Sunset of Empire: Stories from the Shahnameh of Ferdowsi, Vol. 3 (Hardcover)

~ Abolqasem Ferdowsi (Author), (Translator) "Bahman, also called Ardeshir, fell sick and died, and the throne became vacant..." (more)
Key Phrases: sacred barsom, divine farr, musky hair, Saveh Shah, Khosrow Parviz, King of Kings (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Davis's translation is smooth, elegant, and up-to-date...opulence...splendor in miniature paintings. Essential. -- Choice Magazine, June 04

Product Description

Among the masterpieces of world literature, perhaps the least familiar to English readers is the Persian Book of Kings (Shahnameh, in Persian). This prodigious national epic, composed by the poet Ferdowsi between 980 and 1010, tells the story of ancient Persia, beginning in the mythic time of Creation and continuing forward to the Arab-Islamic invasion.

With our third and final volume of stories from the Shahnameh we move from mythology and legend to romanticized history. Here the mighty events that shook ancient Persia from the time of Alexander of Macedon’s conquest to the Arab invasion of the seventh century C.E. are reflected in the stirring and poignant narratives of Ferdowsi, the master poet who took on himself the task of preserving his country’s great pre-Islamic heritage. We see vast empires rise and fall, the rule of noble kings and cruel tyrants, the fortunes of a people buffeted by contending tides of history. Larger than life individuals are vividly depicted—the impulsive, pleasure-loving king Bahram Gur, the wise vizier Bozarjmehr, the brave rebel Bahram Chubineh, his loyal defiant sister Gordyeh, and many others—but we also see many vignettes of everyday life in the villages and towns of ancient Persia, and in this part of the Shahnameh Ferdowsi indulges his talent for sly humor much more than in the earlier tales. The poem rises to its magnificent climax in its last pages, when the tragic end of an era is recorded and Ferdowsi and his characters look with foreboding towards an unstable and fearful future.

Breathtaking miniatures from the finest Persian Shahnameh manuscripts of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, many of them published here for the first time, heighten the emotional impact of the text.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 552 pages
• Publisher: Mage Publishers (December 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 093421168X
• ISBN-13: 978-0934211680
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 7.6 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #101,354 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Magnificent Conclusion to the Shahnameh Trilogy, March 25, 2004

By A Customer

This book is incredible: the stories are wonderful, the poetry is truely superb and beautifully represents the original, and the illustrations are out of this world. For the first time in the past 30 years I saw Persian miniatures I had never seen before. This is a wonderful translation of the last third of the Shahnameh--the least known stories and some of the most touching, specially the beautiful verses of Barbad for Khosrow Parviz and Rostam-e Hormozd's final letter to his brother before the Arab invasion. Buy this trilogy, it's well worth the price and will soon be worth twice as much.

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Suggestion a good surce, March 26, 2006

By	Persian Bookshop (IraniBook.com) - See all my reviews

This is a good book on this subject. But, I'd like to suggest a very good source of Persian (Farsi) books on the net: www.iranibook.com & www.iranibookshop.com You will find any Farsi books in this feild.