PERSIAN

LITERATURE
 Table of Contents

01
L I T E R A RY B A C K G R O U N D S
02
CHARACTERISTICS OF
03
MAJOR WRITERS
L I T E R AT U R E
Raise your words, not voice. It
is rain that grows flowers, not
thunder"

- Jalal ad-Din Mohammad Rumi

 LITERARY BACKGROUNDS
Persian literature, body of writings in New Persian (also
called Modern Persian), the form of the
Persian language written since the 9th century with a
slightly extended form of the Arabic alphabet and with
many Arabic loanwords. The literary form of New
P e r s i a n i s k n o w n a s F a r s i i n I r a n, w h e r e i t i s t h e
c o u n t r y ’s o ff i c i a l l a n g u a g e , a n d a s D a r i i n A f g h a n i s t a n,
w h e r e i t a n d P a s h t o a r e o ff i c i a l l a n g u a g e s . I t i s w r i t t e n
w i t h a C y r i l l i c a l p h a b e t b y Ta j i k s i n Ta j i k i s t a n a n d
U z b e k i s t a n. F o r c e n t u r i e s N e w P e r s i a n h a s a l s o b e e n a
p r e s t i g i o u s c u l t u r a l l a n g u a g e i n w e s t e r n Ce n t r a l A s i a, o n
t h e I n d i a n s u b c o n t i n e n t, a n d i n Tu r k e y.
 Characteristics of Persian Literature

• Persian literature is one of the world's

oldest literatures. It spans two-and-a-
half millennia, though much of the pre-
Islamic material has been lost. Its
sources have been within Greater Iran
where the Persian language has
historically been either the native or
o ff i c i a l l a n g u a g e .
 Characteristics of Persian Literature

• T h e G h a z n a v i d s c o n q u e r e d l a rg e t e r r i t o r i e s i n
Central and South Asia and adopted Persian as
their court language.

• Not all literature written in Persian is

written by ethnic Persians or Iranians,
a s Tu r k i c , C a u c a s i a n , a n d I n d i c p o e t s
and writers have also used the Persian
language in the environment of
Persianate cultures.
 MAJOR
WRITERS
Abu I-Qasim Firdowsi Tusi
more popularly known as Ferdowsi was a
Persian poet in the Paj village in the city of
Tu s i n t h e h i s t o r i c a l r e g i o n o f K h o r a s a n ,
Northeast Iran during the Samanid Empire.
Ferdowsi came from the dehqan class, a
class of Iranian aristocrats during the
Sassanid era. He is best known for his
work, “Shahnameh” or the Book of Kings,
t h e w o r l d ’s l o n g e s t w r i t t e n e p i c p o e m
completed in 1010. It is also recognized as
the national epic of Greater Iran.
Omar Khayyam (1048-1131)
• Greatest persian poets of all time
• A Mathematician, astronomer and poet
w h o ’s p o e t r y w e r e s h o r t a n d c o n c i s e
f o c u s e d o n l i f e , w i n e a n d j o y.
• H e w a s b o r n i n N i s h a p u r, n o r t h e a s t e r n
Iran and spent most of his life near the
courts of the Karakhanid and Seljuq
rulers. This was the period that
witnessed the First Crusade.
Nizami Ganjavi (1141 – 1209)
• B o r n o n J a n u a r y 1 , 11 4 1 , i n G a n j a n
(now Azerbaijan) during the Seljuk
empire, Jamal ad-Din Abu Muhammad
I l y a s i b n - Yu s u f i b n - Z a k k i
• He was a Persian poet known as one
of the greatest romantic poets in
Persian literature.
 Rumi (1207 – 1273)
• Jalan ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi, more
popularly known as “Rumi” in the west,
• a P e r s i a n p o e t o f t h e 1 3 t h c e n t u r y. R u m i
was born on September 30, 1207 ,in
(modern day) Afghanistan, originally the
Greater Khorasan (northeast Iran).
• R u m i ’s n a m e t r a n s l a t e s t o “ G l o r y o f t h e
F a i t h ” . H i s f a t h e r, B a h a d u d d i n Wa l a d , a l s o
known as the “Sultan of the Scholars,” was
a t h e o l o g i a n , a m y s t i c , a n d a j u r i s t . R u m i ’s
family moved to Konya, now present-day
w e s t e r n Tu r k e y, w h e n t h e M o n g o l I n v a s i o n
reached Central Asia in 1215.
 Hafez (1315 – 1390)
• Khwaja Shams-ud-Din Muhammad
Hafez-e Shirazi also known as Hafez
and Hafiz.
• A Persian poet born and raised in
Shiraz in the Fars Province of Iran in
1315.
• After memorizing the Qur ’an at an
early age, he was given the title
“Hafez“. Apart from contemporary
biographies written about him, little is
known about his earlier life.
 Saadi Shirazi (1210 – 1291)
• Born in Shiraz in the Fars Province of Iran
in 1210, Saadi Shirazi or better known as
“Saadi”,
• A Persian poet famous for the depth of his
moral and social thoughts.
• He left for Baghdad to pursue his education
a t t h e N i z a m i y y a U n i v e r s i t y.
• Saadi came back to Shiraz in 1257 after
f l e e i n g w a r- t o r n t o w n s , s t a y i n g i n r e f u g e e
camps, and seeking safe places to hide
together with other war survivors during
the Mongol invasions.