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The Alexander Romance in the Persian Tradition: Its Influence on Persian History, Epic and Storytelling

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The Alexander Romance in the Persian Tradition: Its Influence on Persian History, Epic and Storytelling The Alexander Romance in the Persian Tradition: Its Influence on Persian History, Epic and Storytelling Submitted by Haila Manteghi Amin to the University of Exeter as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Classics in January 2016 This thesis is available for Library use on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. I certify that all material in this thesis which is not my own work has been identified and that no material has previously been submitted and approved for the award of a degree by this or any other University. Signature: ……Haila Manteghi Amin……….. 1 Abstract This study aims to explore how the Alexander Romance entered the Persian literary tradition and to understand precisely its influence. The main question addressed is whether the Alexander Romance was part of the pre-Islamic Persian tradition and, if so, what its key characteristics were. Because of the dearth of pre-Islamic Persian sources, this thesis is necessarily mostly based on early Arabic and Persian sources written in the early Islamic period, some of which were derived from pre-Islamic traditions. Aside from the Shāhnāma of Firdawsī, the Arabic histories (Ṭabarī, Dinawarī, the anonymous Nihāyat al-‘arab, the Ghurar al-Sayr of Thaʻālibī) included Alexander in their chapters on the Kayānid kings, presenting him as the half-brother of Dārā (Darius III). My examination of these histories largely focuses on their understanding of the Persian descent of Alexander, which is derived from the Sasanian Khudāynāmag. Most scholars have looked askance at the presence of a positive perspective on Alexander in the Persian world because the Zoroastrian tradition usually presented him as a cursed figure and one of Persia’s worst enemies. Perhaps one of the original contributions of this thesis will thus be its demonstration of the existence of a very positive view of Alexander in the classical Arabic and Persian sources that is not just the result of biases derived from the Islamic era, but which also reflects the viewpoint of numerous pre-Islamic Persian sources on Alexander. Current research in the field also focuses on the influence of the Alexander Romance on Persian epics, romances and storytelling. In this respect, I have focused mainly on the two key literary genres: the popular romances, mainly in prose, and the epics, mainly in verse. Of great interest to this study are the Dārābnāma of Ṭarsūsī (twelfth century), the epic of the Shāhnāma of Firdawsī (tenth–eleventh century), besides the Iskandarnāma of Niẓāmī (twelfth century). These works all preserve stories about Alexander the Great from the pre-Islamic Persian tradition. 2 Acknowledgements Firstly, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisors Professor Lynette Mitchell and Dr Leonard Lewisohn for the continuous support, for their patience, motivation, their insightful comments and encouragement, which encouraged me to widen the scope of my research from various perspectives. I am especially indebted to Dr Lewisohn for the fine translation of verses which I have used in the thesis. My greatest debt belongs to Dr Richard Stoneman, who is the main reason and the fount of inspiration for this study. He encouraged me to apply to study at the University of Exeter and supported my application. He kindly read the complete draft of this thesis and gave me invaluable comments and timely encouragement. In this dissertation, I have drawn upon several articles by Dr Stoneman that have not yet been published. I am grateful for his permission to make use of these materials here. I cannot fail to express my gratitude as well to Dr Alwyn Harrison, who has been more than an editor. I would also like to thank him for his patience with me. Last but not least, I would like to thank my family, my parents and my husband, for supporting me spiritually all these years, and apologise to my sons for all the time I dedicated to this thesis instead of being with them. 3 Jose Francisco Cutilla…, 17/5/2016 12:34 Eliminado: 8 Jose Francisco Cutilla…, 17/5/2016 12:34 Eliminado: 9 Jose Francisco Cutilla…, 17/5/2016 12:34 Eliminado: 10 Jose Francisco Cutilla…, 17/5/2016 12:34 Table of Contents Eliminado: 14 Jose Francisco Cutilla…, 17/5/2016 12:34 Eliminado: 20 System of Transliteration 7 Jose Francisco Cutilla…, 17/5/2016 12:34 Definitions ........................................................................................................................ 7 Eliminado: 20 Abbreviations .................................................................................................................. 8 Jose Francisco Cutilla…, 17/5/2016 12:34 Eliminado: 25 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 9 Jose Francisco Cutilla…, 17/5/2016 12:34 A Review of Key Secondary Sources on the Alexander Romance ............................ 13 Eliminado: 30 Jose Francisco Cutilla…, 17/5/2016 12:34 Chapter One: Greek and Syriac Versions of the Alexander Romance and their Eliminado: 34 Development in the East ............................................................................................... 19 Jose Francisco Cutilla…, 17/5/2016 12:34 I. The Greek Background ........................................................................................... 19 Eliminado: 37 II. The Syriac Sources Relevant to this Study ............................................................ 24 Jose Francisco Cutilla…, 17/5/2016 12:34 III. The Development of the Alexander Romance in the East .................................... 29 Eliminado: 38 Jose Francisco Cutilla…, 17/5/2016 12:34 Chapter Two: Arabic Accounts of Alexander the Great and the Legacy of Eliminado: 56 Sasanian Historiography .............................................................................................. 33 Jose Francisco Cutilla…, 17/5/2016 12:34 I. Arabic Sources and the Historical Tradition in Pre-Islamic Iran ............................ 36 Eliminado: 58 II. The Khudāynāmag, its Content and Sources ......................................................... 37 Jose Francisco Cutilla…, 17/5/2016 12:34 III. Alexander the Great in the Khudāynāmag ........................................................... 55 Eliminado: 61 Conclusion: The Origin and Development of the Alexander Romance in the Jose Francisco Cutilla…, 17/5/2016 12:34 Arabic/Persian Tradition ............................................................................................. 57 Eliminado: 62 Jose Francisco Cutilla…, 17/5/2016 12:34 Chapter Three: Alexander the Great in the Shāhnāma of Firdawsī ....................... 60 Eliminado: 63 I. Sources and Contents of the Shāhnāma .................................................................. 61 Jose Francisco Cutilla…, 17/5/2016 12:34 II. Summary of the Alexander Romance in the Shāhnāma ......................................... 62 Eliminado: 69 III. Distinguishing Characteristics and Motifs of Firdawsī’s Alexander Romance .... 68 Jose Francisco Cutilla…, 17/5/2016 12:34 Conclusion: Firdawsī’s Sources and his Portrayal of Alexander ............................... 87 Eliminado: 88 Jose Francisco Cutilla…, 17/5/2016 12:34 Chapter Four: Alexander the Great in the Arabic and Persian Popular Romances Eliminado: 90 ........................................................................................................................................ 89 Jose Francisco Cutilla…, 17/5/2016 12:34 I. The Dārābnāma: A Hellenistic Romance in the Persian Language ....................... 92 Eliminado: 93 II. The Sīrat al-Iskandar and the Khudāynāmag Tradition ........................................ 98 Jose Francisco Cutilla…, 17/5/2016 12:34 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 99 Eliminado: 99 Jose Francisco Cutilla…, 17/5/2016 12:34 Chapter Five: Alexander in the Iskandarnāma of Niẓāmī Ganjavī (1141–1209) .. 101 Eliminado: 100 I. Literary and Historical Contexts of Alexander’s Personality in Niẓāmī’s Jose Francisco Cutilla…, 17/5/2016 12:34 Sharafnāma ............................................................................................................... 102 Eliminado: 103 II. Alexander’s Birth and Early Years in Niẓāmī’s Sharafnāma .............................. 120 Jose Francisco Cutilla…, 17/5/2016 12:34 III. Of Banquets and Battles (bazm u razm): Alexander as Warrior ........................ 125 Eliminado: 104 IV. Further Adventures of Alexander: Journeys to China, Russia, India and the Land Jose Francisco Cutilla…, 17/5/2016 12:34 of Darkness ............................................................................................................... 142 Eliminado: 122 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 159 Jose Francisco Cutilla…, 17/5/2016 12:34 Eliminado: 127 Chapter Six: Alexander in the Iqbālnāma of Niẓāmī Ganjavī ................................ 163 Jose Francisco Cutilla…, 17/5/2016 12:34 I. Alexander in Islamic Wisdom Literature .............................................................. 166 Eliminado: 144 II. Alexander in the Dhū’l-Qarnayn Tradition .......................................................... 173 Jose Francisco Cutilla…, 17/5/2016 12:34 III. Mirabilia: Alexander and the Marvels of the World .......................................... 177 Eliminado:
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