Mathnawi-yi Shirin u Farhad

In the history of Persian literature, one finds quite a number of works by famous authors which later served as a model for similar works by other writers. By way of example one could mention Firdawsi's (d. 411/1020) Shah-nama and Nizami's (d. 608/1209) Iskandar-nama, Sa?di's (d. 691/1291-92) Gulistan and Jami's (d. 898/1492) Baharistan, or Farid al-Din ?Attar's (d. 618/1221) Mantiq al-tayr and Mir ?Ali Shir Nava?i's (d. 906/1501) Lisan al-tayr. In the case of the mathnawi contained in the present volume, it was Nizami's Khusraw u Shirin which served as the model for Shirin u Farhad, a romantic epos by the otherwise unknown 9th/15th-century poet Salimi Jaruni. A native of Hormuz (formerly Jarun), he dedicated his poem in 880/1475 to the local sultan of his days, Salgharshah. Its language is unpretentious and the native ambiance is sometimes palpable. Its heros are pure of heart, and a mystical thread runs throughout the poem.