Politics Poetry and Sufism in Medieval Iran pdf

Book Title	Politics Poetry And Sufism In Medieval Iran
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Politics Poetry and Sufism in Medieval Iran Edited by Charles Melville from Cambridge University, Gabrielle van den Berg from Leiden University, and Sunil Sharma from Boston University

Politics Poetry and Sufism in Medieval Iran

This study is concerned with the allegorical romance Salaman va Absal, composedby the medieval Persian poet-mystic ‘Abd al-RahmanJami, which has been somewhat maligned by modern scholarship that has tended to regard it simply as a trite and even grotesque tale about the amorous affair between a prince and his wet-nurse. 

This study seeks to counter this view by demonstrating that Salaman va Absal contains valuable historical information about the political, religious, cultural, and ethical dynamics of the court of the Aq Qoyunlu dynasty during the reign of sultan Ya’qub b. Uzun Hasan, 

and that it is in fact a complex allegory that functions as an esoteric “mirror for princes,” that is, a medieval Perso-Islamic work of advice for rulers.

 On account of its rich symbolism, it operates on three distinct yet interrelated levels of meaning—the ethico-political, the mystical, and the historical. 

The third historical level is of particular interest as it relates to the personal struggle of the ruler Ya’qub. 

To be specific, it allegorically depicts the Aq Qoyunlu ruler’s addiction to wine and his subsequent public repentance from drinking. 

The first level of meaning of Salaman va Absal concerns the ethical and political advice it proffers on the art of good governance.

 In many instances, this advice accords with the counsels and aphorisms contained in such classic medieval Perso-Islamic manuals of advice as Qabus-nama, Slyar al-muluk, Nasihat al-muluk, Akhlaq-i Naslri, and Akhlaq-i Jalall. 

These works emphasized the importance of justice ( ’adl or ‘ adalat ) in the administration of the state, arguing that consistent maintenance of justice results in stable rule. 

Jam! echoes this idea in Salaman va Absal and marshals a well-known though non-canonical hadith that credits Muhammad with declaring that an infidel ruler who is just is preferable to a Muslim ruler who is a tyrant ( zalim ). Likewise, the ancient Iranian conception, 

expressed in the medieval manuals of advice, that religion [din) and kingship ( daulat ) are like “twin-brothers,” in other words functionally codependent, underlies the ethico-political level of meaning of the Salaman va Absal narrative. 

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