Abul-Qâsem Ferdowsi Tusi (Persian: ابوالقاسم فردوسی توسی; 940 – 1019/1025 CE), also Firdawsi or Ferdowsi (فردوسی), was a Persian poet and the author of Shahnameh ("Book of Kings"), which is one of the world's longest epic poems created by a single poet, and the greatest epic of Persian speaking countries. Ferdowsi is celebrated as one of the most influential figures of Persian literature and one of the greatest in the history of literature.