Ferdowsī: A Critical Biography 0939214830

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FERDOWSI A Critical Biography

FERDOWSI A Critical Biography

A. Shapur Shahbazi

vasCDs HARVARD CENTER

UNIVERSITY

FOR MIDDLE

Distributed

MAZDA Costa

Mesa,

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exclusively

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PUBLISHERS California

U.S.A.

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Cataloging-in-Publication

Shahbazi, A. Shapur. Ferdowsi: A Critical Biography/ p. cm. Includes bibliographical ISBN:0-939214-83-0 1. Firdawsi—Biography. PK6459.S47

Data

A. Shapur Shahbazi.

references

and index.

2. Poets, Iranian—Biography.

I. Title.

1991

891’.5511—dc20 [B]

91-32058 CIP

Copyright © 1991 by A. Shapur Shahbazi All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission. For information write to: Mazda Publishers, P.O. Box 2603,

Costa Mesa, CA 92626

ISBN:0-939214-83-0

Mazda

Publishers

1991

U.S.A.

To my daughter

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In the last analysis it was The Sah-ndma, Ferdowsi’s poetical work of universal literary rank, that became the milestone for the self-affirmation of the Iranian identity. For the Iranian people indeed live, more than do the Arabs, in and by means of their poets; and the importance of the poems of Ferdowsi (and subsequently of later poets) for the preservation of the Iranian character can in no way be overestimated. They provided the entire Iranian folk —nobles, townspeople, artisans and peasants —with that "Iranianness" which despite all social differences united them, perfectly mirrored their image, and allowed them to identify themselves as fully and totally Iranian.

B. Spuler, [ran in Friih-Islamischer Zeit, Wiesbaden (1952), 236.

ww inde a a tid Ape ie initiate acamscngn ; se we. sina wheacyDy

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TABLE

OF

CONTENTS

PREFACE TRANSLITERATIONS CHAPTER

I.

SURVEY

OF LITERATURE

SOURCES STUDIES

CHAPTER

Il.

BACKGROUND

AND

PRECURSORS

NAME AND FAMILY DATE OF BIRTH 1. Mohl’s dating 2. Nodldeke’s dating 3. Further studies 4. The exact date of Ferdowsi’s birth BACKGROUND PRECURSORS CHAPTER

Ill.

FORMATIVE

EDUCATION FERDOWSI’S

AND PERSONALITY RELIGION

1.

His attitude

2.

Was he a Zurvanite

EARLY

IV.

CAUSES

THE

FOR

FIRST

IN SEARCH 1.

towards

Zoroastrianism fatalist?

LIFE

CHAPTER

THE

PERIOD

HISTORIAN

OF

ANCIENT

CONCERN

EPISODES OF

THE

The Koday-nadma

PRIMARY

SOURCE

IRAN

2. The Sah-ndma of Abii Mansir

3. Dagigi’sattempt 4. Ferdowsi’s intention to continue the work of Dagigi 5. Ferdowsi’s access to a copy of the prose Sah-nama THE FIRST EDITION OF THE SAH-NAMA CHAPTER

V.

THE

FLOWERING

PERIOD

CHANGES IN POLITICAL TIDE FERDOWSI AND SOLTAN MAHMUD SOLTAN MAHMUD AND FERDOWSI THE LAST YEARS THE SATIRE ON SOLTAN MAHMUD DEATH AND BURIAL CHAPTER

VI.

THE

UNDYING

MEMORIAL

THE SAH-NAMA 1. The mythical age 2.

The heroic

age

3. The historical age FERDOWSIS AIMS Recasting of ancient history into poetic form ~ The vindication of Ancient Iranians The creation of an undying memorial The revitalization of Iranian nationalism Personal fame and prestige Lessons of history CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SAH-NAMA

SE AWAWN . The history of the Iranian nation Source handling . Strict adherence to the sources . Avoidance of Islamicization . Effects of poetic forms

BIBLIOGRAPHY GENERAL

INDEX

143

PREFACE

A documented study of Ferdowsi’s life, thoughts and achievements is always a welcome boon, and in the present time, when a vast number of Iranians are dispersed, a balanced and comprehensive investigation may serve as a reminder of the time-honoured and rich culture which unifies all Iranians, and is symbolized by the Sah-ndma. The honour of presenting such a study has always been a cherished aim of this writer, and here is the result. "Ferdowsi" and "Sah-ndma" were revered household names in my family. As a child, I believed every story of Rostam and Kay Kosrow that my cousin Mahmid, a truly Rostam-like youth, read from the Sah-nama or retold in his own words. My father, Haji Ebrahim, gave me a deeper appreciation of Ferdowsi’s thoughts and achievements. Between the age of thirteen and nineteen, every night I read a piece of the Sah-ndma to him, and he lovingly corrected my mistakes, pointed out archaic pronunciations (e.g., sokon, dosk’ ar, Eran, k’ardan), explained difficult passages, and expressed elation at marvelously phrased concepts (e.g., Jahan krasti, yafi, kin mariz; Zi nam oO nesan o goman bartar-ast) or descriptions (Sabi ctin Sabah roy Sosta be-qir; [of Raks:] To gilé ravdn Sod Koh-e Bistin) —and there were thousands of these. In this way we went through the entire text twice; and by the end of the second time, the Sah-ndma had become my companion, guide, and a unique source of pleasure. All my future investigations were to benefit from this thorough study which made the understanding of the pioneering works of J. Mohl, Th. Néldeke, S. H. Taqizadeh, Mohammad Qazvini, M.-T. Bahar, Z. Safa, A. Christensen and M. Boyce easier —and more delightful. In due course, I collected a vast amount of notes concerning Ferdowsi’s thoughts, his role in the preservation of Iranian culture and the forging of Iranian nationality, his sources, and his skill as a historiographer, as well as on the

PREFACE

Sah-nama’s data on the institutions, education, and characteristics of ancient Iranians. A part of these notes were used in a chapter on Ferdowsi in my A History of Iranian Historiography (Gottingen 1983), and in articles on Ferdowsi’s date of birth and on the Koddy-nama (see bibliography). These studies are now corrected, updated, and supplemented by various observations to form the present monograph. A second study on the Sah-nama is in preparation. The aim of this investigation is to offer a detailed, balanced, and documented account of Ferdowsi’s life, thoughts and achievements. My main source has been the Sah-ndma (the Moscow edition; wherever the Khaleghi Motlagh edition was available, the latter was also cited), because, as Mohl, Noldeke and others have emphasized, only Ferdowsi’s own testimonies can be trusted. However, since he faithfully followed written sources, the Sahnama cannot be used indiscriminately as a source on the composer’s life and conceptions. Only when distinguishing phrases or contexts link a statement to Ferdowsi himself have I used it to document an inference or reject a traditional view. I have endeavoured to trace original thoughts and views to their authors, and if a heavy reliance on earlier scholarship is apparent, it is because of the desire to acknowledge a credit where it is due. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the authorities of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (Bonn, W. Germany) for their generous support of the aforementioned study, and to Professor Dr. Walther Hinz, Professor Emeritus of the University of Géttingen, for his constant help, affectionate encouragement and invaluable guidance. I am further deeply obliged to Professor Dr. D. N. MacKenzie, Director of the Seminar fiir Iranistik of the University of G6éttingen, and to Professor Ehsan Yarshater (Columbia University) for generously allowing me to use their rich libraries and helping to solve academic problems. I am likewise grateful to Professor Roy P. Mottahedeh (Harvard University), for warm encouragement, and to my eminent colleague Professor Lois Barry for reading an earlier draft of this work and offering valuable corrections. What mistakes remain are naturally mine. Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to the Mazda Publishers, who provided financial support for this publication and agreed to honour my traditional style, and to Mrs. Dawna Flanagan, who spent many weekends in preparing a camera-ready manuscript of this work with remarkable skill and patience.

September 1989 A. Shapur Shahbazi

TRANSLITERATION Except in quotations, the system of transliteration used in the present study follows that employed by E. Yarshater ed., Encyclopaedia Iranica. While accepting established anglicized spelling of names and terms, this system represents each consonant by one letter (with or without diacritics), avoids digraphs, bases the vocalization on Persian phonetics (with a few concessions to tradition) but treats Arabic (and other languages written in Arabic script) phonemically. It renders the Persian ezdfa as -e after consonant and i and -ye postvocalically, except after i, omits the Arabic definite article al- in personal names, except within construct phrases (thus Sahrestani but Ebn al-Atir), and joins with a hyphen the components of Arabic names in construct (e.g., ‘Azod-al-Dawla, ‘Abd-Allah). When in contexts the Arabic long vowels 4, i and w are shortened, their diacritics are omitted, thus Abi Sa‘id but Abu’l-Fazl. The transliteration following page.

system for Persian and Arabic is given in the

xii

TRANSLITERATION

v

5)

2

J

q

b p

3 5

2 2

J &

k g

t

wv

s

FA

|

t

Oo”

$

f

m

j

UP

$

o

n

c

oP

2

3

Vv(in Persian words of Persian

h

b

t

kK

bs

Zz

k’

&

Ni

d d

a =)

9 f

origin only) 3

w (in Arabic words and Persian words of Arabic origin)

. G

h y

a a u 3 (majhil; optional for Dari and early Persian) yj 8 (majhil;

optional for Dari and early Persian)

a fe) e -a ow (in Persian words) aw (in Arabic words)

ey (in Persian words)

ay(inArabic words andexceptionally inPersian words) Tr(erg. oe~sT8r) Ty (e.g. eles sl adabryat) 2 aa

XIV

CHAPTER

SURVEY

OF

I

THE

LITERATURE

SOURCES

Much has been written on Ferdowsi and his work,’ but even learned studies have given inharmonious results for the simple reasons that our sources are late, uncritical and contradictory, and that scholars treating them have had different backgrounds and ideologies. The best authority is the Sahnama itself as the poet frequently breaks his narrative to insert a few lines about his age, work and thoughts. Also, some allusions to Ferdowsi’s work can be adduced in the poems of his contemporaries,’ but the earliest-known reference to him is by Asadi. With regard to his reason for composing the Garsasp-nama, Asadi says that Ferdowsi,’ Who surpassed all known balladers Narrated in verse the wars of many a hero But neglected to recount this story.

1. For a comprehensive bibliography till 1976 see I. Afsar, Ketdbsendsi-e Ferdowsi, Tehran, 2nd ed., (1355 $./1976). The work is now in need of an extensive supplement; more recent publications on Ferdowsi and the Sah-ndma are listed in the annual supplements to Studia Iranica. 2. See below, Ch. V, nn. 60, 71.

»

3. Asadi Tosi, Garsasp-nama,ed. H. Yagma’i,Tehran (1317$./1938),14”. 1

z

SURVEY

OF THE

LITERATURE

Barely a century after his death, Ferdowsi had become the subject of a. romantic vita, The earliest — and fullest — account of his biography is by_ Nezami ‘Arazi in his Cahdr magdla ("Four discourses" —viz. on secretaries, poets, astrologers, and physicians) written in the years 550-52/115-57. It runs as follows.’ "The Sage (Ostdd) Abu’l-Qasem Ferdowsi was one of the dehqans (landed nobility, on whom see below 20f.) of Tos, and came from a village Baz by name, which is a part of the district of Tabaran [more correctly Tabaran] —a large village capable of furnishing a thousand men (of war). He enjoyed a prominent standing in that area, and his income from his estate (zia’) perfectly sufficed his expenditure". He spent twenty-five years in composing the S$ah-ndma, hoping to earn the funds needed for providing a worthy dowry for his daughter —his only child. The governor of the city, Hoyayy son of Qotayba, greatly favoured Ferdowsi, and treated him with all considerations in the matter of taxation. When he had completed the book, it was transcribed by ‘Ali Daylam in seven volumes, and recited by Abi Dolaf. Then accompanied by the latter, Ferdowsi set off for Gazna, capital of Soltan Mahmid, where he found a patron in the Soltan’s secretary (kateb), Ahmad-e Hasan [Maymandi], who duly presented the Sah-nama to his royal master. Mahmiid accepted it, and was grateful to Ahmad-e Hasan. The latter, however, had enemies, and when the Soltan asked their opinions as to a suitable reward for Ferdowsi they said: "fifty-thousand derams (silver coins) — and even this is too much, for he is a rdfezi ("rejecter [of the Sunnite]" hence "heretic" —a derogatory name for a Shi‘ite), as is evidenced from the verses in the prelude to the Sah-ndma" (where the doctrine of the invisibility and incomprehensibility of God is emphasised and of the Four Caliphs, ‘Ali alone is praised). Soltan Mahmid was a fervent Sunni, and upon this accusation, he followed the advice of those ill-disposed to Ferdowsi. Consequently, the poet received only twenty-thousand derams. Contemptuously, he divided the sum among a bath-man and a drink-seller, who had served him. Then fearing the Soltan’s wrath, he fled to Herat, where he spent six months in hiding in the house of Esma‘il Warraq (‘the book--binder"), father of the poet Arzaqi. When it was safe for him to travel, Ferdowsi took his Sah-nama to Tabarestan, to the court of Spahbad Sahryar, a prince of the great house of Bavand which traced its descent to Yazdegerd the son of Sahryar. The king treated Ferdowsi affectionately, and the poet composed a Satire in one hundred verses against Soltan Mahmid, offering to dedicate the Sah-ndma to Spahbad Sahryar since "it is all the history and memorials of

4. ‘Ariizi, Cahdr maqala, anecdote XX quoted by Ethe inZDMG, XLVIII (1894), 89ff.; English tr. by E. G. Browne, London (1921), 54-9; ed. Mirza Mohammad Kan Oazvini, revised by M. Mo‘in, Tehran, 3rd ed.,(1333 S./1954), 75-83.

SOURCES

3

your forefathers". Spahbad Sahryar, however, was one of Mahmiid’s vassals, and, appealing to Ferdowsi’s Shi‘ism, advised him to follow the path of the House of the Prophet in seeking no worldly gains. He offered a gift of sixty thousand derams to Ferdowsi and prevailed upon him to destroy the Satire (which he did, and "only six verses of it is now extant"’) and to retain the original dedication in Mahmiid’s name. Eventually, Ferdowsi returned to Tos, and spent the rest of his life in poverty and fear of the Soltan. Ahmad-e Hasan was constantly trying to induce Mahmid to forgive Ferdowsi and reward him properly. Once, when the Soltan was dictating a threatening letter to an enemy, he enquired as to what would be an appropriate treatment should the addressee show disobedience. Ahmad-e Hasan answered with a verse from the Sdh-ndma concerning Rostam’s threat: And Then

should

the

Afrasiab’s

reply

with

my wish

field

and

the mace

not accord and

the sword!

Soltan Mahmid asked: "Who has composed this verse? —truly he is the source of valour!" whereupon [Ahmad] replied: "This was by Ferdowsi, the poor poet who spent twenty-five years in composing such a book but was left unrewarded". The Soltan felt repentant, and dispatched sixty thousand dinars (gold coins) to Ferdowsi, with a suitable apology; "but as the caravan entered Tabaran from the Ridbar Gate, Ferdowsi’s corpse was being carried for burial out of the Razin Gate. Meanwhile, a [Sunni] preacher in Tabaran insisted that ‘I will not allow this man to be buried in the Moslem’s cemetary as he was a rdfezi’. However much people urged against this, the learned remained unconvinced. There was an orchard inside [the town next to] the [Razin] Gate which belonged to Ferdowsi; there they buried him. His tomb is still in that place. I have paid a pilgrimage to it (zidrat kardam) in the year 510 [1116]". They say that Ferdowsi left a daughter, a high spirited lady, who refused the Soltan’s gift, which consequently was spent on repairing a hostelry (rebat) on the road between Marv and Nisapir. The encounter of Ferdowsi Tarik-e Sistdn as follows:°

and Soltin

Mahmiid

is described

in the

5. This did not prevent subsequent generations from re-creating the "Satire" in some 130 verses collected from different parts of the S$ah-ndma and other poetic works, including a versed account of Ferdowsi’s life (compiled in the seventh-eighth centuries and later used in the Baysongori preface; on this see J. Mohl, La Livre de Rois, I, Paris 1838, p. XL). For details see below, 97ff. 6. Ed. M.-T. Bahar, Tehran (1314 §./1935), 7-8.

4

SURVEY

OF THE

LITERATURE

The sagas of Rostam are those which Abu’l-Qasem Ferdowsi versified in the Sah-nama, and in the name of Soltan Mahmid; and he recited it to him for several days. Soltan Mahmiid commented thus: "The entire Sahnama contains no interesting saga except that of Rostam, and there are a thousand Rostam-like warriors in my army". [A]bu’l-Qasem [sic] replied: "May the life of the King be long! I do not know how many men like Rostam are in his army, but this much I am certain of, that God the High has never created a subject like Rostam again!" So saying, he kissed the ground, and left. Mahmid said to his minister: "By his denial, this fellow called me a liar!" The minister replied: "He must be killed!" But however much they sought him, they could not find him. Thus, he said so boldly, and went away utterly unrewarded, and died in exile.

The poet Farid-al-Din ‘Attar (flourished in 600/1202), elaborated on the episode of Ferdowsi’s internment.’ "For twenty-five years", he says, "Ferdowsi laboured on the Sah-ndma. When he finally passed away, the great Sayk Abu’l-Qasem [Gorgani] refused, on religious grounds, to give him the last rites saying: ‘he composed a good deal, all in honour of an unworthy infidel (gabr), spending a life-time praising the infidels (gabrakdn)... The following night, the Sayk saw Ferdowsi in a dream; he was wearing an emerald crown and a dress greener than grass... He reproached the Sayk for his act, and told him that only one verse of his in praise of God had earned ‘the Paradisal the Paradise’ (ke Ferdowsi be Ferdaws ast awld)". A later embellishment of this tale is found in Hamd-Allah Mostawfi’s Tarik-e Gozida, written in 730/1330 (and in its successors):* "When the Sayk awoke, he rushed, barefoot and weeping, to Ferdowsi’s tomb, prayed there fervently, and remained there for a few days, thereupon making daily pilgrimage to that shrine as long as he lived." By the early seventh century, a rich and articulate version of Ferdowsi’s vita was placed at the beginning of the Sah-ndma? It became the main source for subsequent writers and was embellished with more details as time went by. According to this story, Ferdowsi was a land-owner (dehqan

7. Elahi-nama, ed. F. Rowhani, Tehran (1339§./1960), 287 and English tr. J. A. Boyle, Manchester (1976), 335-36. See also Asrar-nama, ed. §. Gowharin, Tehran (1338 S./ 1959), 188-89. 8. Ed. ‘A.Nawa’i,Tehran (1339S./1960),743. 9. This is now made certain by the discovery of the oldest known manuscript of the Sahnama (dated 614/1217) which contains this vita, see Angelo Michele Piemontese, "Nuova luce su Firdawsi: uno ‘Sah-nama’ datato (614/1217) a Firenze", Annal di Ist. Or. di Napoli, n.s., XXX (1980), 1-30, 189-42.

SOURCES

5

see below 20f.) in Tés who was wronged by the governor of the city and went to Gazna to report the injustice to Soltan Mahmid. Upon arriving into Gazna, he accidentally encountered the three great court poets: ‘Onsori, ‘Asjodi, and Farroki who were picnicking in a field by a stream. In order to amuse themselves, they each composed a semi-distich of a quatrian (robd‘i), and asked Ferdowsi to compose the fourth part, which he did masterfully and in a heroic context. Now, from childhood, Ferdowsi had shown a great talent for composing epic poetry, an art which he perfected as he grew up. He heard that Soltan Mahmid of Gazna intended to patronize the versification of the history of ancient Iran, the Book of Kings (Nadma-yeKosrowan), which had been compiled under Yazdegerd III and which Ya‘qiib-e Layt had ordered his advisor, Abii Mansiir-e ‘Abd-al-Razzaq, to bring back from India and translate into Persian. Ferdowsi went to the Ghaznavid court to offer his services. Despite the envy and intrigues of the court poets, ‘Onsori, ‘Asjodi and Farroki, whom he had defeated in the poetic contest mentioned above, he won the admiration of Soltan Mahmid and his favourite, Ayaz, and was commissioned to reproduce the Book of Kings into epic poetry. He accomplished the task splendidly, but met with little appreciation because Mahmid, a Turk with fanatical adherence to the Sunna, took offense at the poet’s belittling of the Turks and glorification of their Iranian adversaries as well as by his eulogies for the Shi‘ite leader, ‘Ali. This depreciation so provoked Ferdowsi that he denounced the Soltan in a biting satire, fled to Mazandaran, spent some time at the court of the local king and at his request destroyed the Satire. He eventually journeyed to Baghdad where a merchant friend introduced him to Fakr-al-Molk, the minister of the ‘Abbasid Caliph al-Oader. Ferdowsi composed an Arabic ode in praise of the Caliph and incorporated a thousand verses of similar nature in the Sah-nama, and with these won the Caliph’s admiration. However, al-Qader and the people of Baghdad were critical of the poet for having versified the history of the Fireworshipers and their ancient kings, and Ferdowsi himself became mournful for having spent his life in recording baseless sagas of infidels and praising of Rostam. He therefore composed for the Caliph the story of Yiusofo Zolayka (Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife). Much later he returned home and died in extreme poverty just as a large reward sent belatedly by Mahmid, who had at last appreciated the richness and importance of the Sah-ndma, arrived at Tos. But Ferdowsi’s only child, an unnamed daughter (or, in a later version,” a sister), refused the reward. The local religious leader accused the poet of having been pro-Zoroastrian, and prevented his interment in the Moslem cemetery. Consequently, he was buried in his own garden. Soon,

10. Dawlatsah,

Tadkerat al-So‘ard’, ed. E. G. Browne, Leiden (1901), 55f.

6

SURVEY

OF THE

LITERATURE

however, his tomb became a shrine for the Iranians, despite the fanaticism of some preachers such as Qotb- al-Din, the teacher of Gazzali: "He passed by Ferdowsi’s tomb, accompanied by his disciples. Some of them suggested: ‘Let us pay a pilgrimage to Ferdowsi’s tomb’. The Sayk replied: ‘No, move on; this man spent his life praising the Majus (=Zoroastrians)’ "." Subsequently, the biography of Ferdowsi received embellishments appropriate to the social and ideological developments which occurred in the Iranian society. A versified version of it existed by the eighth century at the latest. And while the Pseudo Ebn-e Esfandyar quoted ‘Ariizi verbatim,” Mohammad ‘Awfi (c. 630/1231),” Zakariya’ son of Mohammad-e Qazvini, and Hamd-Allah Mostawfi elaborated on the long toils of Ferdowsi and Mahmiid’s lack of appreciation of the Sah-ndma; and Naser-al-Din Abi Ragid Qazvini* and Mohammad ebn-e ‘Ali ebn-e Mohmmad-e Sabankara’i® explained the mistreatment Ferdowsi had received on the basis of religious differences and ethnic antagonism —Soltan Mahmid was a fanatic Sunni, and the son of a Turkish slave whereas Ferdowsi had praised Shi’ism and Iranian ancestral glory. Finally, the famous Sah-nama-ye Baysongori (829/1429) produced a moving version of the romantically amplified vita as a preface to the text (pp. 7-22), which has since captured the imagination of many Iranians —laymen and scholars alike. In its essentials, the tradition was followed by all subsequent biographers.’® Only one author, Qazi Nir-Allah SiStari (1000/1592), was judicious enough to question some

11. Afar al-belad (written in 611/1271), Beirut (1960), 95-7. 12. Tarik-e Tabarestan, ed. ‘Abbas Eqbal, Tehran (1320 S./ 1941), II, 21-5. 13. Lobdb al-albab, ed. E. G. Browne and M. Qazvini, Leiden and London, I], (1906), 33.

14. Ketab al-nagz fi ba%-e mataleb al-Navaseb, (written in 556/1158), ed. J. Armavi (Mohaddet), Tehran (1331 S./1952), 251f.

15. Majma‘ al-ansab (written 735/1335), cited by S. Nafisi, Dar pirdmiin-e Tarik-e Bayhaqi I, Tehran (1342§./1963), 67-80. 16. For the BaysongoriiE see below, nn. 69, 128. Subsequent sources are Dawlat8ah,Tadkeratal-So‘ard’ 49-55; Ja‘fari, Tdrik-ekabir (c. 850/1446),ed. I. Afgar in Farhang-e[ran-zamin,V1,Tehran (1337§./1958), 148-49;Fasih-e K’afi,Mojmal-eFasihi (857/1450),ed. M.Farrok,Maghad,I (1339 8./1960), 8; II (13408./1961),129-41;Mir Nezamal-Din ‘AligirNawa’i,Majalesal-nafa’es,ed. ‘A.-A.Hekmat, Tehran (1323S./ 1944),343ff. AminAhmadRiazi,Hafteqlim (1010/1600),ed. J. Fazel,Tehran (1340S./1961)II, 198-206; Adar Bigdeli,Ataskada-yeAdar, ed. H. Sadat-e Naseri, Tehran (1337S./1957), II, 475-91 (withSadat-e Naseri’sexcellentbibliographicalnotes). Qazi Niir- al-Din Siétari, Majales al-mo’menin,Tehran (1376§./1956),II, 584-609;Rezaqolikan Hedayat,Majma‘al-fosaha’, ed. M. Mosaffa,Tehran,II (1339S./1960),948f.

SOURCES

elements

7

of it.”

Some of the embellishments of this traditional vita may be noted. In the Saljiiq period, when the Sunni creed was the official religion of Iran, a few verses praising Abi Bakr, ‘Omar and ‘Otman were interpolated in the Sahnama to make it more acceptable to the community’s taste.’* Even the last chapter of the Sah-ndma, which contains anti-Arab sentiments, was said to have been composed by Asadi, not by Ferdowsi.” The fanaticism of the preachers ill-disposed to Ferdowsi’s work were also philosophically countered. The disciple of Sayk Qotb-al-Din who wished to honour Ferdowsi, saw him in a dream the night following the conversation. The poet recited a verse from the Qor’an [Esra 102] which was an answer to the Sayk’s statement: "Say: ‘If it were you who had in your power the treasuries of the mercy of my Lord, you would in that case keep a firm grip for fear of expense; man is parsimonious”. * Every rich Moslem was supposed to make a pilgrimage to Mecca. Ferdowsi was accordingly said to have made such a trip, and there to have composed the Yusof o Zolaykd,” (the definite article before this versified work attributed to Ferdowsi is hereinafter used to distinguish it from compositions of the same names by later poets). Even the birth and name of Ferdowsi received "appropriate" interpretations (see below 19, 39). Finally, the character and achievement of Ferdowsi were reflected in the following legend. While at the court of Mahmid, the poet had composed the story of Askabis, making everyone wonder at the valour of Rostam. The hero appeared to him in a dream and revealed to him the place of a gold torque: "Accept it from me as a token of gratitude", he said. This the poet confided to Ayaz, who pretending to dig the foundation for a royal palace discovered the torque and told the story to Soltan Mahmid. The king offered the precious piece to Ferdowsi, but despite his poverty, the poet remarked: "This is the fruit of poetry, let it be divided between all poets and artists". It was.” It would be unfair to accuse the anthologists and historians of fabricating these details. Rather, they seem to have recorded what they had heard. As

17. Op. cit., Il, 584ff. But even he added something new, namely an ode in 22 verses by Ferdowsi in praise of ‘Ali. 18. Si&tari was the first to point out this interpolation; Sirani’s defence of the authenticity of the verses was not valid, see now Motlagh, the Shahnameh, I, 10.

19, Ataskada-yeAdar, Il, 458. 20. Altar al-belad, 97. The translation The Qor’an, II, Edinburgh (1937), 270.

21. Hedayat, op. cit., 949.

of the Qor’anic verse is taken from Richard Bell’s

PPh, Baysongori preiice andMojmal-e Fasihi.

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such, these elaborations reflect the desire of generations of Iranians to see in Ferdowsi the ideal man.” Each period formed its own conception of him by representing him as the embodiment of what it regarded as heroism, righteousness, loyalty and magnanimity. He has thus become the personification of a millennium of cherished ideals, and this makes it an obligation for his modern biographer to trace the development of his image throughout this period not only in these stories but also in the ‘distortions or alterations of and additions to the Sah-ndma by generations of caligraphers, who increasingly tended to make Ferdowsi a Shi‘ite zealot or a Sifi saint by harmonizing his statements to their own ideologies. The same is true of the amplification of the "Satire". ‘Arizi had testified that only six verses of it had survived, but even those verses which he quotes are taken from different parts of the Sah-nama. Every indication shows, as we shall see (below, 97ff.), that the Satire is a forgery through which generations of Iranians expressed their sentiments towards Ferdowsi, his ideals, and his contemporaries. The piece is compiled from verses borrowed from various parts of the Sah-nama, from other poets (even Sa‘di), and from a versed biography of the poet. It runs contrary to the beliefs of Ferdowsi assfound in the Sah-nama, but it describes the attitude of Iranians towards despotic rulers, especially those of non-Iranian origin; it records the Iranians’ understanding of the role of the Sah-ndma as the national history of Iran; above all, it registers their sorrow and wrath at the cruel fate of the venerable poet. For these reasons alone, the Satire is worth studying, but it cannot be used as a source of Ferdowsi’s life and thoughts. STUDIES

Earlier commentators, including the first European translators and literary critics,“ had to resort to this traditional vita, which became readily available and well publicized by its inclusion in Turner Macan’s 1829 edition of the Sah-nama.* Sir William Jones first introduced Ferdowsi to the English reader by rendering, albeit inaccurately, a few episodes of the S$ah-ndma into

IBNodfeMatini, "Ferdowsidar hala’i az afsanaha",Majalla-yeDaneskada-yeAdabiyat o ‘oliim-eensani-eDanesgah-eFerdowsi,1V/1 (1978)1ff. 24. Mohl, Le Livre des Rois, I, Paris (1838), pp. LXXIX ff. gave a good survey of the literature. Fatema Sayyah, "Enteqad-e dane’mandan-e Uriipa’i dar bab-e Ferdowsi", Mehr, II (1313 §./1934), 674ff. provided a more recent account. See also A. A. Romaskevit in Ferdovsi 934-1934, Leningrad (1934), 13-50. 25. The Shah Namah, A Heroic Poem, carefully collated with a number of the oldest and best manuscripts, illustrated by a copious glossary of obsolete words and obscure idioms; with an introduction and life of the author, Calcutta (1829).

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9

English in 1774.% Four years later Joseph Champion” and L. M. Langles” published anthologies of the Sah-ndma in English and French respectively. Then Mathew Lumsden produced the first of his intended eight-volume edition of the Sah-ndma” Since then, a good number of renditions into English, French, German, Russian, Latin, Danish, Hungarian, Swedish and other languages have appeared.” Most of these translations and also numerous editions of the Sdh- nama” are prefaced with a biography of Ferdowsi and an evaluation of the Sah-nama, but they are uncritical and repeat the traditional stories about the poet’s life and work. Likewise, the studies of J. von Hammer” and A. Baumgartener,® had little to say concerning the life of Ferdowsi but gave valuable details on the contents and importance of the Sdh-ndma. With the advance of Avestan and Pahlavi studies, Ferdowsi’s work assumed a new significance, namely, as the most developed source of Iranian sagas, the origins of which were sought in the Vedic and Avestan traditions. F. Spiegel,“ R. von Stackelberg,* and J. Darmesteter® were the foremost champions of this branch of scholarship. A. von Gutschmid,” J. Marquart*® and A. Bauer” studied the similarities between stories about the Achaemenids in classical sources and about the

26. The Works of Sir William Jones, V1, London (1807), 231, 307. 27. The Poems of Ferdosi, Calcutta (1878).

28. See S. Nafisi, "Ferdowsi 8a‘er-ejahan",Mehr, II (1313S./1934), 471. 29. The Shah Namu, being a Serie of Heroic Poems on the Ancient History of Persia, Calcutta (1811). yes 30. Mohl, I, pp. LXXIX-LXXXVII; Sayyah, op. cit., 674-82; Nafisi, op. cit., 471-72; Z. Safa, Hamdasa sara’i dar Iran 2nd ed., Tehran (1333 §./1954), 218ff.; I Afgar, KetabSendsi-e Ferdowsi, 2nd ed., passim. 31. For the editions see E. Yarshater’s Introduction to Dj. Khaleghi-Motlagh ed., The Shahnameh, 1, New York (1987), vi ff. 32.

Geschichte

der schoenen

Redekiinste

Persiens

(1818),

56ff.

33. Cited by Sayyah, op. cit., 674-75. 34. Eranische Altertumskunde, |, Leipzig (1871); Arische Periode und ihre Zustande, Leipzig (1887); "Avesta und Shahname", ZDMG, XLV (1891), 187-203. 35. "Persische Miszellen", Indogermanische Forschungen IV (1894), 147-52; "Bemerkungen zur persischen Sagengeschichte", WZKM, XII (1898), 230-48; "Die iranische Schiitzensage", ZDMG, LVIII (1904), 853-58. 36. Etudes Iraniennes, Il, Paris (1883), 213, 225ff.; In various introductions to his translation of the Avesta: Le Zend-Avesta, 3 vols., Paris (1892-93), and "Points de contact entre le Mahabharata et le Shah-Nameh", JA (1887), 33-75. ‘ 37. "Bemerkungen zu Tabaris Sasanidengeschichte, Ubersetzt von Th. Néldeke", ZDMG, XXXIV (1880), 721ff.; "Zur Geschichte der Sasaniden", [bid., 585-87. 38. "Beitrage zur Geschichte und Sage von Eran",ZDMG, XLIX (1895), 628-72.

39. Die Kyros-Sage und Verwandtes, Wien (1882).

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Sdsanians in the Sadh-ndma. Paul Horn® and Hermann Ethe“ emphasized Ferdowsi’s skill in lyric poetry and showed the diversity of themes and thoughts in his great work.

All such studies, however, were overshadowed by the views of two highranking scholars, Julius Mohl and Theodor Noéldeke. Mohl edited the Sahnama and translated it into French and published the whole in a magnificent edition.” To this he added a detailed and valuable introduction® describing previous studies on Ferdowsi till 1838,“ the genesis and sources of the Iranian national history,” Persian epic compositions other than the Sdahnama,* and a scholarly biography of Ferdowsi.” In this, Mohl demonstrated the weak pointsand inconsistencies of the traditional vita of Ferdowsi, and using the Sdh-ndma as his basic source, he succeeded in drawing a reasonable picture of the poet’s life and thoughts as well as in establishing his date of birth and his reliance on written records. N6éldeke went further,* and investigated the Avestan and Pahlavi sources of the national history of Iran,® the long flourishing tradition of rendering historical sagas in epic poetry,” the aims and works of Ferdowsi’s precursors,” the life’ and achievements of the great poet,” the contents,” style® and significance* of the Sah-ndma and its influences upon the Iranian psychology and literary creations.” Like

40. "Die Sonnenaufgange Giessen (1906), 1039-1054.

in Schahname"

in Orientalische

Studien, Fests.

Th. Néldeke,

I,

41. "Neupersische Literature", in E. Kuhn and W. Geiger eds., Grundriss der iranischen Philologie, Il, Strassburg (1895-1904), 229ff.; Firdausi als Lyriker, Miinchen (1872-73). 42. Le Livre des Rois, 7 vols., Paris (1838-76), re-issued in pocket-size, Paris (1877-78). 43. Ibid., 1, pp. Tilff. 44. Ibid., LXXXII ff. 45. Ibid., IV ff. 46. Ibid., L ff. 47. Ibid., XX1 ff.

48. "Das iranische Nationalepos", in Grundriss der iranischen Philologie, Il, 130-211,2nd ed. (with minor emendations), Leipzig-Berlin (1920). With a few exceptions, all references are to this second, separate edition. 49. Geschichte der Perser und Araber zur Zeit den Sasaniden. Aus der arabischen des Tabari, Leiden (1879), XIV ff.; Das iran. Nationalepos, 1-18.

50. Das iran. Nationalepos, 2ff. 51. Ibid., 16-23. 52. Ibid., 23-44.

53. Ibid., 44ff. and passim. 54. Ibid., 41ff. 55. Ibid., 64ff.

56. Ibid., 46ff., 63ff. and passim. 57. Ibid., 51ff.

Chronik

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i

Mohl, Néldeke based his research on the $ah-ndma itself,* and was able to distinguish the unsoundness of certain details concerning Ferdowsi’s life given by anthologists and literary historians.” However, he went too far when, relying on a late manuscript colophon of the Sah-ndma,° he attributed thirtytwo verses to Ferdowsi which indicated that the composer had been in Isfahan and at the service of Anmad ebn-e Mohammad ebn-e Abi Bakr-e Kan-Lanjani® in about 388-89/998, and had dedicated a version of the Sahnama to him.® Furthermore, Néldeke’s judgment of Ferdowsi’s character was flawed because he accepted the attribution to the poet of the Eisof oO Zolayka, a composition which is manifestly anti-Sah-ndma in nature.® All subsequent studies on Ferdowsi and the Sah-ndma are largely based on the findings of Mohl and Néldeke. However, in this survey, we must, by necessity, leave aside research into such topics as the origins of the Iranian sagas,“ the means and methods of their transmission,® their developed forms in the Sah-ndma and related epics,® and parallel myths and legends

58. See esp. ibid., 24: "Der Umstand, dass Firdausi sein grosses Epos nicht selten durch subjective Stellen unterbricht, setz uns in den Stand, einge wichtige Puncte seines Lebens festzustellen; alles von den Spatern tiber den Dichter berichtete, das nicht zu seinem eigenen Zeugnis stimmt, ist natiirlich zu verwerfen". 59. Ibid., 25ff.

60. Ibid., 25 with n. 2, and 26; for the manuscript (British Museum, OR 1403) see Ch. Rieu, Catalogue of the Persian Manuscripts in the British Museum, II, London (1895), 535a; Ch. Schefer, Nasir Chosrau’s [Naser-e Kosrow’s] Safarname, Paris (1881) 301, quoted 32 verses of this interpolation (whence Taqizadeh [below n., 74] 198-200). 61. Or more traditionally Kani; Kan-Lanjan was a town with historic monuments 2 stages from Isfahan; today it is a village called Kélanjan. See for references M. Dabirsiaqi, Safarndma-ye Naser-e Kosrow, 2nd ed., Tehran (1363 §./1984), 233. 62. Foriigi suspected the authenticity of these verses (Taqizadeh, 198, n. 1) and M. Minavi demonstrated that they were composed bya calligrapher in the service of Ahmad-e Kan Lanjani who copied for him a manuscript of the Sah-ndma which he finished on 27 (Asman-niz) Bahman (of the Kardji calendar, see below 23 n. 17; 30) which corresponded to 25 Moharram 689 (= 25 November 1289) - the figure 689 written out without dots Xv» wv» oly 9 wasreadas “&%» > ey I dew 389! See Minavi, "Ketab-e hazdra-ye Ferdowsi wa botlan-e entesab-e Yusof o Zolayka be Ferdowsi", Riizgar-e no (1323 §./1944-45), 16-36 (=Simorg, 4, 1976, 49-68). See also, independently, Z. Safa, Hamdsa sara’, 176, n. 1. 63. Das iran. Nationalepos, 31 and passim. 64. See more recently E. Yarshater, Camb. Hist. Iran, 1/1 (1983), 343ff.; 359ff. 65. M. Boyce, "The Parthian gdsdn and the Iranian minstrel tradition", JRAS, 1957, 10-45.

66. Idem, "Zariadres and Zarér",BSOAS, XVII (1955), 463-77; E. Yarshater, op. cit., 359ff.; E. Pir-Dawid, Introduction to Ferdowsi’s BéZan 0 ManéZe, Tehran (1344 §./1965), 66ff.

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of other nations.” Nor can we discuss the importance of the Sah-nama for the Persian language,® art and culture,® or its translations into various tongues or, indeed, the characteristics of the heroes it celebrates.” Our concern here is with the noteworthy studies on the life of Ferdowsi as well as on his aims, beliefs and achievements. Early in this century, E.G. Browne included a few pages on Ferdowsi and the Sah-ndma in his monumental work A Literary History of Persia,” but, oddly, criticized the Sah-nama as being too long, poetically untranslatable, inflated with repetitive stories and lacking in literary refinements usually attributed to it; indeed, he said, it was barely equal to the poems of al-Motenabbi who is unjustly neglected by literary critics.” Arthur George and Edmond Warner, however, proved Browne wrong by producing a poetic and impressive English translation of the Sahnama. They also contributed to the scholarship of the subject by their detailed analytical discussions of the sagas and a comprehensive and wellbased biography of Ferdowsi.” S. H. Taqizadeh followed Mohl, Néldeke and Browne’s lead and added detailed observations of his own with such clarity and depth of learning” that his opinions became authoritative at times even for Th. Néldeke.* He began with a Persian rendition of Browne’s text

67. E.g. F. Macler, "Armenia et Chah-Nameh", JA, 1936, 549-59, M. Molé, "L’épopée iranienne aprés Firdosi", La Novelle Clio, V (1953), 377-93. A recent attempt is O. Davidson, "The crown-bestower in the Iranian Book of Kings", Acta Iranica 24 (= Papers in Honour of Professor Mary Boyce), Leiden (1983), 61ff. See also F. Vahman, Sokan, XVIII (1347 $./1968), 24-36.

68. Safa, Hamasa sara’i, 227ff.; Mohammad Riaz, "Ta’tir-e Sah-ndma dar Vameq o ‘Adra-ye‘Onsori",Helal, XVII/7 (1969),14-20. 69. M. S. Dimand, "Firdausi’s influence on Persian art", in D. E. Smith ed., Firdausi Celebration 935-1935, New York (1936), 14-24; M. B. Dickson and S. C. Welch, The Houghton Shahnameh, Cambridge, MA (1980), Introduction; M. J. Mahjiib, Honar o mardom XV /177-78 (1977), 2-13; XV/180, 20-28; Dj. Khaleghi Motlagh, "The Manuscript [of the Baysongori S.]", in E. Yarshater ed., Encyclopaedia Iranica 1V/1 (1989), 9-10; T. Lentz, "The Paintings", ibid., 10-11. ;

70. Néldeke,Das iranischeNationalepos41ff.;P. B. Wachha,Firdousi and the Shahnama, Bombay (1950), 138ff.;Safa, op. cit., 241ff.,;Mohammad Eslami-Nadiian, Zandagi o marg-e pahlavandn dar Sah-nama, Tehran (1348 S./1969); Sahrok Meskib, Stig-e Sidvus, 2nd ed., Tehran (1351$./1972). 71. Vol. II, Cambridge (1909), 129ff. 72. Ibid., 143.

73. The Shahnama of Firdausi, 9 vols., London (1905-1925). 74. In-a series of articles on notable Persian poets in Kaveh, Berlin (1920-1921), rep. Ferdowsi o Sah-nama-ye ii, ed. H. Yagm2’i, Tehran (1349 §./1970). All references to Taqizadeh are to this collected edition. 75. See his "Ein Beitrag zur Schahname-Forschung", Ketdb-e hazdra-ye Ferdowsi, Tehran (1322 S§./1944),58-63.

STUDIES

13

elaborated with rode ypSiene and notes,” then amplified Néldeke’s materials on Ferdowsi’s precursors” and his vita.” Despite the suspicion of his learned friend Doka’-al-Molk Forigi about the authenticity of the verses related to Ferdowsi’s stay at Kan--Lanjan,” Taqizadeh accepted Noldeke’s judgment and tried to reconcile all the given and adduced details about the poet’s life.” He further shed light on the site of Ferdowsi’s burial® and prepared the way for a reevaluation of the poet’s role in the formation of Persian culture.” The next major research on Ferdowsi was by Hafez Mahmiid Kan Sirani and published in Urdu.* In four articles, Sirani studied the reasons for the composition of the Sah-ndma (i.e., principally personal literary interest of the poet and revival of nationalistic feelings), deduced the chronological sequence for several revisions of the text (i.e., concluding that the first version was finished before Soltan Mahmiid’s accession), explored Ferdowsi’s religion inferring that he was a Sunni Moslem), scrutinized the Older Preface of the Sah-ndma, demonstrated the spuriousness of the "Satire", and refuted the attribution to Ferdowsi of the Yisof o Zolaykd. The last article was a masterpiece of scholarship. In a detailed investigation, Sirani compared the Sah-nama and Yiisof o Zolayka from the points of view of literary style, grammatical structure and ideological perspectives; and he discovered that when the two deal with parallel contexts or conceptions, the latter uses words, idioms, thoughts and styles quite inharmonious with the Sadh-ndma but well-known from sixth/twelfth century Persian literature. He concluded, therefore, that the Yiusof o Zolaykd could not have been composed by Ferdowsi. This consequential finding had also occurred to E. Blochet™ and

76. Taqizadeh, 5-20. 71. Ibid., 21-181. 78. Ibid., 182-286. 79. See above, n. 62, and below, n. 87.

80. Op. cit., 197ff., 210, 285. 81. Ibid., 245ff.

82. Ibid., 252 and passim. 83. In Urdu and Oriental College Magazine, 1921-22. Transl. into Persian (as Cahar goftar bar Ferdowsi wa Sah-nama) by ‘Abd-al-Hayy Habibi, Kabul (1355 $./1976): "Reasons for the Composition of Ferdowsi’s Sah-ndma and its Chronology’, 1-36; "The Satire on Soltan Mahmiid", 37-110; "Ferdowsi’s religion", 111-83; "Yilsof o Zolayka-ye Ferdowsi?", 184-276. See also Simorg, 3 (1976), 14-44; 4 (1976), 20-48. Sirani’s study of the Yiisof o Zolayka was known, albeit indirectly, to M. Minavi as early as 1936, see his revised version of the article cited above in n. 62 in Simorg, 4 (1976), p. 64. 84. In his Catalogue des Manuscrits persans de la Bibliothéque nationale, II, Paris (1928), see Minavi, ibid.

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P. B. Wachha,® but had eluded Ethe, Néldeke, Browne and Taqizadeh, forcing them to accommodate the anti-Iranian and fiercely pro-Arab statements of the Yiisof o Zolayka® in their sketches of the life and works of Ferdowsi, a task which in turn led to inferences inharmonious with the character or possibilities of the great poet. Thus, Ferdowsi was supposed to have lived for years in the court of the ‘Abbasid Caliph, al-Qader, or of an Arab governor of Kiizestan, al-Mowaffaq, who were thus seen as the patrons of a composition narrating a Biblical story in Persian and by an otherwise nationalistic Persian poet.

That a second rate poetic composition as the Yusof o Zolayka was not by Ferdowsi was also evident to Forigi” and was later proved beyond doubt and on various literary, historical and ideological grounds by ‘Abd-al-‘Azim Qarib,* Mojtaba Minavi,” Dabih-Allah Safa (Z. Safa),” Sa‘id Nafisi,” and ‘Abd-al-Rasiil Kayyam-pir.” It is unfortunate, however, that due to the inaccessibility of Sirdni’s studies, their merits were not appreciated. Meanwhile, two scholarly contributions were published in Persian. The first wasa critical and annotated edition of the Older Preface of the Sah-nama by Mirza Mohammad ‘Abd-al-Wahhab Kan Qazvini,” who established that the text in question had once stood at the beginning of the prose Sah-ndma which Abi Mansiir-e ‘Abd-al-Razzaq of Tés had ordered compiled in 346/965 (on this see below 36f.). Qazvini also shed light on Ferdowsi’s precursors and the authorities who had contributed to the prose Sdh-ndma. The other study was by Mohammad-Taqi Malek-al-So‘ara’ Bahar, himself a poet of the first rank and a literary historian of deserved fame. He championed the

85. Op. cit., 106-112. 86. See esp. the verses in Minavi, op. cit 56-7, wherein the composer describes heroic sagas as baseless yarns not worthy of reading and states: "One must narrate accounts of the Prophets whose origins and roots were naught but the truth...".

87. In essays written in 1312 §./1933 and now collected by H. Yagm3i, Maqdlat-e Fonigidar bara-yeSah-namawaFerdowsi,Tehran (1351$./1972). 88. "Yilsof o Zolayka-ye mansiib be-Ferdowsi", Amiizes wa Parvarex, IX, Tehran (1318 §./1939), Nos. 10:1-16, 11:2-16, 81, and XIV (1323 §./1944), 393-400; Indo-Iranica VII (1954), Nos. 3:2-15, 4:1-13 and VIII, No. 2 (1955), 1-9. 89. See above, nn62, 83; Ferdowsi o Ser-e i, Tehran (1346 §./ 1967). 90. Hamdsa sara’i, 175.

91. "Cand sokan dar bara-ye Ferdowsi",Payam-e novin, IV/5 (1327 §./1948), 1-20 and "Le ‘Yusufet Zalikha’ attributé 4 Ferdowcy",Archiv Orientdini,XVIII (1950),351-53. 92. "Yilsofo Zolaykd-yeFerdowsi",Nasriya-yeDanexkada-yeAdabiyat-eTabriz,I (1328 §./1949),191-229.

93. "Muqaddama-ye qadim-eSah-ndma",Bist maqdla,ed. ‘A. Eqbal, Il, Tehran (1313 5./1934),1-64(hereinaftercitedas Qazvini).

STUDIES

15

nationalists’ demand, put bluntly to Riza Khan, who had just staged his coup d’etat, that Ferdowsi as the resurrector of Iran deserved a proper mausoleum; either the state would build one on his burial site or the people would do so themselves.“ This demand was unpopular in some circles who regarded Ferdowsi as an anti-Islamic, pro-Zoroastrian "story teller",® or who considered the reconstruction of Iran’s armed forces and state organizations more essential.” In order to prove Ferdowsi’s unequalled position, Bahar wrote a number of articles” in which he demonstrated the reasons for the creation of the Sah-ndma, presented a scholarly biography of Ferdowsi based on his own work,” showed the poet’s knowledge of older sources but doubted his supposed mastery of the Pahlavi language,” and explored his relationships with his patrons, of whom Mahmid was only indirectly involved.” In many respects, Bahar’s work was sound confirmation of Mohl’s ideas, but unlike Néldeke and Tagqizadeh, he did not rely on the Yiisof o Zolaykd at all.” The 1930’s saw a burst of studies on Ferdowsi and the Sah-nama, for, with the revival of nationalism in Iran due to the constitutional movement and Western-based scholarship, Ferdowsi had assumed the position of a "Founding Father", and the Sah-ndma "The Charter of Iranian Nationality and the Record of Iranian History".’ Thus, the state was now prepared to honour the poet, and in 1933/34, many countries joined Iran in celebrating the millennium of Ferdowsi, as his mausoleum in Tos was finished and a new, partially critical edition of his work was published in Tehran. Particularly the Iranians themselves contributed a good number of studies.

94. "Qabr-e Ferdowsi",Nowbahar-ehaftegi, XIII/28-29 (1301S./1922),434f.,449f.rep. in MohammadGolbon,ed.,Ferdowsi-ndma-yeMalek-al-So‘ara’ Bahar,Tehran (1345§./1966), 9-16. 95. Ferdowsi-nama, 13. 96. Ibid., 14.

97. Listed at the end of the Ferdowsi-nama, and reprinted therein.

98. "Sarh-e hal-e Ferdowsi az riiy-eSah-nama", Baktar, (Isfahan), 1/11-12 (1313 §./1934), 748-829 rep. Ferdowsi-nama, 21-80. P ‘ 99. "Kat-o zaban-e Pahlavi dar ‘asr-e Ferdowsi", Mehr, II (1314 §./1935), 81-105, rep. Ferdowsi-nama, 96-136.

100. Ferdowsi-nama, 25ff.

"

101. "I consider it improbable that the Yiisof o Zolaykd is the work of Ferdowsi", Ibid., STk

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Nationalist feelings were on the rise, and several Iranian scholars had become acquainted with Pahlavi literature.“ Even Iran’s Prime Minister, Forigi, found time to give several lectures on Ferdowsi, all containing new ideas. The Persian periodical Mehr devoted a number of omc —some learned, others rhetorical — to Ferdowsi and the Sah-ndma;'*and the papers read at Ferdowsi’s Congress in Tehran began to be collected, together with some earlier works (i.e., by Taqizadeh and Mirza Mohammad Qazvini), and to be published.” Valuable inductions were presented by Foragi, Bahar, Fatema Sayyah, and others, while David E. Smith gave a list of the principal manuscripts of the S@h-ndma then known.™ H. Massé published a detailed account of Ferdowsi and his epic, based mainly on Mohl and Néldeke,”” while Russian savants and Armenian Iranianists (notably K. Melik‘Ohanjanyan) presented two fine collections of articles on Ferdowsi and related topics,"° and Arthur Christensen and Joseph Orbely translated the Sah-nama into Danish and Russian respectively. The finest and most valuable piece of research, however, was by Fritz Wolff. A work of a lifetime, Glossar zu Firdousis Schahname™ lists every word in the great epic in its classical pronounciation and with its connotations. It is, therefore, not only a dictionary and concordance of the Sah-ndma, but also a research tool of the highest value for students of Iranian history, mythology, literature and philology.”” Of the subsequent studies, only major contributions can be listed here, as many are fairly repetitive and rhetorical.'* Dabih-Allah Safa (Z. Safa) gave what is still one of the best accounts of Ferdowsi and the Sah-ndma,'

104. E.g., S. Hedayat, R. Yasami and M.-T. Bahar.

105. See above, n. 87. 106. Vol. II, Nos. 11-12 (1313 $./1935). ye Mehr.

The collection became known as Ferdowsi-nama-

107. Ketab-ehazdra-yeFerdowsi, Tehran (1322S./ 1944). 108. "A bibliography of the principal manuscripts of and printed editions of the Shahndma in certain leading libraries of the world", Firdausi celebration 935-1935, New York (1936)l, 103ff. 109. Firdousi et l’épopée nationale, Paris (1934).

110. Ferdovsi 934-1934,Leningrad (1934);Firdusi Zolovacus, Erevan (1934); for details see bibliography. 111. Berlin (1935). 112-

The Encyclopaedia

Iranica

uses this work

as the basis

for transcribing

Iranian

names.

113. A curious example is A. Baharmast, Farmdndahi-e Koddavand-e Jang Sepahbod Ferdowsi, Tehran (1313 §./1934), wherein Ferdowsi has become a field marshal iinventing the art of war and planning many campaigns against the Tiranians and Romans! 114. Hamasa

sara’i, 171-283.

STUDIES

17

although he was not always careful in citing earlier authorities.’ His exposition of the sources, style and influences of the Sa@h-ndmais rich and full of insights. M. Mo‘iin described in detail the influence of the Mazdayasnian religion upon the Sadh-nama."® V. Minorsky provided a faithful translation of the Older Preface of the Sah-ndma enriched with valuable comments.” A. von Grunebaum evaluated Ferdowsi as a historian."* P. B. Wachha published a popular biography of Ferdowsi and a study of the Sah-ndma,'” but did not cite his own precursors. Mohammad Niri ‘Otmanoff™ and Jalal Kaleqi Motlaq (Djalal Khaleghi Motlagh) adduced valuable clues for certain questions related to Ferdowsi’s life. Meanwhile inMoscow a number of scholars led by E. E. Bertel’s prepared a critical edition of the Sah-ndma which immediately rendered previous editions obsolete,” while in 1972 M. Minavi established in Tehran a research institute called The Foundation for the Sah-nama Studies,” collected copies of all known principal manuscripts of the work,™ started a specialized journal (Simorg) devoted to Ferdowsi and the national history of Iran,’” and began the preparation of a critical edition of the Sdah-ndma.* Following his death, his work has been continued admirably by Kaleqi Motlaq,’” with the sponsorship of the eminent Iranian scholar, Ehsan Yarshater. In the last two decades, the splendid Sah-ndma of Baysongori and that prepared for Sah Tahmasp have been magnificently published, and the preparation of a more reliable 115. Particularly Bahar and Mohl.

116. Mazdayasndwa ta’tir-ean dar adabiyat-eParsi, Tehran (1326§./1947), 366-412. 117. "The Older preface to the Shah-nameh" in Studi in onore di G. Levi della Vida, Rome (1956), II, 159-79 [= Iranica, Tehran (1964), 260-73]. 118. "Firdausi’s concept of history", Mélange K6priilii, Ankara (1953), 177-93, rep. in Islam: Essays on the nature and growth of a cultural tradition (1955), 168-84. 119. See above n. 70. The work was mainly compiled in 1936.

120. "Molahezatitand raje‘ be Sarh-eahwal-eFerdowsi",Sokan,XXIV (1342$./1963), 762-70. 121. "Firdausi und seine Einstellung zu Daqiqi", ZDMG, CXXIV (1974), 73-93; "Yaki mehtari biid gardanfaraz", Majalla-ye Daneskada-ye Adabiyat-e Mashad, XM [No. 50] (1356 §./1977), 97-215, see also Ch. II, n. 50. 122. Moscow, 9 vols (1960-1971).

123. "Bonyad-e Sah-ndma-ye Ferdowsi", see its pamphlet Sokani kitah dar bara-ye Bonyad-e Sah-nama, Tehran (1351 §./1972). 124. See Fehrest-nama-ye Nemdyexgah-eSah-nama, Tehran (1354 §./1975). 125.

Of which

some

six issues

appeared

in 1976-78.

126. Of which several portions, in the form of independent Yarshater, op. cit., ix. 127.

For appreciation

and references

stories, appeared,

see

see ibid., x-xi

128. The first inTehran, reproducing the original size and miniatures, in 1355 §$./1976; the second in Cambridge, MA, in 1980, see above n. 69 for references.

18

SURVEY

OF THE

LITERATURE

edition of the Sah-ndma has been enhanced by the discovery by Angelo M. Piemontese of the oldest manuscript (containing the first half of the work) of the Sah-nama (dated 614/1217).’” Finally, the present writer was able, in the course of the study mentioned in the preface, to discover the precise day of Ferdowsi’s birth,’ and his finding has been well received by learned circles.” These studies have thrown much light on Ferdowsi’s life and work. It is now regarded as certain that he was not a peasant, never went to Soltan Mahmiid’s court, made no trip to Baghdad and did not compose a Yusof o Zolaykd, nor did he prepare a revision of the Sah-nama in Kan-Lanjan. Nor could he have met Spahbad Sahryar, who was not his contemporary. Furthermore, his "Satire" is seriously doubted and his precise religious beliefs remain a point of debate. Yet modern scholarship has left much to be desired. There are several grounds for this. Firstly, an authoritative edition of the Sah-ndma —as free from interpolations and misreadings as possible — has only recently been started." Even the valuable and fairly critical Moscow edition was not sufficient.” Secondly, the contents of the Sahndma have frequently been treated as expressions of Ferdowsi’s own concepts, beliefs and observations. Thirdly, many have been carried away by nationalistic or religious feelings and read too much in the Sah-ndma’s statements, and as a result, they have misunderstood Ferdowsi’s attitude towards the Turks, Arabs and Iranians, or his conceptions of ancient ideals and cultural and religious institutions. To these observations it may be added that a good deal of material for a more defensible biography of Ferdowsi and the assessment of his work can still be adduced from the Sah-ndma. The following study, then, is the substance of what may reasonably be claimed ‘aas known or deducible about Ferdowsi and his thoughts at this time. A claim to completeness or total accuracy is, of course, a sign of folly, but it may be asserted that thoroughness and rationality have been the aims, truthfulness and impartiality the guides.

129. See above, n. 9.

130. "The Birthdate of Firdausi", ZDMG, CXXXIV/1 (1984), 98-105. 131. Many scolars have written to express their appreciation. Furthermore, it was rendered into Persian by A. Ginili and published in the scholarly journal Ayanda, XII/1-3 (1365 §./1986), 42-47. 132. Namely, the Motlagh ed., of which the first volume has been published by the Persian Heritage Foundation: Ferdowsi, The Shahnameh, ed. by Djalal Khaleghi Motlagh, with introduction by Ehsan Yarshater, (Persian Text Series, N.S. 1), New York (1366 §./1987). The second volume is in the press. 133. Yarshater, ibid., viii-ix.

CHAPTER

BACKGROUND NAME

AND

AND

II

PRECURSORS

FAMILY

"Ferdowsi" is the adoptive name (takallos) of the poet, and is attested in the Sah-ndma itself.’ It derives from an ancient Iranian term? and means the "Paradisal". His honorific title (konya) is unanimously recorded as Abu’l-

1. F. Wolff, Glossar zu Firdosis Schahname, Berlin (1935), s. v. Poets’ adoptive names could relate to their professions (i.e., ‘Attar) or be given by their patron. Hence, a legend grew that Ferdowsi’s father was a gardener (a translation of dehgdn in its later sense) tending a garden called Ferdaws owned by a local dignitary Siri son of Mo‘tez [Mo‘ezz] by name, whence the son got his pen name, (Dawlat&ah, 55f.). But this Siri was a senior official at the court of Mas‘iid, and the tale is contradicted by the Sah-ndma, which indicates that Ferdowsi was a member of the landed nobility (Taqizadeh, 280). According to another legend (Fasih-e K’afi, Mojmal-e Fasihi, Il, 129ff.), Soltan Mahmiid complemented Ferdowsi on his poetic skill: "Well done! You have made our court a Paradise", and this gave the poet his pen-name. No one has taken this report seriously. 2. Avestan pairi.daeza and Old Persian *paridaida, "a walled park" or "royal garden", borrowed by the Greeks (xapéSetoo¢) and the Hebrews (pardes). Later Jewish texts gave it the meaning of "Heaven", whence English Paradise, German Paradies, etc., see Ch. Bartholomae, Altiraninsches Worterbuch, Strassburg (1904), 865, and W. Hinz, Altiranisches Sprachgut der Nebeniiberlieferungen Wiesbaden (1975) 179. The Arabic Ferdaws "Heaven" (borrowed from the Hebrew form) returned as Ferdows to Iran with Islam, while the original Iranian developed in New Persian into paléz "seed-field, garden". 19

20

BACKGROUND

AND

PRECURSORS

Qasem, but his personal name and that of his father are given variously.* The most reliable version is Mansiir son of Hasan, recorded by al-Bondari of Isfahan, who translated the Sah-nama into Arabic some two centuries after its final composition.’ No other forebear of Ferdowsi is known to us, and he himself makes no direct mention of his family history. The well-known fact, however, that he came from a family of dehqan, throws light on his social background, his aims, and his reasons for the monumental undertaking. During the Sasanian period, the nobility consisted of two groups: a) the magnates, viz. princely families (waspuhran) and a small number of great families (wazurgdn > bozorgan), who controlled the empire’s institutions; and b) the "nobles/titled" (adzdatan> azadan), which comprised of the state and provincial officials, the military elite (aswaran), the lords of houses" (kadag xwaddydn >kadkodayan), and the "landed nobility/landholders" (déhkandn >dehqandan). The latter was graded, even in Mas‘tidi’s time, into five divisions and distinguished by their official costumes. Although the déhkdndn were mostly ordinary landholders and farmers, many of them not only owned large estates, but were hereditary state officials responsible for administering rural areas, collecting taxes, and organizing military recruits. As such they were the backbone of the Iranian society. The Arab commanders sought the cooperation of this class with peace treaties which recognized their prominent position.° A classic example is Dénar, the dehqan of Hamadan and Rey, who refused to negotiate with Qa‘qa‘, the Arab commander approaching Hamadan, and made a pact only with his superior, Hodayfa.’ For centuries after the fall of the Sdsanians, the dehqanan remained a pillar of the Iranian community, and endeavoured to

3. Hasan ebn-e ‘Ali Tosi by Hamd-Allah Mostawfi; Hasan ebn-e Eshaq ebn-e SarafSah by Dawlat8ah; and Mansir ebn-e Fakr-al-Din Ahmad ebn-e Farrok in the Baysongori preface. Later anthologists elaborated on titles and honorifics of his ancestors. Thus, Rezagoli Kan Hedayat called him Hasan ebn-e Eshaq ebn-e Sarafsah Mohammad ebn-e Mansi ebn-e Fakr-al-Din Ahmad ebn-e Hakim Mawlana Farrok (Majma“alFosahad, ed. M. Mosaffa, II, Tehran, 1339 §/1960, 948f.). 4. Abu’l-Fath ebn-e ‘Ali al-Bondari,Al-Sdh-ndma,ed. ‘Abd al-Wahhab ‘Azzam, Cairo (1932). 5. A. Christensen, 174, 416.

L’Iran sous les Sassanides, 2nd rev. ed., Copenhagen

(1944), 112, 140,

6. Tarik-nama-ye Tabari, gardanida mansub be Bal‘ami, ed. Mohammad Rowsan, Tehran (1366$./1987), I, 430-31;515, 524,530 and passim. 7. Ibid., 515. For more information see B. Spuler, Iran in Frith-Islamischer Zeit, Wiesbaden (1952), 435f. and passim; M. Minavi, "Dehqdandn",Simorg, 1 (1973), 8-13; M. Morony, Iraq after the Muslim Conquest, Princeton (1984) index s.v. dahdgin and déhkan/déhkanan.

NAME

AND

FAMILY

A

preserve the memory of the golden days of the empire and the heroic traditions and cultural heritage of Iran. Consequently, they became the paragons of the Iranian people.* Thus, the very term dehgdn became synonymous with "Iranian"” also with "learned narrator of history and sagas"." When Abi Mansiir Mohammad son of ‘Abd-al-Razzaq, himself a famous dehqan, wished to compile a history of ancient Iran, he turned to the dehqanan:" “whatever we narrate in this book, we base on the statements of the Ce because this empire was in their hands, and they know the affairs and proceedings, whatever good or bad and whatever more or less. Therefore, we must go by what they say." The social standing of the dehqdndn of the Ghaznavid period is reflected in the large number of dignitaries and learned individuals who came from this class (a perfect example was Kaja Nezam-al-Molk Tosi). It is further evidenced by Abu’l-Fazl Bayhaqi,” who describes —as an eyewitness —the negotiations between Soltan Mas‘id and the Saljiiq chiefs. Trying to appease these powerful Turkish lords, he bestowed as fiefs Dehestan to Dawid, Nesa to Togrol, and Farava to Beygi:

8. Z. Safa, Hamé sara’i dar Iran 2nd ed., Tehran (133 §./1954), 62-63. According to a tradition reported by Bal‘ami (Tarik, 345), Mandéehr had appointed the dehqdndn lords of towns and villages and responsible for their prosperity (abddani).

9. Safa, Ibid., quoting Abi Hanifa Eskafi, a contemporary of Soltan Mas‘iid: Ma‘min,

for whom among Kings of Islam’s state,

No equal is known by any Arab or Iranian (Tazi o Dehqan). ‘Onsori called the Feast of Sada the Iranian Festival "Jain-e Dehqan" (below, 50, n. 65). And Ferdowsi himself versified (IX, 319:'°'™) a nationalistic idea that after the Arab conquest:

From the Iranians (Eran, pl. of Er.) and the Turks and the Arabs There shall rise a (mixed) race Which is neither Iranian (Dehqdn), nor Turk, nor Arab...

See further Sah-ndma, VII, 269% where Mondar seeks servants for Bahram "from among Iranians and Arabs (ze Dehqan o Tazi) and he chooses "four women of those nobles...two of them Dehqan, two Arab". Cf. also "Tarik-e Dehqan", used by the caligrapher who wrote a Sahnama manuscript for Ahmad Kan-Lanjani (see below, nn. 31, 34) in the sense of "The Iranian [Zoroastrian] Era, in contrast to the Hejri Era: Taqizadeh, 198. Also Farroki, Divan, 223, 258, 265, 277, uses Dehqan as "Iranian". Many more sources can be added. 10. Even Nezami Ganjavi opens his story of Layli o Majniin with the statement: The eloquent Iranian of Persian descent (Deqan-e fasih-e Parsi-zdd) Narrated the Arab affairs in this way. Ferdowsi, Asadi and other epic composers used the word dehqdn to indicate learned authorities for their stories. By Baysongor’s time, DaneSvar-e Dehqan ("The Learned Dehqan" had become the name of the compiler of the Koddy-ndma: Mohl, Le Livre des Rois, I, p. VII. 11. Qazvini, Bist-maqala, II, 44. 12. Tarik-e Bayhaqi, ed. ‘A. Fayaz (and ‘A. Ehsani), Tehran (1358 §./1979), 555-56.

22

BACKGROUND

AND

PRECURSORS

Letters were sent to them in the name of the Soltan, and therein the chiefs were addressed as the dehqans; and gifts of honour (kal‘at) were dispatched to them as is customary for (installing) provincial governors (walian). These consisted of: two-peaked hats, banners, dresses tailored in our fashion, horses with gold harness, gold belts, sets of uncut clothes, Turkish style, thirty for each chief. Ferdowsi came from this class, the landed nobility. That his estate was considerable is reported, as we saw, by ‘Arizi, and is echoed in the Sahnama. Although he lived mainly on his income, there still remained an orchard of his wherein he was buried. According to our best authority (‘Arizi), his birth place, Baz, was a village in the neighbourhood of Taberan (a name cognate with the ancient Tapuria and later Tabarestan), the main district of the old city of Tds in Korasan.” His honorific indicates that he had a son named Qasem — his death at an early age grieved the poet immensely. According to ‘Arizi, Ferdowsi "left behind only a daughter — a high-spirited lady...",* but there seems to be no trace of her in the poet’s work. Our sources agree that the family of Ferdowsi adhered to Islam, and there are indications that they were Shi‘ite.'° However, it must be borne in mind that their Islam was of an Iranized nature, best described as strict monotheism with a high regard for ethics and abhorrence of evil (see below,

13. On TGs and its quarters see especially V. Minorsky in Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1st ed., IV, 974-80; J. Markwart, A Catalogue of the Provincial Capitals of EranSahr, ed. G. Messina (Rome 1931), 47. On Baz to-day see Hosang Piir-Karim, "Paz, zadgah-e Ferdowsi", Honar o mardom, Tehran, No. 82 (Amordad 1348 S./August 1969), 24-31, and No. 82 (Sahrivar 1348 S./September 1969), 20-30. Dawlat&’ah states that Sadab was the name of Ferdowsi’s birthplace, while the Baysongori Preface substitutes Razin. Both are unlikely. 14. Cahar magqala, 83.

15. The traditional vita of Ferdowsi as given by ‘Ariizi and the BaysongoriPreface explainedSoltanMahmiid’smistreatmentof the poet as based on their religiousdifferences, representingthe latter as a Sunni fanaticand the former as a Shi‘itezealot. This is reflected in one of the early Shi‘itebooks in New Persian: Ketdbal-nagzfi ba‘Z-emataleb al-Navdaseb (written in 556/1158), byNaser-al-DinAbi Raiid ... al-Qazvini-e R4zi, ed., J. Armavi (Mohaddet), Tehran (1331 g./1952), 251-52. Modern Iranian scholars iiave at times exaggeratedthisoe antagonism,drawingconclusionsfromit whichappear indefensible,see e.g., M. M. Tabataba’i," ‘Aqida-ye dini-e Ferdowsi",Mehr II/6 (1313$./1934), 635-72esp. 662ff.; Ahmad ‘Ali Raja i, "Madhab-e Ferdowsi", Majalla-ye Ddanexkada-ye Adabiyat-e Tabriz,X1/(1338S./1959),105ff.;H. Yagma’i laneoduetionto Taqizadeh’sFerdowsio Sahnama-yeu, 22ff.;77f.;Z. Safa,Hamasa sara’ 185ff.;idem,Adabiyat I, 479-83,487ff.;G.-H. Yiisofi,FarrokiSagan Maghad(1341S./1962),179ff.

NAME

AND

FAMILY

23

52-9). DATE

OF

BIRTH”

No sound tradition regarding Ferdowsi’s date of birth, however approximate, has come down to us. Only dates of death were customarily recorded on Moslem tombstones and hence could be available to interested historians.” Early sources would have been able to use such evidence in the case of Ferdowsi, and, indeed, it is possible that Dawlatah, who gives 411/1021 as the date of the poet’s death obtained it from the tomb epitaph, for both he and Qazi Sii8tari, who recorded the same date, specify that they saw the tomb personally." However, Iranians had from the days of old observed their birthday with festivities (Herodotus, I. 133), and the exact birthdate of certain notable contemporaries of Ferdowsi are recorded.”

16. What follows is based on my article "The birthdate (1984), 98-105.

of Firdausi",

ZDMG, CXXXIV

17. A vast number of such precise dates can be gathered from local histories. The following instances from a book written in 378/988 (when Ferdowsi was preparing his Sahnama) illustrate the point. Mohammad ebn-e Misa "died on the evening of Wednesday, the last day of the month Dey, 8 days before the end of Rabi‘-al-aker of the year two hundred and ninety six of the Hejri Era; and he was buried in the house ... now known as his mashad..." (Hasan ebn-e Mohammad ebn-e Hasan-e Qomi, Térik-e Qom, ed. J. Tehrani, Tehran 1313 §./1934, 216). "Abii ‘Ali died in Qom on Sunday, the day of Ardibehe’t (=3rd), of the month Ardibehe&t, the third of Rabi‘-al-awwal of the year three hundred and fifteen; and he was buried in the mausoleum of Mohammad ebn-e Misa ... and Omm-e Mohammad died in the city of Qom on Thursday, the Anéran (=30th) day of the month Mordad, twenty-first day of Rabi‘-al-aker of the year three hundred and forty-three" (ibid., 218). Fatema, daughter of Mohammad ebn-e Ahmad, died on the evening of Thursday the day of Tir (=13th) of the month Bahman, 11 days into Sawwal, of the year three hundred and forty three of the Hejri Era (ibid.). "Abii ‘Abd-Allah died on Thursday the day of Dey (sic!) of the month Mehr, middle of Safar of the year three hundred and fifty-eight of the Hejri Era; and he was buried in the mausoleum of Mohammad ebn-e Misa" (ibid., 219). "Abu’l-Mohammad al-Hasan ebn-e Ahmad, died on Saturday the day of Asm4n (27th) of the month Farvardin corresponding to the 9th of Safar of the year three hundred and forty-nine (ibid., 233)". One of his sons, "Abi ‘Ali Ahmad, died on Thursday the day of Asm4n (27th) of the 10th month [also] of the month of Rabi‘-al-aker of the year three hundred and seventy-one" (ibid.). These dates are according to the Kardji calendar in which ancient Iranian names and order of days and months were used but years were counted from the Hejri Era (see Reza Abdollahy in Encyclopaedia Iranica IV/6, 1990, 669-70). The dates here quoted do not take note of the Mo‘tazedi reform, which was introduced in Qom in 373 (Qomi, ibid., 145).

18. Majdles al-Mo’menin,Tehran (1376$./1956), II, 609. See also below, n. 38. 19, "Soltn Mahmiid was born on Thursday, day of Bahram (=20th) of the month Kordad of the year 335 of Farsiya [ie., Yazdegerdi]", Abu’l-Qasem ‘Ali ebn-e Ahmad-e Balki, Serr cl-asrar, written a few years after Mahmiid’s death, cited by S. H. Taqizadeh, Ferdowsi o Sah-

24

BACKGROUND

AND

PRECURSORS

Coming from a prominent and traditional Iranian background, and himself an ardent observer of ancient festivals and customs” (see also below 28-9), Ferdowsi would have remembered his birthdate as a joyous occasion. As he often inserted references to himself in the narrative of the Sah-ndma, many of them containing chronological indications, one may expect to find a hint there about his birthday. The biographical references of the Sah-ndma were so carefully analyzed and used by J. Mohl and Th. Néldeke that since 1905, all studies on the life of Ferdowsi have drawn upon the arguments and conclusions of those two outstanding scholars without much success in presenting additional data. Any fresh discussion of the subject must likewise begin with a statement of the divergent views of those two pioneers. 1. Mohl’s dating. Ferdowsi closes his epic with an epilogue which contains references to his own life and work.” Mohl noted the following:” When the year reached seventy-one, The universe was covered with poetry.

Five and thirty years in this transient abode, Have I endeavoured to earn a treasure. As they gave my travail to the blast,

My five and thirty bore no fruit. Now that the age has approached eighty, My expectations have become futile. The story of Yazdegerd is now drawn to a close, At this Ard [25th] day of Sepandarmad [12th month], From the Hejra five times eighty have passed, When I composed this magnificent history. Taking the first verse literally, Mohl concluded that in 400/1010, Ferdowsi was 71, that is, he must have been born in 329/939-40. The other statement that the poet has "approached 80", was interpreted by Mohl as a poetical exaggeration introduced to harmonize with the verse containing "five times eighty". He supported this inference on the following grounds. Firstly, in his

nama-ye u, 100. ‘Azod-al-Dawla celebrated his birthday with great festivities: Moam alOdaba’ V1, 258; and Kasa’i says that he was born on Wednesday, 3 days before the end of Sawwal of the year three hundred and forty-one: Safa, Adabiyat, 1, 6th ed. (Tehran 1363 §,/1984, 442). 20. Sah-nama Ill, 168, 202, 249-50; V, 6f.; VI 216f.; VII, 192, 206, 213, 240, 261; VIII, 52. 109, 315; IX, 311. 21. Ibid., IX, 381°". These verses are taken over by the "Satire". 22. Le Livre des Rois 1, Paris (1838), XXIIf.

DATE

OF

BIRTH

25

prologue to the story of Yazdegerd I, Ferdowsi specifies that he is now sixtythree years old,” and follows the remark by a warm praise for the "King of Kings",* by whom he means Soltan Mahmid of Gazna. Now, had Ferdowsi been born in (400 - 80 =) 320, his 63rd year would have corresponded to 383/1002, while Mahmiid ascended the throne only in 3871/9978 Secondly, when relating the wars of Kay Kosrow and Afrasiab; Ferdowsi states: At the time when the year was eight” and fifty —Young was I then, and this youthfulness is passed — [A voice resounding throughout the world I heard, Which matured my thoughts and made me trouble-free; "O men of fame and fearless warriors! Who was he who sought the glorious Fréd6n?] The sagacious

Frédon has returned

The

Fate

earth

and

have

hailed

him

to life, as lord;

With justice and generosity he conquered this world, And has surpassed the kings of kings". It is clear that Ferdowsi composed these verses to commemorate the accession of Soltan Mahmid. Again, this proves that in 387/997 the poet was 58, from which is follows that he was born in (387 - 58 =) 329/939-40.

2. Néldeke’s dating. Two indications induced Noldeke to abandon Mohl’s dating in favour of a lower one.* Firstly, the epilogue to the Sah-ndama gives several references to Ferdowsi’s life: in one he is 71, in another "nearly eighty", and yet a third verse has:”

When my age surpassed sixty-five, 23. Sah-nama 24. Ibid., VII,

VII, 263”. 2637.

25. See Mohammad Nazim, Sultan Mahmud, Cambridge (1931), 38ff.; Spuler, ran in FriihIslamischer Zeit, 108f. 26. Sah-nama V, 237". The Moscow edition considers interpolations, and transfers them to a footnote.

the second and third verses as

27. This was the usual reading; one manuscript (Cairo C40, dated 1394) of a normally reliable nature has here haftdd o panj (seventy-five), but this is assuredly unfounded; the oldest British Museum manuscript followed by the Moscow edition has panjah o haft (fifty-seven), which makes no real difference in our calculation, for 57 complete years and 58th year are two ways of saying the same thing. 28. "Das iranische Nationalepos", in W. Geiger and E. Kuhn eds., Grundriss der iranischen Philologie, Strassburg (1894-1904), II, 151f. 29. Sah-nama

IX, 381°”.

26

BACKGROUND AND PRECURSORS It increased my fear of pain and hardship.

Néldeke took the reference to 65 and "nearly 80" literally, but interpreted them as indicating two different editions of the Sah-nama. Since Ferdowsi was approaching 80 when he finished the master copy of his work on 25th Sepandarmad (5 x 80 =) 400,” his birth must have occurred shortly after (400 - 80 =) 320/931-2. Secondly, an old copy of the Sah-nama in the British Museum (OR 1403) and some other manuscripts add a second epilogue to Ferdowsi’s work starting with the following verses:” When

this great story finished

— All the words

of mighty

rulers

—

It was one Tuesday, early in the evening, Five times five days having passed from the month Which the Arabs call Moharram by name To honour If the

count

It is nine

it as the

month

of abstinence;

of year

is also

needed,

years

and

eighty

upon

three

hundred.

Bringing the two indications together, Ndldeke concluded that there were two editions of the Sah-ndma: a final version finished in 400/1010 and dedicated to Mahmiid, and an earlier one finished in Ferdowsi’s sixty-fifth year and presented to anoble from Kan-Lanjan (near Isfahan), Ahmad ebn-e Mohammad ebn-e Abi Bakr by name, on Tuesday 25th Muharram 389. "Accordingly, if he was 65 years old at the beginning of 389, he would have counted himself 76 or 77 in the middle of 400. Therefore, his date of birth may be calculated as 323 or 324".”

30. This corresponds to 8th March 1010, and not, as Néldeke reckoned, to 25th April 1010.

31. This epilogue contains 32 lines composed bya caligrapher with little understanding of epical poetry. It tells the story of the dedication by him of a Sah-ndma manuscript to a noble from Kan-Lanjan (near Isfahan) on Tuesday, 25th Moharram 684, and of the reward he received, including the tutorship of the paymaster’s son; it finishes with an adventure experienced by the copyist: while residing at Kan-Lanjan, he happened to fall into the Zayande Rid, but his pupil took hold of his hair and dragged him out. From this an elaborate chapter in Ferdowsi’s biography was reconstructed and long believed. First M.-‘A. Foriigi recognized the impossibility of attributing this epilogue to Ferdowsi (see below, n. 34), because its style is "shabby" (band-e tonbdani) and its theme unethical at times; besides, the date is 684 and not 384, as read by Ch. Scheffer, who had added these 32 lines to his edition of the Safar-nadma by Naser-e Kosrow, Paris (1881), 310, and by Taqizadeh, who re-published them in his work (see n. 33), 198-200, 201. 32. Néldeke:

op. cit., 151.

DATE

OF

BIRTH

27

3. Further studies. Noldeke’s deduction was supported by S. H. Taqizadeh, who published it for the Persians,’ and this influenced the Iranian government to accept 324 as the official birthdate of Ferdowsi and engrave it on the tombstone prepared for a newly built mausoleum in Tés; in 1313 S./ 1934, Ferdowsi’s millennium was celebrated in Iran and in many other countries.

However, it soon became evident that the dedicator of a copy of the Sahndma to a certain Ahmad K4n-Lanjani was not Ferdowsi himself but merely a caligrapher who had been employed by Ahmad Kan-Lanjani and who had copied a manuscript for his employer and finished it on Tuesday, 25th Moharram 689/1288; the Arabic alphabet had caused a curious error: the date written out without dos *% 2 > 5 s had appeared as As, 4 oly 9 4 = (389) instead of 4 » Ly »ES (689)™ At the same time, M.-T. Bahar followed the path of Mohl and adduced reasons for placing the birth of Ferdowsi in 330-31/942; he published his results in the very year that the poet’s millennium was being celebrated and his mausoleum being constructed.” Gradually, the date originally inferred by Mohl appeared in literature as the most accepted interpretation.” 4. The exact date of Ferdowsi’s birth. Indeed, Mohl’s dating is the only defensible interpretation, because it correlates two dates of which one, the accession of Mahmiid in 387, is known, so the other one, Ferdowsi’s fiftyeighth year at Mahmiid’s accession, is easy to calculate with certainty. Also, the last indications of Ferdowsi’s age in the Sah-nadma are 76 and "nearly 80";” and since he died in 411 or (less likely) 416,” his birth could not be

33. Kaveh, II, 10 (3 Oct. 1921), pp. 9-14, 11 (2 Nov. 1921), 7-12 (now available in Yagma’i’s ed. of Ferdowsi o Sah-nama-ye i, 183ff.)._

34. The first to discover this was M.-‘A. Foriigi (in a lecture delivered in 1312 S./early 1934, and now republished in H Yagma’i ed., Maqalat-e Fonigi, Tehran, 1351 §./1972, 27f., 139f.). The point was later argued congently again by M. Minavi, "Ketdb-e hazdra-ye Ferdowsi wa botlan-e entesab-e Yilsof o Zolayka be-Ferdowsi", Rizgdr-e No, V/3 (1322 §./1944), 16-36. See also Z. Safa Hamdsa sara’i dar Iran. 2nd ed. Tehran 1333 §./ 1954, 176, mst;

35. "Ferdowsi",Baktar, 1 (Isfahan 1312-13§./1934), 781ff.

:

36. See among others: Safa, op. cit., 172-3, and M. N. ‘Otmanoff: "Molahezati Eand raje* be Sarh-e ahwal-e Ferdowsi", Sokan XXIV (1342 §./1973), 762ff. 37. Néldeke,

op. cit., for references.

38. Dawlatsah-e Samargandi: Tadkerat al-§o‘ard, ed. E. G. Browne, Leiden 1900, 54: "Firdausi’s demise occurred in the months of four hundred and eleven (1021) and his tomb is in Tos, by the grave of the ‘Abbasiya: and it is a well-known shrine and pilgrims visit it to ask for boons”. Ja‘far ebn-e Mohammad ebn-e Hasan: Tarik-e Jafari, in Farhang-e Iran-

28

BACKGROUND

placed

earlier

than

AND

PRECURSORS

329.

There is yet another, hitherto unnoticed, indication which proves Mohl’s view. When relating the early Sasanian history, Ferdowsi thrice specifies that he is sixty-three years of age. Firstly, in the prologue to the reign of Bahram Li Bring forth, ORizbeh,” the ruby-coloured wine! Because the age of the composer has reached sixty-three. Secondly, in the epilogue to the story of Sapir Il, which comes some 800 verses after the former reference:

Because Adina (Friday) falls on Hormazd (1st day) of Bahman (11th month), Fortunate” will this work [composition of the Sah-ndma] become Bring forth, From

that

OHaSemi® the ruby-coloured wine,

jar which

decrease

may

it never

see!

As my age has reached sixty-three and my ears have become What use for me to seek adornment and glory from greed!

deaf,

Thirdly, the reference (already cited by Mohl) before the reign of Yazdegerd Ife O thou sixty-three year-old man! How long are you discoursing on wine? The single

closeness year,

and

of these the

passages

second

proves

passage

that affords

they were a

composed

remarkable

within

a

indication:

zamin, VI (1337 §./1958), 149, gives the date of the death of Firdausi as 416. biographers follow the former or the latter tradition at random.

Other

39. Sah-nama, VII, 213°. 40. Apparently the name of a page or wine-boy, whose title may have been HaSemi "the HaSemite", see below, n. 43.

41. Sah-nama, VII, 256°". 42. In my article mentioned above (n. 16), 103. n. 25, I have misinterpreted this verse, taking farrok as a name referring to a specific festival and then identifying it with the Korra Riiz or Korram. 43. Probably the surname of a page or wine-boy whose given name may have been Rizbeh. Perhaps he was so called because he was a Sayyed.

DATE

OF

BIRTH

29

Hormazd-e Bahman (=1st Bahman) coincided with Adina (Friday) in the period which we are seeking only in 371 Yazdegerdi, corresponding to 14th January 1003. Since this year coincided with Ferdowsi’s sixty-third year, it follows that the poet was born in (371 - 63 =) 308 Yazdegerdi (= 939/40), just as Mohl had inferred. It is now possible to take a major step further and obtain the day of Ferdowsi’s birth. The first of the three passages referring to the poet’s sixtythird year gains especial importance when we note that it alludes to Ferdowsi’s birthday, although the date is omitted: Bring forth, ORizbeh, the ruby-coloured wine, Because (ke) the age of the composer reached (sod) sixty-three. Just before this reference to the arrival of his sixty-third year, Ferdowsi tells himself to take a break from work and celebrate with wine, and he gives the exact date of this moment as Sab-e (eve of)“ Hormazd-e Dey (1st day of the 10th month): The eve of Hormazd-e Lay aside composition,

Dey has come, take up the wine.

This statement precedes the one referring to Ferdowsi’s birthday by only 77 verses. Now, between the first of Dey and the first of Bahman, Ferdowsi composed some 810 verses,” which gives an average of 27 verses per day. Hence, it is fair to infer that the reference to the birthday was composed B) days after the eve of Hormazd-e Dey. The eve of Hormazd-e Dey was in fact 30th Adar, which in this particular year (371 Yazdegerdi) corresponded to Tuesday, 15th December 1002. So, 3 days later, on 3rd of Dey (18th December), Ferdowsi celebrated his sixty-third birthday. That he should so exactly recall it was natural enough, for until recently, we Iranians used to record children’s names on the first or last page of an important family book (a Qor’an, a Sah-ndma, a Hafez, etc.), carefully registering the day and date of the bearer’s birth opposite each name; and this always served as a reference document. It may safely be assumed that Ferdowsi’s father, who was a man of means and social status, did the same when he begot our poet.

44, By Sab of a certain day, we Iranians mean that day which precedes it, exactly as the Germans say Sonnabend and mean Saturday.

45. Sah-nama, VII, 206”. 46. Ibid., VIL, 206% till 256°”.

30

BACKGROUND

AND

PRECURSORS

It must be remembered that being a dehqdn, Ferdowsi naturally used the Karaji calendar, which was instituted in the late Sdsanian or early Islamic days in order to harmonize the harvest season within fixed dates. The system used Hejri years but Iranian months and day-names.” In this calendar, each year had 12 months of 30 days each plus 5 “extra days" at the end of a certain month. So every year was shorter by 6 hours than the solar year. It follows, therefore, that what Ferdowsi reckoned as sixty-two complete years of 365 days each, was in reality 16 days shorter than 62 solar years. This means that we must place Ferdowsi’s birth on 3rd Dey (371 - 63 =) 308 Yazdegerdi, corresponding to Friday, 3rd January (=18th December + 16) 940. BACKGROUND

In order to appreciate Ferdowsi’s personality, goals and achievements, his historical and cultural background must be examined. His birth-place, Tos, was an ancient district* of the vast province of Korasan, the homeland of the Parthians (who were represented as the paladins of ancient Iran in the traditional history) and the cradle of the classical New Persian (Dari) language and literature. Towards the end of the Sasanian empire, Tos, Nasa, Abivard and Nigapir evidently formed a province which was ruled bya local dynast bearing the hereditary title Kandrang. In c. 32/652, the Kanarang of Tos hastened to make a pact with the Arab invader of Korasan, ‘Abd-Allah ebn-e ‘Amer, agreeing to pay a tribute of 600,000 derams. The region of Tos remained in the hand of the Kanarangians for over a century, but gradually many Arabs, especially from the Bani Tamin and T4a’i,settled there, and in c. 70/690, the former group occupied the citadel of the city. The Ta’is sided with the ‘Abbasids, and Qahtaba-ye T2’i, a lieutenant of Abi Moslem, won a decisive victory over the Omayyad governor of Korasan, Nasr ebn-e Sayyar, 47. See the instances quoted above, n. 17. There is no evidence for the Mo‘tazedi reform in Ferdowsi’s milieu. Indeed, the statement that "Friday is the 1st of Bahman" confirms the use of the unreformed Kardji system.

48. One tradition attributed the building of the city to Jam8éd while another maintained that Tés, son of Nédar, received the district as his hereditary fief from Kay Kosrow and rebuilt the town of Tos. "Susia, a city of Areia [dehkoda "village lord"; etc. 81. Néldeke, op. cit., 12ff. ‘A. Eqbal, Yadegar, II/10 (1325 §./ 1947), 20, points out that in Sa‘di’s famous verses, "That they have said in the Sadh-ndma-s.... (in-ke dar Sah-nadma-ha avarda-and....)", the term is generic; see also above n. 78. 82. Th. Noldeke Geschichte der Perser und Araber zur Zeit der Sasaniden, Leiden (1879), XIVff.; Yarshater, op. cit., 368ff. 83. Néldeke, Jbid, XXVIff.; A. Christensen, L’/ran sous les Sassanides, 2nd ed.,

Copenhagen (1944), S9ff. 84. Details in Taqizadeh, Ferdowsi o Sah-nama-ye u, 142ff.; Safa, Hamdsa Saraa@’i, 75-109, 161ff. 85. Safa, Ibid., 161-63.

36

BACKGROUND

AND

PRECURSORS

the first king, GayOmart® and ending with Yazdegerd Ii.” A generation later, Abi ‘Ali Balki wrote a longer Sah-nama® based on earlier authorities, such as Ebn al-Moqaffa‘ and Mohammad ebn-e Jahm alBarmaki.” In this he evidently emphasized the ecclesiastical versions of the stories.” A third and more detailed chronicle, called The Greater Sah-nama (Sah-ndma-ye bozorg), was compiled by Abu’l-Mo’ayyad Balki, which focused on heroic tales.” Finally, Abi Mansir Mohammad son of ‘Abd-al-Razzaq, a patriotic Iranian from Todswho claimed descent from the ancient House of Gédarz (i.e., the Karen), and who aspired to kingship and quarrelled with the Samanids,” ordered the compilation of a complete Book of Kings which became known as the Sah-ndma-ye Abi Mansuri. This ambitious notable was a Shi‘ite,” yet he chose a number of Zoroastrian scholars” from ancient houses* — namely, Mak, son of Korasan from Herat; Yazdandad, son of Sapir, from Sistan; _Mahoy Koréd, son of Bahram, from Bisapir; and Sadan, son of Borzin, from Tés — to compile the Sah-ndma, and they accomplished the task in 346/958, and published it with an introduction on the aims and background of the patron, the sources of the book, the reasons for its copia and the merits it was expected to bestow upon the reader.” Older manuscripts of the Sah-ndma of Ferdowsi have preserved this "Preface", while the Abi Mansiri text has, unfortunately, perished.”

86. Motahhar ebn-e Taher al-Moqaddasi (Maqdesi), A/-Bad’ wa al-Tarik, ed. C. Huart, Ill, Paris (1903),138. Siaelbid

sli:

88. Taqizadeh, op. cit. 155ff.; Safa, op. cit., 98-9. 89. Biriini, The Chronology of Ancient Nations, 107E. 90. Noéldeke, Geschichte der Perser, p. XXV.

91. Taqizadeh, op. cit., 146ff.; Safa, op. cit., 95ff.; G. Lazard, "Abu’l Mu‘ayyad Balki", in Yad-nama-ye Jan Rypka, Prague (1967), 95-101. 92. See above 32, where a brief sketch of the career of this influential

figure was given.

93. See above, n. 54. 94. Noldeke, Das iranische Nationalepos, 16.

95. Qazvini,24;Minorsky,Iranica,266. See alsobelow,69. 96. Bisapir of Fars. T. Macan emended it to Ni84piir, and others followed him (cf. Néldeke, ibid.); but Taqizadeh, Ferdowsi o Sah-nadma-yeil, 167 n. 1, recognized that the father of this "Mahdy son of Bahram" is the same as Bahram son of Mardangah, the Mébad of Sapir (Bisapiir) of Fars, who according to Hamza compiled a history of the Sasanian empire from over twenty recensions of the X“addy-namag.

97. Qazvini, 25ff.;Minorsky, 265ff. 98. Ferdowsi’s drawing upon the Sah-ndma of Abii Mansi makes it possible to gain some idea of its scope and character. Thus, it appears to have been influenced by a fatalistic philosophy ultimately based on a Zurvanite predestinatinism, which contrasted sharply with Zoroaster’s doctrine of free will. When narrating the death of mighty kings or brave knights or the occurrence of unfavourable events following happy ones, the book paused to warn the

PRECURSORS

&/

Since, however, it constituted the main source for Ferdowsi, it is illuminating to give two quotations from the "Preface". The first, summarizing its contents, is as follows.” They called this collection the Sah-ndma, so that men of knowledge may look into it and find in it all about the culture/wisdom (farhang) of kings, noblemen and sages, the royal arrangements, their nature and behaviour, good institutions, justice and judicial norms, decisions and administration, the military organization, the art of war, storming expeditions and punitive campaigns and taking the enemy by surprise as well as their match-making and ways of respecting honour. The

second

passage

describes

the

aims

and

merits

of the

book:'”

The reading of this book (brings) the knowledge of the works of the kings and the rewards given to groups of people for accomplishing the affairs of this world. This book offers utility to everyone, it is a recreation for the world, comfort to the afflicted and medicine to the weary. And this history and affairs (ndma wa kar) of the kings is read for two reasons: the one is because when they learn the actions, the conduct and the ceremonial of the kings, they will be able to get on with anyone in administration; the other is that the book contains stories both pleasant to (their) ears and suitable to (their) strivings, for therein are found good and clever matters, such as the rewards for good deeds and retribution for bad acts, animadversion and mildness, rudeness and gentleness, daring and restraint, engagement and extrication, advice and admonition, wrath and contentment, and the wonder of the affairs of this world. And people will learn and find all

reader

not to attach too much love to this world, which was only a transient

i

abode, not to |

expect lasting happiness and not to be misguided by desires and material possessions. It was | useless, it urged, to struggle with Fate, which had pre-assigned a role, a place and a time to every individual. This line of thinking became fashionable in the late Sasanian period as a result of foreign, especially Indian, influence upon the Iranian society, and was strengthened when the powerful Persian Empire fell and Zoroastrianism was forced out by Islam (Christensen, L’Iran sous les Sassanides, 2nd ed., Copenhagen, 1944, 436f.). This pessimistic philosophy came with other material to Ferdowsi, and despite his own preference of the doctrine of free will (see below 54ff.) the poet could not always escape that fatalism which, consequently, left strong traces in his Sah-nama, as we shall see later. 99. From Minorsky, 270 with slight changes introduced for consistency or contextual requirement. 100. Ibid., 272, see the preceding

note.

38

BACKGROUND

AND

PRECURSORS

these which we stated in this book. Now we proceed with the narration of the affairs of the kings and their history from the very beginning...[here two digressions follow, one dealing with the geographical background of Iranian history, and the other mentioning sources used]. And whatever we narrate in this book, we base on the statements of the dehqdndn, because this empire was in their hands and they know the affairs and proceedings, whatever good or bad and whatever more or less. Therefore we must go by what they say. Consequently, whatever we obtained from them we collected from their written works. The Sah-ndma of Abii Mansir immediately received acceptance and admiration among nationalist Iranians’ and rivaled the History of Tabari in fame and respectability. The young poet Daqiqi, who was born or became a Zoroastrian, intended to versify it, and began, appropriately, with "the Revelation of ZardoSt", but he was murdered when only a thousand verses had been composed.“ The completion of the task became Ferdowsi’s main aim.

101. Taqizadeh,

158ff. See also below, 69-70.

102. According to Ebn al-Atir [Beirut ed., IX, 371-72] (see Taqizadeh, 157; ‘Abbas Eqbal, Yadegar, 11/1, Tehran 1325 §$./1946, 20), Soltan Mahmiid of Gazna having defeated Majd-alDawla Daylami asked him whether or not he had read the Sah-ndma, the history of Iranians, or Tabari’sAnnals, the history of Moslems? The prince replied that he had. Egqbalpoints out that this almost certainly referred to the Sah-ndma of Abi Mansiri, as that of Ferdowsi could not have so soon become so well known in the north of Iran. 103. See in detail A. Sh. Shahbazi, "Iranian notes 1-6", in Acta Iranica 24 (= Papers in Honour of Professor Mary Boyce), Leiden (1985), 505-510. 104. Safa, Hamdsa sara’i, 164.

CHAPTER

FORMATIVE EDUCATION

AND

III

PERIOD

PERSONALITY

Ferdowsi’s early years are completely obscure’. The son of a well-to-do squire, he no doubt received the high education and strenuous physical training which the sons of Iranian nobility were traditionally expected to undergo. That his special branch of learning concerned Persian literature and Iranian history and sagas is evident from his creation of a masterly specimen of history recast in poetical form.’ Despite a frequent claim,’ Ferdowsi did

1. Ferdowsi’s life and career are associated with fabulous incidents which are often related of great and revered men. Of these, the most interesting concerns his birth. His father, it is said, had a vision that his newly-born son climbed upon a rooftop and uttered loud cries towards the four corners, and every time a strong voice answered him back. An interpreter, Najm-al-Din by name, explained the vision as portending the child’s future achievements and fame: "Your son will be a genius, a poet whose name will be known to the four quarters of the world and whose songs learnt and revered everywhere”, see Adar-e Bigdeli, Ataskada-ye Adar, ed. H. Sadat-e Naseri, Tehran (1337 §./1957), Il, 476. 2. See particularly IX, 211°" (= The Shahnama of Firdausi, English tr. Arthur George Warner and Edmond Warner, Vol. VIII, London (1924), 383. This invaluable work will hereinafter be cited as Warner): Thus said a wise aged dehqan: "To know is that which giveth men most aid; The tale of grief and joy he needs must tell, Taste all the bitter and salt as well Be

40

FORMATIVE

PERIOD

not learn the Pahlavi language and script,’ and while there are passages or lines in the Sah-ndma which seemingly translate Pahlavi materials,” it is certain that they are not direct borrowing but quoted from Persian sources based on Pahlavi originals.’ Also, there is no reason for believing that

For youths though knowing and of noble birth Can only by experience compass worth". For Iranian traditional education see A. Christensen, L’Jran sous les Sassanides, 2nd ed., Copenhagen (1944), 416ff.; ‘Onsor-al- Ma‘ali Kay-Kaviis ebn-e Eskandar ebn-e Qabiis, Qabiisnama, ed. G.-H.Yisofi, Tehran (1345 §./1967). Ferdowsi’s imitations of the subjects treated by Ridaki, Sunes -e Balki, and Abi Sakiir--e Balki show that these were his favourite poets (Taqizadeh, 281-82; Safa, Hamdsa sara’i, 278). On Ferdowsi’s high opinion of Riidaki see Sah-nama, VIII, 255:2 Ferdowsi’s acquaintance with the Persian version of Tabari’s Commentary on the Qor’an (see below, n. 9 and Ch. IV, n. 13), and the poems of Hanzala of Badagis (below Ch. VI, n. 63) can be established from his own verses. 3. Still entertained by some scholars, e.g., G. Lazard, “"Pahlavi/Pahlavani dans le Sahnameh", Studia Iranica, 1 (1972), 25ff. and Ahmad ‘Ali Raja’i in Majalla-ye Danexkada-ye Adabiyat-e Mashad, 11/4 (1346 $./1967), 256 with n. 9. 4. Ferdowsi leaves no doubt that he used the Sah-ndma of Abii Mansiir-e ‘Abd-alRazzaq as his source but he still calls it a Pahlavi book (daftar-e Pahlavi) and refers to himself as a poet skilled in composing Pahlavi poems (sokan goftan-e Pahlavani-t hast): Sah-nama, I, 23:78. (=Motlagh ed., I, 14:'*“*). Hence, he uses Pahlavi inthe sense of epic and epical. Burthoraore some of ike Pahlavi texts used by the co-authors of his original source are still extant (Kar-ndmag i Artaxsér, Ayatikar i Vuzurgmihr, etc.), and when Ferdowsi’s wording is compared with corresponding statements in those texts, it seems that he or his Persian source misunderstood some Pahlavi terms. Thus the expression mard i xwéskar "dutiful, willful" in the Ayatikar i Vuzurgmihr (§102) is taken in the matching passage in the Sah-nama from the wrong but popular etymology of kis "plough" and kar "doer", and translated as "ploughman". Similarly, the Pahlavi words payman manisni "moderation" in §17 is rendered as bartar mane¥ “high minded", while xwrsand "content" is inaccurately translated as "happy" (see M.-T. Bahar, Mehr, Il, 1313 $./1934, 491ff.( =Ferdowsi-nama-ye Malek-al-So’ara’Bahar, ed. M. Golbon, Tehran, 1345 §./1966, 112-14). Again, the term Sardy-e derang "House of Eternity" is invariably rendered by Ferdowsi in the sense of "Transient world". On the other hand his popular etymologies (e.g., Rostam from be-rastam) imply that he did not know their Pahlavi original while the few words which Ferdowsi seems to have translated from Pahlavi (e.g., bévar, Arvand, etc.), needed no special knowledge of Pahlavi; any educated Iranian would have known them. 5. A good example is given by R. C. Zaekner, Zurvan: A Zoroastrian dilemma, Oxford (1955), 241. 6. Noldeke, Das iran. Nationalepos, 6f.; see also below, 69. One instance of Ferdowsi’s reliance on a Persian source is established by the fact that in erroneously attributing the Arabic translation of Kalila wa Dimna to the time of Ma’miin (Sah-ndma, VIII, 255:2%), he merely follows the wording of the Sah-nama of Abi Mansi (see the Older Preface, Qazvini, 22).

EDUCATION

AND

PERSONALITY

41

Ferdowsi knew Arabic.’ Some rare lines or ideas in his work which correspond to Qor’anic verses or Mohammadan traditional sayings,’ were transmitted to him through Persian sources.’ On the whole, Ferdowsi’s acquaintance with that foreign language seems to have been limited to an understanding of certain prayers and some catchwords. Ferdowsi

expresses

his

own

attitude

towards

learning

in no

uncertain

terms:

Thy source of might is knowledge; Thus old hearts grow young again.” Cease not from learning for a moment’s spell, And let not knowledge cause thy heart to err. When thou shalt say: "My lust for wisdom I Have satisfied and learned all needful lore". Fate playeth off some pretty trickery, And putteth thee to discipline once more.” In the prelude to the story of Kay Kosrow, one of the ideal kings of ancient Iran, Ferdowsi describes his own image of the ideal man, attributing

7. Contra Taqizadeh, 258, and others, whose assumptions were based on the false attribution of the Yusof-o Zolaykd to Ferdowsi and on a piece which contained the following statement: "I have toiled much, and read vastly from Arabic and Pahlavadni compositions". It is now known that the piece was by Mohammad ‘Abdah, a contemporary of Ferdowsi and an accomplished dabér. See Z. Safa, Tarik-e Adabiyat dar Iran, 1, 6th ed., Tehran (1363 §./1984), 440-41. The Sah-ndma does not show any trace of special acquaintance with Arabic language and Islamic sciences, and Ferdowsi was not a courtier nor associated with religious personalities that would require him to know Arabic. He came from the class of dehqan, which did not particularly favour alien tongue and culture: see Dj. Khaleghi Motlagh, Simorg, 4 (1976), 107. 8. Thus, "Him who Thou bringest down who can restore?" recalls the Qor’an, Al-e ‘Omran 26; "God created things from nought" is similar to ibid., Baqara, 112; "O Scientist who are gifted with high intelligence! Do not hide yourself under the cover of avarice!" is parallel to ibid., Nahal, 113. Likewise, "In all your doings exercise moderation!" or "haste and evil are Ahriman’s deeds", may seem to have come from Arabic proverbs of similar meanings. But all such statements are ancient ethical sayings and not restricted to a single nation. 9. "When God willeth, he uttereth: ‘Be!’ and it will be", the Qor’an, ‘Omrdn 47. This Biblical notion is translated in the Persian version of Tabari’s Commentary as "tin k’ahad K’oday, giiyad: ‘be-bas!’ be-baSad", (ed. H. Yagma’i, I, 215). The exact wording reappears in a statement of Ferdowsi in praise of God: "Cogilyad: ‘be-bas!’ an-Ceh k’ahad bod-ast" (Sah-ndma, VIII, 112:'°). The parallelism cannot be coincidental. 10. Sah-nama, I, 13:"* 11. Ibid., VIII, 146:°°°" (=Warner, VII, 318).

42

FORMATIVE

PERIOD

to him four values —honar, nazad, gohar and kerad:””

Accomplishment (honar) thou wilt not fail to find With high birth (nazad) and with native worth (gohar) combined, Such are the three, and all in one content, For

save

in company

with

native

worth

How can ever be accomplishment, And, lacking that, what scion of high birth (nazdda) Hast thou beheld? High birth the father’s seed Produceth, which may well fair fruitage breed. Accomplishment thou learnest painfully From While

others native

at the cost of many a groan, worth is greatest of the three

—

A robe of honour given by God alone (kal’at-e Kerdagar). To these be wisdom (kerad) added, that which will Discriminate for thee ‘twixt good and ill. When

any man

possesseth

all the

four

He hath repose from travail, greed, and grief... From his enthusiasm and skill in describing the schooling of various heroes of the Sah-nama (particularly Siavu’ and Bahram-e Gor), it may confidently be inferred that he did not neglect physical training: When nearing sixty, he laments over the time when he was a rosy-cheeked young man with thick black hair, proud of his horsemaship and occupation with other outdoor sport, enjoying a comfortable life and a skill for composing Persian poetry:” When threescore years hang swordlike o’er Give him not wine, for he is drunk instead

with them!

one’s

head

Years gave me a staff for the reins,

My wealth is squandered and my fortune sped. The watchman (i.e., eyes) stationed on the mountain peak

12. Ibid., IV, 8f. (= Warner III,16). 13. Ibid., I. 168-69: 2571 ff. (= Warner, II, 336-37, with corrections). Ferdowsi makes several references to his physical qualities when he was young: sharp eyes, fleet feet, rosy cheeks and happy and free heart, see e.g., the following note. Note also his words at sixty-five (V, 237: and n. 4,) cf. Warner IV, 143): I leaned upon a staff, my hands refused The rein, my tulip red cheeks grew straw-like pale And the musk-hue (hair) turned camphor-like white Mine upright stature bent as age came on, And

all the lustre

of mine

eyes was gone.

EDUCATION

AND

PERSONALITY

43

cannot descry the army of the King And

hath

not wit to turn

Lances came Running feet

away

unless

so near as to confront too that were so fleet

the lashes of yore

of eyes.

Bend and are bound by pitiless threescore; The ears are aweary of his (i.e., age’s) song And

one

are

nightingale’s

role

and

lion’s

roar...

Ah! for my swordlike Persian (tég-e borranda-ye Parsi) when I was thirty The musk(-coloured hair), the rose(-like cheeks), and the pearl(-like teeth)...

Ferdowsi was a tall figure“ with a lively and optimistic nature when he

14. At sixty he mourns the earlier happy days addressing his "Cypress" (own figure), he asks (VIII, 52: 376ff. = Warner, VII, 220): "O lofty Cypress, thou that ravishest The heart! oh! wherefore art thou thus opprest? With pleasure, Grace, and luxury anear Why is thine ardent heart fulfilled with fear?" Said to the questioner the Cypress-tree: "I was in joy ere age o’ermastered me. I yield me to the puissance of three-score, Forbear then and contend therewith no more, For it had dragon’s breath and lion’s claw, And whomsoe’er it flingeth it will gnaw. It hath the might of wolf, and thunder-breath, In one hand care and in the other death. It maketh stoop the Cypress that subdued All hearts, it maketh jasmine amber-hued; It giveth saffron’s tint to cercis-bloom, And, after saffron’s tint, a toilful doom. The runner’s foot is found though fetterless, The precious body turned to wretchedness; The lustrous pearls begin to fail with me, And stoopeth too the noble cypress-tree; My melancholy eyes bewail and run Through their debility and travail done; My blithe, glad heart is full of pain, and thus These days of mine have grown ungenerous. Or ever man is weaned his death is nigh, And people cail him old! The sovereignty Of Noséravran was forty years and eight; To look for youth at sixty is too late For thee...

44

FORMATIVE

PERIOD

started the composition of this Sah-ndma.’* He lived much in a way that his Sasanian ancestors had lived: in his domain, with prosperity and joy which he found in reading books, listening to music and songs, partaking in festivities and wine-drinking.’ One of the earliest and best pieces of his work, the story of BéZan and Manéze, starts with a description of a dark night and a meaningful scene in the poet’s life:”” Amid the woes Of that long vigil strait at heart I rose. I had one in the house, a loving wight, To whom I called and bade to bring a light. Descending to the garden presently My darling Idol came and said to me: "What need for light? Will sleep not visit thee?" I said: "Mine Idol! I am not at one With slumber. Bring a candle like the sun, Set it in front of me, then spread the board, Take up the harp, and let the wine be poured". My darling Idol fetched me lamps a-shine, Fetched quinces, oranges, pomegranates, wine, And one bright goblet fit for king of kings, "Come forth", she said, "and prepare a feast", -

15. As is evidenced by the preceding note and by Ferdowsi’s own observations when he opens major stories, particularly BEZan and Manéze (V. Off.) and the Twelve Paladins (rok-s) (V. 86f.). The following statement sums up Ferdowsi’s disposition (VII, 192: =Warner, VI, DON): Come bear we all a hand good to fulfil, And

treat

not this unstable

Oh well is he who taketh

world cups

for ill.

of wine

To toast the Shahs - those men of Faith divine For, as his cup of wine is slowly drained,

He droppeth off with ecstasy attained. 16. Cf. especially the preludes to the major stories and the opening of the account of Hormazd’s accession (VIII, 315). On discourses cf. I, 16:° (=Motlagh ed., I, 7:°); IV, 301, 310: See also the preludes to the story of Kosrow Parvéz and his musicians. Once Ferdowsi sums up his appreciation of music and songs: The sounds of harp and songs filled the plain; Bidding welcome, you would have said, to souls of men (V, 19:!). On the feasting and wine drinking in the Sah-ndma see the masterly study of F. Rosenberg, "On wine and feasts in the Iranian National Epic", English tr. by L. Bogdanov in The Journal of the Cama Oriental Institute, XTX (1933), 13ff. 17. Sah-ndma V, 7f. (=Warner, III, 287f. with some alterations and additions.)

EDUCATION

AND

PERSONALITY

45

Let thy soul be free from pains and worries. As the world is transient,

and the life not long,

Why should the wise give in to sorrows"? Then plied at whiles the wine, at whiles the strings. "Harut performed enchantment", thou hadst said; My fear grew victor over drearihead, And it seemed day with me in dark night’s stead. "O Moon-face"!

said I to that

Cypress-stem,

"Recite to me in this night a moving tale, That inspireth And

maketh

Hear

what

the heart with grace and warmth, the

Sphere

my loving

wonder

comrade

at its charm". said

to me,

What time the goblet had joined company. "Quaff thou thy wine while from this volume’s I will read

out

to thee

a tale

store

of yore

The theme is love, spell, war, and stratagem, All worthy

that

a sage

"Bring forth, beauteous Recite

the

tale,

Then she replied:

make

should

list to them".

Idol", said I, "the record of ancient time, me love

thee

more..."

"When you hear this tale,

From the heroic chronicle (daftar-e Pahlavi, i.e., a Persian history), cast it in verse”. Ferdowsi’s personality is well reflected in his work in the passages which concerns his own affairs: courteous,” kindhearted,” truthful,” openhanded,” warm,” and faithful.” He loved life and all that brought happiness for man.” He despised prejudice,” ignorance,” and greed.” In

18. Ibid., Il, 7:8, 2032”; IV, 24:%. Ferdowsi avoided offensive words and obscene descriptions while lavishly appreciating cultural and ethical factors. 19. See above, n. 55. Further, Sah-nama, Il, 45:*°, 125:°"; V, 86:°; VII, 453:? and many more instances. D> Tidy WV14)", 86: 11,109".

eel

gh,3407's34122“4 VI, 256°>: 1X,310: ete,

22, bid. VAG 200,319 .. TI, 153°"; VOL111: 23. Ibid. passim especially V, 359:""” 24. Ibid., Ill, 168:2"", 20227", 249.; V, 7£; VI, 19:, 216: VI, 192: and

other

VIII, 109:

instances.

25. Ibid., Ul, 249:°"*” and passim. 26. Ibid., Ul, 174:*; I, 6:", 128:°"; Iv, 248:%, 302:°"; VII, 146:°* instances. 27. Ibid., 11,160:7, 174:, 224:™8,232:"5, V, 86: etc.

and many more

46

FORMATIVE

PERIOD

particular, he was averse to homosexuality,” which was then not uncommon among various groups, particularly poets and politicians.” His profound appreciation of beauty, especially natural beauty, combined with his astonishing imagination made him an artist whose descriptions of the scenes are as colourful, as lively and as absorbing as a great work of the master painters of the Realism School.” His passionate love for Iran and the Iranian heritage pervades the Sahnama. One evidence of this fervent patriotism is the use of such terms as Azddagan_ "the Nobles" as a synonym for Iranians,” and Azdd-bum "Noble Land™, Abad-biim "Prosperous land",® and Sdhr-e Daliran "Empire of the Valiants™ as synonyms for Iran. Ferdowsi idealized Iranian heroes, glorified their ways of life,* and defended their traditions” with the zeal and conviction of a resurrector of the perished empire.” It was this love which made him share, in the face of the Islamic theory that "All Moslems are equal regardless of their rank and race",* the old Iranian belief that racial nobility combined with intelligence, proper family up-bringing and correct education are needed to produce an honourable and wise individual.” Again, it was

28. He calls it "detestable habit (kdy-e bad)": I, 22:'4"

29. Noldeke, 20; G.-H Yisofi, Farroki Sistani, MaShad (1341 S./1962), 450ff. with references. 30. The best study on Ferdowsi as an artist is by Safi‘i Kadkani, "Sowar-e kial dar Se‘r-e Ferdowsi, Sokan, XIX (1349 §./1970), 1156-172. Amongst many other specialized treatments of various aspects of the poet’s artistic talents we may mention P. Horn’s fine article on the descriptions of the sunrise in the Sah-ndma in Orientalische Studien: Festsch. Theodor Néldeke, Gieszen (1906), II, 1039-1054. 31. See Wolff, Glossar, 11b. 32. Ibid. IX, 63:°°. Cf. V, 149:"”: "Free land and home of Fortunate race (bar-o biim-e azad-e farrok nazad)". 33. Sah-nama,

IV, 240:**’; VI, 356:%; VII, 227:

, 228:'8 e

34.Ibid.,V,51:";VI, 126" For"Daliran" meaning ae ed.,I,210: 5). Ill,34:m, 35. 36. 37. 38. 39.

seealsoI, 182:°(Motlagh

Ibid., III, 249f; TV,202", V, 8:, 321:; VIII, 62:7, 95: 311: etc Ibid., I, 34:2 (cf. Motlagh ed., I, 30, n. 12 1.”), 79:!%;VI, 323:2%,186:°, 192:5° Ibid., VII, 178:%, 454:2" The Qor’an, al-Hajarat, 13. See particularly IV, 8f:'“. (Warner, III, 16): When

in the garth

a cypress

sendeth

off

A shoot, whose green top mounteth palace-high, The tree rejoiceth in the height thereof, Its prudent carriage, and prosperity, Three

aspects

of the matter

must it view,

And presently a fourth will come in sight:

EDUCATION

AND

PERSONALITY

47

due to his patriotism that he passionately condemned the enemies of ancient Iranian heroes” and used scathing language about the Tiranians“¢ (whom he, following his sources, identified with the Hyaona > Koy6n*[ =Chionites, Huns] and the Turks“) and Arabs,“ who appear in the Sdah-ndma as Accomplishment (honar) thou wilt not fail to find With high birth (nazdd) and with native worth (gohar) combined... To these be wisdom (kerad) added, that which will Discriminate for thee ‘twixt good and ill. When any man possesseth all the four

He hath repose from travail, greed, and grief... 40. See especially: V, 340:'™ where Ferdowsi himself curses the murderer of Siavué; III, 192:“" where the poet adds a personal comment: "Because the King [Sidvus] disappeared from the field and throne, may not the sun rise again! may not cypresses remain!"; IX, 368: where Ferdowsi asks: "How can this act [Yazdegerd’s murder] of Firmament be justified?"; IX, 380: where he utters: "Curse be unto him [Mahdy Siri the murderer of Yazdegerd] and may he perish who does not accompany his name with curses, as he deserves". In his description of the Arabs, their land and customs, Ferdowsi’s bitterness and sarcasm came out clearly, cf. Th. N6ldeke, Das iranische Natioinepos, 2nd rev. ed., Leipzig (1920), 36, 37. 41. The oldest Avestan tradition (Yast XIII, 143-4) divided the Iranians into five nations: the Airya, Tiirya, Sairima, Sainu and Daha. Pahlavi traditions made the first three the sons of King Frédon, who bestowed on each a portion of the world: the north and west went to Sairima>Sarm>Salm, who thus became the ancestor of the Greeks and Romans; *Tiirata>Tit>Tir received the east (=Central Asia) which thus became Tiiran; and the youngest, *Airyaéta>Eréé>Traj, got the Centre and thus became the eponymous founder of Airyanam>Eran>Iran. The two older brothers murdered Iraj thereby starting a long series of feuds which caused great devestations and bloodshed throughout the ancient world. The mightest kings of the Tiiranians, Afrasiab and Arjasp, remained symbols of evil rule in the Iranian traditional history. See in detail A-Christensen, Etudes sur le zoroastrisme de la Perse antiques, Copenhagen (1928), 15 ff. 42. The Hyaona were a group of "Tiranians" who were identified in Pahlavi traditions with the Hunic nomads (Hoyin-s) who settled in eastern Iran in the fourth century. Arjasp was their celebrated king. See J. Marquart, ErdnSahr, Berlin (1901), 50. See also below, 115. 43. The Turks were an Ural-Altaic people who appeared in Central Asia in the sixth century, joined Kosrow An6séravan in defeating the Hunic Hephthalites, but replacing the latter, they became the rivals of the Sasanians. They fought the Arab invaders of Transoxiana, which came to be known as Turkestan, gradually converted to Islam and rose to military eminence under the Abbasids and Iranian dynastics such as the Buyids and Samanids, see W. Barthold, "Turks", Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1st ed., IV, 900-908 with literature. Iranian traditions identified the Turks as the descendants of Tir, and used Turks and Tiranians as well Turkestan and Tiran as synonyms. See Marquart, op.cit., 155-57; V. Minorsky, "Taran", Encyclopaedia of Isam, 1st ed., IV, 878 ff. 44. On the attitude of the Sah-nama towards the Tiranians/Turks see esp. IV, 214 ff. and passim. Note particularly the way in which Rostam rebukes the wisest and most respected Tiranian leader, Péran-e Vésa (IV, 240:°?!= Warner, III, 218-19 with correction):

Why hast thou so much guile and subterfuge? Why wilt thou walk upon a precipice?

48

FORMATIVE

PERIOD

villainous enemies of culture and partisans of Ahriman.

It is remarkable

that

while the Sah-ndma calls the Romans "white",“ and describes some Europeans as "strong, rosy-cheeked, golden-haired and soldierly", it specifies the Arabs as black” and depicts their domination of Iran as the darkest period of its history.“ Similarly, while the Sah-nama refers to Iranians as "free men/nobles" (Azddagan),” it retains such derogatory a term used in its sources of the Turks as "household servant" (banda).” Grieved by the supremacy of the Arabs and the Turks over Iran,” Ferdowsi blames Kosrow Parvéz for the fall of the Iranian empire”, and sets himself the task of

The King of earth [= Kay Kosrow] hath spoken much to me In public and in priviate of thy lies... "I prithee leave", I said, "this black bad land [=Tiran/Turkestan] (Kak-e bidad o sum) And come and settle in the Prosperous land (Abdd-biim =Iran ) But going around naked or wearing leopard-skin. Thou esteemeth sweeter than varigate brocade..." Note also how the Iranians rebelling against Hormazd IV, whose mother was a Turkish princess, belittle his descent (VIII, 416:'™): Enough talk about this Turk-born Hormazd May

that

race

in the world

never

be!

(sokan bas kon az Hormaz-e Torkzdd, ke andar zamana mabdd an nazad). : For the Tiiranian Koyons see Sah-ndma VI, 138ff. For the Arabs see IX, 311ff. Rostam-e Farrokzad calls the religion of the invading Arabs "Ahrimanian Faith (Kés-e Ahrimani)" in IX, 315:°%and their domination "the Day of Evil (Riz-e Ahrimani): in IX, 321:"" Rostam’s "letter" was also at the disposal of Ferdowsi contemporary historian, Ta‘alebi, who ignored it and depicted the Arab invasion as a divine deliverance of Iran. 45. V, 12:1

46. Ibid., VII, 79:'°*** They lived to the west of the Roman empire. 47. Ibid., IX, 347: "the raven-like (zdgsdar)"Arab leader who appeared as a "jackdaw (zag-e pésa)" led his raven-like men (IX, 341:*°) against the Empire of Iran; these do not refer to the black garment or banner of the ‘Abbasids, as is commonly held, but they describe the racial colour of the Arabs, as Néldeke (Das iranische Nationalepos, 37) noted, for IX, 318: ° is decisive: "their eyes are red as blood and their faces black as pitch (be dida co kiin o be rok haméo qar)". One recalls the description of the ‘Abbasid prince Ebrahim ebn-e Mahdi: "He was a Negro, blackest of blacks, with a large body", Ebn al-Nadim, Fihrist, tr. B. Dodge, New York (1970), I, 253. Cf. also VIII, 333:°° where the Arabs are described as so ugly that their very sight troubles one’s eyes. 48.

In accordance

with

Zoroastrian

view.

49. Wolff, Glossar, 11b.

50. Sah-nama., I, 161:°";VI, 178:2°,179:, 194: ete. S1. See above, n. 47. It is generally held that, had Ferdowsi disagreed with the words of Rostam and Yazdegerd, he would have found it most advisable to omit this last chapter of his Sah-nama, or recast it in the modified way that Ta‘alibi and Bal‘ami did.

52. Sah-ndma, IX, 238°!

EDUCATION

AND

PERSONALITY

49

preserving the memory of its golden days and transmitting it to the new generation so that they could learn and try to build a better world.” FERDOWSIS

RELIGION

Ferdowsi’s religious beliefs have been much discussed, often on the mistaken assumption that whatever is attested in the Sah-ndma is to be interpreted as the poet’s own conceptions. This is regrettable, particularly because later copyists have at times changed or amplified references in the Sah-ndma which they considered inadequate.“ Earlier studies were also marred by the false attribution of the Yisof-o Zolaykd, a tale with strong Sunni tendencies, to Ferdowsi.© Modern Iranian scholarship was further affected by the presumption that Ferdowsi represented a nationalist Iranian party devoutly adhering to Shi‘ism which opposed the rule of the fanatic Sunni Mahmiid, son of a Turkish soldier risen from slavery to royalty.“ On the other hand, Ferdowsi has been regarded as partisan of Zoroastrianism or even a Zurvanite fatalist. One is thus obliged to examine the data anew. 1. His attitude towards Zoroastriansim. Even in his own time, Ferdowsi was regarded as a partisan of Zoroastriansim who had spent his life in

Smid ee OS

AGE Std

V3258 240 VI, 642", 3229" 3237s VIL 178 TK 2104 = 930. 2357"

45a

VIL

54. A perfect example is the supplementing of the praise of Mohammad and his progeny by three verses (by a Sunni poet) in honour of Abi Bakr, ‘Omar and ‘Otm4n. Despite an early date (Bondari accepted this interpolation and H Mahmid Kan Sirai used it as the basis of his argument that Ferdowsi was a Sunni, see above 13), the forgery is betrayed by the fact that it interrupts a statement attributed to Mohammad, see Noldeke, 39. Another interpolation (this time by a Shi‘ite) is found in Ferdowsi’s laments over his old age which end with: "In the other world, the lord of the sharp sword and crown (keh bd teg -e tiz ast o bd afsar ast) will mediate for me" III, 169:*°. The verse is not attested in all Mss, and some have changed the second part to "the and of Du’l-faqar (=‘Ali) and the pulpit will mediate for me"; and they have added three more verses (all taken from the false Satire) which make Ferdawst a fanatic Shi‘ite. Again, Ferdowsi says one must endeavour to take the fruit of his good deeds (niki) with him to the other world (II, 170:®), but copyists replaced Islam for niki. A Shi‘ite passage at the end of Arda¥ér’s reign (VI, 193:“") is added by a copyist who ignored the fact that it stands at the head of a praise for the Sunni king, Mahmiid; Bondari rightly omitted it. The extent of interpolation goes so far that Ferdowsi is made to ask praises for Bahram-e Gor from the soul of Mohammad (VII, 339:”). More instances can be cited. . 7 wt

55. Néldeke, Joc. cit.; Taqizadeh, 253ff; M. M. Tabataba’i, "‘Aqida-ye dini-e Ferdowsi",Mehr, II/6, Tehran (1313$./1934), 635-72,esp. 662ff. 56. A good exampleof this school isAnmad ‘Ali Raja’i,"Madhab-e Ferdowsi",Majallaye Daneskada-ye-Adabiyat-eTabriz,X1/1 (1338§./1959), 105ff.

50

FORMATIVE

PERIOD

praising ancient Iranian infidels (gabrakan) and accordingly did not deserve burial among Moslems.” It was said that some unkind souls incited Soltan Mahmid to disregard the Sah-ndma and force the Zoroastrians of his realm to convert to Islam or be annihilated; fortunately, their learned mdbad-s succeeded in convincing him that they were monotheists and loyal subjects of the King of Iran and that they had received assurance of Satety from Amir-alMo’menin ‘Ali. Thereupon the Soltn left them in peace.* Such a view of Ferdowsi’s attitude was —and still is —due to a cursory reading of the Sah-ndma which abounds with favourable references to the ancient Iranian religion, scripture and tradition” while protesting against Arab customs and grieving over the Arab conquest®, which his contemporaries presented as a God-sent deliverance from decadent unbelievers.” One is Surprised to see Ferdowsi admiring the tradition of banquetting with wine”,which Islam forbids®, or celebrating No Riz, Sada and Mehrgan, which fis fellow citizen, Gazal“ and some of Mahmid’s court poets condemned as "Customs of Zoroastrians."* Even more surprising is the fact that when his son died, Ferdowsi prayed for his soul’s bliss only with these words:®

57. See above, 3, 4, 5-6, 7.

58. See "Kayfiyat-e qessa-ye Soltan Mahmiid-e Gaznavi", ed. Frédéric Notices de littérature Parsie, St. Petersburg (1909), 23-36.

59, Sah-nariia, 2482) 3592, 1365:vaiSlt NL,141-140 302: 359.7369.77#2402" Mee VIL,1329™; 2494. VIL,41-8254 5 112:%, 335: ix 3,4;402-406 6421011 104;:%, 136:233,

Rosenberg,

gn? So 106."ati ases

60. Cf. Néldeke, 37.

61. E.g., the works of Bal‘ami, Asadi, and Ta‘alibi, all very near to Ferdowsi, chronologicallyand geographicaly,and all using very similar materials. 62. See especially Rosenberg in the Journal of the Cama Oriental Institute, X1X (1931), 13ff. 63. The Qor’an, al-Bagara 219; al-Ma’eda 90. 64. See below, 119-20.

65. Thus ‘Onsori in Soltan Mahmiid’s praise on the occasion of the Sada Feast: Sire! I intended to offer you my felicitations, On the Iranian feast (be-jasn-e dehqdn dén) held in the month of Bahman; I saw that the rites that you uphold are stronger In glory than the traditions of Kosrow and Bahram, For you are the man of Faith [= Islam] and Sada is a custom of Zoroastrian (Gabran) You do not deem it right to follow Zoroastrian’s (Gabrakan) rites. The world greets you on your own traditions. So I will not greet you according to the ways of Persian kings (Kayan).

See Divan, ed. Y. Qarib, Tehran, (1323§./1944), 123f.

66, ‘Saiename 1x39

FERDOWSI’S

RELIGION

Si

May the All-Possessor keep your spirit ever in brightness (ravdn-e to Daranda rowsan kondad)! May Wisdom forever be the shield that guards your soul (kerad péi-e jdan-e to jawsan kondad)! To explain this in Moslem terms seems speculative, but when one turns to the Andarz of Anoséravan, versified in the Sah-ndma itself, one sees that Wisdom (kerad) is described as the armour against the weapons of the demons, and is the source of light for the heart of the learned.”

Similarly remarkable in a Moslem environment® are certain ideas or terminologies of Ferdowsi. The Sah-ndma shared the old Iranian concept that fire was an element holier than earth,” a notion which the Moslems opposed.” When relating Alexander’s alleged pilgrimage to the Ka‘ba, the text ventured to contest the idea that the true "House of God" was to be found in Mecca, saying that God has no need for a special house,” yet it described the purpose of pilgrimages to the great fire temples simply as "praying before the Creator"” and protested against the notion that Zoroastrians were "fire-worshippers":"W738

67. Ibid., VII,

197:“°*

68. It is worth remembering that the Shi‘ites were strong in T6s, where Emam Reza was buried, and that the father of one of the founders of the Shi‘ite religious codes, Sayk-e Tdsi, was a contemporary of Ferdowsi and preached in his hometown.

69. Sah-nama, I, 14:°* 70. According to the Qor’an (I‘raf: 11), the Evil was created of the fire while Adam, who was worthy of adoration, was made of clay. The Moslem view was staunchly defended by Ferdowsi’s fellow citizen, Asadi, see M. Mo‘in, Mazdayasnd wa ta‘tir-e dn dar adabiyat-e Parsi, Tehran (1324 §./1946), 409-410.

71. Sah-nama, VU, 41:°: The

Lord

of the

world

For a house, a feast Note that this protest was not Callisthenes Alexander Romance, survived (see Iskandar-nama, ed.

has no need

hall, a reposing chamber or a bedroom. in Ferdowsi’s source, the Persian version of the Pseudoof which a recension belonging to the XII-XIII centuries has I. Afgar, Tehran, 1314 §./1964, 102f.). :

72. Sah-nama, V, 365:7°™. Kay Kaviis and Kay Kosrow made a pilgrimage to the Adar Gognasp Fire Temple: They remained there for a week, praying before God (be yak hafta dar pés-e Yazdan bodand) Now, do not consider them Fire Worshippers (ma-pendar ka-ata§-parastan bodand) At that period, the fire served merely as their cynosure (ke datas be-dangah mehrab biid)....

73. Sah-nama, I, 35:°*

yd

FORMATIVE Our

ancestors

(nid)

adhered

PERIOD

to ancient

traditions

Worshipping God was their established Faith, As Arabs keep the [Black] Stone in their worshipping place (Co mar Tazian rd-st mehrab sang), So did then

our sires

burn

the graceful

fire

in theirs.

Again, the Sah-ndma allowed its heroes to use "God’s Religion" (Dén-e Yazdan)" and "the Good Faith" (Dén-e Behi)” as synonyms of Zoroastrianism, and elaborately defended the ancient Iranian religion,” while it dared to let Rostam-e Farrokzad call Islam "the Evil Religion" (Kés-e Ahrimani),” described Islamic conceptions in derogatory manner,” and termed the Arab period "the Day of Evil" (Riz-e Ahrimani).” All these indications may lead one to doubt Ferdowsi’s strict adherence to Islam.” However, none of these arguments is decisive. The anti-Arab sentiment evident in the Sah-ndma originated from his sources, particularly the prose Sah-nama of Abi Mansir which was compiled by Zoroastrian scholars. The pro-Zoroastrian statements are similiarly based, and the tendency to glorify ancient Iran and Iranian heroes was not confined to him alone; it was in vogue among the So‘iibites, including Abii Mansiir-e ‘Abd-al-Razz4q and his relatives and collaborators. The lack of Islamic fervour in the Sah-ndma was due to the nature of its contents which dealt with ancient Iranian history; and as a dehqdn steeped in the composition of such a book, Ferdowsi was concerned more with accurately transmitting the philosophy of his sources than with presenting his own religious beliefs. When the need arose, however, he did convey his personal views, and on those occasions his expressions are not those of a Zoroastrian. Indeed, Ferdowsi is at times quite unflattering towards ancient Iranian religion, customs and heroes —again an indication of his loyalty to his sources." Finally, by describing Soltan Mahmid as the "Guardian of the Faith",” he clearly indicated that for him "the faith" was Islam.

74; Abid. VVISQT 2872 osVIN 2482 13527 STR i133 ee,5d es 75. Ibid., 1X, 373° and Wolff, Glossar, 160a. 76. For detailed discussion and references see Mo‘in, op. cit., 371ff.

77. Sah-nama IX 315:*. 78. Ibid., 318ff.; 322f. Cf. Sa‘d’s letter: IS Abid 321

324-26.

80. Ndéldeke, op. cit., 36-39; Taqizadeh, Ferdowsi o Sah-ndma-ye u, 253-56. 81. See esp. the statements of Sa’d-e Waqqias: Sah-ndma 1X.324 n.8, and many parlays of Tiranian paladins with their Iranian protagonists. See also VII, 437:7°°

82. Ibid., V,237:*.

FERDOWSI’S

RELIGION

53

Of course Ferdowsi conceded —as did many writers —that the Avesta and its Zand were revealed to Zoroaster,® and he also contrasted the righteous religious man (déni) to the follower of Ahriman (Ahrimani),” but even his knowledge of Zoroastrianism itself remains to be proved. In the Sah-ndma, the pre-Zoroastrian kings could read the Avesta in their fire-temples and the murderer of Dara (Darius III) could be a mdbad;* conversely, even the royal patron of Zoroaster could be an unprincipled and evil-minded king while Alexander could be a revered and rightful Persian prince with profound Moslem beliefs which took him on a pilgrimage to Mecca.” No Zoroastrian could have transmitted such ideas, and despite the accusation made early against him, he was not fanatically pro-Zoroastrian, let alone a Zoroastrian convert! 2. Was he a Zurvanite fatalist? The Sah-nama reveals a strong current of the Zurvanite fatalism which basically revolves around three concepts: Raz, Zaman, (or one of its many synonyms) and Az.” Now, the ancient term Raz signifies "the realm of mystery" and refers to all events which are predestined and inherent in the world and time and which occur in their turn regardless of any effort to prevent them. This mysterious world is inaccessible to man, and its gate will not be opened to him. Death is a portion of this mystery, allotted to everyone to come at a preordained moment, and as such, is incontestable and unavoidable, and hence must be regarded as fair. This world of mystery is controlled by a powerful and all-knowing force (once explicitly described as a man) called Zaman or Zamdna "Time", that is, the old god Zurvan, who rules the universe and hence bears the title Firmament (Sepehr) and through whose motion (gardes) a predetermined share (bahr/bahra) and destiny (bakt) are allotted to each person. Zaman has two contrasting natures: good and evil. He deceives man into believing that he has found a mighty and trustworthy friend who bestows good position and beautiful property as well as glory and power upon him; but suddenly He crushes him and showers upon him misery, poverty, unhappiness and weakness, and finally sends him to the unknown and frightful realm of death. In doing so, He is seeking neither friendship nor vengeance; He is simply Sse bids

Nl, 2b

84. Ibid., VI, 338:7”; VIII, 97:’”; cf. IV, 310:'° 85. Ibid., VI, 399:* with G. E. Grunebaum, cultural tradition (1955), 181, n. 6.

Islam:

Essays on the nature and growth of a

86. Sah-nama, VII, 41. 87. An excellent treatment of the subject is by H. Ringgern, Fatalism in Persian epics, Wiesbaden (1952). This study makes detailed references here unnecessary.

54

FORMATIVE

PERIOD

following His natural tendencies. His realm, which for Him is the "House of Eternity" (Sardy-e derang) is for man only a "Station House" or "Temporary Abode" (Sardy-e ndpaydadr), the "Transient World" (Sardy-e sepanj), and of course, the "House of Deception" (Saray-e farib), and the "Unfriendly World" (Saray-e dorost). As the Lord of Time and the Firmament, Zamdn rules over several agents: the Seven Turners (haft-gard) who control the weeks; the "Twelves", i.e., the signs of the Zodiac, who control the twelve months; and Concupiscence (Az), a demonic power personifying lust, desire and greed, which renders the mightiest hero so blind that he cannot recognize his own son from his foe. Through his agents, Zamdn rules the world, and gives shares and sends death. His decrees are incontestable: when His message comes, the bravest of the brave becomes powerless; the wisest of the wise turns blind; and all skills change to disadvantages. And since His double nature governs the allotment of preassigned shares irrespective of the good or evil deeds of man, the lots turn out to be astonishingly unfair and bewilderingly unproportioned. Not only is the final lot, death, unavoidable, but also each period of ease and happiness is certain to precede a longer stage of unhappiness. Hence, one must not put too much love and trust in this world lest one face misery and disappointment. One has only to look upon all those heroes, kings, sages and beautiful heroines of the ancient time to be convinced of the unenduring nature of happiness and the helplessness of man against his inevitable misery and destruction. This gloomy picture manifesting itself throughout the Sah-ndma has naturally led to the conclusion that "even a casual reading of the Sah-ndma makes it plain that Ferdowsi’s religion is Zurvanite fatalism at its most depressing and pessimistic level".* This has been seen as a triumph of Zurvanite fatalism over its rival, the Zoroastrian doctrine of Free Will, brought about mainly by the coming of Islam and the downfall of the Iranian empire.” However, a more engaging study of the Sah-ndma proves that the fatalism pervading the events recorded by Ferdowsi was due not to him but to his sources. Firstly, in anumber of instances, Ferdowsi specifies that he is citing an older authority. Thus, the Zurvanite ideas at the end of the story of Kosrow Parvéz come from "a wise man" (Keradmand)” and those at the end of the history of the Sasanian empire stem from the forged “Letter of

88. R. C. Zaehner, Zurvan, A Zoroastrian Dilemma, Oxford (1955), 241.

89. Ibid. See also idem, The Dawn and Twilightof Zoroastrianism, London (1961), 206f. 90. Sdah-nama, IX, 284:47

FERDOWSI’S

RELIGION

a5

Rostam-e Farrokzad"." Similarly, Sidvu’’ acceptance of the decree of Zaman originates from "a very wise learned" man” (who must have drawn upon the Ménok i Xrat”) while the inevitability of death and its arrival at unforeseen moments and places are quoted from a certain Qobad™ (also evidently based on the Ménok i Xrat).* Again, the manifestly fatalistic epilogue to the story of Sohrab and Rostam is taken from Bahram,” who must be identified with Bahram-e Mardangah, the Zoroastrian high priest of Sapir in Fars, and the author of the History of the Sdsdnian Kings, whose son, Mahdy, was one of the co-authors of Ferdowsi’s main source, the Sah-nama of Abi Mansiir.” Secondly, some passages of the Soeiaaa with strong Zurvanite tendencies are clearly traceable to older works. Thus, the description of Zam4@nin the story of Zal and Riidabe” or the interpretation of Fate in the account of Bizarjomehr®” already existed in Ferdowsi’s sources. Similarly, the influence of the seven planets and the twelve signs of the Zodiac is also found in the older Sasdnian literature,’” as are likewise the helplessness of man before Time and the strange playings of the Firmament.” Again, this "Transient Station" into which man entres as a traveller and finds temporary happiness or sadness can be traced to Vuzurgmihr/Bizarjomehr.” Thirdly, despite some hesitation,’ Ferdowsi decidedly turned away from some "philosopher’s" skeptical views on the creation and the Creator,™ and definitely opted for belief in an omnipotent and omniscient God and for the concept of Free Will. He complained of the Sky and of Fate:"®

And thus to me high heaven made reply: "O thou that art not wronged and yet dost cry!

91. Above, 48, n. 51.

92. Sah-nama, Ill, 144:”"* 93. Ménok i Xrat, XXI, 1-6; XXII, 4ff.

94. Sah-nama, Il, 16f:'°" 95. Ménok i Xrat, I, 110f. For another parallelism:

Zaehner,

Zurvan 241.

96. Sah-nama, Il, 249-50: 97. Above, 36.

98. Sah-nama, I, 219:'", 223:'%"" with Zaehner, op. cit., 444-46. 99. Sah-nama, VII, 121:138 100. Ibid., 1, 15:“",with Ménok i Xrat, VII, 13, 14. 101. Zaehner, The ‘Dawn and Twilight of Zoroastrianism, 206. 102. Pand namag i Vuzurgmihr, with Christensen, L’Jran sous les Sassanides, 435. 103. Sah-nama, V, 23:°* which well compares with Matikan i Hazar Datestan XXIII, 4ff.; cf. II, 26-77"; V, 416:06

104. eThid TN 2020s

TVs201

105. Ibid., VII, 112:

(=Warner,

VI, 190). See also II, 152:°°""

56

FORMATIVE

PERIOD

Why lookest thou to me for good and ill? Do such complaints as thine become the sage? In everything thou betterest me still, And

canst

the famine

of thy soul

assuage

With knowledge. Food, sleep, choice of home are thine; To good and ill ’tis thine to seek the path; All that thou chargest is no fault of mine, For neither sun nor moon such knowledge hath. Ask Him that made them to be Guide to thee, Made day and night, religion, law, who saith: "Be!" and all is as He would have it be. A fool

is he that

knoweth

other

In His creation

I am but a thrall,

A servant

Him

unto

who

Faith.

fashioned

me;

To do His bidding is mine all in all;

I never swerve from His authority. Turn then to God, to Him for succour fly, Imploring no unconscionable boon, And

own

that

none

Save He that kindled

is master

of the

sky

Venus, Sun, and Moon.

According to the passages which convey his personal views, Ferdowsi accepted that Fate was preordained,™ but he rationalized it by attributing all powers and decisions to God the Omnipotent and Omniscient.’” He granted that Az had demonic power,’ but he stressed that this evil can be broken when one arms oneself with "truth" (rasti),” "skill" (honar),"” "happiness" (Sddi),"" "good behavior" (nikié),"” "courage" (bolandi jostan)'” and above all, with the “fear of God" (Koadd tarsi)“ and "wisdom" (kerad).'"° For Ferdowsi, "truth" and "wisdom" were the best assets

106. Ibid., I, 214:°";

IV, 64f. etc.

107. Ibid., I, 12f TMI,202f.; TV, 115£. V,:2942">. VIM, 112-7"

108. Ibid., II, 169:, 224:™;IV, 86:1, V, 86-7. 109. Ibid., V, 87:'°; VIII, 16:'%and passim. 110. Ibid., VII, 261:

111. Ibid., II, 168:7°"",202:°""; VI, 19:'7; VIII, 109:°°"; IX, 230:3, 368:7°8t: 112. Ibid., VI, 338:™,342:°°; VII, 10225192: VIII, 153f; IX, 237:38° 113. Ibid., V, 86:7

114. Ibid., IM, 202:

VII, 284°:

VIII, 109:

115. Tbid., 1, 13f.; V, 86:"°; VI, 19:'°°°”, On the background

of the concept of Kerad as the

world of goodness opposing Az as the symbol of evil see ibid., VIII 196f., and Zaehner, op. cit., 290-91.

FERDOWSI’S

RELIGION

a7

and the keys to salvation."* He emphasized that in moments of defeat and decline, hope must be retained, because old fallen trees grow anew if their roots are preserved.'’ This is one reason why he wanted to preserve the memory of Iran’s glorious past —that someday it might rise again."* It was as if his love for Iran was part of his religion and governed his way of thinking.’” Thus, an examination conclusions.

of the available

evidence

leads to the following

1. Ferdowsi followed his sources faithfully. Some Arab, even anti-Islamic (e.g., the "Letter of Rostam-e were pro-Zoroastrian; some also anti-Iranian. When sources, the statements of the Sah-ndma cannot Ferdowsi’s own beliefs.

of these were antiFarrokzad"), some he is reflecting his be interpreted as

2. Nowhere does Ferdowsi personally use a derogatory word about Islam, and when he describes his own ideas, he has the highest respect for its founder and his family. In the light of this fact, the Islamic names in his house (Hasan, Manstir, Qasem) become testimonies of his faith.

3. The evidence of the Sah-ndma is in harmony with the statements of anthologists and historians that Ferdowsi was a Shi'ite. This is also clear from the fact that his tomb became a shrine for the Iranians in general and the Shiite in particular (see above, 27 n. 38 and below 102103).

This is how Ferdowsi describes his beliefs at the beginning of the Sahnama: The Faith and knowledge trusty guides are they, And ’tis for thee to seek Salvation’s way; If thou wouldst have thy heart not sad, not see Thy spirit wretched through eternity,

116.

In the same

way that

Zoroaster

and Darius

117. Sah-nama, Il, 76:'™ 118. Ibid, 1, 34; VI, 642"; VIL,178°",

the Great

believed.

186-°™,454:7°";Vim, 154:°™,311:",

303:

119. See the judicious remarks of Néldeke, 37ff.; 40f. 120. Sah-nama, I, 18. The translation is from Warner I, 106-107, modified according to Motlagh ed., I, 9-11. The verses enclosed within square brackets are not quite authenticated.

FORMATIVE

58

But

be free

from

ill in both

PERIOD

worlds

And accepted as pious by the Creator To take the Prophet’s teaching be thy part, There wash away the darkness of thy heart. What was it that He said, the inspiréd Lord, Of bidding and forbidding -—Heaven’s own word? "I am the City of the Doctrine, he That

is the gateway

I witness

that

to it is Ali".

His heart

is in that

word

As though, as thou mayst say, His voice I heard. [Slave of the Prophet’s kindred amI__ The dust upon the Legate’s (Wasi = ‘Ali) feet, What others say to me is no concern, This

is my way,

from

The sage regardeth

this

I never

turn.]

as a sea this world,

A sea whose waves are driven by the blast; There seventy gallant ships go sailing past, Each with her canvas every stitch unfurled. One stately vessel is in bridal gear, As beauteous as the eye of chanticleer. Mohammad and ‘Ali are there within

Withthe kindredof Prophetand ‘Ali(hamdnahl-e beyt-eNabi o Wasi) The

sage

beholding

from

afar

that

sea

Of viewless shore and depth, and ware that he Must face the waves where all must drown, "If I Shall go down with Muhammad and ‘Ali," He saith, "I sink in goodly company,

And surely He will rescue me from ill, Who is of standard, crown, and throne the lord, The Lord of wine, of honey, and of rill, Of founts

of milk

If on the other

and

world

floods thou

which fix thine

spread

abroad."

eyes

Keep close beside the Prophet and the Legate (=‘Ali) And, should ill follow, lay the blame on me, Who

take

myself

the

course

that

I advise.

In this Faith was I born, in this will die; The

dust upon

the Haydar’s

foot

am I.

Take not this world in jest, but walk with those Whose steps are right; right as thine end propose If thou wouldst be with men of glorious name.

FERDOWSI’S

RELIGION

Se)

Why do I talk so long? I fail to see A limit to my theme’s fertility. The terminology and conceptions are here distinctly Shi‘ite (especially the epithets Wasi "Legate", Haydar "Lion [of God]" for Eamam ‘Ali. Thus, no one can deny that the composer of these lines was a sincere Shi’ite. Given the facts that Shi’ism reconciled Islamic and Iranian traditions’ and that TOs was very much a focal point of the Shiite world —containing the shrine of Emam Reza —the Shi’ism of Ferdowsi was natural enough. EARLY

LIFE

Ferdowsi was a noble landowner (dehqan) who lived comfortably for sixty years until lack of attention to his land and the need to sell his property had their effect and brought poverty.’” Modelled after the lifestyle of older Iranian nobles (Azdddn) whom he deeply admired, Ferdowsi’s life was filled with efforts to learn incessantly, and with such pastimes as riding, games, feasting, listening to music and songs, and attending learned gatherings.’” It was as if he lived in a Sasanian environment: he used the Sasanian based calendar; celebrated Sasanian festivals;'” drank to the memory of ancient Iranians; loved their heroes’” and despised their enemies, especially the Arabs and the Tiranian Turks,’* who dominated Western Asia during his 121. B. Spuler, Iran in Frih-Islamischer Zeit, Wiesbaden (1952), 177-83; R. P. Mottahedeh, "The Shu‘iibiya Controversy and the social history of early Islamic Iran", International Journal of the Middle Eastern Studies, VI (1976), 161-82.

©27)Schaal

tom

Vi cs,

VELPd,

303.

VIL, 522

TX,3692"

123. Ibid., IV, 301:"; V, 239:>", see also n. 16. 124. Ibid., VII, 206:*, 256:°"".

See above 28-30.

i eipid. 134-7 fe aie VIL,2G: 2650 * IX, 197, 2525" 126. Ibid., VI, 65:!; VIL,192:°"* 127. Ibid., VU, 186°": IX, 105:'"” generally; and IV, 202:'", 116:°", 245° (for Rostam); II, 250:'°* (for Sohrab); III, 153: (for Siavus); IV, 32: (for Farid); IV, 314:'"; V, 321: (for Kay Kosrow); VI, 217: (for Esfandyar); VII, 178:"* (for Ardasér); VIII, 451:°”! (for Bahram-e Gor); VII, 62:'"; 95:, 311: (for Andséravan). 128. See above, nn. 44, 47. Néldeke (26) first interpreted the contents of the "Letter of Rostam-e Farrokzad" as a symbolic satire on Soltan Mahmid and his period, seeing in the expression "a slave of no skill will become king" a reference to the Soltan, whose father was indeed a slave of the SamAnids. However, as the "Letter" was already in Ferdowsi’s source (above, 48, n. 51), and as similar predictions are attested by Hamza and Mas‘iidi, Ayddigar i Jamdasp, and others, Néldeke’s interpretation must be given up, its wide popularity notwithstanding, see A. Sh. Shahbazi, "On the X”addy-namag", Acta Iranica 30 (=Papers in Honor of Professor Ehsan Yarshater), Leiden (1990), 214-15. Ferdowsi never belittled Mahmiid, directly or in veiled terms, see below, 97ff.

Spe

£>

60

FORMATIVE

PERIOD

time.

Ferdowsi regarded man as the prime essence of creation, for whose sake resurrection would come, who must do justice to his elevated position by constantly widening his realm of knowledge:'” A farther

step — man cometh

into sight;

Locks had been made; he was the key of each. With head erect and cypress-like in height, Submiss to wisdom and endowed with speech, Possessed of knowledge, wisdom, reasoning, He

ruleth

other

creatures

as their

king.

Observe awhile with wisdom for thy guide: Doth Thou

"man" imply one nature, one alone? know’st it may be but the feeble side

Of mortal

man,

wherein

no trace

is shown

Of aught beyond, and yet two worlds agree — A mighty partnership —to furnish thee. By nature first, in order last, art thou; Hold not thyself then lightly. I have known Shrewd men speak otherwise, but who shall trow The secrets that pertain to God alone? Look to the end, act ever rightly,

And if thou wouldst escape calamity, In both worlds from the net of bale be freed, Then toil, since sloth and knowledge ne’er agree.

In the poet’s view, "The source of might is knowledge; thus old hearts grow young again", and he admired wisdom sincerely and with conviction: Speak, sage! the praise of wisdom and rejoice The hearts of those that hearken to thy voice, As God’s best gift to thee extol the worth Of wisdom, which will comfort thee and guide, And lead thee by the hand in heaven and earth. Both joy and grief, and gain and loss, betide Therefrom, and when it is eclipsed the sane

129. Sah-nama, I, 16:5 (=Warner, I, 104). 130:| Ibid: I, 16>° 131. Ibid., I, 13-14:'°* (=Warner, I, 101-102).

EARLY

LIFE

61

Know not of happiness one moment more. Thus saith the wise and virtuous man of lore Lest sages search his words "What man soever spurneth

for fruit in vain: wisdom’s rede

Will by so doing make his own heart bleed; The prudent speak of him as one possessed, And ‘he is not of us’ his kin protest." In both worlds wisdom recommendeth When

gyves

are

on the

ankles

of the

thee mad;

It is the mind’s eye; if thou dost not see Therewith thy journey through this world is sad. It was the first created thing, and still Presideth o’er the mind and faculty Of praise —praise offered by tongue, ear, and eye, All causes it may be of good or ill. To praise

both

mind

and

wisdom

who would

dare?

And if I venture, who would hear me through? Since then, O man of wisdom! thou canst do

No good by words hereon, proceed, declare Creation’s process. God created thee To know appearance and reality. Let

wisdom

be thy minister

to fend

Thy mind from all that self-respect should shun, Learn by the words of sages how to wend Thy way, roam earth, converse with everyone; And when thou hearest any man of lore Discourse, sleep not, increase thy wisdom’s store; But mark, while gazing at the boughs of speech, How much the roots thereof are out of reach. This high esteem for wisdom and learning serves as the main criterion in Ferdowsi’s assessment of various peoples and events. It must have likewise been the basic force in the development of his education and personality, leading him to a personally elected and interpreted monotheism on the one hand, and to the realization that he was invested with the responsibility to preserve the Iranian heritage and unity on the other hand. When he was growing up, Abi Mansir Mohammad-e ‘Abd-al-Razzaq, the governor of Tis who claimed descent from ancient Iranian heroes and aspired to kingship, ordered the compilation of a history of ancient Iran in New

62

FORMATIVE

PERIOD

Persian.” Ferdowsi’s admiration for this man and his family stemmed from personal contact and their common love of Iran, as well as the support which the young poet received from them.”

132. Ibid., I, 21:'", 133. Ibid., I, 21:5

see also above 32f., 36.

CHAPTER

THE

HISTORIAN

IV

OF ANCIENT

IRAN CAUSES

FOR

CONCERN

By the age of thirty (in 360/970), Ferdowsi was an accomplished poet,’ married, with a two-year old son.” He had a number of celebrated friends,’ among whom Mansur, the son of Abi Mansir Mohammad-e ‘Abd-al-Razzaq, occupied a special position.’ He learned a great deal about ancient Iran and its heroes, culture, and heritage and observed how Islamic sagas, history and traditions were systematically propagated through oral transmission and were being assimilated in such magnificent and highly authoritative works in New Persian as the Persian version of Tabari’s Chronicle and Commentary on the

1. When nearly sixty years of age, Ferdowsi recalls with sadness (Sah-ndma) [Moscow ed.] III, 168:%”*)how at thirty his cheeks were rosy, his hair musk-coloured, his teeth resembled rows of pearls, and his Persian poetry was very impressive: see above 42, 43, n. 14. 2. When he was sixty-five, Ferdowsi lost his thirty-seven year old son: IX, 138:7". (See also Arthur George Warner and Edmund Warner, trs. The Shahnama, London, I, 1905, 26.) 3. Such as the sons of Abi Mansiir-e ‘Abd-al-Razzaq,

on whom see above, 33.

4. On Mansiirsee Warner, I, 29 and more thoroughly Djalal Khaleghi Motlagh. "Yaki mehtari biid gardanfaraz...", Majalla-ye Ddaneskada-ye Adabiyat-e Maxhad, XIII/50 (1356 §./1977), 197ff., and "Javan biid 0 az gowhar-e Pahlavan", Namvdra-ye Doktor Mahmuid Afsar, I, eds., I. Afgar-K. Esfahanian, Tehran (1364 $./1985), 332-58. 63

64

THE

HISTORIAN

OF ANCIENT

IRAN

Qor’an’ Written in a beautiful flowing style, these well-publicized books poured into Iranian society a stream of foreign fables derived from Biblical stories or distorted from Iranian sources. They furnished priests and pro-Arab elements, who had the opportunity of mass preaching, with treasures of "religious sagas" with which they countered the "useless legends" of Iranian histories.° New efforts were needed to save ancient stories of Iran from assimilation into a collection of Islamic sagas, and one resort left to Iranian nationalists was to transmit their history through fascinating and powerful versed epic versions, which could easily be memorized and published amongst the people, most of whom were illiterate.’ This method had already been tested with success by Mas‘iidi Marvazi, but his work was too short and had appeared before the publication of those religious books edited at the Samanid court. Then Daqiqi came forward, and clearly seeing the urgency of saving and revitalizing the story of his beloved Zoroaster, he selected this episode of ancient Iranian history and recast it in an easy and moving style of epic poetry, thus giving it a degree of immortality.” When he was murdered just before finishing the composition of the story, Ferdowsi, who had already started independently to versify several epic episodes of Iranian sagas, continued in his path, and recognizing his share in the nationalistic crusade,

5. Tarjoma-yeTafsir-e Tabari, ed. H. Yagm2’i,7 vols., Tehran (1339 §./1960 - 1344 §./1965); Bal‘ami,Tarik,eds. M.-T.Bahar - M. P. Gonabadi,Tehran (1340$./1961). 6. Ferdowsi’s contemporary, Farroki, says "The Sah-ndma is untruth from the beginning to the end: Sdah-ndma donig ast_sar be-sar' (Divan, ed. M. Dabirsiaqi, Tehran 1335 §./1956; 344). ‘Abd-al-Jalil Qazvini, al-Naqz, ed., J. Mohaddet, Tehran (1358 §./1979), 67, accuses the Sunnis of reciting myths on the bravery and magnificence of Rostam and Kaviis to counter the heroism and splendour of ‘Ali, and says that to recite such useless tales is a sinful act. The Yilsof o Zolaykd falsely attributed to Ferdowsi begins with a condemnation of “unworthy fables" of ancient Iran and a recommendation of the propagation of "inspired" stories - those based on the Qor’dn and concerned with the Prophets: M. Minavi, Simorg 4 (1976), 56-7. And the poet Mo‘ezzi worries that Ferdowsi, because of "so many untruths that he said", would be punished as a sinner in the Other World (Divan, ed. ‘A. Eqbal, Tehran, 1318 §./1939, 296.) 7. Many Iranians who cannot read a line of a daily paper are able to recite from memory a good number of the Sah-ndma verses. Before the appearance of television, the coffee-houses were "local theatres" where Ferdowsi’s stories were enacted by highly efficient professional story tellers. These, incidently, were eager to prove the poet’s Sunnism or Shi‘ism or to exaggerate his statements; a large number of the interpolations in the Sah-ndma are due to them. 8. Cf. above, 35-6. 9. Sah-nama, I, 22:", = Warner, 109.

THE FIRST EPISODES

65

acknowledged Daqiqi as his own "precursor" (rahnamay).” THE FIRST EPISODES On a dark autumn night, Ferdowsi, then thirty-odd years old, called for a little family feast, and his beloved brought fruit and wine in a royal cup. They sat by candlelight to drink, and the loving girl followed the old tradition, already well-known under the Achaemenids,” of playing the harp and relating stories. She suggested reading the legend of Bézan and Manéze from a "Persian book" (daftar-e Pahlavi)” in order that the poet could compose it in verse, a proposal which he was only too glad to accept.” This "Persian book" was not a chapter of the Sah-ndma of Abii Mansi nor one from a translation of an earlier Koddy-ndma.* It was rather an isolated short romance of the type of Vés and Ramin, and Kosrow and Sirin, which easily tempted imaginative poets into selecting them as subjects for their poetry. In the present form of the Sah-ndma, this story follows that of Rostam and Akvan the Dév, and precedes that of the campaign of G6darz against Taran. But this is a later editing, when Ferdowsi linked all stories together with transitional passages. There are indications that this was in fact the first piece composed by Ferdowsi.” The prelude to the story is the most romantic and detailed of lyrical introductions added to various episodes of the Sah-ndma, and clearly shows Ferdowsi’s young age, wealth and lack of need of patronage. Above all, the poetry reveals a certain degree of inexperience, especially in the overt use of the redundant terminal alef which is arbitrarily added to help the metre.” As Ferdowsi was a celebrated young poet when he found access to a copy of the Sah-nama of Abi Mansir in 370/980,” we may date the composition of the earlier Bézan and ManézZe to c. 365/975, when the poet was thirty-five years old. 10. Ibid., VI, 65°" See Warner connection, and 30f. for the translation 38, 44-5 and below, 71.

V, 20ff. for a good study of the Ferdowsi-Daqiqi of Ferdowsi’s reference to Daqiqi. Cf. also above

11. Among the arts that royal concubines were often required to master were singing and the playing of musical instruments: Athenaeus, Deipnosophistai, XVIII, 608a; and Ctesias reported (apud Athenaeus XII, 530d) that whenever Annarus, satrap of Babylonia, sat at dinner, "a hundred and fifty women played on harps and sang for him". 12. Ferdowsi uses Pahlavi/Pahlavani in the sense of Persian heroic style, see above, 40. 13. Sah-ndma, V, 6ff. (Warner, III, 287ff.) 14. Th. Noldeke, Das iranisches Nationalepos, 2nd ed., Berlin-Leipzig (1920), 43.

15. Sirani, Ferdowsi wa Sah-nama, tr. ‘A. Habibi, Kabul (1976), 1-12; Safa, Hamdsa sari dar Iran, 2nd ed., Tehran (1333 $./1954), 177-78. 16. Warner, III, 284f. 17. See below, 69ff.

66

THE

HISTORIAN

OF ANCIENT

IRAN

Other early pieces include the tales of Rostam and Akvan the Dév, Rostam and the White Dév, and Rostam and Sohrab."* The first starts and ends with the apologetic words of a poet who resorts to rationalization in the versifying of an old written Persian saga which learned critics found incredible. He tells his critics that the Dévs were not mythical creatures but mighty people (gavan) who did not worship the Yazddn (here: God) and acted inhumanely, and that the incredulousness of such stories disappears when one grasps their logical messages.” Such an apology is not typical of other legends of the Sah-nama. ; The legend of Rostam and the White Dév” belonged to a large cycle of Rostam sagas which were popular throughout the Sasanian empire from Sogd” to Armenia”. It has a long and mostly lyrical prologue, which makes it an independent piece of work,” an indication confirmed by the fact that no other author had mentioned this episode of Rostam’s life. A large element of this story, relating the "Seven Labours" of Rostam, resembles the "Seven Labours" of Esfandyar.” The legend of Rostam and Sohrab is again attested only in the Sah-nama and likewise begins with a lyrical and detailed prelude. Here Ferdowsi is in the zenith of his poetic power and has become a true master of storytelling. The thousand or so verses of this tragedy comprise one of the most moving tales of world literature.* At the end of the tragedy, Ferdowsi cites a quotation from a certain "Bahram of the charming word (néki sokan)",”* whom we identified with Bahram, son of MardanSah, the author of the History

18. Noldeke, 42f.

19. Sah-nama, IV, 302:'*", 310:

(=Warner, III, 272., 281). See also below, 135.

20. On this see Th. Néldeke, "Der Religionswissenschaft, XIX (1915), 597-600.

weisse

Dév

von

Mazandaran",

Archiv fiir

21. H. Reichelt, Die Soghdischen Handschriftenreste des Britischen Museum, Il, Heidelberg (1931), 63; E. Benveniste, Textes sogdiens, Paris (1940), No. 13 I-II (pp. 134-36); E. Yarshater, "Rostam dar zabin-e Sogdi", Mehr, VIII (1331 S./ 1952), 406-411; G. Azarpay, Sogdian Painting. The Pictorial Epic in Oriental Art, Berkeley (1981), 95-7, 108-112. 22. Moses Khorenats’i, History of the Armenians, tr. R. Thomson, 1978, 141. 23. Sah-nama, I, 77:'** (=Warner, II, 31). 24. Ndldeke, 48, thought that the older version was Esfandyar’s Seven Labours of Rostam was modeled after it. This or the reverse cannot be proved.

and that

25. There is an extensive literature on this story. Its free rendition into English by Matthew Arnold, its impressive translation into German by Friedrich Riickert, into French by J. Mohl, and into Russian by V. A. Zukowsky, have earned it a deserving place in world literature.

26. Sah-nama, Il, 249:°3*

THE

FIRST

PIECES

67

of the Sdsdnian Kings,” from which one may infer that this latter was the original source of the tale. However, Hamza, who made extensive use of Bahram’s work, is completely silent on the episode of Rostam and Sohrdab,and Ferdowsi’s quotation, which is deductive in nature, is probably only a casual citation of a learned man’s wise words and does not indicate authorship of the whole story which precedes it. The legend is thought to have originated in East Iran.* Its versed version used by Ferdowsi may have been based on the work of Azad Sarv of Marv, who claimed descent from the House of Rostam and was in possession of a copy of the Koddy-ndma (Nama-ye Kosrowdn); he was a companion of Ahmad-e Sahl (of Yazdegerd III’s family) in Marv and "remembered a great many of the Rostam sagas (basi dasti razm-e Rostam be-ydd)".” IN SEARCH

OF

THE

PRIMARY

SOURCE

While Ferdowsi was engaged in composing these stories, the Sah-ndma | \\ of Abi Mansir-e ‘Abd-al-Razzaq was penetrating patriotic Iranian circles and | receiving acclamation as the history of ancient Iran, a means of counteracting | Arabic influence. Its authenticity was claimed to have been derived from its ultimate source, the Koddy-ndma , which itself allegedly evidenced more than six thousand years of Persian history.” The work was read by the learned in gatherings attended by many who accepted it as the source history for their country’s glorious past. It was at this period that Dagqiqi came to obtain a copy of this book at the court of the Samanids; selecting the chapter most appealing to his heart and most urgently in need of preservation, namely, the story of Zoroaster and his patrons, he began to compose it in epic poetry. His short and unfinished work won widespread acceptance, and its fame reached Ferdowsi in Tés and inspired him to search for a copy of the Sah-ndma of Abii Mansi and to versify it in the same style that both he and Daqiqi had employed with remarkable success.

27. See above, 55. 28. Noéldeke, 43. However,

we have the name Sohrab/Sokrab/Sorkab

already in the

seventh century in the name of a Mazandarani prince who traced his descent to the Sasanians, see Zahir-al-Din ebn-e Esfandyar, Tarik-e Tabarestan, ed. ‘Abbas Eqbal, Tehran (1320 §./1941), 156. oo} Sah-nama, VI, 332:' See further S$.H. Taqizadeh, Ferdowsi o Sah-ndma-ye i, ed. H. Yagma’i, Tehran (1349 $./1970) 168-69. 30. Ibid., VI, 136:": Six thousand years had it behind itself (gozasta bar salian Se&hazar); Should one desire to know the count of its age.

68

THE

HISTORIAN

OF ANCIENT

IRAN

The task proved difficult. The original manuscript of the Sah-ndma of Abii Mansiir seems to have been obtained, either by friendly means or by sheer force, by the Sdmanids and kept in the royal library,” where Dagqiqi used it. A duplicate was not available to Ferdowsi in Tos, so he resolved to travel to the "seat of the king of the world", Nik ebn-e Mansir,” and to seek permission to study the royal copy. But the political situation and personal considerations hindered him from carrying out his desired plan. Everywhere rulers were at war with each other; fire and destruction ravaged towns and villages, and roads would be unsafe for a lone dehqan travelling from-Tos to Bokara. Furthermore, the versification of so detailed a book as the Sah-nadma of Abii Mansiir needed long years of solid work, with no time to attend to his estate, which meant inevitable poverty in old age unless generous patrons were to be found. Mindful of Daqiqi’s untimely death, the forty year-old Ferdowsi feared that his life and income would run short before he could complete the task of recasting that prose work into epic poetry. So despite his burning desire to leave for posterity an undying monument in the form of a versed history of Iran, he had to desist from his pursuit for a time and keep his hopes to himself. Finally, his problem was solved. An affectionate friend and fellowcitizen” who agreed with him in all his aims and methods, told him that the intention to versify the prose Sah-ndma was an excellent idea which promised to result in happy fulfillment of the poet’s goals. Now that Ferdowsi had, despite his young age, proved himself in the field of Persian poetry and knew perfectly how to compose epic pieces, the unnamed friend urged him to undertake the desired task courageously and put all fears aside. He himself would obtain a copy of the Sah-nama of Abi Mansir and submit it to Ferdowsi in order that he might start at once and rest only after finishing a

31. This is implied by the fact that though a family friend of Abii Mansir’s sons, Ferdowsi did not have access to the original copy while Dagqiqi used it in the Samanid capital, Bokara. 32. Sah-nama, I, 9: Ferdowsi says that after Daqiqi’s death, his own heart turned towards the throne of the King of the World, who must have been Nth ebn-e Mansi, the only qualified ruler for that title in East Iran. The wording of Ferdowsi clearly implies that he intended to make a journey to Bokara but having found a copy of his source in his native town, the reason for his trip disappeared, and he never carried out the planned journey.

33. The Baysongori preface calls thi friend Mohammad-e La&kari (¢pie ee et this is a misreading for Yaskari «6 , then he may be identified with A&‘at ebn-e Mohammad al-Yagkari (citing a man by ‘his father’s name being common), who was a contemporary of Ferdowsi and served under the Samanids as a commander, see Gardizi, Zayn al-Akbar, ed., ‘Abd-al-Hayy- Habibi, Tehran (1317 §./ 1938), 163. See also below, 71-72.

IN SEARCH

OF THE

PRIMARY

SOURCE

69

versed version which would immortalize the Iranian history and bring acclamation and honour to its composer. And indeed, he soon fulfilled his promise and brought Ferdowsi a copy of the Sah-ndma of Abii Mansir. The poet’s joy was boundless, and taking this success as an auspicious omen, he began a task which he knew would take many long years and demand financial and social sacrifices. This is how Ferdowsi himself narrates the whole episode in the prolegomena to his Sah-nadma:*

1. The Koddady ndma: There was a History (ndma) of ancient times, Therein was a large number of stories. The work was scattered amongst wise nobles, Every portion treasured by a man of learning. 2. The Sah-ndma of Abu Mansur: A certain Knight (Pahlavadn) of noble descent (déhqan nazad), A man of courage, wisdom, rank and worth Inquired about the history of olden days. Whatever had been narrated, he sought to collect. From every region he gathered old sages, Who knew that History by heart. He asked them of the Kings of the World, And of those famous noble heroes. Of how they anciently managed the affairs of state, So that they left this misery as heritage. And how came about, beneath auspicious sky, The end of their glorious mighty day? The noble sages told him in detail all Accounts of rulers and of various periods. When the Lord of Warriors heard their tales, He ordered a worthy book to be compiled. Thus, it became a memorial to him, known everywhere. And brought him praise from laymen and nobles. [On another occasion Ferdowsi adds*] _ This was a history of ancient times (yaki ndma bid az gah-e bdstan) Containing words of truthful ones yi A precious font it was, in prose (co jami gohar bud o mantir bud) Poetic skill was not eager to re-tell it in verse.

34. Sah-nama,I, yee (=Motlaghed.,I, 11°): 35. Ibid.,VI, 136:°"'.See alsoabove,n. 30.

70

THE Six thousand Should one

HISTORIAN

OF ANCIENT

IRAN

years had it behind itself; desire to know the count of its age.

3. Dagiqi’s attempt: Now, from this book, many stories Were read by professional reciters (k"ananda) for gatherings. The world was absorbed by such legends; Both learned and righteous loved their contents. Then came forward a young man [named Dagqiqi], sweet-tongued, Well skilled in poetry and talented in the art of versification. "I will re-tell this history in verse", he said. And everyone rejoiced at his intent. Bad habit accompanied his youth, alas! Always he fought this vice, but in vain. Death brought him down unexpectedly, Imposed its gloomy helm on his head. His sweet life he lost because of that vice, Which deprived him of joy in his youthful age. Fortune turned from him entirely, He perished at the hand of a slave boy (banda); Departed he, and this history could not be recast in verse. So its elevated fortune slept once more. i

4. Ferdowsi’s intention to continue the work of Dagigqi: Mine heart turned, when Dagigi fell, Spontaneously toward the Iranian throne; (that is, Bokara, capital of the Samanid king). "If I can get the book I will retell", I said, "the tales in language of mine own". I asked of persons more than I can say, For I was fearful as time passed away That life would not suffice, but that I too Should leave the work for other hands to do. Besides, I feared that my means would not suffice, And that my toil would not be welcomed. It was a time of war, a straitened age For those who had petitions to prefer. Some time elapsed...

5. Ferdowsi’s access to a copy of the prose Sah-nama: I had a dear friend in the city (be Sahr-am yaki mehrban diist), thou

IN SEARCH

OF THE

PRIMARY

SOURCE

aa!

Hadst said: "They twain have but one skin". One day He said: "I like thy scheme; pursue thy way; Thy feet are in the right direction now. I undertake This

ancient

for my part Persian

to procure

book;

but be not slack.

Of youth and eloquence thou hast a store, Thy speech possesseth too the ancient (pahlavdni-) smack. The stories of our kings afresh relate, And raise thy reputation with the great". He

brought

the

volume

to me

and

anon

The darkness of my gloomy soul was gone.” THE FIRST EDITION

OF THE SAH-NAMA 384/994

His problems partly solved, in 370/980,” Ferdowsi began the poetical composition of the prose Sah-ndma of Abii Mansiir, which opened with the reign of GayOmart and ended with that of the fiftieth sovereign of Iran, Yazdegerd III.* He was most fortunate at this moment to find a much desired patron in Mansir, a son of Abi Manstr Moéhammad-e ‘Abd-alRazzaq — a learned young noble, who supported the poet financially and morally. Unfortunately, however, this prince and his brother ‘Abd-Allah followed the plans of their father, and aiming at the recovery of the family’s authority over Koras4n, they joined the rebellion of Tos against the Sam4nids in 376/986. They were defeated, and Mansir fell captive and was sent to Bokara where he was publicly disgraced and in all likelihood secretly put to death. The fate of this prince grieved Ferdowsi immensely.” As Djalal Khaleghi Motlagh emphasized: In the entire Sah-nama, the poet has praised no other person with such affection and sincerity as he has eulogized Mansi. The few-verse nenia he composed for Mansir is so genuine that it might have been conceived on the occasion of the death of the most beloved hero of the

36. On the possible identity of this friend see above, n. 33. 37. That is, thirty years before the completion in 400/1010 of the master edtion of the Sahnama, see above, 24ff.

38. See especially Sah-ndma, VIII, 303:°" 39. Warner, I, 29, 100f. For a detailed study on this prince see Dj. Khaleghi Motlagh, "Yaki mehtari bid gardanfaraz...", Majalla-ye DdneSkada-ye Adabiyat-e Mashad, XI11/50 (1356 $./1977), 197ff., and "Javan biid o az gowhar-e Pahlavan", Nadmvara-yeDoktor Mahmud Affar, I, eds., 1. Afgar-K. Esfahanian, Tehran (1364 $./1985), 332-58. 40. "Yaki Mehtari biid gardanfaraz", 214-15.

72

THE

HISTORIAN

OF ANCIENT

IRAN

Sah-nama. When one considers that this panegyric episode was composed long after the death of Mansi, any motive of financial or material reward on the part of the poet is ruled out, and one recognizes more clearly the importance and honoured place which he had in Ferdowsi’s life and heart. Ferdowsi has stressed this fact in language which is as powerful as it is sincere and moving. Apart from this occasion, we seldom encounter so gratified and peaceful a tone in the Sah-nama. Therefore, it is fair to conclude that this early stage of Ferdowsi’s work was, despite the upheavals and political disturbances in Korasan, the most peaceful period of the poet’s life. Afterwards come complaints of poverty and old age, side by side with the fear that he would not live long enough to finish the work on the Sah-nama, and the concern over real or imagined deliberate hindrances, as well as the attempt to ward off the dangers likely to result from the unpredictable disposition of Mahmiid, by means of presenting elegant panegyric pieces. This is what Ferdowsi

says about the young Mansir:*

When I obtained the volume a grandee Of noble lineage and conspicuous worth, Still in his youth, a paladin by birth (javdn bild o az gowhar-e Pahlavan), Possessing prudence, wit, and energy, A lord

of counsel

and

of modesty,

To hear whose gentle accents was my joy, Said

unto

me:

"What

means

can I employ

To make thee give thy life to poetry? I will do all and hide thy poverty". He

used

to tender

me

as one

would

tend

Ripe apples, lest a breath of wind should spoil; Thus through that noble and kind-hearted I soared to Saturn from our grimy soil. In his eyes gold and silver were as dust

friend

While rank gained lustre. Earth seemed vile indeed Before him. He was brave and one to trust, And when he perished was as in a mead

A lofty cypress levelled by a gust. I see no trace

of him

alive

or dead;

41. Sah-nama, I, 23f. (=Motlagh ed., I, 14-15)

THE FIRST EDITION OF THE SAH-NAMA 384/994

73

By murderous crocodiles his life was sped. Woe for that girdle and girdlestead, That royal mien, that high imperial head! Bereft of him my heart’s hopes ceased to be,

My spirit quivered like willow-tree; But

I bethink

Of counsel

me,

which

to redress

this woe,

to that great

prince

I owe;

He said: "This Book of Kings (Ndmd-ye Sahryar), if ‘tis thy fate To tell it, to great kings dedicate (be-Sahdn separ)". For a number of years after Mansir’s disappearance, Ferdowsi lived in relative comfort and peace, as some local authorities continued to lend him their support. One, ‘Ali Daylami by name,* assisted the poet whenever he was faced with difficulties.” Another, Hoyayy-e Qotayb[a],* almost certainly a totally Iranized descendant of some Arab leader who had settled in Tos a few generations earlier (see above 30-31 and below, 74), was also a faithful patron.” He seems to have been a tax official in T6s, and by exempting Ferdowsi, who was a dehqdn, from yearly tribute (kardj), he eased his financial problems in return for the inclusion of a few lines in appreciation of his service. But these supporters proved inconsistent, and soon hardship resulting from need and loneliness began to take a heavy toll on Ferdowsi.“ As the stories of ancient Iranian heroes were revived and clothed in poetic garb in his masterly epic, each tale or group of related tales was copied and spread around. The poet’s fame reached all circles, but no patron capable of supporting him constantly and adequately came forward.” Abi Nasr-e Warraq, the scribe, wrote down what Ferdowsi composed and received excellent payments from bookdealers,* and it was probably he who arranged

42. Sometimes called also [A]Bi Dolaf, see Noldeke, 27. The name is given in ‘Ariizi as ‘Ali Daylam. It meant either ‘Ali[-e] Daylam (‘Ali son of Daylam) or ‘Ali the Daylamite. The absurdity of his identification with “Ali Daylami, a noble Tosan and the father of Sayyeda-bani, wife of Fakr-al-Dawla the Daylamite King of Ray" (Ahmad ‘Alidiist, “Ali Daylami-Bi Dolaf ki-st?", Ndmvdra-ye Doktor Mahmild-e Afsar, V, Tehran, 1366 5./1987, 2892-2905), is self-evident: Sayyeda Sirin was, as is well-known, the daughter of Spahbad Rostam, king of Mazandaran and a niece of Spahbad Sahryar, ruler of Prim (till 374/984): Spuler, Iran in Frih-Islamischer Zeit, Wiesbaden (1952), 108, 115. 43. Sah-nama, IX, 381:*", cf. Néldeke, ibid. 44. Mss var. Hosayn-e Qotayba; on him see Taqizadeh, op. cit., 192-94, 45. Sah-nama, °X, 381:*"*,cf. ‘Ali-e Qatib in VII, 303:%"*with Néldeke, ibid.; Taqizadeh, 192f., 215f. 46. Sahnama, V, 323:'*%;V, 237: VI, 111f.; 186f.; VIII, 52:77 47. Ibid., 1X, 381:*",

cf. Néldeke, 28-9.

48. Sah-nama, IX, 381:°*

74

THE

HISTORIAN

OF ANCIENT

IRAN

the master copy of the first edition of the Sah-nadma in 384/994. This version was a small work, and lacked the following parts: the story of Siavu3;” Kay Kosrow’s war against the Tiranians;” and the entire Sasanian history, except the account of the Arab conquest.” It ended with the following words in praise of Hoyayy-e Qatib;”

Hoyayy, son of Qatib[=Qotayba] (azddagan)

who ranks amongst nobles

Asked me for naught without its due reward, And furnished gold and silver, clothes and meat, And

found

me ways

As for taxation,

and

means,

naught thereof

and

wings

and

feet.

know I;

All at mine ease in mine own quilt I lie. I have

And

so lauded

privily

Of praises

him

my words from

the

that

publicly

will never Great

I had

die. much

store;

The praises that are given to him are more. His doings turn to his content always. Possessed is he of judgment, knowledge and lineage, A light for Iranians is he, a sun for Arabs (cerdg-e ‘Ajam, aftdab-e ‘Arab). The edition bore the finishing date (according to the Kardji calendar): Spandarmad of the year 384: The story of Yazdegerd has now drawn to a close. On this day of Ard [25th] of the month Spandarmad

25th

[=Twelfth].

49. Which Ferdowsi worked on when he reached 58: III, 7:2

50. Which Ferdowsi worked on in his sixties: III, 168:a7, SV, 230% 51. Ferdowsi worked on the Sasanian history in his ities see above, n. 27ff.; see further: IX, 138: 7. The first edition of the Sah-ndma ended with: "Now the story of Yazdegerd [III] has come to a close". It must have, therefore, contained the Arab conquest, a remarkable testimony to the Iranization of Hoyayy-e Qotayba who supported Ferdowsi, his own descent from the conquerors notwithstanding.

52. As can be adduced from $ah-ndma, IX, 381:"", with Taqizadeh, 216f. Note that Ferdowsi pronounced this name Qatib (rhymed with nakib) - a Persianized form for the Arabic original. The name of Ferdowsi’s patron was Hoyayy, as Nezami reported, not Hosayn as some manuscripts of the Sah-ndma rendered. The term "Son* "(indicated by genetive singular Hoyayy-e) was probably a generic usage meaning "descendant", cf. "Son of ‘Ali" for the ‘Alavids and "Son of ‘Abbas" for the ‘Abbasids in early New Persian texts.

THE FIRST EDITION OF THE SAH-NAMA 384/994

1B)

Of the Hejra three centuries have passed Together with four and four score years. It also bore the signature of Abii Nasr-e Warrag, whom Ferdowsi specifically mentioned as the scribe of his Sah-ndma. The authoritativeness of this edition remained so intact that despite several more editions, one of which entailed re-dedication to Soltan Mabmiid, the Sah-ndma manuscripts often bore this version of the epilogue and its dating side by side the one giving a later date and praising Soltan Mahmid of Gazna.

li o

‘Paes on ia GhealiosuaTewedie ¥pad epigren +aad astaearey 2 iasine 1apee e apitive etatith Mime rite:othtasee ~ ettoltes iain. peso er - .bike, Lene aae eForay ude ¥She aly sane ergotde os odied asin F 1Pooveyi Nienerpesepors hy ca a al

yas

-

te : a aa ‘te =ewe bie p3 i? eipeeteerit veces. iF i ood = sy oe ; Fameausts Peot paQiotent, Gaia : folkywy Oat Ie bybate Hap= “rae " il : Daher ay ye id oy! S t Ev) oe Sry +a ; Ta sition tcc ny tant eniees sa PIRES 1s)aie! 264s Vee: Pees > | 7 ae ’ i 7 > ie 7 Py ho Tar)

be

f

a”i,

m

' §

zy f :

> ee

pen

’ + 1

i,

= ,

: ri 2 AOC RA

‘

: rile

pest

recht) é

AR

Me wi nervy

ee

;

CHAPTER

THE

UNDYING

VI

MEMORIAL

THE SAH-NAMA

According to Ferdowsi, the final edition of the Sah-ndma contained some sixty thousand distichs,’ but this is a round figure; most of the relatively reliable manuscripts have preserved a little over fifty thousand distichs.’ Later copyists tried to enlarge the text by interpolating large sections of other epics such as the Garsdasp-ndma of Asadi, the Borzu-ndma, and the story of Kok-e Kohzad. Macan recognized these additions and removed them to separate supplements, an arrangement which was followed by many later editions.’

If Nezami ‘Ariizi is to be believed, the final edition of the Sah-nama sent to the court of Soltan Mahmid was prepared in seven volumes.’ This has remained a traditional arrangement in Iran, to the extent that an edition

1. Sah-nama, Moscow ed., IX, 210:°”, repeated in 381:°8, and taken over by "the Satire", v. 30. Ferdowsi’s statement is confirmed by the testimonies of early authorities, see e.g. below, n. 38. 2. Noldeke, Das iranische Nationalepos, 2nd ed., Berlin/Leipzig (1920), 73. See now Djalal Khaleghi Motlagh, The Shahnameh by Ferdowsi, I, New York (1987), introduction. 3. The admirable Moscow edition omits these well recognized interpolations. 4. Cahar magqala, 78. 107

108

THE

UNDYING

MEMORIAL

' not so organized is considered imperfect,’ the lore of the sacred number ‘seven’ being too strong to disassociate Ferdowsi from it. The present chronological arrangement of the chapters of the Sah-nama does not reflect the original order of composition. Once an edition was being prepared, the poet placed his various works chronologically, and linked them with transitional passages which follow the formula: “the story of X is finished; now we begin that of Y; we have learnt it from the authority of Z".° Whenever copyists or reciters felt that a transitional passage was missing, they readily invented one, which explains excessive repetitions and shaky linkages.’ In our time, Fritz Wolff arranged the Sah-ndma in a concise and practical order, dividing it into fifty parts in accordance with the names of the fifty kings mentioned therein.* In his arrangement, the brief account of the Arsacid period was counted as one item while a few long reigns were subdivided into two or several sections.’ The admirable Moscow edition presents the Sa@h-ndma in nine volumes and in accordance with the division indicated by Ferdowsi himself, and this seems to be a clear and justifiable order.” The critical edition of Khaleghi-Motlag is planned in six volumes of texts and two volumes of notes.

The Sah-ndma is an impressive monument of poetry and historiography, being mainly the poetical recasting of what Ferdowsi and his predecessors regarded as the account of Iran’s history,” an account which already existed in a less appealing form in prose works, especially the Sah-ndma of Abi Mansir-e ‘Abd-al-Razzaq. A small portion of Ferdowsi’s work is entirely of his own conception, dealing with his religious and ethical beliefs, his admiration of virtue, his reflection on life, his descriptions of various scenes and phenomena, his praise for his patrons and his references to the sources which he used. The rest of the work is best divided into three successive 5. For a good survey of the Sah-ndma editions see I. Afgar, "Sah-nadma az katti ta api", Honar o Mardom, No. 162 (Farvardin 1355 §./1976), 17ff, and above Ch. I n. 1.

6. Sah-nama, Il,75:, 126:°, 1 68:°5, 250:!°;III,168:""5; STV, Ld 314: 418: VII,154.77. VIII,51: ae"146: ee206.225", 275: 3815, SLX, 230:5,284: ant “ ‘bid, 1 2504eV; 148:

VI, 32201.VII, 111: eh

85s

One special case is a number of

verses added to the epileene of KayKosrow’sstory, in which we read: "Nowfrom the entire Sah-naéma,one half is dealt with" (V, 418:"°),obviouslythe remark of a caligrapher or storyteller. 8. Of these kings, GarSap must definitely be omitted as his episode is decidedly an interpolation. 9. Glossar zu Firdousis Schahname, 10. The great them the gratitude

Berlin (1935), pp. vi-vii.

service rendered by the editors of this scholarly of Iranians and lovers of Iranian culture.

11. Noldeke, 44ff.

edition

will forever

earn

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parts: the mythical, heroic and historical ages. Naturally, these definitions are mere generalizations, for each part shares some aspects and characteristics of the other two. The following is an outline of those three periods.

_ 1. The mythical age. After an opening in praise of God and Wisdom, the Sdah-ndma gives an account of the creation of the world and of man as

believed by the Sdsanians. Remarkably, no trace of Islamization of Iranian \” oe sagas by Ferdowsi can be established. Indeed, he followed the older Iranian traditions even when they ran counter to Islamic concepts. Thus, fire is given the prominent position among the four holy elements, and the earth is pushed to the fourth place and even termed "dark" (téra). This introduction is followed by the story of the first man, GayOmart, who also became the first king after a period of mountain dwelling. After Ahriman’s son killed Gaydmart’s son, Sidmak, the act was avenged by the latter’s son HoSang, who slew the murderer and then succeeded to the throne. He accidentally discovered fire and established the Sada Feast in its honour. He furthered the course of civilization, and after forty years of reign left his empire to his son Tahmiret, who succeeded in subjugating the Dévs [on whom see above 66] and using them as teachers of various alphabets and other arts. He was succeeded by his son Jamséd, the most illustrious Iranian hero-king, who ruled for seven hundred years and achieved great deeds. He discovered iron, taught several useful crafts, established the social classes of Iran, founded the N6 Riz Feast in commemoration of his accession on the first day of the first month of the Iranian year (which coincided with the spring equinox), built palaces and canonized fair laws. But pride and might misguided him and he sinned by demanding deification, upon which the God-given royal Fortune (Farrah/farr) left him, and he was vanquished by Zahhak. Up to this point, the course of events is narrated with the brevity and seriousness of a historical account, but with Zahhak begin the epic tone and pictorial embellishment which adorn Ferdowsi’s stories. Now, this Zahhak was an Arab by birth, who possessed ten thousand (bévar) horses and hence was surnamed Bévarasp. A merciless and malignant character, he became a patricide and an ardent follower of Ahriman, who bestowed upon him a thousand years of rule over the world. This was a dark period filled with death, destruction, torture and poverty. Zahhak himself suffered constantly from two snakes which had grown upon his shoulders where Ahriman had placed his kisses; they could be placated only by feeding them the brains of two youths. Then the usurper sought legitimization by marrying two sisters of Jam8éd, but finally he was overthrown by an Iranian prince, Fréddn, who came to power by a national uprising led by the blacksmith Kave, whose

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leathern apron became the origin of the national Iranian banner, Derafs-e Kavian. The victors bound Zahhak and imprisoned him in a cave in Mount Damiavand near Ray, where he would remain until the Day of Resurrection.

Fréd6n then married JamSed’s two sisters and ascended the throne on the first day of the month Mehr, coinciding with the autumnal equinox, which henceforth was celebrated as the Feast of Mehrgan. His five-hundred-year rule was marked by peace, justice and prosperity. He divided his "worldempire" among his three sons, giving the West (R6m) to Salm, the East (Tiran/Turkistan [Torkestan]) to Tir, and the most important "Heartland", Erangahr, to his youngest and most noble son, Iraj. Enraged at this decision, the older brothers plotted and killed Iraj, thus originating a long chain of feuds between EranSahr and Taran and also Rém which overshadowed the subsequent history of the three nations. Iraj’s murder was avenged by a prince of his descent named Mandéehr, whose accession brought the mythical period to a close. The only heroic family of this age was that of Kave, named after his son Karen/Qaren and better known by the later surnames KaSvadgan and Godarzian. It was through Kave, therefore, that the Karenids of the Arsacid and Sasanian times claimed ascendancy over noble families. This portion of the Sah-ndma is relatively short, amounting to some 2,100 verses (or four percent of the entire book), and it narrates the events with the simplicity, predictability and swiftness of a historical work (the main source was the prose Sadh-ndma of Abii Mansiir), which recalls the similar account given by Ta‘lebi. Naturally, the strength and charm of Ferdowsi’s poetry have done much to make the story of this period attractive and lively. 2. The heroic age. Almost two-thirds of the Sadh-ndma is devoted to the age of heroes, extending from Mandéehr’s reign until the conquest of Eskandar (Alexander). The main feature of this period is the major role played by the Sagzi (Saka) or Sistani heroes who appear as the backbone of the Iranian empire. GarSasp is briefly mentioned as is his son Naréman, whose own son Sam acted as the leading paladin of Mandéehr while reigning in Sistan in his own right. His successors were Zal ("golden white") and his son, Rostam, the bravest of the brave, and then Framarz. Other heroes who shared in the shaping of the history of Iran were: the Karenids (Godarzian) who intermarried with the House of GarSasp; the royal heroes of the Nédarian (named after Nodar, son of Mandtehr), best represented by TOs and Gostahm, two Avestan heroes whose roles are greatly modified in the Sah-nama; the Mélad (the House of Mehran); the House of Goraza (the Varaz family) and several lesser houses. Each of these had its own army and

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its own banner with heraldic signs, and each ruled in its own right in a part of the empire. They acted as intermediaries between the Great King and the people. There was a deep rivalry among them but they did not resort to arms to solve their problems. The feudal society in which they lived is admirably depicted in the Sahnama with accuracy and lavishness. Indeed, Ferdowsi’s descriptions are so vivid and impressive that the reader feels himself participating in the events or closely viewing them. The tone is magnificently epic and moving, while the language is extremely rich and varied. The main attraction of this section is a number of episodes coming from independent stories. These bring more variation and longer descriptive passages to the Sah-ndma than the prose work of Abi Mansir could bring, save for the case of the tale of Zal and Ridabe, which the latter work evidently contained. In this romance, Zal was born as a baby with long white hair and so thought to have been affected by Ahriman’s spell. Cast away by his father, Sim, he was nursed by Simorg, the mythical bird with magic powers. After his father saw him in a dream and repented, Zal was brought back to his home. Later he achieved heroic deeds; he then fell in love with Ridabe, daughter of the king of Kabol who was a descendant of Zahhak, a fact that hindered their marriage until court astronomers predicted that it would result in the birth of Rostam, the greatest Iranian hero. This secured Mandéehr’s permission and the marriage was enacted. One year later Rostam was born, brought into the world not in the normal way but, as fitting a hero, by Caesarian section.

A most impressive figure of the heroic period is Afrasiab, son of PeSang, and a descendant of Tir. As a mighty warrior lord, he ruled over the vast empire of Turan, constantly raised armies and waged wars against Iran, and allied himself with the KiSanians, the Chinese and Khotanese. His first exploit was a victory over Nodar, whom he killed, and the overrunning of EranSahr. His first major sin was the murder of his own younger brother, Agrérat. His rule over Iran lasted for several years, and was marked by his defeat of the Arabs who had made an incursion into the land. He was finally driven out by Zal and the K4renids. After the short reign of Zi, son of Tahmasp, the council of nobles headed by Zal elected prince Qobad of the race of Fréddn as king of Eransahr. Rostam, now having grown into a mighty warrior and having succeeded in obtaining RakS, the only horse which could carry him, journeyed to the Alborz Mountain, and brought back Qobad to Estakr (Estakr). With this prince began the House of Kayan. Kay Qobad defeated Afrasiab and ruled with

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justice and magnanimity for 150 years. His short-tempered and weak son, Kay Kaviis (or more correctly Kay Us>Kavis), had a reign of similar length, but his was marked with wrong deeds and unwise decisions. Thus, he made a flying attempt on a throne borne by four eagles in order to conquer the sky, but fell down in disgrace. Then he invaded Yemen, where he fell in love with Siidabe, the daughter of the Yemeni king, and married her against the advice of Iranian nobles. His father-in-law used the opportunity afforded by the ceremony, to take KAviisand all his men captive; Rostam had to go to Yemen to rescue them. Afterwards, the beauty of Mazandaran lured K4vis into that dangerous realm, and he with his whole army and nobles fell into the hands of the White Dév, who blinded them and kept them in a remote prison. Once more Rostam went, alone, to liberate Kaviis. He passed through "Seven Stages" (or Labours), and finally encountered and killed the White Dév, using his blood as medicine to cure the king and his men. Thereafter Kaviis ruled mildly for a while, built a beautiful palace complex containing seven buildings each of a different colour, and made the land prosperous. Soon, however, Kavi’ bad nature recurred. While on a hunting trip, Rostam had reached the land of Samangan, where he married Princess Tahmine. She begot a son, Sohrab, who grew up in Samangan, and desiring to see his father and, at the same time, to prove his own might, he accepted an offer by Afrasiab to take a Tiranian army against Kay Kaviis. Sohrab led the force with great success, overcame all Iranian resistance, including that of a heroine, Gordafarid, and finally encountered Rostam, who hid his own identity on the battle field. The young warrior defeated his father, but was tricked and overpowered by him in a second combat, where he received a mortal wound. Sohrab revealed his descent, and the bewildered and lamentful Rostam begged K4viis to send him the life-saving medicine which was in the royal treasury, but the king ignored Rostam’s services and denied him his help in this crucial moment, thus letting Sohrab die.

Not long afterwards, Kaviis begot a son named Siadvu’, whom Rostam raised and trained. His step-mother, Stidabe, fell in love with the prince who was nowa gallant warrior and possessed the noblest character. Having failed to seduce Siavu8, Siidabe accused him of having abused her. Sidvus accepted the divine ordeal by fire and, passing through it unharmed, proved his innocence. Then he and Rostam campaigned against the Tiranian invader, Afrasiab, and defeated him and forced him to make a pact recognizing the Oxus as the boundary between the two empires. Kaviis refused to ratify this treaty and urged Siavus to continue the war. In order not to break his treaty, the prince left Iran with a few companions and took

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refuge with Afrasiab, who received him with honour, gave his own daughter, Farangés (Farigés), to him in marriage and bestowed a portion of his kingdom upon him. Later, however, Afrasiab killed Sidvu8 at the instigation of Garsévaz, his brother, and caused wars of vengeance and deep grief upon Taran. But Afrasiab made good all his defeats and brought many harms upon EranSahr. Siavu’ begot a son, Kay Kosrow, whom Pérdn, the wise minister of Afrasiab, raised. Gév, son of Gédarz, went to Tiran in search of Kay Kosrow, and after seven years found the prince and brought him back to Iran. A conflict then broke out on the question of succession: Gddarz led the supporters of Kay Kosrow while Tos headed the partisans of Fariborz, a son of Kaviis. Kay Kosrow won after the divine Adar GoSansp intervened on his behalf, and Tos and Fariborz and others accepted him as the rightful king of Iran. He then reviewed his armies and dispatched them under Tés to continue the war of vengeance against his maternal grandfather, Afrasiab. But Tds made grave tactical and strategical mistakes. Firstly, he chose the road which the King had forbidden him to take, and on the way he encountered Farid, a son of SiavuS, and senselessly engaged in enslaving him with the result that the prince defended himself and died in so doing. Secondly, Tés let himself be outgeneralled by Péran and had to return in disgrace. A second expedition under Gddarz fared worse, and many Iranian knights, sons of Gédarz included, were killed and many more were besieged by the Tiranians. After a truce, a third Iranian army, again led by a rehabilitated Tés, renewed the war, but Afrasiab, aided by the Chinese, the Kisans, Khotanese and other nations, inflicted defeats upon Iranians and came close to annihilating them. At that moment Rostam appeared on the scene, slew the most glorious KiSanian heroes, ASkabis and Kamis, then captured the Emperor (Kaqan) of China, routed the allied forces and took an enormous amount of booty from them. These he sent to Kay Kosrow.

Following this battle Rostam had some adventures with the Dévs and won more fame and glory. In particular, he had a perilous encounter with Akiiman (written Akvan), who lifted into the sky a rock upon which Rostam was sleeping and threw him into the Sea. Having swum ashore, Rostam unexpectedly met the Dév and killed him. Subsequently, the beautiful romance of Bézan and ManézZeis described. Some Armenians complained to Kay Kosrow that their farms suffered from the havoc wreaked by wild boars, and the king sought a volunteer to go and destroy the beasts. Only BéZan, son of Gév, accepted the challenge and

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accomplished the task, but misled by his companion, who envied him, he lost the way and moved into the Tiranian borderland. There he met Manéze, a daughter of Afrasiab, and the two fell in love. Garsévaz learned of the affair and treacherously captured BéZan. Only Péran’s appeal and reasoning saved Bézan from death; he was chained and kept in a deep well capped by a huge stone. Angry and unhappy at the disappearance of his son, Gév begged Kay Kosrow to use his royal and magical powers to rescue him. The King waited until NG Riiz, when he saw the warrior through the magic cap, safe but imprisoned. Rostam was informed, and travelling in the guise of a merchant, he reached Tiran, found the well and liberated BéZan. The wars with Afrasiab then continued. Many a time Iranians routed the enemy, but he always escaped and made good his setbacks. Finally, a great campaign led the Iranians under Kay Kosrow to the heart of Turan, and twelve knights (rok-s) of each side arranged for duels, and in all cases the Iranians triumphed. Even Péran was killed by Godarz. Then Kay Kosrow personally took the field and after a long adventurous expedition, he fought his maternal grandfather in person in a great battle. The arrangements of the two armies, the nations taking part in it, and the location where it was fought, and, interestingly enough, the presence of Roman advisors on the side of Kosrow indicate that the battle was reconstructed after the example of Kosrow AndSéravan’s combat with the Hephthalites, a good instance of anachronism whereby contemporary or recent events could be depicted as having taken place in antiquity. Kay Kosrow defeated Afrasiab and chased him through many lands, from China to Kerm4n and thence to Central Asia. Finally he captured the Turanian with the decisive aid of a sage named Him (a personification of god Hauma, no doubt), and killed him. He then pardoned the Tirdnians and appointed the son of Afrasiab, Jahn, as their king. A period of peace and prosperity followed, which became proverbial in Iranian history.

Kay Kosrow himself, however, despaired of the world, and fearing that might and glory would blind him and cause despotism and unjust rule, he decided, as Cyrus the Great in Xenophon’s romance, to bestow his kingdom to a prince and leave the scene peacefully. Despite his nobles’ objections, he elected Lohrasp, a relative of little fame, as the heir to the throne and defended his qualities, then made a journey to a mountain peak where he disappeared, or, as they said, became immortal. Some heroes, such as Gév, Gostahm and Tos, followed him but were lost in the snow, a rationalization of the Zoroastrian notion that they became immortal but will remain asleep until the Day of Resurrection when they will rise to lead Iranian armies again.

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Lohrasp ruled with benevolence and peace. Of his two sons, Go8stasp expected the throne before his father’s death and, failing to obtain it, went in anger to the land of Rom (=Byzantine), alone and in disguise. There he was well received by a dehqdn, a descendant of Fréd6n, and won the heart of KatayOn, the daughter of Caesar, through a dream, and was chosen by her, against the wrath of her parents, as her beloved and husband. The two had to leave the court, but after several acts of heroism, such as the killing of a mythical wolf and a dragon, GoStasp was recognized and given the highest place of honour at the side of Caesar. LohrAsp learned of the story, and sent his other son, Zarér, to bring back GoStasp, promising to give him the throne. This was done, and Lohrasp retired to a fire temple in Balk. At this moment Ferdowsi breaks his narrative to relate how he saw Dagiqi in a dream and was asked by him to incorporate his one thousanddistich story of Gostasp and Arjasp into the Sah-ndma, a suggestion that the poet accepted with satisfaction (cf. above, 70). He then takes up the unfinished account of Daqiqi, and relates the rest of it. The news that Gostasp had imprisoned his heroic son Esfandyar and then gone to Sistan gave Arjasp a golden opportunity to launch an attack against the unguarded land of Iran. He swiftly moved against Balk, captured it and gave it to his soldiers to plunder. The aged Lohrasp, ZardoSt (Zoroaster) and eighty priests were killed, and the entire nation threatened. Deeply grieved, Esfandyar accepted his father’s plea for reconciliation and took the field against Arjasp. A mighty battle was fought and Arjasp was defeated and had to take refuge in an impregnable castle called the Brazen Hold (Rién-dez), taking with him two sisters of Esfandyar. To rescue them, Esfandyar embarked upon a dangerous campaign and met and overcame seven great obstacles in "Seven Labours" similar to those of Rostam on his way to Mazandaran. Finally, he reached the Hold and hid his troop near it. Then having learned about its defense, he devised a plan similar to that known in the West as the Trick of Ulysses: he transported eighty pairs of his bravest men into the castle by hiding them in chests borne by beasts of burden and led by himself in the guise of a rich merchant loaded with gifts for Arjasp. Upon a pre-arranged moment he started slaughtering the defenders while his brother, Pasotan, posing as Esfandyar, led the Iranian army against the fort from outside. The castle was captured and Arjasp killed.

Upon his victorious return, Esfandyar requested his father to fulfill the promise he had made, namely, to abdicate in his favour. But Gostasp would not give up his throne, and knowing from a prediction by his minister, Jamasp,

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that Esfandyar would meet his death if fighting Rostam, he demanded that the prince should bring Rostam in chains to the court before he could ascend to the king’s throne. Unwillingly, Esfandyar led an expedition to Sistin, hoping that he could make Rostam accept the royal chains without a fight. The outcome was different: Rostam could not tolerate anyone’s chain, and, despite deep misgivings, he had to fight the prince. But since Esfandyar had been made invulnerable [by Zoroaster, the legend had it], Rostam suffered severe wounds whereas his arrows proved useless against Esfandyar. Finally, Simorg revealed Esfandyar’s secret: only through his eyes could he be killed. Guided by Simorg, Rostam fashioned special arrows from the slender branches of a certain tamarisk tree, and shot Esfandyar through his eyes and killed him. GoStasp abdicated in favour of Bahman, son of Esfandyar, who was surnamed ArdaSér the Long-armed (derdz-dast) —clearly recalling Artaxerxes I of the Achaemenid dynasty. Shortly afterwards, Rostam met his death through the trickery of his step-brother, Sogad ("the Jackal"), but succeeded in avenging the betrayal by killing the murderer just before his own final breath. Bahman then waged a war of vengeance against the House of Rostam (this is the subject of long epics composed after Ferdowsi by poets who drew on the sources which the great poet had made no use of), and killed Framarz, son of Rostam, imprisoned Zl and devastated Sistan. With this episode, the heroic age of the Sah-ndma comes to a close.

3. The historical age. Bahman’s reign is treated briefly, and the accounts of the reigns of his successors, Queen Homay, her son Dara and the latter’s son, Dara-ye Darayan, are also fairly short. (The last two figures are clearly taken from the Achaemenid history and represent Darius II and Darius II). The next lengthy episode is devoted to the story of Eskandar/Sekandar (Alexander), which is basically derived from a recension of the Alexander Romance by Pseudo-Callisthenes. In contradiction to other places in the Sahnama, here Alexander is represented as a rightful Persian prince (he is the oldest son of Dara from the daughter of Filgiis [= Philip]), and his adventures are described with some enthusiasm. The shortest account of any phase of Iranian history, concerning "some two hundred years of the Petty Rulers, the A&kdnian (Arsacids)", follows the history of Alexander and precedes that of Ardasér, which is mainly derived from the Kar-ndma of Ardaseéror from the Testament of Ardaseér.

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After this, the Sasanian history is related with a good deal of accuracy.” Only the accounts of the reigns of Sapir II, Bahram V (known as Bahram-e Gor, the Hunter), Kosrow Andséravan the Just, and of Kosrow Parvéz (the Victorious), match the heroic part of the Sah-ndma in minuteness, appeal and beauty of words and form. Particularly, the adventures of Bahram-e Gor and of Bahram-e Cobin recall Rostam’s deeds, and are recorded with the warmth and interest familiar from the earlier sagas. Interestingly, the claim of Bahram-e Cobin to the Arsacid throne and his belittling of the Sdsanian family are very faithfully related. The fall of the Sdsanians and the Arab conquest are narrated romantically, in a most moving poetic language so mournful that one is tempted to see here Ferdowsi himself lamenting the catastrophe and the arrival of "the army of Darkness (sepdh-e Sab-e téra)". The same episode is given in the Gorar of Ta‘alebi, who also used the Sahnama of Abi Mansir, as a heavenly deliverance. The singular message that the Sah-ndma of Ferdowsi strives to convey is the idea that the history of EranSahr was a complete and immutable whole: it started with Gayomart, the first man, and ended with his fiftieth scion and successor, Yazdegerd III. All of these were Iranian. The six thousand years of history (since the creation of GayOmart), and the three thousand years of glorious unbroken reigns were achieved by Iranian-born princes, save the period of Zabhak, the Arab usurper. Even Alexander had been admitted into the Persian kings’ family. The task of Ferdowsi was to prevent this history from losing its connection with future Iranian generations, and he succeeded by conceiving and creating the greatest history of Iran in the most appealing language and in the finest garb, epic poetry. It was clear that with the fall of the Sdsanians a great change had occurred which was irrevocable: Thenceforth, the time is the time of ‘Omar, As religion is spread, the pulpit (menbar) replaces the throne.”

12. One mark of historicity in this section is its exact dating of certain events, of which the followings may be noted: Bahram-e Gor’s birthdate (Hormazd-e Farvardin of his father’s eighth regnal year: VII, 268:°'); Bahram-e Gor’s accession (Sorii8-e Adar: VII, 302:™); And&géravan’sLetter (Bahram-e Kordad: VIII, 58:”**); accession of Bahram-e Codbin(Hiir-e Adar: IX, 62:%); inauguration of the Taqdés Throne (1st NG Riiz, IX, 225°); Kosrow Parvéz’ overthrow (Dey-e Adar of his 38th year of reign: IX, 362:™). 13. Sah-nama, IX, 380:™'. This is undoubtedly a reply to the authors of the Persian version of Tabari’s Commentary on the Qor’an, which defends Arab traditions (Tarjoma-ye Tafsir-i Tabari, ed. H. Yagma’i, II, 409ff) and concluded (II, 414): "And until the world ends, the days of ‘Omar will remain as historical example of excellent traditions".

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The Sah-ndma aimed at preserving the splendid history of the pre-pulpit period by giving a mirror to every Iranian who could see in it his forebears’ thinking, words and deeds.” FERDOWSI’S

AIM

The idea, expressed in the traditional vita, that Ferdowsi started composing the Sah-ndma by the order of Mahmiid and upon a financial arrangement (namely, one gold coin in return for one distich) is a myth. No doubt the hope of being well received by the Soltan and handsomely rewarded is expressed in some parts of the Sah-ndma, but they all date from the later years of the poet’s life, when he had already finished almost all of his work and in so doing had spent his own resources and in old age was left with poverty and poor health.” In his dedication of the Sah-nama to Soltan Mahmid, Ferdowsi’s aim was mainly to preserve its valuable copies in a royal library (garat goft-e dyad be Sahadnsepar) thus making its publication possible and easy.’* In the age of feudal lords and destructive warfare, this was a legitimate precaution to take; almost all masterpieces of Persian literature owe their survival to similar circumstances, and many religious, scientific, poetic and romantic works which were not properly patronized perished in the course of time. 2 The real aims of Ferdowsi are reflected in his own Sah-ndma. He hoped to revive and strengthen Iranian nationalism and immortalize his own name by preserving in a most moving and melodious style of epic poetry the memory of those who shaped Iranian history and defended the Iranian heritage. He was resolved to clear their names from the accusations, made by newly converted Iranians themselves, that they had been pagans and had committed evil acts. He intended to illustrate the charm and appeal of the Persian culture and language in an age when some of the Iranians expressed the belief that the only tongue worthy of scholars and poets was the language of the Arab conquerors of Iran. In short, he intended to revive Iranian dreams and fulfill his own ideals. Let us now consider these aims in some detail.

1. The recasting of ancient history into poetic form. Ferdowsi knew better than anyone that the history and legends of EranSahr comprised a large

14, Sah-nama, II, 6:"; VII, 323:2*;VIII, 303782 IX) 2107 15. See above, 85ff. 16. See especiallySah-ndma, I, 24:7, 26: VI, 137:>",323:

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literary treasure, both in prose and in poetry, which meant that he had in reality nothing new to present or, better still, to "invent":””

All have gone sweeping in the garth of lore And what I tell hath all been told before. However, two related considerations led Ferdowsi to undertake the composition of the Iranian national history into epic poetry. Firstly, he was convinced that poetry was a better form of publicizing concepts and immortalizing a nation’s heritage because:

Accounts writteninvariousmonographs willdisperse. Whentheyarerecastintopoetry(Co peyvastaSod),theywillforever al ¢ occupyheartsandminds. Hence it was necessary to reduce the ancient history and sagas of Iran, especially the version prepared by Abi Mansir, into poetic form, and this had been proven to be a difficult but rewarding task by the young Daqiqi, whose life was cut short and whose work remained to be perfected and completed. Ferdowsi had confidence in his own poetic ability and undertook the task with a deep sense of inspiration and visionary mission.” Secondly, Ferdowsi was an artist by nature and needed to fulfill his creative powers; he realized that he was a gifted poet” and drew deep joy from reading good poetry and even more so from composing it.” Poetry, he said, was the source of happiness” and the best and most precious memorial.” Convinced of his own skill and elated by the choice of the subject of his composition, he drew immense pleasure in revitalizing ancient times and heroes” and formed, as we have seen, a deep characters whom he resurrected. a

The vindication of ancient Iranians.

relationship

with the

With the spread of Islam, Semitic

>, Ibid; 3; 2085 it Ibid VILLAS Ses

.. ibid, 1, 22ff.. VI, 1362";

ibid. 1,23: 520-75Vig1307 . Ibid., VI, 136:°, Vill, 255-7; also V, 238:°", VI, 165:™,166:"”. . Ibid., V, 8:”: Til, 6:*7;,VU, 263:”. _ Ibid., VIL, 115.

. See especiallyibid., I, 23:'°; TH,6:'%,169:7°%,V, 7:°", 238f.; VII, 64:°°%,136:°";VIII,

120

THE

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legends were given the opportunity to rapidly replace or overshadow Iranian history and heroic accounts. Iranian culture was also endangered by the neglect of traditions and deliberate distortion of customs and the tarnishing of ancient personalities and events. Three examples of such menacing factors suffice to illustrate the point. The first is reported by DawlatSah:* Once Prince ‘Abd-Allah ebn-e Taher, ruler of Koradsan under the ‘Abbasids, was sitting in audience in Nisapir. A man brought forth a book and offered it to him as a present. The prince inquired as to the nature of the book. The man answered, "This is the story of Vameq and ‘Adra, a pleasant tale compiled by some savants in the name of King Andséravan". The prince stated, "We are the people who read the Qor’an. We desire nothing besides the Qo’rdn and the accounts of the Prophet. To us such books as this are useless, and this book is the work of Zoroastrian scholars (mogan), and in our view unacceptable". He then gave orders that the book be thrown into water and issued a decree commanding that wherever books written by the older Persians (‘Ajam) and Zoroastrian scholars (mogdan) were kept, they must all be burnt.

The Persian version of Tabari’s Commentary on the Qo’radn denounced Jamséd as the founder of idol worshipping,” and emphasized that all evil deeds in the world resulted from the crime of Qabil (Cain). It went on to describe what these deeds were (perfectly aware that here the Iranian traditions were meant):”

The worship of fire, so widespread in the world [a reference to Zoroastrians], was initiated by Qabil at the instigation of Ahriman. Also, he was the first to drink intoxicating wine [in Iranian traditions, Jamséd had this role], again at the inducement of Ahriman who told him that it takes away sorrows. Ahriman advised him to construct various stringed instruments such as the harp (barbat), long-necked guitar (fanbir), the lute (¢ang) and similar musical implements, and to recite incantations (mazdmir) accompanied by music. So Qabil and his family consumed that wine, and became intoxicated, and they engaged in merrymaking with dancing and singing and the playing of musical instruments. People gathered around them and learned from them wine drinking, playing on musical tools, making new musical

25. Tadkerat al-So‘ard, 30.

26. Tarjoma-yeTafsir-eTabari,ed. H. Yagma’i,II, Tehran (1340S./1961),401ff. 27. Ibid.,402.

FERDOWSI’S AIM

121

instruments, and the chanting of joyful songs. The Commentary narrates this upon the occasion where the Qo’ran (Ma’eda, 90) prohibits wine-drinking, idolatry and the playing of musical instruments, describing them as acts of the Evil. In the same spirit, the great Moslem saint, Emam Mohammed-e Gazzili of Tés, wrote, two generations after Ferdowsi, to condone the anti-Iranian traditions which by then had developed in influential Moslem religious circles. On dining etiquette, he prescribed: ..9econdly, one must not remain silent, since that is the custom of the ancient Iranians (’Ajam), but one must make pleasantries. [After the meal is consumed] people must wash their hands in one container, and not, as the Persians do, use separate water bowls; and preferably they must all wash in one bowl and simultaneously, because this indicates humility.

Again, prohibiting the traditional observation of Iranian feasts, this famous sage ordains:” Of these, some are religiously forbidden, and some are disapproved. Now, to depict animals is forbidden, and prohibited are also anything sold specifically for NO Riz and Sada, such as wooden shields and swords or clay bugles. This act is by itself not illegal, but it is observing the traditions of Zoroastrians, which are against the Religion, and, therefore, must not be done. Indeed, lavishly decorating the bazaars for the occasion of N6 Riz and making large quantities of sweets or arranging various ceremonials for NO Riz are to be avoided. Nay, N6 Riz and Sada must fall out of use, and nobody should even learn of their names, so much so that some of our predecessors have said that one must observe a fast on such feast days in order to render the food spoilt, and one must not kindle a light on the Eve of Sada, so that no fire at all could be seen. And scholars (mohaqqeqdn) have said that the keeping of a fast on those days should include a prohibition of the utterance of their names as well, and one must in no way even mention such feasts, and No Riz and Sada must be degraded to become perfectly ordinary days, in order that no name or trace of

28. Kimia-yesa‘adat,Tehran (1319$./1940),I, 478. 29. Ibid., 258-59.

122

THE them

shall

UNDYING

MEMORIAL

remain.

Ferdowsi’s aim in defending Iranian tradition and history is made perfectly clear by the fact that he is alone in avoiding any Semitization of Iranian heroes and customs: he does not follow others in equating GayOmart with Adam; Jamséd with Solomon; or Kaviis with Saddad. He praises the Iranians for possessing all qualities necessary to create the honourable, chivalrous and happy life of a cultured people, thus vindicating the Iranians of the past and ridiculing pro-Arab elements.” In certain passages, his intention is clearly stated: the Iranians were not fire-worshippers but righteous monotheists;” the dtaskada-s were merely places for worshipping God,” while the Arabs went so far as to ascribe to Him a house;” No Riz and Sada and Mehrgan were the heritage of ancient Iranians and must be observed with all due ritual and magnificence.* Finally, he adjures the reader not to neglect such heroes as ArdeSér, Bahram[-e Gor] and Andséravan, nor to mention them slightingly.° As a monument to such heroes, indeed, as a proof of their greatness, Ferdowsi offered his Sah-ndma: The chronicle of the past kings, nobles and knights, It contains all manners of warfare and feasting as well as practical advice and pleasing words accumulated in a long time. Not only that, but it is the guide for the receiving of the blessing of the other world, and embodies rules of wisdom, religion, establishment and organization.” That Ferdowsi achieved his aim of reviving Iranian nationalism and preventing Iranian history and traditions from disappearing into the amalgamated heap of Arabization is proved by their survival in the way in which he purified and transmitted them to us. 30. A perfect evidence of this view is Ferdowsi’s retention of his sources’s wordings of the "Letter of Rostam-e Farrokzad". Also, in VII, 186:°°*!, Ferdowsi recalls "our noble ancestors (koja an gozida nidkan-e ma), who were splendid sovereigns, glorious knights, wise commanders, valiant honoured soldiers, revered and venerable courageous leaders"; these verses were taken over by the "Satire".

31. Sahnama, I, 35:°;V, 365:°°. 32. Ibid,,.365°"", 33. Ibid., VII, 41:°™.

34. Ibid., 1, 34:°, 42:°, 79:"°. 35. Ibid., VII, 174:°%",454:°!; VIII, 62:'%, 95:76",314:467, See also Ch. V, n. 33, and below, 127. 36. Ibid., V1, 323:°"". In this instance a prose translation seemed more appropriate (for poetical rendition see below, 127). Again, these verses were taken over by the "Satire". Cf. VIII, 303:*""'where Ferdowsi specifies that his only desire is to complete this chronicle.

FERDOWSI’S

AIM

123

3. The creation of an undying memorial. Ferdowsi knew that monuments to ancient Iran had been created many times by various historians and poets, and he had one such monument, Abii Mansiir’s work, in hand. So there was no question of originality. But what he found himself capable of achieving was to create the same monument anew yet on such strong foundations that it would remain forever. With the help of a vivid imagination and profound literary knowledge, his principal aim in life was to recast the neglected history of ancient Iran into a beautifully-worded and solidly-formed monumental work:”

Thirty long years I laboured [on this construction],

I revived ancient Persia (‘Ajam)in this Persian tongue (be-dinParsi). When this celebrated history comes to a close, My fame will spread throughout the realm. Thereafter I will never die, since I attain immortality (na-miram az-in pas ke man zenda-am), By creating such a paradise of poetry. One While

age the

shall

depart

words

and

I have

another

written

succeed the

learned

shall

read!

Whoever is possessed of intelligence, judgment and faith (har an kas ke darad hos o ray o din), Shall, after I depart, bestow praises on me (pas az marg bar man konad Gfarin). Ferdowsi’s expectations were fulfilled. Soon after his death, his Sah-nama became accepted among Persians as the equivalent of the Qor’an among the Arabs.* 4. The revitalization of Iranian nationalism. The idea of "nationalism" as known today is a fairly recent European development which has spread into other countries. However, a people with a common background (descent, language, religion, and customs) living in a specifically determined and continuously maintained land naturally develops strong nationalistic bonds. Such ties had created an undeniable nationalism among the Iranians which

37. Ibid., V, 238:°; IX, 210:°", 381:°"". These verses were also borrowed by the "Satire". 38. Nasr-Allah Zia’-al-Din ebn-e al-Atir (d. 630/1231), brother of the famous historian, commented on the Persian epic poetry in his Al-Matal al-sd’erfi adab al-kateb wa’l-Sa‘er,Cairo (1312/1895), 324, and noted that Ferdowsi had composed his Sah-nama in 60,000 distichs, and that "it is the Qor’dn of the Iranians (‘Ajam)", unsurpassed even in Arabic literature", see Taqizadeh, 276f. and A. von Grunebaum, Islam, 178f.

124

THE

UNDYING

MEMORIAL

became particularly powerful under the Sasanians.” The Islamic conquest brought a shattering reaction in that it destroyed traditions safeguarding nationalism and replaced them with religious considerations. Profound Iranian opposition to this reaction was especially through the So‘iibia movement, which prevented Iran’s assimilation into an Arabic entity.” However, by Ferdowsi’s time, nationalistic ideas had suffered severe defeats. The pro-‘Abbisid kings and Sunni priests were adverse to revival of Iranian traditions, and the Persian language was attacked by thousands of Arabic synonyms which gradually tended to replace the older terms." The idea that Islam meant accepting all Semitic legends and customs had undermined Iranian resistance to pan-Arabism.” Therefore, the nationalism expressed in the Sah-ndma, even if not wholly of Ferdowsi’s own conception, has been a great factor in Iranian survival. By composing the Sah-ndma, Ferdowsi definitely consolidated the Persian language to the extent that it was no longer threatened, and nothing like this monument was created for another language in direct contact with Arabic. Therefore, he is justified in declaring with satisfaction:® Thirty long years I laboured [on the Sah-namal, Ancient Persia (‘Ajam) I revived in this Persian [tongue]. Henceforth, the term ‘Ajam lost its derogatory meaning, and the attempt to Arabize the Persian language was decidedly inhibited.

As for Iranian religion, Ferdowsi magnificently emphasized the favourable qualities of the ancient "Good Faith" (Dén-e Behi), and portrayed his ancestors as a monotheistic people with strong ethical convictions.“ He thus created a powerful means of defense against Moslem accusations, and

39. For discussion and literature see Adolf Rapp, "Die Religion und Sitte der Perser und iibrigen Iranier nach den griechischen und rémischen Quellen", ZDMG, XX (1866), 123-26; A. Christensen, L’Iran sous les sassanides, 2nd ed., Copenhagen (1944), 97, 212, 217 and passim. 40. See above, 34.

41. On this invasion see M.-T. M. Bahar, SabkSendsi, I, Tehran (1321 S./ 1942), 258ff.; B. Spuler, Iran in Friih-Islamischer Zeit, Wiesbaden (1952), 237ff. 42. See above, 120-21. The eighth century Balki Siifi leader, Ebrahim ebn-e Adham, would not consider those who did not speak Arabic worthy of talking to; see ‘Abd-Allah ebn-e Mohammad ebn-e ... Hosayni-ye Balki, Faza’el-e Balk, ed. ‘Abd-al-Hayy Habibi, Tehran (1350 §./1971), 95.

43. Sah-nama,IX, 381. 44. For discussion and references see M. Mo‘in, Mazdaysnd wa tattir-e dn dar adabiyat-eParsi, 366ff.

FERDOWSI’S

AIM

125

provided a source of pride for those who valued their pre-Islamic history. These factors in turn greatly consolidated the foundations of Iranian nationalism. Ferdowsi profoundly believed in the racial identity of all the Iranians, and stressed it throughout his great epic by giving them a history common to all, by emphasizing that the task undertaken by him was to revive the heritage of all his fellow countrymen.* But his greatest service was to stimulate and strengthen the pride in being Iranian so effectively that he prevented Iran from assimilation into an Arabic nation. Some of his poetical words have to this day remained the clearest expressions of nationalistic ideas and sentiments: If it is not in Iran, let my own self not be (na-bdasad be-Iran tan-e man ma-bdd).*°

Calamity will it be if Iran is destroyed And For

made the

the den

sake

of wild beasts.”

of our

homeland

and

people,

Our consorts, children and our newborn, We all, to the last, rather would give our lives, Than

leave

Well

said

to the

foe this

the mdbad

Is far better

than

that

ancient

land.*

to die with

to live under

honour

victorious

foe.”

It may be stated with fairness that no one has influenced the concept of Iranian nationalism as has Ferdowsi. After his Sah-ndma became known, it was no longer possible to deny the unity of those who understood and loved it as "their" book or to deprive them of a common source, i.e., "Iranian heritage" and "nationality". Henceforth, no Iranian could read the "Letter of Rostam" to his brother on the Arab conquest of Iran and its consequences and remain passive. Where many Iranian military and religious leaders failed Ferdowsi succeeded, and with his Sah-ndma the revival and immortality of a nation became possible.” It is small wonder, therefore, that "internationalists" have invariably shown antagonism towards the Sah-nama; even when

45. See the judicious comments of Grunebaum,

Is/am, 170.

46. Sah-nama, Il, 219:™. In popular usage, this statement is slightly distorted. 47. Ibid., 1, 138:""". AB» Ibid., TV, 278°". 49. Ibid., Il, 218:™.

50. The same role was played by the Sah-ndma in this century for the re-awakening of Iran’s national consciousness.

126

THE

UNDYING

MEMORIAL

Ferdowsi was still alive the reaction had started (see above, 3, 4, 5-6, 7 etc.), but evidently to no avail. It is worth quoting the judgment of the great historian Bertold Spuler (placed at the beginning of this work) on this point again:” In the last analysis it was The Sah-ndma, Ferdowsi’s poetical work of universal literary rank, that became the milestone for the selfaffirmation of the Iranian identity. For the Iranian people indeed live, more than do the Arabs, in and by means of their poets; and the importance of the poems of Ferdowsi (and subsequently of later poets) for the preservation of the Iranian character can in no way be overestimated. They provided the entire Iranian folk — nobles, townspeople, artisans and peasants —with that “Iranianness" which despite all social differences united them, perfectly mirrored their image, and allowed them to identify themselves as fully and totally Iranian. 5. Personal fame and prestige. One aim of Ferdowsi in composing his Sah-ndma was to acquire worldwide fame and acceptance in learned and noble circles.” This was not a new concept; we see it, for instance, in the cases of Abi Mansiir’s prose work and Dagqiqi’s Goitdsp-nama. But Ferdowsi achieved this goal more than anyone else. When he was seeking to obtain his primary source, his friend supplied a copy and urged him:*

Now go and recast into verse this Book of Kings, And with that, seek honour from noble souls (be-din july nazd-e mahan aberty). Ferdowsi fulfilled this task, and the true reward he expected was to gain an undying name:*

When I engaged in recasting beauteously the words of the Dehqdn (i.e., Abii Mansir-e ‘Abd-al-Razzaq) I strove

to create

a memorial

So that such a monument

to myself.

is left by me behind;

May praises be unto him who utters praises

51. Iran in Frith-Islamischer

52. Sah-ndma,I, 21:

Zeit, 236.

and passim.

53)elbids, 23:5 54. Ibid., VII, 97:’°"

These verses are borrowed by the "Satire".

FERDOWSI’SAIM Upon me, the composer, after This is how I seek an immortal

I no longer name.

WA | live.

History has proven the poet right. 6. Lessons of history. Ferdowsi did not expect his reader to pass over historical events indifferently, but asked him to think carefully, to see the grounds for the rise and fall of individuals and nations, and to learn from the past in order to improve the present and better shape the future.* Even to Mahmid he sent his Sah-ndma with a request to consider it as a Mirror for Princes:*

Unto him [i.e., Mahmid] will I raise a memorial That stands high as long as man exists. In this history of earlier rulers And

nobles

and

mounted

warriors

of old,

Are found accounts of wars and feasts, of judgments and sayings, Of the events of remote periods of ancient time; Narration of rules of wisdom, religion, restraint and judgment Likewise guidelines for obtaining happiness in the other world. Of these, whatever he deems pleasant and acceptable, Will

benefit

him

in this very

living

world.

The Sdah-ndma stresses that since this world is transient, and since everyone is merely a passerby, one is wise to avoid cruelty, lying, avarice, murder and other evils; instead, one should strive for justice, truth, order and other virtues which bring happiness, ease and honour.” As evidence of the correctness of this line of philosophy, Ferdowsi refers the reader to the contents of the Sah-ndma: Of those ancient heroes and learned men he says: All have

now

perished

and

rest

in their

graves.

Happy is he who did not plant but the seeds of goodness. As evidence for this, King ArdeSér perfectly suffices. When you have heard my words, keep them in mind.* Go and read the History of ancient time [=Sdh-ndmal.

55. Ibid., Il, 76:""°;IV, 8f., 24:7, 32:5; VIL,179: D3Qsue 56. Ibid., VI, 323:7.

ST Ibid IV) 244, 58. Ibid., VII, 186:*.

185f,;VIII, 62:!%, 95:7, 1536.5IX,

See also above 127.

GSEsV; 379:4'.. VII, 153f,279:%; IX, 235ff.,243f.,311f. Again, these verses are taken over by the "Satire".

128

THE

UNDYING

MEMORIAL

[Then willyou see] that the world fullyprospered of them [i.e., of ancient rulers and wise men], Wheneverthey chose the path of justice.” This message is repeatedly conveyed in the Sah-nama,® and is particularly stressed towards the end when the most illustrious king of all time, Kosrow Parvéz, neglected this path and forgetting how unstable the world could be, relied on his own strength, and brought about the destruction of his empire through injustice and avarice.

Another lesson of the Sah-ndma is that despite unavoidable destiny and frequent turns of fortune, despair is inadmissible and unmanly. One seeking high position and glory must strive hard and be prepared for whatever setbacks and difficulties he may encounter: Many are the sufferings which men have borne from this world, But they have accepted them in their search for greatness. The search for exalted position deserves a hearty attempt, Even though it means snatching it from the fangs of a dragon.® By giving the final victory in every episode to the righteous man and by terminating every disaster and time of misfortune with the revival of prosperity and good fortune, Ferdowsi conveys the message that calamities and downfalls are not permanent, that success and glory can be attained even after catastrophes have wreaked devastation, and that hope is the source of all further progress.” CHARACTERISTICS

OF THE SAH-NAMA

1. The history of the Iranian nation. The Sah-nama is first and foremost the history of Iran as based on collective memories of the Iranians, gathered from ancient times, modified and regulated during the Sdsanian period and

59) Ibid

Xan OSs

60. Ibid., V, 365:°°*",VII, 62:'°%,69:77,153:'°", and passim. 61a Ibids, 1X; 2388".

62—Ibid,, 111,202?"

(Chil 164.

63. Ibid., V, 86:°. One of the earlier poets, Hanzala Badgeysi, has a similar verse: If high position lies at the fangs of a lion, Have heart; go forth, snatch it from its mouth.

Z. Safa, Tarik-eAdabiyatdar Iran, 1,6th ed., Tehran (13638./1984), 180. 64. Sah-nama,Il, 76:'"°;V, 86:.

CHARACTERISTICS

OF THE SAH-NAMA

29

sanctified during the three centuries of Arab rule and influence. These materials had been nationalistic in sentiment and had aimed at dignifying the present by linking it to a glorious past; however, the diversity of the sources did not provide the Iranians with a single national history. The Koday-ndma-s had various trends (royal, heroic, religious) but they did not embrace materials of all Iranian groups and thus were not sufficient to "create or revive a feeling for the oneness of Greater Iran through the realization of the oneness of its past".© The task of achieving this goal was left to Ferdowsi, and he succeeded by judiciously collecting and selecting his sources and unifying them into a continuous and naturally flowing narrative of the history of Iran. The successful mission is best described by Alfred von Grunebaum:* He completed his material by delving deep into the "oceans" of saga and legend, into popular romances that had not found their way into authoritative compilations. For his purpose the nature of his sources was perhaps less important than their range. He achieved that integration of Sistani [Sakestani] and Zaboli traditions in the main current of Iranian tradition that the Sdasanian historians and romancers had failed to accomplish, provided of course, they ever intended a synthesis of this kind. By allowing his narrative to roam over the vast expanse from Kabol and Zabol and Sistan through the Persian heart-lands to the Caspian Sea at Mazandaran and again northward across the Oxus into the Tuirdanianplains Ferdowsi united in a fairly consistent whole the essential memories of that area which his contemporaries were prepared to think of as the lands of Iran. It is true that the lines along which the several traditions are riveted together remain for the most part easily discernible. But this may have been less so for the contemporaries. And in any event, Ferdowsi succeeded in laying down the frontiers of a Greater Iran (as compared with the political entities that had existed on its soil during the more than three centuries preceding his time) and in consolidating them on the foundation of a common past. The Sah-ndma allowed every Iranian to share in the memories of every section of his country as in a personal possession. It helped the national consciousness to revert to a patriotism with which provincial loyalties could readily merge. 2. Source handling. Ferdowsi’s task of selecting and uniting his materials was a difficult one. We can only surmise the texts and traditions which he left aside and seek to understand his reasons for doing so. Of the records

65. Grunebaum, Jslam, 170. 66. Ibid, (transliterations made consistent with the text).

130

THE

UNDYING

MEMORIAL

available to him, he definitely favoured those which had strong nationalistic tendencies. And this decision forced him to drop such religious materials as: the story of the conflict between Good and Evil; the creation of GayOmart as we know from Zoroastrian sources as well as from the Sa@h-ndmaof Abi ‘Ali Balki; the strict divisions of the life span of the world into twelve millennia; the nature of Azi dahdga (>Dahak > Zahhak) the dragon; the story of OSnar and Kavi; the immortality of Kay Kosrow and his heroes; and many details of the advent of Zoroastrianism. Other materials of religious nature appear in his work in a rationalized or even distorted version: the creation of the first man and king; the story of Zahhak, the Arab usurper; the appearance of Mani from China in the time of Sapir II (!); the faith and fate of Mazdak, and the Islamic conquest are all given secular and factual nature. It has been argued that, "as a Moslem, Ferdowsi had to disassociate himself from the national faith and to avoid the psychological and practical conflict of divided religious loyalties as best he could.” This, however, is not entirely convincing, since Ferdowsi’s loyalty was to a strict monotheism. Besides, other writers, such as Abi ‘Ali Balki,* who did follow old religious traditions did not disassociate themselves from the new faith. Jt is more justified to conclude that any religious matter or discourse of religious nature had little appeal to his strongly nationalistic sentiments. Such materials he would gladly leave for other historians and theologians.® This is why he passes over controversial matters of religious nature with "I have heard other versions; God alone knows the truth".” Obviously he found it more than a happy coincidence that Daqiqi had already provided the national history with a versified version of the coming of Zoroaster and the conversion of Gostasp; and he inserted this chapter in his own work with satisfaction.” Yet when it came to continue the story of GoStasp’s period, the religious tone was considerably modified.

But Ferdowsi also left out various epic items such as the stories of Arai, "the best Aryan archer"; the whole cycle of KreSasp (GarSasp) legends; and the events of the reign of Bahman. Furthermore, as the Fardmarz-nama, Borzu-ndma and Sahryar-nama prove, Ferdowsi only selected the flower of the sagas of Sakestan (Sistan), and did not touch the bulk of secondary

67. Ibid., 172. 68.

Above

36.

69. Ndéldeke, Das iran. Nationalepos, 37. 70. Sah-nama, I, 16: (on the story of creation); II, 153: sky). Tee [Did NAGA

(on Kaviis’ journey to the

CHARACTERISTICS

OF THE SAH-NAMA

131

legends which appeared to him to be irrelevant to the national history of all Iranians. One cannot criticize him for trying to keep to the nature of his goal, namely to provide the testament for the oneness of Iranians without supplying fuel for tribal feuds. Even in the historical portions of the Sah-ndma, the process of selection is evident: the Kdr-ndma of Andséravan and the Letter of Tansar are not used; no reference is made to Servin-e Databi, to Mani’s Persian work or to the all important Picture Book of the Sdsdnian Kings. But again, these materials were not essential for a national history of Iran, and their omission had no effect on the continuity of Ferdowsi’s harmonious narrative.

3. Strict adherence to the sources. Although Ferdowsi’s sources, as he used them, are not available to us, there are adequate reasons for believing that he faithfully kept to their contents.” This is clear from the instances where he was composing less exciting items, and was happy to finish them successfully. Thus, he ends the dry and philosophical Andarz-ndma of Buizarjomehr by drawing a sigh of relief:” Praise

be to the

Lord

of the

sun

and

moon,

That finally I am free from Bizarjomehr and the King. Now that this somewhat depressing (delgir) task is come to a close, It is time to start narrating the story of the Chess. Had

he

been

following

a method

of free

source

readjustment,

Ferdowsi

would not have felt the need to compose those "somewhat depressing" parts which neither in form nor in subject excited his sympathy. That he did not mutilate his sources is clearly evident from his remarks in the story of the KiSanian hero, Kamiis. He starts with an indication of his written source:™

Now the battle of Kami will we present, From the document (daftar) recast into our own poetry. And

he ends

with

these

words:”

72. J. Mohl and Néldeke did much to invalidate the earlier view that Ferdowsi invented his stories. For exact parallels between the Sah-ndma and some older sources cf. I, 8:'°'* with the older preface (Qazvini, Bist maqala, Il, 26ff.), and further, above, 67ff.

73. Sah-nama, VIII, 206: 74. Ibid., IV, 116:"°. Sk Did 301s.

132

THE

The campaign

UNDYING

MEMORIAL

of Kamiis is likewise at a close,

Long narrative it is, but not a jot did I omit. Had even one word from the (original) legend been left out, It would have brought sadness on my soul.

The unfailing loyalty to the sources has sometimes created evident contradictions in his themes.” Thus, Eskandar [Alexander] has two totally different portraits. In the main body of the work, based on Iranian materials with nationalistic flavour, the conqueror is an accursed descendant of Ahriman who destroyed Iran, killed nobles and priests and ruined every standing symbol of their glory; he, along with Zahhak and Afrasiab, would not receive atonement at the Day of Judgment.” In the chapter devoted to Alexander’s reign, however, which is based on an Islamized Persian version of the Alexander Romance by Pseudo-Callisthenes, Alexander is a rightful Persian king, a virtuous and benevolent sovereign and a world conqueror with unparalleled wisdom, love and magnanimity; he even makes overtures to the as yet nonexistent Islam, and visits Mecca with due reverence.” Yet the unfavourable nationalistic attitude towards him appears only a short time after he has been placed in his tomb! It is clear that Ferdowsi could not willingly portray Alexander so discrepantly, and that fidelity to his sources compelled him to draw his picture here pleasantly and there disagreeably. Another indication of strict adherence to the sources is the fact that in the chapters derived from Abii Mansii’s prose work which were likewise used by Ta‘alebi, the correspondence is so exact as to prove Ferdowsi’s method: we see him as a historian rather than a poet with license for modification or alteration.” Indeed, for those who had access to the prose work and the Sah-ndma of Ferdowsi, the latter seemed a faithful recension of the former. The preface to the work of Abii Mansi remarked, "Before we proceed to describe the words of the kings and their history, we mention the descent of Abi Mansir-e ‘Abd-al-Razzaq, who ordered this chronicle to be collected in prose writing".” A later copyist using the older preface as the introduction to the Sah-nama of Ferdowsi added, "And after it had been made into a prose

76. The genealogy of Sasan is given in two different ways; ArdaSér assumed the title King of Kings twice; Rostam’s spear-bearer, Alva, reappears after his death at the hand of Kamis; Rostam has no role in the Great War of Kay Kosrow with Afrasiab while having major parts in its antecedents; etc. ~ 71. Sah-ndma, VU, 115-16; 1303"; 148:%; 371:" etc, See also Noldeke, 51.

78. Sah-nama, VI, 41:°". 79. See Zotenberg’sintroductionto Ta‘alebi’sGorar. 80. Qazvini’s ed., 50.

CHARACTERISTICS

OF THE SAH-NAMA

133

work, Soltan Mahmiid-e Sebiig-Tegin ordered Ferdowsi to reduce it into the Dari language in the form of poetry".“ The additional remark has no historical value except for showing that to the copyist the Sah-ndma of Ferdowsi was a poetical version of the prose work prepared for Abi Mansir. The Sah-ndma was often used as a primary source of information by learned historians of later periods who had access to various materials and were in a position to judge the faithfulness of a writer to his sources; their faith in Ferdowsi clearly shows that the latter had kept to the law of historiography by reproducing his sources without alteration.” Ferdowsi’s adherence to his original documents is further illustrated by the remarkable fact that whenever these drew on oral traditions and started with, "So I have heard from" the aged dehqdn, or the learned narrator or the wise mdbad, Ferdowsi repeated these introductory phrases. To a casual reader, for example, it may appear that Ferdowsi personally heard Azad Sarv give an account of the death of Rostam;* however, Azad Sarv was not a contemporary of the poet, and the latter merely reproduced the words of the intermediary source.” Indeed, he is explicit that not until he had found a copy of the prose work of Abi Mansir did he dare to begin his national history.” Moreover, he frequently specifies that he is "reducing into poetry" the contents of this chronicle or that history. A good exaniple’ is furnished by the remarks which follow the prelude to the Sah-ndma:*

_ He who compiled the ancient history (Ndma-ye bdstdn), Which narrates the account of paladins, Thus began the word, that this tradition of throne and crown, Gaydmart established, and he became the [first] King... On several occasions, Ferdowsi actually mentions his authorities by name, although these do not appear as his direct sources.” He does not fail to

81. Ibid., 51. 82. Z. Safa, Hamasa

os sara’i dar Iran, 202 with references.

83. Sah-nadma, VI, 322:'* 84. Néldeke, 18. Azad Sarv served Ahmad-e Sahl (a descendant of Yazdegerd III) in Marv, who died in prison in 307; both lived, therefore, before Ferdows1.

85. Sah-nama, I, 23:'° 86. Ibid., 1, 28:°*

87. Apart from Azad Sarv and the History of Kings made for Abi’ Mansiir-e ‘Abd-alRazz4aq, Ferdowsi cites Bahram [son of Mardasah] in the story of Rostam and Sohrab (above, 67-8); Sahdy in the story of the chess (VIII, 316:'"); Sadan-e Borzin in the story of Kalila wa

134

THE

UNDYING

MEMORIAL

make it clear that his immediate authority based source. Thus when the discourse of AndSéravan Ferdowsi

his statements on a written and a MoObad is related,

states:* There was an aged man, learned A long life full of narrations and

in heroic accounts. deeds he had.

He says thus, from the document

of heroes,

That: "Andséravan inquired from the Mobad..." Ferdowsi’s faithful adherence to the sources does not mean that the language was also left unaltered. It is clear that while the form remained intact, the descriptive expressions became richer, far more expressive and necessarily expanded. Also, here and there personal reflections or panegyric episodes were interwoven into the narrative. These are, however, easily discernible and create no change in the form of the original records. 4. Avoidance of Islamicization. As was pointed out above, the Sah-ndma stands alone among histories of Iran written during the Islamic period in avoiding the trend by which Iranian legends and heroes were given Semitic garb or were equated with Qor’anic and Biblical figures. A classic example of this category is Bal‘ami’s Persian version of the Tabari Chronicle, which was almost certainly known to Ferdowsi. The only exception to this avoidance is Alexander’s "second", i.e., "Islamicized Persian", portrait, where he is identified with the Du’l-Qarnayn of the Qor’an. But this is an isolated case. The fame of Alexander throughout the Moslem world on the one hand, and the lack of material in the Iranian national records about him on the other hand, forced the compilers of the Sah-nama of Abi Mansir — and hence, Ferdowsi — to rely on the Islamicized version of the PseudoCallisthenes’ romance.” That Ferdowsi was consciously avoiding the Islamicization of Iranian material is proved by the fact that in this case he deviates from his main source, the Sah-ndma of Abii Mansi, which had actually followed, to a fair degree, that prevailing policy. Thus, in trying to rationalize some evidently incredible stories, the preface to that prose work advised the reader not to ponder on the form of the tales but to adduce their

Demna (VIII, 247:**’) and Mak of Koras&n in the story of Hormazd (VII, 36:'°). The last three were in reality co-authors of the Sah-ndma of Abi Mansir, see above, 36.

88. Sah-nama, VIII, 280°%*", 89. That Ferdowsi took this version from the Sah-ndma of Abii Mansiir is borne out by the fact that Ta‘alebi, who used the same source, gave a very similar story of Alexander, Gorar, 399ff.

CHARACTERISTICS

OF THE SAH-NAMA

135

meanings. (See above, 37). Ferdowsi uses the same phrases in requesting his reader to seek the wisdom of these stories, but drops the supportive remarks on the sayings of Mohammad and the Israelites.” Again, reflecting the main body of the work, the older preface begins the history with the creation of Adam, and the age of the world, citing various authorities, including the Bible, for the statements.” But Ferdowsi replaces Adam with Gaydmart, has no word on the age of the world, and drops the allusion to Hebrew prophets who are mentioned in his source in the same context.” He also departs from several notions which had become "ancient history" by his time, such, for instance, as the descent of the Iranians from Esma‘il; the identity of Solomon and JamSséd or of Zoroaster with this or that Hebrew prophet; the representation of BéZan as Bikt-Narse (Nebuchadnezzar) who destroyed Jerusalem by the order of Lohrasp; the equation of Kaviis with Saddad, and above all, the depiction of the Arab invasion as the Heaven-sent salvation of the decadent Iranian "Fire-worshippers". This deliberate avoidance makes the Sah-ndma a truly unparalleled "Iranian" national history, and partly explains its unsurpassable success throughout the periods of national revival.

5. Effects of poetic forms. Because the Sah-ndma is a national history composed in epic form, it naturally lacks the straightforwardness and dry matter-of-fact nature of purely historical narrative. It allows supernatural powers and phenomena to participate in historical events, and shows little consideration for geographic and chronological accuracy. Again, many heroic incidents are recorded with pictorial vividness and are detailed, expressive and moving, whereas important historical episodes are sometimes passed over with only a few sentences. Thus, a battle described by Ferdowsi occupies far more space than it does in the narrative of Ta‘alebi. However, the history of the Agkanian (Arsacids) is treated in the opposite way; the poet-historian devotes barely twenty lines to it,” while the chronicler does not content himself with what he found in his main source and supplements it with materials derived from other authorities.” Philosophical reflections also play a large part in the Sah-nadma. Although

90. Sah-nama, I, 8:°"*. See also above, 67. 91. Qazvini’s ed., 38ff. 92. Sah-nama, I, 28:'"* 93. Ibid., VII, 115-16.

94. Gorar, 456ff.

136

THE

UNDYING

MEMORIAL

Ferdowsi was not a philosopher of history, one cannot go so far as to say that he "does not adduce any general ideas from the developments which he presents in such masterly fashion", or that "his comments on the events which he narrates are confined to melancholy observations on the inevitability of changes".* It must emphatically be repeated that he was not a pessimistic fatalist. The Sah-ndma does not follow the late Sdsanian and early Islamic philosophy that the world had a limited duration and that doom was near. But it expresses, and indeed proves, that the unavoidability of change is true as much for the unhappy times as it is for the prosperous periods and that the one follows the other in order to facilitate the course of history. Personal touches in the Sah-ndma prevent it from falling into a dry reproduction of historical narratives. Ferdowsi loves his heroes and detests his villains in exactly the same way as does his reader. His "prejudice", however, does not corrupt his judgment of the individual involved, and his sorrow or delight do not allow him to justify any distortion of his sources. His emotional involvement only serves to make his narrative more vivid and human, and of course, nationalistic. The two perfect examples of this are "The Letter of Rostam-e Farrokzad to his brother" and Barbad’s lamentation over Kosrow Parvéz’ turn of fortune, where the emotional tone of Ferdowsi prevails over the sober tone of a historian.

Ferdowsi’s style is that of a superb poet. His epic language is so rich, moving and lavish that it truly enchants the reader. The echo of every distich (which in the Persian has the rhythm of the English line: "The Pharaohs of Egypt, the Caesars of Rome"”) is most pleasing to the senses of the reader or listener. This is one reason, not always appreciated by non-Iranians,” for the survival of the Sah-ndma, and hence, of the national history as presented and accepted by the Iranians themselves. Ferdowsi reduced difficult chapters of his sources into compact yet magnificent sentences whose heroic tone and harmonious words increased their musical and pictorial qualities thus strengthening their ability to captivate the hearts and minds of subsequent

95. Contra Grunebaum, Islam, 175, whose words are here quoted for the sake of challenging them. For the lessons of history which Ferdowsi says his Sah-ndma teaches, sce II, 86:78; V, 239-40:°%,375: IV, 270:%%, V, 341:°°; VI, 323: VIII, 86:°°7;VII, 114f.; LX, 105:'. On his view regarding nobility see above, 41f. 96. Warner, I, 47.

97. E. G. Browne, A Literary History of Persia, Il, 143, is a remarkable example; at the same time he values Yiisof-o Zolayka as a good poetical work, whereas no Persian acquainted with the work can bring himself to read a few lines from it without marvelling at its shabbiness and poverty of expression.

CHARACTERISTICS

OF THE SAH-NAMA

137

generations. No history has been so eagerly read, so profoundly believed and so ardently treasured in Iran as has been the Sah-nama of Ferdowsi. If a history were ever to influence its readers, the Sah-ndma has done and still does so in the finest way. It will be appropriate to conclude this discussion with the judgment of a leading scholar of Persian literature, Reuben Levey:”

There is in the Sah-ndma an amalgamation of the Persian equivalents of chapters in the book of Genesis, the Odyssey, Paradise Lost, Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and Shakespeare. Indeed, it is astonishing how often the vocabulary of Shakespeare suits the incidents described in the Persian epic. Drama, comedy, tragedy —all are there. Nature has a conspicuous and felicitous place in the Sah-ndma. Tree lore has a prominent part. The vast scene of operations is bathed in a wondrous light.

98. The Epic of the Kings, London (1967), p. xix (the Sah-nama transliteration here substituted).

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Afsar, Iraj, "Sah-ndma az katti ta capi", Honar o mardom No 162 (Farvardin 1355§.»./March 1976),17ff. = Ketabsenasi-eFerdowsi,2nd rev. ed., Tehran (1355$./1976). ‘Ariizi,see Nezami ‘AriiziSamarqandi. ‘Attar, Farid-al-Din, Asrdr-ndma,ed., §. Gowharin, Tehran (1338 $./ 1969). ‘Awfi, Mohammad, Lobdb al-albab, ed. E. G. Browne and M. Qazvini, Leiden and London (1906).

Bahar, M.-T., Ferdowsi-ndma-ye Malek-al-So'rd’ Bahar(collected articles, ed, Mohammad Golbon, Tehran (1345 &/1966). Barthold, W., Turkistan down to the Mongol Invasion, 3rd ed., rev., London (1958).

Bayhaqi,Abu’l-Fazl,Tarik-eMas‘adi,ed. ‘A.Fayyaz(with additionalnotes by ‘A.-HEhsani), Tehran (1358S./1979). Boyce, Mary, "The Parthian gdsdn and Iranian minstrel tradition", JRAS, 1957, 10-45. Browne, E. G., A Literary History of Persia, 11, Cambridge (1906). Christensen, Arthur, L’/ran sous les sassanides, 2nd rev. ed., Copenhagen (1944). DawlatSah Samargandi, Tadkerat al-So‘ara’(The Tadhkiratu’shshu ‘ard, "Memoirs of the Poets" of Dawlatshah..et ed. E. G. Browne, Leiden and London (1901).

Eqbal, ‘Abbas, "MoSawweqqin-eawwali-e Ferdowsi", Yddegar,IV/9-10 (1327§./1948), 160-63. =. "KarastiSah-ndma-k’an", Ibid., 11/10(1325$./1946),20-22. Falsafi, Nasr-Allah, Cand magqdla-yefae o adabi, Tehran (1342 $./1963). This contains several earlier articles including"Ferdowsi",257-68,"The Sah-nama compared with the Jliad", 311-24, and Ferdowsi’s nationalism", 379-402. _ Farroki, Divan, ed. M. Dabirsiaqi, Tehran (1335S./1956). Ferdovsi 934-1934. A collection of articles in Russian written for the commemoration of Ferdowsi’s millennium, Leningrad (1934). It included: Iosif Orbeli (Joseph Orbely), "Sach--namé", 1-12; A. A. Romaskevit, "O&erk istorii izuteniia Sach-namé" (Sketches of the history of Sdah-ndma studies), 13-50; Aleksander J. Jakubovskii, 139

140

BIBLIOGRAPHY

"Machmud Gaznevi. K voprosu o proischoZdenii i charaktere Gaznavidskogo gosudarstva" (Mahmud of Gazna: on the question of the genesis and establishment of the Ghaznavid state), 51-96; E. E. Bertel’s "Ferdovsi i ego tvortestvo" (F. and his creation), 97-118; Aleksander N. Samoilovié, "Iranskii geroiéeskii épos v literaturach tiurkskich narodov Srednei Azii" (The Iranian heroic poetry in the literature of Central Asian Turks), 161-76; K. V. Trever, "Sasanidskii Iran v Sach-namé" (The Sasdnian Iran in the Sah-ndma), 177-96; M. L. Lozinskii, "Perevody iz Sach-namé", (Specimens of translations from the Sah-ndma), 197-217. See B. Nikitine’s rev. in JA, 1936, 161-64. Ferdowsi, Abu’l-Qasem, Sah-ndma, E. E. Bertel’s et al eds., 9 vols. Moscow (1960-71), see also Khaleghi Motlagh. Firdusi Zotovacus (Ferdowsi Celebration), Erevan (1934). See also Metik‘Ohanjanyan. Grunebaum, Alfred von, "Firdausi’s concept of history", in Mélange K6priili, Ankara (1953), 177-93 repr. in Islam: Essays on the nature and growth of a cultural tradition, (1955), 168-84. Khaleghi Motlagh, Djalal (= Jalal Kaleqi Motlaq), "Firdausi und seine Einstelune zu Daqiqi", ZDMG, CXXIV (1974), 73-93. "Yaki mehtari bid gardanfaraz ... ta’ammoli dar diba%a-ye Sah--ndma', Majalla-ye _Ddneskada-ye_Adabiyat (o ‘oltim-e ensani-)e Danesgah-e Mashad [Ferdowsi], XII (1356 $./1977), 197-215. —

ed., The Shahnameh of Ferdowsi, I, Persian Text Series, n.s. 1. Bibliotheca Persica, New York (1988). "Javan bid o az gowhar-e Pahlavan", in I. Afgar - K. Esfahanian eds., Namvara-ye Doktor Wena Afsar 1, Tehran (1364 $./1985), 332-58. Massé, H. Firdausi et l’epopée nationale, Paris (1934).

Metik‘-Ohanjanyan,K., "Firdusiyew Irani vipakan motivner ‘Sah-name’-um u hay matenagrut® yan me}",in FirdusiZotovacus,Erevan (1934),1-116, and "Hay-iranakanZotovrdakanvep",Ibid., 157-230. Minavi, Mojtaba,"Ketab-ehazara-yeFerdowsiwa botlan-e entesab-e Yusof o Zolaykabe-Ferdowsi", Rizgar-e nd, London (1323§./1944-45),1636; revised ed. in So No 4. (2535/1355 §./1976), 49-68. Referencesare mainlyto this updated version. Ferdowsi o Se‘r-e u, Tehran (1346 $./1967). Minorsky, V., "The earlier preface to the Shah-nameh", in Studi in onore di G. Levi della vida, Rome (1956), II, 159-79, rev. ed. as "The Older Preface..." in Iranica: Twenty Iranian Studies, Tehran (1964), 260-73. ~ "Tus", in Encyclopaedia Islam (1st ed) IV, 974-80.

BIBLIOGRAPHY a

141

"Turan", /bid., 878-84.

Mohl, Julius, La Livre de Rois (Par Abou’lkasim Firdousi, publié, taduit et a commenté) Paris, I (1838). Mo‘in, Mohammad, Mazdayasna wa ta’tir-e dn dar adabiyat-e Parsi, Tehran

(1326§./1947). Motlagq, Jalal Kaleqi, see Khaleghi Motlagh, Djalal. Mottahedeh, Roy P., Loyalty and Leadership in an Early Islamic Society, Princeton (1980). = "The Shu‘tbiya controversy and the social history of early Islamic Iran," The International Journal of the Middle East

——~ Studies,VII (1976),161-82. Nezmi)‘Ariizi,Samarqandi,Ahmad ebn-e ‘Omarebn-e ‘Ali,Cahar magqala, —ed. Mirzi Mohammad Kan Qazvini, revised by M. Mo‘in,3rd ed.,

Tehran (1333$./1954). N6éldeke, Theodor, Geschichte der Perser und Araber zur Zeit der Sasaniden. Aus der arabischen Chronik des Tabari tibersetz, Leiden (1879).

+

4

"Das iranische Nationalepos", in W. Geiger - E. Kuhn eds., Grundriss der iranischen Philologie, Il, Strassburg (1895-1901), 2nd revised ed., Das iranische Nationalepos, Berlin/Leipzig (1920). "Ein Beitrag zur Schahname forschung", in Ketdb-e hazdra-ye Ferdowsi, Tehran (1322 §./1944), 58-63.

‘Otmanoff,MohammadNari, "Molahezatiéand raje‘ be Sarh-eahwal-e Ferdowsi",Sokan,XXIV(1342§./1973),262-770. Pir-Dawiid

(Poure Davoud), Ebrahim, Introduction to Ferdowsi’s Bézan o

Manéze,Tehran (1344§./1965). Pir-Karim, HdSang, "Paz, zadgah-e Ferdowsi", Honar 0 mardom, 82 (1342

5/1969),24-31;83(1342$./1969),20-30.

Qazvini, Mirza Mohammad, Bist magala, Il, ed.‘A. Eqbal, Tehran (1313

S./1934).

Qazvini Razi, Aba Rasid Naser-al-Din, Ketab al-naqz fi ba‘%-ematdleb al-Navaseb,ed., J. Armavi (Mohaddet), Tehran (1331§./1952). Ringgern, H., Fatalism in Persian epics, Wiesbaden (1952). Rosenberg, F., "On wine and Feasts in the Iranian National Epic’, tr. L. Bogdanoy, in Journal of the K. R. Cama Oriental Institute, X1X (1931), 13-44.

Rypka, J., Historyof Iranian Literature,Dortrecht (1968). Safa, Z. (D. Safa), Hamasa sara’ti dar Iran, 2nd ed., Tehran (1333 S./1954). = Tarik-eAdabiyat dar Iran, I, 6th ed., Tehran (1363 S./1984). Sayyah, Fatema, "Enteqad-e danesmamdan-e Orapa’i dar bab-e Ferdowsi",

Mehr,II (1313$./1934),673-82.

142

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Shahbazi, A. Shapur, "The birthdate of Firdausi (3rd Dey 308 Yazdigardi = 3rd January 940)", ZDMG, CXXXIV/1 (1984), 98-105. = "Iranian Notes 1-6", Acta Iranica 24 (= Papers in Honour of Professor Mary Boyce), Leiden (1985), 497-510. =: "On the X”aday-namag", Acta Iranica 30 (=Papers in Honor of Professor Ehsan Yarshater), Leiden (1990), 208-29. _

Shirani(Sirani), Hafez Mahmid Kan, Four Studies on Ferdowsi and the Sah-nama, originally in Urdu, published in Urdu and Oriental College Magazine1921-22;transl. into Persian (as Cahar goftar bar Ferdowsiwa Sah-nama) by ‘Abd-al-Hayy Habibi, Kabul (1355 S$./1976): "Ferdowsi’s reasons for the composition of the Sah-ndma, and its chronology", 1-36; “The Satire on Soltan Mahmid", 37-110; "Ferdowsi’sreligion",111-83;"Yusofo Zolayka of Ferdowsi?" 184-276. The last article also appeared in a Persian translation in Simorg, No. 3 (1976), 14-44;4 (1976), 20-48. Spuler, Bertold, Iran in Friih-Islamischer Zeit, Wiesbaden (1952).

Tarjoma-yeTafsir-e Tabari, ed., Habib Yagma’i, 7 vols. Tehran (1339 S.ff./1960ff.). Ta‘alebi, Abi: Mansi ‘Abd-al-Malek, Gorar akbar Moliik al-Fors, ed. and tr. H. Zotenberg, Paris (1900).

Taqizadeh, S. H., "Ferdowsi" (a series of articles on Ferdowsi and his precursors,‘the Sah-ndma and its sources, and other poems attributed to Ferdowsi) in Kdve,n.s. I (Berlin 1920),1.3-6;10.9-14;11.7-12;12.712911(Berlin 1921),1.11-16;3.11-16;10.12-16;11.12-16; 12.17-33,all reprinted in the Ketdb-ehazdra-ye Ferdowsi,Tehran (1322 S./1944), and a third time in Habib Yagma’i ed., Ferdowsi o Sah--ndma-ye U, Tehran (1349 S./1970), 1-286. References will be to this readily available edition. Vachha, P. B., Firdousi and the Shahnama: A Study of the Great Persian Epic of the Homer of the East, Bombay (1950) reviewed by J. Tavadia in ZDMG, CII (1952), 381-87. Warner, Arthur George and Edmond, trs. The Shahnama of apts I-X, London (1905-1925), cited as Warner. Wolff, Fritz, Glossar zu Firdousis Schahname,

Berlin (1935).

Yarshater, Ehsan, "Iranian National History", in The Cambridge History of Tran, II1/1-2 (1983), 359-480. = Ed., Encyclopaedia Iranica, London/New York, (1987-).

-

Introduction to Dj. Khaleghi Motlagh, The Shahnameh of Ferdowsi, I, New_York(1988). Yiisofi, Golam-Hosayn, Farroki Sistani, MaXhad(1341 $./1962). Zaehner, R. C., Zurvan, A Zoroastrian Dilemma, Oxford (1955).

INDEX Only Ferdowsi has been extensively indexed. In words starting with ‘ein (‘), the second letter is treated initially. T and t are grouped with t; with c; d with d; with g; h with h; k and k’ with k; s and § with s; and z, z and Z with z. Abdd-biim = Iran 46 ‘Abbasids 78, 120, 124

‘Abbasiyatomb 103n. 113 ‘Abd-Allah, the Kanarangid 31 ‘Abd-Allah son of ‘Abd-al-Razzagq 71 ‘Abd-Allah ebn-e ‘Amer 30 ‘Abd-Allah ebn-e Taher 120 ‘Abd-al-Razzaq 31, 32 Abivard 30

Abii ‘AliCagani32-3 Abi

Bakr 7, 49 n. 54

Abii

Dolaf

2

.

Abu’l-Mo’ayyad Balki 36 Abii Mansiir >Mohammad-e Razzaq

‘Abd-al-

Abii Nasr-e Moskan 84 n. 44 Abii Nasr-e Warraq 73 Achaemenids 9, 65, 116 Adam

122, 135

Adar Gognasp 113 Afrasiab 3, 25, 89, 111, 112, 113, 132; House of 84, 90, 95 Agrérat 89, 111 ¥

Ahmad-e Hasan-e Maymandi2, 3, 95 Ahmad-e Kan-Lanjani 11 n. 21, 27 Ahmad-e

Sahl 67

Ahmad son of ‘Abd-al-Razzaq 31 Ahriman 48, 52, 53, 109, 111, 120, 132; Riiz-e Ahrimani 53; Kés-e

Ahriman (cont.) Ahrimani 53 Arjasp 89 Akiiman/Akvan 65, 113 Alborz

Mountain

111

Alexander (Eskandar) 51, 53, 117, 134 Alexander Romance 134, 134 n. 51

50 n. 71, 116, 132,

‘Ali, First Em&n 2, 5, 58-59, 100; called Wasi 58-9; Haydar 59; and Lord of Du’l-Faqar 49 n. 54 ‘Ali Dylam 2, 73 ‘Ali ebn-e Miisa al-Reza (Emam Reza) 19 n. 1, 31, 59, 104

Allah translating Koday 35 Alva

132 n. 76

Amirak-eTési 32 n. 54 Andarz-nama of Buzarjomehr 131 Andarz of Andséravan 51 Anoséravan 59 n. 127, 81, 82, 84 n. 40, 102, 114, 120, 122 Arab Conquest 32, 33, 48, 52, 74, 83, 93, iG ADEyahs: Arabic 34, 41, 80, 84, 95, 124 Arabs 47 n. 118, 52, 74, 93, 109, 111, 126 Ara& the archer 130 Ardasér-e Papakan 127 Armenia 66, 113

59 n. 127, 116, 122,

INDEX

144

Bévarasp(AZiDahak/Zahhak)109 Beygii(Saljiiqid)21

Armenian scholars onFerdowsi 16 Arsacid 102, 108 (+A8kanian)

BéZan 113, 114, 135 (-Bukt-Narse) BéZan o ManézZe 44, 65, 113 Bible 34, 135 Biblical stories 14, 34, 64, 134 Bokara 68, 70, 71

Arslan Jadeb 79, 103-104 Artaxerxes

I 116

‘Ariizi, Nezami 2, 6, 8, 21, 22, 97, 103 n. 113, 104, 107 n. 22

Arzagi 2 Asadi

Bondari, Abu’l-Fath 20, 49 n. 54 Book of Kings 5, 36, 73, 126 Borzi-nama 107

1, 7, 21 n. 10, 51 n. 70, 107 n. 50

Asef-al-Dawla105 Asfarayeni, Fazl ebn-e Ahmad, 78, 80,

A&kanian 116, 135 (Arsacids)

Brazen Hold (Dez-e R6dén) 115 Bukt- Narse = BéZan 135 Biyids 78, Shi‘ite Kings of 93

Asjodi5 ‘Attar,Farid-al-Din4, 84 n. 40

Caesar (Qeysar) 115

Avesta 9, 10, 53 n. 19

Caesariansection(Rostam) 111

92, 94 A&gkabis 7, 113

‘Awfi Mohammad 6

Cagani+Abii ‘AliCagani Cahar-magala2, 22 n. 14, 103

Ayaz 5, 7, 84 n. 40

Conterbury Tales 137

Azddagan (=Iranians) 46

Caspian Sea 129 Champion, Joseph 9

Avestan

heroes

110

Azadsarv 67, 133 n. 87

China 113, 114

Badi‘-al-Zaman

Hamadani

90 n. 58

Christians

Baghdad 5, 8, 93, 97 Bahar, Mohammad

31

Cyrus 81 n. 20; Romance by Xenophon 114 -

Taqi 145155 16; 27,

104

Bahman, son of Esfandyar 116, 130

DamavandMt. 110

Bahram-e

Dagqiqi 38, 64-65, 67, 68, 70, 86, 115, 119, 126, 130

Bahram

Cdbin 59 n. 127, 84, 117 II 28

Bahram-e Gor (V) 42, 50 n. 65, 59 n. 127, 82, 117

Dara (Darius II) 116

Bahram

Dari (language) 30, 133

son of Mardangah

Dara-ye Darayan (Darius III) 116

66, 67 n. 133

Bal‘ami 20 n. 6, 21 n. 8, 64 n. 5, 134 Balk 115 Bani Tamim 30

Darmesteter,

Barbad

Dawiid(Saljiiqid)21

DawlatsahSamargandi Swi OO 20 n. 3, 23, 103n. 113,104,120

136

Bauer, Adolf 9

Daylam ~ ‘Ali Daylam Daylamites 33 Day of Judgement 132 Day of Resurrection 110, 114

Baumgartener, A. 9 Bavand, House of 2 Bayhaqi ‘Abu’l-Fazl 21, 84 n. 14, 89 n. aif) Baysongori Preface 6, 7, 12 n. 69, 17, 20 n. 3, 68 n. 33

Dehestan

21

dehqan 2, 4, 20-22, 30, 33, 52, 59, 68, 73, 115, 126, 133

Baz (Faz/Paz) 2, 21, 22, 103

Dénar

Bek

Dév 109, 113

Tozin

J. 9

79

Bertel’s, E. E. 17

20

Divan 84, 89, 95

144

dreams 4, 7, 19 n. 1, 39 n. 1, 81; importance among Easterners 81 n. 20

INDEX

Du'l-Qarnayn = Eskandar/Alexander 134 Ebn-al-Atir

38 n. 102, 67 n. 28

Ebn-e Esfandyar,Pseudo-6 Erangahr + Sahr-e Eran (=Iranian Empire) 34, 110, 111, 113-118 Esfandyar 59 n. 127, 115, 116; History of 117; Seven Labours of 66, 115

Eskandar +Alexander Esma’il(Ghaznavid)79 Esm@’ilWarraq 2 Estakr/Estakr 111 Ethe, Hermann Fakr-al-Molk

10, 14

5

Falsafi, Nasr-Allah15 n. 102 Farangés 113 Farava

21

Fariborz 113 Farroki 5, 80 n. 114, 90 n. 58, 91 n. 60, 93 nn. 70 & 71, 94 n. 73 Fariid 59 n. 127, 113

Ferdaws/Ferdows 19 n. 2 Ferdowsi, name 20; adoptive name 2, 1920, 30; meaning of 19 n. 2; honorific 19; titied ostdad 2; ancestors 20; birthplace 2, 21, 22, 103; birthdate 2330; a dehqan (country squire) 2, 3, 45, 20f., 30f., 44f., 59ff.; 104; physical features 42-3; education 2, 39ff.; knew little Pahlavi 40; and Arabic 41; his attitude towards learning 42ff.; fond of Iranian history 43ff., 117ff., and passim; of riding 43 f., 45ff.; of feasting 20, 28f., 42ff.; of music 28f., 42ff.; but not of philosophy 55; idealised Iranian heroes 42ff., 59ff, 117-37, and passim; his religion: not a Zoroastrian 49-53; nor Zurvanite 53-6; a Shi‘ite Moslem 56-62, 103-104 and passim; assessed Truth and Wisdom as best qualities 56f. and passim; believed in dreams 81 with n. 20; his wife 63; son (Qasem) 20, 22, 57, 63 with n. 2, 82-3; alleged daughter 2, 3, 22; his youth 20, 43ff., 59ff.; alleged travels to Baghdad 5, 12-13, 14; to Kan-Lanjan 11, 18, 26,

145

Ferdowsi (cont.) 27; to Gazna 2, 3, 4f., to Tabarestan/ Mazandaran 2, 3, 4, 5, 91; old age 3, 24, 26, 28, 43, 81-8, 94ff., 103; death 3, 4, 103; burial 3, 4, 5; mausoleum (a Shi‘ite shrine) 3, 4, 5, 6, 15, 103-104; his millennary celebration 16. Allusions to in contemporary sources 1, 90 n. 60, 93 n. 70; best known from his $ah-ndma 1, 8ff., 23ff. and passim; subject of a romantic vita 2; in earlier anthologies and literary works 1-8; studies on 818; his precursors 33ff. and contemporaries 2, 3ff., 39ff.; his patrons: Hoyayy-e Qatib 2, 73, 74; Abii Dolaf 2, 73; ‘Ali Daylam 2, 73; Ahmad-e Hasan-e Maymandi 2, 3, 95; Mansiir the ‘Abd-al-Razzaqid 63, 71-3; calls Daqiqi his "precursor" 65; Arslan Jadeb 79, 103, 104; Fazl ebn-e Ahmad Asfarayeni 80, 92, 94; Soltan Mahmiid of Gazna 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 78-104. His compositions 2ff.; Bézan o ManézZathe earliest work 65ff.; other early stories 65f.; Ist version of the Sah-nama 71ff.; revised Sah-ndma 78ff.; 85-90; used sources for the Sahnama: independent stories 65ff.; the Sah-nama of Abii Mansiir-e ‘Abd-alRazzaq 68ff., 129-34 and passim; his method 65ff., 129-137 and passim; his aims 118-28 and passim; nature of his Sah-nama 128-137 and passim.

Ferdowsi Congress 16

Filgiis(=Phillipof Macedonia)116 Fire worshippers 5, 13

Foriigi,Doka’-al-Molk13,14,16 Foundation

for Sah-ndma

Studies 17

Framarz 110, 116 Frédon 79, 81, 89, 109, 110, 111, 115; sons of 110

GarSasp 110; House of 110 Garsasp-nama 1 Garsévaz 89, 113, 114 Gayomart 36, 71, 109, 117, 122, 130, 133,

INDEX

146

Gaydmart (cont.) 135 Gazan-Kan 104 Gazna (Ghazna) 2, 5, 79, 94 Gazzali 6, 50, 121 George, Arthur 12 George, Edmund 12 Gév son of Godarz 113, 114 Ghaznavids 5, 21, 80, 93, 104 Godarz 32, 36, 65, 113, 115 Gorar of Ta‘alebi 90, 117 Goraza, House of 110 Gordafarid 112 Gorgani, Sayk Abu’l-Qasim 4 Gorgin-e Mélad 89 Gostahm 110, 114 Go&tasp 115, 116, 130 Gostdsp-nama of Dagqiqi 126, see also 36, 64, 67 Gozz 104 Greater Sah-nama, The 36 Grunebaum, Alfred von 17, 129, 136 with n. 95 Girids 104 Gutschmid, A. von 9

Horn, Paul 10

H6sang 109 Hosayn, 3rd Emam 32

| Hosayn ebn-e ‘Ali Marvazi 32 n. 54 Hayayy-e Qotayba 2, 73, 74 Hyaona> Koyon> Huns 47, 48 n. 45 Tlak Kan 79 India 5, 92, 97

Iran (also Eran/Erangahr) passim; Iranian(s), passim; Empire 48, 110; Heroes 52, 59, 61, 89, 92, 93, 94, 134; History 52, 61, 64, 95, 103; Sagas 34, 39, 64, 91, 94 Isfahan/Esfahan 11, 20 Islam 7, 22, 31, 33, 34, 50, 52, 79, 97, 119, 124, 132 Islamic conquest 50, 124, 130; Era 30, 134 Sagas 63, 64, 134 Israilites

135

Jadeb, Amir Arslan 79, 80, 103, 104 Jahn 89, 114 Jamasp 115 Jami 99 n. 100

Hafez (Divan) 29

Jamgéd 30 n. 48, 109, 120, 122, 135 Jerusalem 135

Hajjaj ebn-e Yisof 80

Jesus

Hamadan

Jones, Sir William 8

20

Hamd-Allah

101

Mostawfi 4, 6

Hammer, J. von 9 Hamza (Esfahani) 35 n. 78, 59 n. 128, 67

Kabol 120, King of 111

Harin

Kan-Lanjan 11, 18, 26, 27 Kanarang 30, Kanarangians ibid 30-31

Harit

al-Rasid

31

45

Kamis

131, 132

Hasan ebn-e Qasem, ‘Alavid Da‘i 31

Karaji calendar 11 n. 62, 23 n. 17, 30, 31

Hebrew Prophets 135

Karen KaSvadgan 110

Hejra (Era) 29, 30, 75 Herat 2, 36 History of the Sasanian Kings 55, 66

Kar-nama

History (Chronicle) of Tabari 38 n. 102, 63, 134 Hodayfa 20 "Holy Wars" of Mahmid 95

Kavian,Derafs-e110

Hom Homan

114 89

Homayd son of Qahtaba 31 Homiay (bird - as Mahmiid’s ensign) 84 Homay, Queen 116

of ArdaSér

40 n. 4, 116

Katayiin 115 Kave 109, 110

Kaviis (Kay Kaviis) 89, 112, 122, 135 Kayan, House of 111 Kay Kosrow 25, 30 n. 48, 41, 59 n. 127, 74, 114, 130

Kay Kaviis > Kaviis Kayyampir, ‘Abd-al-Rasiil 14 Kerad "wisdom" 42 f., 56ff. Kerman

114

INDEX

147

Ketab al-Naqz 6 n. 14, 22 n. 15, 100 n. 100 Khotanese 111, 113

Mehr (Periodical) 16, 110 Mehrgan 50, 84, 110, 122

Koday-ndma 65, 67, 69, 129

Mélad + Gorgin

Korasan 21, 22, 30, 33, 71, 72, 79, 80, 92, 95, 96, 104, 105, 120 Kosrow Parvéz 48, 54, 84, 117, 128 Kosrow and Sirin 65

Melik’-Ohanjanyan, K.,16

KreSasp, legends 130 (+ GarSasp) Kirkiiz, the Mongol 104 KiSanians 111, 113, 132 Kizestan 14

Langles, L. M. 9 Layla ebn-e No‘man 31 Letter of Rostam-e Farrokzdd 55, 59 n. 128, 122 n. 30, 136 (see also 47, 48, 52) Literary History of Persia (Browne) 12 Lohrasp 114, 115, 135 Lumsden, Macan,

Matthew

Turner

Minavi, Mojtaba 11 n. 62, 14, 17, 27 n. 34 Minorsky, V. 17 Mo‘ezzi 64 n. 6 Mohammad, Rasul-Allah 31 n. 54, 34 n. 70, 58, 59 Mohammad Abdah 41 n. 7

Mohammad, Abi Masir son of ‘Abd-alRazzaq 5, 14, 21, 31-3, 36-8, 52, 61, 65, 67-70, 119, 123, 126, 132, 133; see also Sah-ndma Abii Mansiiri 68 n. 35

Mohammad-eLaSkari[YaSkari]68 n.33 Mobhl, J. 10, 12, 15, 16, 24-5, 27, 29

Mo‘in, Mohammad 17 Mongols 104

9

Moscow edition of the Sah-ndma 17 Moslems 50, 51, 95, 103, 121, 130

8, 107

Mahmid - Soltan Mahmid Ghaznavid MahOy-e Korséd 36, 55 Mak son of Kosrasan

Mecca 7, 51, 53, 132

Mostawfi + Hamd-Allah Motlagh, Djalal Khaleghi 17, 71 Mowaffaq 14

the

36

Malek-Sah, Soltan Jalal-al-Din, the Saljiigid 104

Nafisi 14, 98 n. 94

Ma’mitn

Nasr, Amir Abu’l-Mozaffar 79, 80, 90, 95 Nazad 42

31

ManéZe 65, 113, 114 Mandéehr 110, 111

Naréman,

Nesa

Mani ("of China") 130 Mansi, son of Abii Mansir-e Razzaq 63, 71-73

‘Abd-al-

Mansir, son of Hasan (=Ferdowsi)20 Mardansah 36 n. 96, 55 Marv 3, 36, 67, 133 n. 87 Maghad (city) 32, 104, see also 89 n. 57 Masse, H. 16

Mas‘id, Soltan, the Ghaznavid 20, 21, 104

Sam-e 110

21

Nezami+ ‘AriiziSamarqandi Nezam-al-Molk21, 104 Nésapir 31, 32, 36 n. 96, 111 Nodar 111

Nodarian 110 Nokan/Noqfan 31, 104 Noldeke, Theodor 10, 11-16, 24-27 No Riiz 50, 84, 104, 114, 121, 122 Nuh I, Samanid 32 Nuh ebn-e Mansir 68

Mas‘iidi,Historian 20, 59 n. 128 Mas‘iidi Marvazi 35

Maymandi + Ahmad ebn-e Hasan Mazandaran Mazdak

5, 112, 115, 129

the Heretic

130

Mazdayasnian Religion 17

‘Obayd-Allah Kan, Uzbek 104 Odyssey 137 Older Preface 13, 14, 17, 36, 37, 135 ‘Omar, Caliph 7, 32 n. 54, 49 n. 54 ‘Onsori 5, 50 n. 65

INDEX

148

Papakan 102

Rostam (cont.) 111-113, 114, 116, 117, 133; and Akvan-e Dév 65, 66, 113; and Esfandyar 34 n. 70; House of 67, 116; Sagas of 67, 117; Seven Labours of 66, 112; and Sohrab 66, 67; and the White Dév 66, 112 Rostam-e Farrokzad 48, 52 Ridabe 55, 111

Paradise

+ Ferdows

Ridbar,

Gate of Tos 3

Paradise

Lost

Ridkan

31

Orbely, Joseph 16 OSnar 130 ‘Otman 7, 49 n. 54 Oxus 112, 129

Pahlavi (Pahlavani) language 9, 10, 15, 16, 34, 40, 65 Paladins 30, 32, 72, 110, 133

Parthians Pagdtan

137

30 ~ also Arsacids

Sabankara’i,Mohammad ebn-e ‘Ali 6

115

Péran[-e Vésa] 47 n. 44, 89, 113, 114 "Persian

Book"

65

Sada 50, 84, 109, 121, 122 Saddad 122, 135

Persian history 67

Sa‘di,SaykMosleh-al-Din8

Persian (language) 5, 12, 14, 32, 77, 78, 80, 83, 84, 89, 118, 123, 124 (=New Persian 30, 35, 61, 63) Persian literature 13, 39, 77, 118, 137

Sadan son of Borzin 36

Persian

Sagzi/Sistani110

lore

101

Piemontese, Angelo Michele 17 Prophet, the 100, 120

Qabil 120 Qader (‘Abbasid) 5, 14 Qajar 104 Qa‘qa‘ 20

Qarib, ‘Abd-al-‘Azim Qasem, Ferdowsi’s son 20, 22, 57, 63 with n. 2, 82-3 Qazvini, Mirza Mohammad Kan

Wahhab 14, 16

Qazvini, Naser-al-Din Abii Raéid 6, 14, 22 n. 15, 100n. 100 Qobad (Kay) 55, 111f. Qor’an 7 n. 7, 29, 34, 111, 120, 121, 123, 134 n. 51

Qotb-al-Din67

Safa, Z. 16 Safavids

104

Safa‘i 3 Sahrbanii 32

Sah-nama, of Ferdowsi passim; of Abi ‘Ali Balki 36, 130; of Abi Mansir 31 n. 54, 36 n. 98, 36, 38, 52, 55, 65, 67-69, 71, 86, 90, 93 n. 71, 95, 108, 111, 117, 126, 132, 134; of Abu’lMo‘ayyad Balki (=Greater) 36; of Mas‘iidi Marvazi 35; origins of the name 35; translations of Ferdowsi’s 9, 10, 12, 16

Sahrok,Arbab KayKosrow 104 Sah-Tahmasp18 Saljugs 7; 21, 104

Samangan112 Samanids 84

31-3, 64, 67, 68, 70, 71, 78, 79,

Sapir II 28, 117,130

Razan, Gate of Tis 3, 103 Revelation of Zardo&t, the 38

Sasanians 10, 20, 28, 30, 34, 35, 44, 59, 66, 78, 79, 83, 84, 92, 109, 117, 124; calendar 59; literature 82; period 80, 110, 117, 128; philosophy 136 "Satire" 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 18, 89 n. 56, 97-103

RezaKan (Sah)15

Sayyah, Fatema 16

Rokn-al-Dawla

Sayk-eTosi 51 n. 68

Rafezi2, 3

33

R6dm (Byzantine Empire) 110, 115 Romans 48, 90 n. 59, 114 Rostam 3, 4, 5, 7, 59 n. 127, 76, 90, 110,

Sebtik-Tegin

78, 81 n. 20, 92, 133

Semites 134, legends of 119, 124 Shakespeare 137

INDEX

Shi‘ism 3, 5, 6, 8, 22, 32-4, 36, 49, 59, 89, 97, 99, 104

149 Turks 5, 47 n. 128, 48, 79, 84, 89, 90 n. 59, 92

Shirani(Sirani)HafezMahmiidKan _

13-14, 49 n. 54, 98 n. 94

Siamak 109

Urdu (language) 13 Urdu (periodical) 13

Siavii§ 8, 42, 47 n. 40, 55, 59 n. 127, 112, 113

Vameq and Adra 120

Simorg(bird) 111,116

Vedic

Simorg(periodical) 17

Vés and Ramin 65

Sistn 110,115,116

vita (of Ferdowsi) 2, 4, 6-8, 10, 13, 22 n. 15, 118

Sistani 129

9

Sogad,son of Zal 116 Sohrab, son of Rostam 112

55, 59 n. 127, 67,

Soloman 122,135

Wachha, P. B. 14, 17, 89 n. 56 White Dév 66, 112 Wolff, F. 16, 108

So‘iibia movement 34, 52, 124

SpahbadSahryar2, 3, 18

X"aday-namag 34, 35 + Koday-nama

Spiegel, F. 9 Spuler, B. 126 Stackelberg, R. von 9 Stories omitted by Ferdowsi 130-131

Ya‘qitib-e Layt 5

Siidabe

112

Yarshater, Ehsan 17 Yazdan

66

Yazdegerd I 2, 25, 28, 74

Sifi 8

Yazdegerd

Sunni 2, 5-7, 13, 49, 89, 104, 124

Yemen

Siri

Yusof o Zoleyka 5, 7, 11, 13-15, 18, 49, 64 n. 6

son

SiStari,

of Mo‘ezz

19 n. 1

Qazi Nir Allah 6, 23, 104

Ta‘alebi 50 n. 61, 90, 95, 110, 132, 135 Tabari’s Chronicle 20 n. 6, 21 n. 8, 63, 64 me 20) 121

Zabol

III 32, 36, 71, 84, 117

112

120

Zaboli 129

Zahhak (-Dahak/AZi-dahag)111,117, 130,132

Tabari ’s Commentary on the Qor’an 63, 120, 121

Zal 55, 110-111, 116

Tabaran/Tabaran

Zarér

2, 3, 21, 22, 31, 103

115

Tabarestan 2 Tahmina 112

Ziarids 33

Tahmiret

Zoroaster/Zardost 5, 6, 15, 31, 53, 64, 67, 115, 116, 130, 135 Zoroastrian Doctrine 37 n. 98, 49f., 54 Zoroastrians 4, 6, 32, 35, 36, 49f., 50, 120, 121, 130 Zurvanite Fatalism 37 n. 98, 53, 54, 55

Zodiac

109

Taqizadeh, S. H. 12, 13-16, 27

Tarik-e Gozida 4, 89 n. 57 Tarik-eSistan 5 Testament of ArdaSér 116 Togrol 21 Tos) 2; 3,5, 15, 21, 22; 30-33; 61, 67,68, 71, 73, 79, 89, 103, 104, 110, 114, 115

Tosi, K’aja +Nezam-al-Molt Tiiran 65, 90, 111, 113, 114 Tiranian

Plains

129

Tiranians

47, 59, 89, 90, 112, 113, 114

Turkestan

110

PATA G

55