General Introduction to Persian Literature A History of Persian Literature

by de Bruijn, J.T.P.; Yarshater, Ehsan

• ISBN13: 9781845118860
• ISBN10: 1845118863
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-12-15
• Publisher: I. B. Tauris

Summary

Persian literature is the jewel in the crown of Persian culture. It has profoundly influenced the literatures of Ottoman Turkey, Muslim India and Turkic Central Asia and been a source of inspiration for Goethe, Emerson, Matthew Arnold and Jorge Luis Borges among others. Yet Persian literature has never received the attention it truly deserves. General Introduction to Persian Literature answers this need and offers a new, comprehensive and detailed history of its subject. This 18-volume, authoritative survey reflects the stature and significance of Persian literature as the single most important accomplishment of the Iranian experience. It includes extensive, revealing examples with contributions by prominent scholars who bring a fresh critical approach to bear on this important topic. The first volume offers an indispensable entree to Persian literature's long and rich history, examining themes and subjects that are common to many fields of Persian literary study. This invaluable introduction to the subject heralds a definitive and ground-breaking new series.

Author Biography

Johannes Thomas Pieter de Bruijn is Professor Emeritus of Persian at the University of Leiden. Ehsan Yarshater is the Director of the Center for Iranian Studies and Professor Emeritus of Iranian Studies at Columbia University. He is the Founding Editor of the Encyclopaedia Iranica.

Table of Contents

Foreword

Preface to the Present Volume

Avestan Literature

Inscriptional Literature in Old and Middle Iranian Language

Manichaean Literature in Iranian Language

Christian Literature in Middle Iranian Languages

Buddhist Literature in Sogdian

Khotanese Literature

Abbreviations

Bibliography

Index of titles and texts

Contributors

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