https://hlit.sbu.ac.ir/ Journal of History of Literature en daily 1 Thu, 23 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0330 Thu, 23 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0330 https://hlit.sbu.ac.ir/article_107067.html IntroductionThe dispersion of the panegyrics to Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni throughout the Shahnameh, in terms of their placement and the sequence of the narratives, lacks a clear logical justification if one assumes that a complete version of the work was presented. It may therefore be supposed that Ferdowsi did not incorporate these eulogies in a unified and systematic manner into the original version of the Shahnameh, or that they were added to the text by scribes in later periods, particularly after the poem had gained widespread renown. Moreover, certain verses at the beginning of the story of Khosrow and Shirin allude to Ferdowsi’s failure to secure Mahmud’s patronage and to the indifference of the Ghaznavid court an observation that may further complicate the question of the fate of the presentation copy and the manner of its reception. On this basis, drawing on the available evidence, the present study strengthens the hypothesis that the scattered nature of Mahmud’s panegyrics is not the result of later interpolations, but rather reflects the structure of a selective version that Ferdowsi prepared during the course of composing the Shahnameh for presentation to Mahmud of Ghazni.2. Literature ReviewScholars hold differing views regarding the time and manner in which the panegyrics to Mahmud of Ghazni were incorporated into the Shahnameh, as well as the date of its dispatch to the Ghaznavid court.Taqizadeh, Rajaʾi, Atash, Riahi, Kazzazi, Nahvi, Khaleghi-Motlagh, and Aydenlu argue that the panegyrics to Mahmud were composed after 400 AH, since Ferdowsi refers in the Shahnameh to the remission of taxes, an act that would have occurred either after the famine in Khurasan in 401 AH or following Mahmud’s Indian campaigns in 406 and 409 AH.Ritter, for his part, believed that the Shahnameh was sent to the Ghaznavid court “in installments”.Nevertheless, these views have paid comparatively little attention to the relationship between the placement of the panegyrics within the text and the form of the presentation copy itself.3. MethodologyThe present study adopts an analytical-historical method and, drawing on internal textual evidence from the Shahnameh, examines the content of the panegyrics, the probable time of their composition, and their position within the narrative structure of the Shahnameh. It seeks to clarify the logic behind the dispersion of these eulogies and to propose a plausible reconstruction of the structure of the presentation copy prepared by Ferdowsi.4. DiscussionThe prevailing assumption among many Shahnameh scholars is that Ferdowsi sent a “complete version” of the Shahnameh to the court at Ghazni; however, the dispersion of the panegyrics to Mahmud of Ghazni within the poem is not compatible with such an assumption. If Ferdowsi had intended to present a complete Shahnameh, the eulogies would have been expected to appear at the beginnings of the volumes or at least at the opening of the most important narratives, whereas no such pattern is observable in the text. The absence of this pattern suggests that the prevailing assumption should be reconsidered and that the actual form of the presentation copy must be re-examined.It may be hypothesized that Ferdowsi, rather than sending a complete Shahnameh, presented to the Ghaznavid court a selective compilation of the stories he had completed by that time or during the composition of which he had composed panegyrics to Mahmud, assembled in a separate volume. On this basis, the panegyrics to Mahmud mark the boundaries of those sections of the Shahnameh that were prepared to introduce Ferdowsi’s work to the court. This selective version was not conceived independently, but was designed during the composition and completion of the Shahnameh and was subsequently, for presentation purposes, likely extracted from the poem and fair-copied.Thus, by distinguishing the stories in which Ferdowsi inserted panegyrics to Mahmud, one may posit the existence of a coherent selective collection that he arranged for presentation to the court at Ghazni and for introducing his work. Some historical sources, however, such as Chahar Maqala by Nizami Aruzi describe the Shahnameh as having been presented as a complete work. This report offers only a general picture of the process of composition and presentation, and it should be noted that such accounts are typically late relative to the completion of the poem (400 AH) and contain numerous inconsistencies and contradictions. Therefore, while internal textual evidence alone is not conclusive, taken together and in light of the limitations of the historical sources, it strengthens the hypothesis of a selective presentation version prepared for Mahmud of Ghazni.5. ConclusionsAn examination of the dispersion and placement of the panegyrics to Mahmud of Ghazni within Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh indicates that the assumption of a complete, polished, and unified version having been sent to the court at Ghazni is not supported by the evidence. The panegyrics are not only inconsistent in terms of their location, order, and coherence, but they also overlap temporally with specific stages of the poem’s composition, clearly preceding the completion of the entire work. These findings reinforce the likelihood that Ferdowsi composed the panegyrics during the course of creating the Shahnameh, rather than after its completion.A historical analysis of the panegyrics, coupled with evidence regarding Ferdowsi’s age, suggests that their composition most likely occurred within a limited period, between 390 and 394 AH, a time that coincides with the consolidation of Mahmud of Ghazni’s political power and the poet’s hope of securing courtly patronage. From this perspective, the panegyrics to Mahmud should be understood not as later interpolations by scribes, but as part of Ferdowsi’s strategy for preparing a presentation copy: a version in which the poet, while continuing to compose the Shahnameh, selected certain narratives for submission to the court.Based on this analysis, it can be concluded that the presentation copy of the Shahnameh sent to Mahmud of Ghazni was not a complete version of the poem, but a selective compilation of composed stories. The selection was deliberate rather than random, guided by themes such as military victory, territorial expansion, political legitimacy, justice, and the portrayal of the ideal king, while tragic episodes or narratives highlighting weakness, failure, or crises of royal legitimacy were omitted. The concentration of panegyrics in stories such as the Great War of Kay Khosrow, Daqiqi’s Sayings, Ferdowsi’s Sayings, the Seven Labors of Esfandiyar, Rostam and Shaghad, the reign of Darab, the Arsacids, Shapur son of Ardashir Babakan, Yazdegerd the Wrongdoer, and the contents of the Letter of Nowshinrowan to his son Hormazd, attests to this intentional selection.Moreover, the opening verses of the story of Khosrow and Shirin, in which Ferdowsi laments the indifference of the Ghaznavid court and his own failure to attract Mahmud’s attention, provide a crucial indication for reconstructing the fate of this presentation copy. These verses suggest that the selective Shahnameh, at least in the form Ferdowsi had intended, was not accepted, and that this failure and the consequent shift in audience is reflected within the text itself. https://hlit.sbu.ac.ir/article_107126.html 1. IntroductionThe process of creation, culmination and transformation of the heritage of Persian literature must be sought in the history of its literature, a history of literature whose main part of its information is derived from the poets' tazkira.h. ki byl- ilavi, Ahmad Historically, tazkira writer and by following them, literary historians have focused and emphasized the introduction of poets and writers, so that more than 95% of literary figures who have been introduced in tazkiras and literary histories are men, but gradually, first the tazkira writers, then other writers, introduced some female poets alongside the male poets. Although the number of female poets introduced in sources was increasing from century to century, by the 10th century AH approximately 100 of them had been identified and introduced.Although in most general and even contemporary tazkiras of the 7th-14th centuries, at least a few female poets have been introduced alongside many other poets, Fakhri Heravi (970 AH) wrote the first tazkira of female poets called Jawahir al-Ajayeb, specializing in briefly introducing their biography and poems and covering 31 female poets from the beginning to the end of the 10th century in this tazkira, which led some tazkira writers to use his work as a model and pay more attention to introducing female poets; so that after his, some general tazkira writers, such as Ohadi Baliani, introduced more than 40 female poets in A’rafat al-Asheqin va A’rasat al-A’refin, and even two centuries after Fakhri and following his, an anonymous tazkira writer wrote the second tazkira of female poets and the main purpose of this article is to introduce and examine it.2. Literature ReviewIt seems that Naqavi (1964: 399-401) first introduced the manuscript of the aforementioned tazkira in Tazkiranevisi-ye Farsi dar Hind va Pakistan, then Golchin-e Ma’ani (1968: 247-250) also quoted Naqavi's contents in the Tarikh-e Tazkira-ha-ye Farsi until Naushahi (2012: 903-904) introduced the manuscript of this tazkira in the list of Catalogue of the Persian Manuscripts in the Punjab University Central Library in Lahore (Pakistan), yet, so far, access to this manuscript is difficult or even impossible, so that before this article, no independent or related research has mentioned any additional information about this tazkira beyond the contents of Naqavi, Golchin-e Ma’ani, and Naushahi and even if this tazkira has been discussed in some books, theses, or articles, their contents are taken from the writings of the two aforementioned researchers and cataloger and even Roohanigiz Karachi (2015) in Tarikh-e She’r-e Zanan and Banafshe Hejazi (2017) in Zanan-e-Muaddab did not have access to the mentioned manuscript to use its content in their works.3. MethodologyThis research uses theoretical and library method; therefore, its topics are based on manuscripts and printed books. 4. DiscussionSince the information about our literary history of women poets and the literary situation of women, especially up to the 14th century AH, is very scarce and contradictory, it is necessary and useful that the sources of the history of women's literature, namely the tazkiras of women poets, be identified, edited, and researched as much as possible, so that the contribution of women in the history of Persian literature is determined.Although many of the tazkiras from the 13th century onwards have been lithographed or lettertyped so far, at least a few tazkiras of female poets were written in the 12th century, which are more noteworthy for being examined and edited, because less information is available about female poets before the 13th century and the tazkiras of the 13th century have copied or adapted most of their contents from tazkiras before them.One of these tazkiras of female poets in the 12th century AH is the subject of this article which contains some new information not mentioned in contemporary and future tazkiras, and some of its contents have been quoted with great influence in the tazkiras of the 13th century AH and onwards. Therefore, the content of the tazkira in question is significant and worthy of research both in terms of the novelty of the contents and in terms of its compatibility with other tazkiras.5. ConclusionDespite the many tazkiras and literary histories that have been written so far, more than 95% of their content is about male poets, and there is still no acceptable information available about female poets; therefore, identifying, editing, and researching any type of work that includes the introduction of female Persian poets is very necessary and useful.The manuscript number pf I 22/1119 preserved in the Central Library of the University of the Punjab, Lahore, is the second tazkira of female Persian poets after Fakhri Heravi's Jawahir al-Ajayeb so far. Some pages are missing from the beginning and end of the manuscript, and this has prevented us from obtaining accurate information about the name of the book and its author. However, most of the manuscript has survived.This tazkira includes brief biography and poems of 38 female poets, whose author was most likely a native and resident of India and wrote this work there in 1174 AH. The historical range of the female poets in this tazkira is between the 4th and 12th centuries AH, and their earliest and latest are Rabia’e Qazdari and Khadija-Sultan, respectively. The number of female poets mentioned after the 10th century AH increases, and most of them either lived in Khorasan, Fararud, and India, or migrated to India from various cities in Iran.The author of the tazkira has ordered the biographies of the female poets according to the first letter of their names or pseudonyms and has written very briefly about some poets and more extensively about others.This tazkira includes new information, such as a complete biography or a few poems by some female poets, which are sometimes not mentioned in earlier or later tazkiras, and sometimes only later tazkiras have directly or indirectly adapted from it. However, the author of the tazkira has also benefited from historical works and tazkiras of poets and mystics before himself, such as Tarikh-e Wassaf, Nafahat al-Ons, Majalis al-Nafayes, Jawahir al-Ajayeb, Arafat al-Asheqin, Mirat al-Khiyal, and Riyaz al-Shu'ara. He has doubted some of the information from the sources and rejected some of the content of works such as Mirat al-Khiyal and Riyaz al-Shu'ara, and presented their opinions with a critical view and added his own perspective. However, he himself sometimes made mistakes or thought that he was the first to notice the mistakes of others, but previous writers of tazkiras were also aware of the issue. https://hlit.sbu.ac.ir/article_107268.html Ibn Naṣūḥ Shīrāzī is one of the prominent poets of the 8th century AH who, despite his significant presence at the Jalayirid court and his close engagement with the dominant poetic currents of his time, has received relatively little attention in the history of Persian literature. As a result, scattered, sometimes inaccurate, and insufficiently documented information concerning his life, works, and literary status has circulated in biographical dictionaries (tazkiras) and modern scholarship. Adopting a historical and text-critical approach and drawing on both early and later sources, manuscript evidence, and internal textual analysis of poetic materials, the present study seeks to provide a coherent and well-documented account of Ibn Naṣūḥ’s biography, works, intellectual orientations, and literary position. The findings demonstrate that a critical reassessment of the sources not only corrects several erroneous assumptions but also clarifies the poet’s status as one of the significant figures of 8th century Persian poetry.1. IntroductionThe history of Persian literature abounds with poets who, despite their fame and influence during their own lifetimes, were gradually marginalized in later periods. Ibn Naṣūḥ Shīrāzī belongs to this group of poets. Living in the 8th century AH, he composed poetry in a wide range of genres, including qaṣīda, ghazal, mathnawī, and rubāʿī. The accounts provided by tazkira writers are generally brief, repetitive, and at times contradictory, which has prevented a proper understanding of his actual place within the Persian poetic tradition. The central concern of this study is therefore to reassess and critique these reports and to reconstruct Ibn Naṣūḥ’s life and works on the basis of reliable historical and literary evidence.2. Literature ReviewEarly sources constitute the most important body of information on Ibn Naṣūḥ. Among them, Tazkirat al-Shuʿarāʾ by Dawlatshāh Samarqandī is the earliest known source; although it refers to the poet’s reputation, it provides little precise biographical information. The most significant early source is Khulāṣat al-Ashʿār wa Zubdat al-Afkār by Taqī al-Dīn Kāshānī, which offers a relatively detailed biographical account and transmits a substantial selection of Ibn Naṣūḥ’s poetry. Works such as ʿArafāt al-ʿĀshiqīn by Awhadī Balyānī and Ṣuḥuf-i Ibrāhīm by ʿAlī Khalīl supply supplementary information, though they largely rely on Kāshānī’s account.In modern scholarship, Zabīḥollāh Ṣafā’s History of Literature in Iran has played a foundational role in introducing Ibn Naṣūḥ and has served as the basis for many subsequent studies. Nevertheless, certain inaccuracies—such as those concerning the number of verses in his dīvān or the dedication of the mathnawī Maḥabbat-nāma—have become entrenched in later works and thus require reconsideration.3. MethodologyThis study employs a historical–analytical and text-critical methodology. Through a comparative examination of early and later tazkira sources, collation of manuscript materials, analysis of internal textual evidence from the poems, and correlation of literary data with the political and social events of the 8th century AH, the authors aim to present a documented and coherent narrative of Ibn Naṣūḥ’s life and oeuvre. Particular attention is paid to historical inconsistencies and to the use of poetic evidence as supplementary historical documentation.4. DiscussionThe findings indicate that Ibn Naṣūḥ was originally from Shiraz but was raised in Tabriz, where he spent a substantial part of his life, as well as periods in Baghdad. He initially pursued the conventional sciences of his time and later gained renown in poetry and mysticism. His presence at the Jalayirid court—especially during the reigns of Sulṭān Ḥusayn and Sulṭān Aḥmad Jalayirī—consolidated his social and literary standing, and after the death of his master Salmān Sāvajī, he most likely attained the position of poet laureate (malik al-shuʿarāʾ).From an intellectual perspective, poetic evidence clearly indicates Ibn Naṣūḥ’s adherence to Twelver Shiʿism, a point that some later sources have questioned. Stylistically, his poetry continues the tradition of Sanāʾī, Saʿdī, and Ẓahīr al-Dīn Fāryābī, while displaying striking linguistic and thematic affinities with the works of Salmān Sāvajī and Ḥāfiẓ Shīrāzī. This stylistic convergence demonstrates that Ibn Naṣūḥ composed his poetry firmly within the mainstream poetic discourse of the 8th century.Beyond their literary value, Ibn Naṣūḥ’s works reflect the turbulent political and social conditions of the period marked by the collapse of the Ilkhanids and the emergence of local dynasties. His explicit references to insecurity, warfare, and social disorder render his dīvān a valuable source for historical and sociological studies of the era. Moreover, his mathnawī Maḥabbat-nāma occupies a distinctive position within the tradition of dah-nāma composition due to its structural innovations and its creative use of messengers.A close examination of the autograph manuscript of Khulāṣat al-Ashʿār establishes that the number of extant verses by Ibn Naṣūḥ is precisely 915. One of the most significant corrections proposed in this study is the rejection of the attribution of the dedicatee of Maḥabbat-nāma to Shaykh Kajjajī—a hypothesis previously suggested by Ṣafā. By comparing the date of Shaykh Kajjajī’s death (778 AH) with the completion date of Maḥabbat-nāma (788 AH), this study demonstrates that the work was in fact dedicated to Khwāja Jamāl al-Dīn ʿAlī Bū al-ʿIzz, Minister of Sulṭān Aḥmad Jalayirī.5. ConclusionThrough a critical re-examination of sources and an analysis of historical and literary evidence, the present study establishes Ibn Naṣūḥ Shīrāzī as a significant yet underrecognized poet of the 8th century AH. Correcting erroneous data—particularly regarding the number of verses in his dīvān and the dedication of Maḥabbat-nāma—and clarifying his religious orientation and literary status constitute the main contributions of this research. The results indicate that Ibn Naṣūḥ was not only an influential poet in his own time, but that his works remain a valuable resource for contemporary literary, historical, and cultural studies. https://hlit.sbu.ac.ir/article_107001.html IntroductionEvery poetic divan and every poetic system of thought is a reflection of the poet's living conditions. The culture, religion, creed, profession, studies, and specific circumstances of each poet are reflected in their poetry. Rumi is no exception to this rule. Apart from literary and poetic images, Shams ghazals of Rumi are full of religious, historical, and cultural information. This information is derived from his life conditions. The inclusion of this information in Rumi's poetry has made understanding some verses conditional on knowing this information. One of the themes used in Rumi's ghazals is the use of proper nouns. Some of these proper names are clear and do not require new research, but some of them are unknown and sometimes ambiguous. Understanding some of Rumi's verses also requires understanding these specific names and the narrations related to them. The vastness of Rumi's studies and his biocultural background has made him benefit from this statement. Examples of these proper names are sometimes found only in Rumi's Divan. Literature ReviewRegarding the research background, Badi' al-Zaman Foruzanfar is ahead of everyone. In the explanation section of Shams's general research, he has provided explanations for many words, including proper nouns. He either provided inadequate explanations for some of the proper nouns or ignored some of the proper nouns. This is due to the difficult days he spent researching this great work. In some other works, such as the selection of Rumi's ghazals by Shafi'i Kadkani, some of the declarations have been noted in a vague and brief form. Inconsistent and insufficient information is also mentioned in secondary works such as those of Zarrin Koob and Abedi. Apart from these sources, there is not much good material available for solving problems related to proper nouns. Therefore, the present research is one of the pioneering studies in this field. MethodologyThe research method in this study is generally library-based. First, the desired proper noun was selected as an entry from Shams's ghazals. Then, the research conducted on that specific name was reviewed and criticized. Finally, the specific name in question was examined by referring to library sources such as historical and narrative books. This study clarified the ambiguous space of the proper noun under study. The results of this research also shed light on the poetry's atmosphere.DiscussionIn Rumi's poems, he sometimes uses specific names, the ambiguity of which makes his poems ambiguous. Sometimes this ambiguity is about the proper noun itself, meaning it is not clear who or what the noun is used for. Paratextual studies ultimately clarify who the specific name in question is and what its function is in the context of Rumi's poetry. Sometimes the proper noun used is clear, but the narrative context in which it is used is ambiguous. Research into the narrative in question helps Rumi's poetry gain a clear meaning. Sometimes Rumi's use of proper nouns also reflects his way of thinking. One of the specific names discussed in this research is "Ulayyaneh", a quasi-mad figure in some narrative and mystical books. The other is "Hisham ibn Mughirah", one of the polytheist leaders of Quraysh, whose name is among those killed in the Battle of Badr. Another specific name is "Bani-Kananah" from Arab tribes whose historical adventures date back to before and after Islam. "Wael" is also one of the tribes whose long adventures between the branches of this tribe have been legendary among the Arabs. "Khawaja Nasaj Bukhari" was one of the less famous mystics who is reflected in ghazals of Shams. "Abu al-Ma'ali Juwayni" is another statement worth examining, and clarifying aspects related to his narrations sheds light on Rumi's poems. "Damiriyat" is one of the marginalia of the Prophet Solomon, although Rumi did not mention his name and included a story about him in a verse. And "Boubakr Rababi" is one of the cultural figures used by Rumi in his poems. ConclusionA review of some of the declarations in library sources primarily clarified the ambiguous space of the proper name. Examining some of the statements in library sources in all the poems clarified the space of the poem. Some examples, such as "Khawaja Nasaj Bukhari", "Boubakr Rababi", and "Alian", have either been incorrectly explained in previous sources and research or have been left with general explanations. In some cases, no research had been conducted at all regarding some of the announcements and this research was the gateway to this announcement; "Wa'il" and "Bani-Kananah" are examples of this. Some of the statements, despite being clear, required narrative explanation in a specific case to clarify the atmosphere of the verse, an example of which is "Abu al-Ma'ali Juwayni". All the studies ultimately resulted in clarifying the meaning of some of the verses. https://hlit.sbu.ac.ir/article_107023.html IntroductionThe acquaintance of the Arab world with Persian literature and its luminaries has undergone many ups and downs throughout history. In the contemporary era, especially in the past century, the Arab world’s familiarity with Persian literature has increased significantly. This is due to scientific and cultural exchanges between Iran and Arab countries, especially Egypt, as well as the exchange of professors and students. The familiarity of Arab literati with the Persian language has led to the translation of many Persian poets’ works into Arabic and this has enabled Arab scholars to gain a deeper understanding of Persian literature and conduct further research in this field. Among them, Molana Jalal al-Din Mohammad Balkhi (Rumi) (604–672 AH) is one of the great Persian poets whose character has transcended the borders of Iran and the Persian language, making him a global figure. His works, especially the Masnavi-e Ma’navi, are known worldwide. It is no surprise that in recent years, in countries like the United States, which is recognized as a leader in science and technology, people have turned to Rumi’s poetry. As a result, Coleman Barks’s translation of Rumi’s poems, titled The Essential Rumi, has been greatly welcomed and has been among the top best-selling books in America in recent years. It is obvious that the root of this popularity must be sought in the greatness of Rumi’s character and the spiritual and mystical depth of his works.This article attempts to examine Rumi’s position and works in the contemporary Arab world and to answer the following question: What efforts have been made to understand Rumi in the Arab world? Also, who are the Arab researchers of Rumi, and by whom, in what manner, and from when have Rumi’s works been translated into Arabic?2. Literature ReviewAmong the journals devoted to the publication of the Persian language and culture in Arab countries, first and foremost, one must mention the journal al-Dirasat al-Adabiyya, which for years has been published by the Center for Persian Language and Literature at the Lebanese University. This journal, dating back to 1338 SH (1959 AD), has published articles on Rumi, and one of its issues in 1382 SH (2003 AD) was dedicated to Jalal al-Din Mohammad Rumi. An independent article on the subject is “Jalal al-Din Rumi in the Works of Arab Researchers” by Youssef Bakkar in the aforementioned special issue (1382 SH), which provides a list of Rumi’s translated works and publications about Rumi in Arabic up to 2000 (Bakkar, 2003: p. 177). Besides this, mention should be made of the journal al-Muntada, published in Egypt, which also published articles about Rumi. Issue 21 of the journal Fekr va Fan in 1973 also dedicated a special issue to Rumi. Additionally, Mohammad al-Seba’i wrote an article titled “Jalal al-Din Rumi Between Ibn Arabi and Muhammad Iqbal and His Translations and Studies in the Arabic Language”, which was published in the aforementioned special issue (Seba’i, 2003: p. 14). Narges Ganji and Fatemeh Eshraghi, in an article titled “A Reflection on Works and Sources of Rumi Studies in the Arab World”, provided a report on the works published about Rumi, including translations and authored works in book and article format up to 2010 (Ganji & Eshraghi, 2013: pp. 159–185).In the introduction to the first volume of the valuable book Masnavi by Jalal al-Din al-Rumi, the Greatest Sufi Poet, Mohammad Abd al-Salam Kafafi dedicated pages to researchers on Rumi and reviewed the translations of Rumi’s works into Arabic, making it a key source on this subject. Mohammad Mohammadi, whose efforts to introduce Persian literature and Iranian culture in the Arab world are well-known, has, in his works and articles published over the years in various journals, addressed the status of the Masnavi in the Arab world and the efforts of Arab thinkers in this field, including in the book Persian Literature in Its Most Important Periods and Most Famous Figures, published in 1967 at the University of Lebanon. Annemarie Schimmel, in her valuable work translated into Persian as The Splendor of Shams, briefly mentioned researchers of Rumi. Franklin D. Lewis, in his work Rumi: Past and Present, East and West, besides Western and Eastern researchers on Rumi, has mentioned Arab researchers as well (Zeinivand & Dolatiari, 2012: p. 102). Vahid Bahmardi, Professor of Arabic Literature at the American University of Beirut, briefly referred to some books and articles published in Arab circles introducing Jalal al-Din Rumi in a footnote to his article “Jalal al-Din Rumi in His Arabic Ghazals” (Bahmardi, 2003, p. 40). Tal’at Abu Farha, in an article titled “Highlights on Persian Studies in Egypt,” published in the book Aspects of Cultural Connections between Egypt and Iran, also referred to some works published about Rumi in Egypt. Khaled Mohammad Abdeh, in a lecture available online, refers to the background of Rumi studies since the seventeenth century in Turkish and Arabic and provides a report on prominent Rumi researchers in the Arab world from the nineteenth century onwards (Abdeh, https://youtu.be/gso1VRMZ8YA?si=teFLHD24LM4qO_1G:2019). Finally, Hojjat Rasouli in a study titled “Molana Jalal al-Din Rumi in the Contemporary Arab World”, conducted in 1391 SH (2012 AD), provided a report on Rumi researchers up to that time, which needs updating (https://rasekhoon.net/article/show/668622). These efforts offer an incomplete picture of Rumi studies in the Arab world, but presenting a complete and relatively comprehensive picture is the aim of this article.3. Research MethodologyTo achieve the objectives and answer the posed questions, we have tried to gather the required information and materials from books and journals published in Persian and Arabic about Rumi by using library search methods and consulting written sources. Based on the descriptive and historical research method, the existing documents have been examined.4. AnalysisThe understanding of Rumi in the contemporary Arab world followed a movement that took shape in the last century regarding Persian language and literature in Arab countries, with Egyptians recognized as the pioneers of this movement. The outcome of this movement was the emergence of a generation of Arab scholars and literati who earnestly introduced Iranian culture and literature and translated significant scientific and literary works from Persian, including Persian poetry collections. Among them, a number of Arab scholars, through their acquaintance with Rumi and especially his Masnavi-e Ma’navi, endeavored to introduce him to Arab society and translate part or all of the Masnavi.5. ConclusionAlthough in the contemporary era, Europeans became acquainted with Rumi earlier than Arabs, and European Orientalists made great efforts to study and introduce Rumi and his works to the world—resulting in valuable works being published in the West—Arab speakers followed after Westerners in this field. Nonetheless, the Arab world has not been unfamiliar with Rumi, and considerable efforts have been made by Arab speakers to study and introduce him. Each Arab researcher has made valuable contributions to introducing Rumi and his works to the Arab world, resulting in the publication of numerous books and articles in Arabic. The first effort to introduce Rumi in the Arab world dates back to the translation and commentary of the Masnavi by Youssef bin Ahmad in 1872 AD, titled Al-Manhaj al-Qawi li Tulab al-Sharif al-Masnavi. The broad and serious acquaintance of the Arab world with Rumi’s works in the first half of the twentieth century happened through the writings of the Arab thinker and literati Abd al-Wahhab Azzam. Since then, many literary figures and enthusiasts of Iranian culture have engaged in Rumi studies and the translation of his works. Among the most prominent Rumi researchers in the Arab world, in addition to Abd al-Wahhab Azzam, are Mohammad Abd al-Salam Kafafi, Ibrahim Desouki Sheta, and Issa Ali Akoub. Besides these, many Arab speakers have conducted research about Rumi, resulting in multiple translations of his works and the publication of outstanding books and articles about his life and works in Arabic. In recent years, Rumi researchers have introduced new aspects of his character and works through the publication of new articles and books, employing innovative approaches such as the novel and psychology. https://hlit.sbu.ac.ir/article_107010.html IntroductionGenghis Khan of the Mongols began the conquest of Iran and other western territories of the Mongol settlements in 1219 CE (616 AH). However, the complete conquest of Iran was not achieved during Genghis Khan’s lifetime. It was his grandson, Hulagu Khan, who in 1253 CE (651 AH) completed the territorial acquisitions of his grandfather. The Ilkhanid period, corresponding to the 13th and early 14th centuries CE (6th and early 7th centuries AH) in Iran, contrary to common misconception, was not entirely a period of devastation. Despite considerable turmoil and hardship, the Mongol invasions destroyed only a few major cities in Transoxiana (Farārood) and Khorasan. Many ancient Iranian cities such as Shiraz, Isfahan, Yazd, Kerman, Shushtar, Herat, and others were spared from total destruction.The Mongols devastated cities like Bukhara, Samarkand, and Gurganj in Transoxiana, as well as Marv Shah-Jahan and Nishapur in Khorasan. However, the local dynasties and rulers of Iran who accepted Mongol suzerainty (Ilkhanid overlordship) managed to protect their domains from destruction. Iranian and non-Iranian dynasties that embraced Iranian culture and, in some cases, had governed since the 13th century continued to rule during and after the Ilkhanid period into the Timurid era. They administered their territories and fostered Persian art and literature.During this era, some of Iran’s most prominent poets emerged, including Saadi, Majd Hamgar, Fakhr al-Din Iraqi, and dozens of other distinguished poets and writers. Among the poets of this period was Sayyed Qawam al-Din Sharwani, known by his pen name Zulfaqar (died after 1296 CE / 695 AH). Due to the absence of a comprehensive published collection of his works, little research has been conducted on his poetry and biography. He or his family originated from Sharwan, and according to his own claims, his lineage traced back to the kings of that region. Names such as “Qawam al-Din Husayn ibn Sadr al-Din Ali” mentioned in biographical anthologies are not authentic; the poet should be referred to simply as Sayyed Qawam al-Din, or most likely Sayyed Qawam al-Din Ali. Literary reviewIn 1934, a facsimile edition of the Divān of Zulfaqār Sharwani was published in London through the efforts of Edward Edwards. The most authoritative study about him appears in A History of Iranian Literature by Zabihallah Safa (Safa, 1990: 518-521). Among the published works on Zulfaqar Sharwani are the entry “Zulfaqar Sharwani” in Encyclopedia of the World of Islam (Moravveji, 2019), “Majd Hamgarʼs Name in the Divan of Zulfaqar Sharwani” (Safari Aqqale, 2008), and “Zulfaqār Sharwāni” in The Great Islamic Encyclopedia (Dadbeh, 2019). In addition, Sajjadi (1957), Rasfar and Esma’ili Tazekandi (2011), Idgah Torqabe’i (2018), Mirafzali (2024), Behnami and Bayani (2024) have all addressed aspects of his life and work. In 1984 Jafar Moqaddas produced a critical edition of the Divan of Zulfaqar Sharwani as his doctoral dissertation. Due to numerous inaccuracies concerning his dissertation the work is of limited scholarly reliability. Methodology The present study clarifies ambiguous aspects of his life through an examination of Zulfaqar Sharwani’s Divan and by consulting various sources. It especially investigates his patrons. The methodology employed is library research combined with textual analysis. DiscussionIn the Divan of Zulfaqar Sharwani, numerous details about his life can be found. In one of his important fakhriya (self-praise) qasidas, he states his lineage as follows: maternally, he is descended from the "grandchildren of the kings of Islam" (it is unclear which kings he refers to), and paternally, he traces his pure lineage to Imam Hasan and Imam Husayn (peace be upon them). He then enumerates his various skills, which include poetry in Persian and Arabic, prose and poetry composition in "six languages" (likely five of these being Persian, Arabic, Turkish, Azerbaijani, and Khuzistani), prose writing, wisdom, astronomy, calligraphy, geomancy (raml), medicine, preaching, music, alchemy, history, dream interpretation, logic, lexicography, grammar, morphology, playing musical instruments, swimming, chess, warfare, horsemanship, mysticism, and more.In his poetry, he frequently references earlier poets such as Ferdowsi, Unsuri, Azraqi, Anvari, and Khaghani, but aside from a few instances, he seldom mentions his birthplace and origin, Sharwan. Numerous verses in his Divan reveal a strong respect for Imam Ali (peace be upon him) and intense enmity toward the enemies of the Imam. The presence of such verses increases the likelihood that he was a Shia.In Zulfaqar Sharwani’s Divan, there is no evidence of eulogizing the Khwarazmshahs. Instead, he mainly praises the Ilkhans, Iranian officials of their government, Iranian dynasties within Iran, and local tribal rulers such as the Greater and Lesser Atabegs of Lur in Khuzestan and Lorestan, the Qara Khitai of Kerman, as well as families like Al-e Sa‘id and Al-e Golestaneh in Isfahan. Biographical compilers have considered Zulfaqar Sharwani a panegyrist of Atabak Yusuf Shah of Lur, though his Divan contains little direct praise for this ruler.Due to the frequent use of honorific titles such as Sadr al-Din, ‘Izz al-Din, Rukn al-Din, Jamal al-Din, Safi al-Din, and others during past centuries, it is not possible to conclusively identify his patrons from his qasidas. However, after several years of research, the author of this article has come to some reasonably certain conclusions regarding Zulfaqar’s patrons. These include Sultan Ahmad Tegudar, Ghikhatu Khan, Ata Malik Juwayni, Jamal al-Din Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Mansur Dastjerdani, Imad al-Din Iranshah ibn Muhammad ibn Mansur Dastjerdani, Fakhr al-Din Muhammad al-Mastri—who composed his famous qasida titled Mafatih al-Kalam wa Mada’ih al-Kiram in praise of him—Sharaf al-Din Tahamtan Lur, Sadr al-Din Yusuf Hamgar, Qawam al-Din Ismail Hamgar, Rukn al-Din Mas’ud Sa‘id, Jalal al-Din Muhammad Golestaneh, Sultan Muzaffar al-Din Qara Khitai, Sultan Jalal al-Din Siyurgatmish Qara Khitai, Padishah Khatun Qara Khitai, ‘Ismat al-Din Turkan Khatun from the Atabegs of Yazd, ‘Ismat al-Din Turkan Khatun from the Qara Khitai of Kerman, Shahab al-Din Qawam al-Mulk, Sadr al-Din Abhari, Bubaqar Shah, Salah al-Din Hasan Bulghari—a prominent Sufi of the 7th century AH, Taj al-Din Imad al-Mulk Miran, Fakhr al-Mulk Nizam al-Din Mahmoud, and Atabak Yusuf Shah of the Atabegs of Yazd. ConclusionZulfaqar Sharwani most likely spent the longest period of his life in Kerman and Shushtar, and he composed numerous panegyrics especially for the ministers and officials of the Qara Khitai court in Kerman. Based on the information presented in this article, it can be concluded that Zulfaqar Sharwani resided in Yazd around 1263 CE (662 AH), and possibly even earlier. Towards the end of that century, approximately 1270 CE (668 AH) and shortly thereafter, he lived in Isfahan, and spent some time in Kerman. From around 1272 CE (671 AH) to 1282 CE (681 AH), he was in Shushtar; from 1282 CE to approximately 1312 CE (694 AH), he resided in Kerman; and in 1313 CE (695 AH), he returned to western or southwestern Iran. AcknowledgmentsThe author expresses his utmost gratitude to Professor Ali Ashraf Sadeghi and other honorable members and officials at the Academy of Persian language and Literature for providing access to most of the resources used in this article, without which this research could not have been possible. https://hlit.sbu.ac.ir/article_107022.html Introduction If Dari (Persian) is considered the “shared cultural language of the Eastern empires” – from its adoption as an administrative language by the Sāmānids in the first half of the 10th century, to the fall of the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th – the phrase “the millennium of the Dari Empire” may rightly designate that era. Throughout this millennium, within its vast geography, numerous dynasties and diverse peoples ruled, yet Dari functioned as the common medium across that expanse. Among many sovereigns – from Mongolia and Indonesia to Eastern Europe and the northern and eastern coasts of Africa – Persian names are found.This paper focuses on a distinct aspect of those Persian names in Islamic courts, where poetic imagination played a conspicuous role. The Ottoman Empire provides a vivid example: its court registers contain a plethora of Persian names. Apart from their linguistic form – names such as GolČičak, EmsālNur, QončeNegār, or DorreNow – these Ottoman names invite questions: Were they conventional female names of their time? What do some, such as PartowNahāl or PiruzFalak, mean and how were they interpreted? Why and how did names like NaqšeDel, TireMozhgān, or NāvakMesal, reminiscent of poetic metaphors, enter courtly naming? How could seemingly adverse names such as DelĀšub (heart‑troubler) or NālānDel (lamenting heart) become appellations for beloveds of the court? May a shared aesthetic principle be discerned among them? This study argues that the “Persian poetic mindset” gave rise to such names and seeks to demonstrate and analyze this claim.As Persian poetry evolved throughout the Islamic period – progressing from its early classical forms toward late traditional ones – the role of poetry increasingly permeated the life of the Persian‑speaking world. By the 16th and 17th centuries, poetry had become nearly all‑encompassing; life itself seemed to begin and end with poetry. Moreover, Persian poetic theory came to favor compression: the independence of the verse and ultimately the single line. Did poetic imagination extend to linguistic structures smaller than the mesrā'? These two tendencies – the poeticization of all life aspects (including naming) and the aesthetic of succinct artistic expression – together sustained the “tradition of ‘Zowqesm’” or poetic Persian names. Poetry first influenced honorifics and epithets, then personal names, investing them not only with linguistic but with artistic purpose. Literature ReviewResearch devoted to Persian names – especially from literary and aesthetic standpoints – is strikingly scarce. The present study may be regarded as a complement to Annemarie Schimmel’s “Islamic Names” (1997), which occasionally approaches the idea underlying this paper but omits any recognition of the millennial tradition of Persian poetic and aesthetic naming explored here. Methodology Continuous engagement with courtly names during teaching and academic research gradually led the author to hypothesize that the poetic quality, broad geographical spread, and thousand‑year longevity of certain names constitute distinct evidence for a “tradition of poetic naming” in Persian culture. This hypothesis was pursued through extensive library study and note‑taking from texts containing Islamic‑era court names, resulting in a large catalogue of poetic Persian names. The present paper, as a first step in examining this literary‑historical tradition, demonstrates the existence of such aesthetic naming and offers a rhetorical‑stylistic analysis of these names as products of “artistic language”. Discussion The structure of a “Zowqesm” (poetic name) may be described as a composite of the following features:Defamiliarization and novelty: A poetic name evokes surprise through unfamiliarity or unprecedented usage – just as an innovative metaphor does in poetry. For instance, XubNegār likens the bearer to an image or idol of beauty, renewing the worn metaphor Negār by defamiliarizing it through the addition of Xub.Verse‑likeness: Poetic names inherit rhythm, mesra', distich, and rhyme common in Persian verse. Nearly all are two‑part structures – analogous to a distich – and often exhibit internal sound repetition (e.g., JahānPahlavān).Euphony and sonic grace: Pleasant sound – absence of cacophony and presence of phonetic devices – guides their creation. Alliteration and internal rhyme form part of the aesthetic, as in ŠārŠāh, KāmKār, ŠirGir.Figurative and imaginative resonance: Metaphor, ambiguity, and other tropes abound. Consider the delicate name MehrJān, interpretable variously as “the soul made of love, the essence formed of the sun, or the one beloved by all hearts”. The name simultaneously alludes by pun (Ihām) to the festival Mehregān, making the person themself an embodiment of joy.Emotional evocation: Effective names generate feelings – majesty and sanctity for men, attraction and affection for women. Compare Qodratollāh with the more poetic QadarQodrat: the latter carries intensified emotive and semantic force, fulfilling the courtly desire for awe and charisma purely through naming.Continuity with poetic tradition: The poetic name condenses verse into nominative form; poetry becomes embodied within the name itself. A modern example illustrates the principle. The eminent poet Abolqāsem-e Lāhuti (d. 1956), Minister of Culture of Tajikistan, affectionately called his wife Cecilia SelseleBānū (Lady of the Chain). For those unfamiliar with Persian poetic conventions, this might seem obscure, but within that tradition it carries two meanings: “the lady of beautiful tresses” and “the lady who holds the chain binding the lover”, both echoed in a verse of Hāfez. Lāhuti’s creation of SelseleBānū thus exemplifies the survival of the courtly poetic‑naming tradition into modernity. Conclusion This study has examined in detail the principal poetic features – defamiliarization, musicality (phonetic and rhetorical embellishment), imaginative richness, and emotional resonance – manifested within Persian poetic names. It demonstrates that the fundamental principles governing Persian poetry equally operate within this domain of naming. Accordingly, just as poetry has been described as the “resurrection of words”, one may regard the “Zowqesm” as the “resurrection of names.” https://hlit.sbu.ac.ir/article_107270.html 1. IntroductionHaji Lotf-Ali Beg Azar Bigdeli (1134-1195 AH/1721-1781 CE) stands as a pivotal figure in the literary history of 18th century Iran. His significance extends beyond his poetic artistry to encompass his role as a literary trendsetter and directional force in the literary transformations of his era, particularly in promoting the "Bazgasht" (Return) movement and critiquing the "Sabk-e Hindi" (Indian Style). Haji Lotf-Ali Beg Azar's critical judgments, such as his explicit criticism of Sa'eb Tabrizi and Kalim Kashani while praising poets like Sa'di and Hafez, reveal his strategic positioning within the literary debates of his time. This article critically re-examines Haji Lotf-Ali Beg Azar Bigdeli's place in the history of Persian literary criticism through a dual focus on his biographical context and his magnum opus, Atashkadeh.2. Literature ReviewPrevious scholarship on Haji Lotf-Ali Beg Azar Bigdeli has primarily focused on his poetic output or provided introductory overviews of his biographical dictionary. Gholamhossein Bigdeli's genealogical research established foundational information about the Bigdeli tribe, while Mir Hashem Mohaddes and Mohsen Zaker al-Hosseini have contributed to textual studies of Atashkadeh. However, a systematic analysis of Atashkadeh as a theoretical document of the Return movement, combined with a reconstruction of Haji Lotf-Ali Beg Azar's biography within its social and political context, remains underdeveloped. This article addresses this gap by critically examining primary sources and correcting certain misconceptions in existing scholarship regarding Haji Lotf-Ali Beg Azar's life and critical positions.3. MethodologyThis research employs a library-based documentary methodology, relying primarily on contemporary sources and biographical dictionaries, with Atashkadeh serving as the central text. Two parallel approaches guide the investigation: First, a content analysis and critical examination of Atashkadeh using a text-centered approach and intertextual comparison to extract the author's explicit positions regarding the Indian Style and the standards of classical poets. Second, a biographical reconstruction of Haji Lotf-Ali Beg Azar Bigdeli's life to clarify the lineage and position of the Bigdeli tribe in Iran's political and cultural history, including Haji Lotf-Ali Beg Azar's bureaucratic career, travels, captivity, and cultural networks such as the "Anjoman-e Moshtaq" literary circle.4. DiscussionThe findings demonstrate that while Atashkadeh incorporates material from earlier sources in certain sections, its significance lies in Haji Lotf-Ali Beg Azar's explicit critical judgments, selective inclusion of contemporary evidence, and promotional tone. The work functions both as a theoretical document of the Return movement and as a practical instrument for redefining literary standards and advancing this literary current. Haji Lotf-Ali Beg Azar's strategic evaluations, such as his preference for Saadi's clarity over Sa'eb's complexity, reveal his agenda to redirect Persian poetry toward classical models.Haji Lotf-Ali Beg Azar Bigdeli's critical methodology in Atashkadeh represents a deliberate intervention in the literary landscape of 18th-century Iran. His explicit condemnation of Sa'eb Tabrizi, whom he describes as having initiated an "undesirable new method" that led to the decline of poetry, illustrates his commitment to re-establishing classical standards. Haji Lotf-Ali Beg Azar argues that Sa'eb's popularity resulted not from poetic merit but from "his personal perfections" or "the arrangement of stars", revealing his skepticism toward contemporary poetic tastes. Similarly, his assessment of Kalim Kashani attributes the poet's acceptance to "the compassion of Emperor Shah Jahan" rather than intrinsic literary value.The structural organization of Atashkadeh further demonstrates Haji Lotf-Ali Beg Azar's critical agenda. By selectively including contemporary poets who adhered to classical models while marginalizing proponents of the Indian Style, he constructs a literary canon that aligns with Return principles. His biographical entries often include evaluative commentary that explicitly contrasts modern deviations with classical excellence, creating what the article terms a "theoretical document" of the Return movement.Haji Lotf-Ali Beg Azar's personal biography provides crucial context for understanding his critical positions. As a member of the Bigdeli tribe with historical connections to the Safavid court, his family's bureaucratic traditions and tribal affiliations influenced his literary perspectives. His travels, including his captivity following the fall of Isfahan, exposed him to diverse literary circles and regional poetic traditions. His participation in the Anjoman-e Moshtaq, a literary society that included prominent figures like Hatef Esfahani, facilitated intellectual exchanges that shaped his critical criteria. The article emphasizes that Haji Lotf-Ali Beg Azar's critical judgments emerged not in isolation but through these network interactions and social engagements.5. ConclusionThis research demonstrates that Haji Lotf-Ali Beg Azar Bigdeli's Atashkadeh operates on multiple levels: as a biographical reference work, a manifesto of literary reform, and a document reflecting the social networks of 18th century Iranian literati. The dual methodology employed in this article—combining textual analysis of Atashkadeh with biographical reconstruction—reveals the interconnectedness of literary theory and social context in shaping critical discourse.The article's original contributions include several specific corrections to existing scholarship: First, it rectifies certain genealogical claims about the Bigdeli tribe's origins and historical trajectory. Second, it provides more precise documentation of Haji Lotf-Ali Beg Azar's bureaucratic appointments and literary activities. Third, it offers a systematic analysis of how Haji Lotf-Ali Beg Azar's critical judgments in Atashkadeh function as practical instruments for promoting the Return movement, beyond their theoretical significance.Future research directions suggested by this study include comparative analysis of Atashkadeh with other biographical dictionaries of the period, investigation of the reception history of Haji Lotf-Ali Beg Azar's critical judgments among later literary historians, and exploration of how tribal affiliations continued to influence literary production in subsequent generations. The methodological approach developed here—integrating critical dictionary analysis with contextual biography—offers a model for studying other literary figures whose work bridges theoretical criticism and practical literary reform.Ultimately, this article argues that understanding literary movements like the Return requires attention to both the explicit theoretical statements found in critical works and the social, political, and biographical contexts that shape those statements. Haji Lotf-Ali Beg Azar Bigdeli emerges not merely as a poet or critic but as a cultural intermediary whose work reflects and seeks to direct the complex literary transformations of his historical moment. https://hlit.sbu.ac.ir/article_107156.html 1. IntroductionThe historical prose of the Ghaznavid period, whose culmination is evident in the works of great figures such as Abu al-Fazl Bayhaqi, while preserving eloquence and fluency, possesses distinctive structural and stylistic characteristics that set it apart from earlier prose and later literary periods. This prose was generally modeled on official and bureaucratic language and, due to its close association with the royal court and the chancery, tended to use precise vocabulary, orderly sentence structure, and a combination of Persian and Arabic elements. In Ghaznavid historical narratives, alongside the recording of events, special attention is devoted to documenting ceremonies, rituals of power, political and military relations, and the description of personalities, all of which indicate the dual function of prose: both the transmission of information and the discursive representation of the legitimacy of kingship. “Power is neither a commodity, nor a position, nor spoils, nor a scheme and strategy; rather, it is the operation of political technologies throughout the body of society. It is precisely the functioning of these political rituals and ceremonies of power that sustains unequal and unbalanced relations” (Dreyfus & Rabinow, 2018: 312). In Tarikh-e Bayhaqi, Bayhaqi, through realistic, mature, and concise prose, records events in a precise and multilayered manner. He not only narrates major events such as wars and political transformations, but also emphasizes minor incidents, dialogues, and the details of statesmen's behavior, thereby laying the foundation for analyses of power and discourse. In addition to its position as a fundamental source for understanding the political and social history of the Ghaznavid era, this work is a text that, through its meticulous, detail-oriented prose enriched with rhetorical devices presents a distinctive representation of major events, including war. Foucault’s approach to the analysis of power, particularly as articulated in Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, demonstrates that “war in such a text possesses a disciplinary function: an instrument for surveillance, the regulation of social relations, and the control of bodies and behaviors within the framework of monarchy” (Foucault, 1975: 26). From this perspective, the selection of narrative structure and vocabulary, the segmentation of events, and the emphasis on key moments of war in Tarikh-e Bayhaqi not only enhance the literary value of the text, but also play a direct role in reproducing the discourse of monarchy and justice. Such a reading, based on discourse analysis and Foucauldian stylistics, allows us to uncover the hidden layers of the representation of war as a simultaneously formative and reflective ground of power and to show how Bayhaqi succeeded in transforming historiography into a domain for consolidating political and moral order. In Bayhaqi’s narratives, war is depicted not as an isolated event but as a continuous process and a network of power relations, extending from preparation, mobilization of forces, and bureaucratic decision-making to battle and its aftermath. This broad framework creates the conditions for disciplinary actions and social control. Within this perspective, justice also acquires an instrumental and functional role: a concept ritually and symbolically represented in military operations, the trial of prisoners, and the distribution of spoils to strengthen royal legitimacy. Through narrative techniques such as scene segmentation, detailed descriptions of the behavior of commanders and soldiers, and reflections on public reactions, Bayhaqi artistically links the semantic layers of war to the domains of ethics and politics. From the perspective of discourse analysis, this connection is not merely the product of the historian’s personal beliefs, but rather the consequence of structural relations and the need of the royal apparatus for a particular representation of power and justice.2. MethodThe research method is based on a qualitative approach and critical discourse analysis. The data are collected from the complete text of Tarikh-e Bayhaqi, with emphasis on sections related to war, from the stages of preparation to the aftermath of battle. The analysis of the text is conducted according to Foucault’s framework to identify mechanisms of power, disciplinary elements, and representations of justice within the narrative structure. This process includes the extraction of semantic units, the examination of scene segmentation, and the analysis of key vocabulary to answer the principal questions concerning the relationship between war and the discourse of power and justice during the Ghaznavid period.3. DiscussionWithin the political-military system of the Ghaznavid state, war was not merely a military action or a reaction to external threats, but rather a symbolic and multilayered arena for the representation of power, the reproduction of royal legitimacy, and the organization of social relations. Through its precise, detailed, and narrative prose, Tarikh-e Bayhaqi portrays wars from the stages of preparation and mobilization of forces to the moment of conflict, victory, or defeat, and their political and social consequences, thereby transforming the battlefield into a discursive space in which power is consolidated through language, ritual, and narrative.By focusing on the military organization of the Ghaznavids — including cavalry, infantry, and especially elephants as symbols of royal authority — Bayhaqi reveals the disciplinary logic of the state on the battlefield. In the text, these military elements function beyond their role as instruments of war and serve as political and ceremonial signs that render the Sultan's authority and the royal order visible. Within this framework, war becomes a discursive instrument for social control, the inculcation of loyalty norms, and the consolidation of political authority. An analysis of four major battles in Tarikh-e Bayhaqi — the Battle of Rokhne in Nishapur, the Battle of Sebuktegin and Mahmud against Bu Ali Simjur, the Battle of Talkhab, and the battle against the Turkmens at Aliabad — demonstrates that each of these events constitutes a decisive moment in the reconfiguration of the network of power. In the Battle of Rokhne, the military retreat and the recitation of the khutbah in the name of Bu Ali Simjur signify not only a temporary displacement of power but also an example of the role of language and ritual in the production of political truth.In the battle between Sebuktegin and Mahmud and Bu Ali, the pre-war dialogue and the emphasis on rationality, counsel, and the avoidance of “rebellion” transform war into a spectacle of the monarchy's moral and political legitimacy. In the Battle of Talkhab, Bayhaqi, through detailed descriptions of military formations, command positions, control over vital resources such as water, and the Sultan’s display of composure at the height of the conflict, highlights the connection between military power and royal ritual. Likewise, the battle against the Turkmens at Aliabad, with the Sultan’s direct presence on the battlefield, the shift from elephants to horses, and the prohibition on pursuing the enemy after victory, exemplifies strategic rationality and political discipline whose psychological effects extend beyond the battlefield to society and enemies alike. Overall, Tarikh-e Bayhaqi represents war not merely as a military event, but as a discursive mechanism that, through narrative, language, and ritual, produces and consolidates the “political truth” and legitimacy of the Ghaznavid monarchy. Thus, the connection between the objective event of war and its literary-political construction constitutes one of the fundamental characteristics of Bayhaqi’s historical prose and of his understanding of power in the Ghaznavid era.4. ConclusionThis study demonstrates that war in Tarikh-e Bayhaqi extends beyond the reporting of military events and functions as a discursive arena for the exercise of disciplinary order and the consolidation of royal authority. By combining Foucault’s theory with stylistic analysis, it becomes evident that Bayhaqi, through detailed observation and precise narration, transforms the battlefield into a scene for the display of “disciplined bodies” and the production of moral and political meaning. The findings indicate that Bayhaqi follows a consistent narrative pattern: a process that begins with military preparations and the consolidation of the Sultan’s position, and culminates in the explanation of the political consequences of battle. This structure transforms war from a temporary event into an institutionalized process. The key point of the study is that even defeats are not omitted from the narrative; rather, through discursive reconstruction, they are redefined in a manner that preserves royal legitimacy. In this way, Bayhaqi’s prose itself becomes an active instrument in the production of meaning and the consolidation of the memory of power. Indeed, the effectiveness of the Foucauldian approach in reading Tarikh-e Bayhaqi derives from its connection to the examination of the text's stylistic subtleties and narrative structure. This study not only demonstrates how war becomes an ordinary mechanism of governance but also opens a new horizon for the discourse analysis of Persian historical texts and recognizes historiography as an act that produces power and establishes order. https://hlit.sbu.ac.ir/article_107002.html IntroductionSocialist realism, as one of the influential literary movements of the twentieth century, profoundly impacted contemporary Afghan literature. This school, which viewed art as serving social transformation and reflecting class realities, significantly shaped the journalistic poetry of the country during a specific period. The present study focuses on Zhwandoon magazine—one of the most important political, cultural, and literary publications in Afghanistan in the latter half of the twentieth century—to systematically examine the reflection of socialist concepts in the poems published within it. The primary objective is to elucidate how socialist ideology and its related themes, such as class struggle, social justice, peace, freedom, and the role of laborers, are represented in the poetry of this era. The research method is descriptive-analytical, and data has been collected through a content study of poems by prominent poets of this movement in Zhwandoon magazine. Findings indicate that the poetry published in this magazine, in addition to its literary value, functioned as an ideological medium, playing a role in guiding public opinion and reproducing the dominant discourse of its time. Literature ReviewDirect research on the reflection of socialism in the journalistic poetry of Afghanistan is very limited. Within the broader field of contemporary Afghan literature, studies such as that by Mohammad Danishgar and colleagues have focused on the intertextual analysis of mythic-epic themes in socialist realism poetry, showing that this movement represents one of the most prolific periods of Persian poetry in Afghanistan. However, examining Zhwandoon magazine as the primary platform for publishing these poems and analyzing the socialist concepts within it constitutes a significant research gap that this study aims to fill. MethodologyThis research, adopting a qualitative method and a descriptive-analytical approach, examines the reflection of socialist concepts in poems published in Zhwandoon magazine. The research data consists of poems by well-known poets such as Asadullah Habib, Dastgir Panjshiri, Sulaiman Layeq, Rahim Elham, Nasrullah Raha, Sharbat Baqeri, Alishah Nashad, Gharib Nawaz, Nasim Kamju, Heshmat Rabi, Nazeer Ahmad Zafar, and Zakiyah Rastagar, which were published during the magazine's active period (particularly from the 1950s to the 1980s AD). By analyzing the content of these poems, key socialist concepts and themes have been extracted and categorized. Discussion and AnalysisSocialist realism, as a literary school, emerged after the Russian October Revolution of 1917, based on Marxist-Leninist philosophy. This school viewed literature not merely as a reflection of reality but as a tool for the conscious critique, interpretation, and change of society towards the realization of socialist ideals. Its characteristics included committed realism, highlighting the positive hero from the working class, historical optimism towards the ultimate victory of justice, and the use of simple, comprehensible language for the masses.Zhwandoon magazine, established in 1949 AD by order of King Mohammad Zahir Shah, was a mirror of Afghanistan's political and social transformations throughout its life. During the Decade of Democracy (the 1960s), a relatively open political climate led to a flourishing press and the emergence of various intellectual discourses, including leftist thought. Zhwandoon became an important platform for intellectuals and poets concerned with justice and social critique. With the coup of 1973 and especially the Marxist coup of 1978 and the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in 1979, the political landscape changed drastically, and journalistic poetry took on a stronger ideological tone. The pages of Zhwandoon became filled with poems that directly or indirectly promoted socialist ideals, praised the Soviet Union, encouraged class struggle, and criticized previous systems. The poems of this period often had a slogan-like, propagandistic quality and were presented in new poetic forms such as Nimaic and free verse. ConclusionThe analysis of poems from Zhwandoon magazine shows that socialist concepts were reflected in various ways in the journalistic poetry of Afghanistan:Praise of Labor and the Working Class: Workers and peasants were celebrated as the main heroes of society and the pillars of progress. Their hardships and struggles were depicted, and emphasis was placed on their lost rights.Struggle Against Inequality and Class Oppression: The poetry of this period strongly criticized class disparity, exploitation, and social injustices, insisting on the necessity of revolution to create a just society.Love for the Homeland and Resistance: Alongside the international socialist discourse, love for Afghanistan and calls for resistance against occupiers and internal enemies, using national and mythical symbols, formed a strong theme.Call for Unity and Solidarity: Poets called upon the people, especially the laborers, to unite, avoid division, and rally around common ideals to overcome oppression.Role of Youth and Women: Youth, as the engine of revolution, and women, as symbols of purity, awareness, and struggle, held prominent positions in these poems. Emphasis was placed on their active participation in social and political spheres.Ideals of Freedom, Peace, and Justice: Concepts such as freedom (“hurriyat”), world peace, friendship among nations, and social justice were fundamental values praised in these poems.Symbolism: The use of symbols like the "red flag", "hammer and sickle", "mountain" (symbolizing steadfastness), "dawn" (symbolizing a bright future), and "storm" (symbolizing revolution) contributed to the richness of imagery and the transmission of the ideological message.In summary, socialist journalistic poetry in Zhwandoon magazine was a complex phenomenon formed at the intersection of art, politics, and ideology. On one hand, these poems expressed the ideals, pains, and demands of a segment of Afghan society during the turbulent period of the Cold War and internal transformations. On the other hand, they served as a tool for promoting and consolidating the dominant political discourse after the 1978 coup. Studying these poems not only deepens our understanding of the history of contemporary Afghan literature but also opens a window towards understanding the intellectual, social, and political transformations of this country in the mid-twentieth century. Zhwandoon magazine, as a rich archive, has preserved a literary-historical heritage whose analysis is essential for researchers in the fields of literature, history, and social sciences. https://hlit.sbu.ac.ir/article_107082.html The Persian translation of al-Tanwīr, a rendering of al-Tanwīr fī al-Ṭibb by Abū Manṣūr Ḥasan ibn Nūḥ al-Qumrī al-Bukhārī, is among the valuable yet little-known works of Persian literature in the fields of medicine and translation. In addition to its medical and scientific significance, the work occupies a distinguished position in the history of the Persian language, the history of translation, scientific terminology, and the study of early Persian prose. Despite its importance, only a single Persian manuscript of the text has survived. Owing to the relatively late date of its transcription and its transmission through multiple stages of copying, the manuscript exhibits numerous problems, including inconsistencies in lexical forms, disorder in the arrangement of entries, and displacement of definitions. Consequently, establishing the original text is impossible without systematic comparison with the Arabic original and consultation of contemporary and related medical works. The present study aims to provide a critical examination of the Persian translation of al-Tanwīr, identify its textual deficiencies, reconstruct damaged passages, and clarify the work’s place within the tradition of Persian medical writing and translation.The first part of the study surveys the history of medical lexicons and encyclopedic works in the Islamic world and in Persian, situating al-Tanwīr within this broader intellectual tradition. The structure of the work, its organizational principles, the author’s objectives, and its principal contents are then examined. Drawing upon biographical and bibliographical sources, the study also investigates the life, works, and scholarly standing of Abū Manṣūr Ḥasan ibn Nūḥ al-Qumrī al-Bukhārī, one of the leading physicians of the Samanid period and a probable teacher of Avicenna. His extant and attributed works are likewise introduced. The identity of the translator and the possibility that the translation was produced by the author himself are subsequently discussed. Based on linguistic and textual evidence, various scholarly views concerning the authorship of the translation are evaluated. Stylistic features of the text—including the frequent use of the particles andar and hamī, the simplicity of its syntactic structures, the high frequency of prefixed verbs, and the relatively limited use of Arabic vocabulary—strongly suggest that the translation was produced in Transoxiana during the fourth/tenth century.The principal method of the study consists of a comprehensive comparison between the Persian translation and both the published Arabic text and the extant Arabic manuscripts. This comparison demonstrates that the translator made a deliberate effort to find precise Persian equivalents for Arabic medical and scientific terminology, thereby creating a valuable corpus of early Persian technical vocabulary. Terms such as payvandgāh (“joint”) for mafṣil, pušt-māzah (“spinal cord”) for nukhāʿ, negāhdār (“protection, prevention”) for wiqāya, ābgīr (“urine vessel”) for the urine flask, fazūnīhā (“excesses”) for faḍalāt (waste products), and angošt-e khord (“little finger”) for khinṣir, together with many other examples, testify to the capacity of Persian to express specialized medical concepts during the early Islamic centuries. This aspect of the study demonstrates that the Persian translation of al-Tanwīr constitutes one of the earliest and most important documents of scientific terminology formation in Persian.A substantial portion of the article is devoted to identifying and analyzing the textual problems of the surviving Persian manuscript. The findings reveal that the text contains numerous errors and deficiencies. These include incorrect readings of entries, partial or complete omission of entries and definitions, displacement of words and phrases, incomplete translations, conflation of two or more definitions, transfer of definitions from one entry to another, influence from divergent Arabic recensions, and extensive scribal corruptions at both lexical and phrasal levels. Through systematic reference to the Arabic text of al-Tanwīr, its manuscripts, and related works such as Hidāyat al-Mutaʿallimīn, Dhakhīra-yi Khwārazmshāhī, Baḥr al-Jawāhir, Ḥaqāʾiq Asrār al-Ṭibb, the Qānūn, and other medical and lexicographical sources, the present study proposes corrected readings and reconstructions for many of these problematic passages. Examination of numerous examples indicates that some of these deficiencies originated in scribal errors during the process of manuscript transmission, while others resulted from omissions, misreadings, and editorial interventions introduced by copyists at different stages of the text’s history.The findings further demonstrate that the Persian translation of al-Tanwīr is significant not only for linguistic studies and the history of translation but also as an important source for the study of medical terminology, methods of medical instruction, the transmission of scientific knowledge, and the development of specialized scientific language in medieval Iran. Comparative analysis of the Persian and Arabic texts enables a more accurate reconstruction of the work, a clearer understanding of its linguistic and stylistic features, and a deeper appreciation of the scientific and medical traditions of Transoxiana during the early Islamic centuries. Accordingly, the Persian translation of al-Tanwīr should be regarded as one of the most important surviving documents in the history of medicine and Persian scientific prose. Its critical edition and detailed study have the potential to open new avenues of research in Persian linguistics, the history of science, and Islamic manuscript studies. https://hlit.sbu.ac.ir/article_107271.html 1. IntroductionPersian and Kurdish literatures are among the literatures in the world that have had a deep and extensive connection between them over a long period of time. From the very first surviving works, which can be considered as the beginning of the history of Kurdish literature in written and codified form, there are many in-textual signs in the poetry of Kurdish poets that prove such a broad and constructive connection with Persian poetry in all poetic layers and aspects. The purpose of the present study is to examine these two points: 1- The thematic sources and thematic patterns in mystical literature as well as the techniques of imagery and expression and conceptual structures in Kurdish Romantic poetry go back to Persian poetry. 2- How Kurdish poets display their creativity in this influence is explained.2. Literature ReviewA comprehensive study that focuses on the comparative study of classical Persian and Kurdish poetry has not been conducted so far. The work done was mainly case-based and in the form of reading sample texts from Persian and Kurdish literature. In most of these studies, the influence of a Persian poet’s poetry on the poetry of a Kurdish poet has only been discussed descriptively and the process of influence has not been analyzed and explained. In an article that discusses the influence of Hafez’s poetry on the poetry of Kurdish poets, Shams (2013) aimed to present a report on the reflection of Hafez’s thought and poetry in Kurdish poetry and emphasized the extent to which Kurdish poets were in tune with Hafez’s poetry. Parsa (2009) has also examined the influence of Hafez’s poetry in Kurdish poetry in more detail, focusing on meter, rhyme, and the assurance of poetic verses. Throughout the course of studies related to the field of comparison between Persian and Kurdish poetry, there has been a specific focus that is often based on reporting similarities to prove the influence of one on the other, and the issue of the level of influence and its functional aspects has not been explained much.3. MethodologyIn the French school, although the issue of influence has been raised as one of the necessary conditions for conducting a comparative study, what has been considered in the concept of influence is mostly limited to examining external relations and external tools and influences, and there has been little focus on its capacities and dynamic aspects. It is necessary to change the perspective on influence from passivity, inauthenticity, imitativeness, etc. to other angles such as creativity, activity, and originality; because being influenced does not negate originality and creativity. A large part of the importance of the issue of influence, which has been neglected in the French school, is the lack of attention to its process, while the category of influence acts like a dynamic process system and has certain functional aspects. Since the issue of influence is a complex systematic process, it is related to the categories of modeling, re-creation, literary knowledge and competence, creativity, and originality. If influence is studied from such a different perspective, it can be seen that its role is formative, meaning that it provides a context for learning methods, techniques, and expressive and semantic structures, using the materials and patterns in the source literature to create a different and new work in the target literature. Accordingly, it should be said that influence involves two important characteristics as functional aspects: acquiring knowledge and creating competence in the subject area in question. It is because of these aspects that influence has cognitive and epistemological value. 4. DiscussionThe expressive techniques, artistic imagery, terms, and conceptualizations found in some of the poetic themes and literary genres of Kurdish classical poetry are such that the existence of a rich background has undoubtedly caused them to appear at such a level. Among all the possibilities that may be proposed as a background, considering the solid and firm In-textual signs and extra-textual documents, it can be clearly and decisively acknowledged that this background is Persian classical poetry. Persian classical poetry has played an important role as a macro-structural factor in the development of Kurdish classical poetry; because the origin of the themes, motifs, images, and terms of lyrical and mystical poetry of Kurdish poetry goes back to Persian poetry, and for Kurdish poets it has played the role of a background of materials and information in creating literary knowledge and artistic reserve, and consequently the forming of literary competence.4.1. The Relationship between Persian and Kurdish Mystical PoetryThe creativity of Kurdish poets in mystical poetry has been limited to conceptualization with common terms, concepts, and motifs. Although Kurdish poets did not create a fundamental change in mysticism in terms of thought and ideas, an innovative movement can be observed in their poetic language in terms of expression and methods of embodying meaning. Simplifying complex and difficult mystical concepts for easy understanding, which is done using objective and tangible methods of expression and imagery, is a manifestation of creativity and is considered one of the creative aspects of Kurdish poets. Simplification for understanding and embodying meaning is sometimes done by utilizing native phenomena existing in the culture and geography of that society, which can be called semantic localization.4.2. The Developmental Role of Persian Poetry in Kurdish Love PoetryThe interpretation and explanation of the similarities of expression and imagery in the love poetry of these two literatures is that the emotional and sentimental experiences and perception of different states of love and affection are related to the poets themselves and their real experience, but the methods of their embodiment and linguistic coding have been done by utilizing the signs found in Persian poetry as tools of expression and imagery. In fact, the poetic space of Persian love poetry has entered Kurdish poetry in such a way that Kurdish poets have encoded their emotional and sentimental experiences with what they have heard from Persian poetry and have used the imagery and expressive techniques in Persian poetry to embody their emotional perceptions and loving awareness. Although the elements and terms present in this theme are the same as those found in Persian love poetry in abundance, the way in which the elements are combined and used is different, which has led to a new recreation of that theme.5. ConclusionThe process of producing Kurdish classical poetry has been carried out in a dialectical relationship with Persian poetry, as a necessary background. Kurdish poets have used the signs in Persian poetry to encode data and conceptualize their perceptions. Their imaginative system and poetic and artistic language, as it was formed as a result of extensive interaction with Persian poetry, have acted in such a way that in order to embody perceptions and portray their imaginations and intellectual reflections, they have used what they have read and heard, which include words and terms, poetic images and expressive methods, and whose origin was Persian poetry, as a code. Because an important aspect of creativity is related to how materials and elements from the other literature are used to create poetry, different and original combinations with materials and elements taken from Persian poetry and their reproduction in their own linguistic system are considered the most important aspect of their creativity. https://hlit.sbu.ac.ir/article_107051.html 1. IntroductionFood and drink poetry (Shiʿr al-Aṭʿimah wa al-Ashriba) constitutes one of the most distinctive, creative, yet insufficiently explored genres within the tradition of Persian humorous literature. Relying on parody, humorous imitation of classical poetic forms and diction, and extensive use of elements drawn from material culture and everyday life, this genre provides remarkable potential for social, cultural, ethical, and even political critique. Although its foundations were firmly established in the works of ʿUbayd Zākānī and, more prominently, Boshāq Aṭʿimah, food poetry continued to evolve in later periods, undergoing significant stylistic, thematic, and discursive transformations. Nevertheless, the study of this genre during the Qajar period—particularly with a focus on lesser-known poets—remains marked by serious scholarly gaps. Mirza Zayn al-ʿAbedin Shahdi is among those poets who, despite possessing a distinctive poetic voice and offering an innovative fusion of food poetry, ritual praise, mystical language, and parody, has yet to be the subject of a comprehensive and independent academic study. 2. Literature ReviewThe present research aims to introduce, analyze, and clarify the literary position of Zayn al-ʿAbedin Shahdi within the tradition of Persian food poetry and parody. It seeks to demonstrate how Shahdi, through a conscious and skillful use of humor, parody, and intertextuality, developed a novel model of ritual–social satire in the late Qajar period. The central research question addresses the extent to which Shahdi’s poetry continues the tradition of Boshāq Aṭʿimah and ʿUbayd Zākānī, and the ways in which—at the levels of intellectual, linguistic, and rhetorical structure—he transcends that tradition to achieve new expressive functions and meanings. 3. MethodologyMethodologically, this study adopts a descriptive–analytical approach grounded in qualitative content analysis. The research corpus consists of Shahdi’s surviving poems, primarily preserved in the Tazkira-ye Anjoman-e Qods as well as several Qajar-era poetic miscellanies. These materials are examined across three principal analytical levels: intellectual structure, linguistic structure, and literary–rhetorical structure. The study draws upon stylistic analysis, literary semiotics, discourse analysis, and intertextual reading, interpreting poetic themes in relation to the historical, social, and cultural contexts of the Qajar period. The use of contemporaneous tazkira sources—particularly the Tazkira-ye Anjoman-e Qods—also enables a partial reconstruction of Shahdi’s social, ritual, and literary position within his milieu. 4. DiscussionFindings at the level of intellectual structure reveal that Shahdi’s poetry is characterized by a deliberate and meaningful juxtaposition of the sacred and the mundane. By employing genres such as supplication, prayer, panegyric, and devotional praise of Imam Mahdi (peace be upon him), and by focusing on rituals such as the mid-Shaʿban celebrations, Shahdi preserves the didactic and moral tone of Shiʿi ritual poetry. Simultaneously, however, he recontextualizes these serious and sacred themes within a humorous, food-centered, and at times satirical framework. The result is a controlled, ethical, and non-destructive form of satire which avoids overt invective or obscenity while enabling pointed critique of individual and social behaviors. Issues such as gluttony, extravagance, greed, hypocrisy, superficial religious beliefs, and simplistic notions of eschatological reward are addressed through playful exaggeration, irony, and allusive humor.At this same level, the reflection of socio-political concepts and events of the Constitutional era—including constitutionalism and despotism—emerges as another significant dimension of Shahdi’s poetry. Rather than articulating these concepts through direct political rhetoric, the poet represents them metaphorically through items such as sweets, snacks, and convivial banquet elements. This humorous reduction functions as an implicit critique of the ways in which society engages with serious political ideals, suggesting that notions such as freedom and justice have been trivialized and transformed into objects of casual entertainment. From this perspective, Shahdi’s poetry possesses not only literary value but also ethnographic and sociological significance, offering insight into the political culture and social mentality of late Qajar Iran.Analysis of the linguistic structure of Shahdi’s poetry demonstrates a remarkable lexical diversity and a high degree of compositional creativity. The simultaneous presence of culinary, ritual, mystical, astronomical, and lyrical vocabulary transforms the poetic language into an interdisciplinary space where religious discourse, Sufi terminology, popular science, and everyday life intersect in a humorous manner. Innovative compound expressions such as “the chain of cotton-candy tresses”, “the cotton-candy amulet”, and “Layla’s cotton-candy curl” illustrate the poet’s use of conceptual metaphor to connect otherwise incongruous semantic domains, thereby producing a multilayered, cognitive, and imagistic form of humor. At the syntactic and morphological levels, the frequent use of conditional clauses, ellipsis, verbless constructions, colloquial expressions, and even non-standard grammatical forms contributes to an intimate, conversational, and satirical tone while enhancing the poetic function of language.From a rhetorical and musical perspective, Shahdi’s poems make extensive use of literary devices such as metaphor, simile, metonymy, allusion (talmih), antithesis, and ambiguity. Allusions to religious and mythological narratives—such as those of Jesus, Moses, Joseph and Zulaykha, and Farhad and Shirin—when interwoven with culinary imagery and everyday practices, transform the poems into multilayered and intertextual texts whose full interpretation requires the activation of the reader’s cultural memory. Rhyme and refrain are not employed merely for musical effect; rather, they function as discursive tools in meaning production. Repetitive verbal refrains and food-related rhyme patterns establish a close relationship between form and content, reflecting the poet’s self-conscious engagement with linguistic structure. 5. ConclusionOverall, the findings indicate that Zayn al-ʿAbedin Shahdi was a creative poet, deeply aware of the Persian literary tradition and highly proficient in exploiting the expressive, rhetorical, and semantic capacities of the Persian language. While his work continues the legacy of Boshāq Aṭʿimah and ʿUbayd Zākānī, Shahdi moves beyond mere imitation by incorporating ritual, social, and historical layers into food poetry, transforming it into a medium for ethical, social, and cultural critique of his time. Recovering and reassessing Shahdi’s poetry not only contributes to a more complete history of Persian satirical literature but also opens new avenues for comparative, stylistic, and semiotic research in Qajar literary studies. This study ultimately demonstrates how revisiting lesser-known poets can significantly deepen our understanding of the dynamism and multilayered nature of the Persian literary tradition. AcknowledgmentsWe deem it necessary to express our sincere gratitude to the esteemed members of the editorial board and all those involved in the journal Literary History of Shahid Beheshti University, who, through their careful consideration and support, made the publication of this research possible. https://hlit.sbu.ac.ir/article_106584.html IntroductionA spatial marker can contain the element of time within itself, whether tangible or intangible. To understand the dimension of time in a temporal space, the simplest method is to refer to the temporal indicator, which can be perceived in the form of various temporal adverbials, inflected verb tense, or phrases linked to the noun phrase by the syntactic arrangement of the sentence. Sometimes, depending on the personal experience of the reader of the text, the perception of time takes an imaginary or empirical form. In some of Parvin Etesami's poems, the connection between time and space becomes the basis for understanding the poet's intention. How can we understand the order of the spatio-temporal continuum in these poems, and what meaning can be explained through the nature of this temporal perception? In this regard, to analyze abstract time in various modes of temporal space, using the ideas of Henri Bergson, a 20th-century French philosopher, one can achieve a philosophical reading of the temporal system. To understand the relationship between time and places evoked in the poem “The Enchantment of the World” by Parvin Etesami, it will be possible to explain the relationship between time and narrative space in a temporal-spatial continuum based on the ideas of Mikhail Bakhtin, a Russian linguist and philosopher.Literature ReviewIn addition to numerous readings of Parvin Etesami's poetry based on literary and rhetorical theories, her poetry has been analyzed from different perspectives, such as psychology, sociology, politics, religion and ethics. However, this research attempts to answer the question of how spatio-temporal elements create meaning and manifest themselves through the philosophical thought of Parvin's poetry.Methodology3-1. The problem of the perception of “duration” in Henri BergsonAccording to Henri Bergson, when we speak of a specific point in the chronology, this specific moment is closely linked to “space” and therefore time finds its identity in space: For it is in space that the changes that occur for a point are manifested and not in time in the pure sense of the term. (Bergson, 1975: 15)3-2. Double perception of time: decomposable and indecomposableThe concept of “duration” has a dual nature; one qualitative and the other quantitative.(Bergson, 1975: 16)3-3. The Place of “Time” in Mikhail Bakhtin's Analysis of the Structure of LiteratureFor Bakhtin, the two elements of time and space coexist. “Time means the fourth dimension of space ». (Bakhtin, 2011: 137) Bakhtin identifies a type of weather called “adventure weather”. The characteristics of this type of weather are as follows:The adventurous time extends between the starting point of the plot and the ending point of the plot. (Bakhtin, 2011: 142)This time “lacks biological or evolutionary continuity”. (Bakhtin, 2011: 143)Adventurous time is an “empty time”. (Bakhtin, 2011:145)Discussion4-1. Time-space continuum in the poem “The Enchantment of the World”In verse 48, with the perception of a thousand-year temporal continuum, the continuity of objective time is embedded within the abstract temporal continuum: In this verse, there is an incomplete causal link, because of the existence of the incomplete cause: “a thousand years of burning firewood” led to the failure to achieve the intended effect, which was: “a pleasant smell”. The expression of causality in any complete or incomplete form leads to the perception of temporal continuity, as a bridge that connects past time to the present or future. Also, this millennial period, in Bakhtin’s view, refers to a time of adventure, because the realization or non-realization of the act of burning wood has no connection with the realization of the main action, and this millennial continuum “lacks simple biological continuity or evolutionary continuity” (Bakhtin, 2011: 143).ConclusionThe perception of time and space is not separate and each indicates the existence of the other. Also, temporal elements are arranged in a stable order in the spatio-temporal continuum: these elements can be perceived either by direct referents or by indirect and implicit referential signs. However, this order does not always provide an objective perception of the extent of the “duration” of elapsed time. Because the question of temporal density is raised by the qualitative nature of time. Abstract time is perceived from one person to another with a unique duration and tension, so the qualitative characteristic of this type of time causes abstract time to lose the characteristic of disaggregation or separability that is the indicator of objective time. This qualitative characteristic of abstract time is defined and interpreted by Bakhtin in the form of adventurous time. In studying the poem “The Enchantment of the World” by Parvin Etesami, we found that the perception of continuity and order between the time element and the space element is possible through the presence of at least one of the temporal or spatial signs, even in the absence of a temporal signifier, this spatial signifier provides the connection between the actualized spatial element and the potential temporal signifier and vice versa. https://hlit.sbu.ac.ir/article_107405.html 1. Introduction The critical editing of classical Persian literary masterpieces has long been confronted with a fundamental challenge: the reconstruction of a text that represents the “final authorized version” or the “original authorial intent.” Among the works of Sa’di, the Bustan (Sa’di-nameh) holds a preeminent position in the canon of ethical and didactic literature. This status, while cementing its importance, has made it a primary object of interest for countless generations of scribes, calligraphers, and commentators, resulting in a vast, complex, and often contradictory manuscript tradition. Within this landscape, the opening couplet of the Bustan serves as an essential gateway into the poet’s intellectual and theological world; consequently, any variation therein demands a high degree of textual sensitivity. This research focuses on the codicological diversity of this specific couplet to provide a fundamental critique of the editorial framework established by Gholamhossein Yousefi in his well-known critical edition. By moving beyond the limitations of single-manuscript reliance, this study proposes a new hypothesis based on the existence of “multiple authorial redactions,” arguing that the current editorial paradigm must be fundamentally reconsidered to accommodate the dynamic nature of Sa’di’s creative process. 2. Literature Review Gholamhossein Yousefi’s influential edition of the Bustan rests heavily upon a single 14th-century manuscript dated to 720 AH (coded “G”). By prioritizing this specific witness, Yousefi presents the version beginning with “Banam khodayi ke jan afarid / sokhan goftan andar zaban afarid” as the sole authentic reading, effectively silencing the legitimate variations found elsewhere in the tradition. It is critical to note that despite the immense breadth of Sa’di studies in the last century, the phenomenon of multiple authorial redactions at the beginning of the Bustan has remained entirely unexplored. To date, no scholar has systematically examined these variations through the lens of redactional criticism, nor has anyone challenged the deep-seated “single-text” assumption by synthesizing these diverse manuscript accounts. Contrary to the established paradigm, our extensive codicological survey demonstrates that the reading selected by Yousefi is not an isolated or unique form. Rather, it represents only one segment of a broader, more vibrant tradition observed in eleven other reputable manuscripts spanning different historical eras. These include the 9th-century manuscript housed at the University of Tehran Library (No. 8518) and a significant manuscript in the Bursa Library, which displays characteristics suggesting it may be a copy derived from Sa’di’s own handwriting. Therefore, the historical dominance of Yousefi’s selected reading is a result of a constrained manuscript scope rather than an established philological fact. 3. Methodology In this study, all available manuscripts and historical accounts of the opening couplet were classified into four general groups, reflecting distinct lineage patterns. “Group 2,” characterized by the reading “Banam jahandar jan-afarin / hakim-e sokhan dar/bar zaban afarid,” emerges as a primary contender to Yousefi’s choice. The significance of this group is further underscored when analyzing the manuscript from the National Library of Iran (No. 39290, dated 770 AH), which carries a colophon claiming it was transcribed directly from Sa’di’s own autograph. Furthermore, numerous citations from other reliable manuscripts indicate that this narrative was a pervasive current in the production of the Bustan. The research employs a rigorous comparative lineage analysis to bridge these findings, incorporating the historical report by the 12th-century AH commentator, Hansavi, who acts as a crucial “missing witness.” By analyzing his report, we bridge the gap between early 8th-century manuscript practices and later commentary traditions, proving that scribes and commentators were acutely aware of the narrative plurality that modern editors have frequently overlooked. 4. Discussion The findings of this study fundamentally challenge the paradigm of the Bustan as a “single-version” text. We contend that the variations in the opening couplet are neither the result of accidental scribal errors nor purely aesthetic, conscious emendations by later, self-appointed “literary refiners.” Instead, these variants reflect the process of “deliberate authorial interventions” by Sa’di himself throughout his long literary life. Sa’di, as a poet who demonstrated particular sensitivity toward the refinement of his craft, likely revisited and revised the opening couplet—and perhaps other foundational sections—at different intervals. The antiquity of our cited sources and their wide geographic distribution prove the phenomenon of “relative recurrence” (tavator-e nesbi), a factor that effectively invalidates the hypothesis of “scribal error.” Furthermore, the evolution of this couplet in works such as the 10th-century Lazzat-nameh by Ashraf-ad-Din Ali Shirazi illustrates how these redactions were not merely anomalies but influenced subsequent literary currents. Methodologically, this research demonstrates that Yousefi’s reliance on the “primacy of the base-text” is insufficient. Contemporary philology demands a shift toward “Redactional Criticism” and a “Reasoned Eclectic Critical Edition,” rejecting the inaccurate hypothesis of “courtly revisions” (post-Timurid) as the source of such changes. The antiquity of our manuscripts places these variations in an era much closer to the poet’s lifetime. 6. Conclusion It must be emphasized that this claim represents a vital initial lead. Although the assertion of proven multiple redactions of the Bustan might appear ambitious if based solely on the variations of a single couplet, these findings provide a necessary turning point for textual scholars to pursue the investigation of Sa’di’s redactions in a systematic and comprehensive manner. With the aid of digital humanities and global access to manuscript repositories, the path is now cleared for compiling a more critical, multi-layered edition of Sa’di’s works. This research is not an end, but a beginning—a return to the deeper, layered reality of Sa’di’s creative process, where the poet did not create his masterpiece once, but repeatedly reflected upon and recreated his legacy. This redactional approach opens a new window into the intellectual and artistic evolution of Sa’di and underscores the urgent necessity of re-evaluating the manuscript tradition of classical Persian literature in its entirety.