Which Persian poet wrote the epic poem 'Shahnameh'?

Ferdowsi wrote the Persian epic poem Shahnameh, also known as the Book of Kings. It is the national epic of Greater Iran and one of the world’s longest poems by a single author.

Ferdowsi composed the work in Early New Persian over several decades, completing a major version around 1010 CE. It tells the story of Iran’s legendary and historical kings, heroes, dynasties, battles, and national disasters, beginning in mythic time and moving toward the Arab conquest of the Sasanian Empire.

The poem contains roughly 50,000 couplets, although the exact count varies among manuscripts. Ferdowsi drew heavily on earlier Persian and Middle Persian historical traditions, including prose accounts of Iran’s past, while transforming that material into a highly influential poetic narrative.

The other choices are major Persian poets but are known for different literary traditions. Omar Khayyam is celebrated especially for his quatrains, Hafez for lyric poetry, and Rumi for mystical verse. Ferdowsi’s defining achievement is the Shahnameh’s sweeping national and heroic history.