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History of Persian Literature:
Persian literature comprises oral compositions and written texts in the Persian language and is one of the world’s oldest kinds of literature. It is over two and half centuries old. Its sources include present-day Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Caucasus, and Turkey, regions of Central Asia and South Asia where the Persian language has historically been either the native or official language.
Impact of Persian literature across the world:
Persian literature inspired a variety of cultures and literature some include:
- Sufi literature:
Some of Persia’s best-beloved medieval poets were Sufis, and their poetry was, and is, widely read by Sufis all across the world. Rumi is renowned both as a poet and the founder of a widespread Sufi order. Sufism inspired Hafez, and he was not a Sufi himself. The themes and styles of this kind of devotional poetry have been widely imitated by many Sufi and non-Sufi poets.
- Georgian literature:
Persian traditions had a significant impact on the Georgian rulers, due to which there was Persian influence on Georgian art, architecture, and literature. Scholars of Persian, such as Gvakharia and Todua, knew that the inspiration was derived from the Persian classics of the ninth to the twelfth centuries. During the early stages of Georgian literature, not only were they inspired by Persian literature, the literary relationship with Iran was the strongest. Almost every page of Georgian literary works and chronicles contains names of Iranian heroes borrowed from the Shahnama. Overall Persian literature played a considerable role in shaping the views and thoughts of Georgian society.
Persian literature in India:
Persian as a language was introduced in India through the Muslim invasion. Ghaznavid court in Lahore as a literary center shifted to the new capitals of Multan and Delhi (1192). This attracted many poets and scholars from Persia and Central Asia. The poets who had come tried to understand the Indian culture and refashion the literature according to the culture.
The mystical brotherhoods and a hub of beliefs had a substantial impact on the way Persian developed as a literary medium in the different regions of India. The Muslim courts flourished in the Deccan between the 14th and 17th centuries and became popular centers of cultural production in Persian. After Timur’s invasion (1398) in northern India, a profound shift in cultural activity happened, and the age of the first six Mughal rulers (1525-1707) represented a great time of Indo-Persian literature; there was increasing Hindu participation in Persian writing, particularly with the advent of Lōdi (Lodi) rule (1451-1526) when the knowledge of Persian language and literature began to filter through to the Hindu administrative class. During the regime of Akbar, there were many texts translated from Sanskrit to Persia and from Persia to Sanskrit.
The regime of Akbar saw Hindu and Muslim cultures closets that they have ever been, and this was the best time for Indo- Persian literature. During the Aurangzeb regime, the Indo- Persian culture started declining due to his hatred for Hindus and cruel behaviour. Hindus and Muslims grew apart and started hating each other.
Contemporary Persian literature:
Persian literature witnessed a significant change in all of its forms when the prime minister of Iran punished the poet Habibollah Qa’ani for lying in a poem written in Kabir’s honour. Kabir saw poems as an inspiration to progress and modernise Iran at that time, Iran desperately needed to modernise, and many people agreed with Amir Kabir.
It was the start of a new era. Many argued that Persian poetry should reflect the realities of a country in transition. This idea was propagated by notable literary figures such as Ali-Akbar Dehkhoda and Abolqasem Aref. They challenged the traditional system of Persian poetry in terms of introducing new content and experimentation with rhetoric, lexico-semantics, and structure. One of the main questions debated throughout this movement was whether moving to a western-like society or modernisation would affect or decrease the value of our traditional Persian literature? Many scholars who supported this movement argued that they saw positive changes in the European nation’s literature once they adopted modernisation and Westernisation.
Similarly, in Afghanistan, a major occurred during the 20th century. The country was hit hard economically and socially, and this situation forced people to look at literature differently.
When Mahmud Tarzi returned to Afghanistan, he started a fortnightly publication named Siraj Ul Akhbar. Saraj was not the first such publication in the country, but in journalism and literature, it launched a new period of change and modernisation. Saraj not only played an important role in journalism, but it also gave new life to literature and opened the way for poetry to explore new avenues of expression through which personal thoughts took on a more social colour. Soon a group of writers founded the Heart Literary Circle.
A year later, another group calling itself the Kabul Literary Circle was founded in the capital. Both groups published regular magazines dedicated to culture and Persian literature.
Conclusion
In this article, we learned about the history of Persian literature, its influence on other cultures and literature, details about the Indo- Persian literature and lastly, we read about contemporary Persian literature.
