Who is the main character of the Shahnameh epic? Description and analysis of the poem "Shahname" by Ferdowsi

14.02.2024

Ferdowsi (full name - Hakim Abulqasim Mansur Hasan Ferdowsi Tusi) is traditionally considered the founder of Persian epic poetry. Today he is considered a national poet in Iran, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan. Ferdowsi - author of the largest epic poem

Translated from Persian شاهنامه‎ - “Book of Kings”, “Book of Kings”, “Tsar-Book”. The Book of Kings describes the history of Iran from ancient times to the penetration of Islam in the 7th century. Shah-Nameh describes the history of more than 50 kingdoms. 60,000 beits of “Shah-Name” made up a single epic - the longest poem written by a human hand. It covers the entire history of the Persian kingdoms over four thousand years, and contains the wisest sayings about love and separation, life and death.

At the beginning of the 10th century. favorable conditions developed for the development of literature in the relatively centralized eastern Iranian state of the Samanids (887-999), independent of the Arab Caliphate, under which the economic structure of the country finally acquired feudal forms. Crafts, local and caravan trade are especially developed; culture is on the rise. Bukhara becomes not only the capital of this state, but also the center of cultural life throughout Eastern Iran and Central Asia. It was in Bukhara that the first major school of poetry and prose in Farsi took shape and flourished. The legacy of this school became a classical tradition for the subsequent development of literature.

In the domains of the Samanids, connoisseurs of elegant words appeared; the court encouraged high poetry in Farsi. The poet responds to everything that could interest the newly revived Iranian aristocracy. The loss of connection with the ancient Iranian literary tradition and the centuries-old imitation of Arabic poetry during the period of the dominance of Arabic as the state, scientific and literary language in Iran led, obviously, to the fact that by the time of the emergence of poetry in the Farsi language, the Arabic quantitative principle of metric was strengthened to an ever-increasing degree as in theory , and in practice

During the period of Samanid dominance, interest in Iranian antiquity was revived; in particular, collections of legends and tales about mythical and historical heroes and kings who lived before the Arab invasion were compiled in Farsi. These mythological collections are usually called “Shah-name” (“Book of Kings”).

Under the Sassanids, there was a book about kings in the Middle Persian (Pahlavi) language - “Grab-Namak”, the text of which has not reached us. There is evidence of the composition in the Farsi-Dari language of at least four works that have not reached us: this is the prose “Shah-name” by Abul-Muayyad Balkhi (963); “Shah-name” by Abu Ali Muhammad ibn Ahmad Balkhi; “Shah-name” by Masud-i Marwazi (composed earlier than 966) and, finally, “Mansur’s Shah-name” (dedicated to Mansur), completed in 957. It was this work that Ferdowsi used in his composition. The preface to “Mansur’s Shah-nama” has arrived with pronounced features of early Persian-language prose. The authors of this epic code apparently used oral tradition, legends that existed in the folk and dekhkan (petty-feudal) environment. One of the authors was Dakiki (d. 977), who probably knew all these works.

The court poet Dakiki collected together those myths that later served as the basis for Shah-Name. After preliminary work, Dakiki began compiling his poetry book. According to some reports, he managed to write about 5,000 betes. The unexpected death of the poet at the hands of a slave during a feast interrupted his work, and Ferdowsi included only about a thousand of his beyts in his “Shah-Nama”. They have reached us, revealing, like other poetic fragments of Dakiki, the author’s sympathy for ancient traditions and the Zoroastrian faith.

Ferdowsi wrote the Shahnama over a period of 35 years. During this time, the political situation in the country changed dramatically. The ruling Samanid dynasty was replaced by Sultan Mahmud, a Turk by origin. This created a number of difficulties for Ferdowsi. Shah-Nameh is a purely Iranian poem, glorifying Iranian culture and the Iranian people, placing Iran at the center of the universe. The main idea of the poem is that only hereditary bearers of royal power have the right to it. Naturally, such a poem could not please the new government. Sultan Mahmud was more comfortable with the idea of the legitimacy of force rather than heredity. According to a well-known legend, which does not have exact confirmation, the Sultan refused to pay Ferdowsi for the poem. This greatly angered the poet, and he wrote a satire in which he reproached the Sultan for being descended from a slave. As a result of the Sultan's anger, Ferdowsi was forced to flee the country and wander in poverty for the rest of his life. Another legend was poetically processed by the great German romantic Heinrich Heine. According to this legend, the Sultan promised the poet to pay a gold coin for each couplet. But Mahmud cruelly deceived him. When the caravan from the Sultan arrived and the bales were untied, it turned out that the gold had been replaced by silver. The offended poet, who, according to legend, was supposedly in the bathhouse, divided this money into three parts: he gave one to the bathhouse attendant, the other to the people of the caravan, and with the third he bought soft drinks. This was a clear and direct challenge to the oppressive ruler. The Sultan ordered to punish the poet - to throw him under the feet of an elephant. Ferdowsi fled from his native place and spent many years in wanderings. Only in old age did he decide to return to his homeland. One day, the chief minister, in the presence of Mahmud, recited a couplet from a great poem. The Sultan, having replaced his anger with mercy, decided to reward the poet. When the caravan with gifts entered the city gates, a stretcher with the body of the deceased Ferdowsi was carried out from the opposite gate.

Both of these legends look extremely doubtful. Moreover, not a single reliable written source has survived to confirm these legends.

Faroud left the fortress and went to the mountain
He ascended, and the army came into view.

He went down, locked the gate,
So that the enemy could not penetrate the fortress,

He galloped with Tuhar, filled with zeal, -
He found misfortune from that moment...

Your star will be eclipsed above, -
What is love and what is enmity for you?

Farud and Tuhar looked from the top,
How the Iranian squads are moving.

“You must,” the young knight said, “
Answer my every question

About all the owners of the mace and banner,
Whose shoes are gold, whose goal is courage.

You know the noble knights by sight,
And you will tell me their names.”

And the army, in separate regiments,
It rose up the mountain level with the clouds.

There were thirty thousand brave men there,
Spearmen, warlike shooters.

Everyone - whether on foot or on horseback -
The spear, and the sword, and the gilded belt.

Helmet, banner, shoes, shield and mace -
All gold: the words are appropriate here,

That there is no gold in the mines now,
The pearls in the clouds are now gone!

Farud said: “Name the banners, everyone,
List all the famous ones by name.

Whose banner is this, where is the elephant depicted?
Everyone here is well armed.

Who gallops ahead, shaking his eyes,
Leading the brave with blue swords?”

Tuhar answered: “O sir,
You see the leader of the squads,

Swift Tus the commander,
Who fights to the death in terrible battles.

Under the banner, looking bright and proud,
The glorious Fariburz, your uncle, is rushing,

Behind him is Gustakhm, and the knights are visible,
And a banner with the image of the moon.

Mighty Gustakhm, the support of the Shahanshah,
Seeing him, the lion trembles with fear.

Warlike, he leads the regiment,
A wolf is depicted on a long banner.

Here are horsemen whose exploits are known,
And among them is Zanga, brave and honest.

The slave is as bright as a pearl,
Whose silk braids are like resin,

Beautifully drawn on the banner,
That is the military banner of Bizhan, son of Giv,

Look, there’s a leopard’s head on the banner,
Which makes the lion tremble too.

That is the banner of Shidush, the warrior-nobleman,
What walks, looks like a mountain range.

Here is Guraza, in his hand there is a lasso,
The banner depicts a boar.

Here are people jumping, full of courage,
With an image of a buffalo on the banner.

The detachment consists of spearmen,
Their leader is the valiant Farhad.

And here is the military leader Giv, who
A banner is raised, and on the banner is a seasoned wolf.

And here is Gudarz, the gray-haired son of Kishvada.
On the banner there is a sparkling golden lion.

But on the banner there is a tiger that looks wildly,
Rivnez the Warrior - Lord of the Banner.

Nastukh, son of Gudarza, enters into battle
With a banner with a doe drawn on it.

Bahram, son of Gudarza, fights fiercely,
Depicts the banner of his arkhar.

A day is not enough to talk about everyone,
I don’t have enough worthy words!”

Bogatyrs, full of greatness,
He named all the signs and differences.

And Farud’s world shone brightly,
His face blossomed like a rose.

The Iranians, approaching the mountain, from there
We saw Tuhar and Farud.

The commander became angry and stern,
He stopped both the army and the elephants.

Tus exclaimed: “Friends, wait.
One fighter from the army must leave.

Fearlessly, valuing time dearly,
Let him rush his horse to the top,

Find out who they are, those brave two,
Why do they look at the fighting army?

Will he recognize one of us in them?
Let the whip hit them two hundred times,

And if he recognizes them as Turans, -
Let him connect and bring us strangers.

And if he kills them, it doesn’t matter,
Let him drag their bodies here.

And if the spies are before us,
The damned scouts are before us, -

Let him cut them in half at once,
He will adequately reward them for their deeds!”

Bahram, son of Gudarza, said: “The riddle
I'll figure it out and end the fight in no time.

I'll ride and carry out your orders,
I will trample everything that is against us.”

To the ridge of the mountain along a rocky road
He rushed off, overcome with anxiety.

Farud said: “Tukhar, answer me,
Who rides a horse so bravely,

With an open face and a mighty figure,
With a lasso tied to the pommel of the saddle?”

Tukhar said: “He was apparently brave in battle,
But I don’t recognize him right away,

At least I know the signs of the rider.
Or is it Gudarza’s son, dressed in armor?

I remember the helmet in which Kay-Khosrow
He fled to Iran to escape his enemies.

I think it’s not the same helmet that’s decorated with it?
This hero who looks so fearless?

Yes, he is a relative of Gudarz in everything.
Ask him the question yourself!”

Bakhram seemed steeper over the mountain,
And it thundered like a thunderous cloud:

“Hey, who are you, husband, there on the steep mountain?
Or don’t you see a thick army here?

Can't you hear the earth shaking?
Aren’t you afraid of Tus the commander?”

Faroud said: “We hear the sound of trumpets,
We are not rude, so don’t be rude to us.

Be polite, O husband who has known the battle,
Don't open your mouth for impudent speech.

Know: you are not a lion, I am not a steppe onager,
You can't talk to me like that!

You are not more fearless than me,
Believe that there is strength in our body too.

We have intelligence, we have courage,
There is eloquence, vigilance, keen hearing.

Because I have it all,
I despise your threats!

If you answer, then I’ll ask you a question,
But I will only be happy with kind speeches.”

Bahram said: “I will answer. Tell me,
Although you are taller, and I am shorter.”

Faroud asked: “Who leads the army?
Which of the great ones wants to fight?

“Under the banner of Kava,” Bahram replied, “
The brave Tus, with a bright face, leads us.

Here are the formidable Giv, Gustakhm, Rukhkham, Gudarz,
Gurgin, Shidush, Farhad - a leopard in battle,

Zanga - he is the lion's offspring of Shavaran,
Brave Guraza, head of the squad.”

Faroud said: “Worthy of praise,
Why didn't you name Bakhram?

For us, Bahram is not in last place
So why don’t you spread the word about him?”

Bahram said: “O you, with the guise of a lion.
Where did you hear the words about Bahram?

And he: “I experienced the severity of fate,
I heard this story from my mother.

She told me: "Ride ahead,
Find Bahram if the army comes.

Find another warrior too -
Zangu, what is dearer to you than your own.

Like a brother, your father loved both of them.
You should finally see them!”

Bahram asked: “Oh, where were you raised?
Branch of the royal tree - isn't it you?

Aren't you the young sovereign Faroud?
May your days bloom endlessly!”

“Oh yes, I am Farud,” was the stern answer,
The trunk that was cut down is a new shoot.”

Bahram exclaimed: “Bare your hand,
Show me the sign of Siyavush!”

And what? There was a black spot on my hand,
You will say - it turned black on the flower!

With a Chinese compass - no way
Such a sign could not be drawn!

And it became clear: he is the son of Kubad,
He is Siyavusha’s true child.

Bakhram praised the prince,
I quickly climbed up the cliff to him,

Farud got off his horse, sat down on a stone,
An open, pure flame burned in my soul.

Said: "O hero, O brave lion,
You are glorious, having defeated your adversaries!

I'm happy that I saw you like this!
It was as if I saw my father alive!

Before me is a valiant sage,
Warlike, successful brave man.

You probably want to know the reason!
Why have I climbed to the top now?

I came to look at your army,
Find out about the Iranian knights.

I'll throw a feast, let the fun begin,
I want to look at Tus the commander,

Then I want to sit down like a horseman of battle
And bring down your revenge on Turan.

In battle I burn with the fire of retribution,
Holy fire - and I will take revenge on the villain!

You are the commander whose bright star is
Tell him to come here to me.

We'll stay with me for a week,
We will discuss everything before our battle.

And the eighth day will rise brightly for us,
And the commander Tus will sit in the saddle.

For revenge I will girdle myself, I will begin the battle,
I will commit such a massacre,

That the lions will want to look at the battle,
What the kites in the sky will confirm:

"More earth and ancient constellations
We have never seen such retribution!”

“O sir,” Bahram told him, “
You set an example for the heroes.

I'll kiss Tusu's hand, asking for his hand,
Having told him your direct speech.

But the commander has no reason,
His advice doesn't come into my head.

He is proud of royal blood, valor,
But he is in no hurry to work for the Shah.

Gudarz and the Shah have been arguing with him for a long time:
There is a dispute over the crown and Fariburz.

He states: “I am Nouzara the seed,
My time has come to reign!”

Perhaps the hero will become angry,
He will not listen to me, he will become angry,

Send someone else here -
So beware of the bad horseman.

He is a tyrant, a dork, whose thoughts are dark,
There is only one stupidity in his mind.

He didn’t win our trust:
After all, it was he who obtained the kingdom for Fariburz.

“Climb the mountain,” was his order,
Don't talk to that fighter now,

And threaten with a dagger to go up the mountain
He didn’t dare climb at such a time.”

The warrior Tus will give his consent, -
I will return to you with good news.

And if he sends another rider,
Don't rely too much on this one.

They will send you no more than one:
I know his routine.

Think about it - you have one concern:
Do not allow passage, lock the gate."

Here is Farud's golden club
(And the handle is a priceless emerald)

He handed it to Bakhram: “Eminent warrior,
Take my gift as a keepsake, keep it.

And if Tus, as he should, accepts us,
Will gladden our hearts, embrace us, -

He will receive more from us, benevolent one,
Military horses, saddles and blankets.”

Rejoicing in advance at such gifts,
The valiant Bahram returned to Tus.

He said to Tus with proud purity:
“Let your mind be like your soul!

Faroud, son of the Shah, this young husband,
His father is the sufferer Siyavush.

I saw the sign, I didn’t look away!
This is a sign of their family, the Kay-Kubad family!”

Tus exclaimed, the answer escaped his lips:
“Am I not the head of the regiments, the holder of the pipes?

I ordered him to be delivered to me,
And not to edit empty conversations with him,

He is the son of the king... And I am not the son of the king?
Or did I bring the army here in vain?

So what? A Turanian is like a black raven,
He sat down before us on the top of the mountain!

How self-willed the entire Gudarza family is,
You only cause harm to the troops!

That horseman is lonely - now you are afraid,
It was like seeing a lion on the top!

Noticing us, he began to play tricks on you...
In vain did you gallop along the mountain path!”

He addressed his appeals to the nobles:
“I only need one ambitious one.

Let him behead the Turanian,
He’ll give me his head!”

Bahram said to him: “O mighty man,
Don’t torment yourself with needless anger.

Fear the god of the sun and moon,
Do not commit any crime before the Shah.

That hero is Farud, he is the brother of the ruler.
Noble warrior, fair-faced horseman,

And if any of the Iranians
He wants to bend the young man to the ground,

One will go - he will not be saved in battle,
It will only sadden the commander’s heart.”

But Tus listened to his words with anger,
He rejected the advice that Bahram gave him.

He ordered the famous warriors
Ride up the mountain via an open path.

To fight the son of the king of kings
Several heroes rushed off.

Bahram told them: “Do not think falsely,
That it is possible to fight with the sovereign’s brother.

The eyelash of that knight a hundredfold
More valuable than a hundred husbands, he is the Shah’s brother.

Those who have not seen Siyavush will perk up
With joy, he only looks at Farud!

You will be held in high esteem by him:
You will find crowns from him!”

Hearing Bahram's speech about Faroud,
The warriors did not move from there.

Mourned in advance by fate,
The son-in-law of commander Tus rushed into battle,

Filled with a warrior spirit,
Headed to the stronghold of Safid-kukha.

Seeing a hero on the mountain,
Farud took out the king's ancient bow,

Tukhar said: “Apparently, in this matter
Tus ignored Bakhramov's advice.

Bakhram is gone, another one has now arrived,
But you know that I am not angry at heart.

Take a look, remember: who is he, with steel
Dressed from head to toe in armor?

Tukhar said: “That is the commander’s son-in-law,
Fearless husband, his name is Rivniz.

He is the only son, smart and sharp-sighted,
He has beautiful forty sisters.

He uses cunning, flattery and lies,
But you won’t find a braver knight.”

Farud told him: “During the battle
Are such speeches really necessary?

Let him be the tears of forty sisters
There will be mourning: my dagger is sharp!

He will be struck down by the flight of an arrow from the top,—
Or am I unworthy of the title of a man.

Now, O wise man, instruct me:
Should I kill a hero or a horse?

And he: “Strike the rider with an arrow,
So that Tus's heart becomes gold.

Let him know that you wanted peace,
That he did not go out to the army to fight,

And he argues with you out of stupidity,
This dishonors your brother.”

Rivniz is getting closer, the path is steep and mountainous.
Farud began to pull the bowstring.

The arrow hurried from the mountain to Rivnis
And she sewed the knight’s helmet to her head.

The horse, having thrown off its body, rose up and, dead,
My head hit a stone.

At the sight of the prostrate body in the dust
Tus’s eyes suddenly darkened.

Said the sage, having learned the deeds of people!
“The husband will be punished for his evil disposition.”

The commander ordered Zarasp:
“Burn, be like Azargushasp!

Hurry up to put on your battle armor,
Gathering all the strength of body and soul.

You will take severe revenge for the knight!
I don’t see any other avenger here.”

Zarasp mounted his horse and put on his armor.
Moaning on the lips, and anger in the heart.

A winged horse rushed to the top,
It seemed as if a winged fire was moving.

Faroud said to Tuhar: “Look,
Another warrior ahead.

Tell me: is he worthy of my arrow?
Is he a sovereign or an ordinary warrior?

Tuhar said: “Time is in a cycle,
Alas, it goes on non-stop.

That husband is Zarasp, the son of Tus the commander.
If an elephant comes, Zarasp will not turn away.

He is the husband of Rivneez's eldest sister,
Like an avenger, he will now draw his bow.

As soon as the warrior looks at you,
Let your arrow shoot from your bow,

So that he rolls his head to the ground,
So that the body is not in the saddle;

Mad Tus will understand clearly
That we didn’t come here in vain!”

The young prince took aim,
Zarasp hit his sash with an arrow.

He sewed his flesh to the saddle pommel,
And he took out the soul with a deadly arrow.

The wind-footed horse rushed back,
Overcome with fear and madness.

The warriors of Iran groaned,
In despair, in sadness, the helmets were removed.

Tus's eyes and soul are on fire.
He appeared before the army in armor.

He mourned the two knights, full of anger,
Like the leaves of a noisy tree.

He sat on his horse and rode off on his horse,
Say: the mountain rode on an elephant!

He galloped across the highlands to the prince,
Overcome with anger, hatred, grief.

Tuhar said: “Now don’t expect good,
A fierce mountain is coming towards the mountain.

Tus flies to battle along the mountain slopes,
You can't handle a dragon like that.

Let's lock the fortress behind us.
Let's find out what is destined for us.

You killed his son and son-in-law,
The roads to peace are closed to you."

Faroud became angry and became heated:
“When the hour of the great battle came,

What for me is your Tus, your roaring lion,
Or an elephant, or a leopard that jumped out of the thicket?

The fighter's fighting spirit is maintained,
They don’t put out ashes so that the fire goes out!”

Tukhar said: “Be attentive to advice.
The kings did not see the humiliation in this.

Let the mountains from the foot to the top
You tear it down, and yet you are alone.

Iranians - thirty thousand in a formidable army,
They will come, dreaming of retribution,

They will destroy the fortress on the face of the earth,
Everything around is turned upside down.

And if Tus dies in an abusive argument,
Then the Shah’s grief will be twice as bad.

Your father will be unavenged
Our plans will come to an end.

Don't shoot a bow, go back to the fortress,
Lock yourself up and the contractions will become absurd.”

That word that is illuminated by the mind,
Tuhar should have said long ago,

But he advised foolishly at first,
His words inflamed Farud.

The prince owned the best of the strongholds.
There were seventy slaves in it,

They sparkled like drawings from China,
Watching the progress of the battle from the roof.

The prince could not retreat: then
He would have burned in front of them with shame.

Said Tuhar, the mentor without luck:
“If you want to go into battle hot,

Then spare the commander Tus:
You'll hit his horse with an arrow.

Moreover, when suddenly grief strikes.
Then more than one arrow will shoot from a bow,

His troops will follow Tus,
And this means: death is near.

Have you seen their courage, strength, build,
You will not be able to stand against them in battle."

Then Faroud in a warlike fervor
The bow pulled and released the arrow.

It was not for nothing that the arrow threatened to cause death!
It stabbed into the warlord's horse.

The hero's horse lost its life.
Tus became furious, burning with anger.

The shield is on the shoulders, and he himself is in the dust, upset,
The noble warrior returned to the army on foot.

Faroud laughed cheerfully and evilly:
“What happened to this knight?

How this old man fights with a whole army,
What if I alone overpowered the commander?

The fall of Tus surprised everyone.
The maids could hear the laughter on the roof:

“A famous warrior rolled down the mountain,
He fled from the young man, seeking protection!”

When Tus returned on foot, covered in dust,
The knights came to him in despondency.

“You’re alive, and that’s good,” they said,
There is no need to shed tears in sadness.”

But Giv said: “Resentment burns me,”
The leader of the horsemen has returned without a horse!

Everything must have a measure and a limit,
The army cannot come to terms with this.

He is the son of a king, but is our army
Does he have the right to humiliate him so cruelly?

Or should we accept servilely
Will everything he wants to say be authoritative?

The brave Tus was angry only once,
Faroud has humiliated us so many times!

We want revenge for Siyavush,
But there is no forgiveness for the son of Siyavush!

Struck by his arrow, found his end
Zarasp, a brave man from the royal family.

Rivneez's body is drowned in blood, -
Is there really no limit to humiliation?

Although he is Kay-Kubada, blood and flesh, -
He’s stupid, and stupidity must be overcome!”

He clothed his body in garments of war,
And his soul was seething with rage.

- Khaoshyankha), defeated the divas, avenged the death of his father and ascended the throne of Gayomart. The Shahnameh tells that the Iranian king Khushang discovered the art of extracting fire from stone, lit a sacred flame and built the first altar to fire. He taught people to forge iron, irrigate the land, and make clothes from animal skins.

Gayomart, the first Shah of Iran. Miniature to Ferdowsi's Shahnama. 16th century

After the death of Khushang, the Iranian throne, according to Ferdowsi, ascended Tahmuras(Avest. Takhma-Urupi), pacifier of divas. Under him, people learned the art of spinning and weaving, learned to sing, and learned to tame animals. Having received a lasso from Serush, the messenger of the gods, he rode out on horseback, with a mace and lasso in his hand, against the divas and threw them to the ground.

After Tahmuras he ruled with royal splendor Jemshid(Avest. Iyima Khshait). The Shahnama says that this king divided people into four ranks: priests, warriors, farmers and artisans. With the help of the divas, who stood at his throne girded like slaves, he erected magnificent buildings. He extracted metals from the earth and built the first ship. Everything obeyed the mighty Dzhemshid; They brought him precious attire, and celebrated an annual celebration in his honor, a “new day.” Such greatness made the king arrogant. Dzhemshid sent his image to the peoples and demanded that they show him divine honors. Then the radiance of God retreated from him, kings and nobles rebelled against him, and the evil spirit again became powerful on earth.

Villain Zohak and Feridun

At that time, continues the poem of Ferdowsi, there lived in the land of the Thasians (Thasi), in the desert, a prince whose name was Zohak(Avest. Azhi-Dahaka), filled with lust for power and wicked desires. Iblis, an evil spirit, came to him and said: “I will raise your head above the sun if you enter into an alliance with me.” Zohak entered into an alliance with him, killed his father with the help of the div and took possession of his throne. Then Iblis turned into a beautiful young man, entered the service of Zohak as a cook, fed him with blood like a lion to make him courageous, and gave him excellent foods to gain his favor. And he asked permission to kiss Zohak on the shoulder. Zohak allowed him - and instantly two black snakes grew in the place where the young man kissed. Zohak was amazed and ordered to cut them off at the very root, but in vain. Like the branches of a tree, they grew again. Then Iblis came to him in the form of a doctor and gave him advice to feed them with human brains. In this way, Iblis hoped to exterminate people on earth.

"Shahname" by Ferdowsi. Indian edition of the late 18th century

The Shahnameh says that the Iranians, dissatisfied with Jemshid, turned to this Zohak and proclaimed him their king. At the news of Zohak's approach, Dzhemshid fled, giving the throne to a foreign conqueror. A hundred years later, he again appears to people in the farthest east, on the seashore, in the country of Chin (China). Zohak takes him prisoner and saws him in half with a saw. Zohak, according to Ferdowsi, reigns over Iran for a thousand years, committing atrocities after atrocities. Every day two people are given to his snakes as food. Pure girls are forcibly brought to his palace and taught them evil things. He is bloodthirsty in his tyranny. He orders to kill all the descendants of Dzhemshid that he can find, because the dream foreshadowed him: a young man of the royal family, with a slender figure like a cypress, will kill him with an iron mace made in the shape of a cow’s head.

But, according to the legend told in Shahnama, Feridun(ancient Iranian national hero Traetaona), the great-grandson of Dzhemshid, was saved from the search for Zohak by the caution of his mother, who gave him to the hermit in the forest of Mount Elbrus. Having reached the age of sixteen, he descends from the mountain, learns from his mother his origin and the fate of his dynasty, and goes to take revenge on the tyrant. Ferdowsi describes how the blacksmith Kawa, whose sixteen sons were devoured by the snakes of Zohak, ties his leather apron to a spear and, under this banner, leads those who hate Zohak to Feridun. Feridun orders a mace shaped like a cow's head to be forged in memory of the cow Purmaya, who fed him in the forest. He defeats Zohak, does not kill him, because this is forbidden by Saint Serosh (Sraosha), but chains him to a rock in a deep, terrible cave of Mount Damavanda.

Tyrant Zohak, nailed by Feridun to the Damavand rock. Miniature to Ferdowsi's Shahnama. 17th century

In this form, Ferdowsi’s “Shahname” conveys, modified over the centuries, the ancient myth about the three-headed snake Dahaka, who was killed by Traetaona, the son of Atwiya. The monster, which was created by the demon of evil Ahriman to devastate the world of purity, was transformed by the Iranians of the time of Ferdowsi into a tyrant with one human and two snake heads. The mythical hero, who conquered disease and death with the invention of medicine, became just a man.

Feridun has ruled Iran wisely and fairly for five hundred years. But the power of the evil spirit continues to operate in his family. Dejected by old age, he divides the kingdom between his three sons Selmo, Tour And Irejem. Selm and Tur say that Feridun gave too much to his youngest son. In vain did Irej, noble in soul and brave, declare that he would give up everything in their favor. The older brothers, irritated by the fact that the people call Iredzha worthy of royal power, kill the young man beloved by God. From the lips of their father Feridun, a curse breaks out, which “like the scorching breath of the desert will devour the villains”; he calls for vengeance on them. His wish comes true. Grandson of Ireja, Minoger, kills both killers and sends their heads to Feridun. The old man dies of sadness over the fate of his family.

The Legend of Rustam

The Shahnameh further tells about the beginning of a terrible war between hostile branches of the dynasty. New atrocities increase the power of the evil spirit. Descendant of Tur, fierce, agitated by unbridled passions Afrasiab(Avest. – Frangrasyan), king Turana, wins a bloody tribal war, takes possession of the land of the sun, Iran, places his banner over the throne of Dzhemshid. But the greatest of the heroes of the Shahnameh, Rustam(Avest. Ravdas-Tahma), smashes enemies. According to Ferdowsi, Rustam was born in the region of Sistan (ancient Drangian) and was the son of the hero Zal and Rudaba, the daughter of the Kabul king. The story of the love of Zal and Rudaba contained in the Shahnameh is a graceful and lyrical episode of a majestic epic filled with a warlike spirit.

Having defeated Afrasiab, Rustam is elevated to the Iranian throne Key-Kubada(Kava-Kavada), descendant of Feridun. Afrasiab escapes beyond the Oxus (Amu Darya). Rustam defends the country of the sun, Iran, against the Turans, under Kava-Kavad and his successors - Kava-Usa (Key-Kavuse), Kava-Syavaren (Siyavakushe) and Kava-Khusraw (Key-Khosrow). On his lightning-fast horse Rakhsha, who alone of all the horses withstood the test of pressure from his heavy hand, Rustam, with a tiger skin thrown over his shoulders, beats with a lasso and a mace shaped like a bull’s head, and no one can resist him. His body is like copper, his appearance is like a mountain, his chest is wide and high, his strength is abundant, and as soon as he sees him, his enemies are horrified. Even divas are powerless to fight him.

Irritated by the prosperity of Iran, Ahriman comes up with new means to destroy those serving the god of light. He arouses arrogance and greed in the soul of Kay-Kavus; Kay-Kavus reaches such insolence that he considers himself equal to the gods and ceases to honor them. Imagining himself omnipotent, he commits a number of crazy things and brings disaster upon himself. The Shahnameh tells how Ahriman brings enemies to Iran three times and threatens Iran with destruction three times. But every time a strong hand. Rustama repels the enemies, and finally Kay-Kavus, enlightened by the disasters, becomes reasonable.

Rustam and Suhrab

Furious at the failure of his plans, at the renewed prosperity of Iran, over which the sun is shining again, Ahriman turns his anger on the hero who destroyed all his machinations, and manages to confuse matters so that Suhrab, son of Rustam, born in Turan, leads the Turanians to Iran. The father, not recognizing his son, kills him in a duel. Inexpressible sorrow takes possession of Rustam's soul when he learns that the courageous young man killed by his dagger is his son, who went to war to find his father. But even after this terrible shock and heavy blow of fate, Rustam, glorified by Ferdowsi, remains the defender of the holy Iranian country.

Rustam mourns Suhrab. Miniature to Ferdowsi's Shahnama

Ahriman's anger soon invents a new intrigue. Siyavush(“Dark-eyed”, Avest. – Syavarshan), another great hero of “Shahname”, the son of Kay-Kavus, pure in soul and beautiful in appearance, whom Rustam taught all military virtues, becomes a victim of Ahriman’s enmity. Siyavush's stepmother, Rudaba, irritated that he rejected her love, wants to destroy him with intrigue and slander. But Siyavush’s innocence breaks the web of lies. Then another danger befalls him. Fearing Rustam and Siyavush, Afrasiab made peace with Iran. Kay-Kavus, seduced by evil advice, wants to resume the war and demands that his son break his word. Siyavush indignantly rejects the treachery. The father insists on his demand, and Siyavush runs away to Afrasiab. The Turanian king accepts him with joy, marries him to his daughter, and gives the region to him.

Siyavush. Miniature to Ferdowsi's Shahnama. 17th century

But Siyavush’s happiness does not last long in the palace, which he built among rose gardens and shady groves. The legend “Shakhname” tells about him how Gersivez, Afrasiab’s brother, envying the valor and talents of the Iranian hero, fills the king’s soul with suspicion that Siyavush is in relations with his enemies, and Siyavush says that he is in danger and convinces him to flee. A detachment of Turanians was placed on the road to lie in wait for him; he is captured and Hersives cuts off his head.

This new crime sparks a fierce war. The angry Rustam girdles himself with a dream to avenge Siyavush. Ferdowsi describes how the defeated Afrasiab had to flee to the sea of the Chin country. His son dies the same death as Siyavush, Turan is terribly devastated.

The war rages even more when the Iranian throne ascends Kay-Khosrow, son of Siyavush, born after the death of his father, hidden from persecution and raised by shepherds. The struggle of peoples takes on colossal proportions: many kings lead their troops to help the Turanians, all of Central Asia unites against Iran. The army of Kay-Khusrow will apparently be overwhelmed by the large number of enemies. But Rustam saves the kingdom again. His battle with his enemies lasts forty days. They scatter before him like clouds driven by a storm. Afrasiab cannot resist his strength, and after a long struggle, the sword of vengeance falls on his head. Death also befalls the treacherous Hersivez. The victorious heroes of the Shahnameh return to their homeland.

Prophet Zerdusht in the Shahnameh of Ferdowsi

Soon after this, Kay-Khosrow, the just king, was taken from the earth in the solitude of the forest and ascended into heaven towards the sun. Lograsp (Aurvatashpa) ascended the throne of Dzhemshid, whom he appointed as his successor. Lograsp built magnificent temples for serving fire and palaces in Balkh. According to the Shahnama, he did not reign for long; his son succeeded to the throne Gustasp(Vistashpa, “owner of horses”), in which the victory of the worshipers of the gods over the forces of darkness ends with the revelation of a new purified religion of light Zerdushtu(Zarathustra, Zoroaster). Ferdowsi narrates how the new Zoroastrian creed was adopted everywhere, altars to serve fire were erected everywhere, and in memory of the establishment of the true faith, Zerdusht planted the sacred Kishmer cypress.

Prophet Zerdusht (Zarathustra, Zoroaster) - founder of Zoroastrianism

Rustam and Isfandiyar

The forces of darkness are trying to eradicate a new faith that threatens to destroy their dominion forever. At their instigation, the Turanian king Arjasp, the grandson of Afrasiab, demands that Gustasp expel Zerdusht and return to his former faith. Gustasp does not agree, and Arjasp goes to war against him. But the Turanian army was defeated by the son of Gustasp, the second favorite hero of the Shahnameh, Isfandiyar(Spentodata), whose entire body, except for his eyes, was invulnerable, by the grace of the miraculous power of the wise prophet granted to him. Ahriman's rage now turns its anger towards Isfandiyar, arouses suspicion against his son in the heart of Gustasp, and the father sends Isfandiyar to extremely dangerous exploits so that he will die in these enterprises. But the young man overcomes all dangers, performs, as Rustam once did in his campaign against Mazanderan, seven feats, and again defeats the Turanian king, who invaded Iran and destroyed the altars of serving fire.

Gustasp reconciles with his son and promises to give him the kingdom if he brings Rustam in chains, who kept himself in Sistan as an independent sovereign and did not fulfill the duties of a vassal. Isfandiyar obeys his father’s command, although his soul is indignant against this and filled with gloomy foreboding. Rustam does not want to submit to the shameful demand, and a duel begins between him and Isfandiyar in a forest remote from the troops. The description of this battle is one of the most famous episodes of the Shahnameh. Rustam and Isfandiyar fight day after day. Victory wavers. The wounded Rustam goes to the hill. The magical bird Simurgh sucks the blood from his wound and takes him to the sea of the country of Chin, where there is an elm tree that has fatal power over the life of Isfandiyar. Rustam plucks a branch from him, makes an arrow out of it, and the next day resumes the duel with Isfandiyar. The young man does not want to stop the fight, Rustam shoots an arrow into his eye and kills him. But with this Rustam doomed himself to death: the prophet Zerdusht cast a spell that whoever kills Isfandiyar will soon die himself.

Battle of Rustam with Isfandiyar. Miniature to Ferdowsi's Shahnama

Black-winged spirits of death fly around Rustam's head; he must follow Isfandiyar into the cold kingdom of the night. Like Irej, he dies from his brother’s cunning. While hunting in Kabulistan, he falls into a hole, at the bottom of which swords and spears are stuck point up. This pit was treacherously prepared for his fall into it by the king of Kabul, on the advice of his envious brother, Shegad. Rustam's father, old man Zal, goes to war against the murderers and, having avenged his heroic son, dies in grief over the death of his family.

With a deeply tragic feeling, the Shahnameh places a mourning banner over the graves of his favorites and sings the funeral song of a glorious life that fell victim to an inexorable fate. The traditions and names that Ferdowsi’s poem conveys to us have been continuously preserved in the memory of the Iranian people for all centuries. Iranians attribute all huge ancient structures to Jemshid, Rustam or Zohak.

Mausoleum of Ferdowsi in the city of Tus (near Mashhad)

Ferdowsi. Shah-name

Miniature from the Shah-nameh manuscript of the 16th century.

Ferdowsi - glory and pride of the world

culture

World history knows bright periods full of terrible events, which Stefan Zweig figuratively called “the finest hours of humanity.” In these eras, the most advanced representatives of their time, those who are rightly called the people's conscience, acutely and strongly experiencing the dramatic situations of their era, create great creations of the human spirit.

Such works, which reflected the spiritual and social rise of peoples in a highly artistic form, include: “Mahabharata” and “Ramayana”, “Iliad” and “Odyssey”, Dante’s “Divine Comedy” and Shakespeare’s tragedies. “Shah-name” by the brilliant Ferdowsi also stands in this row.

The poet, who took the pseudonym “Firdousi,” which means “paradise,” lived and worked in eastern Iran, which in those distant times was part of the Samanid state, which united the lands on which the ancestors of modern Tajiks and Persians lived. This territorial unity of the two peoples lasted for many centuries, and until the 16th century the cultural heritage of the Persians and Tajiks was common.

In the Samanid state, whose political and cultural centers were the cities of Bukhara and Samarkand, in the 10th century, science and fiction flourished on the basis of the development of productive forces, urban life and the growth of national self-awareness of the people. On the territory of Khorasan and Central Asia at that time lived and worked outstanding mathematicians Khorezmi (IX century), Khujandi (XV century), great philosophers and scientists Al-Farabi (IX century), Ibn Sina (X-XI centuries) and Biruni (X–XI centuries).

In the 10th century, in the capital Bukhara and other cities of the Samanid state, literature in the Dari language, otherwise known as Farsi, developed rapidly. It served as the basis for the further development of classical Persian-Tajik poetry: in the 10th century, the literary language of Farsi was developed and polished, the main genres of Persian-Tajik poetry were formed, a system of images with a developed poetic vocabulary and a wealth of speech means was formed, all poetic meters and their modifications.

During this period, a galaxy of remarkable poets worked in the Samanid state, in whose works, along with panegyrics characteristic of the era, ideas and thoughts were embodied that worried the progressive people of that time and reflected the fundamental interests of the people. In poetry, lyricism of both a philosophical, ethical and love nature has reached a high development; The poets' lyrical poems were imbued with deep thoughts about the fate of man, the universe, and social injustice.

The poems of the outstanding poet-philosopher Shahid Balkhi (10th century) give a vivid idea of philosophical lyricism, in which he expressed his understanding of the relationship between wealth and knowledge:

Apparently, title and wealth are the same as a daffodil and a rose,

And one thing never flourished next to the other.

He who owns wealth has a penny of knowledge,

He who has knowledge has little wealth.

Persian-Tajik poetry of the 10th century is characterized by a living perception of existence, a call to a full-blooded life with all its joys, and a challenge to inexorable fate. Rudaki’s famous poem is inspired by such motifs:

Be cheerful with the black-eyed one,

Because the world is similar to a fleeting dream.

Welcome the future joyfully,

There is no need to be sad about the past.

Me and my dear friend,

Me and her - we live for happiness.

How happy is the one who took and who gave,

Unhappy is the indifferent hoarder.

This world, alas, is just fiction and smoke,

So come what may, enjoy the wine!

In the 7th century, Iran and Central Asia were conquered by the Arab Caliphate and included in the sphere of economic, political, cultural and spiritual life of this huge state. However, a century later, a movement known as Shuubiya began among Iranian educated circles, which reflected the protest of the enslaved peoples against their spiritual enslavement. For example, the Iranian Shuubites collected ancient tales, translated ancient Iranian books into Arabic, and used ideas, images and motifs from the Avesta and other Zoroastrian religious works in their poems.

Particularly widespread in the 10th century was the compilation of ancient Iranian myths and heroic tales into special collections called “Shah-name” (“Book of the Shahs”). When compiling these works, extensive use was made of the “Khudai-name” (“Book of Kings”), written in the Middle Persian language, which, along with the official court chronicle of the Sassanid dynasty (III–VI centuries AD), also contained myths and tales of Iranian peoples

During the 10th century, three (according to some sources, four) prose sets “Shah-name” were compiled in the Dari language, which were half-historical, half-artistic in nature and could not have the proper aesthetic impact. Consequently, at that time there was already an urgent need to create truly poetic works about the heroic past. All this was due, on the one hand, to the ever-increasing process of awakening national self-awareness among the ancestors of the Tajiks and Persians, the need for spiritual self-expression, that is, the creation of epic literature in their native language; on the other hand, it was dictated by the need to consolidate the internal forces of the country against the threat of foreign invasion by nomadic tribes, with whom the Samanids had to wage continuous wars. This social order was keenly felt by all the leading writers and public figures of the Samanid state, and the first who tried to satisfy this urgent need of society was the poet Dakiki, who died very young (977) and managed to write only a few thousand beits (couplets).

Abulqasim Ferdowsi, who created the brilliant epic “Shah-name” - the crown of all Persian and Tajik poetry, undertook to complete Dakiki’s unfinished work.

Historical and historical-literary sources report only scant information about the life of Ferdowsi. It is known that he was born somewhere around 934, into the family of an impoverished dikhkan - a representative of the semi-patriarchal, semi-feudal nobility, crowded by the new class of feudal landowners.

In 994, as stated in the final part of the Shah-name, Ferdowsi completed the first, incomplete edition of his work. Over the many years during which he wrote “Shah-name”, he had to experience hunger, cold, and severe poverty. The unenviable financial situation of the great poet is spoken of in many lyrical digressions scattered throughout the huge book. So, in one of them he complains:

The moon is dark, the sky is gloomy,

From the black cloud the snow is falling and falling.

Neither mountains, nor rivers, nor fields are visible,

And the crow, which is darker than the darkness, is not visible.

I have no wood, no corned beef,

And no - until the new harvest - barley.

Even though I see snow - an ivory mountain -

I'm afraid of extortion at this time.

The whole world suddenly turned upside down...

At least my friend helped me with something!

The poet, judging by the information from primary sources and the text of “Shah-name” itself, worked on the first edition for about twenty years and only in old age received reward for his truly titanic work. At that time, rulers paid poets to dedicate works to them. However, Ferdowsi found himself in an unenviable position: in 992 (that is, two years before the completion of the first edition of “Shah-name”) Bukhara, the capital of the Samanids, whose policy corresponded to the ideological meaning of the epic and on whose patronage the poet had every reason to count, was taken by the Karakhanids - leaders of nomadic tribes from Semirechye. And Ferdowsi’s hopes were not destined to come true, but he did not stop working and began the second edition, which was almost twice as long as the original, which was completed in 1010. By this time, the Samanids were replaced as ruler of Khorasan and part of Central Asia by the powerful ruler of Ghazna, Sultan Mahmud (997-1030), who became famous as a cruel conqueror of Northern India. He rejected Ferdowsi's creation.

There are many legends about the causes of the conflict between a brilliant poet and a formidable tyrant. One of them was poetically processed by the great German romantic Heinrich Heine.

According to this legend, the Sultan promised the poet to pay a gold coin for each couplet. But Mahmud cruelly deceived him. When the caravan from the Sultan arrived and the bales were untied, it turned out that the gold had been replaced by silver. The offended poet, who, according to legend, was supposedly in the bathhouse, divided this money into three parts: he gave one to the bathhouse attendant, the other to the people of the caravan, and with the third he bought soft drinks. This was a clear and direct challenge to the oppressive ruler. The Sultan ordered to punish the poet - to throw him under the feet of an elephant. Ferdowsi fled from his native place and spent many years in wanderings. Only in old age did he decide to return to his homeland.

One day, the chief minister, in the presence of Mahmud, recited a couplet from a great poem. The Sultan, having replaced his anger with mercy, decided to reward the poet. When the caravan with gifts entered the city gates, a stretcher with the body of the deceased Ferdowsi was carried out from the opposite gate.

And at the same hour from the eastern gate

The people walked with funeral lament.

To the quiet graves, whitening in the distance,

The ashes of Firdusi were carried along the road,

This is how Heinrich Heine ends his ballad dedicated to the great Persian-Tajik poet.

Soviet scientists pointed out the real reasons for the Sultan’s negative attitude towards “Shah-nama”. On the one hand, there was Mahmud, a tough despot who mercilessly suppressed popular uprisings and carried out his predatory campaigns under the banner of holy Islam, on the other, a great poet who glorified the struggle for the homeland, but condemned cruelty and wanton bloodshed, glorified just rulers and ordinary people, and called to appreciate “ those who earn their daily bread through labor.” The Sultan did not recognize any laws other than his own will, while Ferdowsi proclaimed a hymn to law and order. Mahmud did not value human life at all, but Ferdowsi called for valuing life as the greatest good. In a word, the entire ideological basis, the entire structure of thoughts of the “Shah-name” resolutely opposed the policies of Mahmud, and, of course, there could be no talk of recognition of the great creation by the Sultan.

“Shah-name” is a huge poetic epic. Over the course of a millennium, the poem was rewritten many times, and medieval scribes, not being particularly scrupulous in matters of copyright, did with the text as they pleased, so that the number of beits in various versions of “Shah-name” ranges from forty to one hundred and twenty thousand. The critical text, first prepared on the basis of ancient manuscripts by employees of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the USSR Academy of Sciences, contains fifty-five thousand beits, and this figure should be considered close to the truth.

The composition of “Shah-name” is as follows: the poem consists of descriptions of fifty reigns, starting from legendary kings and ending with historical figures. Some episodes, such as the sections on the Sassanian Shahs, contain only a few dozen couplets, while other sections number more than five thousand. There are also sections in which the author included independent poems of a heroic or romantic nature, often quite large in volume. It was they who, due to their artistic power, gained the greatest popularity. Such are, for example, “Rustam and Sukhrab”, “Siyavush”, included in the narrative of the reign of Kay-Kavus.

Researchers divide the “Shah-name” into three parts: 1) mythological (before the appearance of the Sistan heroes); 2) heroic (before Iskandar); 3) historical. Although the author himself does not have such a division, it is quite justified and has a real basis.

Each section is preceded by a speech from the throne, such as the speech of Bahram Gur. In this address to the great of this world and ordinary people, the ruler who ascends the throne announces his future political program.

In the final part of each section, the poet, through the lips of the dying Shah, sets out his dying will - instructions to the heir. This edification, along with pessimistic notes about the frailty of the world, contains calls to be fair and not to offend subjects, and to take care of the prosperity of the country. This is, for example, the will of Ardashir Babakan:

So be reasonable, generous, fair.

The country is happy - the king will be happy.

Forbid lies from approaching the throne,

Always walk on the right path.

Do not spare treasures for good deeds,

They are like moisture for the country's fields.

And if the Shah is cruel, and stingy, and greedy, -

The work of subjects is hard and joyless.

Dikhkan saved up the treasury, decorated the house, -

He created it with sweat and labor, -

And the king does not take away the treasury of the dikhkan,

And he must guard the treasury of the dikhkan.

Books about reigns and the poems included in them have mandatory beginnings and endings, which are not literally repeated, but vary depending on the situation.

It is characteristic that, in contrast to the books of all medieval Persian poets, Ferdowsi places praise of reason directly after the praise of God. And later in the story, the author repeatedly praises human knowledge, about which he writes as if he himself were our contemporary:

Knowledge is higher than name and title,

And above innate properties is education.

If they do not gain strength in education,

Innate virtues will die out.

...Everyone talks about personal nobility;

Only the light of knowledge adorns the soul.

And the one in whom the light of reason burns,

He will not commit bad deeds in the world.

The entire epic of Ferdowsi is permeated with one main philosophical idea - the struggle of good against evil. The forces of good, led by the supreme deity Ahuramazda, are opposed by hordes of evil forces, the head of which is Ahriman. The Iranians in "Shah-Nama" personify the good beginning, their enemies - the evil; It is not without interest that those Iranians who have chosen the wrong path for themselves are portrayed as having stepped on the path of Ahriman. Ferdowsi writes: “He was seduced by Ahriman.”

The evil spirit in “Shah-Nama” appears in different guises; it does not always act on its own, but for the most part entrusts the execution of its wicked plans to divas, that is, an evil spirit appearing in the form of a half-man, half-monster.

Prince Zahhak, writes Ferdowsi, was a noble and God-fearing young man, but he was seduced by Iblis (Satan), and he killed his father, seized the throne and began to systematically exterminate the Iranians. He reigned for a thousand years, until the forces of good, led by the descendant of kings Faridup and the blacksmith Kawa, overthrew him.

In Shah-Nama, the final triumph is always on the side of good. In this regard, the end of the epic is interesting: the Iranian state collapsed under the crushing blow of Arab troops, the greatness of Iran was thrown into dust. But the ideological meaning of “Shah-name”, all the calls of the author, the thoughts of the heroes depicted by him are aimed at glorifying their country. And since the fall of Iran is depicted retrospectively, as a fact that happened several centuries ago, Ferdowsi's work itself serves as a warning against repeating the previous mistakes that led to defeat.

Thus, the main idea of “Shah-name” is the glorification of the native country, an enthusiastic hymn to Iran, a call for the unity of disparate forces, for the centralization of power in the name of repelling foreign invasions, for the benefit of the country. Iranian rulers - the heroes of "Shah-name" - never start an unjust war, they are always on the right side, whether their enemies are Turanians, Byzantines or other nationalities.

The heroes and knights in “Shah-name” are selflessly devoted to their native country and the Shah, who personifies the fatherland for them. Being undeservedly offended by the ruler, the heroes forgive insults and insults in the name of common interests. Rustam, out of ignorance, killed the young Turanian knight Sukhrab, and only after inflicting a mortal wound did he learn that he had killed his own son. And Shah Kay-Kavus had a miraculous balm that could cure the mortally wounded Sukhrab, and Rustam sends a messenger to the ruler with a request to give the potion. However, Kay-Kavus refuses and bluntly tells the arriving hero Gudarz that he does not want Suhrab to remain alive, for fear that father and son, having united, would overthrow him from the throne. In this scene, the poet contrasted the lowliness of the Shah with the greatness of Rustam, who even after this remained a loyal vassal of Kay-Kavus, since for the hero the latter personified Iran.

It would hardly be an exaggeration to say that it is Rustam who is the main character of the “shah-name”, and not the rulers in whose army he serves. In his image, the author embodied his ideas about an ideal hero; Rustam is endowed with such heroic strength that he is capable of overthrowing any Shah, and he survived many of them, since he himself lived for six hundred long years. But he does not do this, because, according to the views of Ferdowsi, only the offspring of ancient kings, endowed with farr, divine grace, overshadowing the bearers of supreme power in the form of a halo, can reign.

At the same time, Rustam in “Shah-Nama” is not a silent slave, but an independent person, endowed with a huge sense of self-esteem, aware of his strength and power, but nevertheless observing ancient customs. This is how Ferdowsi portrays him in the scene in which Shah Kay-Kavus showered him with abuse and threats for being several days late when he was called to campaign against Suhrab. First, Kay-Kavus sends the hero a letter with a request, almost begging:

May your mind remain forever cheerful!

May everything in the world bring you joy!

You have been our support since ancient times,

You are the pillar of the country, the source of eternal strength...

Let it bloom forever over the universe,

From the ruler of the world is your lineage coming!

And the Shah’s happiness will not fade,

While Rustam wields his sword.

And so Rustam arrives at the palace along with the knight Giv sent for him. Kay-Kavus becomes furious, and his speeches sound in complete contrast to what was said in the letter:

Kavus became furious, his eyebrows furrowed,

He stood up like a fierce lion that thirsts for blood.

He seemed drunk with rage,

He threw the entire sofa into confusion.

He cried out: “Treason! I've known them for a long time!

Grab them, Tus! Go ahead, hang them both!”

Although Rustam is a loyal vassal and subject, he does not allow anyone to insult his honor and dignity, and this is how he answers the hot-tempered ruler:

He stepped forward and said to the Shah in rage:

“You shouldn’t have been angry with me!

You are crazy, your actions are wild,

You are not worthy of the title of ruler!..

When they wanted to elect me as Shah

The heroes, gripped by fear,

I didn't even look at the Shah's throne.

I followed the ancient custom.

But when would I take the crown and power,

You wouldn’t have greatness and happiness.”

Rustam leaves the Shah, but the nobles and knights send the wise Gudarz to him, who persuades the angry hero to forgive the Shah in the name of saving Iran. He returns, and again Kay-Kavus utters completely different, hypocritical words:

The Shah rose from the throne to meet him

And he said with tears in his eyes:

“I am gifted with a fickle disposition,”

Sorry! So, apparently, Yezdan is destined...

You, Rustam, are our only defense now,

Our support, famous warrior!..

I only need you alone in the world, -

Helper, my friend, a powerful giant!”

In these scenes, the poet asserts the absolute civic superiority of the people's hero and favorite over the Shah. Ferdowsi depicted the greatness of Rustam and the insignificance of the ruler with all the power of his talent in his conflict with Isfandiar. The artistic resolution and motivation of the conflict in this case is much more complicated, since Isfandiar acts as a positive hero, whom the author himself sympathizes with. Isfandiar is a tragic figure, torn by conflicting feelings. He is a young and invulnerable warrior, unfairly slandered, but nevertheless standing up to defend his homeland when it is threatened by enemies. He accomplishes many brilliant feats and crushes the enemies of his homeland.

On the other hand, Isfandiar also covets the Shah's throne. And after completing the victorious campaign, he demands that his father, Shah Gushtasp, give him the promised throne. However, Gushtasp sets one more condition - to bring Rustam, shackled hand and foot, to the capital. Gushtasp deliberately sends his son to death, since from the words of the wise Jamasp he knows that Isfandiar will die only at the hands of Rustam. Isfandiar realizes the injustice of Gushtasp’s demand, sees that his father pays Rustam with black ingratitude, feels that he is doing something wrong, and nevertheless agrees to fulfill his father’s wishes, since he passionately craves royal power. In this case, Hegel’s words about Achilles as a character woven from contradictions can rightfully be attributed to Isfandiar.

Ferdowsi ennobles the image of Rustam, who is ready to obey the Shah’s demand and confess to the capital, but categorically refuses to allow himself to be shackled hand and foot, since knightly honor does not allow him to do this. And Rustam tries to persuade Isfandiar to a peaceful outcome, begs to resolve the dispute amicably, but he is inexorable and arrogant, since he will receive the throne only if his father’s order is carried out.

This collision demonstrates Ferdowsi's skill in creating a tragic conflict, the solution of which can only be found in the death of Isfandiar.

The greatness of Ferdowsi’s genius was also reflected in his assessment of popular anti-feudal movements. As a great artist, he strove to overcome the historical and class limitations of his worldview and rose above medieval ideas about the nature and essence of uprisings directed against the powers that be.

The authors of historical chronicles and court poets sought to stigmatize and denigrate the rebel peasants and their leaders. For comparison, we can cite the words of the 10th century historian Saalibi: “The mob and the poor flocked in disorderly crowds to Mazdak, they fell in love with him and believed in his prophetic mission. He constantly spoke false words.” Another historian, Tabari, calls the rebels “robbers, rapists, adulterers,” and Mazdak as a self-seeker and instigator.

And Ferdowsi gives a completely different, albeit in some respects contradictory, characterization of Mazdak and the rebels:

There was a certain man named Mazdak,

Reasonable, enlightened, full of blessings.

Persistent, eloquent, powerful,

This husband Kubada taught all the time.

“Robbers” and “robbers” of medieval chronicles for the author of “Shah-name” were hungry, desperate people forced to remove bread from the royal barns; Ferdowsi describes this episode as follows:

Mazdak said: “O king, live forever!

Ferdowsi's poem "Shah-name" ("Book of Kings") is a wonderful poetic epic consisting of 55 thousand beits (couplets), in which the themes of glory and shame, love and hate, light and darkness, friendship and enmity, death and life, victory and defeat. This is the story of the sage from Tus about the legendary Pishdadid dynasty and the vicissitudes of the history of the Kiyanids, going deep into the history of Iran through myths and legends.

As sources for creating the poem, the author used legends about the first shahs of Iran, tales about the heroic heroes on which the Iranian throne was based during the Achaemenid dynasty (VI - IV centuries BC), real events and legends associated with their stay in Iran Alexander the Great. Abulqasim Ferdowsi worked on his poem for 35 years and finished it in 401 AH, that is, in 1011.

Conventionally, it is customary to divide the Shahnameh into three parts: mythological, heroic and historical.

Ferdowsi. Shah-name

Miniature from the Shah-nameh manuscript of the 16th century.

Ferdowsi - glory and pride of the world
culture

Such works, which reflected in a highly artistic form the spiritual and social rise of peoples, include: “Mahabharata” and “Ramayana”, “Iliad” and “Odyssey”, Dante’s “Divine Comedy” and Shakespeare’s tragedies. “Shah-name” by the brilliant Ferdowsi also stands in this row.

The poet, who took the pseudonym “Firdousi,” which means “heavenly,” lived and worked in eastern Iran, which in those distant times was part of the Samanid state, which united the lands on which the ancestors of modern Tajiks and Persians lived. This territorial unity of the two peoples lasted for many centuries, and until the 16th century the cultural heritage of the Persians and Tajiks was common.

In the Samanid state, whose political and cultural centers were the cities of Bukhara and Samarkand, in the 10th century, science and fiction flourished on the basis of the development of productive forces, urban life and the growth of national self-awareness of the people. At that time, outstanding mathematicians Khorezmi (IX century), Khujandi (XV century), great philosophers and scientists Al-Farabi (IX century), Ibn Sina (X-XI centuries) lived and worked on the territory of Khorasan and Central Asia at that time. and Biruni (X-XI centuries).

Apparently, title and wealth are the same as a daffodil and a rose,
And one thing never flourished next to the other.
He who owns wealth has a penny of knowledge,
He who has knowledge has little wealth.

Be cheerful with the black-eyed one,
Because the world is similar to a fleeting dream.
Welcome the future joyfully,
There is no need to be sad about the past.
Me and my dear friend,
Me and her - we live for happiness.
How happy is the one who took and who gave,
Unhappy is the indifferent hoarder.
This world, alas, is just fiction and smoke,
So come what may, enjoy the wine!

Particularly widespread in the 10th century was the compilation of ancient Iranian myths and heroic tales into special collections called “Shah-name” (“Book of the Shahs”). When compiling these works, extensive use was made of the “Khudai-name” (“Book of Kings”), written in the Middle Persian language, which, along with the official court chronicle of the Sassanid dynasty (III-VI centuries AD), also contained myths and tales of Iranian peoples

Abulqasim Ferdowsi, who created the brilliant epic "Shah-name" - the crown of all Persian and Tajik poetry, undertook to complete Dakiki's unfinished work.

In 994, as stated in the final part of the Shah-name, Ferdowsi completed the first, incomplete edition of his work. Over the many years during which he wrote "Shah-name", he had to experience hunger, cold, and severe poverty. The unenviable financial situation of the great poet is spoken of in many lyrical digressions scattered throughout the huge book. So, in one of them he complains:

The moon is dark, the sky is gloomy,
From the black cloud the snow is falling and falling.
Neither mountains, nor rivers, nor fields are visible,
And the crow, which is darker than the darkness, is not visible.
I have no wood, no corned beef,
And no - until the new harvest - barley.
Even though I see snow - an ivory mountain -
I'm afraid of extortion at this time.
The whole world suddenly turned upside down...
At least my friend helped me with something!