Previous   Next
Home » Images » 0004 Pictures From History » CPA0001889

Iran: A 16th-century illustration of a chess match from the Persian epic 'Shahnameh'.

Iran: A 16th-century illustration of a chess match  from the Persian epic 'Shahnameh'.

The ‘Shahnameh’, or ‘ King’s Chronicles’, is a poetic opus written around 1000 CE by the Persian poet Firdawsi. Regarded as the national folktale of Persia, the Shahnameh consists of some 60,000 verses and tells the mythical and historical past of Iran from the creation of the world up until the Islamic conquest of Persia in the 7th century. Abu'l-Qasim Firdawsī, more commonly transliterated as Ferdowsi (or Firdausi), (940–1020) is a highly revered Persian poet throughout Iran and the Iranian world.

Quick links to other images in this gallery: