History of Iranian Literature

942 Pages·1968·29.709 MB·English

by  Jan Rypka (auth.), Karl Jahn (eds.)

HISTORY OF IRANIAN LITERATURE

JAN RYPKA
HISTORY OF IRANIAN
LITERATURE
Written in collaboration with
OTAKAR KLIMA, VERA KUBICKOvA, FELIX TAUER,
nIH BECKA, nIH CEJPEK,
JAN MAREK, I. HRBEK AND J. T. P. DE BRUUN
Edited by
KARL JAHN
(University of Leyden)
D. REIDEL PUBLISHING COMPANY
DORDRECHT-HOLLAND
DEJINY PERSKE A TADZICKE LITERATURY
First'published by Nakladatelstvi Ceskoslovenske akademie ved, Praha 1956
Translated from the German by P. van Pop ta-Hope, and enlarged and revised by the authors
© 1968. D. Reidel Publishing Company, Dordrecht, Holland
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1968
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, photop rint,
microfilm, or any other means, without permission from the publisher
ISBN-13: 978-94-010-3481-4 e-ISBN-13: 978-94-010-3479-1
DOl: 10.1007/978-94-010-3479-1
Frontispiece:
The Prophet, seated on Buraq, passing over the Ka'bah at Mecca on his miraculous night-journey.
From Or. 6810, a copy of the Khamseh of Ni'l'iimi dated 900/1494-5, which bears autograph notes
of the Mughal Emperors Jahiingir and Shah Jahan. (By courtesy oft he Trustees oft he British Museum.)
OTAKAR KLIMA
AVESTA. ANCIENT PERSIAN INSCRIPTIONS
MIDDLE PERSIAN LITERATURE
FOREWORD
Some justification seems to be necessary for the addition of yet another History of
Iranian Literature to the number of those already in existence. Such a work must
obviously contain as many novel features as possible, so that a short explanation of
what my collaborators and I had in mind when planning the book is perhaps not
superfluous. In the first place our object was to present a short summary of the material
in all its aspects, and secondly to review the subject from the chronological, geo
graphical and substantial standpoints - all within the compass of a single volume.
Such a scheme precludes a formal and complete enumeration of names and phenom
ena, and renders all the greater the obligation to accord most prominence to matters
deemed to be of greatest importance, supplementing these with such figures and forms
as will enable an impression to be gained of the period in question - all this is far as
possible in the light of the most recent discoveries. A glance at the table of contents
will suffice to give an idea of the multifarious approach that has been our aim. We
begin at the very first traces of evidence bearing on our subject and continue the
narrative up to the present day. Geographically the book embraces Iran and its
neighbouring countries, while it should be remarked that Iranian literature in its
fullest sense also includes Indo-Persian and Judeo-Persian works. The absence of a
section on modem Afghan literature must be compensated by the works of H. J. de
Dianous and A. Gerasimova and G. Girs (cf. Bibliography, B VIII). New substrata
of our subject are laid bare in the extensive contribution on Tajik literature and in
that on folklore, though in respect of the former it must be admitted that Soviet
works on the subject have not been taken into account. New, in relation to the
German version of our book, is the separate section on scholarly literature.
Another feature that may be regarded as an innovation consists in the references to
Iranian (mainly modem studies), Russian and Soviet sources. It cannot be denied that
this has been done before in the West, but such references are mostly rare and in
adequate. The result of this omission in other works has been that important factual
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FOREWORD
material and a multitude of valuable opinions have been lost to the reader unacquaint
ed with these spheres of learning. Of course one must not censure unjustly, for it
must be borne in mind that in the meantime the measure of Iranian studies in the
country itself and in the Soviet-Union has increased out of all proportion compared
with the achievements of former times. This advance is indeed highly gratifying.
The present version of the History ofI ranian Literature differs from its predecessors
in various and in some cases special ways. As can be seen from the Bibliography (B I)
it resembles most closely the second Czech edition (1961) which, however, in its turn
varies considerably in compass and detail from the original edition (1955) and the
German version (1959). It is clear that a work of this kind requires constant revision
and emendation in order to bring it up to date, not to mention the rectification of
the errors that are bound to creep into an opus covering such a wide field, however
conscientiously the authors endeavour to avoid them. It lies in the nature of things
that a History of this kind can never be regarded as being definitively concluded.
Moreover a considerable period of time was required before the manuscript was ready
for the press. This lapse of time, together with the distance separating those engaged
on the work, could not but have some disadvantages. Some of the authors, prompted
by experience, even completely altered the arrangement of their contributions. In
view of the years that have passed since the publication of the original edition, it is
not surprising that many a reversal of opinion has taken place, and it has unfortunately
been impossible to incorporate all of these in the present volume. In certain cases,
however, they are mentioned in the notes. Many of these revised views may be
accounted for by the appearance of numerous new publications and reports of recent
investigations, the results of which we have also regrettably been obliged to omit.
An extensive use has therefore been made of this material in the Bibliography. The
latter, though only providing a selection of titles, occupies an unusually large amount
of space and has been acclaimed with enthusiasm by the critics of the former editions.
The object of this Bibliography was obviously not only to present a collection of
works, but as it were to expand the range of the book itself, for it enables the reader
to pursue his interests further in any given direction. In order to facilitate orientation,
an alphabetical list is given of the special subjects included in the Bibliography,
arranged according to the individual poets and prose-writers, only very occasionally
according to the works themselves in cases where they are better known than their
authors. Learned prose, as such instantly recognizable, has already been assembled
in the relevant section of the Bibliography, always under the name of the author in
question. Amphilologica1 figures such as 'Omar Khayyam, Avicenna and others, are
dealt with, as is fitting, both in the section on polite literature and in that on scholarly
prose. Textual or note references to a passage in the Bibliography are made by means
of a special capital letter for each section.
The zeal demonstrated by Iranian scholars for research and composition, which
has found valuable support in the activity of the native publishing houses, added to
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FOREWORD
the large amount of specialized study being carried on outside Iran, has obliged the
authors of the History of Iranian Literature to exercise the utmost restraint in their
choice of works to be enumerated. The stream of new publications has waxed and is
still waxing to such an extent that it seems to be boundless. Quality, up-to-dateness
and importance have had to be the decisive factors for selection. In order to keep
pace with this tumultuous advance, and at the same time to confine the size of the
Bibliography to reasonable limits, some sort of compromise had to be sought: some
of the titles appearing in previous editions have to our great regret been dropped
so as to make way for new ones. Older titles of special significance have of course been
retained. It should be mentioned that in recent years Iranian bibliography has flour
ished exceedingly thanks to the efforts of men such as Iraj Afshar, to whom one cannot
be adequately grateful. Further particulars are to be found in our Bibliography (B I).
An excellent supplementary source to our own selection for tlIe non-Persian works
is J. D. Pearson's Index Islamicus, published in the years 1906-1955, 1956-1960 (see
Bibliography, B I). In consequence of an alteration in the date of publication of
Volumes 7-9 (1343-1344 A.H. = 1964-1966 A.D.) of Rdhndma-i kitdb, it has alas been
impossible to make use of this excellent bibliographical periodical to the extent we
should have liked. On the other hand we have been able to enlarge the section dealing
with the classical period by the addition of a selection of good Georgian works, albeit
only such as were provided with a summary in Russian.
The term 'New Persian' (or 'Neo-Persian') is usually denoted by 'Persian'; similarly,
for the sake of brevity, by 'verse' is to be understood 'distich' or 'couplet'. As regards
the indication of dates according to the solar Hijra system, it has been deemed suffi
cient to omit the 'A.D.' equivalent since a simple calculation, x+ 621 (e.g. 1343 solar +
621 = 1964 A.D.) will remove any doubt. On the other hand it was considered im
perative to quote lunar dates next to those of the Christian era throughout. If here or
there an error has crept in despite the extremely careful revision that has been carried
out, we may perhaps be excused in view of the very large number of dates given and
of the general uncertainty as to their accuracy.
This foreword cannot be brought to a close before mention has been made of all
those persons who have given us tlIeir advice and assistance. Their number is however
so great that it is alas impossible to give them their due by alluding to tlIem all by name.
We must therefore appeal to our friends in East and West to be content with this
general but no less heartfelt assurance of our most sincere gratitude.
NevertlIeless it would not be right to OInit mentioning certain persons who have
expended an immense amount of time and trouble in the preparation of this English
edition. First and foremost we should like to offer our warmest thanks to Professor
Dr Karl Jahn of Leyden University for the disinterested enthusiasm he has brought
to bear on the work. After making the acquaintance of the first (Czech) edition of tlIe
History of Iranian Literature, he at once conceived the plan of having tlIe book
translated into English. Through unavoidable circumstances several years elapsed
vii
FOREWORD
between the completion of the translated text and the actual going to press. And again
it is thanks to the untiring efforts of Professor Jahn that the production of the book
has now been entrusted to the well-known firm, D. Reidel Publishing Company of
Dordrecht, Holland. Nor should his supervision of the translation be underestimated,
for his expert knowledge of the subject has many a time stood the translator in good
stead in the solution of knotty problems.
Mter some initial hesitation, Mrs. P. van Popta took on the extremely arduous and
difficult translation of the major part of the book and the revision of the remaining
sections. Our hearty thanks are due to her for the successful accomplishment of this
task, and also for the countless hours oflabour involved in the reading of the proofs -
not to mention the patience she exhibited in respect of the many alterations and addi
tions made to the text during the course of the translation, which frequently necessi
tated a recasting of whole portions of the manuscript.
For the adaptation of the Bibliography and the genealogical tables to the require
ments of the Anglo-Saxon world, as well as for assistance at other stages of the work,
we are deeply indebted to Mr. J. T. P. de Bruijn. Our thanks are also due to Mr.
J. P. H. Bosman who compiled the Index, and to Mr. A. H. Nauta who gave invaluable
assistance with the revision of the proofs. We should therefore like to take this oppor
tunity of expressing our great appreciation of the punctilious manner in which these
exacting portions of the work have been carried out.
During the period when the completed English manuscript was no longer in our
hands, a number of new facts and opinions came to light which it seemed a pity not
to include. These have been printed separately at the end of the book and are referred
to in the text by means of marginal asterisks.
Finally we must not omit to mention the willing and reliable co-operation we have
received from the publishers during the production of the book, especially from
Mr. H. J. Lek, head of the editorial department.
It now only remains for us to offer our best wishes to the History ofI ranian Literature
on its new flight to far-off lands, in the hope that it will contribute to the spreading of a
knowledge of and love towards one of the most glorious literatures of the world.
JAN RYPKA
Any effort on my part to help towards the realization of this English edition of
Professor Rypka's History ofI ranian Literature is amply repaid by the knowledge that
it has been expended with the aim of increasing the circle of readers of what will
surely become a standard work by one of the most shining lights among modem
orientalist scholars, whose erudition will never cease to be an inspiring example to his
former pupils - not least to the undersigned.
KARLJAHN
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