of the Shāhnāma ("Book of kings").
^For discussion of the reliability of Nizami Aruzi’s account concerning Maymandi’s support for Ferdowsi, see the relevant section on Ferdowsi’s patrons.
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Dustkhah, Jalil (2005).Ferdowsi and theShahnameh: A Guide (Shenākht-nāmeh-ye Ferdowsī va Shāhnāmeh) (in Persian). Tehran: Daftar-e Pazhuhesh-hā-ye Farhangi (Cultural Research Office).
Frye, Richard N. (2015). "The Samanids". In Frye, Richard N. (ed.).The Cambridge History of Iran (in Persian). Vol. 4. Translated by Hasan Anusheh. Tehran: Amirkabir (Persian translation).ISBN978-964-00-0302-2.
Momtahan, Hossein-Ali (1991).The Shu'ubiyya Movement: The Iranian National Movement against the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates (Nehzat-e Shu'ubiyyeh) (in Persian). Tehran: Amirkabir.
Ravandi, Morteza (1996).Social History of Iran (Tārīkh-e Ejtemāʿī-ye Īrān) (in Persian). Vol. 8. Tehran: Negaah.
Khaleghi Motlagh, Jalal (2012). "Ferdowsi".Encyclopedia of Persian Language and Literature (in Persian). Vol. 4. Tehran: Academy of Persian Language and Literature. pp. 816–824.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
Riahi, Mohammad-Amin (1996).Ferdowsi: His Life, Thought, and Poetry (in Persian). Tehran: Tarh-e Now. pp. 170–173.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
Ferdowsi, Abu’l-Qasim (1994). Khaleghi-Motlagh, Jalal (ed.).Book of Kings (Shahnameh) (in Persian). Vol. 4. New York: Iran Heritage Foundation.ISBN1-56859-018-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
Homayounfarrokh, Rokn al-Din (1998).The Shahnameh and Ferdowsi: A New Study of Ferdowsi and Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni (in Persian). Tehran: Asatir.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
Hakim Nishaburi, Abu Abdallah (1996). Shafi‘i Kadkani, Mohammad-Reza (ed.).History of Nishapur (in Persian). Translated by Muhammad ibn Husayn Khalifa of Nishapur. Tehran: Agah. p. 51.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
Bastani Parizi, Mohammad-Ebrahim (2004).The Shahnameh: A Happy Ending (in Persian). Tehran: Nashr-e Elm. p. 460.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
Beyzai, Bahram (2012).Where Is Hezār-Afsān? (in Persian). Tehran: Roshangaran and Women’s Studies. p. 321.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
Farrokh, Umar (1984).History of Arabic Literature (in Arabic). Vol. 3. Beirut: Dar al-'Ilm lil-Malayin. p. 493.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
Khaleghi Motlagh, Jalal (2002).Ancient Words (in Persian). Tehran: Afkar. pp. 306–312.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
Aghaee, Shirzad (1993).Nam-e kasan va jay-ha dar Shahnameh-ye Ferdousi [Personalities and Places in theShahnameh of Ferdousi]. Nyköping, Sweden.ISBN91-630-1959-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Aghaee, Shirzad (1997).Imazh-ha-ye mehr va mah dar Shahnameh-ye Ferdousi [Images of the Sun and Moon in theShahnameh of Ferdousi]. Spånga, Sweden.ISBN91-630-5369-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Contemporary Persian and Classical Persian are the same language, but writers since 1900 are classified as contemporary. At one time, Persian was a common cultural language of much of the non-Arabic Islamic world. Today it is the official language ofIran,Tajikistan and one of the two official languages ofAfghanistan.
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