The Shâhnâme (The Book of Kings) The Shâhnâme of Ferdowsi speaks about the history of ancient Iran, from the dawn of Persian civilization to the decline of the Sassanid Empire. Shâhnâmekhâni (Reading/Reciting the Shâhnâme) Shâhnâmekhâni may be considered a kind of minstrel ritual that has spread in Iranian culture since long times ago in three different ways: 1. Shâhnâmekhâni in Zūrkhânes, which was performed and is still performed by a Morshed, playing the tombak and the bell during ancient exercises; 2. Naqqâli (narration), which was performed in teahouses (qahvekhânes) and places of social gathering by narrators or reciters of the Shâhnâme; Through reference to biographies and historical texts of Safavid dynasty, it is clearly realized that Shâhnâmekhâni was a common practice in teahouses, places of social gathering and courts of Isfahan and Qazvin. Regarding the contemporary period, we can mainly refer to the performances of the narrator, pardekhân1 and reciter of the Shâhnâme, late Morshed Mohammad Torâbi. This type of Shâhnâmekhâni can be better attributed to the urban than to the rural areas. 3. Shâhnâmekhâni-e Majlesi, which was most common in small towns, villages and tribes and performed in soirees and intimate circles; These ceremonies were often held in the presence of a number of readers or reciters of the Shâhnâmeh (shâhnâmekhâns), reading it one after another. In one of the narratives from Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, sometimes a line or a verse of the Shâhnâme was recited by a group of reciters in response to a single reciter.