roots, thus became the language of “high” Persian-
ate culture in Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asia, and
later in Ottoman Turkey and North India. Among
the foremost literary works of this era was the epic
Shahnamah (Epic of kings), composed by Firdawsi
at the beginning of the 11th century. It drew upon
legends of the ancient kings of Persia, and related
tales of the heroic prince Rustam, the demonic
king Zahhak, and the lovers Bizhan and Manizhah,
as well as Zal and Rudabah. Altogether this work
tells 62 stories in 60,000 rhyming couplets and it
remains a favorite among Iranians to this day. Nasir-
i Khusraw (1003–88), an Ismaili missionary, wrote
poetry about his experiences and commentaries on
his times, as well as an account of his pilgrimage
to Egypt and Mecca. Another noteworthy work
of Persian literature was the Khamsa (Quintet) of
Nizami (1141–1209), which retold some of the
heroic and romantic stories of the Shahnamah, the
Arabic romance of maJnUn and layla, and incor-
porated poetic reflections on philosophical and
religious themes. Nizami had a great influence on
the subsequent development of Persian poetry.
Other major poets whose verses are still mem-
orized by Persian speakers are Sanai (d. 1130),
Saadi (d. 1292), and Hafiz (d. 1390). Although
Persian poetry did not hesitate to draw upon
Arabic poetic conventions, a distinctive genre
developed by this group of writers was that of the
ghazal, a short lyrical poem that sought to evoke
aesthetic and emotional responses in the reader or
listener. It was especially concerned with the feel-
ings of love, separation, and union. Many of the
poems composed by these men reflect the influ-
ence of sUFism, making for some ambiguity with
respect to the meaning of the metaphors used.
Was the poem about worldly love or divine love?
Was the beloved a handsome boy or beautiful girl,
or was he/she God? Poets played with these ambi-
guities, but the meanings of the poetic imagery
were also determined by the setting and the audi-
ence. The most significant composers of Sufi verse
in Persian were Farid al-Din Attar (d. ca. 1230)
and Jalal al-din rUmi (1207–73). Attar wrote
several books of mystical poetry, the most famous
of which was Mantiq al-tayr (The conference of
the Birds), a collection of didactic stories set in
the frame of the pilgrimage of a flock of birds
(representing the human soul) to their divine
king, simUrgh. Rumi’s most famous works were
Diwan-i Shams-i Tabriz, a collection of ghazals and
quatrains composed in honor of his spiritual mas-
ter and friend, Shams-i Tabriz, and the Mathnawi
(also known as the Masnavi), a poem consisting
of rhyming couplets dealing with themes of sepa-
ration and union with God, conveyed through
quranic imagery, prophet and saint stories, and
metaphors drawn from everyday life. At 40,000
verses in length, Rumi’s Diwan is thought to be
the longest work of Persian poetry. His Mathnawi
has been called by the scholar-poet Abd al-Rah-
man Jami (1414–92) and others “the Quran in the
Persian tongue.” It is held in the highest esteem
by speakers of Persian and Turks, and is familiar
to readers around the world, including the United
States, through many translated editions. One
of the last of the great Persian mystical writers
was Jami of Herat (now in Afghanistan), whose
most famous collection of poems, Haft awrang
(Seven thrones) expanded upon the symbolism
of romantic legends developed by Nizami and
other Persian poets to probe the hidden realities
of the world and of mystical experience. It had a
significant influence on later Sufi writings in both
Iran and india.
A significant body of Persian literature was
produced in India, starting with the reign of the
delhi sUltanate (1211–1526) and continuing
through that of the mUghal dynasty (1526–1857).
It included histories, mystical texts, philosophi-
cal works, and, of course, poetry. The Mughal
emperor akbar (r. 1556–1605) commissioned the
translation of Hindu epics into Persian, and his
great grandson dara shikoh (1615–59) translated
the Hindu Upanishads, and wrote several works
on mystical and philosophical topics. The first
great Persian poet to emerge in India was Amir
Khusraw of Delhi (1253–1325), a court poetPersian language and literature 551 J