Shahnameh

As you might have read on the homepage, I’m quite interested in history and language, and one of my particular interests is Persia. Because of this, it’s one of my longstanding goals to be able to read the Shahnameh in Persian. The Shahnameh or Book of Kings was written by the poet Ferdowsi in the 10-11th centuries and details Persian legends/history from prehistory to the fall of the Sassanid Empire. It is regarded as a masterpiece across the world and is foundational to the culture of Irânzamin or Greater Iran. The Shahnameh in one form or another is celebrated by Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan and is influential in the Caucasus and Central Asia also. Most sources put the it as one of the longest epic poems in history.

Although reading it in Persian is unfortunately not feasible (yet!!) I found a wonderful podcast by Amir Khadem called Reading Ferdowsi which presents the Shahnameh story by story. It also offers some commentary to try and parse the beautiful but difficult poetic language and make it easier to understand. As a way to practice my Persian, I try to summarise what I am able to understand from the story as well as offer an English translation of my summary for anybody interested.

Quick note: the â sound is pronounced like the au in aura.

• Chapter 1: Dâstân-e Kiyâmars va Siyâmak (The Story of Kiyamars & Siyamak)
• Chapter 2: Dâstân-e Hushang, Tahmuras va Jamshid (The Story of Hushang, Tahmuras, and Jamshid)
• Chapter 3: Dâstân-e Zahhâk, Fereydun va Kâve-ye Âhangar (The Story of Zahhak, Fereydun, and Kave the Blacksmith)
• Chapter 4: Dâstân-e Nabard-e Fereydun va Zahhâk (The Story of the Battle of Fereydun and Zahhak)
• Chapter 5: Dâstân-e Pâdishâhi-ye Fereydun (The Story of the Reign of Fereydun)