Preislamic and early islamic literature source for information on persian literature. Eirciv 102a, spring 2006 vi february 7, 2006 basic bibliography some useful literature boyce, m. A brief, wondrous history of arabic literature literary hub. I ranib ook is the first and best iranian online bookshop, supply, and great source of persian farsi books. The persian and iranian studies program at the university of washington is dedicated to promoting teaching, scholarship, and thoughtful public discourse about all aspects of the history and culture of iran and the persian speaking world.
May 30, 2009 persian literature spans two and a half millennia, though much of the preislamic material has been lost. If we are to trust baisonghurs preface to the shah nameh, there were various efforts made from time to time to put together a complete story of the nations history, by farruchani, ramin, and especially by the dihkan danishwar a. Didactic is derived from greek language and it means to teach. It spans twoandahalf millennia, though much of the preislamic material has been lost. The attempt to unravel the mystery of that broader history led naturally to an examination of the languages which were first, to our knowledge, spoken in that land. Cyrus the great had a concept of one world and the unification of all people around the known world. After the abbasids came to power 750 ce, the persians became the scribes and bureaucrats of the islamic empire and, increasingly, also its writers and poets.
This series was first published in 190206 by unwin and later reprinted by cambridge university press in 19561959. Here is the best place for presenting rare, old, new and precious titles to buy them through the earth biggest persian online bookstore. Brief persian history or persian literature folk fest. Persian literature history and criticism publisher london, herbert and daniel collection robarts. As a result, iranian literature was for a long time essentially of oral nature as far as composition, performance, and transmission are concerned. Sunil sharma interviewed by maryam kamali iranian medieval history sunil sharma is the associate professor of persianate and comparative literature at boston universitys department of modern languages and comparative literature dear prof. He is the bestknown persian poet from the fifteenth century. The republic of india has 22 officially recognized languages the earliest works of indian literature were orally transmitted. The journal aims to examine how persian has functioned as literary and cultural language, traversing the geographies of south, west, and central asia, including present day india. I know of no people in historyexcept possibly the japanesethat has had so many poets as persia. Directed by selim kuru, chair of the department of near eastern languages and civilization nelc, the programs scope includes the diverse persian. A thousand years of the persian book library of congress. A brief history of persian literature t he persian language the old persian of the achaemenian empire, preserved in a number of cuneiform inscriptions, was an indoeuropean tongue with close affinities with sanskrit and avestan the language of the zoroastrian sacred texts. Persian literature spans two and a half millennia, though much of the preislamic material has been lost.
Preislamic persian literature consists of religious texts, the most notable of which is the avesta, a collection of liturgic fragments, and the later pahlavi writing of the sassanid period. Prose was used for utilitarian purposes, particularly in scholarship, religion, and the affairs of government. The publics reception of modern works of literature depends on different political, social, and economic factors, with numerous ups and downs in recent history. There is perhaps no other literature so closely allied to the history of its people as is that of the arabs. In all these domains the persian language was in competition with the more prestigious arabic. As far as i know, it presents the fullest and most detailed treatment of sumer s political history available to date. The persian empire is the name given to a series of dynasties centered in modernday iran that spanned several centuriesfrom the sixth century b. Modern persian poetry, in one side is the heir of this huge cultural heritage, other side, because of facilitation in communicaonal literature is tion with internati affected by it and other side, it is often colored by daily social and political events. In spite of a rich trove of classical works mainly poems, modern iranian literature is less than a hundred years old. He mentions several additional advantages such works carry over other types of literature. Sharma, it is my great pleasure to have an interview with you regarding medieval persian literature. This 18volume, authoritative survey reflects the stature and significance of persian literature as the single most important accomplishment of the. Kamin mohammadis top 10 iranian books books the guardian.
Some of these pdfs were scanned by in 2011, where they can be downloaded in other formats see archive. The classic work on the subject, a literary history of persia is still the standard work in the english language on persia and her literature. Persian literature, body of writings in new persian also called modern persian, the form of the persian language written since the 9th century with a slightly extended form of the arabic alphabet and with many arabic loanwords. It spans four volumes 2,256 pages and took about twentyfive years to write.
Persian literature persian literature classical prose. Other works of persian literature are untranslated and little known. A brief history of irans modern literature british council. Pdf poetic imagery, in a history of persian literature. During the medieval period persian was the most popular language and it replaced sanskrit at least in those parts where the muslim ruled. Among enlightened members of the qajar elite the necessity of reforms was deeply felt. A brief history of persian literature the persian language the old persian of the achaemenian empire, preserved in a number of cuneiform inscriptions, was an indoeuropean tongue with close affinities with sanskrit and avestan the language of the zoroastrian sacred texts. Volumes of a history of persian literature i general introduction to persian literature ii persian poetry in the classical era, 8001500 panegyrics qaside, short lyrics ghazal.
Stanford libraries official online search tool for books, media, journals, databases, government documents and more. This led to the first attempts at a modernization of. How persian literature shaped the culture of iran and india. Poetic imagery, in a history of persian literature, vol.
The conference of the birds is a 12thcentury masterpiece, written by another persian sufi, attar. Beginning in the tenth century and lasting well into the sixteenth century, classical persian poetry and prose flourished. The text versions below are not edited or proofread. Mulammad bahars classification of prose into periods according to style 117 5. Popular classic persian literature books goodreads. Derives from latin persia deriving from greek persis in the bible it is referred as paras within the books of esther, daniel, ezra and nehemiah 3. Its sources have been within greater iran including presentday iran, irap and the caucasus, as well as regions of central asia wherethe persian language has. The programs scope includes the diverse persian and iranian cultures found throughout the middle east and the diaspora. The monotony of nomadic life, the rise of islam, the arab conquests, the imperial luxury of early abbasids, the interaction and cross fertilization with other civilizations notably in spain, the decline and overthrow of the caliphate, the period of cultural stagnation. Persian literature collection selected articles persian literature an english article discussing history of persian literature, famous persi. His achievements include scholarly works on sufism, historical and mystical works, and numerous idylls and lyrical poems in persian. It also allows us to foresee how the literature may progress.
He translated works by, among others, farid aldin attar, rumi, ferdowsi, omar khayyam, saadi and sanai. The shahnnameh of ferdowsi is one of the major works of the worlds literature. Students in the program have the opportunity to study up to four years of persian language and literature taught in the persian language, as well as courses on persian literature, history, and culture in english. The development of literature in politicalhistorical sequence ii5 4. Search the history of over 431 billion web pages on the internet.
Persian literature, literary writings in the persian language, nearly all of it written in the area traditionally known as persia, now iran. Irans earliest surviving literary traditions are that of avestan, the iranic sacred language of the avesta whose earliest literature is attested from the 6th century bc and is still preserved by the countrys zoroastrian communities in the observation of their religious rituals, and that of persian, the iranic language that originates from the old iranian dialect of the region of. This book is useful for the later history of the zoroastrians. Publication date 1902 topics persian literature publisher london, t. He turned into born in 1414 at nishapur, khorasan and died on 19 november 1492 in herat, afghanistan. It has profoundly influenced the literatures of ottoman turkey, muslim india and turkic central asia and been a source of inspiration for goethe, emerson, matthew arnold and jorge luis borges among others. Books written in persian and books about iran and persian culture in farsi and english for sale. The stories generally end with a simple moral to make a point of what the writer was trying to convey. A literary history of persia by browne, edward granville, 18621926.
As one of the great literatures of mankind the persian literature has its roots in surviving works in old. Ehsan yarshater is hagop kevorkian professor of iranian studies at columbia university and director of its center for iranian studies. Persian literature, volume 1,comprising the shah nameh. It grew out of the cambridge shahnama project founded in 1999 by professor charles melville and originally funded by the british academy. Its sources have been within greater iran including presentday iran, iraq, afghanistan, the caucasus. This invaluable introduction to the subject heralds a definitive and groundbreaking new series. Rise of persian literature in india medieval period. Mar 21, 2020 noor uddin abdul rahman jami is appeared as ultimate eminent figure of classical persian literature in persian history. The second chapter deals with the history of sumer from the prehistoric days of the fifth millennium to the early second millennium b. The journal aims to examine how persian has functioned as literary and cultural language, traversing the geographies. Since the old persian kings had composed their inscriptions in three vii. The literary form of new persian is known as farsi in iran, where it is the countrys official language, and as dari in afghanistan where it and pashto. History of classical persian poetry introduction to. Indian literature refers to the literature produced on the indian subcontinent until 1947 and in the republic of india thereafter.
Persian poetry or literature is overwhelmingly taken as the precious gem in the stunning crown of charismatic persian culture. As one of the great literatures of mankind the persian literature has its roots. Oct 31, 2008 the first volume offers an indispensable entree to persian literatures long and rich history, examining themes and subjects that are common to many fields of persian literary study. Mesopotamia is a region of southwest asia in the tigris and euphrates river system that benefitted from the areas climate and geography to host the beginnings of human civilization. This 20volume, authoritative survey reflects the stature and significance of persian literature as the single most important accomplishment of the iranian experience. A brief history of persian literature iran chamber. Harun alrashids favorite poet was the scandalous persian, abu nuwas. In the early decades of the 19th century, contacts between iran and europe rapidly increased, while two wars with russia 1804 and 182628 made apparent irans military weakness. The richness of persian literature, one of the worlds oldest, can be traced back to medieval classical persian. Appreciably, it has deeply and largely influenced literature of muslim india, ottoman turkey, turkic central asia and has served as a great inspiration for emerson, goethe. Persian literature article about persian literature by the. During the last century, numerous works of classical persian literature have been translated into swedish by baron eric hermelin. The literary form of new persian is known as farsi in iran, where it is the countrys official language, and as dari in afghanistan where it and pashto are.
Free online bible library persian language and literature. Middle persian literature see tavadia, 1956, now superseded by cereti, 2001, who also offers long excerpts in translation other than manichean includes first of all a wordforword translation of the avesta even faithfully rendering avestan syntax, which results in a clumsy, not to say at times obscure, middle persian version, accompanied. In persian literature, th e difference between poetry and pros e has always be en obvious and rather deliberate, with poetry almost always taking precedence. It is an allegorical 4,500line poem telling the tale of when all the birds of the world gathered. Persian literature is the jewel in the crown of persian culture. General introduction to persian literature history of. Sources for the history of persian literature n9 11. Extending nonnative literature to translated first language literature, ronald gray 2005 maintains that one excellent but frequently overlooked type of literature is the translated first language literature of the students p. Literature and poetry education economy history and literature sociology novel psychology women glossary publications policy philosophy religion mp3 audio books free books for iran pdf non persian books miscellaneous. In this article we will discuss about the rise of persian literature in india during the medieval period. Cyruss policy was to allow peoples exiled by the babylonians to return to their homelands, rebuild, and reinstitute their forms of worship.
Didactic literature teaches values in a society such as wisdom and teach basic rules of behavior in public and private. Its sources have been within historical persia including presentday iran as well as regions of central asia where the persian language has been the national language through history. Yet persian literature has never received the attention it truly deserves. The bulk of the surviving persian literature, however, comes from the times following the islamic conquest of persia circa 650 ce. Researching persian literature, history and art the. The centre, which opened in may last year, aims to encourage research on persian literature, history and art in cambridge and the uk under its director of research, dr firuza abdullaeva. By the late nineteenthearly twentieth century safarnamah literature became a mainstream genre in persian historiography. Sanskrit literature begins with the oral literature of the rig veda a collection of sacred hymns dating to the period 15001200 bce. A history of persian literature answers this need and offers a new, comprehensive and detailed history of its subject. The literary form of new persian is known as farsi in iran, where it. History of persian literature from the beginning of the islamic period to the present day. In the classical tradition the concept of literature was almost synonymous with poetry.
1293 36 1405 140 668 1428 927 739 1175 715 1326 1440 319 305 709 1429 1027 206 1205 1335 156 957 1029 1398 613 1452 1149 427 200 996 1267 397 209 1258 111 336 231 681 12 1246 1320 538 499