Latest / Classic Books in 30 Minutes: Western and World Literature for Busy People
The Shahnameh, by Ferdowsi (c. 1010)
In The Shahnameh (The Book of Kings, completed c. 1010), Persian poet Ferdowsi tells the sweeping story of Iran from the mythical creation of the world through legendary kings and heroes to the Arab conquest of the Sasanian Empire. Written over several decades and containing roughly 50,000 couplets, this monumental epic is filled with battles, betrayals, romance, supernatural creatures, and tragic heroes, most famously the mighty warrior Rostam and his doomed son Sohrab. Yet beneath its adventures lies a deeper meditation on kingship, justice, loyalty, fate, and the rise and fall of…
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