Writers and Rulers: Perspectives on Their Relationship from Abbasid to Safavid Times

Rulers arabisch - persisch - tiirkisch

Perspectives on Their Relationship from Abbasid to Safavid Times Beatrice Gruendler and Louise Marlow (eds.)

Priska Furrer, Verena Klemm, Angelika Neuwirth, Friederike Pannewick, Rotraud Wiclandt, Renate Wllrsch (cds.)

Vol. 16: Writers and Rulers Beatrice Gruendler and Louise Marlow (eds.)

Reichert Verlag Wiesbaden 2004

Reichert Verlag Wiesbaden 2004

In the pre-modem Islamic Near East, a substantial share of literary activity was devoted to rulers, identified by name, with a utilitarian purpose in the writer's mind. Far from being limited to the single instance, such literary offerings might constitute part of a lifelong, if asymmetrical, relationship between authors and their addressees. The aim of this volume, which originated in the colloquium "Literature and Rulership in Medieval Islam" held at Yale University's Center for International and Area Studies in April 1999, is to explore one particular kind of such writing, namely works directed to political and religious leaders in which literary speech is used as leverage for didactic, ethical, and ideological concerns. 1 It needs to be emphasized that such a demonstrated interestedness on the part of the author did not constitute per se a stain on the literature he produced, nor a reason to strip it of its label, as the modem reader might fathom. Quite to the contrary, service to members of Islamic Near Eastern elites in exchange for favors, employment, and protection was a legitimate raison d' etre for literature, and it produced some of its greatest classics, such as al-Bul:Itur"i's panegyrics or Ni~am al-Mulk's Conduct [or Lives} of Kings (Siyar aZ-muZuk), better known as the Book of Government (Siyasatnama). Much of this writing, it is true, was produced at courts and for their consumption, but this was not exclusively the case; mastery in literature also became the very means by which to gain access to the upper classes, and conversely the impact of a work at court might benefit from its renown outside it.

Bibliografische Information Der Deutschen Bibliothek Die Deutsche Bibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbiografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet uber http://dnb.ddb.de abrufbar.

© 2004 Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag Wiesbaden ISBN: 3-89500-376-X www.reichert-verlag.de Das Werk einschlieGlich aller seiner Teile ist urheberrechtlich geschutzt. Jede Verwertung auEerhalb der engen Grenzen des Urhebergesetzes ist ohne Zustimmung des Verlages unzulassig und strafbar. Das gilt insbesondere fur Vervie1faltigungen, Dbersetzungen, Mikroverfilmungen und die Speicherung und Verarbeitung in e1ektronischen Systemen. Satz: Thomas Breier Druck: Memminger MedienCentrum AG Printed in Germany

The numerous functions rulers and writers fulfilled for each other speak for themselves. First, rulers gained from writers models for the practice of government, whether this was imparted in the form of oral akhbar about past kings or newly composed manuals, and whether it was destined for a holder of high office, the head of the state, or his successor. These portrayals of perfect rulership differed of course among historians, litterateurs, and poets, who might also be called upon to bolster a dynasty's claim to power or promote its system of beliefs. Second, the very display of Arabic, and later Persian, literary culture as well as its patronage became an emblem of good governance. This development began with the literary education given to heirs to the throne, and it culminated in the famous literary courts of the early Abbasids and their officials in Baghdad and Samarra, the caliph 'Abd al-Ral:Iman III in Cordoba, the Umayyad chief minister al-Man~fu in Seville, the J:Iamdanid sovereign Sayf al-Dawla in Aleppo, the Biiyid vizier al-$al:Iib b. 'Abbad in Rayy (all Arabic literature), the Samanid amir Na~r II b. Al:Imad in Bukhara (Arabic and Persian literature), the Ghaznavid sultan Mal:Imiid b. Sabuktigln in Ghazna (Persian literature), and the Tlmfuid sultan J:Iusayn Bayqara in Herat (Persian and Turkish literature). At various times, intellectual life at court encompassed not only literature but also

The papers given by Abbas Amanat, "A Message on the Wall: Rulers and Subjects in Sa'di's Political Perspective," and Beatrice Forbes Manz, "The Political Program of Timiirid Local Histories," were not available for inclusion. Devin Stewart graciously contributed his article after the completion of the colloquium.

VI music, art and architecture, theology, philosophy, the translation of foreign, mainly Greek and Middle Persian works into or later Arabic classics into New Persian. The dedication of works, and most poetry, moreover an occasion for the public demonstration of largesse, a prominent virtue of rulership. Finally, by fostering writers in his milieu, a ruler secured for himself a place in future memory. Indeed the periods that have come to be regarded as "golden ages" by subsequent generations often owe their luster to the support and stimulation of literary talent as much as to political and military success. Conversely, writers depended on rulers to an even higher degree. To serve a ruler or high official guaranteed one's subsistence and protection - even if at some risk. It could also earn the unknown newcomer status and fame faster than any other path. The courts of rulers and leading dignitaries attracted multiple talents and many thinkers; here expertise was recognized, competition flourished, and reputations were made. In the same vein a theologian, historian, poet, or adib devoting his work to a sovereign took an active role in reformulating concepts of religious and political rulership over time. Even if his advice were not heeded in his own lifetime, it might provide the standard for subsequent eras. 2 A writer also required a patron of potentially historical stature to perpetuate his own name. Thus he eternalized himself along with his august subject. At the same time his writings, in whichever genre he had selected, might become a further link in the chain of famous texts within the literary tradition. In all these pursuits, the writer's impact rested on the authority with which he was able to invest himself, and to this end he deployed his finest art. An excellent example of someone who drafted an all but flawless contract of mutual duties between himself and his patron was the poet Ibn aI-RumI (d. 283/896), when he composed his panegyrics to the polymath and intermittent prefect of Baghdad,

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Appendix of thirteenth- and fourteenth-century works cited Author

Title

Patron

Region

Format

Ni?3.m aI-Din yaJ:tya b. $a'id b, Alfmad Mal,unud b. Mul,larrunad b. al-I:Iusayn al-I~fahani

ljadiPiq al-siyar fi {idiib al-muluk (Persian) Dustur al-viziira (Persian)

Ersinjan

10 chapters

Shiraz

10 chapters

Na~lr

aI-Din Tusl (597-672/1201-74)

Akhliiq-i Nii$iri fIrst version 63311235; later revised (Persian)

Kayqubad b, Kaykhusraw, 'Alii' aI-Din r, ca, 617-3411220-37, Saljuq ofRiim 'AmId aI-Din As'ad b. N a~r Abzar'i ? (d. 62411226-7), vizier to Sa'd b. Zangi b, Mawdud (r. 601-28/1203-31), atabeg ofFars Na~ir aI-Din Abu 1-Fatl}. 'Abd al-RaJ:tIm b. Abi Man~iir, Isma'm governor (mu~tasham) of Quhistan

Quhistan

3 discourses (maqiiliit): tahdhib-i akhliiq, tadbir-i maniizil, siyiisat-i mudun

Ibn al-I:Iaddad

al-Jawhar al-nafis fi siyiisat ai-raYs 649/1251-2 (Arabic)

Badr aI-Din Lu'lu' r, 631-57/1234-59; vassal to Hiilegu from 64211244-5

Mosul

10 chapters

Siraj aI-Din Mal,unud Unnavi (594-682/1198-1283) Anonymous

LaWif al-~ikma 65511257 (Persian)

'Izz aI-Din Kaykii'us II (d. 67811279-80), Saljuq of Rum

Konya

2 sections: bikmat-i (ilmi, bikmat-i (amall

Qadab al-diriisa fi maniihij al-siyiisa (Arabic) Kitiib al-Fakhrifi l-iidiib al-sul!iiniyya wa-I-duwal al-isliimiyya 70111302 (Arabic) NasiiJim al-as~iir min laWim al-akhbiir 72511325 (Persian) TubJa dar akhliiq va-siyiisat (Persian)

"aI-Malik al-Man~ur" Qalawiin ? (r. 678-8911279-90)

Egypt

No chapter divisions

Fakhr aI-Din 'Isa b. Ibrahim

Mosul

Abu Sa'id Bahiidur (r. 717-3611317-35), Chupan Noyan (d. 72811327), vizier Nu~rat al-Din $ayin (724-711324-7)

NW Iran

2 sections: mirror, history (biographies of caliphs and viziers) Biographies of viziers, presented in chronological order

Nu~rat

Luristan

10 chapters

Tabriz

10 chapters, epilogue

Mul,larrunad b. 'All b. al-Tiqtiqa

Na~ir

aI-Din Munshl Kinnani Fail Allah Qazvini ? (d. 740/1339)

Alfmad b. Mal,unud al-HII al-I~fahbadhl

Minhiij al-wuzarii Jwa-siriij al-umarii J 729/1329-30 (Arabic)

aI-Din Alfmad b. Yusufshah (r, 696-730 or 733/1296-1330 or 1333) Hazaraspid atabeg appointed by Ghazan Khan (r. 694-71311295-1304) Ghiyath al-DIn Mul,larrunad (d, 736/1336) vizier to Abu Sa'id (r. 717-3611317-35)

of The Design, Ceremony, and Poetry of the I:Iasanabad Bridge *

Paul E. Losensky (Indiana University)

Any tourist to Iran is likely to return home with a photograph of the Khvaju Bridge (fig. 1). More widely known in the past as the I:Iasanabad Bridge, it crosses the Zayanda River in the city of Isfahan. l The leading authority on Persian architecture, Arthur Upham Pope, describes this bridge as "the culminating monument of Persian bridge architecture."2 In his words, "the whole has rhythm and dignity and combines in happiest consistency utility, beauty, and recreation."3 To analyze the sources and extent of this "happiest consistency," we will examine the bridge from several perspectives. By its architectural design and placement, the bridge not only regulates and spans the river, but also creates a public space that straddles the worlds of commerce and ideology. In historical sources, the bridge supplies a stage for displays of royal authority during the annual spring floods. These festivals attracted Isfahan's finest poets, and in their works, the I:Iasanabad Bridge unites disparate elements of environment and experience in a celebration of political, communal, and natural renewal. The manifold purposes of the bridge and the diverse representations of the poets show how royal patronage was able to serve both the purposes of the court and the interests of the larger community. Pope's "consistency" most immediately shows itself in the bridge's multifunctional design.4 The fa-.

a