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History of Iranian Literature JAN RYPKA HISTORY OF IRANIAN LITERATURE Written in collaboration with OTAKAR KLlMA, VERA KUBfCKOVA, FELIX TAUER, JIRi BECKA, JIRi CEJPEK, JAN MAREK, I. HRBEK AND J. T. P. DE BRUIJN Edited by KARL JAHN (University of Ley den) D. REIDEL PUBLISHING COMPANY DORDRECHT-HOLLAND TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xxi GUIDE TO PRONUNCIATION xxv OTAKAR KLlMA: AVESTA. ANCIENT PERSIAN INSCRIPTIONS. MIDDLE PERSIAN LITERATURE i I. ANCIENT EASTERN-IRANIAN CULTURE 3 A. The Beginnings of Iranian Culture 3 B. The First States 4 C. Zarathushtra 5 D. Avesta 7 1. The Gathds 7 2. Yasna, Visprat . 8 3. The Yashts 9 4. Videvddt 12 5. Minor Texts 15 6. Traditions regarding the Origin of the Avesta 16 7. Beginnings of Iranian Philology. Significance of the Avesta 17 II. THE CULTURE OF THE ANCIENT MEDES AND PERSIANS l8 A. The Medes and Persians 18 B. The Achaemenids. Character of their Government and Languages of their Realm » 19 C. The Inscriptions of the Achaemenids 20 ix TABLE OF CONTENTS D. Traces of the Lost Literature 23 E. Old Persian Learning in Europe 23 III. THE MIDDLE PERSIAN ERA 25 A. The Arsacids 25 1. Alexander the Great, the Seleucids, the Parthians 25 2. The Literature of the Parthian Era 26 3. The Earliest Records of Middle Iranian Literature 27 4. Middle Iranian Dialects 29 5. Inscriptions from Arsacid Times 29 6. Coins of the Pre-Sasanian Period 30 B. The Sasanians 30 1. Inscriptions 30 2. Other Records. Seals, Gems, Coins, Documents 32 C. Middle Persian Book-Literature 34 1. Pahlavi Literature 34 2. Middle Persian Translations of the Avesta (Zand) 35 D. Religious Pahlavi Literature 35 1. Religious Texts 35 2. The Andarz Books. Moralising, Apocalyptic, and Eschatological Literature 37 3. Collections of Traditions and Polemic Treatises 39 E. Secular Literature 43 1. Historical Belles-Lettres 44 2. Instructive Works on Political Affairs 45 3. Legal Writings. Papyri 47 4. The Frahangs 48 5. Poetry in the Middle Persian Period. Lyrical Poetry and Music 49 6. Foreign Influences in Middle Persian Literature 53 7. Persian Influences on other Literatures 54 8. Literature of the last Century of the Sasanian Era 55 9. Literature of the Sectarians and Dissenters. Zurvanism. Christianity 59 10. Middle Iranian Manuscripts 60 F. Discoveries in Central Asia 61 1. Manichaean Documents 61 2. Sogdian Literature 63 3. Remains of Khvarezmian Literature 64 4. Sakian Literature 65 IV. THE PERIOD OF TRANSITION TO NEW PERSIAN LITERATURE (The Advance of Islam and the Beginnings of New Persian) 66 TABLE OF CONTENTS JAN RYPKA: HISTORY OF PERSIAN LITERATURE UP TO THE BEGINNING OF THE 20TH CENTURY 69 I. INTRODUCTION • 71 A. The Persian Language (Darl) 71 1. The Arabising of Persian 73 2. The Relation of Dialects to Persian Literature 74 3. The Script 74 B. National Individuality 76 1. The Conception of Unity and its Reverse - Regionalism 76 2. Religious Elation and its Nature 77 3. The Shi'a 78 4. The Tolerance of Persian Poetry 78 5. Adaptability and late Europeanisation 79 6. Artistic Perceptibility, Nature, and inborn Disposition for Poetry 80 7. The Spirit of Islam 81 8. The Relationship between Poetry and Prose. Problems of Literary History 81 9. The Influence of Sufism 82 10. Lack of Humour. The 'Satire' 83 11. The Influence of Despotism and Feudalism 84 12. Extravagance 84 13. Eros and its Expression: Allegory and Symbolism. Abstract Character of the Lyric. Homosexuality 85 C. Conservatism and Convention in Persian Literature 87 1. The Connection with Feudalism 87 2. Official Islam as a restraining Factor 88 3. Conservatism of the Oriental Conception of the Relation between Word and Thought 88 4. The Difficulties of the Westerner in Comprehending Persian and other Oriental Authors 89 5. Men of Genius and Epigones: The European School 90 D. Poetry and its Forms 91 1. The Outward Form 91 a. Fundamental Concepts • 91 b. Metrics 92 c. Rhyme in Relation to Form 93 (1) Forms of Lyric Poetry 94 (2) Substance of Lyrical Forms 97 (3) The Form of the Epic and Didactic Poem 98 d. Strictness of Form. Efficiency of the System 98 xi TABLE OF CONTENTS e. Takhallus 99 2. The Inward Form of the Poetry 99 Characteristic Embellishments. Excess of Rhetoric 100 b. Prerequisites for the Poet 101 c. Peculiarities in the Train of Thought 102 d. Craftsmanlike Modelling of the Form 103 e. The Attitude of the Older Orientalists 103 f. Applicability of the Old Forms to Modern Life 103 g. Exclusive Nature of the Poetry 104 h. The Nature of Poetical Experience 104 j. The Specific Nature of Persian Poetry 105 k. Poets' Centres and the Division of Poetry into Periods 108 E. Prose 108 1. The Range of Persian Literature no 2. Styles of Poetry as interpreted by M. Bahar and S. NafisI 112 3. The Development of Literature in Political-historical Sequence 115 4. Muhammad Bahar's Classification of Prose into Periods according to Style 117 5. Zarre's Division into Periods 118 6. Sources for the History of Persian Literature 119 11. THE BEGINNINGS OF PERSIAN LITERATURE 126 A. The Arab Occupation 126 1. The Ancient Culture and its Continuation 128 2. The Existence of a' Middle Persian Poetry 132 3. The First Specimens of Persian Verse. Continuity of Middle and New Persian Verse 133 B. The Poets of the Tahirid and Saffarid Periods 135 C. Continuous Flow of Literature. Persian Writers in Arabic Literature (750-850) 136 IIL THE SAMANIDS (Middle of 3rd/9th century to end of 4th/ioth) 139 A. Literature in the Samanid Period 140 1. Points of Contact between Persian and Contemporaneous Arabic Poetry. Character of the Latter. Fundamental Traits of the Earliest Period in Persian Poetry 141 Some Names 143 3. Rudaki, (Daqiqi), Kisa'I 144 4. Provincial Poets at the Courts of the Al-i Muhtaj in Chaghaniyan, Ziyarids and Buyids * 146 5. General Characteristics of the First Period 147 xii TABLE OF CONTENTS B. The Earliest Monuments 148 1. The Earliest Poetry and Prose, including the Works of Avicenna and Al-BIrunI 149 C. The Epic Tradition of Iran 151 D. Daqlqi 153 E. Firdausi 154 F. Epic Poems connected with the Shdh-ndma 162 G. Persian Authors in Arabic Literature (850-1000) . 166 IV. THE GHAZNAVID PERIOD (5th/nth century) .; 172 A. Yaminu'd-Daula Sultan Mahmud of Ghazna 172 B. Mahmud's Attitude to Culture 173 C. The Panegyric Poets under Mahmud and his Successors 174 D. The Romantic Epic . 177 E. Avicenna - his Importance and his Influence 179 v. THE SELJUQ PERIOD (sth/iith to 6th/i2th century) 183 A. The Rise of Panegyrism under Sultan Sanjar and during the Disintegration of the Seljuq Supremacy 184 B. Nasir-i Khusrau 185 C. 'Omar Khayyam 189 D. The Panegyric Poets 194 1. Qatran (Azerbayjan) 194 2. Mu'izzl and AzraqI (at the Seljuq Court) 195 3. Mas'ud-i Sa'd-i Salman, Hasan Ghaznavi-i and Abu'l-Faraj Run! (Ghaznavid India) 196 4. Adlb Sabir, Anvari and Mahsati (at the Court of the Seljuqs) 197 5. 'Am'aq (Bukhara) 199 6. Rashid Vatvat (Khvarazm) 200 E. The School of Azerbayjan 201 F. The Epic Poet Nizami and his Imitators Amir Khusrau and Maktabi 210 G. The Isfahan School: Jamalu'd-din, Kamalu'd-din Isma'il 213 H. The Satirist Suzani 214 vi. THE PROSE OF THE SELJUQ PERIOD (5th-6th/nth-i2th century) 220 A. On the Border-line between Learned Literature (or Instruction) and Belles-Lettres 220 B. Belles-Lettres 222 C. Historical Works in Prose • 224 D. Iranian Writers of Arabic (1000-1200 A.D.) 224 xiii TABLE OF CONTENTS VII. SUFISM 226 A. Origin, Development and Ideology of Sufism 226 B. Groups and Schools. Ritual 230 C. Sufi Symbolism 231 D. Beneficial and deleterious Effects of Sufism on Culture 232 E. The Quatrain Poets: Abu-Sacid b. Abi'l-Khayr, (Baba Kuhi), Baba Tahir 'Uryan, Ansari, Baba Afdal 233 F. The Great Sufis: Sana'I, 'Attar, Maulavi 236 VIII. THE MONGOLS 246 A. Sa'di. The Rise of the Ghazal 250 B. Sa'di's Contemporaries 253 C. Nizari 255 D. Indo-Persian Literature: Amir Khusrau, Najmu'd-din Hasan Sanjari 257 E. Panegyric Poets at the Smaller Courts: Khvaju, Ibn-i Yamin, Salman Savaji 260 F. The Lyric Poet Kamal Khujandl 262 G. Hafiz, the Ghazal at its Summit 263 H. Hafiz' Environment in Shiraz 271 ix. TIMUR AND HIS SUCCESSORS 279 A. Cultural and Literary Life 279 B. Lyric and Epic Poetry under the Timurids 283 C. Jami 286 D. Outside Herat. Baba Fighani and his Influence. Lisani 288 X. THE SAFAVIDS 29I A. The Literature of this Epoch 292 1. The 'Indian' Style 295 2. The Classicists 297 B. Poets of the Safavid Period 297 C. Subsequent Development of the Indian Style 301 D. Sa'ib, Shaukat, Bidil 301 XI. THE TURBULENT I2TH/l8TH CENTURY 305 A. Shiraz, Political Centre in the Second Half of the 12th/18th Century; 'Return' (Bdz-Gasht) in Isfahan 306 B. Hazin *. 308 C. Shihab 309 xiv TABLE OF CONTENTS XII. LITERARY AND ASSOCIATED SPECIES OF PROSE DURING THE 7TH-I2TH/I3TH-I8TH CENTURIES 311 A. Two Trends in Style: Extravagance and Simplicity .312 B. Husayn Va'iz; The Moral Philosophers - 313 C. Va§saf (8th/i4th Century) and his Imitator Mahdi-KMn (i2th/i8th Century) 314 1. Indian Essay-Writing; Insha, 'Letter-Writing', 'Model Letters'; Tadhkiras, etc. 315 2. Belles-Lettres 316 3. Scholarly Works 317 XIII. THE I3TH/19TH CENTURY 320 A. General Characteristics of the Century 320 B. Continuation of the Epigone 'Return' Movement with its Tendency towards Simplicity 323 C.
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