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Politics, Poetry, and Sufism in Medieval Iran
New Perspectives on Jāmī’s Salāmān va Absāl
Series: - Studies in Persian Cultural History, Volume: 5
Author:
In Politics, Poetry, and Sufism in Medieval Iran Chad Lingwood offers new insights into the political significance of poetry and Sufism at the court of Sulṭān Ya‘qūb (d. 896/1490), leader of the Āq Qoyūnlū. The basis of the study is Salāmān va Absāl, a Persian allegorical romance ‘Abd al-Raḥmān Jāmī (d. 898/1492), the great Timurid belletrist and Naqshbandi Sufi, dedicated to Ya‘qūb. Lingwood demonstrates that Salāmān va Absāl, which modern critics have dismissed as ‘crude’ and ‘grotesque,’ is a sophisticated work of political and mystical advice for a Muslim ruler. In the process, he challenges received wisdom concerning Jāmī, the Āq Qoyūnlū, and Perso-Islamic advice literature. Significantly, the study illustrates the extent to which Jāmī’s compositions integrated the Timurid and Āq Qoyūnlū realms.
Chad G. Lingwood, Ph.D. (2009), Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations, University of Toronto, is Assistant Professor of History at Grand Valley State University. He has published articles in Iranian Studies (2011) and Journal of Persianate Studies (2011).
"Lingwood’s study of Salāmān va Absāl represents a valuable and significant contribution to many areas of scholarly interest. In Politics, Poetry, and Sufism he develops the approach of Maria Eva Subtelny, whose studies of Kāšifī’s Aḫlāq-i Muḥsinī have similarly demonstrated a complex interplay of ethical-political, mystical and historical meanings. Indeed, Lingwood adds to the growing number of studies that demonstrate the specificity of mirrors for princes, notwithstanding the camouflage within which they often appear. By reference to contemporary and near-contemporary writings in various genres, he shows by the example of Salāmān va Absāl the precise meanings that mirrors carried for their audiences, regardless of the timeless and universal appearance of many of the materials deployed in their presentation. By means of a thorough, careful and thoughtful study of an important work of Persian poetry, Lingwood sheds light on numerous aspects of the milieu for which it was written."
L. Marlow in Bulletin critique des Annales islamologiques 30, 2014.
L. Marlow in Bulletin critique des Annales islamologiques 30, 2014.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements
Note on Transliteration and Style
Epigraph
Introduction
Chapter One: APPROACHING JĀMĪ’S SALĀMĀN VA ABSĀL AS A PERSOISLAMIC BOOK OF ADVICE FOR RULERS
The Narrative Context of Salāmān va Absāl
The Provenance of the Salāmān and Absāl Allegory
Ibn Sīnā’s Version of the Allegory
Salāmān and Absāl in Ḥayy ibn Yaqẓān
Coded Speech: The Overall Power of Allegory
Salāmān va Absāl, an Esoteric Mirror for Princes
Salāmān va Absāl and the Masnavī of Rūmī
The Historical Significance of Salāmān va Absāl
Overview of the Primary Sources
Salāmān va Absāl by Jāmī
Other Persian Poetry Addressed to Ya‘qūb
Official Court Chronicles and General Histories
Hagiographies and Biographical Works
Literary Anthologies
Letters of Personal Correspondence
Statement of Purpose
Chapter Two: POLITICAL ADVICE FOR RULERS AND MYSTICAL GUIDANCE FOR SUFIS IN SALĀMĀN VA ABSĀL
The Perso-Islamic Tradition of Advice and Advice Literature
Political Advice for Muslim Rulers in Salāmān va Absāl
Being the Shadow of God on Earth
On Heeding the Prayers of the Sufis
Implicit Spiritual Advice for Rulers and Sufi Mystics
Advice on Illuminating the Intellect
The Role of Repentance in Attaining Mystical Enlightenment
Advice on Subduing the Carnal Soul
Chapter Three: THE RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL INFLUENCES OF SUFIS AT THE ĀQ QOYŪNLŪ COURTS OF ŪZŪN ḤASAN AND YA‘QŪB
Dervishes, Sufi Mystics, and the Political Legitimacy of Ūzūn Ḥasan
The Role of the Akhlāq-i Jalālī
Khalvatī Influence on Āq Qoyūnlū Affairs
Shaikh Ībrāhīm Gulshanī at the Court of Ya‘qūb
Naqshbandīs at the Āq Qoyūnlū Court, Tabriz, and Its Environs
The Murder of Darvīsh Qāsim
The Spiritual Relationship between Jāmī and Ya‘qūb
Chapter Four: POETRY AT THE COURT OF YA‘QŪB AND ITS BACKGROUND IN ESTABLISHING AN HISTORICAL CONTEXT FOR
SALĀMĀN VA ABSĀL
Literary Activities in Āq Qoyūnlū Tabriz
Jāmī, the “Āq Qoyūnlū Poet”
The Hasht bihisht and Its Roster of “Lesser-known” Āq Qoyūnlū Poets
Qāżī ‘Īsā Sāvajī: Reform-Minded Vazīr, Poet, and Ill-fated Lover
Qāżī ‘Īsā’s Banishment from Court and His Tell-tale Poetry
Glimpses of Ya‘qūb and His Troubles
Brotherly Discord in the Āq Qoyūnlū Household
Salāmān va Absāl as Art Imitating Life
Chapter Five: A THEOSOPICAL INTERPRETATION OF SALĀMĀN VA ABSĀL AND ITS RELEVANCE TO ITS HISTORICAL SETTING
Salāmān va Absāl and the Masnavī of Rūmī
Love and the Imprint of the Theosophy of Ibn al-‘Arabī
Aspects of the Visionary Experience in Salāmān va Absāl
Salāmān va Absāl as an Historical Allegory
Symbols of Ya‘qūb and His Court in Salāmān va Absāl
Allusions to Naqshbandī Spiritual Techniques in Salāmān va Absāl
The Date of Completion of Salāmān va Absāl
Conclusion
Appendix One. JĀMĪ’S EPISTOLARY REPLY TO YA‘QŪB
Translation
Appendix Two. JĀMĪ’S SALĀMĀN VA ABSĀL
Translation
Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgements
Note on Transliteration and Style
Epigraph
Introduction
Chapter One: APPROACHING JĀMĪ’S SALĀMĀN VA ABSĀL AS A PERSOISLAMIC BOOK OF ADVICE FOR RULERS
The Narrative Context of Salāmān va Absāl
The Provenance of the Salāmān and Absāl Allegory
Ibn Sīnā’s Version of the Allegory
Salāmān and Absāl in Ḥayy ibn Yaqẓān
Coded Speech: The Overall Power of Allegory
Salāmān va Absāl, an Esoteric Mirror for Princes
Salāmān va Absāl and the Masnavī of Rūmī
The Historical Significance of Salāmān va Absāl
Overview of the Primary Sources
Salāmān va Absāl by Jāmī
Other Persian Poetry Addressed to Ya‘qūb
Official Court Chronicles and General Histories
Hagiographies and Biographical Works
Literary Anthologies
Letters of Personal Correspondence
Statement of Purpose
Chapter Two: POLITICAL ADVICE FOR RULERS AND MYSTICAL GUIDANCE FOR SUFIS IN SALĀMĀN VA ABSĀL
The Perso-Islamic Tradition of Advice and Advice Literature
Political Advice for Muslim Rulers in Salāmān va Absāl
Being the Shadow of God on Earth
On Heeding the Prayers of the Sufis
Implicit Spiritual Advice for Rulers and Sufi Mystics
Advice on Illuminating the Intellect
The Role of Repentance in Attaining Mystical Enlightenment
Advice on Subduing the Carnal Soul
Chapter Three: THE RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL INFLUENCES OF SUFIS AT THE ĀQ QOYŪNLŪ COURTS OF ŪZŪN ḤASAN AND YA‘QŪB
Dervishes, Sufi Mystics, and the Political Legitimacy of Ūzūn Ḥasan
The Role of the Akhlāq-i Jalālī
Khalvatī Influence on Āq Qoyūnlū Affairs
Shaikh Ībrāhīm Gulshanī at the Court of Ya‘qūb
Naqshbandīs at the Āq Qoyūnlū Court, Tabriz, and Its Environs
The Murder of Darvīsh Qāsim
The Spiritual Relationship between Jāmī and Ya‘qūb
Chapter Four: POETRY AT THE COURT OF YA‘QŪB AND ITS BACKGROUND IN ESTABLISHING AN HISTORICAL CONTEXT FOR
SALĀMĀN VA ABSĀL
Literary Activities in Āq Qoyūnlū Tabriz
Jāmī, the “Āq Qoyūnlū Poet”
The Hasht bihisht and Its Roster of “Lesser-known” Āq Qoyūnlū Poets
Qāżī ‘Īsā Sāvajī: Reform-Minded Vazīr, Poet, and Ill-fated Lover
Qāżī ‘Īsā’s Banishment from Court and His Tell-tale Poetry
Glimpses of Ya‘qūb and His Troubles
Brotherly Discord in the Āq Qoyūnlū Household
Salāmān va Absāl as Art Imitating Life
Chapter Five: A THEOSOPICAL INTERPRETATION OF SALĀMĀN VA ABSĀL AND ITS RELEVANCE TO ITS HISTORICAL SETTING
Salāmān va Absāl and the Masnavī of Rūmī
Love and the Imprint of the Theosophy of Ibn al-‘Arabī
Aspects of the Visionary Experience in Salāmān va Absāl
Salāmān va Absāl as an Historical Allegory
Symbols of Ya‘qūb and His Court in Salāmān va Absāl
Allusions to Naqshbandī Spiritual Techniques in Salāmān va Absāl
The Date of Completion of Salāmān va Absāl
Conclusion
Appendix One. JĀMĪ’S EPISTOLARY REPLY TO YA‘QŪB
Translation
Appendix Two. JĀMĪ’S SALĀMĀN VA ABSĀL
Translation
Bibliography
Index
All interested in late medieval and early modern Islamic history, especially anyone concerned with fifteenth-century Iran, classical Persian literature, Sufism, and Islamic political philosophy.