CENTURY PANEGYRIC 1ST AZRAQI of HERAT by LEONARD WILLIAM
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A STUDY OF THE IMAGERY OF THE ELEVENTH CENTURY PANEGYRIC 1ST AZRAQI OF HERAT by LEONARD WILLIAM HARROW A Thesis Presented for the Degree of FJfrD, - In the University of London 1973* ProQuest Number: 10672856 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10672856 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 A feature of the work of the eleventh century poet, AzraqI of Herat, is his use of elaborate and complex imagery. This thesis is a study of AzraqI' s imagery with a view to examining his images and any allusions associated with them. A complete understanding of such features will lead to a better comprehension of the world in which the poet lived and worked. To achieve this end a number of prominent themes in AzraqI's gaga1 id have been examined. In general they may be divided into those of the intellectual sphere (the picture of the universe and philoso phical ideas), themes associated with the natural world (the place of minerals and precious stones, flowers and animals), and aspects of the world created by man. This last-mentioned theme is mainly concerned with the conception of the king and his many attributes as presented by the poet; however, the poet's knowledge of the physical world, some luxury items and the importance of the Islamic and Iranian traditions in his verse have also been treated. In order that this composite picture of the poet's world may be securely anchored in space and time, the biography of AzraqI is fully examined, as is the contemporary and m o d e m attitude of critics towards his poetry and its place in the genre. CONTENTS Introduction..Page 4 1. BioeTaphy.................................... u 8 2. Divan and Genre.••»•••....................... ,f 28 3. AzraqI1s Picture of the Universe.,...,.,..... » 44 4 . The Intellectual Perspective....,,,,..,. ’• 96 5. The Mineral World « 107 6 . Flora. M 134 7* The Animal Kingdom, n 166 8 . AzraqI*s Knowledge of the World...... " 195 9. Some Items of Luxury........ ’* 207 10.. The , Persian s o p E u 216 11. The Islamic Tradition.” 237 12. Kingship and the Virtues of K i n g s ,*' 249 Bibliography. .... M 283 - 4 - INTRODUCTION This thesis is a study of the eleventh century panegyricst, AzraqI of Herat. It is an examination of his work and his times as seen through his own eyes. Although having a comparatively short Divan, the poet uses in his qada1 id many complex images that are rewarding for the purpose we have in hand. His importance as a poet lies in his attempt to develop to the maximum the imagery available to him within the per mitted confines of the genre. Nowadays, after the fashion of modem criticism, poetry may validly claim to mean different things to different people? every reader or listener may have his own interpretation and response. However, we are dealing with a group of poems that are close to a thousand years old. As well as this separation in time, for someone who is not a Persian, there is also a separation of space, and customs and culture. Our poet's meaning may be apparent; however, this may only be superficial, for there may be deeper layers of meaning in his images and allusions which might easily be missed without an apprecia tion of various aspects of the environment responsible for them. We tend to judge by our own canons, and we would be doing the poet an injustice if we did not attempt to understand what he meant by his own words. Such an understanding would be the first stage in the - 5 - evaluation and appreciation of his work; however, we do not regard this as our primary purpose. Our main concern is ’the explanation of allusions and the meaning of his verse. It is hoped that this is a new and valid approach. To aid us in our task it is necessary to delve into the social and intellectual background of the period. The world reflected in the Divan of AzraqI is complementary to our understanding of his physical and intellectual environment. As such it may be a source for the social historian and complement dynastic histories. In our field poetry has been a neglected source for studying the thoughts and attitudes of the period. A greater comprehension of the above points allied to the recent, and very competent, studies of style such as that by Mahtjub, and especially Shafi'I-yi Kadkani1 s work on imagery (see Bibliography), can only add to our knowledge and understanding of the genre and may lead to a tentative explanation of its longevity. Certain reservations must be pointed out. The main problem is that the traditions of the genre, with regard to the themes and imagery employed by the poet, impose restrictions upon him. We must constantly be aware of these restrictions, and also of the fact that the very nature of the poetfs task as a panegyriifcst makes him prone to exaggeration and lies. Yet even these points are aspects of the poet and his times which add to our understanding. Furthermore, we must always remember that our perspective is constricted by the thoughts and words of one man. Rather than merely compiling an elaborate commentary or a series of lengthy footnotes - which in view of many editions of Persian - 6 - Divans would be no bad thing - the attempt here is to build up a solid, albeit limited picture, which will act as a firm anchor- point for viewing the world of the poet. The first part of the work deals with the biography of AzraqI, and its numerous problems, and the place of his Divan in the con temporary genre. We examine the form of the qasida and the position the poet held amongst Classical critics and those of the present time. The second, and from our point of view the more important part, takes the form of the division and analysis of certain themes. There have been too few attempts to explain specialised imagery and its ramifications during this period. Even the work of de Fouchecour, although comprehensive, does little by way of explanation. Broadly the divisions concern themselves with the world above, i.e. the concept and picture of the universe (and the intellectual perspective), the world about us, i.e. the mineral, plant and animal kingdoms, and man and his position in the world, which is mainly the world of the mamdub. Although this division is a con venient one, it was not chosen wholly without prejudice, for it is itself typical of the Medieval Weltanschauung as reflected by its philosophers and which owes its origin to the Classical world. Indeed it is typical of the prevalent contemporary conservative attitude in which everything has its own rightful appointed place. In all of the themes examined, one is struck by the consistency the poet shows with traditional knowledge. Thus he is a mirror of his times. The system of transliteration used is that of the Cambridge - 7 - History of Islam with modifications for Persian as recommended in Iran. Like most candidates presenting a thesis, I am indebted to my supervisor. Without the vigilance, advice and help of Dr. 3?* 0* Gandjei I would have made little progress; I am also indebted to the assis tance of Professor A. K. S. Lambton. I must also thank my many friends for their encouragement and help, especially Mr. Simon Digby* - 8 - - 1 - BIOGRAPHY As the main task of this thesis is to show how the Medieval Islamic world is reflected through the divan of a single poet - AzraqI of Herat - it is necessary to gather as much information about his life as possible* This will have the result of presenting us with a narrow span of time and a more precise picture* As with many poets of the pre-Mongol period, our knowledge of AzraqI is scanty and often conflicting, his career-remaining somewhat shadowy* An example of our present state of knowledge may be seen from the various dates which are given for his death* Thus, NafisI in his introduction to the Divan (l) states that his death occured in 526/1151-2 or 527/1132-5? Browne (2) says he died in 524/1130 and de Fouchecour (5) writes that he must have died before 465/1072-3* Naturally two and possibly all of these statements are incorrect* What seems most astonishing is that these dates span up to sixty years, a period which in itself may be regarded as an average life time* It will be seen from the sources that we have consulted that a great deal of new information on the life of AzraqI is not forth coming* However, we can untangle some of the conflicting reports which we have* To aid the task we have had recourse to investigate the two principle mamduban of the poet, Amlranshah b* Qavurd and - 9 - Jughanshah b. Alp Arslan, who being documented to various degrees, will help define the era during which AzraqI lived and wrote. The other personages who are credited with having received the praises of AzraqI are far less important than those X have already referred to, for they are either mainly unknown to us or the poems written in their honour are to be considered as spurious (4)* This view is reinforced by the fact that the sources we have consulted refer only to Amlranshah and !J?ughanshah as being patrons of AzraqI.