It was built in the early 1930s,[1] under the regime of Reza Shah, and uses mainly elements of Achaemenid architecture to demonstrate Iran's rich culture and history.

[3] It was not until 1934 that the Iranian government, then under the control of Reza Shah, first king of the Pahlavi dynasty, recognized the cultural and literary value of Ferdowsi and erected a permanent tomb in his honor.

[3] A millennial celebration was also held for the poet, to which were invited scholars from several countries, including Soviet Tajikistan, India, Armenia, and Europe (Germany, France, England).

Funds were collected, mainly donations from Parsi scholars, to enable the building of a statue for the poet at his tomb site.

Four years before Reza Shah came to power in 1922, a group of secular Iranian reformists had created the "Society for National Heritage" (SNH, or in Persian anjoman-e asar-e meli).

[7] Composed mostly of western-educated, pro-reform intellectuals such as Abdolhossein Teymourtash, Hassan Pirnia, Mostowfi ol-Mamalek, Mohammad Ali Foroughi, Firuz Mirza Firus Nosrat al-Dowleh, and Keikhosrow Shahrokh, the SNH was critical in obtaining the funds from the Iranian parliament.

In the center of the cross created by the legs of the garden surrounding it, is an edifice made of primarily white marble.

The edifice can be divided into a "wide chamber" that lies at the base and a cubical erection on top, with four pillars surrounding it and scenes from the epic of Shahnameh and text ornating it.

The body of the poet is actually interred in the center of the rectangular wide chamber underneath the overlying four pillars cube.

[3] Tus, at one point was an opulent city in the greater Khorasan region but it was repeatedly sacked by Oguz Turks, Mongols, and Uzbeks from the steppe.

[12] There was a renewed sense of national identity partly due to the pressures felt by foreign powers including the constant Anglo-Persian political struggle specially over the issues of oil, and partly due to inability of the Qajar dynasty from protecting Iranian lands in central Asia to the Russians and in the east to the British.

[13] This was in many ways taken literally with Persian poems from Shahnameh etched into the white marble facets of the edifice of the poet's mausoleum.

In that sense it is a national epic that encompasses not only fictional and literary figures but also incorporates parts of the history of pre-Islamic Iran.

[1] Centered inside the edifice surrounding by the frieze scenes and other artistic endeavors is the tomb stone of the poet.

این مکان فرخنده آرامگاه استاد گویندگان فارسی‌زبان و سراینده داستان‌های ملی ایران، حکیم ابوالقاسم فردوسی طوسی است که سخنان او زنده‌کننده کشور ایران و مزار او در دل مردم این سرزمین جاودان است.

This auspicious place is the resting place of the master of the speakers of the Persian tongue and the author of Iranian national stories, sage Abul-Qasem Ferdowsi Tusi whose utterances are imbuing the country of Iran with new live, and whose tomb lives eternally in the hearts of the people of this land.

Foreign dignitaries, tourists, and other Persian-speaking people from Europe, Asia, and Middle East also visit the site.