Ferdowsi

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/ferdowsi

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. When was Ferdowsi born?Circa 940 AD
2. Where was Ferdowsi born?Near Tus, Khorasan, Persia (modern-day Iran)
3. What is the career?Persian poet and historian
4. What is the estimated verses in shahnameh?Over 50,000
5. Who was Ferdowsi?Ferdowsi was a Persian poet born around 940 AD who wrote the Shahnameh, a huge book of stories about kings.
6. Why did Ferdowsi write the Shahnameh?He wanted to keep Persian stories and language alive after the Arab conquest, so people could learn about their heroes and feel proud of their culture.

Epic Poetry: A genre of poetry that recounts the deeds of a heroic or legendary figure, often involving supernatural elements and grand scope.
Linguistic Preservation: The effort to maintain and promote a language, especially when it faces threats of decline or extinction.
Cultural Heritage: The legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present, and bestowed for the benefit of future generations.
National Identity: A sense of a nation as a cohesive and shared entity, often based on common language, history, culture, and values.