1. Introduction
The use of an intertextual approach alongside the collation of manuscript variants is of great importance in establishing the text and determining the most reliable reading, particularly in historical and quasi-historical narrative texts. In such texts, many narratives are shaped by earlier literary and historical traditions. Therefore, comparing a text with parallel sources and antecedent texts can be instrumental in identifying the authentic reading and assessing the validity of different readings. Intertextual connections may reveal that an author has consciously drawn upon an earlier text, adapting and recreating part of it within a new textual and narrative context.
2. Literature Review
Among the most significant studies devoted to al-Khawarnaq and al-Sadir is Issa Al-Hakim’s article, Al-Khawarnaq and Al-Sadir (2007). Drawing on a broad range of historical and literary sources, Al-Hakim begins by examining the etymology of the names Khawarnaq and Sadir, before turning to the geographical location of the two palaces and the circumstances surrounding their construction and patronage. He concludes by exploring the literary and civilizational significance attributed to these two edifices in Arabic sources.
A further study relevant to the subject is Sayyid Jafar Shahidi’s article, Suhayl-i Bahrami and Adim-i Yaman (1993). In a four-page discussion devoted to Khawarnaq, Shahidi considers several proposed etymologies for the name and, in this context, draws attention to the Yemeni origins of the Lakhmid dynasty, which was associated with the upbringing of the Sasanian king Bahram V.
More recently, an independent study of Khawarnaq has been undertaken by Basiri Kheradmand et al. in their article The Landscape of Khawarnaq: From Reality to Symbol (2025). The authors trace representations of Khawarnaq and, in conjunction with it, Sadir through six historical periods, extending from the early Islamic sources to the Qajar era. Their study seeks to demonstrate how changing representations of these two palaces correspond to developments in the stylistic history of Persian literature. It further situates these transformations within the framework of Kenneth Clark’s account of the development of landscape in European art.
“In addition to the aforementioned studies, references to these two palaces are to be found in Dehkhoda’s Loghat-nameh, the Encyclopaedia of the World of Islam, and the Great Islamic Encyclopaedia, as well as in historical texts and literary works. Taken together, these sources provide valuable information concerning the names, locations, builders, and historical narratives associated with Khawarnaq and Sadir.”
3. Methodology
The purpose of this article is to determine the relationship between Khawarnaq and Sadir in historical texts and Nizami Ganjavi’s Haft Paykar based on an intertextual approach. In our view, intertextuality is to a great extent equivalent to what is known as influence and being influenced. In other words, adducing evidence from earlier texts and citing them has long been a widespread practice in textual criticism and has been employed by numerous textual editors. Our adoption of this approach is intended to standardize and refine the terminology used in describing such textual relationships. The use of terms such as hypotext (pre-text), hypertext, and intertextuality follows Gérard Genette, who, in his book Palimpsests: Literature in the Second Degree, addresses various types of textual relationships under the overarching concept of transtextuality.
4. Discussion
This study examines the etymology, historical significance, and literary usage of the two names Khawarnaq and Sadir in classical Persian and Arabic texts, with particular emphasis on Nizami Ganjavi’s Haft Paykar.
Various views have been advanced concerning the etymology of the word Khawarnaq. Some scholars regard it as an Arabic word meaning “leveret” or “young rabbit,” while others derive it from the Persian forms khawarnaqah or khwarnakah, meaning “banqueting place” or “place of feasting.” Certain researchers have also connected the term with forms found in Middle Iranian languages, where it originally referred to a royal banquet and subsequently came to denote the palace or pavilion in which such a banquet was held. Different theories have likewise been proposed regarding Sadir. Some scholars consider it an Arabic term associated with the act of staring, whereas others regard it as the Arabized form of seh-del or seh-dareh, understood as referring to a tripartite structure or a building with nested domes.
In historical sources, Khawarnaq is identified as a palace in al-Hira, constructed by order of Nuʿman ibn Imruʾal-Qays for Bahram V, better known as Bahram Gur. Khawarnaq overlooked the region of Najaf, as well as the surrounding gardens, palm groves, and the Euphrates River. In some sources, the name is also applied to a river or to other settlements.
Sadir is frequently mentioned in the sources alongside Khawarnaq. Historical evidence, particularly Balʿami’s account, nevertheless suggests that it was probably the name of a prosperous village or inhabited district near al-Hira and Najaf, rather than necessarily that of an independent palace. Some texts, however, identify it as a palace or a river. In Persian literature, Khawarnaq and Sadir signify more than geographical locations: they also function as symbols of splendour, prosperity, architectural grandeur, and, at times, the transience of power and wealth.
In the Haft Paykar, Nizami portrays Khawarnaq as a magnificent edifice that was constructed over a period of five years by Simnar, a Roman architect. His description of the building’s three-coloured façade and the landscapes surrounding it, including the Euphrates and Sadir, is connected with historical accounts, particularly Tarikh-i Balʿami.
On the other hand, an examination of the accounts found in the various printed editions of the Haft Paykar has shown that some instances of taṣḥif resulted from confusion between “Sadir” and “Sarir” (throne). Moreover, the architectural evidence cited from the Rusum of the Dar al-Khilafa indicates that Sedeli was part of the palace structure rather than an independent palace. Therefore, when the Haft Paykar refers to “Sadir-i Khawarnaq,” both structural and rhetorical indications suggest that it denotes a part of the palace complex rather than a separate edifice.
5. Conclusion
An intertextual analysis of Khawarnaq and Sadir in Nizami’s Haft Paykar demonstrates that a precise understanding of these two names is attainable only through a simultaneous examination of Arabic and Persian historical texts. A comparative study of the accounts preserved by al-Tabari, Balʿami, Ibn al-Faqih al-Hamadhani, Yaqut al-Hamawi, and other historical sources alongside the verses of Haft Paykar reveals that Nizami consciously drew upon earlier narrative traditions in depicting the spatial setting of Khawarnaq and its surroundings; yet, through poetic intervention, he skillfully integrated this inherited material into the visual system of his work.
Nizami’s deliberate choice to depict Khawarnaq and Sadir in Yemen-rather than in al-Hira, as in Tarikh al-Tabari and Tarikh-i Balʿami, while also drawing on Ferdowsi’s reference to Bahram’s presence in Yemen-may have been motivated by several considerations. These include the fact that Sadir is the name of a city in Yemen and that the association between Suhayl and Yemen serves Nizami’s imagery. Moreover, the Yemeni origins of the houses of Nuʿman and Mundhir should not be overlooked.
Ultimately, a critical re-reading of Khawarnaq and Sadir in Haft Paykar not only elucidates the relationship between these two locales but also underscores the importance of combining critical textual editing with historical inquiry.