Shahrokh Maskoub ( fa, شاهرخ مسکوب) (January 11, 1924 in Babol,

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

– April 12, 2005 in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

), was an Iranian writer, translator, social critic, literary historian, and university professor. Meskoob is considered a preeminent

Shahnameh The ''Shahnameh'' or ''Shahnama'' ( fa, شاهنامه, Šāhnāme, lit=The Book of Kings, ) is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c. 977 and 1010 CE and is the national epic of Greater Iran. Consisting of some 50,00 ...

scholar.

Life

Born in the northern city of Babol in 1924, Meskoob showed a serious interest in literature from an early age. He completed the five-year elementary education program at the Tehran ''Elmyeh'' School, a first of its kind founded by the Society of Education that offered a modern curriculum in mathematics, history, and natural sciences. After attending high school in

Isfahan Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...

, he returned to

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

in 1945 to study law at the

University of Tehran The University of Tehran (Tehran University or UT, fa, دانشگاه تهران) is the most prominent university located in Tehran, Iran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as its research and teaching pro ...

. In Tehran, he learned

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, started writing for a local newspaper on current events, and became involved with

leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

political activism inspired by the French intellectual movement of the time. His activism attracted the attention of the

Pahlavi Pahlavi may refer to: Iranian royalty *Seven Parthian clans, ruling Parthian families during the Sasanian Empire *Pahlavi dynasty, the ruling house of Imperial State of Persia/Iran from 1925 until 1979 **Reza Shah, Reza Shah Pahlavi (1878–1944 ...

-era security forces, which led to serial arrests and eventual imprisonment. He was arrested in

Abadan Abadan ( fa, آبادان ''Ābādān'', ) is a city and capital of Abadan County, Khuzestan Province, which is located in the southwest of Iran. It lies on Abadan Island ( long, 3–19 km or 2–12 miles wide). The island is bounded ...

in 1952 and imprisoned for a year after which he was sent to

Shiraz Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As o ...

on exile. He was imprisoned again from March 1955 until May 1957, during which he was tortured. He later said that the memory of his mother and of his close friend

Morteza Keyvan Morteza Keyvan ( fa, مرتضی کیوان; 1921, Isfahan – 19 October 1954, Tehran) was an Iranian poet, art critic, newspaper editor and political activist of the Tudeh Party of Iran. Keyvan married Puri Soltani in 1953. After the coup d ...

, who had been executed in the same year as Meskoob's arrest and imprisonment, had helped him endure. From 1959 until the 1979

Iranian revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...

, he worked for different government sectors. Meskoob was forced to leave Iran permanently following the

Iranian Revolution of 1979 The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...

, after he wrote critically of the new regime in

Ayandegan ''Ayandegan'' ( fa, آیندگان lit. "The Future People") was one of the most influential and popular daily newspapers in Iran during Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's rule. It was the first morning daily paper of Iran. It had an independent and critica ...

newspaper. He lived in Europe and spent most of his time with his sister in France. He died on April 12, 2005 in

, aged 81 due to complications associated with

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

Works

Shahrokh Meskoob (Ph.D.) is the first Iranian scholar who worked on

Ferdowsi Abul-Qâsem Ferdowsi Tusi ( fa, ; 940 – 1019/1025 CE), also Firdawsi or Ferdowsi (), was a Persians, Persian poet and the author of ''Shahnameh'' ("Book of Kings"), which is one of the world's longest epic poetry, epic poems created by a sin ...

on the basis of the principles of modern

literary criticism Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

. Among his most famous books is ''Soog-e Siavash'', which is based on

Siavash Siyâvash ( fa, سیاوش) or Siavash ( fa, سياووش) is an Iranian legendary prince, a major figure in Ferdowsi's epic, the ''Shahnameh''. Siyâvash or various other transliterations from Persian/Farsi/Azerbaijani languages may also refer to ...

character of Shahnameh. His major published works include translations of

Sophocles Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or co ...

' ''

Antigone In Greek mythology, Antigone ( ; Ancient Greek: Ἀντιγόνη) is the daughter of Oedipus and either his mother Jocasta or, in another variation of the myth, Euryganeia. She is a sister of Polynices, Eteocles, and Ismene.Roman, L., & Roma ...

'', ''

Oedipus Rex ''Oedipus Rex'', also known by its Greek title, ''Oedipus Tyrannus'' ( grc, Οἰδίπους Τύραννος, ), or ''Oedipus the King'', is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed around 429 BC. Originally, to the ancient Gr ...

'', and Steinbeck's '' Grapes of Wrath''; he has also written ''Moqaddame-'i bar Rostam va Esfandiar'' (a study of the ethics of Ferdowsi's ''Shahnameh''); ''Soug-e Siavosh'' (a study of the myth of martyrdom and resurrection in the ''Shahnameh''); and ''Dar kuy-e dust'' (an interpretive study of Hafez's views on man, nature, love, and ethics).

Selected works

* ''Moqaddame-'i bar Rostam va Esfandiar'' (''An Introduction to Rostam and Esfandiar''), 1963 * ''Soog-e Siavash'' (''Siavash's Mourning''), 1971 * ''Dar kuy-e doost'' (''At a Friend's''), 1978 * ''Meliyat va zaban'' (''Iranian Nationality and the Persian Language'', tr. into English by Michael C. Hillmann), 1992 * ''Ketab-e Morteza Keyvan'' (''Book of Morteza Keyvan''), 2003 * ''Soog-e Madar'' (''Mother's Mourning''), 2007

In English

* ''Iranian Nationality and the Persian Language'' * ''The Ant's Gift: A Study of the Shahnameh'' * ''In the Alley of the Friend: On the Poetry of Hafez''

Selected translations

* ''Khooshehaye khashm'' (Steinbeck's ''

The Grapes of Wrath ''The Grapes of Wrath'' is an American realist novel written by John Steinbeck and published in 1939. The book won the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize for fiction, and it was cited prominently when Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize ...

''), 1949 * ''Antigen'' (Sophocles' ''

''), 1956 * ''Adibe Shahryar'' (Sophocles' ''

''), 1961 * ''Promethe dar zanjir'' (Aeschylus' '' Prometheus Bound''), 1963 * ''Oedipus dar colnous'' (Sophocles' '' Oedipus at Colonus''), 1967 * ''Afsneyahe Tabaye'' (

, The Theban plays), 1973

External links

*
Shahrokh Meskoob, the foremost Iranian intellectual

References

20th-century Persian-language writers Iranian Iranologists Iranian translators Iranian literary critics Iranian expatriate academics Iranian emigrants to France People from Babol 1924 births 2005 deaths Burials at artist's block of Behesht-e Zahra 20th-century translators Exiles of the Iranian Revolution in France Shahnameh Researchers {{Iran-writer-stub