TEHRAN – In a message issued on the occasion of the Persian Language Day and in commemoration of the great Iranian poet Ferdowsi (May 15), Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, emphasized the vast potential of the Persian language and literature for promoting the rich culture and civilization of Islamic Iran on a global scale. 

According to Mehr, the text of the Leader’s message reads as follows:

“Beyond being a tool for speech and writing, the Persian language constitutes the medium of understanding and the bond that connects the thoughts and identity boundaries of Iranians. Persian language and literature represent one of the greatest capacities for promoting the rich culture and civilization of Islamic Iran throughout the world. The recommendation of our wise and martyred Leader to empower the Persian language remains a guiding light for strengthening the authority of the Iranian-Islamic civilization.”

“The dear people of Iran, during the third Sacred Defense, as in the two previous imposed wars, have once again proven that Ferdowsi’s mythological stories are reflections of their real lives and heroic spirit. The humanistic, valiant, and Qur’anic concepts of the Shahnameh unite all ethnic and social groups of Iran in preserving their identity, authenticity, and independence, and in resisting aggressors.”

“This epic of presence, defense, and victory imposes a great duty upon the community of culture, literature, and art — to rise, as Ferdowsi did, to bring forth the renaissance of artists in continuation of the renaissance of the people; to merge intellect, pen, and language with art; and to make the narrative of the nation’s great uprising an enduring part of history.”

Also on this occasion, a ceremony titled “The Shahnameh and Iranian Identity” was held on Wednesday at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall, attended by Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Seyyed Abbas Salehi, along with cultural officials, literary figures, and artists.

Also in attendance were the ambassadors of South Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Belarus, Uruguay, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Nicaragua, Tajikistan, Venezuela, and Lebanon, as well as representatives from Russia, Oman, Sri Lanka, Chile, Pakistan, Afghanistan, the UNDP, FAO, the UN, and the ECO.

At the ceremony, Salehi described Ferdowsi and the Shahnameh as the historical memory of Iran and said: “Our national genealogy is recorded in Shahnameh. Many nations lack such a clear cultural and historical identity card, but thanks to Ferdowsi and his Shahnameh, Iranians possess a written lineage and historical identity”.

Speaking about Ferdowsi’s legacy and the significance of the Shahnameh in Iran, said: “Throughout history, the land of Iran has always been home to diverse languages, dialects, and accents, yet the Persian language has been the guarantor of Iran’s unity and territorial integrity — and continues to play that role today. Among those who helped preserve and safeguard Persian, Ferdowsi holds a fundamental place.”

Salehi emphasized that the Shahnameh has left Iranians with an invaluable historical memory, enabling the nation to preserve its identity and pass it on to future generations.

“The Shahnameh is the architect of the Iranian heroic spirit,” he added. “Across its three sections — mythological, heroic, and historical — it presents an epic narrative of Iran’s history and identity. The heroic spirit embodied in Ferdowsi’s verses has imbued the Iranian soul with a lasting sense of courage and grandeur.”

“The reason Iran and Iranians have shown resilience at critical historical moments, such as during the imposed wars, and have stood firm against the world’s great powers, stems from that same heroic spirit formed in our collective unconscious through the Shahnameh and the legacy of Ferdowsi,” the minister noted.

Salehi also referred to the views of the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, who regarded Ferdowsi as “the pinnacle of Iranian poetry,” a phrase that reflects his deep understanding of Iranian literature and culture.

The event also featured a performance by the Tehran Symphony Orchestra and recitations of the Shahnameh by child and teenage storytellers (naqals).

In addition, a number of prominent and active figures in the fields of Shahnameh recitation and research, who in recent years have contributed to promoting and preserving this monumental literary work and the Persian language, were honored during the ceremony.

Abolqasem Mansour bin Hassan Tusi (940 – 1025), better known by his pen name Ferdowsi, was a Persian poet and the author of Shahnameh (literally meaning “Book of Kings”), which is one of the world's longest epic poems created by a single poet, and the greatest epic of the Persian-speaking countries. Ferdowsi is celebrated as one of the most influential figures of Persian literature and one of the greatest in the history of literature.

In the Shahnameh, Ferdowsi links the culture of pre-Islamic Iran with the culture of post-Islamic Iran. What Ferdowsi was dealing with was not only poetic but also intellectual; he did not write fiction. Ferdowsi considers wisdom as the source and capital of all goodness. He believes that a person with wisdom recognizes good and evil from each other, and in this way, he reaches the happiness of this world and the salvation of the other world.

The Shahnameh tells of the mainly mythical but to some extent historical past of Iran from the creation of the world until the Muslim conquest in the seventh century. Iran, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, and the greater region influenced by Persian culture, such as Armenia, Dagestan, Georgia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, celebrate this national epic.

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