Abu Mansur Ali ibn Ahmad Asadi Tusi (born: Tus,
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanid period and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was known internationally as Persia...
ian province of
KhorasanGreater Khorasan is a modern term for a historical geographic region spanning north-eastern and east of Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, western and northern Afghanistan and the North Western Areas of Pakistan...
- died: 1072
TabrizTabriz is the fourth largest city of Iran and the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. Situated at an altitude of 1,350 meters at the junction of the Quri River and Aji River, it was the second largest city in Iran until the late 1960s, one of its former capitals and residence of the crown prince...
,
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanid period and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was known internationally as Persia...
) is arguably the second most important
PersianPersian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is widely spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and to some extent in Iraq and Bahrain, and has a status of official language in the first three countries under different names...
poet of Iranian
national epicA national epic is an epic poem or a literary work of epic scope which seeks or is believed to capture and express the essence or spirit of a particular nation; not necessarily a nation-state, but at least an ethnic or linguistic group with aspirations to independence or autonomy...
s, after
FerdowsiHakīm Abu'l-Qāsim Firdawsī Tūsī , more commonly transliterated as Ferdowsi , was a highly revered Persian poet...
who also happens to come from the same town of Tus. He was a poet, a linguist and copyist of ancient manuscripts.
Life
The information on Asadi's lifetime is scanty. During Asadi's time, and for some time after, much of the
KhorasanGreater Khorasan is a modern term for a historical geographic region spanning north-eastern and east of Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, western and northern Afghanistan and the North Western Areas of Pakistan...
province was under violent attacks and rivalry by various Turkic groups. Many native intellectuals left
KhorasanGreater Khorasan is a modern term for a historical geographic region spanning north-eastern and east of Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, western and northern Afghanistan and the North Western Areas of Pakistan...
as a result of these conflicts, while many of those who remained lived in seclusion. As a result of the violence, Asadi, who lived the first twenty years of his life in
KhorasanGreater Khorasan is a modern term for a historical geographic region spanning north-eastern and east of Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, western and northern Afghanistan and the North Western Areas of Pakistan...
, left
KhorasanGreater Khorasan is a modern term for a historical geographic region spanning north-eastern and east of Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, western and northern Afghanistan and the North Western Areas of Pakistan...
for the
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanid period and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was known internationally as Persia...
ian province of
AzarbaijanIran is subdivided into thirty provinces , each governed from a local center, usually the largest local city, which is called the capital of that province...
and stayed there until his death. He first served as a poet in the court of the Daylamite Abu Nasr Jastan. Later he went to Nakhjavan and in 1065-1066, completed his seminal work, the Garshapnama. He dedicated this work to Abu Dolaf, the ruler of Nakhjavan. Later on, he went to serve at the court of the
ShaddadidThe Shaddadids were a Kurdish dynasty who ruled in various parts of Armenia and Arran from 951-1199 A.D. They were established in Dvin. Through their long tenure in Armenia, they often intermarried with the Bagratuni royal family of Armenia....
king Manuchehr who ruled over
AniAni is a ruined and uninhabited medieval city-site situated in the Turkish province of Kars, beside the border with Armenia. It was once the capital of a medieval Armenian kingdom that covered much of present day Armenia and eastern Turkey...
. His tomb is located in city of
TabrizTabriz is the fourth largest city of Iran and the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. Situated at an altitude of 1,350 meters at the junction of the Quri River and Aji River, it was the second largest city in Iran until the late 1960s, one of its former capitals and residence of the crown prince...
.
Works
Asadi's most significant work is
Garshasp-nama (The Book (or Epic) of
GarshaspGarshāsp is the name of a monster-slaying hero in Iranian mythology. The Avestan form of his name is Kərəsāspa and in Middle Persian his name is Kirsāsp.-Kərəsāspa / Kirsāsp in Zoroastrian literature:...
). His other important contribution is a lexicon of the
Modern PersianPersian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is widely spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and to some extent in Iraq and Bahrain, and has a status of official language in the first three countries under different names...
language (فرهنگ لغت فرس). Five of his
Monāẓarāt (Debates in the form of poetry between two people or objects or concepts) are also extant.
Garshaspnama (The epic of Garshasp)
The Garshaspnama epic is the major work of Asadi Tusi containing 9000 couplets. The hero of the poem is
GarshaspGarshāsp is the name of a monster-slaying hero in Iranian mythology. The Avestan form of his name is Kərəsāspa and in Middle Persian his name is Kirsāsp.-Kərəsāspa / Kirsāsp in Zoroastrian literature:...
, the son of Eṯreṭ, and grandson of Sam) Šam, who is identified in the
AvestaThe Avesta is the primary collection of sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the Avestan language.-Etymology:The etymology of the term Avesta itself is uncertain, but a derivation from Middle Persian meaning "praise", is a frequently noted possibility.-Age of the texts:The texts of the...
with the ancient Iranian hero, Kərəsāspa-, the son of Θrita-, of the clan Sāma. The poet took the story from a book called the adventures of Garshasp and he states that it is a complement to the stories of the
ShahnamehShāhnāmé is an enormous poetic opus written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi around 1000 AD and is the national epic of the Persian-speaking world...
. The poem thus is based on written sources although it was part of the folklore of the common people and the poet invokes the Dehqan (an Iranian class who were small land owners but kept ancient Iranian traditions alive) and Mobad (
ZoroastrianA Zoroastrian is an adherent to Zoroastrianism, the first monotheistic religion that is based on the teachings and philosophies of Zoroaster....
priests) who sang the story.
The story starts with
JamshidJamshēd, Jamshīd or Jam in Middle- and New Persian, or Yima in Avestan is a mythological figure of Greater Iranian culture and tradition....
, the ancestor of Garshasp who is overthrown by Zahak and flees to Kurang, the king of the area of Zābolestān(modern Sistan and Zabol in
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanid period and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was known internationally as Persia...
and
AfghanistanThe Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a landlocked country in south central Asia. It is variously described as being located within Central Asia, South Asia, or the Middle East...
). Jamshid falls in love with the king's daughter and gives birth to Tur. Jamshid though is forced to flee again and the king Kurang adopts Tur and makes him his own heir. Tur is succeeded by Shedasp, who begets Tovorg. Tovorg begets a son named Šam, who begets Eṯreṭ. Eṯreṭ begets Garshasp(Garšāsp).
When Garshasp is born, Zahak is still the king and pays a visit to Zābolestān. Zahak's eye is captured by the valiant of Garshasp and challenges him to slay a ferocious dragon. Equipped with a special antidote against dragon-poison, and armed with special weapons, Garshāsp succeeds in killing the monster. Impressed by the child's prowess, Zahhāk now orders Garshāsp to India, where the king – a vassal of Zahhāk's – has been replaced by a rebel prince, Bahu, who does not acknowledge Zahhāk's rule. Garshāsp defeats the rebel and then stays in India for a while to observe its marvels and engage in philosophical discourse. Garshasp then proceedes to Sarandib (Ceylon) where he observers the footprint of the
BuddhaSiddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher in the north eastern region of the Indian subcontinent who founded Buddhism. He is regarded by Buddhists as the Supreme Buddha of our age. The time of his birth and death are uncertain: most early 20th-century historians dated his lifetime as c...
(in Muslim sources identified with the footprint of Adam). Asadi then conveys many legends about Adam, the father of mankind. Garshasp then meets a
BrahmanIn the Hindu religion, Brahman is the unchanging, infinite, immanent, and transcendent reality which is the Divine Ground of all matter, energy, time, space, being, and everything beyond in this Universe. The nature of Brahman is described as transpersonal, personal and impersonal by different...
, whom he questions in detail about philosophy and religion. The actual words Asadi Tusi relates from the Brahman's mouth are actually related with Islamic Neo-Platonism. Garshasp afterwards visits some of the islands of
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
and observes super natural wonder, which are described at great length in the story. India always been a place of marvel for
Muslim:A Muslim , , is an adherent of the religion of Islam. The feminine form is Muslimah . Literally, the word means "one who submits ". Muslim is the participle of the same verb of which Islam is the infinitive. Muslims believe that there is only one God, translated in Arabic as Allah...
authors.
The hero then returns home and pays homage Zahak, who was still the ruler at the time. Garshāsp the goes on to woo a princess of
RumRûm, also Roum or Rhum , is a very indefinite term used at different times in the Muslim world to refer to the Balkans and Anatolia generally, and for the Byzantine Empire in particular, for the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm in Asia Minor, and for Greeks inhabiting Ottoman or modern Turkish territory as...
, restores his father Eṯreṭ to his throne in Zābol after the king of Kābol defeats him, and builds the city of
SistānSīstān is a border region in eastern Iran and southwestern Afghanistan . Sistan derives its name from 'Sakastan', which Sistan was once the westernmost part of. The Sakas that were once native to Sistan were driven to the Punjab during the Arsacid era...
. He has further anachronistic adventures in the Mediterranean, fighting in
KairouanKairouan Kairouan (Arabic القيروان) Kairouan (Arabic القيروان) (also known as Kirwan, Al Qayrawan, it is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia. It was founded by the Arabs in around 670 in the period of Caliph Mu'awiya and the original name was derived from Arabic kairuwân, from...
and
Córdoba||-||-||}Córdoba is a city in Andalusia, southern Spain, and the capital of the province of Córdoba. Located at 37.88° North, 4.77° West, on the Guadalquivir river, it was founded in ancient Roman times as Corduba by Claudius Marcellus...
. In the West, he meets a "Greek
BrahmanIn the Hindu religion, Brahman is the unchanging, infinite, immanent, and transcendent reality which is the Divine Ground of all matter, energy, time, space, being, and everything beyond in this Universe. The nature of Brahman is described as transpersonal, personal and impersonal by different...
" and again indulges in philosophical discourse with the wise-man. Returning home after his father passes away, Garshasp now becomes the king of Zābolestān.
When he returns to Iran, his father dies, and Garshāsp becomes king of Zābolestān. Although he has no son of his own, he adopts
Narēmān- External links :* – Fallingrain.com...
as his heir, who would become
RostamRostam is the national hero of Iran and in Persian mythology and son of Zal and Rudaba. In some ways, the position of Rostam in the historical tradition is curiously parallel to that of Surena, the hero of the Carrhae. His figure was endowed with many features of the historical personality of...
's great-grandfather. During this era,
FerēdūnFereydūn , also pronounced Farīdūn, in medieval Persian Firēdūn, Middle Persian Frēdōn and Avestan Θraētaona is the name of an Iranian mythical king and hero who is an emblem of victory, justice and generosity in the Persian literature.-Etymology:All of the forms of the name shown...
defeats Zahak and becomes king of Iran, and Garšāsp swears allegiance to
FerēdūnFereydūn , also pronounced Farīdūn, in medieval Persian Firēdūn, Middle Persian Frēdōn and Avestan Θraētaona is the name of an Iranian mythical king and hero who is an emblem of victory, justice and generosity in the Persian literature.-Etymology:All of the forms of the name shown...
. Garšāsp and his nephew then adventure unto
TuranTūrān is the ancient Iranian name for Central Asia, literally meaning "the land of the Tur". As described below, the original Turanians are the...
and defeat the Faghfūr(Iranian title for the ruler of Central Asia and China probably of
SogdianSogdian may refer to* anything pertaining to Sogdiana, an ancient civilization of Iranian peoplesand in particular to* the Sogdian language* or the Sogdian people...
origin) of Chin. They take him as a captive to
FerēdūnFereydūn , also pronounced Farīdūn, in medieval Persian Firēdūn, Middle Persian Frēdōn and Avestan Θraētaona is the name of an Iranian mythical king and hero who is an emblem of victory, justice and generosity in the Persian literature.-Etymology:All of the forms of the name shown...
thereby showing their allegiance to the King of
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanid period and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was known internationally as Persia...
. Nariman, the has a son, Sām, who is the grandfather of
RostamRostam is the national hero of Iran and in Persian mythology and son of Zal and Rudaba. In some ways, the position of Rostam in the historical tradition is curiously parallel to that of Surena, the hero of the Carrhae. His figure was endowed with many features of the historical personality of...
. Garshasp then does one final battle with the king of Tanger and slays another dragon. He then returns home to
SistānSīstān is a border region in eastern Iran and southwestern Afghanistan . Sistan derives its name from 'Sakastan', which Sistan was once the westernmost part of. The Sakas that were once native to Sistan were driven to the Punjab during the Arsacid era...
and Zābolestān and passes away.
Loḡat-e fors (The Khorasani-Persian lexicon)
This lexicon was written in order to familiarize the unfamiliar phrases found in Eastern Persian (Darī) poetry for the people of Arran and Azerbaijan. It is the oldest extant
PersianPersian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is widely spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and to some extent in Iraq and Bahrain, and has a status of official language in the first three countries under different names...
dictionary based on examples from poetry. It also preserves information concerning the names of some of the poets of the 4th/10th century. Several very different manuscripts exist in Iran and elsewhere. The oldest extant manuscript seems to be at the Malek Library in Tehran (dated 722/1322) although the manuscript written in
Safina-yi TabrizSafīna-yi Tabriz is an important encyclopedic manuscript from 14th century Ilkhanid Iran compiled by Abu'l Majd Muhammad b. Mas'ud Tabrizi between 1321 and 1323....
is also from the same period. The manuscript of 1302 states that Asadi composed it at the request of his son.
Monazerat (Debates)
Five of these have survived and they are in the Persian poetic form of Qasida. Such a form of poetry is unprecedented in Arabic or New Persian, but it is part of the Middle Persian (Pahlavi) tradition. The Pahlavic poetic debate
Draxt i AsurikDrakht-i Asurig is an Parthian Language poem, from the Arscacid era. It is framed as a dialogue between a goat and a palm tree. It is one of the oldest existing texts in Arscacid Middle Persian, and of the few remaining examples of the Parthian language....
shows that this form of debate has had a long history. The five surviving debates are called "Arab o 'Ajam" (The Arab vs the Persian), Mogh o Mosalman (the Magian vs the Muslim), Shab o Ruz (the night vs the Day), Neyza o Kaman (the spear vs the Bow) and the Asman o Zamin (the Sky vs the Earth). In the Persian vs Arab debate, the Persian wins while in the Muslim vs Zoroastrian debate, the Muslim Wins. Asadi, seem to have reasoned that an Iranian
Muslim:A Muslim , , is an adherent of the religion of Islam. The feminine form is Muslimah . Literally, the word means "one who submits ". Muslim is the participle of the same verb of which Islam is the infinitive. Muslims believe that there is only one God, translated in Arabic as Allah...
was superior to an
ArabArab people or Arabs are an ethnic group whose members identify along linguistic, cultural or genealogical grounds...
Muslim, but a Muslim, whatever his nationality, was superior to a
ZoroastrianA Zoroastrian is an adherent to Zoroastrianism, the first monotheistic religion that is based on the teachings and philosophies of Zoroaster....
.
See also
- Persian literature
Persian literature spans two-and-a-half millennia, though much of the pre-Islamic material has been lost. Its sources have been within historical Persia including present-day Iran as well as regions of Central Asia where the Persian language has historically been the national language...
- List of Persian poets and authors
- Nozhat al-Majales
Nozhat al-Majales is an anthology which contains around 4,100 Persian quatrains by some 300 poets of the 5th to 7th/11th-13th centuries. The anthology was compiled around the middle of the 7th/13th century by the Persian poet Jamal al-Din Khalil Shirvani. Jamal al-Din Khalil Shirvani compiled his...