Epic (ḥamāsa) in Persian literature refers to a type of heroic poetry and prose writing. Although in earlier times the epic was not viewed as a distinct genre and was classified as a form of mathnawī, modern Iranian scholars have coined the term ‘ḥamāsa-sarāʾī’ (‘heroic poetry’) to designate it. The term ḥamāsa stems from the Arabic root ḥ-m-s, meaning ‘enthusiasm’, ‘zeal’ …