Nizami Ganjavi

Nizami Ganjavi (; c. 1141 – 1209), Nizami Ganje'i, Nizami, or Nezāmi, whose formal name was Jamal ad-Dīn Abū Muḥammad Ilyās ibn-Yūsuf ibn-Zakkī,Mo'in, Muhammad(2006), "Tahlil-i Haft Paykar-i Nezami", Tehran.: p. 2: Some commentators have mentioned his name as “Ilyas the son of Yusuf the son of Zakki the son of Mua’yyad” while others have mentioned that Mu’ayyad is a title for Zakki. Mohammad Moin, rejects the first interpretation claiming that if it were to mean 'Zakki son of Muayyad' it should have been read as 'Zakki i Muayyad' where izafe (-i-) shows the son-parent relationship but here it is 'Zakki Muayyad' and Zakki ends in silence/stop and there is no izafe (-i-). Some may argue that izafe is dropped due to meter constraints but dropping parenthood izafe is very strange and rare. So it is possible that Muayyad was a sobriquet for Zaki or part of his name (like Muayyad al-Din Zaki). This is supported by the fact that later biographers also state Yusuf was the son of Mu’ayyad was a 12th-century poet. Nizami is considered the greatest romantic epic poet in Persian literature, who brought a colloquial and realistic style to the Persian epic. His heritage is widely appreciated in Afghanistan, Republic of Azerbaijan, Iran, the Kurdistan region and Tajikistan.

Life

Born into a Persian family, his personal name was IlyasC. A. (Charles Ambrose) Storey and François de Blois (2004), "Persian Literature – A Biobibliographical Survey: Volume V Poetry of the Pre-Mongol Period.", RoutledgeCurzon; 2nd revised edition (June 21, 2004). . p. 363: "Nizami Ganja’i, whose personal name was Ilyas, is the most celebrated native poet of the Persians after Firdausi. His nisbah designates him as a native of Ganja (Elizavetpol, Kirovabad) in Azerbaijan, then still a country with an Iranian population, and he spent the whole of his life in Transcaucasia; the verse in some of his poetic works which makes him a native of the hinterland of Qom is a spurious interpolation." and his chosen pen-name was Nizami (also spelled Nezami). He was born of an urbanJan Rypka (Rypka, Jan. ‘Poets and Prose Writers of the Late Saljuq and Mongol Periods’, in ''The Cambridge History of Iran'', Volume 5, The Saljuq and Mongol Periods, ed., Published January 1968. p. 578: As the scene of the greatest flowering of the panegyrical qasida, southern Caucasia occupies a prominent place in New Persian literary history. But this region also gave to the world Persia’s finest creator of romantic epics. Hakim Jamal al-din Abu Muhammad Ilyas b. Yusuf b. Zaki b. Mu’ayyad Nizami a native of Ganja in Azarbaijan, is an unrivaled master of thoughts and words, a poet whose freshness and vigor all the succeeding centuries have been unable to dull. Little is known of his life, the only source being his own works, which in many cases provided no reliable information. We can only deduce that he was born between 535 and 540 (1140–46) and that his background was urban. Modern Azarbaijan is exceedingly proud of its world famous son and insists that he was not just a native of the region, but that he came from its own Turkic stock. At all events his mother was of Iranian origin, the poet himself calling her Ra’isa and describing her as Kurdish. background in Ganja ( Seljuq empire, now Republic of Azerbaijan) and is believed to have spent his whole life in the South Caucasus. According to De Blois, Ganja had a predominantly Iranian population at the time. The Armenian historian Kirakos Gandzaketsi (c. 1200 – 1271) mentions that "This city anjawas densely populated with Iranians and a small number of Christians". Because Nizami was not a court poet, he does not appear in the annals of the dynasties. ''Tazkerehs'', which are the compilations of literary memoirs that include maxims of the great poets along with biographical information and commentary of styles, refer to him briefly. Much of this material in these ''tazkerehs'' are based on legends, anecdotes, and hearsays. Consequently, few facts are known about Nizami's life, the only source being his own work, which does not provide much information on his personal life.

Parents

Nizami was orphaned"The Poetry of Nizami Ganjavi: Knowledge, Love, and Rhetortics", New York, 2001. p. 2: "His father, Yusuf and mother, ''Rai'sa'', died while he was still relatively young, but maternal uncle, Umar, assumed responsibility for him" early and was raised by his maternal uncle Khwaja Umar, who took responsibility for him and afforded him an excellent education. His mother, named ''Ra'isa'', was of KurdishA) V.Minorsky: "review of G. H. Darab translation of Makhzan al-Asrar" 1945 Minorsky, BSOAS., 1948, xii/2, 441–5):"Whether Nizami was born in Qom or in Ganja is not quite clear. The verse (quoted on p. 14): "I am lost as a pearl in the sea of Ganja, yet I am from the Qohestan of the city of Qom ", does not expressly mean that he was born in Qom. On the other hand, Nizami's mother was of Kurdish origin, and this might point to Ganja where the Kurdish dynasty of Shaddad ruled down to AH. 468; even now Kurds are found to the south of Ganja."
B)V. Minorsky, Studies in Caucasian History, Cambridge University Press, 1957. p. 34:"The author of the collection of documents relating to Arran Mas’ud b. Namdar (c. 1100) claims Kurdish nationality. The mother of the poet Nizami of Ganja was Kurdish (see autobiographical digression in the introduction of Layli wa Majnun). In the 16th century there was a group of 24 septs of Kurds in Qarabagh, see Sharaf-nama, I, 323. Even now the Kurds of the USSR are chiefly grouped south of Ganja. Many place-names composed with Kurd are found on both banks of the Kur" origin. His father, whose name was ''Yusuf'' is mentioned once by Nizami in his poetry. In the same verse, Nizami mentions his grandfather's name as ''Zakki''. In part of the same verse, some have taken the word ''Mu'ayyad'' as a title for Zakki while others have interpreted it as the name of his great-grandfather. Some sources have stated that his father might be possibly from Qom. Nizami is variously mentioned as a Persian and/or Iranian.

Family

Nizami was married three times. His first wife was an enslaved Kipchak who was sent to him by Fakhr al-Din Bahramshah, the ruler of Darband, as part of a larger gift. According to Iraj Bashiri she became Nizami's "most beloved" wife. His only son ''Mohammad'' was from this wife. She died after "Khosrow and Shirin" was completed. Mohammad was seven at the time. Nizami mentions his son again in Layli and Majnun adding that now this son is 14 years old and "apple of my eyes". In "Haft Peykar" (Seven Beauties), he also mentions and advises his son about taking more responsibility as the father was growing more frail.

Some modern writers in the late 20th century have claimed that this wife was called ''Afaq''. Vahid Dastgerdi seems to be the first writer to propose this name for Nizami's first wife, but Said Nafisi (at the same time) and a recent source have challenged this interpretation of the corresponding verse in Nizami's work and the assumption that ''Afaq'' was the real name of his wife and have taken the ''Afaq'' in that verse to simply mean "horizon" rather than a proper name. Strangely enough, Nizami's two other wives, too, died prematurely – the death of each coinciding with the completion of an epic, prompting the poet to say, "God, why is it that for every mathnavi I must sacrifice a wife!".

Education

Nizami was not a philosopherSeyyed Hossein Nasr, Mehdi Amin Razavi, "The Islamic intellectual tradition in Persia", RoutledgeCurzon; annotated edition (July 4, 1996). pp. 178–187 in the sense of Avicenna or an expositor of theoretical Sufism in the sense of Ibn 'Arabi. However, he is regarded as a philosopher and gnostic who mastered various fields of Islamic thoughts which he synthesized in a way that brings to mind the traditions of later Hakims such as Qutb al-Din Shirazi.

Often referred to by the honorific Hakim ("the Sage"), Nizami is both a learned poet and master of a lyrical and sensuous style. About Nizami's prodigious learning, there is no doubt. Poets were expected to be well versed in many subjects, but Nizami seems to have been exceptionally so. His poems show that not only he was fully acquainted with Arabic and Persian literatures and with oral and written popular and local traditions, but was also familiar with such diverse fields as mathematics, astronomy, astrology, alchemy, medicine, botany, Koranic exegesis, Islamic theory and law, Iranian myths and legends, history, ethics, philosophy and esoteric thought, music, and the visual arts. His strong character, social sensibility, and knowledge of oral and written historical records, as well as his rich PersianPeter J. Chelkowski, "Mirror of the Invisible World", New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1975.
p. 1: "The culture of Nizami's Persia is renowned for its deep-rooted tradition and splendor. In pre-Islamic times, it had developed extraordinarily rich and exact means of expression in music, architecture, and daily life as well as in writing, although Iran, its center—or, as the poets believed, its heart—was continually overrun by invading armies and immigrants, this tradition was able to absorb, transform, and ultimately ocercome foreign intrusion. Alexander the Great was only one of many conquerors, to be seduced by the Persian way of life."
p. 2:"During the last quarter of the twelfth century, when Nizami began his Khamsa, Seljuq supremacy was on the decline and political unrest and social ferments were increasing. However, Persian culture characteristically flourished when political power was diffused rather than centralized, and so Persian remained the primary language, Persian civil servants were in great demand, Persian merchants were successful, and princedoms continued to vie for the service of Persian poets. This was especially true in Ganjeh, the Caucasian outpost town where Nizami lived."
p. 6: "Nizami's strong character, his social sensibility, and his poetic genius fused with his rich Persian cultural heritage to create a new standard of literary achievement. Using themes from the oral tradition and written historical records, his poems unite pre-Islamic and Islamic Iran", p. 9:"Probably no Persian writer has inspired succeeding generation of poets more than Nizami", p. 6: ""Khosrow and Shirin" proved to be a literary turning point not only for Nizami but for all of Persian poetry. Furthermore it was the first poem in Persian literature to achieve complete structural and artistic unity". p. 2;"During the last quarter of the twelfth century, when Nizami began his Khamsa, Seljuq supremacy was on the decline and political unrest and social ferments were increasing. However, Persian culture characteristically flourished when political power was diffused rather than centralized, and so Persian remained the primary language, Persian civil servants were in great demand, Persian merchants were successful, and princedoms continued to vie for the service of Persian poets. This was especially true in Ganjeh, the Caucasian outpost town where Nizami lived." p. 1: "By the end of the tenth century, Persian literature was world renowned; it was heralded from the eastern Mediterranean to the banks of the Indus" pp2:"Few facts about the life of Nizami are certain. Because he was not a court poet and it was his poetry rather than his life or his political connections that won him enduring fame, he does not appear in the annals of the dynasties...". p. 9: "The memorization and recitation of their literary heritage has alway beens vital to Iranians, whose attitude towards the power of the written and spoken word is revential. Even today the national passion for poetry is constantly expressed over radio and television, in teahouses, in literary societies, in daily conversation, and in the Musha'areh, the poetry recitation contest. Nizami's work serves as a vehicle and a symbol of this tradition, for it unites universality with deep-rooted artistic endeavor, a sense of justice and passion for the arts and sciences with spirituallity and genuine piety. for richness and fineness of metaphor, accuracy, and profundity of psychological observation, and sheer virtuosity of storytelling, Nizami is unequalled" cultural heritage unite pre-Islamic and Islamic Iran into the creation of a new standard of literary achievement. Being a product of the Iranian culture of the time, he not only created a bridge between pre-Islamic and Islamic Iran, but also between Iran and the whole ancient world.

Influences and literary scene

The recent discovery and publication of the anthology titled '' Nozhat al-Majales'' contains Persian language quatrains from Nizami and 115 other poets from the northwestern Iran (Arrān, Sharvān, Azerbaijan; including 24 poets from Ganja alone) during the same era. Unlike other parts of Persia, where the poets mostly belonged to higher echelons of society such as scholars, bureaucrats, and secretaries, a good number of poets in the northwestern areas rose from among the common people with working-class backgrounds, and they frequently used colloquial expressions in their poetry. Accordingly, the book demonstrates the social conditions at the time, reflecting the full spread of Persian language and the culture in the region, which is evidenced by the common use of spoken idioms in poems and the professions of many of the poets. The influence of the northwestern Pahlavi language, for example, which had been the spoken dialect of the region, is clearly observed in the poems contained in this anthology. However, at the same time, the Caucasus region was entertaining a unique mixture of ethnic cultures. Khaqani's mother was a Nestorian Christian, Mojir Baylqani's mother was an Armenian, and Nizami's mother was a Kurd. Their works reflect the cultural and linguistic diversity of the region.

By the end of the 10th century, Persian literature became widespread from the eastern Mediterranean to the banks of the Indus. The earliest extant example of Persian poetry from the area is that of Qatran Tabrizi (1009–1072) who served in the courts of the Shaddadid and Rawadid dynasties. Qatran Tabrizi, is credited with what some scholars in the last century have termed as the founder of the "Azerbaijan" or "Trans-Cacausian" school or "Tabriz School"P. Chelkowski, "Literature in Pre-Safavid Isfahan", International Society for Iranian Studies, Vol. 7, No. 1/2. — Taylor & Francis, Ltd. on behalf of International Society for Iranian Studies, 1974. — p. 112-131.) Quote: "The three main literary styles which follow each other consecutively are known as: Khurasani, Iraqi, and Hindi. The time spans of each style are equally flexible. Within these broad geographical divisions we then come across certain "literary schools" which reflect regional peculiarities and idiosyncrasies and are identified with smaller entities like provinces or towns. For example, there are: the Azerbayjani school, The Tabriz school, or the Shirvan school." or "Shirvan School" or "Arranian Style" of Persian poetry. This school produced a distinctive style of poetry in Persian, which contrasted with "Khurasani" ("Eastern") style in its rhetorical sophistication, its innovative use of metaphor, its use of technical terminology and Christian imagery, the presence of Persian archaism while borrowing from Arabic vocabulary, as well as new concepts. Other sources including the ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'' and traditional Iranian literary sources have used the term "'Iraqi" style for the Persian poetry of Nizami.

The Seljuqs took control of Ganja from the Shaddadids in 1075 and spread Persian literary westwards to their courts. In the middle of the 12th century, the Seljuk Empire's control of the region weakened and their provincial governors, virtually autonomous local princes, further encouraged Persian culture, art and poetry in their courts. Persian culture characteristically flourished in this era, when political power was diffused and Persian remained the primary language, Persian civil servants and merchants were in great demand and rival dynasties continued to vie for the service of Persian poets. This was especially true in Ganjeh, the Caucasian outpost town where Nizami lived. Nizami was patronized by different rulers and dedicated his epics to various rival dynasties, including the Seljuqs, Eldiguzids (who maintained control of Ganja during most of the later 12th century), Shirvanshahs, the ruler of Ahar and Ahmadilis. Although he enjoyed the patronage of various rulers and princes, he avoided the courts and is generally believed to have lived a secluded life. Since he was not a court poet, he does not appear in the annals of the dynasties, which list the names of events of the ruling families.

According to literary scholar Chelkowski, "it seems that Nizami's favorite pastime was reading Firdawsi's monumental epic Shahnameh (The book of Kings)."(Chelkowski, P. "Nezami's Iskandarnameh:" in Colloquio sul poeta persiano Nizami e la leggenda iranica di Alessandro magno, Roma, 1977).
p. 10: "The Persian legend of Alexander the Great seems to overshadow all of the other fantastic Alexander stories not only in the tale of the successful accomplishment of many a "mission-impossible" but especially concerning the nature of his career. In Iran he rose from the stature of a damned evil conqueror of the country, to that of a national Iranian hero king, and even more, to that of the great prophet of God, preparing all the nations for the true religion. Yet the Persian legend of Alexander is very little known in the Western world."
p. 13: "Nizami was a typical product of the Iranian culture. He created a bridge between Islamic Iran and pre-Islamic Iran and also between Iran and the whole ancient world. His great humanism, strong character, sensibility, drama, colorful description of nature, rich language, and the poetic genius created a new standard of literary achievements and captured the imagination of countless imitators".
p. 17: "In the case of previous romances of Khosraw and Bahram, Nizami dealt with national Iranian heroes, though from pre-Islamic times. In the tale of Layla and Majnun, the Arab nationality of the lover is of no importance since the story is based on a simple Arab folktale which was later absorbed and embellished by the Persians".
p. 19: "Alexander was glorified by the Muslims as a divine agent, a prophet-king and the blessed conqueror of the lands that were to become the stronghold of Islam. To some Muslims, Islam was a realization of Alexander's "koine" --- a commonwealth where people could live in harmony and in peace of heart and mind. In this atmosphere attempts were made to make out of Alexander not only a Muslim but a Persian as well".
p. 21: "However, it was not Tabari directly, but Ferdowsi who was Nizami's source of inspiration and material in composing Iskandarnameh. Nizami constantly alludes to the Shahnameh in his writing, especially in the prologue to the Iskandarnameh. It seems that he was always fascinated by the work of Firdawsi and made it a goal of his life to write an heroic epic of the same stature.
p. 22: "It seems that Nezami's favorite pastime was reading Firdawsi's monumental epic Shahnameh (The book of Kings)".
p. 22: "In fact, although Alexander conquered Iran, he was soon conquered by Persian customs and ways of life. In many aspects he was so overwhelmed by Persian civilization that he became more Persian than the Persians. He tried to make a blend of the Greek and Persian civilization --- even genetically, when he sponsored mass marriages between his troops and Persian women. He himself married Roxane (Rowshanak) the daughter of the Sogdian prince – not the daughter of Darius the Third, as both Firdawsi and Nizami believed. Like Alexander, Arabs, Turks, Mongols and other people who overran the Iranian plateau also came under the spell of Persian culture. Foreign invaders remained to become contributors and patrons of Persian art and culture. To give one example, some of Nizami's benefactors were of Turkic stock." Nizami mentioned Ferdowsi as the Sage (''hakim'') and Knower/Wise (''dānā'') and the great master of discourse, "who has decorated words like new bride." Nizami advises the son of the Shirvanshah to read the ''Shahnameh'' and to remember the meaningful sayings of the wise. Nizami used the ''Shahnameh'' as a source in his three epics of '' Haft Peykar, Khosrow and Shirin'' and ''Eskandar-Nameh''.

The story of '' Vis and Ramin'' also had an immense influence on Nizami. Although Nizami takes the bases for most of his plots from Ferdowsi, but the basis for his rhetoric comes from Gorgani. This is especially noticeable in ''Khosrow and Shirin'', which is of the same meter and imitates some scenes from ''Vis and Ramin''. Nizami's concern with astrology also has a precedent in an elaborate astrological description of the night sky in ''Vis and Ramin''. Nizami had a paramount influence on the romantic tradition, and Gorgani can be said to have initiated much of the distinctive rhetoric and poetic atmosphere of this tradition, with the absence of the Sufi influences, which are seen in Nizami's epic poetry.

The first monumental work of Nizami, the ''Makhzan al-Asrar'' is influenced by Sanai's ''Hadikat al-Hakika''.Chelkowski, P.J (1995), “Nizami Gandjawi”, Encyclopaedia of Islam, New Ed., vol. 8: 76–81.
Online Version: Chelkowski, P. "Nizami Gandjawi, jamal al-Din Abu Muhammad Ilyas b. Yusuf b. Zaki Muayyad . ''Encyclopaedia of Islam''. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2008. Brill Online. Excerpt one:"Nizami Gandjawi, Djamal al-Din Abu Muhammad Ilyas b. Yusuf b. Zaki Muʾayyad, one of the greatest Persian poets and thinkers." Excerpt two: "In Haft Paykar, the phantasmagoric movement of its hero, Bahram Gūr, as he visits each princess, covers a symbolic path between black, or the hidden majesty of the Divine, and white, or purity and unity. The princesses and their pavilions are manifestations of specific planets, specific climes, colours, and days. The pavilions are domed, representing the structure of the heavens. Nizami illustrates the harmony of the universe, the affinity of the sacred and the profane, and the concordance of ancient and Islamic Iran." (Nizami Ganjavi in ''Encyclopedia of Islam'', Chelkowski)." Nizami acknowledges this, but considers his work to be superior. The main similarities between Sanai's poem and Nizami's are in its ethico-philosophical genre, although Nizami uses a different metre and organized the whole work in a different fashion. Khaqani Sherwani daring imagery, was to have a momentous influence on Nizami Ganjavi and through the latter on Persian poetry in general.

Works

Nizami lived in an age of both political instability and intense intellectual activity, which his poems reflect, but little is known about his life, his relations with his patrons, or the precise dates of his works, as the many legends built up around the poet color the accounts of his later biographers. He dedicated his poems to various rulers of the region as was the custom of that time for great poets, but avoided court life. Nizami was a master of the ''masnavi'' style (double-rhymed verses).

The ''Khamsa'' or ''Panj Ganj''

Nizami's main poetical work, for which he is best known, is a set of five long narrative poems known as the ''Khamsa'' (, 'Quintet or Quinary') or ''Panj Ganj'' (, 'Five Treasures'):
* ''Makhzan-ol-Asrâr'' (, 'The Treasury or Storehouse of Mysteries'CHARLES-HENRI DE FOUCHÉCOUR, "IRAN:Classical Persian Literature" in ''Encyclopædia Iranica''), 1163 (some date it 1176)
* ''Khosrow o Shirin'' (, 'Khosrow and Shirin'), 1177–1180
* ''Leyli o Majnun'' (, ' Layla and Majnun'), 1192
* ''Eskandar-Nâmeh'' (, 'The Book of Alexander'), 1194 or 1196–1202
* ''Haft Peykar'' (, 'The Seven Beauties'), 1197

The first of these poems, ''Makhzan-ol-Asrâr'', was influenced by Sanai's (d. 1131) monumental ''Garden of Truth''. The four other poems are medieval romances. Khosrow and Shirin, Bahram-e Gur, and Alexander the Great, who all have episodes devoted to them in Ferdowsi's ''Shahnameh'', appear again here at the center of three of four of Nizami's narrative poems. The adventure of the paired lovers, Layla and Majnun, is the subject of the second of his four romances, and derived from Arabic sources. In all these cases, Nizami reworked the material from his sources in a substantial way.

The ''Khamsa'' was a popular subject for lavish manuscripts illustrated with painted miniatures at the Persian and Mughal courts in later centuries. Examples include the Khamsa of Nizami (British Library, Or. 12208), created for the Mughal Emperor Akbar in the 1590s.

File:Brooklyn Museum - Page from an Illustrated Manuscript of the Khamseh by Nizami.jpg, Page from an Illustrated Manuscript of the "Khamsa" by Nizami. Brooklyn Museum.
File:Folio from a Khamsa-c.jpg, Sassanid king, Bahram Gur is a great favourite in Persian tradition and poetry. Depiction of Nizami's "Bahram and the Indian Princess in the Black Pavilion", ''Khamsa'', mid-16th century Safavid era.
File:Muhammad during the Isra and Mi'raj - from Nezami's Khamsa dated 1494.jpg, A manuscript from Nizami's ''Khamsa'' dated 1494, depicting Muhammad's journey from Mecca to the Dome of the Rock to heaven. The archangel Gabriel is seen to Muhammad's right with multiple wings.
File:Layla and Majnun2.jpg, A scene from the romance " Layla and Majnun". The thwarted lovers meet for the last time before their deaths. Both have fainted and Majnun's elderly messenger attempts to revive Layla while wild animals protect the pair from unwelcome intruders. Late 16th-century illustration.
File:Miraj by Sultan Muhammad.jpg, 1543 illustration of the Mi'raj from the ''Khamsa'', probably created by the court painter Sultan Muhammad. This version was created for the Persian Shah Tahmasp I.

''Makhzan-ol-Asrâr''

The ethico-philosophical poems of about 2,250 Persian distichs were dedicated to Fakhr al-Din Bahramshah, the ruler of Erzinjan. The story deals with such esoteric subjects as philosophy and theology. The story contains twenty discourses, each of them portraying an exemplary story on religious and ethical topics. Each chapter concludes with apostrophe to the poet himself containing his pen name.JTP de Bruijn. Persian Sufi Poetry, An Introduction to the Mystical – Taylor and Francis (Routledge) 1997 pp. 97–98 The content of the poems are indicated in the heading to each chapter and are written in a typical Homiletics style. The stories which discuss spiritual and practical concerns enjoin kingly justice, riddance of hypocrisy, warning of vanity of this world and the need to prepare for the after-life. The general message of the discourse is that Nizami preaches the ideal way of life drawing attention to his reader of the supreme rank man among God's creatures and approaching of the end life and the necessity of man becoming aware of his spiritual destination. In a few chapters he address the duties of a king, but as a whole, he addresses himself to mankind in general rather than to his royal patrons. In the introduction, the poet provides an account of his solitary vigils, called Khalwat. There is no indication that these were Sufi vigils, but they are used as a literary fantasy on the spiritually inclined poet he wanted to be. In highly rhetorical style, the aim he pursues is to transcend the limitation of secular literature of the courts. With this work, Nizami joins the destination of Persian poetry, which had started with Sanai and was continued by others, in the first place by Attar.

Not a romantic epic, "The Treasury of Mysteries" was translated into English by Gholam H. Darab in 1945. After this early work, Nizami turned towards narrative poetry.

''Khosrow o Shirin''

A story of pre-Islamic Persian origin which is found in the great historical epic poems of the ''Shahnameh'' and is based on a true story that was further romanticized by Persian poets. The story chosen by Nizami, was commissioned and dedicated to the Seljuk Sultan Toghril II, the Atabek Muhammad ibn Eldiguz Jahan Pahlavan and his brother Qizil Arslan. It contains about 6,500 distichs in length, the story depicts the love of Sasanian Khosrow II Parviz towards his Armenian princess Shirin. ''Khusrow and Shirin'' recounts the story of King Khosrow's courtship of Princess Shirin, and the vanquishing of his love-rival, Farhad. The story has a complex structure with several genres exploited simultaneously; and contains many verbal exchanges and letters, all imbued with lyrical intensity. Khosrow endures long journeys, physical and spiritual, before returning to Shirin, his true love. They are eventually married, but finally Khosrow is killed by his son and Shirin commits suicide over the body of her murdered husband. Pure and selfless love is represented here embodied in the figure of Farhad, secretly in love with Shirin, who falls victim to the king's ire and jealousy.

The influence of '' Vis o Rāmin'' is visible as the poem imitates a major scene (that of the lovers arguing in the snow) from ''Vis o Rāmin'', as well as being in the same meter ( ''hazaj'') as Gorgāni's poem. Nizami's concern with astrology also has a precedent in an elaborate astrological description of the night sky in ''Vis o Rāmin''. In turn, Nizami's great work had a tremendous influence on later authors and many imitations of this work were made. With complete artistic and structural unity, the epic of Khosrow o Shirin turned to be a turning point not only for Nizami but for all of Persian literature.

''Leyli o Majnun''

A story of Arabic origin which was later adapted and embellished by the Persians. The poem of 4,600 distichs was dedicated, in 1192, to Abu al-Muzaffar Shirvanshah, who claimed descent from the Sasanian King, whose exploits are reflected in Nizami's ''Haft Paykar'' (''Seven Beauties''). The poem is based on the popular Arab legend of ill-starred lovers: the poet Qays falls in love with his cousin Layla, but is prevented from marrying her by Layla's father. Layla's father forbids contact with Qays, so that Qays becomes obsessed and starts singing of his love for Layla in public. The obsession becomes so severe that he sees and evaluates everything in terms of Layla; hence his sobriquet "the possessed" (Majnun). Realizing that he cannot obtain union, even when other people intercede for him, he leaves society and roams naked in the desert among the beasts. However, the image of Layla was so ingrained in him that he cannot eat or sleep. His only activity becomes composing poetry of longing for Layla. Meanwhile, Layla is married against her will, but she guards her virginity by resisting the advances of her husband. In a secret meeting with Majnun, they meet, but have no physical contact. Rather, they recite poetry to each other from a distance. Layla's husband dies eventually, which removes the legal obstacles to a licit union. However Majnun is so focused on the ideal picture of Layla in his mind, that he fled into the desert again. Layla dies out of grief and is buried in her bridal dress. Hearing this news, Majun rushes to her grave, where he instantly dies. They are buried side by side and their grave becomes a site of pilgrimage. Someone dreams that in Paradise they are united and live as a king and queen.

Nizami composed his romance at the request of the Shirvanshah Akhsatan. Initially, he doubted that this simple story about the agony and pain of an Arab boy wandering in rough mountains and burning deserts would be a suitable subject for royal court poetry and his cultured audience. It was his son who persuaded him to undertake the project, saying: "wherever tales of love are read, this will add spice to them". Nizami used many Arabic anecdotes in the story, but also adds a strong Persian flavor to the legend.

An important aspect of Layla and Majun is the poet's highly humanitarian approach. During the war by Nawfal in favor of Majnun, the latter is unhappy, wishing the termination of the war. Majun gives away his horse and amours to save a gazelle and a stag.

Nizami gave a Persian character to the poem by adding several techniques borrowed from the Persian epic tradition, such as the portrayal of characters, the relationship between characters, description of time and setting, etc. Further, he adapted the different stories about Majnun to fit a well-crafted Persian romantic epic. Pellat, Ch.; Bruijn, J.T.P. de; Flemming, B.; Haywood, J.A. "Madjnūn Laylā." ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'', Second Edition. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C. E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W. P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2009. Brill Online. Excerpts: "The theme was chosen for the first time as the subject of a Persian narrative poem, but the precedent of the treatment of a similar subject of Arabic origin existed in ʿAyyūḳī's Warḳa u Gulshāh. Niẓāmī states in the introduction to his poem that he accepted the assignment with some hesitation. At first, he doubted whether this tale of madness and wanderings through the wilderness would be suitable for a royal court (ed. Moscow 1965, pp. 41 ff.). He adapted the disconnected stories to fit the requirements of a Persian romance. ...In some respects, the Bedouin setting of the original has been changed under the influence of urban conditions more familiar to the poet and his audience: the young lovers become acquainted at school; the generous Nawfal is a prince in the Iranian style rather than an Arab official. Niẓāmī added a second pair of lovers, Zayn and Zaynab, in whom the love between the main characters is reflected. It is Zayn who in a dream sees Madjnūn and Laylī united in paradise at the end of the romance."

''The Story of Layla and Majnun by Nizami'', was edited and translated into English by Swiss scholar of Islamic culture Rudolf Gelpke and published in 1966. Excerpt from the introduction: "Nizami preserves the Bedouin atmosphere, the nomad's tents in the desert and the tribal customs of the inhabitants, while at the same time transposing the story into the far more civilized Iranian world...Majnun talks to the planets in the symbolic language of a twelfth century Persian sage, the encounters of small Arabic raiding parties become gigantic battles of royal Persian armies and most of the Bedouins talk like heroes, courtiers, and savants of the refined Iranian Civilization" A comprehensive analysis in English containing partial translations of Nizami's romance ''Layla and Majnun'' examining key themes such as chastity, constancy and suffering through an analysis of the main characters was published by Ali Asghar Seyed-Gohrab.

''Eskandar-Nâmeh''

The ''Iskandarnameh'' of Nizami contains 10,500 distichs. There are differences of opinion on whether this or the ''Haft Paykar'' was Nizami's last epic. The names of its dedicatees are uncertain, but the ruler of Ahar, Nosart al-Din Bishkin b. Mohammad has been mentioned. The story is based on Islamic myths developed about Alexander the Great, which derive from Qur'anic references to the Dhu'l-Qarnayn as well as from the Alexander romance of Pseudo-Callisthenes. It consists of two books, Sharaf-Nama and Iqbal-nameh. The poem narrates the three stages in Alexander's life: first as the conqueror of the world; then as a seeker after knowledge, gaining enough wisdom to acknowledge his own ignorance; and finally as a prophet, traveling once again across the world, from west to east, and south to north to proclaim his monotheistic creed to the world at large. The Sharaf-nama discusses the birth of Alexander, his succession to the throne of Rum (Greece), his wars against Africans who invaded Egypt, his conquest of Persia and his marriage to the daughter of Darius. The episode also discusses Alexander's pilgrimage to Mecca, his stay in the Caucasus and his visit to Queen Nushaba of Barda' and her court of Amazons. Alexander conquers India, China and the land of the Rus. The Sharafnama concludes with Alexander's unsuccessful search for the water of immortal life.

The Iqbal-nameh is a description of Alexander's personal growth into the ideal ruler on a model ultimately derived, through Islamic intermediaries, from Plato's Republic. He has debates with Greek and Indian philosophers ( ''Garshaspnama'') and a major portion of the text is devoted to the discourses he has with seven Greek sages. The poet then tells of Alexander's end and adds an account of the circumstances of the death of each of the seven sages. Nizami's image of Alexander is that of an Iranian
Abel, A. (1978), “Eskandar nāma”, Encyclopaedia of Islam, New Ed., vol. 4:127–129. Online: Abel, A.; Ed(s). "Iskandar Nama." Encyclopaedia of Islam. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2007. Brill online edition). Excerpt: "In the Shahnama, Firdawsi already makes Iskandar an exemplary figure, whom the companionship of Aristotle helps to rise still higher, by the path of wisdom and moderation, in the direction of abstinence and contempt for this world. And Firdwasi laid stress on the defeat of Dārā (the Darius of the Greeks) as something desired by "the rotation of the Heavens"....At the time of Niẓami, however, Islam is from then onwards well established in Iran, and it is the prophetic and ecumenical aspect of his destiny that the poet makes evident in his hero. As a learned Iranian poet, Niẓami, who demonstrates his eclecticism in the information he gives (he says, "I have taken from everything just what suited me and I have borrowed from recent histories, Christian, Pahlavi and Jewish ... and of them I have made a whole"), locates the story of his hero principally in Iran. He makes him the image of the Iranian "knight", peace-loving and moderate, courteous and always ready for any noble action. Like all Niẓami's heroes, he conquers the passions of the flesh, and devotes his attention to his undertakings and his friendships. These features appear in the account, which follows ancient tradition, of his conduct towards the women of the family of Darius, in his brotherly attitude on the death of that ruler, in his behaviour towards queen Nushaba (the Kaydaf of Firdawsi, the Kandake of the pseudo-Callisthenes) whom he defends against the Russians. knight.

An English translation of the ''Sharaf-Nama'' by Henry Wilberforce-Clarke was published in 1881 under the title ''Sikandar Nama e Bara'' and is available online.

''Haft Peykar''

A pre-Islamic story of Persian origin, it was dedicated to the ruler of Maragha, Ala' al-Din Korp Arslan. It is a romanticized biography of Bahram V Gur, the Sassanid king, who is born to Yazdegerd after twenty years of childlessness and supplication to Ahura Mazda for a child. His adventurous life had already been treated by Ferdowsi in the ''Shahnameh'', to which fact Nizami alludes a number of times. In general, his method is to omit those episodes that the earlier poet had treated, or to touch on them only very briefly, and to concentrate on new material. The poet starts by giving an account of the birth of Bahram Gur and his upbringing in the court of the Arab king No'man and his fabled palace Khwarnaq. Bahram whose upbringing is entrusted to No'man becomes a formidable huntsman. While wandering through the fabled palace, he discovers a locked room which contains a depiction of seven princesses, hence the name ''Haft Peykar'' (seven beauties). Each of these princesses is from the seven different climes (according to the traditional Zoroastrian-Islamic division of the Earth) and he falls in love with them. His father Yazdegerd I passes away, and Bahram returns to Persia to claim his throne from pretenders. After some episodes, he is recognized as King and rescues the Persians from a famine. Once the country is stable, the King searches for the seven princesses and wins them as his brides. His architect is ordered to construct seven domes for each of his new brides. The architect tells him that each of the seven climes is ruled by one of the seven planets (according to the classical planetary system of the Zoroastrian-Islamic world) and advises him to assure good fortune by adorning each dome with the color that is associated with each clime and planet. Bahram is skeptical but follows the advice of the architect. The princesses take up residence in the splendid pavilions. On each visit, the king visits the princesses on successive days of the week; on Saturday the Indian princess, who is governed by Saturn and so on. The princesses names are Furak (Nurak), the daughter of the Rajah of India, as beautiful as the moon; Yaghma Naz, the daughter of the Khaqan of the Turks; Naz Pari, the daughter of the king of Khwarazm; Nasrin Nush, the daughter of the king of the Slavs; Azarbin (Azareyon), the daughter of the king of Morocco; Humay, the daughter of the Roman Caesar; and Diroste (wholesome), a beautiful Iranian princess from the House of Kay Ka'us. Each princess relates to the king a story matching the mood of her respective color. These seven stories, characterized by François de Blois as "beautifully constructed ndhighly sensuous," make up about half of the entire poem. While the king is busy with the seven brides, his evil minister seizes power in the realm. Bahram Gur discovers that the affairs of Persia are in disarray, the treasury is empty, and the neighboring rulers are posed to invade. He clears his mind first by going hunting. After returning from the hunt, he sees a suspended dog from a tree. The owner of the dog, who was shepherd, tells the story of how his faithful watchdog had betrayed his flock to a she-wolf in return for sexual favors. He starts investigating the corrupt minister and from the multitude of complaints, he selects seven who tell him the injustice they have suffered. The minister is subsequently put to death and Bahram Gur restores justice and orders the seven pleasure-domes to be converted to fire temples for the pleasure of God. Bahram then goes hunting for the last time but mysteriously disappears. As a pun on words, while trying to hunt the wild ass (''gūr'') he instead finds his tomb (''gūr'').

Ritter, in his introduction to the critical edition, describes it as: "the best and most beautiful epic in New Persian poetry and at the same time . .one of the most important poetical creations of the whole of oriental Indo-European literature". The Haft Peykar is considered the poet's masterpiece. Overall, Nizami illustrates the harmony of the universe, the affinity of the sacred and the profane, and the concordance of ancient and Islamic Iran.

The story was translated to English in 1924 by Charles Edward Wilson. A newer English rendering based on more complete manuscripts was accomplished by Julie Scott Meysami in 1995.

The following lines present an excerpt (Original Persian):

Other poetry

Only a small corpus of his Persian lyric poetry, mainly ''qasidas'' ("odes") and ghazals ("lyrics") have survived. Ten of his quatrains have also been recorded in the anthology '' Nozhat al-Majales'' (which was compiled around 1250) by Jamal Khalil Shirvani along with 23 other poets from Ganja. A famous ghazal of Nizami talks about altruism as the path for reaching the ultimate spiritual goal:

Legacy

Nizami, whose works are all written in Persian, has a very high reputation in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan, where Persian is the official language. His poetry is especially well known in Iran, and is also very popular in Azerbaijan, where his birthplace and mausoleum are located. He is known in other countries, especially in India and Pakistan.

Persian culture

The influence of Nizami's work on the subsequent development of Persian literature has been enormous and the Khamseh became a pattern that was emulated in later Persian poetry (and also in other Islamic literatures).Domenico Parrello, "ḴAMSA OF NEẒĀMI" in Encyclopaedia Iranica The legacy of Nizami is widely felt in the Islamic world and his poetry has influenced the development of Persian, Arabic, Turkish, Kurdish and Urdu poetry amongst many other languages.
In the history of Persian miniature painting, the stories in Nizami's poems alongside those of Ferdowsi's ''Shahnama'' have been the most frequently illustrated literary works. According to the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', Nizami is "admired in Persian-speaking lands for his originality and clarity of style, though his love of language for its own sake and of philosophical and scientific learning makes his work difficult for the average reader." Nizami composed his verses in Persian language and Western encyclopedias such as ''Encyclopedia of Islam'', ''Encyclopædia Iranica'', ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' and orientalists of many countries consider Nizami as a significant Persian poet and hail him as the greatest exponent of romantic epic poetry in Persian literature.
Amongst the many notable poets who have taken the ''Five Treasures'' of Nizami as their model may be mentioned Amir Khusro, Jalal Farahani, Khwaju Kermani, Mohammad Katebi Tarr-Shirini, Abdul Rahman Jami, Hatefi Jami, Vahshi Bafqi, Maktabi Shirazi, Ali-Shir Nava'i, Abdul-Qader Bedil, Abdul Qader-e Bedel Dehlavi, Fuzuli (poet), Fuzuli, Hashemi Kermani, Fayzi, Jamali and Ahmad Khani. Not only poets, but also historians such as Rawandi were influenced by Nizami's poetry and used his poems as a source for rendering history. Besides these, scores of poets have started their composition with the first line of the ''Makhzan al-Asrar''.
According to Rudolf Gelpke, "Many later poets have imitated Nizami's work, even if they could not equal and certainly not surpass it; Persians, Turks, Indians, to name only the most important ones. The Persian scholar Hekmat has listed not less than forty Persian and thirteen Turkish versions of ''Layli and Majnun''."
According to Vahid Dastgerdi, "If one would search all existing libraries, one would probably find more than 1000 versions of ''Layla and Majnun''."
Jami in his Nafahatol Ons remarks that: "Although most of Nizami's work on the surface appear to be romance, in reality they are a mask for the essential truths and for the explanation of divine knowledge."
Jami in his Baharestan mentions that "Nizami's excellence is more manifest than the sun and has no need of description." Hashemi of Kerman remarks: The empire of poetry obtained its law and order from Nizami's beautiful verses and to present words before Nizami's silent speech is a waste of time."

Indian subcontinent

Nizami's poems were very popular in the Indian subcontinent. The Persian language and literature have had a great impact on the entire Indian subcontinent. Nizami Ganjavi has been imitated by many poets due to his unique style of speech and language of poetry. Poets who have imitated Nizami's include: Amir Khusro Delhi, Khwaju Kermani, Jami, Hatefi, Ghasemi, Vahshi Bafqi, 'Orfi Shirazi, Maktabi, Faizi, Ashraf Maraghi, Azar Bigdeli, Badriddin Hilali, Rumi Kermani, Maulana Navidi Shirazi and Salman Savaji.
Amir Khusro Dehlavi praises Ganjavi in his poems as a master of the art of praise.
Amir Khusro writes:

"The ruler of the kingdom of words, famed hero,

Scholar and poet, his goblet [glass] toasts.

In it – pure wine, it's drunkenly sweet,

Yet in goblet [glass] beside us – only muddy setting."
A portrait of Nizami hangs in the Ashoka Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the presidential palace of India. The hall is also decorated with poems by Nizami and other Persian poets. The ''Khamsa'' was a popular subject for lavish manuscripts with painted miniatures at the Persian and Mughal courts in later centuries. Examples include the Khamsa of Nizami (British Library, Or. 12208), created for the Mughal emperor Akbar in the 1590s.

Soviet Union

In the early 1940s and to mark the 800th anniversary of Nizami Ganjavi, Music of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani composer Uzeyir Hajibeyov planned to write seven songs based on Nizami's poem about the ''Seven Beauties''. However, Hajibeyov wrote only two songs: ''Sensiz'' (Without You, 1941) and ''Sevgili Janan'' (Beloved, 1943). Another Azerbaijani composer Gara Garayev, composed Seven Beauties (ballet) in 1947–48 based on Nizami's eponymous poem that won an international acclaim. He also composed Leyli and Majnun (ballet) that premiered on 25 May 1969 at the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater in Baku and later was recorded as a film.
A minor planet, called 3770 Nizami, was discovered by Soviet Union, Soviet astronomer Lyudmila Chernykh in 1974 and named after him. Further, the Nizami Museum of Azerbaijan Literature, Museum of Azerbaijan literature in Baku is named after Nizami.

Azerbaijan

Nizami was depicted on the Obverse and reverse, obverse of the Azerbaijani 500 Azerbaijani manat, manat banknote of 1993–2006. In 2008, coinciding with the 800th anniversary of his death, the National Bank of Azerbaijan minted a 100 manat gold commemorative coin dedicated to his memory.
The Nizami Museum of Azerbaijan Literature, Nizami Museum of Literature is located in Baku, Republic of Azerbaijan. Nizami Gəncəvi (Baku Metro), One of the Baku Metro stations is also named after Nizami Ganjavi. There is Nizami Museum of Azerbaijani Literature, Institute of Literature named after Nizami and Cinema named after Nizami in Baku. One of the districts of Baku is called Nizami raion. The life of Nizami Ganjavi is shown in the Azerbaijani movie "Nizami" (1982), in which the leading role, role of Nizami Ganjavi, was played by Muslim Magomayev (musician), Muslim Magomayev. The Nizami Mausoleum, built in honor of Nizami, stands just outside the city of Ganja (city), Ganja in Azerbaijan. It is a tall cylindrical building, surrounded by gardens. To one side, there is a metal statue commemorating Nizami's epic poems. The mausoleum was originally built in 1947 in place of an old collapsed mausoleum and rebuilt in its present form when the Azerbaijani Republic regained its independence after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Monuments to Nizami exist in many cities of Republic of Azerbaijan and Iran, as well as in Moscow, Monument to Nizami Ganjavi in Saint Petersburg, St. Petersburg and Udmurtiya (Russia), Kyiv (Ukraine), Monument to Nizami Ganjavi in Beijing, Beijing (China), Monument to Nizami Ganjavi in Tashkent, Tashkent (Uzbekistan), Marneuli (Georgia), Monument to Nizami Ganjavi in Chișinău, Chişinău (Moldova), Monument to Nizami Ganjavi in Rome, Rome (Italy).

2021 was declared as "Year of Nizami Ganjavi" in the country.

Japanese translation

#"The Story of the Seven Queens (Haft Peykar)", translated into Japanese language, Japanese by Tsuneo Kuroyanagi, published by Heibonsha, July 1971. (Toyo Bunko 191)
#"Khosrow and Shireen", translated by Emiko Okada, published by Heibonsha, June 1977. (Toyo Bunko 310)
#"Layla and Majunoon", translated by Emiko Okada, Heibonsha, February 1981. (Toyo Bunko 394

."

Western reception

German poet and writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote: "A gentle, highly gifted spirit, who, when Ferdowsi had completed the collected heroic traditions, chose for the material of his poems the sweetest encounters of the deepest love. ''Majnun and Layli'', ''Khosrow and Shirin'', lovers he presented; meant for one another by premonition, destiny, nature, habit, inclination, passion staunchly devoted to each other; but divided by mad ideas, stubbornness, chance, necessity, and force, then miraculously reunited, yet in the end again in one way or another torn apart and separated from each other."

In regard to the recitation of his poetry, Peter Chelkowski states: "The memorization and recitation of their literary heritage has always been vital to Iranians, whose attitude towards the power of the written and spoken word is reverential. Even today the national passion for poetry is constantly expressed over radio and television, in teahouses, in literary societies, in daily conversation, and in the ''Musha'areh'', the poetry recitation contest. Nizami's work serves as a vehicle and a symbol of this tradition, for it unites universality with deep-rooted artistic endeavor, a sense of justice and passion for the arts and sciences with spirituality and genuine piety. For richness and fineness of metaphor, accuracy, and profundity of psychological observation, and sheer virtuosity of storytelling, Nizami is unequalled".

Nizami's story ''Layla and Majnun'' also provided the namesake for a hit single by Eric Clapton, also called "Layla (song), Layla". Recorded with the group Derek and the Dominos, the song was released on the 1970 album ''Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs''. The album was influenced by Nizami and his poetry of unrequited love. The fifth song of the album, "I Am Yours", was based on a poem by Nizami, set to music by Clapton.

In 2004, a conference on Nizami was held at the University of Cambridge. The proceedings of this conference were published under the title ''Nizami: A Key to the Treasure of Hakim'' in 2011.

See also

*Nizami Museum of Azerbaijani Literature

*Ferdowsi
* Khaqani
*List of Persian poets and authors
* Nozhat al-Majales
*Persian literature
*Asadi Tusi
*Vis and Rāmin
*Behrouz Servatian, noted Nizami researcher

Notes

References

Encyclopædia Iranica, "Khamsa", Domenico Parrello
*E.G. Browne. ''Literary History of Persia''. (Four volumes, 2,256 pages, and twenty-five years in the writing). 1998.

*Jan Rypka, ''History of Iranian Literature''. Reidel Publishing Company. 1968 .
*Chopra, R M, ''Nizami Ganjavi (1141–1209): The Greatest Master of Persian Romantic Mesnavi'', 2014, Sparrow Publication, Kolkata.
*Christine van Ruymbeke
''Science and Poetry in Medieval Persia: The Botany of Nizami's Khamsa ''. University of Cambridge Press, 2008.
*Christine van Ruymbeke. "From culinary recipe to pharmacological secret for a successful wedding night: the scientific background of two images related to fruit in the Xamse of Nezâmi Ganjavi", ''Festschrift in honour of Professor J.T.P. de Bruijn'', ''Persica'', Annual of the Dutch-Iranian Society, (Leiden), 2002, pp. 127–136
*C. A. (Charles Ambrose) Storey and Franço de Blois (2004), "Persian Literature – A Biobibliographical Survey: Volume V Poetry of the Pre-Mongol Period.", RoutledgeCurzon; 2nd revised edition (June 21, 2004). .
*K. Talattof & J.W. Clinton, ''The Poetry of Nizami Ganjavi: Knowledge, Love, and Rhetoric''. – New York, 2001
* Talattof, Kamran, ''Nizami's Unlikely Heroines: A Study of the Characterizations of Women in Classical Persian Literature''.
*[ J. S. Meisami(Translator) ''Haft Paykar: A Medieval Persian Romance''., New York: Oxford University Press, 1995]
*[ Johan Christoph Burgel & Christine van Ruyuymbeke, "Nizami: A Key to the Treasure of the Hakim ", Amsterdam University Press, 2011]
*[ Peter J. Chelkowski, "Mirror of the Invisible World", New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1975]

Further reading

*Valiyeva, Farida Hijran. "Paralelos en las obras de Nizami Ganjavi y Haji Bektash Veli." ''Revista Universidad y Sociedad'' 14, no. 4 (2022): 434-441.

External links

English translations of Nizami's works
on Persian Literature in Translation, Packard Humanities Institute

by Prof. Iraj Bashiri, University of Minnesota.
Nizami's works in the original Persian
at Ganjoor Persian Library
*
*

Viewpoints on Nizami's background



* [https://archive.today/20110127075347/http://sites.google.com/site/rakhshesh/articles-related-to-iranian-history/politicization-of-the-background-of-nizami-ganjavi--attempted-de-iranization-of-a-historical-iranian-figure-by-the-ussr-nezami-ganjei-iranian-civilization Article arguing for an Iranian background of Nezami from an Iranian writer titled: "Politicization of the Background of Nizami Ganjavi: Attempted de-Iranization of a historical Iranian Figure by the USSR" by Ali Doostzade
PDF versionAnother site

Siavash Lornejad, Ali Doostzadeh "On the Modern Politicization of the Persian Poet Nezami Ganjavi", Edited by Victoria Arakelova, YEREVAN SERIES FOR ORIENTAL STUDIES (Editor of the Series Garnik Asatrian), Caucasian Centre for Iranian Studies, Yerevan, 2012.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nizami
Nizami Ganjavi,
1140s births
1209 deaths
Writers from Ganja, Azerbaijan
Iranian people of Kurdish descent
Wisdom literature
12th-century Persian-language writers
13th-century Persian-language poets
Poets from the Seljuk Empire
12th-century Iranian people
13th-century Iranian people
Poets of the Shirvanshahs