Ferdowsi (940–1020)
Born 940 CE, died 1020 CE.
Abu al-Qasim Mansur bin Hasan Tosi (940–1025), better known by his pen name Ferdowsi, was a Persian poet who is notable for being the author of the Shahnameh ("Book of Kings"), which is one of the world's longest epic poems created by a single poet, and the greatest epic of the Persian-speaking countries. Ferdowsi is celebrated as one of the most influential figures of Persian literature and one of the greatest in the history of literature. Researchers believe that Ferdowsi began composing the Shahnameh based on the Abu-Mansuri Shahnameh at the age of 30. The only poem that has been clarified about him is the Shahnameh itself. The Shahnameh is Ferdowsi's most famous poem and one of the greatest writings of ancient Persian literature. Ferdowsi completed the Shahnameh in 995, three years before Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni's accession to the throne. In 1010, Ferdowsi completed the second edition. Other poems have also been attributed to Ferdowsi, most of which are baseless. The most famous of them are the mathnawi of Yusuf and Zulaikha. Another poem that is known to be by Ferdowsi is a satire in condemnation of Mahmud. Ferdowsi came from a family of landed gentry.
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