Quiz

Abu Nasr Ali ibn Ahmad Asadi Tusi: Persian Poet and Author

• Asadi Tusi was a Persian poet, linguist, and author born in Tus, Iran, in the early 11th century, and died in Tabriz in the late 1080s.
• He is considered an important Persian poet of the Iranian national epics, and his best-known work is Garshaspnameh.
• Asadi Tusi spent his first twenty years in Ṭūs, and from about 1018 to 1038 AD, he was a poet at the court of the Daylamite Abū Naṣr Jastān.
• He completed his seminal work, Garshāsp-nama, in Nakhjavan in 1065–1066, and later served at the court of the Shaddadid king Manuchehr, who ruled Ani.
• Asadi's tomb is in the city of Tabriz.
• Garshāsp-nama, with 9,000 couplets, is Asadi Tusi's major work, and the hero of the poem is Garshasp, identified in the Shahnameh with the ancient Iranian hero Kərəsāspa-.
• The poem begins with Yama (or Jamshid), the father of Garshāsp, who was overthrown by Zahhak and flees to Ghurang, king of Zabulistan.
• Garshāsp defeats the rebel prince Bahu in India and remains there to observe its marvels and engage in philosophical discourse.
• He then goes to Sarandib (Ceylon), where he sees the footprint of the Buddha and meets a Brahman, whom he questions in detail about philosophy and religion.
• Garshasp later visits Indian islands and sees supernatural wonders, which are described at great length.
• In the West, he meets a "Greek Brahman" and engages in philosophical discourse with the wise man.
• Garshāsp becomes king of Zābolestān and fights a final battle with the king of Tanger, slaying another dragon before he dies.

Test your knowledge of Persian literature and culture with our quiz on Abu Nasr Ali ibn Ahmad Asadi Tusi, a renowned Persian poet and author. Learn about his life, major works, and contributions to Iranian national epics, with a focus on his most famous work, Garshaspnameh. Discover the hero of the poem, Garshasp, and his adventures across India, Ceylon, and the West, as he engages in philosophical discourse and battles dragons. Take this quiz