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Do you hear the sound? It is the sound of history’s footsteps.
Parseh is awake, and Persia... shall never be silenced.

Amadeus - O.S.T LP-A Side (1984) The most part of all my Achievements during entire life belongs to this unique piece of ART

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The Shahnameh of Florence is a significant Persian manuscript associated with Ferdowsi’s monumental Shahnameh, one of the greatest works of Persian literature and a cornerstone of Iran’s cultural heritage. Preserved in Florence, Italy, the manuscript reflects the enduring transmission of Ferdowsi’s epic tradition through the Persianate world. Its textual, calligraphic, and artistic features provide valuable insight into the preservation, interpretation, and visual representation of Persia’s legendary history, heroic traditions, and cultural memory.

From the Shahnameh to the Khodaynameh: An Inquiry into the Direct and Indirect Sources of the Shahnameh, authored by Dr. Jalal Khaleghi Motlagh, has been published by the Dr. Mahmoud Afshar Publications. The volume spans 279 pages. In this book, the author aims to demonstrate that Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh relied on written sources; specifically, its primary source—the prose Shahnameh of Abu Mansur—was itself compiled based on written texts, following the ancient tradition of Khodaynameh (Book of Kings) writing. An appendix to this study provides a list of lost Pahlavi works, along with their Arabic and Persian translations, drawn from ancient sources dating back to the early centuries of the Islamic era. This list serves as evidence for the existence of books and a literary tradition within Sassanid culture.

The Ancient Persian Festival of Fire, Light & Life

Among the most enduring celebrations of ancient Persia, Sadeh (Jashn-e Sadeh) stands as a magnificent tribute to fire, light, human ingenuity, and the triumph of warmth over winter’s darkness. Rooted in the ancient Persian cultural and religious heritage, this remarkable festival embodies a worldview in which the natural elements are not merely forces of existence, but symbols of life, knowledge, and the eternal struggle against darkness and ignorance.

Celebrated on the tenth day of the month of Bahman in the Persian calendar, traditionally corresponding to 30 January, Sadeh takes place at the heart of winter, when the cold is still intense but the promise of spring is drawing nearer. Its most striking ritual is the lighting of a great bonfire, around which people gather to celebrate the power of fire as a source of warmth, illumination, and human advancement. The flames rising into the winter sky evoke humanity’s ancient discovery of fire—a turning point that transformed life, made communities possible, and opened new horizons for civilization.

According to Persian tradition, Sadeh is associated with Hushang, the legendary king of the Pishdadian dynasty, who discovered fire after striking a stone against another while attempting to kill a serpent. Although the serpent escaped, sparks emerged from the stones, revealing the extraordinary power hidden within nature. Hushang recognized the significance of this discovery and celebrated it with a great fire. This legendary account, preserved in Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh, connects Sadeh with the dawn of human knowledge and the ability to discover, understand, and make use of the natural world.

The name Sadeh is traditionally associated with the number one hundred. One widely known interpretation connects the festival with the hundred days and nights remaining until the traditional beginning of summer in the Persian seasonal calendar, while other interpretations link it to ancient systems of seasonal reckoning. Whatever its precise historical origins, the festival has endured as a powerful expression of Persia’s cultural memory.

For Zoroastrians, Sadeh holds a special place as a celebration of fire and the values of light, purity, wisdom, and truth. Fire, in Zoroastrian tradition, is a sacred symbol associated with divine light and the moral order of existence; it is not worshipped as a deity, but revered as a manifestation of purity and a reminder of the spiritual illumination that guides humanity. Beyond its religious significance, Sadeh has also become a celebration of shared heritage, communal solidarity, and the continuity of Persian civilization across generations.

More than a festival of flames, Sadeh is a celebration of humanity’s capacity to overcome darkness through knowledge, to confront hardship through cooperation, and to preserve hope in the coldest season of the year. As its great fires illuminate the winter night, they carry a message from the distant past into the present: that light is not merely something to behold, but something to kindle, protect, and pass on to future generations.

In this sense, Sadeh belongs not only to the history of Persia, but also to the universal human story—the story of fire discovered, darkness challenged, and civilization illuminated.

Immortality in Stone & Color: A Tribute to Master Abolhassan Khan Seddighi

October 5 marks the birth anniversary of one of the greatest pioneers of modern Persian visual art and sculpture, Master Abolhassan Khan Seddighi (1897–1995), a distinguished student of the school of Kamal al-Molk. Through his remarkable talent, he transformed the history and mythology of Persia into enduring works of stone and bronze.

Today, wherever we walk across Iran and beyond, we can encounter the lasting legacy of his art in remarkable works such as:

• The magnificent statue of Ferdowsi in Ferdowsi Square, Tehran
• The distinguished statue of Ya'qub ibn al-Layth al-Saffar in Zabol
• The statue of the philosopher Omar Khayyam in Laleh Park, Tehran
• The monumental statue of Nader Shah Afshar in Mashhad
• And his enduring depiction of the face of Avicenna

Each of these works bears witness to his exceptional skill, distinctive artistic vision, and deep commitment to his art.

Why is there no mention of Cyrus the Great in Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh?

The absence of Cyrus’s name in the Shahnameh is not a mere coincidence; rather, it is the result of a complex interplay of historical, source-related, and cultural factors:

1. Ferdowsi’s Reliance on Sassanid Sources: Ferdowsi’s primary sources for composing the Shahnameh were Pahlavi texts—specifically the Khoday-nameh*s (Books of Kings) from the Sassanid era. These sources focused on mythological history and the Pishdadian and Kayanian kings; their narrative structure left little room for the documented history of the Achaemenids, including Cyrus.

2. Intentional Omission or Oblivion in Later Periods: Some research suggests that the exclusion of Cyrus from the Persian narrative tradition may have begun as early as the rise of Darius the Great—particularly in connection with the Behistun Inscription. Consequently, his name was gradually erased from the cultural memory or relegated to the margins in the sources that eventually reached the Sassanid era.

3. Unfamiliarity with Non-Persian Sources: Ferdowsi was not proficient in Greek or Hebrew—the languages ​​in which the most significant accounts of Cyrus (such as the Histories of Herodotus or the Old Testament) were written. Therefore, he naturally lacked access to narratives in which Cyrus appeared as a prominent figure.

4. Replacement by Mythological Archetypes: In the Persian epic tradition, mythological figures such as Kay Khosrow served as the embodiment of the ideal king. These archetypes were so compelling that they effectively displaced historical figures like Cyrus within the epic narratives. In short, the absence of Cyrus in the Shahnameh is not a single-factor phenomenon; rather, it is the product of a complex interplay between available sources, alternative mythological archetypes, and the politics of historical memory.

Apart from the Cyrus Cylinder, have no other inscriptions by him been discovered?

Contrary to popular belief, the Cyrus Cylinder is not his only inscription. Although his inscriptions lack the scale and grandeur of those left by Darius at Behistun and Persepolis, Cyrus did indeed leave behind several inscriptions:

1. The Pasargadae Inscriptions: Several trilingual inscriptions (in Old Persian, Elamite, and Babylonian) have been discovered at the archaeological site of Pasargadae, bearing the name and title of Cyrus. For instance, the inscriptions found at the Private Palace and the Gateway of Pasargadae contain the phrase: I, Cyrus, the King, the Achaemenid. These inscriptions serve as a form of "identification" for the founder of the Achaemenid dynasty, confirming his association with the site.

2. Differences in Style and Purpose: The inscriptions of Cyrus at Pasargadae are notably brief and simple, serving primarily as commemorative markers or declarations of ownership. In contrast, the inscriptions of Darius—most notably the Behistun Inscription—are extensive and complex texts, crafted to document historical events and serve as elaborate political propaganda. This distinction reflects the differing approaches these two monarchs took toward recording their names and ensuring their legacy; it does not imply an absence of inscriptions by Cyrus. Therefore, although Cyrus did not leave behind as many inscriptions as Darius, his stone inscriptions exist at Pasargadae and are recognized as valid evidence confirming his presence and reign.