Ferdowsi School of Persian Literature

The Shahname:
Introduction to the Iranian Epic

APPLY

July 11 - August 29
2025

Instructor: Ruben S. Nikoghosyan
Languages: English, Persian
Duration: 8 weeks (16 hours of instruction)
Frequency: 1 class per week (Fridays)
Duration of a Session: 2 hours
Deadline for Applications: July 5th

Classes Start:  July 11th (7:30pm Yerevan Time)

Location: Online (Zoom)
Required level of Persian: Intermediate

Text Edition: Abu’l Qasem Ferdowsi. The Shahnameh (The Book of Kings). Edited by Djalal Khaleghi-Motlagh. New York.

Selected Stories:

  • Haft-Xwān-e Rostam
  • Rostam o Sohrāb

Participation Fee:

  • 8 Week: 250 USD (220 USD for applications before June 23) 

Registration: To apply, please click the “Apply” button above. Complete all required fields and submit. Accepted applicants will receive further instructions on participation.

Note: All materials will be provided by the instructor

"Bizhan Receives an Invitation through Manizha's Nurse", Folio 300v from the Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Shah Tahmasp (Metropolitan Museum)

It took 30 years for Ferdowsi to write his masterpiece, but one does not need 30 years to read the Shahnāme, despite its daunting size. The key to understanding the Shahname lies in mastering its language — its grammar, words, and syntax. The Shahname is beautiful, elegant, inspiring, and wise, with a sophisticated simplicity that few texts can achieve. Yet, behind its simple and straightforward exterior, it hides centuries — nay, millennia — of culture and history, waiting to be uncovered by the gentle brush of a philologist.

This course is designed to do exactly that, equipping participants with the linguistic, philological, and literary tools needed to engage with the Shahname — a treasure trove of subtle poetry, Iranian philosophy, and epic.

Course Overview

This course is designed to equip participants with the tools needed for independent study of the Shahname after its completion. The readings, selected from various stories, provide participants with a deeper understanding of the Shahname’s content. These readings will be conducted in the original Early Classical Persian and accompanied by detailed commentary on grammar, metre, mythology, and the etymology of key terms.

Discussions at the beginning and end of the course will further enhance participants’ understanding of the cultural, historical, and linguistic context in which the Shahname was composed. As a work rooted in pre-Islamic Iranian traditions and language, the Shahname contains layers of non-Islamic elements that cannot be fully understood without familiarity with these traditions. To address this, the instructor will highlight the text’s connections to Zoroastrian Middle Persian literary traditions and language.

Additionally, the course will tackle several common misconceptions about the Shahname and its author, providing participants with a solid foundation for engaging with this remarkable text on their own.

By participating in this course, the participants will:

  • Gain the tools for independent study of the Shahname.
  • Learn 400–500 new words in Early Classical Persian.
  • Analyze original text selections with detailed commentary on grammar, metre, mythology, and etymology.
  • Enhance their understanding of the Shahname’s stories and themes.
  • Explore the cultural, historical, and linguistic context of its composition.
  • Discover connections to Zoroastrian Middle Persian literary traditions.
  • Understand the layers of non-Islamic elements within the Shahname.
  • Discuss and clarify common misconceptions about the Shahname and its author.
  • Build a strong foundation for engaging with this literary masterpiece.

Course Structure

The classes will take place once a week over an 8-week period. Each session will last 2 hours (with a 10 minute breat), totaling 16 hours of intensive instruction on the Shahname. Each session will revolve around readings and discussions of selected passages from the Shahname. Below is a breakdown of the main activities during each class:

  • Reading of the homework passages (20 minutes)
  • Reading the text (40 minutes)
  • Break (10 minutes)
  • Reading the text (40 minutes)
  • Discussion (10–15 minutes)

During the course students will be encouraged to ask questions and discuss topics related to the content, history or any related topics to the Shahname. All questions (the more challenging the better) are highly encouraged, as they foster academic dialogue and help create a fertile environment for exploring the hidden dimensions of the text. Each participant is encouraged to actively contribute, making the discussions dynamic and enriching for everyone.

Methodology

In my courses, I employ a simple yet highly effective method that combines literary, historical-linguistic, and philological approaches to clarify even the most obscure passages and words in a text.

During this course, I will draw on my expertise in pre-Islamic (Middle) Persian language and literature, as well as my knowledge of Iranian and non-Iranian languages, broader historical and geographical contexts, and, most importantly, literary contexts. This interdisciplinary approach will illuminate the meanings of words, expressions, and ideas within the text.

By explaining the underlying logic and foundations of the Shahname, this method will not only help participants understand the selections covered in the course but will also equip them with the tools to read and interpret other parts of the Shahname independently.

Course Readings

Day 1. Selected Reacings (KM, Vol. 2)

 The reign of Key Kāvus:

  • Ferdowsi’s reflections: ll. 1-10 (p. 3);
  • The Praise of Māzandarān: ll. 21-34 (pp. 4-5)

Haft-Xwān-e Rostam:

  • Rustam starts his journey: ll. 275-295 (pp. 21-22)

Day 2. Selected Reacings (KM, Vol. 2)

 Haft-Xwān-e Rostam:

  • Rustam slays the Dragon: ll. 338-388 (pp. 26-29).

Testimonials

I have taken both Shahnameh and Classical Persian Prose reading courses with Ruben, and all I can say is that he is the best language teacher I have had the pleasure of learning with. He has an extraordinary ability of introducing a wide range of topics like philology, history, and geography into his language teaching, and his encylopaedic knowledge of the Iranian world (and its languages) creates a learning experience that I can confidently say is unique to him and his school.
Rohan Kaya
Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Oxford
Thanks to his vast and deep familiarity with several religious, historical and literary texts written in Middle and Classical Persian, Ruben’s well-structured courses have always been intellectually stimulating and inspiring. In addition to his knowledge of secondary literature in Russian, French, German, Armenian, Persian and English, Ruben often draws on riches of the Persian literary canon to explain linguistic features. As an experienced language teacher and researcher in Iranian studies, his teaching style is an amalgam of historical linguistics and detailed philological analysis. Thanks to his helpfulness, modesty, flexibility and characteristic humor, his lessons are always engaging and entertaining. Over the years, we’ve worked together on several texts, and his intellectual impact on my own research has been truly transformative.
Kristof Szitar
PhD candidate, Université de Lausanne
I learned so much from Ruben’s course on the Shahnama. His depth of knowledge about Persian literary history, Middle Persian, and Persian etymology is remarkable. The reading selections were thoughtfully chosen, offering a rich and layered understanding of the text. Ruben was always ready to answer questions with clarity and insight, and his genuine joy in engaging with classical Persian literature made the learning experience all the more fun!
Ali Hassan
Ali Hassan
Department of South and Southeast Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley, USA
If you are struggling with reading Classical Persian or Persian paleography, Ferdowsi School is the go-to place! Ruben is very knowledgeable, patient, and encouraging. While the texts were daunting initially, Ruben always encouraged us to think by connecting what we had learned from the previous sessions, so we both refreshed our memories and also applied what I have learned to the new text. In the “Classical Persian through Historical Texts” class, we worked on major Persian historiographical texts by not only translating but also discussing historical background and scholarly discussions on the texts. Ruben also discussed with us the grammatical, phonetical, and etymological aspects of the texts and the conventional use of certain words and expressions particularly in Classical Persian which differs from modern Persian. In “Classical Persian through Living Books,” we worked on deciphering handwritten Classical Persian texts in Naskh and Nastaliq scripts. By the end of the class, I felt much more confident in dealing with the sources I use for my dissertation research.
Di Wang
PhD Student, Department of History, The Ohio State University
Ruben’s Persian reading class was an enriching and eye-opening experience. Ruben is incredibly patient, resourceful, and knowledgeable, guiding us through the nuances of Persian texts and manuscripts with clarity and enthusiasm. Beyond the reading exercises, Ruben provided invaluable recommendations for Persian language resources, encouraging us to expand our studies and helping out with the primary sources of my research on Central Asian history. Enjoyed so much reading Persian prose with Ruben and learning about histories!
Yue Xie
PhD student, Department of History of Art & Architecture, Harvard, USA

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CONTACT
Ruben S. Nikoghosyan (Yerevan, Armenia)

Email: nikoghosyanruben@gmail.com