Celebration of 1000 Years of Hakim Abul Qasim Firdousi

Hakim Abul Qasim Firdausi was born in the year 934 in the village of Bhoshi in the Province of Tusa (North Persia). It was there that he received his education and the honorary title ‘Chakin’.
In the second half of the tenth century the decline on the state of the Samanides commenced. Centrifugal forces intensified, Bedouins frequently raided the towns, and the Samanides state was in danger on falling into ruin. In order to face this danger all the tribes on this territory had to unite themselves into a whole. One possibility achieving such a union consisted in collecting mythological materials and emphasizing the horizon and patriotism of the people on the east.
Such beginning was supported by the rulers on the Samanides state. In this connection there appeared in the 950s and 960s four variants of Shahnama in prose and verse forms. Later, Firdausi (round about 975) ;and his companions Daqiqi (978) commenced work on the creation of their own poems under the title \"Shahnama.
Firdausi finished his manuscript on the poem \"Shahnama\" in the year 992 (or 994) but presented it to nobody as a gift.
The State of the Samanides was falling into ruin. Mahmud of Ghazna was made ruler. Firdausi was still busy in correcting and editing his poem and he finally decided to give to Mahmud of Ghazna. He presented his Shahnama to the ruler who did not adequately appreciate his value.
The Poem \"Shahnama\" consists on three parts. The Mythological, the Heroic and The Historical part. It is reported in the book on the rule on the Shah Kajumarsa upto the assassination on the last Sassanidic Shah, Yezdigird III. Two forces are constantly noticeable in this book, the good and the bad. The fundamental ideas which Firdausi expounds in his poem are justice, patriotism and morality. \"Shahnama” consists of 60,000 bytes and counts as one of the most important literary works on the world. It has been translated into Arabic, German, English, French, Turkish, as well as into other languages. Firdausi died in the year 1020 in his country.
To commemorate the celebration of 1000 years of \"Shahnama\" Hakim Abul Qasim Firdausi Pakistan Post is issuing a stamp of Re. 1/- denomination on October 27,1994.