An introduction to the Epopee of Ghazawat

In the valuable but unknown treasure of Persian literature, there are many religious epics in which bravery of the Commander of the Faithful, ‘Ali (PBUH), has been spoken of and many of them have been composed as “Combats of the Lion1”. In this writing, we introduce the epopee of Ghazawat composed by Mirza Abu Talib Findiriski. To introduce this epopee, two points should be noted: first, when this epopee had not been yet edited, all literary scholars thought that it was a “supplement to Combats of the Lion” composed by “Badhil Mashhadi; while it is an independent work composed many years before “Combats of the Lion”. Second, this work is of historical importance and it is, in terms of correspondence to historical authentic sources, unique and for the same reason it is different from many religious epics which are near to myths and superstitions.