Firdawsi
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Hakīm Abū-l-Qāsem Firdawsī Ṭūsī (حکیم ابوالقاسم فردوسی طوسی in Persian) (more commonly transliterated Ferdowsi Tousi, Firdausi, Firdousi, Ferdosi or Ferdusi) (935–1020) is perhaps the most revered Persian poet. He was the author of the Shāhnāma, the national epic of Persia (modern Iran).
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[edit] Life
Firdawsi was born in the Iranian province of Khorasan, in a village near Tus (Baj), in 935. His father was a rich man and major land owner. His great epic, the Shāhnāma ("The epic of kings"), to which he devoted more than thirty-five years, was originally composed for eventual 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. When he was just 23 years old, he found a “Shāhnāma” written by Abu-Mansour Almoammari which was not poem. It was one made from the older versions ordered by Abu-Mansour ibn Abdol-razzagh. It made a great change in the life of this poet. During Firdawsi’s lifetime the Samanid dynasty was conquered by the Ghaznavid Empire. Two or three years after completing the work, Firdawsi went to Ghazni the capital of Ghaznavids to present it to the king. There are various stories in medieval texts describing the lack of interest shown by the new king, Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni, in Firdawsi and his lifework. According to historians, Mahmud had promised Firdawsi a dinar for every distich written in the Shahnameh (60,000 dinars), but later retracted and presented him with dirhams (20,000 dirhams), which were at that time much less valuable than dinar (every 100 dirhams worth 1 dinar). Some think it was jealousy of other poets working at king’s court that led to this event. This difference gave fodder to Firdawsi's enemies in the court. Firdawsi rejected the money and by some accounts he gave it to a poor man who sold wine. He was wandering for a time in Sistan and Mazandaran. In the end he returned to Tus heartbroken. Firdawsi is said to have died around 1020 in poverty at the age of ninety and embittered by royal neglect, though fully confident of his work’s ultimate success and fame (clearly seen especially in last verses of his book). One tradition claims Mahmud re-sent the amount promised to Firdawsi’s village, but when the messengers reached his house, he had died a few hours earlier. The gift was then given to his daughter, since his son had died before his father at the age of 37. However, his daughter refused to receive the amount, thus making Firdawsi’s Shahnameh immortal.[citation needed]
Later the king ordered the money be used for repairing an inn in the way from Merv to Tus, named “Robat Chaheh” so that it may remain in remembrance of poet. This inn now lies in ruins, but still exists.
Firdawsi was buried at the yard of his own home, where his mausoleum now lies.
[edit] Books
His masterpiece, the Shāhnāma, is the most popular and influential of the Iranian national epics. The Shāhnāma, or the "Book of Kings," consists of the translation of an even older Pahlavi (Middle Persian) work. It has been exceptionally popular among Persians for over a thousand years. It tells the history of old Persia before the Arab conquest of the region. This tale, all written in poetic form and in Darī Persian, starts from 7000 years ago telling the story of old Persian Kings and their actions.
Illustrations, especially those of Master Mahmud Farshchian, are historical and use the different themes for the stories.
According to popular legend, Firdawsi was commissioned by Sultan Mahmoud Ghaznavi to write a book about his valour and conquests. However, the poet, though dedicating the book to the King for an agreed fee of 30 camels loaded with gold coins, decided to tell the story of the Kings that had made the land of Persia into an Empire throughout the ages. This task was to take the poet some thirty years or more upon which he included the verse:
| ... I suffered during these thirty years, but I - the Ajam - have revived the Persian language; I shall not die since I am alive again, as I have spread the seeds of this language ... |
Upon the presentation of the Shāhnāma, Sultan Mahmoud was furious for not being the subject of the book and finally out of bound of an agreement offered Firdawsi thirty camels loaded with Silver that was refused by the poet. Heart broken and poor the poet returned to his home town of Tus, the Sultan eventually realising his error and the true value of the Shāhnāma sent the agreed fee to the poet yet, upon the arrival of the camels the Firdawsi's coffin was being carried out through the exit gate of Tus to his grave.
[edit] Influence
Firdawsi is one of the undisputed giants of Persian literature. After Firdawsi's Shāhnāma a number of other works similar in nature surfaced over the centuries within the cultural sphere of the Persian language. Without exception, all such works were based in style and method on Firdawsi's Shāhnāma, but none of them could quite achieve the same degree of fame and popularity as Firdawsi's masterpiece.
Firdawsi 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 surpasses Nezami, Khayyam, Asadi Tusi, and other seminal Persian literary figures in his impact on Persian culture and language.
[edit] References
- E.G. Browne. Literary History of Persia. (Four volumes, 2,256 pages, and twenty-five years in the writing). 1998. ISBN 0-7007-0406-X
- Jan Rypka, History of Iranian Literature. Reidel Publishing Company. ASIN B-000-6BXVT-K
[edit] See also
- Shāhnāma
- List of Persian poets and authors
- Persian literature
- Sassanid dynasty
- Iranology
- List of mausoleums
| Shahnameh by Ferdowsi |
|---|
| Characters |
| Abtin | Arash | Afrasiab | Esfandiyar | Fereydun | Goodarz | Gordafarid | Hushang | Jamshid | Kaveh | Kai Khosrow | Keyumars | Manuchehr | Rakhsh | Roham | Rostam | Rostam Farrokhzad | Rudaba | Saam | Shaghad | Simurgh | Siavash | Sohrab | Tahmineh | Tahmuras | Zal | Zahhak |
| Places |
| Iran | Mazandaran | Turan |
