Topic of the Day: The earliest manuscripts of Early Classical Persian.
Unfortunately, we do not have many manuscripts surviving from the earliest period of Classical Persian. Most manuscripts have vanished and were replaced by manual copies prepared by generations of scribes. It is unnecessary to mention that the more time passed, the more the manuscripts became corrupt and deviated from the original text. Many of them were reedited, and the editors left out archaic traits of the language.
Thus, it is not difficult to understand the price of the most ancient manuscripts surviving in Classical Persian. The most ancient text in Classical Persian, written in Arabic script, is Kitāb al-abniya ‘an haqāyiq al-adwiyya (کتاب الابنیه عن حقایق الادویه), copied by the famous Ali b. Ahmad Asadi Tusi in 1056 AD.
This book is a medical treatise written by Abu Mansur Muvaffaq b. Ali Harawi, about whom little is known. There is also no precise information as to when the treatise was written precisely.
Text Edition:
Malek-oš-šo’arā Bahār, Tārix-e Bala’āmī, be kušeš-e Mohammad Parvin-e Gonābādi, dar 2 moǰallad, 1353 (čāp-e dovvom).
Chapter: Andar xabar-i Ardašīr-i Bābakān (2nd volume, pp. 874-886).
Classroom activities: Lecture on the manuscript tradition of Persian; reading the text of Tārix-i Bal’ami; discussion of grammar and style of the text; Q&A.
Recommended reading: G. Lazard. La langue des plus anciens monuments de la prose persane. Paris, 1963. pp. 38-41.
Vocabulary:
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