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The world’s earliest surviving “ #Shahnameh” (ok not quite, more on this below) is not from #Iran and not even in #Persian, but painted on the walls of a #Sogdian private house, Panjakent, #Tajikistan, early 8th C. Paintings in @state_hermitage
http://www.patreon.com/eranudturan
http://www.patreon.com/eranudturan
The section of the story depicted here involves Rostam defeating Awlad, who then joins his team, Rostam defeating a dragon, and then defeating an army of demons.
http://www.patreon.com/eranudturan
http://www.patreon.com/eranudturan
Other fragments show the duel between Esfandiyar and Rostam, accompanied by the #Simorgh, here shown as an #owl; as well as scenes from the Faramarznameh, stories of Rostam’s son Faramarz in #India
http://www.patreon.com/eranudturan
http://www.patreon.com/eranudturan
The earliest surviving written “ #Shahnameh” (ok again not quite) is again #Sogdian, from Dunhuang, with fragments in @britishlibrary and @BotBNF. Here’s a (dated) voice recording I did of it: https://www.patreon.com/posts/sound-of-sogdian-23395330. It details a fight between Rostam and a fortress of demons.
Many other #Shahnameh heroes are mentioned in another #Sogdian text. Here’s my attempt at writing it with a translation (translation by Y Yoshida) https://www.patreon.com/posts/sogdian-part-2-18847101
The personal names indicate they are loan words from #Persian rather than #Sogdian, and it’s likely these names and stories were already known in #Sasanian #Iran by 6th C.
Did the Sogdians paint the #Shahnameh?
Not quite.
It’s impossible to tell whether these are isolated scenes and stories, or part of a larger epic that the Sogdians knew about.
Not quite.
It’s impossible to tell whether these are isolated scenes and stories, or part of a larger epic that the Sogdians knew about.
