Ferdowsi · Ibn al-Haytham Were Ferdowsi and Ibn al-Haytham alive at the same time? Yes. Ferdowsi and Ibn al-Haytham were alive at the same time, from c. AD 965 to c. 1020. FerdowsiPersian poet, author of ShahnamehBorn 3 January AD 940 · died c. 1020Ibn al-HaythamArab physicist, mathematician and astronomerBorn c. AD 965 · died 1039 FarabiFerdowsiIbn al-HaythamLeif EriksonAl-BiruniAvicennaWilliam the Conqueror Ferdowsi and Ibn al-Haytham 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.