Context:

Tom Holland mentions this as the great epic of Iran, noting it's literally 'the book of kings' and that when the Shah stands up, he is correctly conscious of himself as the heir to thousands of years of rule by monarchs.

Context:

Described as 'the great epic of the Iranian people' written by the poet Ferdowsi in Persia during the same period as The Tale of Genji, containing 'sorcerers and giant talking birds and Alexander the Great'