Editing Shahnameh (section)

{{Short description|Epic poem by Ferdowsi}}
{{Distinguish|Shahab Nama|Chach Nama}}
{{Italic title}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox poem
| name              = ''Shahnameh''
| image             = The Court of Gayumars (Cropped).jpg
| image_size        = <!--Custom size for image (defaults to 220px)-->
| caption           = ''Court of [[Keyumars]]'', miniature by [[Sultan Mohammed|Sultan Muhammad]] from the [[Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp]], [[Aga Khan Museum]]
| subtitle          = 
| author            = [[Ferdowsi]]
| original_title    = {{nq|شاهنامه}}
| original_title_lang = fa
| translator        = 
| written           = 977–1010 CE
| first             = <!--First published in...-->
| illustrator       = <!-- Illustrator used consistently throughout (where illustrations are a major feature) -->
| cover_artist      = <!-- Cover artist -->
| country           = [[Iran]]
| language          = [[Classical Persian]]
| series            = <!-- Series (if any) -->
| subject           = [[Persian mythology]], [[history of Iran]]
| genre             = [[Epic poetry|Epic poem]]
| form              = <!-- Form (i.e. Sonnet, Quatrain, Ode...etc.) -->
| meter             = Two rhyming couplets of 22 syllables in the same meter
| rhyme             = <!-- Rhyme scheme: (i.e. ABBA CDDC EFFE GG) -->
| publisher         = <!-- Publisher of main publication (prefer 1st edition) -->
| publication_date  = 1010
| publication_date_en = 1832
| media_type        = [[Manuscript]]
| lines             = {{circa}} 50,000 depending on manuscript
| pages             = <!-- Pages (prefer 1st edition) -->
| size_weight       = <!-- Size and Weight -->
| isbn              = <!-- [[International Standard Book Number|ISBN]] -->
| oclc              = <!-- [[OCLC]] -->
| preceded_by       = 
| followed_by       = <!-- Followed by title of subsequent poem in series -->
| wikisource        = Shah Nameh
}}
[[File:Plate with a hunting scene from the tale of Bahram Gur and Azadeh MET DT1634.jpg|thumb|Plate with a hunting scene from the tale of [[Bahram V|Bahram Gur]] and [[Azadeh (Shahnameh)|Azadeh]]. The imagery on this plate represents the earliest known depiction of a well-known episode from the story of Bahram Gur, which seems to have been popular for centuries, but was only recorded in the Shahnameh, centuries after this plate was created. Iran, {{circa|5th century A.D.}} [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]]]]

The '''''Shahnameh''''' ({{langx|fa|شاهنامه|italic=yes|Šāhnāme|lit=The Book of Kings}}, {{IPA|fa|ʃɒːh.nɒː.ˈme|label=modern Iranian Persian pronunciation}}),{{Efn|[[Classical Persian]] pronunciation: {{IPA|fa|ʃɑːh.nɑː.ˈma|}}}} also transliterated '''''Shahnama''''',{{efn|Also [[Romanization of Persian|romanized]] as ''Šāhnāmeh'', ''Shahnama'', ''Šahname'', ''Shaahnaameh'' or ''Şahname''}} is a long [[epic poem]] written by the [[Persian literature|Persian poet]] [[Ferdowsi]] between {{circa|977}} and 1010 CE and is the [[national epic]] of [[Greater Iran]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sussan Babaie: Looking at Persian Painting |url=https://heni.com/talks/sussan-babaie-looking-at-persian-painting |access-date=2025-02-27 |website=HENI Talks |language=en}}</ref> Consisting of some 50,000 [[distich]]s or couplets (two-line verses),<ref name="TIO20100513">{{cite web |last=Lalani |first=Farah |title=A thousand years of Firdawsi's Shahnama is celebrated |url=http://www.theismaili.org/cms/998/A-thousand-years-of-Firdawsis-Shahnama-is-celebrated |work=The Ismaili |access-date=24 May 2010 |date=13 May 2010 |archive-date=5 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130805175227/http://www.theismaili.org/cms/998/A-thousand-years-of-Firdawsis-Shahnama-is-celebrated |url-status=live }}</ref> the ''Shahnameh'' is one of the world's longest epic poems, and the longest epic poem created by a single author.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Shahnameh: a Literary Masterpiece |url=https://shahnameh.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/literary |access-date=2023-12-25 |website=The Shahnameh: a Persian Cultural Emblem and a Timeless Masterpiece |language=en |archive-date=2023-12-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231225125311/https://shahnameh.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/literary |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Shahnameh Ferdowsi |url=http://shahnameh.eu/ferdowsi.html |access-date=2023-12-25 |website=shahnameh.eu |archive-date=2022-12-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207040531/http://shahnameh.eu/ferdowsi.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-05-15 |title=Iran marks National Day of Ferdowsi |url=https://en.mehrnews.com/news/200711/Iran-marks-National-Day-of-Ferdowsi |access-date=2023-12-25 |website=Mehr News Agency |language=en |archive-date=2023-12-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231225125307/https://en.mehrnews.com/news/200711/Iran-marks-National-Day-of-Ferdowsi |url-status=live }}</ref> It tells mainly the [[Persian mythology|mythical]] and to some extent the historical past of the [[Persian Empire]] from the creation of the world until the [[Muslim conquest of Persia|Muslim conquest]] in the seventh century. [[Iran]], [[Azerbaijan]], [[Afghanistan]], [[Tajikistan]] and the greater [[Greater Iran|region]] influenced by [[Persian culture]] such as [[Armenia]], [[Dagestan]], [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], [[Turkey]], [[Turkmenistan]] and [[Uzbekistan]] celebrate this national epic.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Book of Kings: The book that defines Iranians |url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20180810-the-book-of-kings-the-book-that-defines-iranians |publisher=BBC Culture |access-date=2021-06-09 |archive-date=2021-03-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210314130926/https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20180810-the-book-of-kings-the-book-that-defines-iranians |url-status=live }}</ref>

The work is of central importance in Persian culture and [[Persian language]]. It is regarded as a literary masterpiece, and definitive of the ethno-national cultural identity of Iran.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |last=Ashraf |first=Ahmad |title=Iranian Identity iii. Medieval Islamic Period |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/iranian-identity-iii-medieval-islamic-period |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Iranica]] |access-date=11 December 2018 |date=30 March 2012 |archive-date=25 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191025192310/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/iranian-identity-iii-medieval-islamic-period |url-status=live }}</ref>