The Khamsa of Nizami Persia |
A Departure
Quite different from other projects we have been associated with, this project does not have a site location as its focus, but rather a Medieval Persian manuscript - a version of the Khamsa of Nizami. The Khamsa of Nizami were written by the 12th-century poet Nizami and is considered one of the greatest works of Persian literature.
A portion of the text from the Khamsa of Nizami as depicted in a 15th-century version of the story. © 1998 Boston Museum of Fine Arts. |
About the Author
Nizami Ganjavi was a great Persian poet and philosopher. He was born in the ancient city of Ganja to a family of craftsmen and received his education in a madrasah. There he studied the Medieval sciences and learned several languages. He also became familiar with ancient Greek history and philosophy and the oral and written literature of the Near East. He apparently never travelled out of his native city, rejected being a palace poet, and lived on among his people. Around 1169/70, the ruler of Darband, Seyfaddin Muzaffar, sent Nizami a Kipchak slave-girl Afal (Appag-White), who became his wife and in 1174 bore a son whom they named Muhammad.Body of Work
Nizami Ganjavi started composing lyric poems. He wrote in Persian, since it was the literary language of the Medieval Islamic Near East, with Arabic being the language of religion and science. Persian was also the official state language of the 12th-century Transcaucasian Seljuk and Atabek feudal palaces. The countless number of Transcaucasian proverbs, parables, legends, and tales that decorate Nizami's works testify to his easy affinity for his local folks sources. He created a large divan that included gazals and gassidas. Nizami's lyrics exude a worldly attitude toward love and humanist thoughts about human destiny.Some of his best-known works include:
- the Khamsa
- the Treasury of Mysteries
- Khosrov and Shirin
- Leili and Medjnun
- the Seven Beauties
- Iskander- nameh
Nizami's poetry marked a new stage in the development of literature among the peoples of the Medieval Near East, a style more imbued with humanistic content and love of life.
of Love and Life
The five long poems, known collectively as the Khamsa or Panj Ganj (the Five Treasures), composed by Nizami in the late twelfth century, set new standards for elegance of expression, richness of characterization, and narrative sophistication. The Haft Paykar is the fourth and most intricate of these dazzling tales. The book mixes fact and fiction, with fiction predominating. Central to the book are seven chapters relating seven tales having to do with love. It is the story of a great leader, telling of the adventures he lives through and the lessons he learns. It recounts how Bahram Gur, the legendary 5th century Sasanian king of Persia, marries the daughters of seven padshahs (emperors) and lives in a palace with seven domes, one each for his seven brides. He goes from one to the next, hearing each princesses' tales. Each is a distinct tale telling different aspects of life and, especially, of love.Reference
Page Created: October 31, 2004
Page Updated: August 16, 2010
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Page Author: The Institute for the Visualization of History