Tomb of Ferdowsi - Tus
Ferdowsi’s tomb is situated in Tus, Kohorasan Province of Iran. His full name is Hakim Abu Qasim Ferdowsi al-Tusi , he was born in a village called Paj, close to city of Tus in 940. This Iranian poet is known for his famous book Shahnameh (Book of the Kings).
Shahnameh has 60,000 verses in which Ferdowsi has protrayed the history of ancient Persia and often it is based on myths but nevertheless it is still an epic story. Ferdowsi died in 1020 in Tus after a heart attack, he spent his last years in wandering most of the times running away from Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni.
Mahmud had promised him a gold coin for each of his verse when Ferdowsi’s book was completed, Sultan sent him 60,000 gold coins. But those coins were changed with the silver by the courtier and this led to a problem between Ferdowsi and Mahmud Ghazni. When Mahmud realised what had happened to his original gold coins he sent the coins again but the minute messenger arrived at Tus, the funeral of Ferdowsi was being prepared.
Stairs lead to the grave of Ferdowsi which rests on the lower level, are adorned with the different scenes from the past. One relief depicts a battle between the Persians and the Taranis. Another one shows a scene where Rostam killing his own son Sohrab. This is created from a story in Shahnameh. In one Darius the Great is sitting on a throne, in another Sassanid king is seen here with his advisors. An Indian king can be seen on elephant coming to Iran to pay his respects to the king of Iran.
Ferdowsi’s tomb is made of white marble and it was built in 1930s. The style of construction resemble to that of Achaemenid architecture. Persian language is engraved at the face of the grave which sheds some light on Ferdowsi.
On the walls of the Frdowsi’s tomb, there are depictions of various creatures and battle scenes from his book. In one of them Simurgh ( a mythical flying bird) is holding a child within it’s wings.
A museum was located across the tomb of Ferdowsi where this depiction of a king’s throne being carried away by the dewes (ginies). A security guard came over to me and said something in Persian which I didn’t understand. After much confusion, I found out that photos in the museum with a camera were prohibited but allowed with a mobile phone.
