Mirror of Heritage
Year:2019 | Volume:16 | Issue:63|Papers Count:8

This study presents a stylistic reading of a versified translation, attributed to Abd al-Rahman Jami, of the Tā ’ iye-ye Kobrā by Ebn-e Fā rez (a poem with the letter ت [t] as the final element of its rhyme). The basis for this attribution is a manuscript preserved at the library of the Faculty of Letters, Cairo University, edited and annotated with an introduction by Sadeq Khorsha in the book titled Abd al-Rahman Jami’ s tā ’ iye: a translation of Ebn-e Fā rez’ s Tā ’ iye-ye kobrā . By propounding some stylistic explanations (including an analysis of prosodic and metrical structure, and examination, of linguistic and syntactic matters and by comparing the translation ascribed to Jami with his other poetic productions composed in the same meter) and, additionally, with regard to certain bibliographical and textological indications, the present article tries to prove that the translation is not Jami’ s.

One of the oldest Arabic texts on dream interpretation is Al-Ta’ bir al-Qā deriby Nasr b. Ya’ qub of Dinavar, written in 397 A. H. /1007. Of this book there is a Persian translation titled Ketab al-Nā seri fi Tarjamt-e Ketab al-Qā deri fi al-Ta’ bir made by Seraj al-Din Abd al-Aziz al-Yazdi in 1293 A. H/1876. From the viewpoint of Persian language, this translation is of some importance. A manuscript of this work has been identified only in recent years; and that is why no mention has been made of it in the older sources on Persian written materials. The present article first introduces the original Arabic of the book and its author addressing then the Persian translation and its significant features.

Tohfat al-Moluk (The Gift for Sovereigns) by Ali b. Abi Hafs b. Faqih Mahmood of Esfahan, is a treatise on the conduct of the kings, which was written in the 6th or early 7th A. H. /12th or 13th century. This treatise, re-edited by Ali Akbar Ahmadi Dā rā ni, was published in 1382 Sh. /2003. In the present article, we have addressed some of the important aspects of this book, including its coverage of several verses of Rudaki and Abu Shakur-e Balkhi, and have shown some of the sentences and verses whose content can be regarded as the background for some of Sa’ di’ s words in The Golestan and Bustan. Then, we have pointed out instances of errors that have occurred in the editing of the text of The Tohfat al-Moluk.

In the present article we examine a number of instances of the use of the e-sounding element utilized instead of the indefinite yā (also sometimes yā-ye insha’ ), and the process of its emergence in certain texts, its scope of use in terms of place and time and the possible influences of such characteristic on Persian grammar. Different factors have been effective in the formation of this characteristic, which we designate as “ dialectal-orthographic feature” . In studying the formation process of this feature, we have taken account of some of the orthographic characteristics of Persian manuscripts as well as the vowel system of the Early New Persian and have discovered one of the characteristics of Herati dialect (and probably the dialect of the suburbs of Nishabur).

In didactical or 'Ā dā b' treatises on calligraphy, one can find spiritual/ethical dimensions in a variety of subjects the analysis of which could lead to a clearer understanding of the structure and uses of these texts. With this end aimed at, the present article has studied thirteen Persian treatises (belonging to the 14-18th centuries) addressing their spiritual/ ethical aspects in two categories of spiritual/ethical “ attitudes” and “ principles” with respect to their two descriptive and prescriptive components. Thus, spiritual attitudes, including quotations, references, sacred mythical and mystical meanings, have been discussed and so have spiritual/ethical principles in two categories of general and special principles of calligraphy. According to this study, the spiritual/ethical attitudes in the treatises referred to above follow, to some extent, a far-reaching and formulated tradition. Conversely, the spiritual/ethical principles enjoy less frequency and extensiveness and have less coherence. However, there are to be seen certain blending and contradictions in these principles, which sometimes stem from the mystical tendencies of the authors and, sometimes, aim at guild distinction. At the same time, the state of spiritual aspects in calligraphy handbooks have no direct correlation with a historical timeline and varies depending on individual authors.

Following the Italian War of 1494 (Naples war), a horrendous far-flung disease spread out in Europe, which was later named syphilis. According to the account related by Bahā ’ al-Dawla Ḥ oseynī Nū rbaḵ š (an eminent physician in the late Timurid and early Safavid periods) who called this disease Armanī dā neh (Armenian sore), Ā bele-ye farang (European pox) and Ā taš ak, this disease first surged from the Ottoman Empire territories in 1498 to Azerbaijan, ʿ Eraq-e Ajam (west and central Iran) and Fars and, then, spread all over Iran. The unique characteristic of Bahā ’ al-Dawla’ s account in his ḵ olā ṣ at al-Tajā reb, is that, despite the short time span between the writing of the essay and the outbreak of the disease in Europe (only 6 years), he has mentioned one of the medicines prescribed by ḥ okamā-ye farang (European physicians). In this manuscript as well as in Bahā ’ al-Dawla’ s prescriptions and in the observations made by both his contemporary and succeeding physicians, mercury continued to play the principal role until, in the latter half of the 16th century, ʿ Emā d al-Dī n Š ī rā zī prescribed, as herbal remedy for Ā taš ak, "China wood/root", which had lately entered Iran.

With the convention of the Erzurum Conference in 1259 A. H. /1843 and the signing of the Second Erzurum Treaty in1263 A. H. / 1847, Iran-Ottoman relations entered a new phase. According to this treaty, it was concluded that by setting up a commission, the boundaries between the two countries be formally established. During his assignment as Iran’ s representative in the commission, Mirza Ja’ far Khan Moshir al-Dowleh sent hundreds of letters to Iranian authorities regarding the process of border demarcation. Apart from this, he set out a detailed report of his commission under the title “ Resā le-ye tahqiqā t-e sarhaddyeh (An Essay on Border Studies) and presented it to the then Prime Minister in 1856. As the first important document about the Iran-Ottoman borders cited by Iranian delegates in numerous border delimitation commissions, this essay was only once edited and published by Mohammad Moshiri in 1348 Sh. /1969. Regrettably, 49 years have passed since then and no critical research has been undertaken about this work to assess its degree of accuracy and reliability The present article addresses the matter for the first time.

Besides its well-known use in the sense of “ Jewish temple” , the word “ kaniseh” has also been used in the sense of “ sunshade” during a certain period or in certain local dialects: both as a sunshade that protects wagon passengers from rain and the sun as well as the projecting addition build to the top of a building faç ade. “ Kaniseh” in latter meanings rarely appears in Persian and Arabic texts. Apparently because they have been used locally or regionally, lexicographers have paid less attention to them. The rare application in earlier books of kaniseh in these secondary meanings have caused them to appear as strange and unknown to book emenders, increasing the possibility of misreading. In the present article, by citing examples from literary and religious texts as well as word-books, we have discussed the meanings of kaniseh, and pointed out several instances where scholars, translators and editors of Persian and Arabic texts, from the Erudite (Allameh) Mohammad Qazvini to Shakir Luaybi, have gone wrong in reading or comprehending the meanings of this word.