History of Iranian Literature

Some justification seems to be necessary for the addition of yet another History of Iranian Literature to the number of those already in existence. Such a work must obviously contain as many novel features as possible, so that a short explanation of what my collaborators and I had in mind when planning the book is perhaps not superfluous. In the first place our object was to present a short summary of the material in all its aspects, and secondly to review the subject from the chronological, geo­ graphical and substantial standpoints - all within the compass of a single volume. Such a scheme precludes a formal and complete enumeration of names and phenom­ ena, and renders all the greater the obligation to accord most prominence to matters deemed to be of greatest importance, supplementing these with such figures and forms as will enable an impression to be gained of the period in question - all this is far as possible in the light of the most recent discoveries. A glance at the table of contents will suffice to give an idea of the multifarious approach that has been our aim. We begin at the very first traces of evidence bearing on our subject and continue the narrative up to the present day. Geographically the book embraces Iran and its neighbouring countries, while it should be remarked that Iranian literature in its fullest sense also includes Indo-Persian and Judeo-Persian works.

Contenu

Avesta. Ancient Persian Inscriptions. Middle Persian Literature.- I. Ancient Eastern-Iranian Culture.- A. The Beginnings of Iranian Culture.- B. The First States.- C. Zarathushtra.- D. Avesta.- 1. The G?th?s.- 2. Yaspa, Visprat.- 3. The Yashts.- 4. Vid?vd?t.- 5. Minor Texts.- 6. Traditions regarding the Origin of the Avesta.- 7. Beginnings of Iranian Philology. Significance of the Avesta.- II. The Culture of the Ancient Medes and Persians.- A. The Medes and Persians.- B. The Achaemenids. Character of their Government and Languages of their Realm.- C. The Inscriptions of the Achaemenids.- D. Traces of the Lost Literature.- E. Old Persian Learning in Europe.- III. The Middle Persian Era.- A. The Arsacids.- 1. Alexander the Great, the Seleucids, the Parthians.- 2. The Literature of the Parthian Era.- 3. The Earliest Records of Middle Iranian Literature.- 4. Middle Iranian Dialects.- 5. Inscriptions from Arsacid Times.- 6. Coins of the Pre-Sasanian Period.- B. The Sasanians.- 1. Inscriptions.- 2. Other Records. Seals, Gems, Coins, Documents.- C. Middle Persian Book-Literature.- 1. Pahlavi Literature.- 2. Middle Persian Translations of the Avesta (Zand).- D. Religious Pahlavi Literature.- 1. Religious Texts.- 2. The Andarz Books. Moralising, Apocalyptic, and Eschatological Literature.- 3. Collections of Traditions and Polemic Treatises.- E. Secular Literature.- 1. Historical Belles-Lettres.- 2. Instructive Works on Political Affairs.- 3. Legal Writings. Papyri.- 4. The Frahangs.- 5. Poetry in the Middle Persian Period. Lyrical Poetry and Music.- 6. Foreign Influences in Middle Persian Literature.- 7. Persian Influences on other Literatures.- 8. Literature of the last Century of the Sasanian Era.- 9. Literature of the Sectarians and Dissenters. Zurvanism. Christianity 59 10. Middle Iranian Manuscripts.- F. Discoveries m Central Asia.- 1. Manichaean Documents.- 2. Sogdian Literature.- 3. Remains of Khvarezmian Literature.- 4. Sakian Literature.- IV. The Period of Transition to New Persian Literature (The Advance of Islam and the Beginnings of New Persian).- History of Persian literature up to the Beginning of the 20th Century.- I. Introduction.- A. The Persian Language (Dar?).- 1. The Arabising of Persian.- 2. The Relation of Dialects to Persian Literature.- 3. The Script.- B. National Individuality.- 1. The Conception of Unity and its Reverse - Regionalism.- 2. Religious Elation and its Nature.- 3. The Shfa.- 4. The Tolerance of Persian Poetry.- 5. Adaptability and late Europeanisation.- 6. Artistic Perceptibility, Nature, and inborn Disposition for Poetry.- 7. The Spirit of Islam.- 8. The Relationship between Poetry and Prose. Problems of Literary History.- 9. The Influence of Sufism.- 10. Lack of Humour. The 'Satire'.- 11. The Influence of Despotism and Feudalism.- 12. Extravagance.- 13. Eros and its Expression: Allegory and Symbolism. Abstract Character of the Lyric. Homosexuality.- C. Conservatism and Convention in Persian Literature.- 1. The Connection with Feudalism.- 2. Official Islam as a restraining Factor.- 3. Conservatism of the Oriental Conception of the Relation between.- Word and Thought.- 4. The Difficulties of the Westerner in Comprehending Persian and other Oriental Authors.- 5. Men of Genius and Epigones: The European School.- D. Poetry and its Forms.- 1. The Outward Form.- a. Fundamental Concepts.- b. Metrics.- c. Rhyme in Relation to Form.- (1) Forms of Lyric Poetry.- (2) Substance of Lyrical Forms.- (3) The Form of the Epic and Didactic Poem.- d. Strictness of Form. Efficiency of the System.- e. Takhallus.- 2. The Inward Form of the Poetry.- Characteristic Embellishments. Excess of Rhetoric.- b. Prerequisites for the Poet.- c. Peculiarities in the Train of Thought.- d. Craftsmanlike Modelling of the Form.- e. The Attitude of the Older Orientalists.- f. Applicability of the Old Forms to Modern Life.- g. Exclusive Nature of the Poetry.- h. The Nature of Poetical Experience.- j. The Specific Nature of Persian Poetry.- k. Poets' Centres and the Division of Poetry into Periods.- E. Prose.- 1. The Range of Persian Literature no.- 2. Styles of Poetry as interpreted by M. Bah?r and S. Naf?s?.- 3. The Development of Literature in Political-historical Sequence.- 4. Muhammad Bah?r's Classification of Prose into Periods according to Style.- 5. Zarre's Division into Periods.- 6. Sources for the History of Persian Literature.- II. The Beginnings of Persian Literature.- A. The Arab Occupation.- 1. The Ancient Culture and its Continuation.- 2. The Existence of a Middle Persian Poetry.- 3. The First Specimens of Persian Verse. Continuity of Middle and New Persian Verse.- B. The Poets of the Tahirid and Saffarid Periods.- C. Continuous Flow of Literature. Persian Writers in Arabic Literature (750-850).- III. The Samanids (Middle of 3rd/9th century to end of 4th/10th).- A. Literature in the Samanid Period.- 1. Points of Contact between Persian and Contemporaneous Arabic Poetry. Character of the Latter. Fundamental Traits of the Earliest Period in Persian Poetry.- Some Names.- 3. R?dak?, (Daq?q?), Kis?d-Daula Sult?n Mahm?d of Ghazna.- B. Mahm?d's Attitude to Culture.- C. The Panegyric Poets under Mahm?d and his Successors.- D. The Romantic Epic.- E. Avicenna - his Importance and his Influence.- V. The Seljuq Period (5th/11th to 6th/12th century).- A. The Rise of Panegyrism under Sult?n Sanjar and during the Disintegration of the Seljuq Supremacy.- B. N?sir-i Khusrau.- C. ?, -d?n Hasan Sanjar?.- E. Panegyric Poets at the Smaller Courts: Khv?j?, Ibn-i Yam?n, Salm?n S?vaj?.- F. The Lyric Poet Kam?l Khujand?.- G. H?fiz' the Ghazal at its Summit.- H. Hafiz' Environment in Shiraz.- IX. T?m?r and His Successors.- A. Cultural and Literary Life.- B. Lyric and Epic Poetry under the Timurids.- C. J?m?.- D. Outside Herat. B?b? Figh?ni and his Influence. Lis?n?.- X. The Safavids.- A. The Literature of this Epoch.- 1. The 'Indian' Style.- 2. The Classicists.- B. Poets of the Safavid Period.- C. Subsequent Development of the Indian Style.- D. S?>ib, Shaukat, B?dil.- XI. The Turbulent 12th/l8th Century.- A. Shiraz, Political Centre in the Second Half of the 12th/18th Century; 'Return' (B?z-Gasht) in Isfahan.- B. Haz?n.- C. Shih?b.- XII. Literary and Associated Species of Prose During the 7th-12th/13th-18th Centuries.- A. Two Trends in Style: Extravagance and Simplicity.- B. Husayn V??n?, Vis?l, Fur?gh?.- 2. The Reaction to the Degeneration of the Social Order. The Satirist Yaghmà.- 3. The First Prose-Reformer: Q?>im-Maq?m. The Diaries of N?siru>d-d?n and their Importan…