Farabi · Ferdowsi Were Farabi and Ferdowsi alive at the same time? Yes. Farabi and Ferdowsi were alive at the same time for 10 or 11 years, from AD 940 to AD 951. Ferdowsi was 10 or 11 when Farabi died. Farabi10th century Persian philosopher and juristBorn c. AD 870 · died AD 951FerdowsiPersian poet, author of ShahnamehBorn 3 January AD 940 · died c. 1020 Alfred the GreatAbu Bakr al-RaziFarabiOtto I the GreatFerdowsiIbn al-HaythamLeif EriksonAl-BiruniAvicenna Farabi and Ferdowsi in bold, with some of their best-known contemporaries. Drag across to see the age each reached in any year. Faded ends mark uncertain dates.