Romantic Interludes: Women in Firdawsi's Shahnama January 8, 2011

The Shahnama, often called the 'national epic' of Iran, was completed around the year 1010 by the Persian poet Abu'l Qasim Firdawsi. A vast and complex poem, it opens with the creation of the world and concludes with the Muslim conquest of Iran in the mid-seventh century, thus comprising myth, legend, and history. Some 45,000 lines are filled with a rich panoply of characters--kings, queens, princes, princesses, heroes, lovers, warriors, villains, and magical creatures. Copied and illustrated countless times over the centuries, the Shahnama's immense popularity and influence extend well beyond the borders of Iran.