Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings

Shahnameh

By: Abolqasem Ferdowsi, Dick Davis - translator

Narrated by: Sean Rohani, Nikki Massoud, Dick Davis

The definitive translation by Dick Davis of the great national epic of Iran—now newly revised and expanded to be the most complete English-language edition

Dick Davis—“our pre-eminent translator from the Persian” (The Washington Post)—has revised and expanded his acclaimed translation of Ferdowsi’s masterpiece, adding more than 100 pages of newly translated text. Davis’s elegant combination of prose and verse allows the poetry of the Shahnameh to sing its own tales directly, interspersed sparingly with clearly marked explanations to ease along modern audiences.

Originally composed for the Samanid princes of Khorasan in the tenth century, the Shahnameh is among the greatest works of world literature. This prodigious narrative tells the story of pre-Islamic Persia, from the mythical creation of the world and the dawn of Persian civilization through the seventh-century Arab conquest. The stories of the Shahnameh are deeply embedded in Persian culture and beyond, as attested by their appearance in such works as The Kite Runner and the love poems of Rumi and Hafez.

This audiobook is expertly read by Dick Davis, Nikki Massoud, and Sean Rohani with audio engineering by Blake Rook. It was produced and published by Echo Point Books & Media, an independent bookseller in Brattleboro, Vermont.

Our sincere gratitude to the Parwiz Zafari fund at the Hamid and Christina Moghadam Program in Iranian Studies at Stanford University for their generous support in bringing this audio production to life. You can learn more about their work at iranianstudies.stanford.edu.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

(P)2025 Echo Point Books & Media, LLC

references to the Bible, history of kings loved or hated.

loved the roaming the dirt adventure, gritty and old school fighting and pondering situations. has good life lessons in it. suffering and abundance. nice history lesson as well.

Fascinating and magical!

I’m so grateful for this Audio book since it’s been on my bucket list and finally got a chance to listen and enjoy this masterpiece by Ferdowsi. I loved the adventures of kings,and heroes, especially Rostam who dedicated his life in serving and saving his Kings. Female characters in Shanameh are portrayed as strong, brave and influential such as Gordafraid who fought with Sohrab. The love sorry of Siavash and Shirin and so many other tales and characters to the name a few. The translation and performances were truly fantastic and captivating and made it an enjoyable read. I highly recommend this book if you enjoy history, action, epic which is all tastefully done.