Manuscript painting of Gayumarth from the Shahnameh of Firdawsi, unknown artist, mid-16th century Iran, Royal Ontario Museum, Source: Google Arts & Culture
What is the Shahnameh?
“The seminal work of Persian literature is the Shahnameh, an epic poem that recounts the history of pre-Islamic Persia or Iranshahr (Greater Iran). The Shahnameh contains 62 stories, told in 990 chapters with 50,000 rhyming couplets. It is divided into three parts—the mythical, heroic, and historical ages. Written in modern Persian, the Shahnameh is a work of poetry, historiography, folklore, and cultural identity and is a continuation of the age-old tradition of storytelling in the Near East.” quote from Library of Congress)
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Manuscript painting of Gayumarth from the Shahnameh of Firdawsi, unknown artist, mid-16th century Iran, Royal Ontario Museum, Source: Google Arts & Culture, detail
Manuscript painting of Gayumarth from the Shahnameh of Firdawsi, unknown artist, mid-16th century Iran, Royal Ontario Museum, Source: Google Arts & Culture, detail
Manuscript painting of Gayumarth from the Shahnameh of Firdawsi, unknown artist, mid-16th century Iran, Royal Ontario Museum, Source: Google Arts & Culture, detail
Manuscript painting of Gayumarth from the Shahnameh of Firdawsi, unknown artist, mid-16th century Iran, Royal Ontario Museum, Source: Google Arts & Culture, detail
Manuscript painting of Gayumarth from the Shahnameh of Firdawsi, unknown artist, mid-16th century Iran, Royal Ontario Museum, Source: Google Arts & Culture, detail
Manuscript painting of Gayumarth from the Shahnameh of Firdawsi, unknown artist, mid-16th century Iran, Royal Ontario Museum, Source: Google Arts & Culture, detail
Manuscript painting of Gayumarth from the Shahnameh of Firdawsi, unknown artist, mid-16th century Iran, Royal Ontario Museum, Source: Google Arts & Culture, detail
Manuscript painting of Gayumarth from the Shahnameh of Firdawsi, unknown artist, mid-16th century Iran, Royal Ontario Museum, Source: Google Arts & Culture, detail
Manuscript painting of Gayumarth from the Shahnameh of Firdawsi, unknown artist, mid-16th century Iran, Royal Ontario Museum, Source: Google Arts & Culture, detail
Manuscript painting of Gayumarth from the Shahnameh of Firdawsi, unknown artist, mid-16th century Iran, Royal Ontario Museum, Source: Google Arts & Culture, detail
Manuscript painting of Gayumarth from the Shahnameh of Firdawsi, unknown artist, mid-16th century Iran, Royal Ontario Museum, Source: Google Arts & Culture, detail
Manuscript painting of Gayumarth from the Shahnameh of Firdawsi, unknown artist, mid-16th century Iran, Royal Ontario Museum, Source: Google Arts & Culture, detail
Manuscript painting of Gayumarth from the Shahnameh of Firdawsi, unknown artist, mid-16th century Iran, Royal Ontario Museum, Source: Google Arts & Culture, detail
Manuscript painting of Gayumarth from the Shahnameh of Firdawsi, unknown artist, mid-16th century Iran, Royal Ontario Museum, Source: Google Arts & Culture, detail
Manuscript painting of Gayumarth from the Shahnameh of Firdawsi, unknown artist, mid-16th century Iran, Royal Ontario Museum, Source: Google Arts & Culture, detail
Manuscript painting of Gayumarth from the Shahnameh of Firdawsi, unknown artist, mid-16th century Iran, Royal Ontario Museum, Source: Google Arts & Culture, detail
Manuscript painting of Gayumarth from the Shahnameh of Firdawsi, unknown artist, mid-16th century Iran, Royal Ontario Museum, Source: Google Arts & Culture, detail
Manuscript painting of Gayumarth from the Shahnameh of Firdawsi, unknown artist, mid-16th century Iran, Royal Ontario Museum, Source: Google Arts & Culture, detail
Manuscript painting of Gayumarth from the Shahnameh of Firdawsi, unknown artist, mid-16th century Iran, Royal Ontario Museum, Source: Google Arts & Culture, detail
Manuscript painting of Gayumarth from the Shahnameh of Firdawsi, unknown artist, mid-16th century Iran, Royal Ontario Museum, Source: Google Arts & Culture, detail
Manuscript painting of Gayumarth from the Shahnameh of Firdawsi, unknown artist, mid-16th century Iran, Royal Ontario Museum, Source: Google Arts & Culture, detail
Manuscript painting of Gayumarth from the Shahnameh of Firdawsi, unknown artist, mid-16th century Iran, Royal Ontario Museum, Source: Google Arts & Culture, detail
Manuscript painting of Gayumarth from the Shahnameh of Firdawsi, unknown artist, mid-16th century Iran, Royal Ontario Museum, Source: Google Arts & Culture
Manuscript painting of Gayumarth from the Shahnameh of Firdawsi, unknown artist, mid-16th century Iran, Royal Ontario Museum, Source: Google Arts & Culture, detail
Who Is Gayumarth?
Gayumarth, the first king celebrated in the Persian epic, the Shahnameh, is shown holding court in the open, naming his young son as successor. Gayumarth taught his people how to make clothing from animal skins, which they are wearing.
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Title: Manuscript painting of Gayumarth from the Shahnameh of Firdawsi
This is the story of Ferdowsi’s life. And it is the story that is still told about Ferdowsi today. It is impossible to say whether the story is true or not. But maybe …
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