Schahname. Heroic Times. A Thousand Years of the Persian 'Book of Kings'
- 13 years ago
March 19, 2011 - June 19, 2011, Pergamonmuseum - Museum fur islamische Kunst
In 2010 the world celebrated the tenth centenary of the completion of the Persian 'Book of Kings'. Composed of more than 50,000 rhyming couplets, the 'Shah-nameh' is one of the greatest epics in the history of world literature. It is approximately twice as long as Homer's epics and 20 times longer than the 'Nibelungenlied'. The Persian epic poem covers a phenomenal time span, telling the entire history of the old kings of Iran, from their mythical beginnings right up to the conquest by the Arabs in 651 BCE. The epic was written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi (sometimes spelled 'Firdausi', 935-1020), who by his own estimation spent 25 years composing the work before completing it in 1010 BCE and dedicating it to the Ghaznavid ruler, Sultan Mahmud (r. 998-1020).
In 2010 the world celebrated the tenth centenary of the completion of the Persian 'Book of Kings'. Composed of more than 50,000 rhyming couplets, the 'Shah-nameh' is one of the greatest epics in the history of world literature. It is approximately twice as long as Homer's epics and 20 times longer than the 'Nibelungenlied'. The Persian epic poem covers a phenomenal time span, telling the entire history of the old kings of Iran, from their mythical beginnings right up to the conquest by the Arabs in 651 BCE. The epic was written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi (sometimes spelled 'Firdausi', 935-1020), who by his own estimation spent 25 years composing the work before completing it in 1010 BCE and dedicating it to the Ghaznavid ruler, Sultan Mahmud (r. 998-1020).