Author: Abolqasem Ferdowsi
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101993235
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 1041
Book Description
The definitive translation by Dick Davis of the great national epic of Iran—now newly revised and expanded to be the most complete English-language edition A Penguin Classic Dick Davis—“our pre-eminent translator from the Persian” (The Washington Post)—has revised and expanded his acclaimed translation of Ferdowsi’s masterpiece, adding more than 100 pages of newly translated text. Davis’s elegant combination of prose and verse allows the poetry of the Shahnameh to sing its own tales directly, interspersed sparingly with clearly marked explanations to ease along modern readers. Originally composed for the Samanid princes of Khorasan in the tenth century, the Shahnameh is among the greatest works of world literature. This prodigious narrative tells the story of pre-Islamic Persia, from the mythical creation of the world and the dawn of Persian civilization through the seventh-century Arab conquest. The stories of the Shahnameh are deeply embedded in Persian culture and beyond, as attested by their appearance in such works as The Kite Runner and the love poems of Rumi and Hafez. For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Shahnameh
Author: Abolqasem Ferdowsi
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101993235
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 1041
Book Description
The definitive translation by Dick Davis of the great national epic of Iran—now newly revised and expanded to be the most complete English-language edition A Penguin Classic Dick Davis—“our pre-eminent translator from the Persian” (The Washington Post)—has revised and expanded his acclaimed translation of Ferdowsi’s masterpiece, adding more than 100 pages of newly translated text. Davis’s elegant combination of prose and verse allows the poetry of the Shahnameh to sing its own tales directly, interspersed sparingly with clearly marked explanations to ease along modern readers. Originally composed for the Samanid princes of Khorasan in the tenth century, the Shahnameh is among the greatest works of world literature. This prodigious narrative tells the story of pre-Islamic Persia, from the mythical creation of the world and the dawn of Persian civilization through the seventh-century Arab conquest. The stories of the Shahnameh are deeply embedded in Persian culture and beyond, as attested by their appearance in such works as The Kite Runner and the love poems of Rumi and Hafez. For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101993235
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 1041
Book Description
The definitive translation by Dick Davis of the great national epic of Iran—now newly revised and expanded to be the most complete English-language edition A Penguin Classic Dick Davis—“our pre-eminent translator from the Persian” (The Washington Post)—has revised and expanded his acclaimed translation of Ferdowsi’s masterpiece, adding more than 100 pages of newly translated text. Davis’s elegant combination of prose and verse allows the poetry of the Shahnameh to sing its own tales directly, interspersed sparingly with clearly marked explanations to ease along modern readers. Originally composed for the Samanid princes of Khorasan in the tenth century, the Shahnameh is among the greatest works of world literature. This prodigious narrative tells the story of pre-Islamic Persia, from the mythical creation of the world and the dawn of Persian civilization through the seventh-century Arab conquest. The stories of the Shahnameh are deeply embedded in Persian culture and beyond, as attested by their appearance in such works as The Kite Runner and the love poems of Rumi and Hafez. For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
The Epic of Kings, Hero Tales of Ancient Persia
Author: Firdausi
Publisher: Phoemixx Classics Ebooks
ISBN: 3986778160
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 231
Book Description
The Epic of Kings, Hero Tales of Ancient Persia Firdausi - The Epic of Kings, Hero Tales of Ancient Persia (The Shahnameh) is an epic poem by the Persian poet Firdausi, written between 966 and 1010 AD. Telling the past of the Persian empire, using a mix of the mythical and historical, it is regarded as a literary masterpiece. Not only important to the Persian culture, it is also important to modern day followers of the Zoroastrianism religion. It is said that the poem was Firdausi's efforts to preserve the memory of Persia's golden days, following the fall of the Sassanid empire. The poem contains, among others, mentions of the romance of Zal and Rudba, Alexander the Great, the wars with Afrsyb, and the romance of Bijan and Manijeh.
Publisher: Phoemixx Classics Ebooks
ISBN: 3986778160
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 231
Book Description
The Epic of Kings, Hero Tales of Ancient Persia Firdausi - The Epic of Kings, Hero Tales of Ancient Persia (The Shahnameh) is an epic poem by the Persian poet Firdausi, written between 966 and 1010 AD. Telling the past of the Persian empire, using a mix of the mythical and historical, it is regarded as a literary masterpiece. Not only important to the Persian culture, it is also important to modern day followers of the Zoroastrianism religion. It is said that the poem was Firdausi's efforts to preserve the memory of Persia's golden days, following the fall of the Sassanid empire. The poem contains, among others, mentions of the romance of Zal and Rudba, Alexander the Great, the wars with Afrsyb, and the romance of Bijan and Manijeh.
The Shahnama of Shah Tahmasp
Author: Sheila Canby
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300194544
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 362
Book Description
"The publication of this book commemorates the one thousandth anniversary of the completion of the Shahnama, the Persian national epic, which was written down in more than 50,000 couplets by the poet Firdausi. It also celebrates the most lavishly illustrated version of this text, a manuscript produced for the Safavid Shah Tahmasp, who ruled Iran from 1524 to 1576"--Director's Foreword, p. 7.
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300194544
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 362
Book Description
"The publication of this book commemorates the one thousandth anniversary of the completion of the Shahnama, the Persian national epic, which was written down in more than 50,000 couplets by the poet Firdausi. It also celebrates the most lavishly illustrated version of this text, a manuscript produced for the Safavid Shah Tahmasp, who ruled Iran from 1524 to 1576"--Director's Foreword, p. 7.
The Shahnameh
Author: Ferdowsi
Publisher: The Floating Press
ISBN: 1775458210
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 466
Book Description
Immerse yourself in the distant past with this epic poem from the Persian tradition. Penned more than one thousand years ago by the famed poet Ferdowsi, The Shahnameh weaves history and myth into a lyrical, action-packed work of art that you won't be able to put down. This book is a must-read for folklore connoisseurs.
Publisher: The Floating Press
ISBN: 1775458210
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 466
Book Description
Immerse yourself in the distant past with this epic poem from the Persian tradition. Penned more than one thousand years ago by the famed poet Ferdowsi, The Shahnameh weaves history and myth into a lyrical, action-packed work of art that you won't be able to put down. This book is a must-read for folklore connoisseurs.
Poet and Hero in the Persian Book of Kings
Author: Olga M. Davidson
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 1501733974
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 217
Book Description
A masterpiece of Persian Classical epic, the Shahnama or Book of Kings was composed by Abu'l-Qasem Ferdowsi at the beginning of the eleventh century. Because the Shahnama presents itself as a chronicle of the reigns of the shahs from the primordial founders to the Sasanian dynasty which ended in 651, scholarly attention has centered on the question of its historical accuracy. Addressing the literary as well as the historical and mythological aspects of the Shahnama, Olga M. Davidson makes this centerpiece of Iranian culture accessible to Western readers. Drawing on recent work in epic studies and oral poetics, Davidson considers analogies with Classical and medieval European narratives as she investigates the poem's social contexts. Her interpretation of the Shahnama focuses on both the figure of the poet himself and on his protagonists-the superhuman hero Rostam and the historical or historicized shahs. Exploring the Shahnama as an example of court poetry designed to glorify the idea of empire, Davidson identifies as a driving force of Ferdowsi's narrative a strong current of antagonism between king and hero. Ironically, she shows, it is the epic hero himself who poses the greatest threat to the concept of kingship that he is sworn to defend. Poet and Hero in the Persian Book of Kings will be welcomed by readers working in such fields as comparative literature, Middle Eastern Studies, folklore, literary theory, and comparative religion.
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 1501733974
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 217
Book Description
A masterpiece of Persian Classical epic, the Shahnama or Book of Kings was composed by Abu'l-Qasem Ferdowsi at the beginning of the eleventh century. Because the Shahnama presents itself as a chronicle of the reigns of the shahs from the primordial founders to the Sasanian dynasty which ended in 651, scholarly attention has centered on the question of its historical accuracy. Addressing the literary as well as the historical and mythological aspects of the Shahnama, Olga M. Davidson makes this centerpiece of Iranian culture accessible to Western readers. Drawing on recent work in epic studies and oral poetics, Davidson considers analogies with Classical and medieval European narratives as she investigates the poem's social contexts. Her interpretation of the Shahnama focuses on both the figure of the poet himself and on his protagonists-the superhuman hero Rostam and the historical or historicized shahs. Exploring the Shahnama as an example of court poetry designed to glorify the idea of empire, Davidson identifies as a driving force of Ferdowsi's narrative a strong current of antagonism between king and hero. Ironically, she shows, it is the epic hero himself who poses the greatest threat to the concept of kingship that he is sworn to defend. Poet and Hero in the Persian Book of Kings will be welcomed by readers working in such fields as comparative literature, Middle Eastern Studies, folklore, literary theory, and comparative religion.
The Persian Book of Kings
Author: Firuza Abdullaeva
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 152
Book Description
India has the Mahabharata, Greece has Homer's epic cycle, and the national history of Iran is chronicled in Firdausi's epic poem The Book of Kings, or Shahnama. This lavishly illustrated study explores the intricate complexity of this epic as it is beautifully rendered in a rare fifteenth-century reproduction. The Shahnama positions Iran at the heart of human civilization, and its sprawling and compelling narrative stretches from the beginning of time to the seventh-century takeover of the Persian Empire by Muslim Arabs. Ibrahim Sultan, governor of Shiraz in southern Iran from 1415 to 1435, commissioned an edition of the Shahnama that contained a lavish assortment of intricate original paintings. This version is now in the collection of the Bodleian Library, and The Persian Book of Kings explores this rare text in extensive detail. The authors investigate the life of the poet Firdausi, unpack the literary context of the poem and its illuminations, and examine the royal court of Ibrahim Sultan for whom the manuscript was commissioned. The richly colored miniatures and illuminations spread through the text are given full exploration in this study, with examinations of both the artists' techniques that influenced generations of illustrators and the artworks' meanings. The book also features a helpful glossary of Persian terms and a list of the numerous characters that appear in the epic. A gorgeously produced study of one of the great literary works of human history, The Persian Book of Kings offers a fascinating look at the myths and legends of an ancient culture.
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 152
Book Description
India has the Mahabharata, Greece has Homer's epic cycle, and the national history of Iran is chronicled in Firdausi's epic poem The Book of Kings, or Shahnama. This lavishly illustrated study explores the intricate complexity of this epic as it is beautifully rendered in a rare fifteenth-century reproduction. The Shahnama positions Iran at the heart of human civilization, and its sprawling and compelling narrative stretches from the beginning of time to the seventh-century takeover of the Persian Empire by Muslim Arabs. Ibrahim Sultan, governor of Shiraz in southern Iran from 1415 to 1435, commissioned an edition of the Shahnama that contained a lavish assortment of intricate original paintings. This version is now in the collection of the Bodleian Library, and The Persian Book of Kings explores this rare text in extensive detail. The authors investigate the life of the poet Firdausi, unpack the literary context of the poem and its illuminations, and examine the royal court of Ibrahim Sultan for whom the manuscript was commissioned. The richly colored miniatures and illuminations spread through the text are given full exploration in this study, with examinations of both the artists' techniques that influenced generations of illustrators and the artworks' meanings. The book also features a helpful glossary of Persian terms and a list of the numerous characters that appear in the epic. A gorgeously produced study of one of the great literary works of human history, The Persian Book of Kings offers a fascinating look at the myths and legends of an ancient culture.
Shahnameh
Author: Firdawsī
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780934211994
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages :
Book Description
The great national epic of Persiathe most complete English-language edition Wherever Persian influence has spread, the stories of the "Shahnameh" become deeply embedded in the culture, as their appearance in such novels as "The Kite Runner" amply attests. Among the greatest works of world literature, this prodigious narrative, composed by the poet Ferdowsi in the late tenth century, tells the story of pre-Islamic Iran, beginning in the mythic time of creation and continuing forward to the Arab invasion in the seventh century. The sweep and psychological depth of the "Shahnameh" is nothing less than magnificent. Now one of the greatest translators of Persian poetry, Dick Davis, presents Ferdowsis masterpiece in an elegant combination of prose and verse.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780934211994
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages :
Book Description
The great national epic of Persiathe most complete English-language edition Wherever Persian influence has spread, the stories of the "Shahnameh" become deeply embedded in the culture, as their appearance in such novels as "The Kite Runner" amply attests. Among the greatest works of world literature, this prodigious narrative, composed by the poet Ferdowsi in the late tenth century, tells the story of pre-Islamic Iran, beginning in the mythic time of creation and continuing forward to the Arab invasion in the seventh century. The sweep and psychological depth of the "Shahnameh" is nothing less than magnificent. Now one of the greatest translators of Persian poetry, Dick Davis, presents Ferdowsis masterpiece in an elegant combination of prose and verse.
The Books of Kings
Author: Baruch Halpern
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9047430735
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 726
Book Description
This collaborative commentary on, or dictionary of, Kings, explores cross-cutting aspects of Kings ranging from the analysis of its composition, historically regarded, to its transmission and reception. Ample attention is accorded sources, figures and peoples who play a part in the book. The commentary deals with Kings’ treatment in translation and role in later ancient literature. While our comments do not proceed verse by verse, the volume furnishes guidance, from contributors highly qualified to advance contemporary discussion, on the book's historical background, its literary intentions and characteristics, and on themes and motifs central to its understanding, both of itself and of the world from which it arose. This volume functions as a meta-commentary, offering windows into the secondary literature, but assembling data more fully than is the case in individual commentaries.
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9047430735
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 726
Book Description
This collaborative commentary on, or dictionary of, Kings, explores cross-cutting aspects of Kings ranging from the analysis of its composition, historically regarded, to its transmission and reception. Ample attention is accorded sources, figures and peoples who play a part in the book. The commentary deals with Kings’ treatment in translation and role in later ancient literature. While our comments do not proceed verse by verse, the volume furnishes guidance, from contributors highly qualified to advance contemporary discussion, on the book's historical background, its literary intentions and characteristics, and on themes and motifs central to its understanding, both of itself and of the world from which it arose. This volume functions as a meta-commentary, offering windows into the secondary literature, but assembling data more fully than is the case in individual commentaries.
The Persian Book of Kings
Author: B W Robinson
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 113687030X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 183
Book Description
The Shahnama, written in the tenth century by Firdawsi, is the national epic poem of Persia. It chronicles at great length (nine volumes in the full English translation, currently out of print) the reigns and deeds of the earliest Persian kings, over fifty of them, in four dynasties - the Pishdadians, Kayanians, Ashkanians, and Sasanians. This book, illustrated with early Persian paintings which depict the deeds described, presents in easily accessible language a summary and re-telling of the Shahnama. It covers the entire epic in one volume, includes an introduction, together with lists of kings and dynasties, and thereby provides a concise overview of, and introduction to, this key work.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 113687030X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 183
Book Description
The Shahnama, written in the tenth century by Firdawsi, is the national epic poem of Persia. It chronicles at great length (nine volumes in the full English translation, currently out of print) the reigns and deeds of the earliest Persian kings, over fifty of them, in four dynasties - the Pishdadians, Kayanians, Ashkanians, and Sasanians. This book, illustrated with early Persian paintings which depict the deeds described, presents in easily accessible language a summary and re-telling of the Shahnama. It covers the entire epic in one volume, includes an introduction, together with lists of kings and dynasties, and thereby provides a concise overview of, and introduction to, this key work.
The Persian Alexander
Author:
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1838609598
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 404
Book Description
Alexander the Great (356-333 BC) was to capture the imagination of his contemporaries and future generations. His image abounds in various cultures and literatures - Eastern and Western - and spread around the globe through oral and literary media at an astonishing rate during late antiquity and the early Islamic period. The first Iskandarnama, or 'The Book of Alexander', now held in a private collection in Tehran, is the oldest prose version of the Alexander romance in the Persian tradition. Thought to have been written at some point between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries by an unknown author, the lively narrative recasts Alexander as Iskandar, a Muslim champion - a king and prophet, albeit flawed but heroic, and remarkably appropriated to Islam, though the historic Alexander lived and died some 1,000 years before the birth of the faith. This new English translation of the under-studied text is the first to be presented unabridged and sheds fresh light onto the shape and structure of this vital document.In so doing it invites a reconsideration of the transformation of a Western historical figure - and one-time mortal enemy of Persia - into a legendary hero adopted by Iranian historiographic myth-making. Evangelos Venetis, the translator, also offers a textual analysis, providing much-needed context and explanations on both content and subsequent reception. This landmark publication will be invaluable to students and scholars of classical Persian literature, ancient and medieval history and Middle East studies, as well as to anyone studying the Alexander tradition.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1838609598
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 404
Book Description
Alexander the Great (356-333 BC) was to capture the imagination of his contemporaries and future generations. His image abounds in various cultures and literatures - Eastern and Western - and spread around the globe through oral and literary media at an astonishing rate during late antiquity and the early Islamic period. The first Iskandarnama, or 'The Book of Alexander', now held in a private collection in Tehran, is the oldest prose version of the Alexander romance in the Persian tradition. Thought to have been written at some point between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries by an unknown author, the lively narrative recasts Alexander as Iskandar, a Muslim champion - a king and prophet, albeit flawed but heroic, and remarkably appropriated to Islam, though the historic Alexander lived and died some 1,000 years before the birth of the faith. This new English translation of the under-studied text is the first to be presented unabridged and sheds fresh light onto the shape and structure of this vital document.In so doing it invites a reconsideration of the transformation of a Western historical figure - and one-time mortal enemy of Persia - into a legendary hero adopted by Iranian historiographic myth-making. Evangelos Venetis, the translator, also offers a textual analysis, providing much-needed context and explanations on both content and subsequent reception. This landmark publication will be invaluable to students and scholars of classical Persian literature, ancient and medieval history and Middle East studies, as well as to anyone studying the Alexander tradition.