Writing Worth Reading
Writing Worth Reading
The Shahnameh is an epic poetic rendition of what is generally described as the national myth of Iran. It is a creation which looks at mythical kings down into the historical period of the last two pre-Islamic dynasties. What Ferdowsi, the author of this poem, did at the cusp of the 11th century was put this monumental prose material into poetic form.
Your next book is the epic poem Shahnameh by Ferdowsi.
Yes, the Shahnameh is an epic poetic rendition of what is generally described as the national myth of Iran. It is in effect a creation myth which looks at mythical and legendary kings down into the historical period of the last two pre-Islamic dynasties. What Ferdowsi, the author of this poem, did at the cusp of the 11th century was put this monumental prose material into poetic form. And this was a form that could be memorised so that the history and identity of a people who had suffered defeat in a conquest could also be maintained for prosperity. The edition I am looking at is an abridged translation by Dick Davis and I think it is probably the best on the market. The original is twice the length of the Iliad: it is a huge, huge text which many Persians and Iranians can recite part of. But I think this text and the way in which Dick Davis has managed to bring some of the lyrical beauty of the text into English is also a great way for a non-Persian speaker to be able to access the myths and legends of the Iranians.
Scholars often say that the identity of a people can be recognised in their collected myths, and these are the collected myths of the Iranians which are a good repository of information and ideas. It has a lot of stories of knights and heroes and damsels in distress – all sorts of things that would later become the centrepieces of medieval romantic literature.
Read full interview
Ali Ansari is the Professor of Iranian History and Director of the Institute for Iranian Studies at the University of St Andrews, as well as Associate Fellow of the Middle East Programme, Royal Institute for International Affairs (Chatham House). He has just finished a study of the recent presidential elections, to be published this month. He is currently working on a book for Cambridge University Press entitled The Politics of Nationalism in Modern Iran, and has recently been appointed Editor of the Cambridge History of Iran Vol 8 (The Islamic Republic). It is difficult for Iranian people within the country to freely express their views, although the internet makes it easier, he says. But what has been published in the last decade before the current crackdown reflects the fact there is a literate readership that hungers for history.
