Shahnameh

by Abolqasem Ferdowsi, abridged and translated by Dick Davis

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.