Ferdowsi – Persian poet of the 10th–11th centuries, author of Shahnameh (Book of Kings), an epic of over 50,000 verses. His masterpiece became Iran’s national treasure, shaping ideals of heroism and kingship. Shahnameh preserved the Persian language, shielding it from heavy Arabic influence.
📜 Ferdowsi worked nearly 30 years on Shahnameh, the longest epic by a single author. 🏰 It spans Persian history from mythical kings to the 7th century CE. 🖋 He deliberately avoided Arabic words, preserving the purity of Persian. 🌿 His verses inspired miniature painting and Persian theatre. 🎶 Parts of the epic were sung at royal courts as symbols of Iran’s grandeur. ⚔️ Its heroes became cultural archetypes, akin to Achilles in Greek lore. 🏛 A grand mausoleum was built for him in 1934, 900 years after his death. 📚 Shahnameh was so prized it was gifted to foreign envoys. 🔥 Families in modern Iran often read it aloud as tradition. 😂 Anecdote: Sultan Mahmud promised Ferdowsi gold but paid in silver; insulted, he wrote a scathing satire about him.