Sam-nama

In Persian literary history, Firdawsi's (d. 411/1020) Shah-nama, the famous masnavi composed in celebration of the history of the kings and dynasties of Persia, is the archetypal epic poem. After the Shah-nama, many other epic poems saw the light, among them Asadi Tusi's Garshasp-nama (dated 458/1066) and Iranshah b. Abi 'l-Khayr's Bahman-nama (dated 501/1107-08), but also Shi?i adaptations celebrating the wondrous exploits of ?Ali b. Abi Talib and the beginnings of Shi?ism, such as Rabi?'s ?Ali-nama (dated 482/1089) or Ibn Husam's Khawaran-nama (completed in 830/1427). The present masnavi is an example of an epic poem in the form of a romance, turning around the love of Sam, the grandfather of Rustam, for the daughter of the emperor of China. Previously ascribed to the 8th/14th-century poet Khwaju-yi Kirmani, it has now been established that it is a product of later Persian folklore, blending parts of Kirmani's Humay u Humayun with elements from other tales and romances.