Politics, Poetry and Sufism in Medieval Iran. New Perspectives on Jami's Salaman Va Absal by Chad Lingwood.Pdf
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Politics, Poetry, and Sufism in Medieval Iran Studies in Persian Cultural History Editors Charles Melville Cambridge University Gabrielle van den Berg Leiden University Sunil Sharma Boston University VOLUME 5 The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/spch Politics, Poetry, and Sufism in Medieval Iran New Perspectives on Jāmī’s Salāmān va Absāl By Chad G. Lingwood LEIDEN • BOSTON 2014 Cover illustration: Salāmān and Absāl arrive at the island of delight. Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.: Purchase, F1946.12.194 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Lingwood, Chad G. Politics, poetry, and sufism in medieval Iran : new perspectives on Jami's Salaman va Absal / by Chad G. Lingwood. pages cm -— (Studies in Persian cultural history ; v. 5) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-90-04-25404-6 (hardback : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-90-04-25589-0 (e-book : alk. paper) 1. Jami, 1414–1492. Salaman va Absal. 2. Sufism—Iran—History. 3. Politics and literature—Iran. 4. Iran—History—1256–1500. I. Title. PK6490.S33L56 2013 891'.5512—dc23 2013031794 This publication has been typeset in the multilingual “Brill” typeface. With over 5,100 characters covering Latin, IPA, Greek, and Cyrillic, this typeface is especially suitable for use in the humanities. For more information, please see www.brill.com/brill-typeface. ISSN 2210-3554 ISBN 978-90-04-25404-6 (hardback) ISBN 978-90-04-25589-0 (e-book) Copyright 2014 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Global Oriental, Hotei Publishing, IDC Publishers and Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change This book is printed on acid-free paper. Such is the custom of rulers, You will have heard this if you remember The paladins stand on their left hand Because the heart is bound to the left side The chancellor and the men of the pen are on the right side Because the science of writing and book-keeping is fixed to the right hand. They situate the Sufis in front of their face, For they are the mirror of the soul, and they are better than a mirror, Since they have polished their breasts in remembrance and contemplation of God In order to receive the pure image in the mirror of the heart. —Rūmī, Masnavī-yi maʿnavī, book 1, 1.3150–3153 CONTENTS Acknowledgements ........................................................................................ xi Note on Transliteration and Style ............................................................. xiii Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1 1. Approaching Jāmī’s Salāmān va Absāl as a Perso-Islamic Book of Advice for Rulers ................................................................................... 7 The Narrative Context of Salāmān va Absāl ................................ 8 The Provenance of the Salāmān and Absāl Allegory ................ 11 Ibn Sīnā’s Version of the Allegory ................................................... 13 Salāmān and Absāl in Ḥayy ibn Yaqẓān ....................................... 14 Coded Speech: The Overall Power of Allegory ........................... 15 Salāmān va Absāl, an Esoteric Mirror for Princes ..................... 16 Salāmān va Absāl and the Masnavī of Rūmī ............................... 22 The Historical Significance of Salāmān va Absāl ....................... 22 Overview of the Primary Sources .................................................... 23 Salāmān va Absāl by Jāmī ............................................................. 24 Other Persian Poetry Addressed to Yaʿqūb ............................. 26 Official Court Chronicles and General Histories ................... 27 Hagiographies and Biographical Works ................................... 29 Literary Anthologies ....................................................................... 32 Letters of Personal Correspondence .......................................... 33 Statement of Purpose ......................................................................... 34 2. Political Advice for Rulers and Mystical Guidance for Sufis in Salāmān Va Absāl ..................................................................................... 35 The Perso-Islamic Tradition of Advice and Advice Literature 35 Political Advice for Muslim Rulers in Salāmān va Absāl ........ 43 Being the Shadow of God on Earth ................................................ 55 On Heeding the Prayers of the Sufis .............................................. 58 Implicit Spiritual Advice for Rulers and Sufi Mystics ............... 65 Advice on Illuminating the Intellect .............................................. 66 The Role of Repentance in Attaining Mystical Enlightenment 69 Advice on Subduing the Carnal Soul ............................................. 72 viii contents 3. The Religious and Political Influences of Sufis at the Āq Qoyūnlū Courts of Ūzūn Ḥasan and Yaʿqūb .............................. 81 Dervishes, Sufi Mystics, and the Political Legitimacy of Ūzūn Ḥasan ....................................................................................... 82 The Role of the Akhlāq-i Jalālī ........................................................... 86 Khalvatī Influence on Āq Qoyūnlū Affairs ..................................... 90 Shaikh Ibrāhīm Gulshanī at the Court of Yaʿqūb ......................... 93 Naqshbandīs at the Āq Qoyūnlū Court, Tabriz, and Its Environs ........................................................................................ 95 The Murder of Darvīsh Qāsim ...................................................... 100 The Spiritual Relationship between Jāmī and Yaʿqūb ...................... 107 4. Poetry at the Court of Yaʿqūb and its Background in Establishing an Historical Context for Salāmān va Absāl ....................................... 111 Literary Activities in Āq Qoyūnlū Tabriz ........................................ 112 Jāmī, the “Āq Qoyūnlū Poet” .............................................................. 116 The Hasht Bihisht and Its Roster of “Lesser-known” Āq Qoyūnlū Poets ............................................................................ 119 Qāżī ʿĪsā Sāvajī: Reform-Minded Vazīr, Poet, and Ill-fated Lover 120 Qāżī ʿĪsā’s Banishment from Court and His Tell-tale Poetry ..... 125 Glimpses of Yaʿqūb and His Troubles .............................................. 127 Brotherly Discord in the Āq Qoyūnlū Household ........................ 129 Salāmān va Absāl as Art Imitating Life ........................................... 131 5. A Theosopical Interpretation of Salāmān va Absāl and Its Relevance to its Historical Setting ................................................... 133 Salāmān va Absāl and the Masnavī of Rūmī ................................. 135 Love and the Imprint of the Theosophy of Ibn al-ʿArabī ........... 138 Aspects of the Visionary Experience in Salāmān va Absāl ........ 141 Salāmān va Absāl as an Historical Allegory ................................... 144 Symbols of Yaʿqūb and His Court in Salāmān va Absāl .............. 146 Allusions to Naqshbandī Spiritual Techniques in Salāmān va Absāl ............................................................................. 152 The Date of Completion of Salāmān va Absāl .............................. 155 Conclusion .............................................................................................. 159 Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 161 Appendix One. Jāmī’s Epistolary Reply to Yaʿqūb ................................. 165 Translation ................................................................................................... 165 contents ix Appendix Two. Salāmān va Absāl ............................................................. 167 Translation ................................................................................................... 167 Bibliography ..................................................................................................... 235 Index ................................................................................................................... 255 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The writing and completion of this book would have been impossible without the assistance and advice of a number of individuals, organiza- tions, and institutions. First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to my teacher and Ph.D. dissertation supervisor, Maria Subtelny, whose guidance and encouragement, together with her knowledge of the medieval Persian and Islamic sources, and her careful attention to detail, were critical to my understanding Jāmī’s Salāmān va Absāl. I would also like to thank the members of my dissertation committee, especially Todd Lawson and Jo-Ann Gross, for their thoughtful comments. Over the years, I have benefited from the generosity of scholars who shared with me their wisdom and unpublished research, or who