Shahin Shirazi

The details surrounding his biography are not clear. It is known that he worked during the reign of Ilkhan Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan (1316-1335), and that he was also a contemporary of the Persian poet Hafez (d. 1390), who was also from Shiraz. It is unclear whether '"Shahin" is the poet's first name or his pen name. It is possible that he was from Kashan and that he was buried in Shiraz.

His works include epic cycles (poetic epics) from the Torah and from later parts of the Hebrew Bible. The Musā-nāmah was composed in 1327, and includes narratives from the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. The work contains close to 10,000 couplets.^{[citation needed]} His versification of the Book of Genesis, the Bereshit-nāmah, was composed around 1358; it contains close to 8700 couplets. ^{[citation needed]}

His epic poem on the tale of Esther, Ardashir-nāmah, includes multiple stories in addition to the well-known biblical narrative. For example, Shāhin also expounds on the adventures of Shiru, the son of Ardashir (Ahaseurus) and Queen Vashti.

Editions and translations

• "אוצר החכמה". tablet.otzar.org.
• "אוצר החכמה". tablet.otzar.org.
• Ardashir-nāmah (The book of Ardashir)
• Ezra-nāmah (The Book of Ezra)
• David Gilinsky, "An original critical edition with English translation of Chapter 26 of Ardashir Nameh", BA Finals Dissertation, Cambridge University, April 1992, available from Cambridge University Library and on SCRIBD.
• Vera Basch Moreen (tr. and ed.), In Queen Esther's Garden: An Anthology of Judeo-Persian Literature (Yale Judaica): Yale 2000, ISBN 0300079052. Includes excerpts from Shāhin's epics in English translation

Bereshit-nāmah

• Shāhīn, Sefer sharḥ-i Shāhīn-i Torah, ed. by Simon Khakam (Jerusalem 5662/1902) (in Hebrew script).
• Muntakhab-i ashʿār-i fārsī az āthār-i yahūdiyyān-i Īrān, ed. by Amnon Netzer (Tehran 1352 AH/1973 CE), pp. 58-106 (transliterated into Arabic script).

• List of Persian-language poets and authors
• Persian literature
• Persian Jews
• Judeo-Persian
• 7dorim.com (Persian)

• Amnon Netzer: "Literature of the Jews of Iran, A short survey." Padyavand Vol 1. Los Angeles 1996, pp 5–17.
• E.G. Browne. Literary History of Persia. (Four volumes, 2,256 pages, and twenty-five years in the writing). 1998. ISBN 0-7007-0406-X
• Jan Rypka, History of Iranian Literature. Reidel Publishing Company.
•   Gottheil, Richard; Bacher, Wilhelm (1901–1906). "Judæo-Persian Literature". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.