Topic of the Day: Early Classical Persian: An overview of the historical, linguistic, and literary background.
During the first part of the class, we will have a general introduction to the historical and literary background of Early Classical Persian literature. This means a detailed overview of the linguistic past of the Persian language will be provided. During this discussion, we will talk extensively about the historical course of the geographical expansion of Persian, the rise of its importance during the first centuries of Islam, and its grammatical evolution.
Besides that also, a sketch of the history of writing in the Iranian milieu will be given. After the introduction, the students will have time to discuss questions that might be related to the topics discussed before.
Text Edition:
The earliest critical edition of the old preface of the Shahname, i. e. the “The Introduction to the Shahname of Abu Mansur'', was prepared by one of the most eminent Persian scholars of the 20th century, Mohammad Qazvini, who provided it with a detailed apparatus of various readings of the manuscripts. At the beginning of this critical edition, one can also find the editor's extensive introduction.
Classroom activities: A lecture on the Early Classical Persian literature; reading the text of the Muqaddama; discussion of grammar and style of the text; Q&A.
Recommended reading: Djalal Khaleghi Motlagh, “Šāhnāme-ye Abumansuri”. In: Esmā’īl Sa’ādat (ed.), Ferdowsī wa Shahnāmā-sarā’ī. The Academy of Persian Language and Literature, Tehran, 2011, pp. 109-115.
Vocabulary:
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