Firdausi
Also called: Ferdowsi · Topic: Early Medieval North India: Harsha to the Rajputs · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Firdausi (Ferdowsi) was a Persian poet who lived c. 940–1020. He finished the Shahnama ('Book of Kings'), a very long epic poem about the kings and heroes of ancient Iran. It is written almost entirely in Persian, with very few Arabic words. It helped keep the Persian language and Iran's sense of identity alive. Later, Turkish rulers in India, including the Mughals, admired it as a model of royal culture.
Example
Around 1010, Firdausi presented the Shahnama to Mahmud of Ghazni. A famous story says Mahmud paid him far less than he had promised, and the angry poet wrote a verse mocking the sultan.
Don't confuse with
- Al-Biruni: he also served at Mahmud's court, but he was a scientist and scholar. He wrote a survey of India's religion and sciences, not poetry.