The Shahnameh or Shah-nama (Persian: شاهنامه Šāhnāmeh, "The Book of Kings") is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c.977 and 1010 AD and is the national epic of Iran and related societies. Consisting of some 60,000 verses,[1] the Shahnameh tells mainly the mythical and to some extent the historical past of (Greater) Iran from the creation of the world until the Islamic conquest of Persia in the 7th century.
The work is of central importance in Persian culture, regarded as a literary masterpiece, and definitive of ethno-national cultural identity of Iran.[2] It is also important to the contemporary adherents of Zoroastrianism, in that it traces the historical links between the beginnings of the religion with the death of the last Zoroastrian ruler of Persia during the Muslim conquest.
Ferdowsi started his composition of the Shahnameh in 977 A.D and completed it on 8 March 1010.[3] The Shahnameh is a monument of poetry and historiography, being mainly the poetical recast of what Ferdowsi, his contemporaries, and his predecessors regarded as the account of Iran's ancient history. Many such accounts already existed in prose, an example being the Shahnameh of Abu-Mansur Daqiqi. A small portion of Ferdowsi's work, in passages scattered throughout the Shahnameh, is entirely of his own conception.
The Shahnameh is an epic poem of over 50,000 couplets, written in early Modern Persian. It is based mainly on a prose work of the same name compiled in Ferdowsi's earlier life in his native Tus. This prose Shahnameh was in turn and for the most part the translation of a Pahlavi (Middle Persian) work, known as the Xvatāynamāk "Book of Kings", a late Sassanid compilation of the history of the kings and heroes of Persia from mythical times down to the reign of Khosrau II (590–628). The xvatāynamāk contained historical information on the later Sassanid period, but it does not appear to have drawn on any historical sources for the earlier Sassanid period (3rd to 4th centuries).[4] Ferdowsi added material continuing the story to the overthrow of the Sassanids by the Arabs in the middle of the 7th century.
The first to undertake the versification of the Pahlavi chronicle was Abu-Mansur Daqiqi, a contemporary of Ferdowsi, poet at the court of the Samanids, who came to a violent end after completing only 1,000 verses. These verses, which deal with the rise of the prophet Zoroaster, were afterward incorporated by Ferdowsi, with acknowledgment, in his own poem. The style of the Shahnameh shows characteristics of both written and oral literature. Some claim that Ferdowsi also used Zoroastrian nasks, such as the now-lost Chihrdad as sources as well.
Many other Pahlavi sources were used in composing the epic, prominent being the Kārnāmag-ī Ardaxšīr-ī Pābagān, which was originally written during the late Sassanid era, and gave accounts of how Ardashir I came to power which, because of its historical proximity, is thought to be highly accurate. Besides, the text is written in the late Middle Persian, which was the immediate ancestor of Modern Persian. Hence, a great portion of the historical chronicles given in Shahnameh are based on this epic and there are in fact various phrases and words which can be matched between these two sources according to Zabihollah Safa.[5]
The Shahnameh recounts the history of Iran, beginning with the creation of the world and the introduction of the arts of civilization (fire, cooking, metallurgy, law) to the Aryans (in the sense of Iranians) and ends with the Arab conquest of Persia. The work is not precisely chronological, but there is a general movement through time. Some of the characters live for hundreds of years but most have normal life spans. There are many shāhs who come and go, as well as heroes and villains, who also come and go. The only lasting images are that of Greater Persia itself, and a succession of sunrises and sunsets, no two ever exactly alike, yet illustrative of the passage of time.
The work is divided into three successive parts: the mythical, heroic, and historical ages.
Father Time, a Saturn-like image, is a reminder of the tragedy of death and loss, yet the next sunrise comes, bringing with it hope of a new day. In the first cycle of creation, evil is external (the devil). In the second cycle, we see the beginnings of family hatred, bad behavior, and evil permeating human nature. Shāh Fereydūn's two eldest sons feel greed and envy toward their innocent younger brother and, thinking their father favors him, they murder him. The murdered prince's son avenges the murder, and all are immersed in the cycle of murder and revenge, blood and more blood.
In the third cycle, we encounter a series of flawed shahs. There is a Phaedra-like story of Shāh Kay Kāvus, his wife Sūdābeh, and her passion and rejection by her stepson, Sīyāvash.
In the next cycle, all the players are unsympathetic and selfish and evil. This epic on the whole is darker over all than most other epics, most of which have some sort of resolution and catharsis. This tone seems reflective of two things, perhaps: the conquest of the Sasanid Iran, and a reflection of the last days of Persian Zoroastrianism.
It is only in the characterizations of the work's many figures, both male and female, that Zoroaster's original view of the human condition comes through. Zoroaster emphasized human free will. All of Ferdowsi's characters are complex. None of them are an archetype or a puppet. The best characters have bad flaws, and the worst have moments of humanity.
Ferdowsi was grieved by the fall of the Persian empire and its subsequent rule by Arabs and Turks. The Shahnameh is largely his effort to preserve the memory of Persia's golden days and transmit it to a new generation so that they could learn and try to build a better world.[6] Though formally Muslim, the Shahnameh nevertheless has a certain anti-Arab and anti-Turk bias.[7]
After an opening in praise of God and Wisdom, the Shahnameh gives an account of the creation of the world and of man as believed by the Sasanians. This introduction is followed by the story of the first man, Keyumars, who also became the first king after a period of mountain dwelling. His grandson Hushang, son of Sīyāmak, accidentally discovered fire and established the Sadeh Feast in its honor. Stories of Tahmuras, Jamshid, Zahhāk, Kawa or Kaveh, Fereydūn and his three sons Salm, Tur, and Iraj, and his grandson Manuchehr are related in this section. This portion of the Shahnameh is relatively short, amounting to some 2,100 verses or four percent of the entire book, and it narrates events with the simplicity, predictability, and swiftness of a historical work.
Almost two-thirds of the Shahnameh is devoted to the age of heroes, extending from Manuchehr's reign until the conquest of Alexander the Great (Sekandar). The main feature of this period is the major role played by the Saka or Sistānī heroes who appear as the backbone of the Persian Empire. Garshāsp is briefly mentioned with his son Narimān, whose own son Sām acted as the leading paladin of Manuchehr while reigning in Sistān in his own right. His successors were his son Zāl and Zal's son Rostam, the bravest of the brave, and then Farāmarz.
Among the stories described in this section are the romance of Zal and Rudāba, the Seven Stages (or Labors) of Rostam, Rostam & Sohrāb, Sīyāvash & Sudāba, Rostam & Akvān Dīv, the romance of Bižhan & Manížheh, the wars with Afrāsīyāb, Daqiqi's account of the story of Goshtāsp & Arjāsp, and Rostam & Esfandyār.
It is noteworthy that the legend of Rostam and Sohrāb is attested only in the Shahnameh and, as usual, begins with a lyrical and detailed prelude. Here Ferdowsi is at the zenith of his poetic power and has become a true master of storytelling. The thousand or so verses of this tragedy comprise one of the most moving tales of world literature.
A brief mention of the Arsacid dynasty follows the history of Alexander and precedes that of Ardashir I, founder of the Sassanid Empire. After this, Sassanid history is related with a good deal of accuracy. The fall of the Sassanids and the Arab conquest of Persia are narrated romantically.
Ferdowsi did not expect his readers to pass over historical events indifferently, but asked them to think carefully, to see the grounds for the rise and fall of individuals and nations; and to learn from the past in order to improve the present, and to better shape the future. Ferdowsi stresses his belief that since the world is transient, and since everyone is merely a passerby, one is wise to avoid cruelty, lying, avarice, and other evils; instead one should strive for justice, honor, truth, order, and other virtues.
The singular message that the Shahnameh of Ferdowsi strives to convey is the idea that the history of Sassanid Empire was a complete and immutable whole: it started with Keyumars, the first man, and ended with his fiftieth scion and successor, Yazdegerd III, six thousand years of history of Iran. The task of Ferdowsi was to prevent this history from being lost to future Persian generations.
According to the expert Dr. Jalal Khaleghi Mutlaq, the Shahnameh teaches: Yekta-Parasti (Worship of one God), Khoda Tarsi (Fear of breaking the commandments of God-respecting God), Din Dari (Religious Uprightness), Mihan Doosti (patriotism), Mehr beh Zan o Farzand (love of wife, family and children), Dastgiryeh Darmandegaan (Helping the poor), Kheradmandi (Pursuit of Wisdom), Dad-Khahi (Pursuit of Justice), Door-Andishi (Long term thinking), Miyaneh Ravi (Seeking and Acting in Equilibrium-moderation), Adaab Daani (Acting and Knowing correct manner-courtesy), Mehman Nawazi (Seeking the happiness of Guests-hospitality), Javanmardi (Chivalry), Bakhshesh (Forgiveness), Sepasgozari (Thankfulness), Khoshnoodi o Khorsandi (Being content and Happy with existence), Kooshaayi (Hard Work), Narmesh Yaa Modaaraa (Being Peaceful and Kind), Vafadaari (Being faithful), Raasti o Dorostkari (Truth and opposing anything that is against the Truth), Peymaan Daari (Keeping covenants), Sharm o Ahestegi (Shame at committing immoral acts and also control over one's self), Khamooshi (Not acting loud-modesty), Danesh Amoozi (Pursuing Knowledge-education), Sokhan Dani (Knowledge of Wise Words) and many other moral qualities.[8]
Ferdowsi wrote in the end of his Shahnameh:
I've reached the end of this great history
And all the land will talk of me:
I shall not die, these seeds I've sown will save
My name and reputation from the grave,
And men of sense and wisdom will proclaim
When I have gone, my praises and my fame.[9]
This prediction of Ferdowsi has come true and many Persian literary figures, historians and biographers have praised him and his Shahnameh. The Shahnameh is considered by many to be the most important piece of work in Persian literature. Western writers have also praised the Shahnameh and Persian literature in general. Persian literature has been considered by such thinkers as Goethe as one of the four main bodies of world literature.[10] Goethe was inspired by Persian literature, which moved him to write his famous "West-Eastern Divan". Goethe writes:
When we turn our attention to a peaceful, civilized people, the Persians, we must—since it was actually their poetry that inspired this work—go back to the earliest period to be able to understand more recent times. It will always seem strange to the historians that no matter how many times a country has been conquered, subjugated and even destroyed by enemies, there is always a certain national core preserved in its character, and before you know it, there re-emerges a long-familiar native phenomenon. In this sense, it would be pleasant to learn about the most ancient Persians and quickly follow them up to the present day at an all the more free and steady pace.[11]
Sargozasht-Nameh or Biography of important poets and writers has long been a Persian tradition. Some of the biographies of Ferdowsi are now considered apocryphal, nevertheless this shows the important impact he had in the Persian World. Among the famous biographers are [12]:
1) Nezami 'Arudi-i Samarqandi in his Chahar Maqaleh (Four Articles).
2) Dowlat Shah-i Samarqandi in his Tazkeret Al-Shu'ara (The Biography of poets)
3) Jami in his Baharestan.
4) Mohammad 'Awfi in his Lubab al-Albab.
5) Natayej al-Afkar by Mowlana Muhammad Qudrat Allah
6) 'Arafat Al-'Ashighin written by Taqqi Al-Din 'Awhadi Balyani
A modern biography in English is written by the late Professor Abdullah Shapur Shahbazi of Eastern Oregon University titled: "Ferdowsi: A Critical Biography"[13]
Famous poets of Persia and the Persian tradition have praised and eulogized Ferdowsi. Many of them were heavily influenced by his writing and used his genre and stories to develop their own Persian epics, stories and poems:.[14]
1) Anvari a famous poet in his own right remarks about the eloquence of the Shahnameh: "He was not just a Teacher and we his students. He was like a God and we are his slaves".[15]
2) Asadi Tusi was born in the same city as Ferdowsi. His Garshaspnama was inspired by the Shahnameh as he attests in the introduction. He praises Ferdowsi in the introduction [16] and considers Ferdowsi the greatest poet of his time[17]
3) Masud Sa'ad Salman, originally from Persia, was a poet of the Ghaznavid courts of India. Showing the influence of the Shahnameh only 80 years after the composition of the Shahnameh, he recited its poems in the Ghaznavid court.
4) Othman Mokhtari another poet at the court of the Ghaznavids of India remarks: "Alive is Rustam through the epic of Ferdowsi, Else there would not be a trace of him in this World"[18]
5) Sanai believes that in reality the foundation of poetry was established by Ferdowsi.[19]
6) Nizami Ganjavi was influenced greatly by Ferdowsi and three of his five jewls had to do with pre-Islamic Persia. His Khosro-o-Shirin, Haft Peykar and Eskandar-nameh used the Shahnameh as a major source. Nizami remarks that Ferdowsi is "the wise sage of Tus" who beautified and decorated words like a new bride.[20]
7) Khaghani of Shirvan who was the court poet of the Shirvanshah has remarked about Ferdowsi:
The candle of the wise in this darkness of sorrow,
The pure words of Ferdowsi of the Tusi are such
His pure sense is an angelic birth
Angelic born is anyone who's like Ferdowsi
شمع جمع هوشمندان است در دیجور غم
زاده حوراوش بود چون مرد فردوسی بود
نکته ای کز خاطر فردوسی طوسی بود
زادگاه طبع پاکش جملگی حوراوش اند
8) Attar remarks about the poetry of Ferdowsi:
Open eyes and through the sweet poetry see the heavenly eden of Ferdowsi
باز کن چشم و ز شعر چون شکر
در بهشت عدن فردوسی نگر
9) Sa'adi in a famous poem remarks:
How sweetly has conveyed the pure natured Ferdowsi,
May blessing be upon his pure resting place:
Do not harass the ant that's dragging a seed,
because it has life and sweet life is dear.چه خوش گفت فردوسی پاکزاد
که رحمت بر آن تربت پاک باد
میازار موری که دانه کش است
که جان دارد و جان شیرین خوش است
10) Jami in his Baharestan remarks: He came from Tus and his excellence, renown and perfection are well known. Yes, what need is there of the panegyrics of others to that man who has composed verses as those of the Shah-nameh?
Many other poets can also be named. For example Hafez, Rumi and other mystical poets have used many imageries of Shahnameh heroes in their poetry. With this regard, the Saqinaameh of Hafez and the famous verse of Rumi: "Shir-e Khoda o Rostam-e Dastan-am Arezoost" (The lion of God (Ali) and Rostam of Dastaan is what I seek) come to mind.
The Shahnameh's impact on Persian historiography was immediate and some historians decorated their books with the verses of Shahnameh. Below is sample of ten important historians who have praised the Shahnameh and Ferdowsi[12]:
1) The unknown writer of the Tarikh Sistan (History of Sistan) (circa 1053 A.D.)
2) The unknown writer of Majmal al-Tawarikh wa Al-Qasas (circa 1126).
3) Mohammad Ali Ravandi the writer of the Rahat al-Sodur wa Ayat al-Sorur (circa 1206)
4) Ibn Bibi the writer of the history book Al-Awamir al-'Alaiyah written during the era of 'Ala ad-din KayGhobad
5) Ibn Esfandyar the composer of the Tarikh-e Tabarestan.
6) Muhammad Juwayni the early historian of the Mongol era in his Tarikh-e Jahan Gushay (Ilkhanid era)
7) Hamdollah Qazwini also paid much attention to the Shahnameh and wrote his Zafarnameh based on the same style. (Ilkhanid era)
8) Hafez Abru (1430) in his Majma' al-Tawarikh
9) Khwand Mir in his Habab al-Siyar (circa 1523) has praised Ferdowsi and has given an extensive biography on Ferdowsi.
10) The Arab Historian Ibn Athir remarks in his book titled "Al-Kamil": "If we name it the Quran of 'Ajam, we have not said something in vain. If a poet writes poetry and the poems have many verses, or if someone writes many compositions, it will always be the case that some of their writings might not be excellent. But in the case of Shahnameh, despite having more than 40 thousand couplets, all its verses are excellent".[21]
The Shirvanshah dynasty adopted many of their names from the Shahnameh. The relationship between Shirwanshah and his son, Manuchihr, is mentioned in chapter eight of Nizami's Leili o Majnoon. Nizami advises the king's son to read the Shahnameh and to remember the meaningful sayings of the wise.[22]
According to the Turkish historian Mehmat Fuad Koprulu[23] :
Indeed, despite all claims to the contrary, there is no question that Persian influence was paramount among the Seljuks of Anatolia. This is clearly revealed by the fact that the sultans who ascended the throne after Ghiyath al-Din Kai-Khusraw I assumed titles taken from ancient Persian mythology, like Kai-Khusraw, Kai-Kaus, and Kai-Qubad; and that Ala' al-Din Kai-Qubad I had some passages from the Shahname inscribed on the walls of Konya and Sivas. When we take into consideration domestic life in the Konya courts and the sincerity of the favor and attachment of the rulers to Persian poets and Persian literature, then this fact (i.e. the importance of Persian influence) is undeniable.
Shah Esmail Safavi was also deeply influenced by the Persian literary tradition of Iran, particularly by the Shahnameh of Ferdowsi, which probably explains the fact that he named all of his sons after Shahnameh characters. Dickson and Welch suggest that Esmāil's "Shāhnāmaye Shāhī" was intended as a present to the young Tahmāsp.[24] After defeating Muhammad Shaybāni's Uzbeks, Ismāil asked Hātefī, a famous poet from Jam (Khorasan), to write a Shahnameh like epic about his victories and his newly established dynasty. Although the epic was left unfinished, it was an example of mathnawis in the heroic style of the Shāhnāma written later on for the Safavid kings.[25]
After Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, 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 Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, but none of them could quite achieve the same degree of fame and popularity.
Some experts believe the main reason the Modern Persian language today is more or less the same language as that of Ferdowsi's time over 1000 years ago is due to the very existence of works like Ferdowsi's Shahnameh which have had lasting and profound cultural and linguistic influence. In other words, the Shahnameh itself has become one of the main pillars of the modern Persian language. Studying Ferdowsi's masterpiece also became a requirement for achieving mastery of the Persian language by subsequent Persian poets, as evidenced by numerous references to the Shahnameh in their works. This is also due to the fact that Ferdowsi went to great lengths to avoid any words drawn from the Arabic language – which had increasingly infiltrated the Persian language following the Arab conquest of Persia in the 7th century. Ferdowsi followed this path not only to preserve and purify the Persian language, but also as a stark political statement against the Arab conquest of Persia.[26] This assertion has been called into question by Mohammed Moinfar, who has noted that there are numerous examples of Arabic words in the Shahnameh which are effectively synonyms for Persian words previously used in the text. This calls into question the idea of Ferdowsi's deliberate eschewing of Arabic words.[27]
The Shahnameh has 62 stories, 990 chapters, and some 60,000 rhyming couplets, making it more than three times the length of Homer's Iliad, and more than twelve times the length of the German Nibelungenlied. According to Ferdowsi, the final edition of the Shahnameh contained some sixty thousand distichs. But this is a round figure; most of the relatively reliable manuscripts have preserved a little over fifty thousand distiches. Nezami-e Aruzi reports that the final edition of the Shahnameh sent to the court of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni was prepared in seven volumes.
There have been a number of English translations, almost all abridged. James Atkinson of the East India Company's medical service was the first to undertake a translation into English in his 1832 publication for the Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland, now part of the Royal Asiatic Society.[28]
Between 1905 and 1925, the brothers Arthur & Edmond Warner published a translation of the complete work in nine volumes, now out of print. A recent translation by Dick Davis [29] has made this epic poem accessible for English speakers. The translation is a combination of poetry and prose, although it is not a complete translation of the Shahnameh.
Professor Victoria Arakelova of Yerevan University states[30]:
During the ten centuries passed after Firdausi composed his monumental work, heroic legends and stories of Shahnameh have remained the main source of the storytelling for the peoples of this region: Persians, Pashtuns, Afghans, Kurds, Gurans, Talishis, Armenians, Georgians, North Caucasian peoples, etc.
Professor Jamshid Sh. Giunshvili remarks on the connection of Georgian culture with that of Shahnama[31]:
The names of many Shahnama heroes, such as Rostam, Tahmine, Sam-i, or Zaal-i, are found in 11th- and 12th-century Georgian literature. They are indirect evidence for an Old Georgian translation of the Shahnama that is no longer existent.
Furthermore he remarks:
The Shahnama was not only translated to satisfy the literary and aesthetic needs of readers and listeners, but also to inspire the young with the spirit of heroism and Georgian patriotism. Georgian ideology, customs, and worldview often informed these translations because they were oriented toward Georgian poetic culture. Conversely, Georgians consider these translations works of their native literature. Georgian versions of the Shahnama are quite popular, and the stories of Rostam and Sohrab, or Bijan and Manizha became part of Georgian folklore.
Matthew Arnold used a famous episode from the epic as the basis of his poem Sohrab and Rustum (1853).
Georgian versions of the Šāh-nāma are quite popular, and the stories of Rostam and Sohrāb, or Bījan and Maniža became part of Georgian folklore.[32] Georgians consider the translations of the Shahnama as part of their native literature.[32]
Despite some popular belief, the Turanians of Shahnama (whose sources are based on Avesta and Pahlavi texts) have no relationship with the ethno-liguistic group Turk today.[33] The Turanians of Shahnama are an Iranian people representing Iranian nomads of the Steppes and have no relationship to the culture of Turks.[33] Turan or Persian for the areas of Central Asia beyond the Oxus up to the 7th century (where the story of the Shahnama ends) was generally an Iranian speaking land.[34] According to Prof. Richard Frye: "The extent of influence of the Iranian epic is shown by the Turks who accepted it as their own ancient history as well as that of Iran... The Turks were so much influenced by this cycle of stories that in the eleventh century AD we find the Qarakhanid dynasty in Central Asia calling itself the 'family of Afrasiyab' and so it is known in the Islamic history”.[35] Turks, as an ethno-linguistic group have been influenced by the Shahnama since advent of Saljuqs.[36] Toghrul III of Seljuqs is said to have recited the Shahnama while swinging his mace in battle.[36] The Saljuqs decorated the walls of Konya and Sivas with the verses of the Shahnama.[37][38] According to Ibn Bibi, in 618/1221 the Saljuq of Rum Ala' al-Din Kay-kubad decorated the walls of Konya and Sivas with verses from the Shah-nama.[37] Mehmed Fuad Kopruli has mentioned that:" there is no question that Persian influence was paramount among the Seljuks of Anatolia. This is clearly revealed by the fact that the sultans who ascended the throne after Ghiyath al-Din Kai-Khusraw I assumed titles taken from ancient Persian mythology, like Kai-Khusraw, Kai-Ka us, and Kai-Qubad; and that. Ala' al-Din Kai-Qubad I had some passages from the Shahname inscribed on the walls of Konya and Sivas.".[38]
The Turks themselves connected their origin not with Turkish tribal history but with the Turan of Shahnama.[39] Specifically in India, through the Shahnama, they felt themselves to be the last outpost tied to the civilized world by the thread of Iranianism.[39]
The great Mongol Shahnama is one of the most illustrative and important Shahnama's produced[40] during the reign of the Ilkhanid Sultan Abu Sa'id. The Timurids continued this tradition. For the Timurids, it was considered de rigueur for the members of the family to have personal copies of the epic poem.[41] Consequently, three of Timur’s grandsons—Bāysonḡor, Ebrāhim Solṭān, and Moḥammad Juki—each commissioned such a volume.[41] Among these, the Baysonghori Shahnama manuscripted commissioned by the Timurid prince Ḡīāṯ-al-Dīn Bāysonḡor b. Šāhroḵ is one of the most voluminous and artistic of all Šāh-nāma manuscripts.[42]
The production of illustrated Šāh-nāma manuscripts in the 15th century remained vigorous[41] during the Qarā-Qoyunlu or Black Sheep (1380–1468) and Āq Qoyunlu or White Sheep (1378–1508) Turkman dynasties.[41] Many of the extant illustrated copies, with more than seventy or more paintings, are attributable to Tabriz, Shiraz, and Baghdad beginning in about the 1450s-60s and continuing to the end of the century[41]
The Safavid era saw a resurgence of Shahnama productions.[41] Shah Esmail I used the epic for propaganda purposes: as a gesture of Persian patriotism, as a celebration of renewed Persian rule, and as a reassertion of Persian royal authority.[41] The Safavids commisioned elaborate copies of the Shahnameh to support their legitimacy.[43][44] Among the high points of Shahnama illustrations was the series of 250 minatures which illustrated the Shahnameh commissioned by Shah Ismail for his son Shah Tahmasp.[45]
The Qajar king of Iran, Agha Muhammad Khan recited verses of the Shahnama to encourage his troop.[46]
Illustrated copies of the work are among the most sumptuous examples of Persian miniature painting. Several copies remain intact, although two of the most famous, the Houghton Shahnameh and the Great Mongol Shahnameh, were broken up for sheets to be sold separately in the 20th century. A single sheet from the former (now Aga Khan Museum) was sold for £904,000 in 2006.[47] The Bayasanghori Shâhnâmeh, an illuminated manuscript copy of the work (Golestan Palace, Iran), is included in UNESCO's Memory of the World Register of cultural heritage items.[48][49]
In honor of the Shahnama's millennial anniversary, in 2010 the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. hosted an exhibition of beautifully illustrated folios from the 14th through the 16th centuries. "Shahnama: 1000 Years of the Persian Book of Kings", on view October 2010 - April 2011, coincided with a museum celebration of Nowruz, the Persian New Year.
A handful of scholarly editions has been prepared of the Shahnameh. An early edition was prepared in 1829 in India by T. Macan. It was based on a comparison of 17 manuscript copies. Between 1838–78, an edition appeared in Paris by French scholar J. Mohl, who based it on a comparison of 30 manuscripts. Both editions lacked the critical apparatus and were based on secondary manuscripts that had appeared after the 15th century; much later than the original work. Between 1877 and 1884 the German scholar J. A. Vullers prepared a synthesized text of the Macan and Mohl editions, but only three of the excepted nine volumes of his edition were published during 1877–1884. The Vullers edition was later completed in Tehran by the Iranian scholars S. Nafisi, Iqbal and M. Minowi for the millennial jubilee of Ferdowsi, held between 1934 and 1936.
The first modern critical edition of the Shah-nameh was prepared by a Russian team led by E. E. Bertel, using the oldest known manuscript copies, dating from the 13th and 14th centuries, with heavy reliance on the 1276 manuscript from the British Museum and the Leningrad manuscript, dated 1333, of which the latter has now been considered a secondary manuscript. In addition to this, two other manuscripts used in this edition have been so demoted. It was published in Moscow by the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR in nine volumes between 1960–71. Since 1971 a new edition of the Shahnameh has been undergoing republication in Tehran, however only excerpts were published and it reached a preliminary end at the same time of the Islamic Revolution.[50]
For many years, the Moscow edition was the standard text. A new critical edition has been in preparation since 1990 by Dr. Djalal Khaleghi-Motlagh, using as its chief text the relatively recent discovery of the Florence manuscript in 1977, dated 1217, which makes it one of the earliest surviving ones, predating the Moghul invasion and the following destruction of important libraries and manuscript collections. The number of manuscripts that were consulted during the preparation of Khaleghi-Motlagh edition goes beyond anything attempted by the Moscow team, and the critical apparatus is extensive and there is a large number of recorded variants of many parts of the poem. The last volume was published in 2008, bringing the eight volume enterprise to a completion. It is "by far the best edition of the Shahnameh available, and it is surely likely to remain such for a very long time" according to Dick Davis, professor of Persian at Ohio State University.[51]
Poet Moniruddin Yusuf (1919–1987) translated the full version of 'Shahnameh' into the Bengali Language (1963–1981). It was published by the National Organisation of Bangladesh 'Bangla Academy', in 6 volumes, in February 1991.
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