In the Shahnameh a poetic opus written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi around 1000 AD, Zahhak is an evil king who conquers Iran and who has serpents growing out of his shoulders.

A long time ago in between the two great rivers Euphrates and Tigris there was a land called Mesopotamia. Deep inside the castle lived a cruel Assyrian king called Zahhak. His armies terrorised all the people of the land.

All had been well before Zahhak’s rule in Mesopotamia.

It was during the reign of a king called Jemshid that things started to go wrong. He thought himself above the sun gods and began to lose favour with his people.

A spirit called Ahriman the Evil, seized the chance to take control. He chose Zahhak to take over the throne, who then killed Jemshid and cut him in two.

Zahhak-Castle

The Emergence of Snakes

The evil spirit, disguised as a cook, fed Zahhak with blood and the flesh of animals and one day Ahriman merely asked to kiss Zahhak on his two shoulders, which he agreed. Then Ahriman touched Zahhak’s shoulders with his lips and vanished.

At once, two black snakes grew out of Zahhak’s shoulders. They could not be surgically removed, for as soon as one snake-head had been cut off, another took its place.From a psychological viewpoint, the snakes on Zahhak’s shoulders could represent his lust for killing or a form of sadism which, if left unsatisfied, would torment Zahhak.

Zahhak

Ahriman now appeared to Zahhak in the form of a skilled physician. He counseled Zahhak that the only remedy was to let the snakes remain on his shoulders, and sate their hunger by supplying them with human brains for food every day otherwise the snakes will feed on his own.

Zahtak”s rule lasts for a thousand years during which two young men are sacrificed daily to provide their brains to the serpents to alleviate the pain that Zahhak felt.

Since the snake king began his rule over the kingdom, the sun refused to shine. Now all was dark, cold and bleak. The people all over the land were very sad.

The-snake-king

Rise of Kaveh the Blacksmith

Kaveh (also called Kaveh Ahangar or Kaveh the Blacksmith) was a simple blacksmith. He and his wife were weakened by grief and hated Zahhak as he had already taken 16 of their 17 children.

One day the order came from the castle that Kaveh’s last daughter was to be killed and her brain was to be brought to the castle gate the very next day.

Zahhak’s minions had murdered 16 of his 17 sons so that Zahhak might feed his snakes’ lust for human brains.

Kaveh lay all night on the roof of his house, under the bright stars and rays of the shining full moon thinking how to save his last daughter from Zahhak’s snakes.

Kaveh-Estatua

Instead of sacrificing his own daughter, Kaveh had sacrificed a sheep and had put the sheep’s brain into the wooden bucket. And no one had noticed.
Soon all the townspeople heard of this. So when Zahhak demanded from them a child sacrifice, they all did the same. Like this, many hundreds of children were saved.

Then all the saved children went, under darkness, to the very furthest and highest mountains where no one would find them.

Here, high up in the safety of the Zagros Mountains, the children grew in freedom. They learnt how to survive on their own. They learnt how to ride wild horses, how to hunt, fish, sing and dance.

From Kaveh they learnt how to fight. One day soon they would return to their homeland and save their people from the tyrant king. Time went by and Kaveh’s army was ready to begin their march on the castle. On the way they passed through villages and hamlets. The village dogs barked and the people came out of their houses to cheer them and give them bread, water, yoghurt and olives.

The Destiny of the Demon Snake

As Kaveh and the children drew near Zahhak’s castle both men and women left their fields to join them. By the time they were approaching the castle Kaveh’s army had grown too many thousands.

They paused outside the castle and turned to Kaveh.

Kaveh stood on a rock. He wore his blacksmith’s leather apron and clenched his hammer in his hand. He turned and faced the castle and raised his hammer towards the castle gates.

The large crowd surged forwards and smashed down the castle gates that were shaped like winged warriors and quickly overpowered Zahhak’s men.

Kaveh-Against-Zahhak

Kaveh raced straight to Zahhak’s chambers, down the winding stone stairs, and with his blacksmiths hammer killed the evil snake king and cut off his head. The two serpents withered.

He then climbed to the top of the mountain above the castle and lit a large bonfire to tell all the people of Mesopotamia that they were free.

Soon, hundreds of fires all over the land were lit to spread the message and the flames leapt high into the night sky, lighting it up and cleansing the air of the smell of Zahhak and his evil deeds. The darkness was gone.

The fires burned higher and higher and the people sang and danced around in circles holding hands with their shoulders bobbing up and down in rhythm with the flute and drum. The women in bright coloured sequined dresses sang love songs and the men replied as they all moved around the flames as one.

Some of the youngsters hovered over the flute, drunk with the sound of the music, their arms outstretched like eagles soaring the skies.
Now they were free.

Memoriam of Kaveh Uprising

To this day, on the same Spring day every year, March 21st, (which is also Spring Equinox) Kurdish, Persian, Afghan and other people of the Middle East dance and leap through fires to remember Kaveh and how he freed his people from tyranny and oppression and to celebrate the coming of the New Year.

This day is called Newroz or New Day. It is one of the few ‘peoples celebrations’ that has survived and predates all the major religious festivals.
Although celebrated by others, it is especially important for the Kurds as it is also the start of the Kurdish calendar and celebrates the Kurds own long struggle for freedom.

In the Kurdish myth, Zahhak”s evil reign causes spring to no longer come to Kurdistan.

Kaveh is the most famous of Persian mythological characters known for resisting the despotic foreign rule in Iran. He rebels against the foreign ruler of Persia and leads the people to overthrow the tyrant king.

By the late Sassanid era (224–651), Kaveh’s Banner had emerged as the standard of the Sassanid dynasty. The tomb of Kaveh is believed to be situated on a hill near a village named Mashhad-e Kaveh in Isfahan province.

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Ferdows souvenirs are as same as the souvenirs of other parts of our beautiful country and they contain food, agricultural products, and various handicrafts. From the most famous of them, we can point to the Qaenat Barberry and Saffron that both of them have the global reputation.

This province is the premier province of Iran in the background of agriculture and in addition to having the first place in the production of barberry and jujube, it has the second place in the production of saffron and cotton, it is the 6th producer of pomegranate and 8th producer of sugar beet.

South Khorasan province also has high capacity in the mining sector. The only magnesite reserves of Iran and the country’s largest mine Asbestos are in this province. Copper Mines, Magnesite, Granite, Basalt, Travertine, and bauxite are the only parts of mines that are being implemented in this province.

This province in addition to being one of the historical and architectural parts of Iran, due to its geographical situation has many natural attractions that they are especially for the wilderness areas and desert.

Agriculture product

Anaab (Jujube)

South Khorasan province as the largest producer of Jujube in our country, devoted more than 95 percent of the area of itself under cultivation of this product.

Jujube cultivation because of the compatibility of this product with climatic conditions has spread from ancient times in many areas of the province. In between the farmers of this city (about 9500 families), the main source of their earnings is Jujube production. Jujube harvest in the tropical city of this province that is started from the first of August and in the mountainous villages, it’s started from the first of October.

Zereshk (Barberry)

Iran country is the biggest producer of Barberry in the whole world and Qaenat city in the Khorasan province has the 97% of its land under the cultivation of this crop and produce 95 percents of the barberry of our country. Barberry harvesting begins in October.As Barberry bushes are prickly harvesting them are very difficult so all the families of the farmers participate in this work. Seedless barberry of Qaenat is one of the popular souvenirs of South Khorasan.

Zaferan (Saffron)

This plant of a pretty color is from the native plants of Iran and because of the limitation in cultivation and production of that so it is counting on the category of expensive foods. Since saffron is completed in desert areas it is famous for the “Red gold of desert”. Iran has the first position in the world production of Saffron and allocated more than 90 percent of global production to itself. South Khorasan province after Khorasan Razavi is the second producer of Saffron in Iran and Saffron cultivation in the province has more than 700 years old antiquity. The Saffron of this province from the quality (aroma and color) in compare with Khorasan Razavi province is more desirable and Qaenat city of this province is known as the capital of world Saffron.

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Anaar (Pomegranate)

Ferdows city in south Khorasan province is the main manufacturer of Pomegranate in Iran and after the Saveh city in Markazi province and Ney riz city in Fars province is the third manufacturer of Pomegranate. Cultivation plentiful of Pomegranate in this city made this fruit as the major industry of there. In gardens of Ferdows city, different species of pomegranate are cultivated.

Some kinds of pomegranate in this city are as follow:

Shisheh kap, Shahvar, Shalqami (Turnips), Yazdi Nigella sativa and …

The best kinds of pomegranate is from the Ferdows city with the name of “Shisheh kap” and it has the special location in the export of pomegranate and more than 80 percent of annual production of there are exporting to the other countries such as  Spain, Japan, South Korea and the countries around the Persian Gulf. “Shisheh Kap” pomegranate has the smooth and red skin and the seeds of the fruit have the dark red colour with desirable and sour-sweet taste. This kind of pomegranate has a little bust and this is the reason of lasting more of this fruit in the places such as the warehouse.

Handicrafts

Barak bafy (to weave kind of cloth)

Barak is kind of cloth that is prepared from the Camel wool or goat hair. This kind of cloth is soft and thick that is weaving with traditional textile products machinery and has excellent softness and strength. This kind of cloth is mostly weaved for the man clothes especially their Jacket of the winter. In the past Tailors made fine garments for Rulers. This cloth has its own different colours of brown, black, white, milky and gray. Barak bafy (weaving Barak) is one of the old traditional souvenirs of Khorasan.

Tarkeh bafy (to weave twig)

Tarkeh bafy is one of the subsets of mat weaving art that the main difference between them is in the materials that they use. For the preparation of the material used in this art, they use young and thin (Twig) branches of Musk willow red trees and peanuts bushes. This kind of art base on the abundance of raw material is very common in different cities of Khorasan like as Birjand. In the Autumn and Winter due to the loss of farmers work this work is more common among the people. They made different kinds of dishes. Pay attention that the green dishes that are weaving by Musk willow twig is more strengthen in compare with the red one that weaving with the Red Willow.

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Carpet weaving

A handmade carpet of south Khorasan that is Known as Maud carpet has the big portion of producing Qali in Iran and its global famous make it very unique and give it the location to be in the different museum of whole Iran. Although you can find carpet weaving industry in all parts of Iran but the source of it is in the Moud City. The way of weaving them is as same as Mashhad carpet but from the part of quality obviously, they are superior from them.

Some of the design of the Moud carpet that they are now a day common are Rize Mahy (Small Fish), Kheshty (Adobe), Kaleh Asby (Head of the Horse), Robi Saadi (Saadi quarter ), Afshar with seven colors.

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The most valuable Shiraz souvenirs is crafted. These crafts are contained: Inlay, Gelim, Carpets and rugs, Gabbeh, Woodcarving and … aside crafts muscat, sour orange flower, date palm, lemon and lime juice, distillates and Faludeh are the most prominent souvenirs of  Shiraz.

Shiraz Meskhetian

One of the most famous Persian sweets that are one kind of halva either, is Shiraz Meskhetian. Meskhetian has a special place on Nowruz table of  Iranians, especially in the southern parts of  Iran and it can be regarded as a delicious dessert.

Shiraz has special kinds of  Meskhetian that the most popular one of them is Larestan.

The main ingredient to prepare this delicious pastry is Starch that is very effective in digestion.

Muscat is different in colors and flavors such as Burgundy, rose, saffron, pistachio and …..

Lemon and Lime

There are citrus groves in the Fars province that has caused an important role in securing the country and export the required lemon and Jahrom has excelled in the cultivation of lemons. Harvest of this product is the second half of September until the end of  May. We can hold Lemon in variety ways like lemon juice, lemon dry, and Essence that the most common one is lemon juice. Lemon in the table of Iranian is suitable as a complement and useful and tasty seasoned.

It is used fresh or in the water mood. Lemon and lime juice in addition to the great taste that they give to the food they have numerous health benefits either. Lemon is an important product and outstanding of  Shiraz and it is a source of  C vitamin.

It is one of the most important properties of Lemon that make skin transparency, in addition, it prevents baldness and it is effective in strengthening hair. Lemon juice is one of the major souvenirs of  Shiraz.

Shiraz Distillates

There are many gardens in Shiraz and its suburbs,  that make this city famous in distillates.  Distillates are one of the best souvenirs of Shiraz. Each of these distillates has their own particularly taste and health benefits.

The most popular of them are sweat Musk willow, wild rose, and Two Fire. Water rose is one of the produced distillates of Shiraz. Meymand water rose has the certain reputation among them. Shirazian knows distillates, very professionals. Sweat from different plants done in Shiraz. This means that extract of the fragrance flowers. From this obtain perfume and sweat use to taste the sweets, food, and drink at the event and also air freshener and preparation of herbal medicines and traditional ones.

Shirazian tends to use distillates instead of industrial drinks.

distillates-shiraz-souvenir

Shiraz Aurantium

Perfect weather Shiraz has led to an abundance of orange trees. If you go to the Shiraz in the Spring (especially May) Aurantium perfume has created a special atmosphere.

Shiraz Aurantium is very famous.

Orange blossom is in the family of the citrus that is used in making perfumes and Essence. It has many medicinal properties.

These medicinal properties are as follow:

Relaxing, anti-anxiety, appetizer, Antitussive, Set irregular heartbeat, Reduce A migraine and nervous headaches, seizures control, heart attacks and the most important effect is on the nervous system.

If you have the problem with lack of sleep before bedtime drinks some tea or Citrus Aurantium. Different products such as Aurantium tea, Aurantium syrup, Jams, Citrus aurantium, perfumes, and Essence are from Aurantium. It can be used to control seizures and a heart attack.

Shiraz Falude

In whole Iran, Shiraz Falude is very famous and you cannot find anyone that they don’t know it. Shiraz Falude has excellent taste because of  Shiraz lemon. Also, it served and tailored for each individual taste with different Distillates, like cranberry juice and other fruits. In  Shiraz also dry Faludeh is supplied.

Some other kinds of Shiraz souvenirs are as follow:

  • Muffins
  • Kak or Shiraz Yukhe bread
  • Fasa Bread
  • Darab Orange
  • Arsanjan Pomegranate sauce
  • Verjuice

Thyme with the scientific name of Thymus is one of the 14 spices of perennials herbs in Iran. The genus of it is from Lamiaceae family.

Thyme has 350 kinds and this genus is very close to the Auryganum.

Avishan

Naming

This plant is in the same family with Oregano. In Azerbaijan said “Kahlik Oti” or “Kaklik Oti”with the meaning of  Grass Quebec to this herb because in Turkish “Kaklik” or “Kahlik” means “Kabk”. In the language of the people of  Roudbar in Gilan say “Palang masht” to this herb and this herb is one of the flavors of the special food in Roudbar. One of the kinds of Thyme that is found in abundance in the mountainous part of  North of  Khorasan in Kurdish Kurmanji has the name of “Anekh”.

Different spices of Thyme are growing in Different parts of Iran. In traditional Persian medicine has the name of  “Hasha” ,  “Thyme” and “thyme al-Humairi”. I9n different parts of Iran you can find different kinds of this herb with different local names. For example in Hamedan they say “Azorbeh” in around Tehran “ Avishan or Avisham”, in Taleqan “Zarveh” in Azerbaijan and lands with Turkish language of the country “Kaklik oti ” and in the other parts it call “Satar”, “Zatar”, “Oushen”, “Ashmeh Koohy”, “Si Sanbar”, “Sou sanbar”.

In foundations  of  the mountain of the fereidun and also Eqlid city it grows with the name of “Zataria multiflora”. It is significantly growing in the Mountainous parts of Azerbaijan especially in the Solduz land and they say it “Kahilak Otou”. Somebody because of the name similarity confuses it with Kakuty but it is very different with Kakuty. It is growing in the Chahar Mahal and Bakhtiari and Sistan and Baluchistan mountains parts, Kurdistan and Lowland plains of  Boushahre either.

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Application

In the research about the effects of the plants of Artemisia, lavender and Shirazi thyme on Klebsiella pneumonia , aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus، Pseudomonas  Bacteria that did on 2014 it was showed that every three essence has inhibitors on Pathogenic Bacteria but the best one is Thyme essence.

Herbal Tea

Thyme herbal tea is basically, disinfectants and mucus so because of that it is effective in the treatment of a dry cough, cold, Pertussis and upper respiratory tract inflammation; as well as it has a tremendous impact on digestion, regulate sleep and strengthens the nervous system and it is also Antidepressants, anti-seizure and anti-flatulence . Also, it is effective on treatment of twisting of the intestines and diarrhea and muscle spasms. Thyme has medicinal use in Iran and Europe traditional medicine. Thyme is used in Food industry (Pizza, pasta, fish, cheese, liqueur, tortilla and … ) Pharmaceutical, Health & Beauty.

Avishan

 

Borage plant and savory properties that many families use it, in different ways can be Borage desire, but tail off it is customary .

One of the wonders of the Alborz mountain range that Mount Damavand is massive, that is growing several kinds of medicinal plants which have many therapeutic effects exclusively on the slopes of the mountain and they are not in the mountains of the effect of the action.

The Iranian press has already spoken of one of these plants and magical effects and wrote it stated that foreign experts have seed to other countries, but it will take hard work have failed because the plant is an only original birthplace of green .

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However, they say in the ancient books of borage “language Thawri” but in fact, it has no another kind of name.

In none part of the world except Iran Alborz mountain you cannot find this plant and other countries are going wrong and borage it is known only in Iran and there is no relation between them.

About a century it would be wrong for doctors and pharmacists and they were in misled and wiped Borage .

They confused plants with each other, their only goal is a little bit similar, they do not have any common properties and the medical interests are conflicting with each other and the size of the flowers are different .

Borage in Iran and Europe and America have a great reputation.

Traditional doctors used from Borage for a treatment of many diseases .

The new doctors knew properties of Borage that were prescribed for another batch of diseases .

Why Iranians use only borage ? medical benefits are only goals.

Borage is blue and the flowers are like pomegranate and egg circular (ring – shaped) and glazed in the Alborz mountains.

Another plant in Isfahan and some other countries, know as “Mrmakhvz” that has blue small and round flower.

Unfortunately none of the properties of Borage are not original, but instead had other interests that European researchers are beginning to realize it. As it turned out, twigs, flowers, and leaves of this plant have been some dander, urine, and sweat too much.

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Let’s check out these two plants and introduce and explain their interests separately :

Borage

Original Borage

Borage plant is automotive, comes to action exclusively on the slopes of the Alborz Mountains. It is not cultivated yet and it is not tame.

Borage is nourishing of the spirit and exclusive members of the body. Strengthens the human’s five senses , or rather, eighteen senses.

This plant make stomach soft and it is open Gallbladder, make Soda mucus from the stomach burned off and ity has eliminated the effects.

Other properties of Borage is for delirium ,pleurisy, melancholy and madness drink boiled Borage along with other drugs.

Boiled borage is exhilarating, and it is open the face paint.

Another feature of Borage is that make the chest soft, and shortness of a breath and cure the sore throat.

One of the properties of borage is that it is helpful, apprehension and fear destroys and sorrow, and it is for those with low self-talk.

For shortness of breath, boiled borage honey is prescribed.

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Borage properties

   The other properties of Borage are such as: chewing the fresh loaf of Borage leave is good for treatment of purulent boil inside the children mouth, Thrush and

   Loose teeth rot, treating the heat of mouth it is beneficial. It has2 to5ounces food part.

   Borage sweat is useful for sodium diseases, obsessive and suffocating.

   Borage is prevented from Cancer and it has magnesium.

   New research suggests that aqueous extracts of borage are the safe and effective drug for the treatment of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

   New research suggests that aqueous extracts of borage are the safe and effective drug for the treatment of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder .

   Borage contains mucilage, flavonoids 15/0% and the aglycones of anthocyanins and cyanidin Dlfynydyn to the 34/13 percent and small amounts of pyrrolizidine alkaloids have been right.

   Fine flowers have the white tail and purple petals. Fresh leaves contain lots of Vitamin C.

   Therefore this plant doesn’t have dandruff and it does not make lots of sweat or urine.

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Borage

This plant doesn’t have Persian name and it is not clear from when we have it in Iran and planted in Tabriz. Ibn Bitar the famous old herbalist that he was Andalusian and later he come to minor Asia said Marmakhuzto this plant.

  • Flower ,twigs, and leaves of Borage has dandruff , it has the glazing materials and a bitter substance that therefore increase sweat and urine of the body.
  • This plant crushed and destroyed stone in the kidney and bladder.
  • Borage contains Omega-6 fatty acids such as linolenic acid, which is useful for arthritis.
  • A poultice of fresh and mashed leaves of Borage opens wen and it is useful for the treatment of the burn, fire, sunstroke.
  • In Iran traditional medicine it was useful for the treatment of dropsy and the patent must eat about15-20 grams of this plant when they have fast.

Therefore this plant is not good for the people with Meningitis and

Pleurisy diseases .

borage

Harms of Borage plant:

Because Borage has Alkaloid it is not good for children and pregnant women.

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Abu l-Qasim Ferdowsi Tusi (c.940-1020) was a Persian poet and the author of  the immortal epic of  Shahnameh (“book of  kings”) which is the world’s longest epic poem that created by a single poet, and the national epic of  Iran . Having drafted the Shahnameh under patronage of the Samanid and the Ghaznavid courts of  Iran.

Ferdowsi is celebrated as the most influential figure in Persian literature and one of the greatest in the history of literature that widely regarded as the greatest poet in the Persian language .  He was called “The Lord of the Word” and “The Savior of Persian Language”.

Name

Except for his kunya and his laqab , nothing is known with any certainty about his full name. From an early period on, he has been referred to by different additional names and titles,that the most common one being  Ḥakīm (“philosopher”). Based on this, his full name is given in Persian sources as / Ḥakīm Abu’l-Qāsim Firdowsī Țusī. Due to the non-standardized transliteration from Persian into English, different spellings of  his name are used in English works, including Firdawsi, Firdusi, Firdosi, Firdausi, etc.

Family

Ferdowsi was born into a family of Iranian landowners in 940 in the village of Paj, near the city of Tus, in the Khorasan region of the Samanid Empire, currently in the Razavi Khorasan Province of northeastern Iran. Little is known about Ferdowsi’s early life. The poet had a wife, who was probably literate and came from the same dehqan class. He had a son, who died aged 37, and was mourned by the poet in an elegy which he inserted into the Shahnameh.

The Muslim conquests of the 7th century had been a watershed in Iranian history, bringing the new religion of Islam, submitting Iranians to the rule of the Arab caliphate and promoting Arabic culture and language at the expense of Persian. By the late 9th century, the power of the caliphate had weakened and local Iranian dynasties emerged. Ferdowsi grew up in Tus, a city under the control of one of these dynasties, the Samanids, who claimed descent from the Sassanid general Bahram Chobin.

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The Samanid bureaucracy used the New Persian language rather than Arabic and the Samanid elite had a great interest in pre-Islamic Iran and its traditions and commissioned translations of Pahlavi (Middle Persian) texts into New Persian . Abu Mansur Muhammad, a dehqan and governor of  Tus, had ordered his minister Abu Mansur Mamari to invite several local scholars to compile a prose Shahnameh (“Book of Kings”), which was completed in 1010CE. Although it no longer survives, Ferdowsi used it as one of the sources of his epic. Samanid rulers were patrons of such important Persian poets as Rudaki and Daqiqi. Ferdowsi followed in the footsteps of these writers. Details about Ferdowsi’s education are lacking. Judging by the Shahnameh, there is no evidence he knew either Arabic or Pahlavi. Although New Persian was permeated by Arabic vocabulary by Ferdowsi’s time, there are relatively few Arabic loan words in the Shahnameh. This may have been a deliberate strategy by the poet. He died in 1020 A.D. in the Tus, Iran, Iran (Persia) in the same city that he was born in.

Life as a poet

Maybe Ferdowsi wrote some early poems which they haven’t survived. Around 977 Ferdowsi began work on the Shahnameh , he intending it as a continuation of the work of his fellow poet Daqiqi who he was slave. Like Daqiqi, Ferdowsi employes the prose Shahnameh of Abd-al-Razaq  as a source. Ferdowsi received generous patronagefrom the Samanid prince and completed the first version of the Shahnameh in 994. Ferdowsi continued the work on the poem after Samanid toppled in the late 990 s and rewriting the section of praise Qaznavi Mahmoud. Mahmoud’s attitude to Ferdowsi and how well he rewarded the poet are matters which have long been subject to dispute and have formed the basis of  legends about the poet and his patron.

The  Turkic Mahmud may have been less interested in tales from Iranian history than the Samanids. The later sections of the Shahnameh have passages which speak about the Ferdowsi fluctuating moods: Some of  them appears happy ,in some he complains about the old age, illness, poverty and the death of his son. A Millenary celebration was also held for the poet inviting scholars from Soviet Tajikistan, India, Armenia, and Europe such as : Germany, France, England, etc.which led to funds mainly from Parsi scholars’ donations that led to the building of a statue of the poet at his tomb site. Ferdowsi  completed his epicon 8 March 1010. Virtually nothing is known with any certainly about the last decades of his life.

Tomb

For all his literary contribution Ferdowsi was not recognized during his life. It was only after his death that his poems won him admiration. For hundreds of years, his resting place was nothing more than a minor dome-shrine erected by the a Ghaznavid ruler of  Khorasan , without any permanent edifice in place in the garden of his house where Ferdowsi’s daughter had originally buried him. In the beginning years of the twentieth century, Iran started to realize his critical role in defining the identity of  Iran.

Ferdowsi was buried in his own garden (the cemetery of  Tus )that burial there having been forbidden by a local cleric. A Qaznavid governer of  Khorasan  constructed  a mausoleum over the grave and it became a revered site.  The tomb , which had fallen into rottenness, was rebuilt by the Society  for the National Heritage of  Iran on the orders of Reza Shah,  and has now  become the  equivalent of a national shrine. 

This tomb was built in the early 1930s,under the Reza Shah, and uses mainly elements of Achaemenid architecture and it is complex composed of a white marble base, and a decorative edifice erected in honor of this Persian poet located in Tus, Iran, in Razavi Khorasan province. The construction of the mausoleum, as well as its aesthetic design, is a reflection of the cultural, and geopolitical status of  Iran at the time.

The tomb was originally designed by the Iranian architect. The now existing design of the structure also owes mainly to Karim Taherzadeh who replaced the old dome-shaped design by Lurden into the modern cubical design that is now present. Ferdowsi’s tomb is built in the style of the Achaemenid architecture especially emulating the tomb of Cyrus the Great. There is a clear link between this choice of architectural style and the politics of Iran at the time. Four years before Reza Shah even came to power in 1922, a group of secular Iranian reformists had created the “Society for National Heritage”.

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Structural Details

The basic structure of the tomb is rectangular with a large garden surrounding the structure and interacting with the structure in the Persian style of gardening known as Char-bagh .  In the center of the cross created by the legs of the garden surrounding it . The edifice can be divided into a “wide chamber” that lies at the base and a cubical erection on top, with four pillars surrounding it and scenes from the epic of Shahnameh and text ornating it. The body of the poet is actually interred in the center of the rectangular wide chamber underneath the overlying four pillars cube.There are twelve (12) steps leading from the lowest point of the wide chamber all the way to the level of the cube. The wide base has a total height of 16 m. The edifice has equal dimensions of 30 m on each side. There are twelve (12) steps leading from the lowest point of the wide chamber all the way to the level of the cube. The wide base has a total height of 16 m. The edifice has equal dimensions of 30 m on each side.

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The following are schematic diagrams of the aerial view of the tomb’s wide base and edifice section and their topography:

A unique feature of the design of Ferdowsi’s tomb has been its resemblance to that of  Cyrus the Great in Pasargadae. Cyrus’s tomb also has a rectangular structure seating atop a rectangular, gradually elevating base. This resemblance is intentional as the designer of this edifice intended to revoke the original Achaemenid style of architecture. In fact, every other facet of the edifice has a Zoroastrian symbol known as Faravahar. This is not coincidental. There are multiple applications of this in the Achaemenid architecture mainly in Persepolis in Fars province today. The “Society for National Heritage of Iran” (SNH) heavily relied on the use of Faravahar as this was the symbolic representation of ancient Iran since Achaemenid times. Many constructions in the 1930s, including the then National Bank of Iran use Faravahar which is not unexpected considering that the same architect that created Ferdowsi’s tomb also created the National Bank of Iran.

A closer look at the edifice points out that there are four columns each at the corner of the rectangular structure with two half-buried columns that protrude as deep friezes on each facet of the structure. Each frieze column has a box, followed by a two horn bull sign which is very much similar if not the exact imitation of the Persepolis column design. The columns are ornated with fluting 3/4 of the way down with the last portion spared. The overall effect is intended to create a grand gesture. The columns are as high as the edifice which is 30 meters high. Marble decorations are used to ornate the siding and the floor of the “wide base” structure as well the wall. Persian flower designs (concentric flower designs composed of a flower with seven valid pellets surrounding a central circle), and hexagonal marble designs are commonly used in the structure.

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Comparison of the Persepolis columns, and the columns used in Ferdowsi’s mausoleum:

Historical Context:

Iran’s history has been closely tied to geopolitical changes that have taken place since the establishment of the Achaemenid empire in Persis all the way to the modern day Iran. Two major events are of critical importance in Iran’s history especially its literary history as it pertained to Ferdowsi: 1.Arab conquest of  Persia 2. The Mongolian invasion of  Persia.

Ferdowsi lived his life as a poor man constantly moving from court to court and eventually died a poor widower, having lost his only son. Tus, at one point, was an opulent city in the greater Khorasan region but it was repeatedly sacked by Oguz Turks, Mongols, and Uzbeks from the steppe. This and the growing influence of Mashad as a political and religious center within Khorasan shaped Ferdowsi’s experience and in many ways influenced his writing as Tus lost prestige. Additionally, Arabic had found prestige in lands conquered by the Arabs and there was threat ofMiddle Persian being lost in favor of Arabic. Ferdowsi’s role is critical in that using the least number of loan-words he transferred the Middle Persian (Pahlavi) into Modern Persian (Farsi). In the time frame preceding the construction of the mausoleum, nationalistic feelings in Iran were high.

There was a renewed sense of national identity partly due to the pressures felt by foreign powers including the constant Anglo-Persian political struggle especially over the issues of oil, and partly due to the inability of the Qajar dynasty from protecting Iranian lands in central Asia to the Russians and in the east to the British. Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC) was an important source of contention for Iranians.

The architecture of Ferdowsi’s tomb is also influenced by poet’s own personal life, reflecting a constant struggle between the poor poet and the lazy king, and adversity and hope. The Society for National Heritage in the 1930s drawing on poet’s attempt to revitalize the Persian language also attempted to revitalize Persian culture and Iranian identity through architecture. This was in many ways taken literary with Persian poems from Shahnameh etched into the white marble facets of the edifice of the poet’s mausoleum.

After the Iranian revolution, both tombs of Ferdowsi and the even mausoleum of Cyrus the Great survived the initial chaos. One of the most dangerous threats to the structure was that it would be equated with the late Pahlavi dynasty by the new regime and destroyed. It, however, was not and was instead embraced by the new local government since Ferdowsi was a devout Muslim.

Interior Design

Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh inspires tales of the heroic act by protagonists fighting against their antagonists. In that sense, it is a national epic that encompasses not only fictional and literary figures but also incorporates parts of the history of pre-Islamic Iran. This has led to the interior of the edifice of Ferdowsi to reflect the same heroic scenes.

The chief architect responsible for the design of the interior of the tomb of Ferdowsi is Feraydoon Sadeghi who created deep freeze scenes using three-dimensional statues each depicting a scene from Shahnameh. Rostam, the hero of the book of Shahnameh is the focus of the majority of the scenes inside of the edifice. As Shahnameh is essentially a text, artistic recreation of its heroic scenes are multiple.Centered inside the edifice surrounding by the frieze scenes and other artistic endeavors is the tombstone of the poet. Etched on the tombstone in Farsi (Persian) is the description of Ferdowsi’s contribution to the Persian-speakers and at the end, it ends by denoting the poet’s date of birth, date of death, and the date at which the mausoleum was built.

The English translation of the content of  the tomb is rough as follows:

In the name of the God who created life. This place is the resting place of  he (Hakim Abul-Qasim Ferdowsi Tusi) who has advanced the art of language among Persian speakers and the holder of the national epic of Iran and its national stories. His words have given a new life to Iran, and he has a place in the hearts of its people.

Legacy

Today Ferdowsi’s tomb is one of the most photographed in Iran. Millions of visitors from various provinces of Iran come to see the tomb every year. Foreign dignitaries, tourists, and other Persian-Speaking civilians from Europe, Asia, and Middle East also visit the site. The most recent was a visit from the Iraqi tourism minister in July 2013. The site has also inspired many Persian poets including Iranian poet Mehdi Akhavan-Sales who is actually physically buried not far from the tomb of Ferdowsi, in his own tomb in the grounds of Ferdowsi’s complex.

Legend

According to legend Sultan Mahmud Qaznavi offered Ferdows a gold piece for every couplet of  Shahnameh. The poet agreed to receive the money as a lump sum After he completed the epic. He planned to use the money for rebuild the dykes in his native Tus. After 30 years of  work he finished his masterpiece . The sultan prepared to give him 60,000 gold pieces, one for every couplet as they agreed.

However , the courtier Mahmud Qaznavi had entrusted with the money despised Ferdowsi, regarding him as a heretic, and he eplaced the gold coins with silver. He received the reward when he was in the bath house and finding it was silver not gold and he gave the money away to the bath keeper,a refreshment seller and the slave who had carried the coins. When the courtier told the sultan about Ferdowsi’s Bahaviour, he was furious and threatened to execute him. Ferdowsi fled Khorasan, having first written satire on Mahmud, and spent most of the remainder of  his life in exile. Mahmud eventually learned the truth about the courtier’s deception and had him either banished or executed. By this time, the aged Ferdowsi had returned    to Tus.  The sultn sent him a new gift of 60,000 gold pieces, but just as the caravan  bearing the money entered the gates of  Tus, a funeral procession exited the gates on the opposite side:the poet had died from a heart attack.

Works

Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh is the most popular and influential national epic in Iran and other Persian-speaking nations that  is the only surviving work by Ferdowsi regarded as indisputably genuine. Ferdowsi  may have written poems earlier in his life but they no longer exist.

A narrative poem, Yūsof  o Zolaykā was once attributed to him, but scholarly consensus now rejects the idea it is his. There has also been speculation about the satire Ferdowsi allegedly wrote about Mahmud of Ghazni after the sultan failed to reward him sufficiently. Nezami Aruzi, Ferdowsi’s early biographer, claimed that all but six lines had been destroyed by a well-wisher who had paid Ferdowsi a thousand dirhams for the poem. Introductions to some manuscripts of the Shahnameh include verses purporting to be the satire. Some scholars have viewed them as fabricated; others are more inclined to believe in their authenticity.

Influence

Ferdowsi is one of the undisputed giants of  Persian literature and After his Shahnameh, a number of other works similar in nature surfaced over the centuries within the cultural sphere of  the Persian language. Without exception, all such works were based in style and method on Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh, but none of them could quite achieve the same degree of fame and popularity as Ferdowsi’s masterpiece.

Because of the strides he made in reviving and regenerating the Persian language and cultural traditions he has a unique place in Persian history. His works are cited as a crucial component in the persistence of the Persian language, as those works allowed much of the tongue to remain codified and intact. By his masterpiece he surpasses NizamiKhayyámAsadi Tusi and other seminal Persian literary figures in his impact on Persian culture and language. Many modern Iranians see him as the father of  the modern Persian language.

Ferdowsi in fact was a motivation behind many future Persian figures. In 1934, Rezā Shāh set up a ceremony in Mashhad, Khorasan, celebrating a thousand years of Persian literature since the time of Ferdowsi, titled “Ferdowsi Millenary Celebration”, inviting notable European as well as Iranian scholars. Ferdowsi University of  Mashhad is a university established  in 1949 that also takes its name from Ferdowsi. Ferdowsi’s influence in the Persian culture is explained by the Encyclopædia Britannica:

The Persians regard Ferdowsi as the greatest of their poets. For nearly a thousand years they have continued to read and to listen to recitations from his masterwork, the Shah-nameh, in which the Persian national epic found its final and enduring form. Though written about 1,000 years ago, this work is as intelligible to the average, modern Iranian as the King James Version of the Bible is to a modern English-speaker. The language, based as the poem is on a Dari original, is pure Persian with only the slightest admixture of Arabic.

 Yazd  souvenirs are  various, some  of  which  are  world famous  including  carpets  with  charming  patterns; pileless  carpets, tirma (a kind of cashmere), brodcaded  silk, velvet, blankets, bed-cloths, earthen ware,engraving, glassware and  leather  ware. Being delicate and beautiful, these handicrafts are suitable  to be kept as souvenirs. Yazd is also famous for its various sweets, the most well known  are  Pashmak (cotton candy), Baqlava  and  Qotab.

Baqlava

Baqlava is a rich,sweet pastry made of  layers of  filo filled with chop ped nuts

and sweetened and held together with syrup or honey. It is characteristic of the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire, and is also found in Central and West Asia.

History

The history of  baqlava  is not well documented. There are three proposals for the pre-Ottoman roots of  baqlava : the Central Asian Turkic tradition of  layered breads, the Roman placenta  cake, as developed through Byzantine cuisine,or the Persian lauzinaq.

Preparation

Baqlava is normally prepared in large pans. Many layers of  phyllo dough, separated with melted butter and vegetable oil, are laid in the pan. A layer of chopped nuts-typically walnuts or pistachios, but hazelnuts are also sometimes

used- is placed on top, then more layers of phyllo. Most recipes have multiple

layers of phyllo and nuts, though some have only top and bottom pastry.

Before baking (180 C, 30 minutes), the dough is cut into regular pieces, often parallelograms (lozenge-shaped),triangles, diamonds or rectangles. After baking , a syrup, which may include honey, rosewater, or  orange flower water is poured over the cooked baqlava and allowed to soak in.

Baqlava is usually served at room temperature, often garnished with ground nuts. 

Regional Variations

In Iran,a drier version of  baqlava is cooked and presented in smaller diamond- shaped cuts flavored with rose water . The cities of  Yazd and Qazvin are famous for their baqlava , which is widely distributed in Iran. Persian  baqlava  uses a combination of chopped almonds and pistachios spiced with cardamom and a rose water-scented syrup and is lighter than other Middle Eastern versions. Azerbaijani pakhlava is widely eaten  in Iran, espesiaaly in Iranian Azerbaijan

Pashmak

Pashmak (Persian: پشمک‎‎) is a form of  Persian candy floss or cotton candy, made from sesame and sugar. The word  Pashmak  in  Persian  is composed  of پشم pashm [wool] + ـَک ak [resemblance suffix] meaning “wool-like”, as the confectionery resembles sheep’s  wool.

Pashmak  is  served on its own or as an accompaniment to fruits, cakes, ice creams, puddings and desserts.

Pashmak originated  in  the  Iranian  city  of  Yazd  known  for  its  various traditional  Persian  sweets  such  as  BaqlavaQottab, and Gaz.

A Turkish sweet called pişmaniye  bears  some  resemblance  to  Pashmak.

Industrialization

Always known for the quality of its silk and carpets, Yazd today is one of Iran’s industrial centers for textiles. There is also a considerable ceramics and construction materials industry and unique confectionery and  jewelry  industries.

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A significant portion of the population is also employed in other industries including agriculture, dairy, metal works, and machine manufacturing. There are a number of companies involved in the growing information technology industry, mainly manufacturing primary materials such as cables and connectors. Currently Yazd is the home of the largest manufacturer of fibre optics in Iran.

Yazd’s confectioneries have a tremendous following throughout Iran and have been a source of tourism for the city. Confectioners workshops (khalifehs, or experts) keep their recipes a guarded secret, and there are many that have remained a private family business for many generations. BaklavaGhotab  and  Pashmak are the most popular sweets made in the city.

In 2000 the Yazd Water Museum opened; it features exhibits of  water storage vessels and historical technologies related to water.

Yazd has expanded its industrial fields since the 1980s. With at least three main industrial areas each containing over 70 different factories, Yazd has become one of  the  most technologically advanced cities of  Iran. The most famous corporations include Yazd Steel, Shimi Plastic of  Yazd, and Yazd Polymer.