The history of ancient Persia serves as the basis of the epic poem “Shah-Nameh” (sometimes spelled Shahnemeh). The poem was written around AD 1000 by the poet Abol Mansur Ferdovci (also spelled Abu ʾl-Qasim Ferdowsi Tusi). Composed of over 50,000 couplet verses, the poem suggests “the irony of human existence,” while at the same time praising Ferdovci’s patron. The work is considered to be a literary masterpiece in Persian culture. The liner notes provide information on the author and an English summary of the epic; the audio is in Persian.