MIRROR OF THE INVISIBLE WORLD Tales from the Khamseh of Nizami PETER J. CHELKOWSKI Department of Near Eastern Languages and Literatures· New York Universi~y WITH AN ESSAY BY PRISCILLA P. SOUCEK Department of the History ofArt · University of Michigan FOREWORD BY RICHARD ETTINGHAUSEN Department of Islamic Art · The Metropolitan Museum of Art THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART • NEW YORK Mirror of the Invisible World MIRROR OF THE INVISIBLE WORLD Tales from theKhamseh ofNizami PETER J. CHELKOWSKI Department of Near Eastern Languages and Literatures· New York University WITH AN ESSAY BY PRISCILLA P. SOUCEK Department of the History ofArt · University of Michigan FOREWORD BY RICHARD ETTINGHAUSEN Department of Islamic Art · The Metropolitan Museum ofArt THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART • NEW YORK ON THE COVER: a decorative leather inside cover from the original binding of the manuscript FRONTISPIECE: detail of Miniature I I, Bahram Cur in the Sandalwood Pavilion Publication of this book has been made possible in part by contributions provided by His Excellency Youssef Khoshkish, President of the Melli Bank, Teheran, Iran, through the generous agency of Mr. Ralph E. Becker, President of the Iran-American Society of the United States, who also contributed to the publication. The texts of "Khosrow and Shirin," "Layla and Majnun," and "The Seven Princesses" are adapted, in part, from the Tales of the Khamsa as retold by Vernon Newton from the transcriptions of Peter Chelkowski. By permission ofVemon Newton. Book designed by Peter Oldenburg Photography by William F. Pons Engraved and printed by Conzett + Huber AG, Zurich, Switzerland Published I 97 5 All rights reserved by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Printed in Switzerland LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING IN PUBLICATION DATA Chelkowski, Peter J. Mirror of the invisible world. ''Published on the occasion ofthe opening ofthe new Islamic Galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art." CONTENTS: Khosrow and Shirin.-Layla and Majnun.-The Seven Princesses. 1. Nizami Ganjavi, 1140 or 4I-1202 or 3-Manuscripts-Addresses, essays, lectures. I. Nizami Ganjavi, II40 or 41-1202 or 3· Khamseh. II. New York (City). Metropolitan Museum of Art. III. Title. ISBN o-87099-I42-6 CONTENTS FOREWORD Vll PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS lX INTRODUCTION I THE KHAMSEH OF 1524/25 II Khosrow and Shirin 2I Layla and Majnun 49 The Seven Princesses 69 OTHER IMPORT ANT KNOWN MANUSCRIPTS OF THE KHAMSEH II6 FOREWORD Next to Ferdowsi's Shah-nameh, the Khamseh or "Quintet" of Nizami offered the best opportunity for a wide-ranging series of illustrations to the Iranian miniaturist. Although these paintings lacked the typical iconographic formulas of the epic-heroic subjects such as enthronements, battles of whole armies, duels of the paladins, and encounters with demons and monsters-they depicted instead many scenes of great variety and romantic appeal. These have been rendered in innumerable manuscripts from the late fourteenth century up to the nineteenth century and have resulted in some of the most beloved motifs of Iranian pictorial arts. The scenes of Khosrow discovering Shirin bathing in a pool of water, of Shirin visiting Farhad as he carves his way through the mountain of Bisutun, of the unhappy sculptor carrying his queen and her horse on his shoul­ ders, of Layla and her boy lover in school, of the poet Majnun in the desert surrounded by wild and tame animals, of Bahram Gur in the brilliantly colored pavilions of his seven beautiful princesses, are well known to all admirers of Iranian art in both the East and the West. While the basic iconography of these scenes developed in the late fourteenth and in the fifteenth century, some of the finest versions date from the sixteenth century and their influence has been long-lasting. Just as Nizami' s poems have served as models to many other poets in Iran, India, and Turkey, so have the illustrations of the original five poems been followed by the miniaturists illum­ inating later versions. Indeed, so popular are these subjects that they are found not only as illustrations of manuscripts but also as pictorial themes on tiles, chests, pen cases, textiles, and even carpets. Aside from the better-known scenes, there are others which illustrate different episodes, frequently of a minor character. To understand these fully, it is nec­ essary to be familiar with the varied subjects and themes of the poems, especially the major ones. Happily, this is now possible as a result of the investigations of Professor Peter J. Chelkowski, of New York University, who has written an English adaptation of the tales from Nizami' s Khamseh. He has provided, in Vll addition, an introduction and commentaries on each story which not only present the historical background but also give us an insight into the rich imagination of the twelfth-century poet. The publication of this volun1e coincides with the opening of the newly installed Islamic Galleries in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The new galleries enable us to exhibit a very rich collection in a full and systematic fashion for the first time in many decades and provide us with a special opportunity to display the Museum's wealth of miniature painting. The Museum owns, among other Nizami manuscripts, one of the key manuscripts of the early fifteenth century, written and painted for one of the greatest of Iranian bibliophiles, the Timurid prince Baysonghor, residing in Herat, and one of the finest early sixteenth­ century manuscripts painted in the same city. It is the miniatures from the latter, dated 1524/25 and one of the most sumptuous manuscripts ever produced in Persia, that illustrate this volume. This new presentation of Nizami' s stories, together with their splendid classical illustrations, enhanced by Professor Priscilla P. Soucek's art-historical introduction, should go far in recapturing the appeal that this art exerted for so many centuries on the Persian-speaking world. RICHARD ETTINGHAUSEN Consultative Chairman Department of Islamic Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art Vlll PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Persian poetry, like Persian art, tends to be decorative, ornamental, and graceful. Apart from depth of feeling, a poet's originality often lies in the refinement of his moods, in his play on words, his subtle allusions, and his mastery of the rhythms and cadences of the language. Many Persian poems, especially epics, are more leisurely paced and considerably longer than those with which W ~stern readers are familiar; indeed, they seem exotic to Western ears, and are appreciated and understood mainly by linguists and scholars in the field. This is unfortunate, for in Persian poetry, and especially in the Khamseh of Nizami, there is much to delight an American audience. In this volume three stories from the Khamseh-"Khosrow and Shirin,". "Layla and Majnun," and "The Seven Princesses"-have been retold in prose for the contemporary reader. And since a direct translation of the Khamseh would result in nearly sixty thousand lines, or some fifteen hundred pages, the stories have been abridged in the retelling. We hope to be forgiven by the specialists for taking these liberties; indeed, we have taken them in an attempt to present Nizami' s wonderful tales as living literature and to convey in them the spirit of the poet. With this in mind, we have avoided the use of diacritical marks wherever possible and have simplified the transliteration of foreign words. There are many persons whose invaluable assistance I gratefully acknowledge. Dr. Richard Ettinghausen, Consultative Chairman of the Department of Islamic Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, has been a constant source of inspiration and encouragement. Marie Lukens Swietochowski, Associate Curator, has helped me unstintingly at every turn. Margot Feely and Shari Lewis of the Publications Department took great pains with the editing and production of this book. My special thanks go to Vernon Newton for his unflagging cooperation and for his gracious willingness to allow me to borrow freely from his interpretations of the stories. I am indebted to Priscilla Soucek for her searching analysis of the Metropolitan Museum's 1524/25 Khamseh from the art-historical perspective. Cynthia Philip brought her masterly and incisive editorial skills to the manuscript, 1X and Charles Beardsley gave me many hints and much help in the initial translation of the Khamseh. Finally, I note with great pleasure that this volume is being published on the occasion of the opening of the new Islamic Galleries at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. I congratulate the Metropolitan Museum; surely the new installation of the Museum's extensive and outstanding Islamic collection will stimulate the already increasing interest in Islamic art. PETER J. CHELKOWSKI Department of Near Eastern Languages and Literatures New York University X INTRODUCTION The beauty of the Khamseh of Nizami is unsurpassed in Persian literature. Sen­ suous, dramatic, gracious, and refined, these epic poems display Nizami' s genius for linguistic invention and psychological characterization-a talent imitated by hundreds of poets since his time, but never equaled. Written during the last thirty years of the twelfth century A. D., the Khamseh 1 consists of five long poems or masnavis.2 The first is "The Treasury of Mysteries," a didactico-philosophical-mystical treatise. The remaining four-"Khosrow and Shirin," "Layla and Majnun," "The Seven Princesses," and "Alexander the Great" -are romances. Both the form and content of these poems constitute a breakthrough in Persian poetry which, until Nizami, found its most perfect expression in the more limited heroic genre, the sonnet, panegyric ode, or quatrain.3 The culture of Nizami' s Persia is renowned for its deep-rooted tradition and splendor. In pre-Islanric times, it had developed_ extraordinarily rich and exact means of expression in music, architecture, and daily life as well as in writing, and although Iran, its center-or, as the poets believed, its heart-was continually overrun by invading armies and immigrants, this tradition was always able to absorb, transform, and ultimately overcome foreign intrusion.