Persianization or Persianisation is a sociological process of cultural change in which something non-Persian becomes Persianate. It is a specific form of cultural assimilation that often includes linguistic assimilation. The term applies not only to cultures, but also to individuals, as they acclimate to the Persian culture.

Historically, the term was commonly applied to changes in the culture of non-Iranic peoples living within the Iranic cultural sphere, especially during the early and middle-Islamic periods such as Arabs, and various Caucasian and Turkic peoples including the Seljuqs and Ghaznavids. The term has also been applied to the transmission of aspects of Persian culture, including language, to the non-Persian peoples in area surrounding Persia, such as Turkey, Afghanistan and Central Asia.

History

Pre-Islamic Period

Unlike the Ancient Greeks or the Roman Empire, the ancient Persian Achaemenid Empire was not concerned with spreading its culture to the many peoples it conquered. Arguably the first recorded episode of persianization dates back to Alexander the Great, who after conquering the Persian Empire in the 4th century BCE adopted Persian dress, customs, court mannerisms, married a Persian princess, Stateira II, and made subjects cast themselves on their faces when approaching him, in Persian-style, known to Greeks as the custom of proskynesis (a symbolic kissing of the hand that Persians paid to their social superiors). Persian dress and practices were also observed by one Peucestas, who was later made satrap of Persis, where he conciliated the favour of the Persians to his rule, in exchange for those of Macedonians.

Early Islamic to 15th Century

After the fall of Sasanian dynasty in 651, the Umayyad Arabs adopted many of the Persian customs especially the administrative and the court mannerisms. Arab provincial governors were undoubtedly either Persianized Arameans or ethnic Persians; certainly Persian remained the language of official business of the caliphate until the adoption of Arabic toward the end of the 7th century, when in 692 minting began at the caliphal capital, Damascus. The new Islamic coins evolved from imitations of Sasanian coins (as well as Byzantine), and the Pahlavi script on the coinage was replaced with Arabic.

The Abbasids (after 750) established their capital in Iraq, eventually at Baghdad. A shift in orientation toward the east is discernible, encouraged by increased receptiveness to Persian cultural influence and the roots of the Abbasid revolution in Khorasan

Mughals

The Mogul or Mughal Empire was an Islamic imperial power that ruled a large portion of Indian subcontinent which beginning in 1526, they invaded and ruled most of Hindustan (South Asia) by the late 17th and early 18th centuries and ended in the mid-19th century. The Mughal Emperors were descendants of the Timurids who had embraced Persian culture, converted to Islam and resided in Turkestan and Khorasan and were the ones responsible for the spread of Persian or Islamic culture to Central Asia. At the height of Mughal power around 1700, they controlled most of the Indian Subcontinent and spread Persian culture throughout.

Babur the founder of the Mughal Empire identified his lineage as Timurid and Chaghatay-Turkic, while his origin, milieu, training, and culture were in Persian culture and so he was largely responsible for the fostering of this culture by his descendants, and for the expansion of Persian cultural influence in the Indian subcontinent, with brilliant literary, artistic, and historiographical results. Many works of art such as the Taj Mahal, Humayun's Tomb and the Badshahi Mosque are of Persian Islamic architecture with Persian names. The Persian language was the official language of the Mughal courts, until replaced with Hindi by the British.

Safavids to Qajar

20th century

In modern times, it is often used in connection with non-Persians such as Georgians, Armenians, Azeris,, Kurds, Baluchis, Lurs, Arabs and Turkmen.

It is argued sometimes that modern Iranian nationalism was established during the Pahlavi era, based on the aim of forming a modern nation-state. What is often neglected is that Iranian nationalism has its roots in the pre-Pahlavi era of the early 20th century. On the eve of World War I, pan-Turkist propaganda focused on the Turkic-speaking lands of Iran, Caucus and Central Asia. The ultimate purpose of persuading these populations to secede from the larger political entities to which they belonged and to join the new pan-Turkic homeland. It was the latter appeal to Iranian Azerbaijanis, which contrary to Pan-Turkist intentions, caused a small group of Azerbaijani intellectuals to become the strongest advocates of the territorial integrity of Iran. After the constitutional revolution in Iran, a romantic nationalism was adopted by Azerbaijani Democrats as a reaction to the pan-Turkist irredentist policies emanating from modern Turkey and threatening Iran’s territorial integrity. It was during this period that Iranism and linguistic homogenization policies were proposed as a defensive nature against all others. Contrary to what one might expect, foremost among innovating this defensive nationalism were Iranian Azerbaijanis. They viewed that assuring the territorial integrity of the country was the first step in building a society based on law and modern state. Through this framework, their political loyalty outweighed their ethnic and regional affiliations. The adoptions of this integrationist policies paved the way for the emergence of the titular ethnic group’s cultural nationalism.

According to Tadeusz Swietochowski, in 1930s, the term was used to describe the official policy pursued by Reza Shah Pahlavi to assimilate the ethnic minorities in Iran (Iranians as well as Non-Iranians). In particular, within this policy the Azerbaijani language was banned for use on the premises of schools, in theatrical performances, religious ceremonies and in the publication of books. Swietochowski writes:

Persianization in the Indian subcontinent

The effects of Persian hegemony in the eastern part of the Muslim world was strongly felt in the neighboring regions of South Asia particularly those adjacent to the Iranian plateau. Culturally, Persia had long contact with the natives of the Indus region and cultural exchanges definitely took place for millennia even before the original Achaemenid Empire conquered the Indus Valley (modern day Pakistan) in the sixth century BCE. Persian was the official language and lingua franca of north west India (modern day Pakistan) beginning with the Islamic conquest of Northern India by the Delhi Sultanate in the thirteenth century, up until 1849 when the British officially abolished its use and replaced it with Urdu (now the national language of Pakistan and an official language spoken in North India).

Further east and as a result of centuries of foreign, Central Asian rule, India quickly adopted/assimilated several Persian cultural features, including column-based architecture (especially employing Persian-style colonnades and decorations for the columns themselves). More importantly, the Achaemenids' use of Aramaic as the official language of the Empire and their use of its associated script reintroduced writing to the Asian subcontinent.

Persian vocabulary found its way into the Hindustani dialects of the Indo-Gangetic Plain, leading to a standard language known as ''Khariboli''. Khariboli has four standardized registers: Standard Hindi, Urdu, Dakhini and Rekhta. Standard Hindi (also High Hindi, Nagari Hindi) is used as the lingua franca of Northern India (the Hindi belt), Urdu is the lingua franca of Pakistan, Dakhini is the historical literary dialect of the Deccan region, and Rekhta is a highly Persianized register of Urdu used in poetry. As in post-independence India Persian culture and vocabulary was strongly associated with outside influence in general and Islam in particular, Indian and Hindu nationalists developed a Sanskritized and de-Persianised register of ''Khariboli'' which they named shuddh Hindi (ie "pure" Hindi) whereas Urdu retained its extensive Persian heritage (as well as eclectic borrowings from Arabic and to a lesser extent, Sanskrit) as part of an unbroken continuum in its linguistic development. Both were made official languages of India. However, certain Persian terminology remains in Standard Hindi, and colloquial Hindustani (a sort of Urdu-Hindi common ground) across northern India retains large quantities of Persian vocabulary.

Persianization of Urbanizing Pashtuns in Afghanistan

In early Afghanistan's history (during Afghanistan being an independent country), many Pashtuns moving into urbanized areas adopted Dari Persian as their language. As a result, many ethnic Pashtuns in Afghanistan will identify themselves as Persian, while carrying Pashtun names (such as a last name with the suffix "-zai"), simply because of speaking Persian and being assimilated into the Persian culture. A process known as de-tribalization. In Pakistan, a similar pattern occurs during urbanization, where Pashtuns assimilate into the country's national Urdu speaking culture.

References

See also

Persianate society

Iranian Turks

Turco-Persian

Turko-Persian tradition

History of Arabs in Afghanistan

Category:Cultural assimilation Category:Persian culture

fa:ایرانی‌سازی

name	Alim Qasimov
background	solo_singer
born	1957
origin	Shamakhi, Azerbaijan
instrument	Singing, Daf
genre	Mugham, Ashiq
occupation	Musician
years active	1977–present
associated acts	Farghana Qasimova
notable instruments	}}

Alim Qasimov (born 1957) is an Azerbaijani musician, and one of the foremost mugam singers in Azerbaijan. He was awarded the International Music Council-UNESCO Music Prize in 1999, one of the highest international accolades for music. His music is characterised by his vocal improvisation and represents a move away from the traditional style of mugham. Qasimov has recorded nine albums, three of which are mugham albums with his daughter, Ferghana Qasimova.

According to ''The New York Times'', "Alim Qasimov is simply one of the greatest singers alive, with a searing spontaneity that conjures passion and devotion, contemplation and incantation."

Biography

Formative years

Born in 1957, Qasimov grew up in Nobur near Shamakha, Azerbaijan, a village 100 km north of the capital Baku. His family worked on a Soviet commune and Qasimov worked alongside his parents from a young age. He later reflected that growing up in poverty helped him to live modestly later in life and he never attempted to extricate himself from his peasant background. Qasimov's father was an occasional singer with a good voice but he was a humble man; he never pursued a professional career in singing. Qasimov on the other hand was a keen singer from a young age and his parents noticed his musical desire. Lacking the money to buy him an instrument, his father used a frame and a goat's stomach lining to make a crude drum for his son.

He began singing at religious events and his parents suggested that he study music at school. The form proved difficult for him at times: once, while performing in a local music contest at the age of fourteen, the audience —thinking he did not grasp the correct traditional style—laughed him off the stage. Despite various setbacks, his parents urged him to persist and he did, enrolling in the Musiki Mektebi state music school in Baku at 21-years-old. The course consisted of four years of study, specialising in vocal technique and mugham — the repertoire of classical Azerbaijani song. It was here that Qasimov honed his voice and his teachers were so impressed that they encouraged him to take the final exams two years early. He refused, stating that he still needed time to perfect his abilities. He had realised that music was no longer a pastime for him, but rather a necessity, saying his sole talent and desire was for music. Over the final years of his study he refined his vocal technique, easily passing the final exam, but he later reflected that he had placed too much emphasis on vocal perfection; he believed it was not until later that he fully understood the deeper content and emotion of mugham.

Professional career

Qasimov began singing professionally while Azerbaijan was still under Soviet rule and the mugham form had not received support from the state. Performances were restricted and, whilst a few singers aimed to preserve the history of the traditional style, the ruling communist party largely regarded it as a local curiosity. However, Qasimov's growing popularity was accompanied by declining Soviet influence and in 1983 he won the national Jabbar Garyaghdioghlu Singing Competition.

As his career progressed he was recognised internationally, winning awards at the 1983 and 1987 UNESCO Symposia on Traditional and Modern Art of Central Asian ans Asian Countries. His tours were very well received in his both home country and abroad; as travel outside the Soviet Union was rare for citizens at the time, his tours and concerts garnered much press and many television announcements. As his career was blossoming, so was his personal life — Qasimov and his wife, Tamilla Aslanova, had their first child in 1980, Ferghana Qasimova, and later had two more children: a son, Gadir, and second daughter, Dilruba. Despite such changes, Qasimov's background continued to shape his personality and music, dismissing the foreign influences found in cities and television.

Over time, Qasimov's style had developed to include not only traditional Azerbaijani music and mugham, but also ashiq, a rural bardic tradition with roots in Turkey, Azerbaijan and the Azeri region of Iran. In addition, he was influenced by artists from other disciplines, placing particular importance on Qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan: "When I heard him in concert many doors were opened for me and many questions answered". His success was all the more impressive for he had broken from the traditional style of mugham and brought his own interpretation to the genre. He saw this as a way of showing mugham to a wider audience and making it relevant to contemporary society, saying: "The world in which we live changes daily. Music has to lend emotional expression to this vitality. I accommodate that by seeking out new paths and interpretations". Similarly he revolutionised the strict mugham instrumentation, introducing his own improvisation and including new sounds such as the double-reeded balaban (also known as a duduk), the clarinet and the nagara, a metal-bodied drum. Additionally, he remained conscious of the need to modernise when choosing his ensemble; mixing older, experienced players with younger, more dynamic musicians.

The 1990s saw Qasimov tour widely with concerts in Iran, Brazil, the United States and throughout Europe. His music gained more exposure in Europe and North America when a chance meeting with American musician Jeff Buckley at a classical music festival in France resulted in a collaboration. Buckley was a fan of Qasimov's music and they performed a duet of "What Will You Say" which featured on Buckley's ''Live à l'Olympia'' release. Buckley, an avid listener of Qawwali, was highly impressed with Qasimov's performance, noting: "he just came with his drum, and he sang, and it was so pure and effortless... That's what the voice is for". Qasimov was equally pleased with the collaboration, stating that his American counterpart "was very gifted and had a real feeling for Eastern people." The performance resulted in the introduction of Qasimov's music to a broader Western audience.

Revitalised by Azerbaijan's declaration of independence from the Soviet Union, the artistic importance of Azeri culture, including both Qasimov and mugham, began to be recognised internationally. Qasimov was named the "People's Artist of Azerbaijan" in 1993 and earned the highest honour in his field in 1999 when he won the International IMC-UNESCO Music Prize — an award given to high calibre musicians such as Dmitri Shostakovich, Leonard Bernstein, Ravi Shankar and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Partly helped by Qasimov's extensive touring and promotion of mugham, UNESCO proclaimed the mugham of Azerbaijan a "Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity" in 2003, reassuring the preservation of a centuries-old classical tradition. Similarly, the preservation of Qasimov's own music was assured as he recorded and internationally released his music for the first time, beginning with ''Classical Mugham'', a 1996 collaboration with the Mansurov brothers, and following with ''Azerbaijan: Art of the Mugham'' and ''Legendary Art of Mugham'' in 1998.

2000 to present: Introducing Ferghana

Qasimov's daughter, Ferghana Qasimova, had been informally practising with her father since the age of sixteen and was an avid student of mugham. By the age of twenty she had become a fully-fledged singer in her own right and Qasimov chose to introduce his daughter into his ensemble. Ferghana first appeared on 1997's ''The Legendary Art of Mugham'' on which the two shared the vocal tasks on the song Getme Getme. Their next album included a track, Bagishlamani, dedicated to his forebear; Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. The release marked a high point for Qasimov as it was his first widely available release to western audiences and it proved a critical success. His aim to reconnect younger generations with mugham began to pay dividends; not only was he appealing to traditional Islamic sections of the Azerbaijani population, but also to more Americanised and modern audiences. The break through amongst the younger generations spurred him on: "Sometimes young people come up after a concert to thank me. That's like giving me wings. I feel so elated when I can awaken such feelings in people while they are still young; mugham is not an easy genre for young people to understand".

Qasimov recorded and released further works with ''The Art of Mugham'' in 1997 and ''Central Asian Series, Vol. 6: Spiritual Music of Azerbaijan'' in 2007. He toured throughout Europe, now bringing Ferghana along with him, and was in demand to appear at spiritual music festivals in countries such as France and Egypt. Their performances were often critically acclaimed, regardless of the location. Remarking upon a performance in London as part of "Voices of Central Asia", Michael Church stated in ''The Independent'' that "initial shock turned to delight as we were drawn into his intimate, multicoloured world". The father and daughter duo paid dividends and, following their performance in Cairo in May 2008, ''Al-Ahram Weekly'' stressed the qualities of their powerful vocal unity and stage presence, describing Qasimov as "a master of mugham".

Their brand of mugham proved equally popular the following September, performing a collaboration with experimental classical group the Kronos Quartet. Band leader David Harrington was keen to work with the Azerbaijani for the Ramadan Nights Festival, saying: "I realised his voice was as unique as Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's, or the tenor John McCormack's in Irish ballads, or Bessie Smith's in St Louis Blues. There's a special quality to that voice, a connection between it and his inner life...he is up there in the top five of all time [singers]". Despite initial problems involving the Kronos Quartet's arrangements and Qasimov's improvisation, the event received positive reviews. Robin Denselow of ''The Guardian'' opined that Qasimov "is certainly one of the most thrilling, unashamedly emotional performers on the planet, and the finest exponent of mugham".

Influence and legacy

In 21 November 2009, he was included in a ''500 most influential Muslims of world'' book. The Icelandic singer Björk complimented Qasimov, by naming him as her "favourite singer alive today".

Discography

Albums

''Classical Mugham'' (3 January 1996)

''The Art of Mugham: Azerbaidjan'' (Live) (1 December 1997)

''The Mugham of Azerbaidjan'' (1 October 1999)

''Love's Deep Ocean'' (11 October 1999) with Ferghana Qasimova

''The Legendary Art of Mugham'' (15 October 1997) with Alim Qasimov Ensemble

''Central Asian Series, Vol. 6: Spiritual Music of Azerbaijan'' (25 September 2007) with Ferghana Qasimova

"Intimate dialogue" - Live at Morgenland Festival Osnabrück 2009 with Ferghana Qasimova

Singles

Year	Title	Chart positions						Album
		! width="36"	! width="36"	! width="36"	! width="36"	! width="36"	! width="36"
	"I’m your Goddess" (David Vendetta feat. Tara McDonald and Alim Qasimov)	—	—	—	—	—	—

References

Further reading

Alim and Fergana Qasimov: The Master and his Pearl Interview with Qasimov in ''Al-Ahram Weekly''

External links

Alim and Ferghana Qasimov performing live

Category:1957 births Category:Living people Category:Azerbaijani singers Category:People from Shamakhi

az:Alim Qasımov de:Alim Qasimov eo:Alim Qasimov fa:عالیم قاسمف fr:Alim Qasimov ru:Гасымов, Алим Хамза оглы tr:Alim Gasımov

Baba Tahir, (var. Baba Taher, in Persian: بابا طاهر) was an 11th century poet in Persian literature and mystic.

Biography

Baba Tahir is known as one of the most revered and respectable early poets in Iranian literature. Most of his life is clouded in mystery. He was born and lived in Hamadan , the capital city of the Hamedan Province in Iran. He was known by the name of ''Baba Taher-e Oryan'' (The Naked), which suggests that he may have been a wandering dervish. Legend tells that the poet, an illiterate woodcutter, attended lectures at a religious school, where he was not welcomed by his fellow-students. The dates of his birth and death are unknown. One source indicates that he died in 1019. If this is accurate, it would make Baba Tahir a contemporary of Ferdowsi and Pour Sina (Avicenna) and an immediate precursor of Omar Khayyam. Another source reports that he lived between 1000 and 1055, which is most unlikely. Reliable research notes speculate that Baba Tahir lived for seventy-five years. Rahat al-sodur of Ravandi (completed 603/1206), describes a meeting between Baba Tahir, and the Saljuq conqueror Togrel (pp. 98–99). According to L. P. Elwell-Sutton: ''He could be described as the first great poet of Sufi love in Persian literature. In the last two decades his do-baytis have often been put to music''.

Legend has it that Baba Tahir was a very simple and innocent man whom everyone mocked and made fun of in his town. He was not a poet to begin with. One very cold winter day, people of the town decided to make a fool out of him just for fun. They brought him to a frozen fountain and told him if he swim in the icy water, he will become a poet. Being innocent, he believed them. He took off his clothes and entered the icy water. Everyone started laughing at him as he was swimming in the cold water. He realized he was made fun of and was heart broken. He came out and, to everyone's surprise, a "true poet" was indeed born out of the icy water on that day. Hence, he is called "the naked". His poetry has touched many souls.

Poetry

Baba Tahir poems are recited to the present day all over Iran accompanied with setar (in Persian: Seh Tar), three stringed viol or lute. They say Pahlaviat to these kinds of poems and they are very ancient. Baba Tahir songs were originally read in Pahlavi (Middle Persian), as well as Luri and Hamadani dialects, taking their present form in the course of time. The quatrains of Baba Tahir have a more amorous and mystical connotation rather than philosophical. Baba Tahir's poems are of the ''do-bayti'' style, a form of Persian quatrains, which some scholars regard as having affinities with Middle Persian verses. Classical Persian Music is based on Persian literature and Baba Tahir's poems are the weight that carries a major portion of this music. Baba Tahir's poetry is the basis for Dastgahe Shoor and in particular Gooshe of Dashtestani, Choopani and Deylaman.

Writing

Attributed to him is a work by the name Kalemat-e qesaar, a collection of nearly 400 aphorisms in Arabic, which has been the subject of commentaries, one allegedly by Ayn-al-Qozμat Hamadani. An example of such a saying is one where Baba Tahir ties knowledge with gnosis: ''Knowledge is the guide to gnosis, and when gnosis has come the vision of knowledge lapses and there remain only the movements of knowledge to gnosis”; “knowledge is the crown of the gnostic, and gnosis is the crown of knowledge”; whoever witnesses what is decreed by God remains motionless and powerless.''

Sample Poetry

Original Fahlavi/Persian:

خداوندا که بوشم با که بوشم

مژه پر اشک خونین تا که بوشم

همم کز در برانن سو ته آیم

تو کم از در برانی واکه بوشم

Translation:

''Lord! who am I, and of what company?

''How long shall tears of blood thus blind mine eyes?

''When other refuge fails I'll turn to Thee,

''And if Thou failest me, whither shall I go?

Original Fahlavi/Persian:

مو آن بحرم که در ظرف آمدستم

مو آن نقطه که در حرف آمدستم

بهر الفی الف قدی بر آیه

الف قدم که در الف آمدستم

Translation:

''I am that sea and have come into a bowl;

''I am that dot and have come into a letter;

''in every thousand one straight-as-an-alef (alef-qadd) appears;

''I am that straight one, for I came in a thousand

Original Fahlavi/Persian:

دلم از درد ته دائم غمینه

به بالین خشتم و بستر زمینه

همین جرمم که مو ته دوست دیرم

ز هر کت دوست دیره حال آینه؟

Translation:

''Grieving for thee my heart is ever sad,''

''A brick my pillow, and my couch the earth:''

''My only sin is loving thee too well:''

''Surely not all thy lovers suffer so?''

Original Fahlavi/Persian:

مگر شیر و پلنگی ای دل ای دل

به مو دایم بجنگی ای دل ای دل

اگر دستم فتی خونت وریژم

بوینم تا چه رنگی ای دل ای دل

Translation:

''Art thou a lion or leapoard, O Heart, O Heart,''

''That thou warres ever with me, O Heart, O Heart?''

''Fall thou into my hands; I'll spill thy blood,''

''To see what colour it is, O Heart, O Heart!''

Original Fahlavi/Persian:

هزارت دل بغارت برده ویشه

هزارانت جگر خون کرده ویشه

هزاران داغ ویش از ویشم اشمر

هنی نشمرده از اشمرده ویشه

Translation:

''More than a thousand hearts has thou laid waste,''

''More than a thousand suffer grief for thee,''

''More than a thousand wounds of thine I've counted,''

''Yet the uncounted still are more than these.''

Original Fahlavi/Persian:

سیه بختم که بختم سرنگون بی

توه روژم که روژم واژگون بی

شدم خار و خس کوه محبت

ز دست دل که یارب غرق خون بی

Translation:

''Black is my lot, my fortune's overtuned,''

''Ruined are my fortunes, for my luck is brought low'';

''A thorn, a thistle I, on the Mountain of Love,''

''For my heart's sake. Drown it in blood, O Lord!''

Original Fahlavi/Persian:

نگارینا دل و جونم ته دیری

همه پیدا و پنهونم ته دیری

ندونم مو که این درد از که دیرم

همی ذونم که در مونم ته دیری

Translation:

''My Beautiful! thou hast my heart and soul,''

''Thou hast mine inner and mine outer self;''

''I know not why I am so very sad,''

''I only know that thou hold'st the remedy.''

Original Fahlavi/Persian:

دلی نازک بسان شیشه ام بی

اگر آهی کشم اندیشه ام بی

سرشکم گر بوه خونین عجب نیست

مو آن دارم که در خون ریشه ام بی

Translation:

''My heart is dainty as a drinking cup,

''I fear for it whene'er I have a sigh;''

''It is not strange my tears are as blood,''

''I am a tree whose roots set in blood.''

Original Fahlavi/Persian:

مسلسل زلف بر رو ریته دیری

گل و سنبل بهم آویته دیری

پریشان چون کری اون تار زلفون

به هر تاری دوی آویته دیری

Translation:

''Thy tangled Curls are scattered o'er thy face,

''Mingling the Roses with the Hyacinths;''

''But part asunder those entangled strand

''On ever hair thou'lt find there hangs a heart. (Translation by: E. Heron-Allen)

Original Fahlavi/Persian:

دلا راه تو پر خار و خسک بی

گذرگاه تو بر اوج فلک بی

گر از دستت بر آیو پوست از تن

بیفکن تا که بارت کمترک بی

Translation:

''Briar and thorn beset thy way, o Heart

''Beyond the Dome of Heaven is thy road;

''If thou art able, then thy very skin

''Cast off from thee, and lighten thus thy load

Original Fahlavi/Persian:

ز دست دیده و دل هر دو فریاد

که هرچه دیده وینه دل کنه یاد

بسازم خنجری نیشش ز پولاد

زنم بردیده تا دل گرده آزاد

Translation:

''Beneath the tyranny of eyes and heart I cry,

''For, all the eyes see, the heart stores up:

''I'll fashin me a pointed sword of steel,

''Put out mine eyes, and so set free my heart

Original Fahlavi/Persian:

دلت ای سنگدل بر ما نسوجه

عجب نبود اگر خارا نسوجه

بسوجم تا بسوجونم دلت را

در آتش چوب تر تنها نسوجه

Translation:

''O heart of Stone, Thou burnest not for me,

''That stone burns not, is not, indeed, so strange

''But I will burn till I inflame thy heart.

''For fresh-cut logs are difficult to burn alone.

Original Fahlavi/Persian:

بی ته اشکم ز مژگان تر آیو

بی ته نخل امیدم بی بر آیو

بی ته در کنج تنها شو و روز

نشینم که تا عمرم بر سر آیو

Translation:

''When thou’rt away, mine eyes o’erflow with tears,

''Barren the Tree of Hope when thou’rt away:

''Without thee, night and day, in a solitary corner,

''I sit, till life itself come to an end.

Original Fahlavi/Persian:

به گلشن بی تو گل هرگز مرویا

وگر رویا کسش هرگز مبویا

بی شادی بی تو هرکس لو گشایه

لوش از خون دل هرگز مشویا

Translation:

''Without-Thee in the Garden, Lord, may no rose bloom,

''Or, blooming, may none taste its sweet perfume,

''So, should my heart expand when Thou art not nigh,

''T were vain! my heart's grief nought could turn to joy

Original Fahlavi/Persian:

چو مو یک سو ته دل پروانه ای نه

جهان را همچو مو دیوانه ای نه

همه مارون و مورون لانه دیرن

من بیچاره را ویرانه-ای نه

Translation:

''What blundering Moth in all the World like me?

''What madman like me in the Universe?

''The very Serpents and the Ants have nests,

''But I—poor wretch - no ruin shelters me.

Tomb

His tomb is located near the northern entrance of the city of Hamadan in Western Iran, in a park, surrounded by flowers and winding paths. The structure consists of twelve external pillars surrounding a central tower. It was reconstructed in 1970.

See also

List of Persian poets and authors

Persian literature

Notes

References

Encyclopædia Iranica, Baba Taher, L. P. Elwell-Sutton

: By Manouchehr Saadat Noury

E.G. Browne. ''Literary History of Persia''. (Four volumes, 2,256 pages, and twenty-five years in the writing). 1998. ISBN 0-7007-0406-X

Jan Rypka, ''History of Iranian Literature''. Reidel Publishing Company. ASIN B-000-6BXVT-K

باباطاهر عریان , عارف و شاعر بلند آوازه ایران (in Persian)

External links

Khayyam's works in original Persian at Ganjoor Persian Library

poems by Baba Tahir (Persian)

Category:Persian-language literature Category:10th-century births Category:11th-century deaths Category:Persian-language poets Category:11th-century writers Category:Medieval poets Category:Iranian Sufis

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