Persian Historiography

by Meisami, Julie Scott

• ISBN13: 9780748612765
• ISBN10: 0748612769
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-07-05
• Publisher: Edinburgh University Press

Summary

Persian historical writing has received little attention as compared with Arabic, especially as seen in the early (pre-Mongol) period. Within the larger context of the development of Islamic historiography from the tenth through the twelfth centuries, the case of Persian historical writing demands special attention. Discussions tend to concentrate on its sources in pre-Islamic Persian and in Arabic works, while the reasons for its emergence, its connections with Iranian and Arabic models, its political and cultural functions, and its reception, have been virtually ignored. This study answers these questions and addresses issues relating to the motivation for writing these works; its purpose; the role of the author; patrons and audiences; the choice of language and the reason for that choice; the place of historical writing in the debate over the suitability of Persian for scholarly writing.

Author Biography

Julie Scott Meisami is Lecturer in Persian at the The Oriental Institute, Oxford.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	vii
Maps	viii
Introduction	1	(1)
Persian Historiography and Islamic Historiography	1	(4)
The Status and Functions of History	5	(4)
Types of Historical Writing	9	(4)
Notes	13	(2)
Persian Historiography in the Samanid Period	15	(32)
The Background	15	(5)
The Prose Shahnama of Abu Mansur Tusi	20	(3)
Mansur ibn Nuh and the Persian Tabari	23	(14)
Firdawsi's Shahnama	37	(8)
Notes	45	(2)
Historiography in the Ghaznavid Period	47	(94)
The Ghaznavid Ascendancy	47	(6)
Ghaznavid Dynastic History: 'Utbi's Ta'rikh al-Yamini	53	(13)
Gardizi's Zayn al-akhbar	66	(13)
Bayhaqi's History of Mas'ud of Ghazna	79	(29)
The Tarikh-i Sistan	108	(28)
Notes	136	(5)
The Historiography of the Saljuq Period	141	(140)
The Rise of the Saljuqs	141	(4)
Nizam al-Mulk and Iranian History	145	(17)
The Farsnama of Ibn al-Balkhi	162	(26)
The Mujmal al-tavarikh va-al-qisas	188	(21)
The History of Bayhaq	209	(20)
Late Saljuq Historiography: Zahir al-Din Nishapuri	229	(5)
Afdal al-Din Kirmani's 'Iqd al-ula	234	(3)
Muhammad ibn 'Ali Ravandi's Rahat al-sudur	237	(19)
Jarbadhqani's Translation of the Ta'rikh al-Yamini	256	(13)
Notes	269	(12)
Conclusion	281	(22)
The Themes of History	281	(2)
The Patterns of History	283	(3)
History and Authority	286	(3)
Language, Style and History	289	(5)
Rhetoric and Politics	294	(4)
Notes	298	(5)
Appendix. The Major Iranian Dynasties, 204-590/819-1194	303	(2)
Bibliography	305	(9)
Index	314