ROUTLEDGE LIBRARY EDITIONS:
IRAN
THE EPIC OF THE KINGS
THE EPIC OF THE KINGS
Shah-Nama
the national epic of Persia
FERDOWSI
Translated by
REUBEN LEVY
Revised by
AMIN BANANI
Volume 13
First published in 1967
This edition first published in 2011
by Routledge
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© 1967 The Royal Institute of Publication of Teheran
Printed and bound in Great Britain
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Persian Heritage Series No. 2
The Epic of
the Kings
Shah- Nama
the national epic of Persia
Ferdowsi
Translated Ly Reuben Ley
Revised b_y Amin Banani
ROUTLEDGE & KEGAN PAUL
LONDON AND BOSTON
First published in 1967
by Rodedge Q Kegan Paul Ltd,
Broadwq House, 68-74 Carter Lane,
London EC4V 5 E L and
9 Park Street
Boston, Mass. 02 108, U.S. A.
Printed in Great Britain ly
Redwood Pre~sLimited
Trowbridge, Wiltshire
@ The R y a l Institute of Publication of Teheran 1967
N o part ofthis book ma_ybe reprod~cedin
atyform withoutpermission from the
publisher, except for the qtlofationof brief
passages in criticism
ISBN 0 7100 1367 I
page xv
PROLOGUE
The Shrih-nZma and its atlthor
The origin^ of the Shd-nZma
The contents of the Shrih-ndma
The character of the ShZh-n&a
Ferdowsi and the art of tragic epic
TRANSLATOR'S N O T E
T H E POET'S INTRODUCTION
The opening o f the book
In praise of wisdom
On the creation of the world
The creation of man
The creation of the stln
The creation of the moon
In praise of the Prophet and his companions
How the S h d - n h a came to be composed
I THE R E I G N OF K E Y U M A R S
The discovery of jre
111 THE R E I G N OF JAMSHTD
(i) The story of zahhdk
(ii) Eblis turns cook
(iii) Jamshid's forttlnes decline
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
The birth of Faridtln
ZabhZk
and KZva the blachmith
Faridtln makes war on ZahbZk
Faridun and the d e p g of ZabhZk
v
CONTENTS
(v)
(vi)
(vii)
(viii)
(ix)
(x)
(xi)
(xii)
(xiii)
(xiv)
(xv)
(xvi)
Faridun takes zahhdk prisoner
Faridun sends Jandal to seek wives for his sons
Faridun p& his sons t o the test
Faridun names his sons:-Salm, Tur and Iraj
Faridun divides the world between his sons
Salm's jealoug of lraj
Salm and Tur send a message to Faridun
Iraj visits his brothers
Iraj is killed by his brothers
A child is born t o the daughter o f Iraj
Faridun sen& Manuchehr to war againsf Tur
Manuchehr joins battle with Tur
(i) The birth of Zil
(ii) Da;rfin takes leave o f the Simorgh
(iii) Zdl visifs Mehrdb, King of Kzbol
(iv) Ruddba's slaves contrive to see Zdl
(v) Ruddba and her slave-girls
(vi) Zdl v i h Rtrddba
(vii) Zal consults his advisers over Rudiba
VI R O S T A M
(i) The birth of Rostam
(ii) Rostam slays the white elephant
(iii) Rostam and Afrdsiydb
(iv) Rostam chooses his horse Rakhsh
(v) Kdvus summons the King of Mzqandarrin
(vi) Kdvus makes war on Mdgandardn
(vii) Kdvus builds a palace
(viii) Ebljs leads Key Kdvus astray
(ix) Rosfam resctles Ke_y Kivus
(x) The combat of the seven champions
(xi) Rostam loses Rakbsh
(xii) Rostam comes to Samangdn
(xiii) The king's daughter, Tahmina, visifs Rosfanz
(xiv) Tahmina bears a son, Sohrzb
(xv) Sohrzb chooses a horse
(xvi) Afrris&db sends aid to Sohrzb
47
CONTENTS
(xvii)
(xviii)
(xix)
(xx)
Sohrib attach Rostam
Rostam battles with Sohrrib
Rostam and Sohrrib renew their battle
Sohrab is slain by Rostam
v11 S I Y ~ V O S H
page 81
The stay of S&rivosh
The mother of Sbrivosh
The rearing of S&?vosh
Suddba falls in love witb S&rivosh
SQivosh visits Sudriba
Sudriba hatches a plot
&-vw inquires into the affair of the children
S+rivosh passes throtlgh the fire
Krivtrs receives tidings of the arrival of the Turk
Afrrisbib
(x) The dream of AfrZsbrib
(xi) S+ivosh d i s p l q his skill before Afrrisblib
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
(vii)
(viii)
(ix)
VIII K E Y KHOSROW
(i) The birth
(ii) The yo&
of K y Khosrow
af Kty Khosrow
(iii) Giv disputes with the foll-gatherer
(iv) The rule of Key Khosrow
(v) Key Khosrow vows to Key Kdvus to take
vengeance on Afr2.rbrib
Kty Khosrow dirtribtrtestreasure to the warriors
Kty Khosrow sends Rostam to Hindustan
Tt/s marches on Turkestin
The adventures of Forud
Bahra returns to Tus
gives battle to ~ortrd
The Iranians strffer hardship from the snow
Afrzsiyab learns of the invasion Ly Tus
Pirzn's night attack on the Iranians
(4Kty Khosrow recalls Tus
(mi) Fariborx begs a truce from Pirzn
(xvii) The Iranians strffer defeat from the Ttrrrinians
(xviii) The Iranians r e t m to Khosrow
(xix) The Iranians renew the war
(vi)
(vii)
(viii)
(ix)
(x)
(xi)
(xii)
(xiii)
(xiv)
99
viii
CONTENTS
(XX)
(xxi)
(xxii)
(xxiii)
(xxiv)
(xxv)
The Turdnians emply magic against the
Iranian army
The Khdqdn of China spies out the arny of Iran
KZmtfs is slain by Rostam
Rostam and the KhZqZn of China
Pal~dvandencounters Giv and Tus in battle
Rostam encounters PulZdvand
IX ROSTAM A N D AKVAN T H E D I V
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
146
The Div appears
Rostam seek oat the Div
Akvdn the Div casts Rostam into the ocean
AfrZsiyZb inspects his herd of horses
X T H E ADVENTURE O F BIZHAN
AND MANIZHA
1j2
Introduction
The ArmZnis petition Khosrow
Gorgin leads Bixhan a;tra_y
Eiphan vcyages to behold Maniqha, d a d t e r of
Afrds&db
(v) Bi~hancomes to Mani~ha'stent
(vi) Manipha bears o f Bixhan to her palace
(vii) Garsivax carries Bizban into the presence of
AfrZs+cib
(viii) Pirin begs Afrdsiydb t o spare Bixhan's /$e
(ix) A f r i s e i b casts Biphan into a pit
(x) Ke_y Khosrow sees Bixhan in the world-revealing
cap
(xi) Rostamgoes to the town of Khoian to meet PirZn
(xii) Mani~haappeals to Rostam
(xiii) Rostam makes a night-attack on Afrdsiydb's
palace
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
XI T H E L A T T E R D A Y S OF K E Y
KHOSROW
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
K g Khosrow and Afras&Zb
Key Khosrow despairs of the world
The Iranians call out for ZZl and Rostam
Key Khosrow in sleep beholds the angel
Khosrow replies
I73
CONTENTS
XI1
1X
LOHRASP A N D GOSHTASP
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
page 181
Shah LohrZsp ascends the throne
Goshtdjp leaves Lohrrisp in anger
A Dehqrin takes G o s h t q into his home
The stay of Katqun, the Caesar's dat/ghter
Zarir convtys a message to the Caesar
(i) Goshtisp ascends the throne
(ii) Zardosht [Zoroaster]appears and is
acknowledged b_y Goshtrfsp
The struggle bet~veenEsfandbdr and GoshtrTsp
Goshtdjp answers his son
Esfandbrir leads an army to Zabolestan
Esfar~d+rir sends Bahman to Rostanz
Rahman delivers his message
Rostam answers Estandbzr
EsfandQar fails to invife Rostam
E.$andbdr disparages Rostam's lineage
Rosfam retors on EgandQrir
Rostam gives battle to Egandbrir
The Simorgh devises a plan for Rostanz
R o ~ t a mshoots E.$and&Zr in the T e
Rostam and Shaghcid
Rostam goes to Kcibof for the sake of his brother
Shaghzd
(XV)The king of Zzbof d&s pits for Rostanz
(xvi) Rostam kills Shaghad and then dies
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
(vii)
(viii)
(ix)
(x)
(xi)
(xii)
(siii)
(xiv)
XV G O S H T A S P S U R R E N D E R S THE
KINGSHIP T O BAHMAN
218
XVI T H E S T O R Y O F B A H M A N S O N
O F ESFANDIYAR
219
XVII T H E S T O R Y OF DARAB
(i) HomQ leaves her son Drirab in a casket on the
Euphrates River
(ii) The f d e r rears D2rdb [the Prince]
221
CONTENTS
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
Dirzb inquires abed his birth
Reshnavzd distovers the trzith about DIrdb
Hom3 enthrones Dzrzb
Drirtb returns the daughter o f Fibcus
XIX T H E H I S T O R Y O F SEKANDAR
232
(i) Sekandar accedes to the throne: Arest2fali.s
(ii) Sekandar visits DZrZ as his own envoy
(iii) Sekandar ascends the throne of Iran
(iv) Ktp o f India beholds visions
(v) Mebran answers Key
XX T H E A D V E N T U R E S O F
SEKANDAR
(i) Sekandar goeJ to the sea of the west
(ii) Sekandar leads his army to the west
(iii) Sekandar goes in search of the Water of Life
(iv) Sehndar b u i h the dam of Gog and Magog
(v) Sekandar marches to Bawon
(vi) Sekandar counsels his mother
XXI R U L E O F T H E ASHKANI
[ARSACID O R PARTHIAN] K I N G S
XXII T H E D Y N A S T Y O F SASAN
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
2j1
2f2
Bzbak dreams about SZsZn
Ardadir son of Babak is born
Ardashir-e BZbak-n arrives at Ardavzn's courf
Golnzr sees Ardashir
Ardashir flees with Golncir
Ardavcin gets wind of the j7ight
XXIII T H E STORY O F HAFTVAD A N D
T H E WORM
(i) Hufhid7s daqhter
(ii) Ardarhir goes to war with Haffvzd
(iii) Ardashir is informed o f the worm's history
263
Xi
CONTENTS
XXIV T H E R E I G N OF A R D A S H I R
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
xxv
page 270
Ardruhir ascends the throne
Arrib~hir'sadventwe with Ardav/n's &fighter
The birth of Shzpw, son of Ardashir
ShLipur's adventwe with Mehrak's daughter
Ardashir's charter for the welfare of his realm
TH E REI G N O F SHAPUR, SO N O F
A R D A S H I R . H I S WAR W I T H T H E
ROMANS
283
XXVI T H E R E I G N OF SHAPUR ZU'L
AKTAF
281
(i) Td7irand Mdleka
(ii) Mdeka, hughfer of Tz'ir, becomes enamofired
of ShZpw
(iii) M~lekabefrqs Tz'ir's fortress to Shdpur
(iv) ShLipfir travels to Rt/m
(v) Priest and PablavLin get tidings o f ShLipfir's
arrival
(vi) Sbipur captures the Caesar
(vii) Mini [Manes]appears m prophet
(viii) S h e r maker his brother Ardzsbir his heir
apparent
XXVII Y A Z D E G E R D THE S I N N E R
(i) The birth of BahrLim, son of Yaxdgerd
(ii) Yaxdegerd entrnsts his son B a h r h to Monaer
and No'mLin
(iii) The adventtlre of Bahrzm and the lyre-plying
girl
(iv) The Iranians come t o welcome Bahzm
(v) BahrLim replies to the Iranian nobles and offersto
(vi)
(vii)
(viii)
(ix)
(x)
submit to an ordeal
BahrZrn Gur's priest destry and rebuilds a
village
Bahrzm Gur and the four sisters
Bahrzm slqs a dragon: his adienture with the
gardener's tvife
The KhZqdn of China invades Iran
BahrZm Gur's lfe comes to an end
291
xii
CONTENTS
XXVIII T H E F A M I N E I N T H E R E I G N OF
PIRUZ
Page 3 1 5
XXIX T H E R E I G N O F QOBAD
317
(i) Qobzd adopts the faith of Maxdak
(ii) KasrJ bangs Maydak on the gallows
XXX T H E R E I G N OF KASRA
NUSHIRVAN
(i) KasrZ's land reforms
(ii) KasrJ's Christian wife bears him a son
XXXI B O Z O R G M E H R T H E W I S E VAZIR 324
(i) Kasrz bas a dream and Bozorgmehr comes to the
palace
(ii) The R e [Rajah]of India sends the game of chess
to Nz!shirvJn
(iii) How Borxtp brot/ght the Kalila of Demna from
Hindztstan
XXXII T H E R E I G N O F H O R M A Z D
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
(vii)
(viii)
(ix)
Hormaxd kills Ixad GoshcisHormazd rettlrns to the path of jutice
King Szva leads an army against Hort~axd
BahrZm Cbnbina presents himself before
Hormard
Hormaxd allots the command to Bahrim
B a b r h goes to war against S&a
Bahrrim dons women's garmentr
Bahrzm foresees his fate
Bahrdm Chubina assumes regal garb
XXXIII KHOSROW P A R V I Z C O M E S T O
THE THRONE
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
335
Kbosrow meets Hormaxd
BahrLim learn-r of Hormazd's blindness
BahrJnt wrangles with Khosoro~v
Babrrim r o w Khosrow
Khosrow goes to R m
3j0
...
CONTENTS
Xlll
XXXIV T H E R E I G N OF B A H R A M
CHUBINA
Page 3 7
Bahrcim ascends the throne
Bandy escapes from BahrZnz
KharrZd explains the Hindu religion
Kharrzd rebukes the Christians for strqing
from Christ
(v) The Caesar sends his datghter to Khosrow
(vi) Khosrow does battle with Bahrgm
(vii) BahrZm fees for refuge to the KhZqZn of China
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
XXXV FERDOWSI'S L A M E N T F O R T H E
D E A T H O F HIS S O N
XXXVI R A H R A M CHUBINA I N CHINA
366
367
(i) Bahrim and the KhZqZn of China
(ii) KharrZd sends Qalun to BahrZm, who is slain
XXXVII T H E S T O R Y OF G O R D I Y A , SISTER
O F BAHRAM
3 72
(i) The Gdqdn sends his brother Tauorg in
pursuit of Gordba
(ii) Gordba A i k Gostaham
(iii) Khosrow refuses a request for the True Cross
XXXVIII THE R O M A N C E O F K H O S R O W
PARVIZ AND SHIRIN
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
(vii)
(viii)
(ix)
(x)
(xi)
(xii)
(xiii)
The preface
The s t o y
Khosrow while bunting sees Shirin
The princes advise Khosrow
Shirin kills M a y a m
How Khosrow repaired the throne called
T@-e V i s
The histoy of the minstrel BZrbad
Khosrow builds the palace of Ctesiphon
Khosrow acts with g r a y
The Iranian army re~olfs
The bisfor_yof Shirin restimed
Khosrow is taken prisoner
The nobles demand Kbosrow's death
3 78
CONTENTS
X~V
XXXIX SHIRUY A N D SHIRIN, W I F E O F
Page 401
KHOSROW PARVIZ
XL T H E R E I G N O F ARDASHIR S O N
O F SHIRUY
406
XLI THE R E I G N O F G O R A Z K N O W N
408
AS FARAYIN
(i) Farqin's evil cbaracfer
(ii) Farein is filled by Shabrdn GorZx
XLII T H E R E I G N O F PURAN D O K H T
411
XLIII T H E R E I G N O F FARROKH-ZAD
412
XLIV THE R E I G N O F Y A Z D E G E R D
41 3
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
Rostam's forebodings
Rosfam's lefter to Sa'd son of Vaqqds
The reply sent by Sa'd to Rosfam
Rostam's battle wifh Sa'd
M ~ h commissions
y
the miller t o s l q
Yaxdegerd
XLV MAHUY ASCENDS T H E T H R O N E 420
XLVI THE CONCLUSION OF T H E
SHAH-NAMA
422
Prologue
Before the land of Iran was converted to its present religion of
Islam, or Mohammadanism, it had for many centuries followed
the doctrines of Zoroaster. His religion, known in the West as
Zoroastrianism or Mazdaism, had a literature of its own, which
concerned itself largely, as might be expected, with doctrinal and
ritual matters. But in its later stages there had also grown up a
small body of secular works, of which some at least dealt with the
history of the land, its monarchs and heroes.
The conquest of Persia by the Mohammadan Arabs, an event
which took place in the years after 636 of the Christian era,
wrought a profound change not only in the religion of the people
but in its language and literature. The older Pahlavi script was
displaced by the Arabic alphabet, and the older language, while
remaining basically Indo-European, was blended with a great
number of Arabic words relating not only to the new religion and
the new worship, of which the sacred language was Arabic, but
also to everyday life. In a measure it was a precursor of what happened to the Saxon vocabulary after the conquest of England by
the Normans.
The Shzh-n&na* and its author
Of the writers in the new Persian, the Iranians themselves look
upon seven as outstanding, and of these the earliest and most
linked with national sentiment is the poet known as Ferdowsi,
author of the ShBh-nBma (literally 'King-book', i.e. 'The Book of
Kings'). This work provides a more or less connected story, told
in metrical and rhymed verse, of the Iranian Empire, from the
creation of the world down. to the Mohammadan conquest, and it
purports to deal with the reigns of fifty kings and queens, the
section devoted by the poet to each bearing little relationship to
the length of his or her reign.
The author himself is normally spoken of by his poetical name
of 'Ferdowsi (or Ferdausi)', i.e. the 'Paradisal', whose honorific
* Vowels are pronounced as in Italian: 5,i and u are long, representing the
long vowels which occur in the English words 'father', 'chief', and 'rule',
while a, e, and o are short, as in 'cat , 'egg', and 'lot'.
Y
xv
mi
PROLOGUE
title was Abo'l-QZsem. His personal name is unknown and the
dates of his birth and death are both conjectural, though the latter
probably took place at some time between the years 1020 and 102j
of the Christian era. He came from the neighbourhood of Tus in
the province of KhorZsZn and appears to have been a member of
a family not wealthy but which owned a certain amount of land
that they cultivated themselves. They belonged in fact to the
'DehqBn' class, which seems to have been the depository of national
and local tradition and which educated some, at any rate, of its
sons.
The origins of the ShZh-nZmu
Ferdowsi had in his possession a prose book on the history of the
Persian kings, and possibly also one in verse, but it was not until
middle life that he began his own poem which, from beginning
to end, took him about thirty-five years. He was not continuously
employed at it and this is known from the fact that here and
there he tells us what his age was at the time when he was composing some particular episode. This enables us to deduce that the
various portions of the work were not done in the order in which
they appear in the final form of the ShZh-niima. His method was to
select episodes as the fancy took him and he, or a redactor, later
put them together in the chronological order of the reigns.
The contents of the ShZh-nZma
As a whole the work is a collection of episodes, providing a fairly
continuousstory of theIranian Empire from before the creation of
the world down to Iran's submergence under the Muslim Arabs,.
The material was of ancient origin and much of it had been stored
up in the minds of Dehqzn~,who were able to refresh their memories from records written in Pahlavi [Middle Persian] or in Arabic
prose translations. Ferdowsi indeed did not invent the legends he
put into verse form; in other words, he was not a fiction-writer
drawing on his imagination for the central characters or the actual
plots of his stories. They were established parts of the national
tradition. But he elaborated what he found already in existence
and he himself composed the innumerable speeches he put into the
mouths of his heroes, as well as the many long letters written at
the dictation of the kings and other principal characters.
PROLOGUE
xvii
The narrative begins with the creation of the world 'out of
nothing' and continues by narrating how the primordial kings
invented the crudely conceived basic requirements of civilization.
During the reign of Jamshid, who was king for seven hundred
years, there appeared, born of a family with Arab blood in its
veins, the monster Zahhiik, who was finally overcome by Kiva
the Blacksmith, whose famous banner was fbr long the palladium
of the Iranians. Another great character who appears in the
primeval era is Faridun, whose division of the earth between his
three sons, Iraj, Tur, and Salm, leads to the murder of Iraj by the
other two, and, hence, to the long feud between Tur (Turin) and
Iran.
Manuchehr it was who avenged the blood of his father Iraj; then
later in his reign appears the warrior Siim. His son Ziil fell in love
with Rudiiba, by whom he became the father of the prince
Rostam, mightiest of all the heroic figures who enter upon the
scene in the Shah-niima. He makes his appearance intermittently
during a number of reigns which between them cover a space of
over three centuries. Born in the reign of Manuchehr he does not
die until Goshssp is on the throne of Iran, when he is killed,
treacherously, in vengeance for having caused the death, howbeit
involuntarily, of the Shah Esfi~ndiyar.Even in his last moments
the hero had strength enough to slay the miserable wretch who
had betrayed him.
It was during the reign of the inept Shah KBvus that most of
Rostam's heroic feats occurred, and also his combat with his son
Sohriib, who died tragically by his hand. During that reign also
the war between Iran and Turan flared up with renewed strength.
'This was in part due to a quarrel between Kiivus and his son
Siyiivush, who fled to the court of the Turanian king Afriisiyab.
For a time all had gone well with the fugitive prince, to whom
Afrisiyiib had given his daughter in marriage, but then the
'ruranian king became offended with him and had him murdered.
The need to avenge his death therefore became imperative. Key
I<hosrow, the son of Siyiivush, had grown to manhood in Turiin
and been with difficulty rescued from it. It was he who brought
the war to a successful conclusion, Afrisiyib being killed after
a long pursuit.
It is here that the romance of Bizhan and Manizha is inserted
into the narrative.
After Key Khosrow there ascended the throne the Shsh
E K-B
PROLOGUE
AX
have been an eyewitness to the scenes described to them or could
have been close to them in time.
There is in the Sh5h-n2ma an amalgamation of the Persian
equivalents of chapters in the book of Genesis, the Odyssey,
Paradise Lost, Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and Shakespeare. It is indeedastonishing how often the vocabulary of Shakespeare suits the
incidents described in the Persian epic. Drama, comedy, tragedyall are here. Nature has a conspicuous and felicitous place in the
Shlh-nlma. Tree lore has a prominent part. The vast scene of
operations is bathed in a wondrous light.
In two types of passages Ferdowsi's art is often at its highest:
the laments for the fallen kings and heroes, and the descriptions of
sunrise. Perhaps Ferdowsi has intended an organic artistic link
between these two themes that like a great antiphony run through
the whole of the Shiih-niima. The endless procession of death is
punctuated by the recurrent birth of the source and symbol of all
life itself. For the technical solution to the difficult task of treating
repetitive material Ferdowsi borrows a prevalent and highlyregarded art form, namely theme and variations, and proves
himself a consummate master. The full range of poetic arts are
brought into play so that no two sunrises are described in the
same terms and the same manner and no two laments are identical.
There is an unsentimental pathos and a measured humanity in
these laments. They often contain some of the profoundest lines
in the whole poem.
But the poet's main object is to tell the story of his fatherland.
We are stirred by the constant clash of arms, more particularly
caused by the attacks and counter-attacks that throughout the
passage of time recurred between Iran and its enemies, the most
formidable of whom was Turiin, the great national antagonist.
The air is nearly always filled with the dust of battle, the roll of
drums of war or the clash of heavy mace on steel helmet when a
warrior meets his adversary in single combat.
Yet there areintervals for peaceful pursuits, when the monarchs,
their coronets firmly attached to their heads, play polo or go
hunting the onager-their favourite game-or the gentle gazelle.
Following on triumphs in the field of battle or the hunting ground
they seat themselves before huge trays laden with viands of every
kind, being waited on by moon-cheeked maids who are constantly
at hand with Aagons of red wine. From time to time they engage
in amorous dalliance.
PROLOGUE
XX
The events and characters described suffer no terrestrial limitations as they range over land and sky, though it is only rarely that
anything is said of adventure by sea. In this connection it may be
said that Ferdowsi was as little trammelled by the facts of geography as wcs Shakespeare. Territories separated by vast stretches
of road are traversed in an instant or else brought for convenience
into close proximity. Monarchs dictate their behests to the whole
world from the height of their thrones and proclaim themselves
the direct instruments of God's will. The prehistoric kings, and
heroes such as Kostam, live and wage war for hundreds of years.
Throughout the whole poem the struggle with the national foes is
associated with the struggle between good and evil, where the
good must in the long run gain the upper hand.
Cambridxe, 1966
R. L.
EDITORIAL NOTE
Ferdowsi and the art of tragic epic
Ferdowsi's main object is to preserve the 'history' of his fatherland, but the sum of the Shah-niima's artistic worth outweighs the
inherent shortcomings of the poet's conscious scheme. Broadly
conceived, it belongs to the epic genre. But it is not a formal epic
as the Aeneid or the Lttsiad. Rather, it has the spontaneity of the
Mad and its episodic character reveals its kinship with the chan~ons
de geste. More than any of its kindred poems, however, the ShZhngma is beset with paradoxes and conflicts. Paradoxes that are the
protein of its art and the source of tragic nobility. If there is a
unifying theme in the Shah-nima it is no simple 'wrath of
Achilles', but the malevolence of the universe. Yet Ferdowsi is
no passive fatalist. He has an abiding faith in a just Creator, he
believes in the will of man, the need for his efforts, and the worth
of his good deeds.
The pervading paradox of human existence is refracted and
made particular in episodes and lives of mortals who, prism-like,
reflect the light and shadow of character, the changes of moods
and motives, and the many psychic levels of personality. I n the
strength, variety, and sometimes profundity of its characterization
-often achieved with such economy of means-the ShBh-n2ma
is remarkable in rhe annals of classical literature. Very few of its
many protagonists are archetypes. Alas, all too many of its noblest
heroes are prey to the basest of human motives. And even the
PROLOGUE
xX~
vilest among them have moments of humanity. Although outwardly many a character defies all natural bounds, none is exempt
from the inner reality of human nature. The goodness of the best
is possible and the evil of the most wretched is not incredible.
Nowhere is this depth of characterization more evident than in
the person of Rostam, the foremost of Iranian heroes. He is
essentially a man of the arena. Chivalrous, intensely loyal, pious,
fearless, steel-willed and obdurate, he is nevertheless subject to
occasional moods of disenchantment and indifference accompanied by gargantuan gluttony. He has a mystic reverence for the
crown of Iran that inspires him to all his heroic feats. But he is
quick to take offence and, at the slightest bruise to his ego or
threat to his independent domain, wealth or power, he reacts with
the full fury and resentment of a local dynast. For all his 'active'
temperament he can be very wordy and didactic. When the occasion demands he is wise, temperate and resourceful. Of the more
than three hundred years of his life, so lovingly recounted by
Ferdowsi, only one night is spent in the amorous company of a
woman. It serves the purpose of siring the ill-fated Sohrab. For
the rest, he is infinitely more devoted to his horse. Sometimes he
is unable to rein his pride, which results in the two monstrous deeds
of his life-and shapes the final tragedy of h s life.
It is partly this depth of characterization that enhances and
ennobles the tragic episodes of the Shah-niima. Jamshid the priestking, world-orderer, and the giver of knowledge and skills, is the
victim of his own hybris. The tragedy of Sohrab is not merely in
the horror of filicide but in the fear and vanity of Rostam and the
repulsed tender premonitions of Sohrsb. The tragedies of Iraj and
Siyavush evoke the cosmic anguish and the inconsolable pity of
the guileless and the pure, ravaged by the wicked. Forud and
Bahram are the promise of sweet and valorous youth cut down
by the senselessness of war. Esfandiyar is rent by the conflict of his
formal loyalties and his piety and good sense. But it is his vanity
and ambition that send him to his doom. Nor is this moving sense
of the tragic reserved for the Iranians alone. Pirin, the hoary
TurZnian noble, shows compassion to captive Iranians and rislis
his own life to protect them only, in the end, to lose it for remaining loyal to his sovereign. Even the villainous AfriisiyBb-a
prisoner of his evil nature-is pitiable and tragic in the helpless
moments of self-awareness.
lysrdowsi has no set formulae for tragedy, yet in the earlv and
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