Ferdowsi Tousi

Born: 3-Jan-940 AD
Birthplace: Toos, Khorassan , Iran
Died: 1020 AD
Location of death: Khorasan , Iran
Cause of death: unspecified

Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Middle Eastern
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Poet

Level of fame: Somewhat
Executive summary: Greatest Persian Poet

Ferdowsi Tousi ( فردوسی طوسی in Persian ) (more commonly transliterated Firdausi ) ( 940 � 1020 ) is considered to be one of the greatest Persian poets to have ever lived.

Ferdowsi was born in the Iranian province of Khorasan in a village near Tus , in 3-Jan-940 AD.

He spent most of his life on "Shah-nameh", one of the world's great epics. Among the national heroes and the literately greats of all time, Ferdowsi has a very special place.

His life-long endeavor, dedication and personal sacrifices to preserve the national identity, language and heritage of his homeland put him in great hardship in his lifetime but won him fame and honour for one of the great literally masterpieces of all time.
During Ferdowsi's lifetime this dynasty was conquered by the Ghaznavid Empire , and there are various stories in medieval texts describing the lack of interest shown by the new ruler of Khorasan, Sultan Mahmud of Ghaznavid , in Ferdowsi and his lifework.

Shah-nameh

His masterwork, the Shahnama is the most popular and influential manifestation of true Iranian national epics.

The Shahnama or the "Book of Kings," consists of the translation of an even older Pahlavi ( Middle Persian ) work.

Shahnama has been a work of exceptional popularity among the Persians for over 1.000 years now.
"Shah-nameh" recounts in 60,000 couplets of Iran 's legend and history from prehistoric to Arab invasion.

Ferdowsi is one of the undisputed giants of Persian literature. After Ferdowsi's Shahnama 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 Shahnama , but none of them could quite achieve the same degree of fame and popularity as Ferdowsi's masterpiece.
Ferdowsi is said to have died around 1020 in poverty and embittered by royal neglect, though fully confident of his work's ultimate success and fame.
His tomb is also situated in Tous, 30 km south of Meshed , Khorasan. A great Mausoleum was built on his tomb in Pahlavi period.