According to the Encyclopædia Britannica: The Persians regard Ferdowsi as the greatest of their poets. For nearly a thousand years they have continued to read and to listen to recitations from his masterwork, the Shah-nameh, in which the Persian national epic found its final and enduring form. Though written about 1,000 years ago, this work is as intelligible to the average, modern Iranian as the King James version of the Bible is to a modern English-speaker. The language, based as the poem is on a Dari original, is pure Persian with only the slightest admixture of Arabic.

Ferdowsi was born in 940 near Tus in North East of Iran. He started his composition of the Shahnameh in 977 A.D. which reportedly took nearly 30 years to complete. Ferdowsi is said to have died around 1020 A.D. and was buried at the yard of his own home, where his mausoleum now lies. He is one of the undisputed giants of Persian literature and has a unique place in Persian history because of the strides he made in reviving and regenerating the Persian language and cultural traditions. His works are cited as a crucial component in the persistence of the Persian language, as those works allowed much of the tongue to remain codified and intact. In this respect, Ferdowsi is thought to surpass Nezami, Khayyam, Asadi Tusi, and other seminal Persian literary figures in his impact on Persian culture and language. Many modern Iranians see him as the father of the modern Persian language.

Ferdowsi's masterpiece, the Shahnameh, is the most popular and influential national epic belonging to the Iranian people that at one time made up the greater Persian Empire, named in Prophet Zarathustra's Gatha as Airyanem Vaejah and in Shahnameh as Iran. The Shahnameh (Book of Kings), or "The Great Book" has remained exceptionally popular among Persians for over a thousand years. It tells the history of old Persia before the Arab conquest of the region. This tale, all written in poetic form in Dari Persian, starts 7,000 years ago, narrating the story of Persian kings, knights, system of laws, Religion, victories and tragedies.

The Andisheh Center is proud to present an event celebrating the millennial anniversary of Ferdowsi's masterpiece. Our program includes a brief talk by Prof. Dick Davis, Ohio State University on why Shahnameh is so important to Persian culture, a musical Naqqali (storytelling) of the Shahnameh love story of Bijan & Manijeh by Dr. Iraj Anvar of Brown University, and the much acclaimed ballet of the tale of Zal & Rudabeh by the famed Djanbazian Dance Company of Los Angeles.

Questions? Call 971-400-8234.