Persian epic in France

Shahnameh translated by William Jones, and excerpts of which translated into English verse and French prose are recognized to an extent in the west.  From then on characters like Louis Langles, Ernest Renan, Jean-Jacques Ampere, Noldeke announced that the Persian national epic outshines any other epic in the world.  The purpose of this article is to determine how Shahnameh’s reputation diffused in France and to what extent the French were inspired by its tales.  Since the 18th century and after the great French revolution, in French literature a movement took form which turned the attention of this nation towards literary works of other nations.  With the spread of Orientalism in Europe the worldwide process of translation movement took speed.  The first translations made from excerpts of Shahnameh were carried out by Louis Langles, De Wallenbourg, and Biyanki, however translation and critical edition of Shahnameh of Ferdowsi undertaken by Jules Mohl took forty years to complete and finally in 1877 it was published in seven volumes.  Since then, French authors such as Alfred Delvau, Maurice Maeterlich, Noldeke conducted researches and produced criticism regarding Shahnameh that influenced French poets like Abel Bonnard, Victor Hugo, Francois Coppee, Paul Furt, and Andre Gide.