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History of Iranian Literature JAN RYPKA HISTORY OF IRANIAN LITERATURE Written in collaboration with OTAKAR KLf MA, VERA KUBfCKOVA, FELIX TAUER, JJRf BECKA, JIRf CEJPEK, JAN MAREK, I. HRBEK AND J. T. P. DE BRUUN Edited by KARL JAH N (University of Leyden) D . REIDEL PUBLISHING COMPANY D ORDRECHT - H OLLAND DEJINY PERSKE A TADZICKE LITERATURY First published by Nakladatelstvl Ceskoslovenske akademie ved, Praha 1956 Translated from the German by P. van Popta-Hope, and enlarged and revised by the authors C 1968. D. Reidel Publishing Company, Dordrecht, Holla11d No part of this book may be reproduced in a11y form, by pri11t, photoprint, microfilm, or any other means, without permission from the publisher Printed in The Netherlands by D. Reidel, Dordrecht Frontispiece: The Prophet, seated on Buraq, passing over the Ka'bah at Mecca on his miraculous night-journey. From Or. 6810, a copy of the Kbamseh of Niifuni dated 900/1494- 5, which bears autograph notes of the Mughal Emperors Jahangir and Shah Jahan. (By courtesy oftire Trustees of the British Museum.) TABLE O F CO NTENT S FOR EWORD v LI ST OF ABBREVIATIONS xxi GUI DE T O P R O NUNCI ATION xxv OT AKAR KLi MA: A VESTA. ANCIENT PE R SI AN I NSCRIPTIO NS. MID DLE PERSI AN LITER AT URE I. ANCIENT EASTERN- IRANIAN CULTURE 3 A. The Beginnings of Iranian Culture 3 B. The First States 4 C. Zarathushtra 5 D. Avesta 7 I. The Giitluis 7 2. Yasna, Visprat 8 3. The Yashts 9 4. Videvdiit 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 r8 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 lX 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 I. Alexander the Great, the Seleucids, the Partbians 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 I. Inscriptions 30 2. Other Records. Seals, Gems, Coins, Documents 32 C. Middle Persian Book-Literature 34 I. Pahlavi Literature 34 2. Middle Persian Translations of the Avesta (Zand) 35 D. Religious Pahlavi Literature 35 r. 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 I. 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 ro. Middle Iranian Manuscripts 60 F. Discoveries in Central Asia 61 I. Manichaean Documents 61 2. Sogdian Literature 63 3. Remains of K.hvarezmian 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 x 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 (Dari) 71 1. The Arabising of Persian 73 2. The Relation of Dialects to Persian Literature 74 3. Tbe 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 ~iifism 82 10. Lack of Humour. The 'Satire' 83 I I. 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 J. 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 l . 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. Takhal!U$ 99 2. The Inward Form of the Poetry 99 Characteristic Embellishments. Excess of Rhetoric 100 b. Prerequisites for the Poet ro r c. Peculiarities in the Train of Thought I 02 d. Craftsmanlike Modelling of the Form 103 e. The Attitude of the Older Orientalists J03 f. Applicability of the Old Forms to Modern Life 103 g. Exclusive Nature of the Poetry ro4 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 I. The Range of Persian Literature uo 2. Styles of Poetry as interpreted by M. Bahar and S. Nafisi II2 3. The Development of Literature in Political-historical Sequence II5 4. Mul)ammad Bahar's Classification of Prose into Periods according to Style 117 5. Zarre's Division into Periods r 18 6. Sources for the History of Persian Literature n9 11 . THE BEGINNINGS OF PERSfAN LITERATURE 126 A. The Arab Occupation r 26 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 m. T H E SAMANIDS (Middle of 3rd/9th century to end of 4th/1oth) 139 A. Literature in the Samanid Period 140 I. 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. Riidaki, (Daqiqi), Kisa>i 144 4. Provincial Poets at the Courts of the Al-i Mu}:ltaj in Chaghaniyan, Ziyarids and Buyids 146 5. General Characteristics of the. First Period 147 xii TABLE OF CONTENTS B. The Earliest Monuments I48 I. The Earliest Poetry and Prose, including the Works of Aviceona and Al-Biriini 149 C. The Epic Tradition of Iran r5r D. Daqiqi 153 E. Firdausi 154 F. Epic Poems connected with the Shdh-niima 162 G. Persian Authors in Arabic Literature (850-1000) 166 IV. THE GHAZNAVID PERIOD (5th/Ilth century) 172 A. Yarninu>d-Daula Sultan Mal).mud of Ghazna 172 B. MaJ:unud's Attitude to Culture 173 C. The Panegyric P oets under Mal).mud and his Successors 174 D . The Romantic Epic 177 E. Avicenna - his Importance and his Influence 179 v. THE SELJUQ PERIOD (5th/IIth to 6th/12th century) 183 A. The Rise of Panegyrism under Sultan Sanjar and during the Disintegration of the Seljuq Supremacy 184 B. Na~ir-i Khusrau 185 C. <Omar Khayyam 189 D. The Panegyric Poets 194 I. Qatran (Azerbayjan) 194 2. Mu<izzi and Azraqi (at the Seljuq Court) 195 3. Mas<ud-i Sa<d-i Salman, I:Iasan Ghaznavi-i and Abu'l-Faraj Riini (Gbaznavid India) 196 4. Adib ~abir, 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 Ni'.?ami and bis Imitators Amir Khusrau and Maktabi 2ro G. The Isfahan School: Jamalu,d-din, Kamalu'd-din Isma<il 213 H. The Satirist Siizani 214 VI. THE PROSE OF THE SELJUQ PERIOD (5th-6tb/nth- 12th 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-Sa<id b. Abi'l-Khayr, (Baba Kuhi), Baba Tahir 'Uryan, An~ari, Baba Af<;ial 233 F. The Great $Ufis: Sana'i, <Attar, Maulavi 236 vm. THE MON GO LS 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 ijasan Sanjari 257 E. Panegyric Poets at the Smaller Courts: Khvaju, Ibn-i Yamin, Salman Savaji 260 F. The Lyric Poet Kamal Khujandi 262 G. I:Iafi+, the Ghazal at its Summit 263 H. l:lafi+' Environment in Shiraz 271 IX. TiMOR AND HIS SUCCESSORS 279 A. Cultural and Literary Life 279 B. Lyric and Epic Poetry under the Timurids 283 c.
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