Haft Awrang

Illustration from Chain of Gold
Zulaykha Enters the Capital of Egypt
Yousof-o Zoleikha
Illustration from Salaman and Absal

Haft Awrang (Persian: هفت اورنگ, meaning "Seven Thrones") by the Persian poet Jami is a classic of Persian literature composed some time between 1468 and 1485. Jami completed the work as seven books following a masnavi format:

  • "Selselat adh-dhahab" (سلسلة الذهب, "Chain of Gold"): a collection of didactic anecdotes
  • "Yusof-o Zulaikhā" (یوسف و زلیخا, "Joseph and Zulaikha"): the romance of Joseph and Zulaikha, wife of Potiphar based on the Islamic traditions.
  • "Sabhat al-abrār" (سبحة الابرار, "Rosary of the Pious"): another collection of didactic anecdotes
  • "Salaman-o Absāl" (سلامان و ابسال, Salaman and Absal): A doomed romance between a prince and his nursemaid. The original story is Greek, translated in the early Islamic times to Arabic by Ibn Hunain and then rendered into Persian poem by Jami. Dehkhoda suggests this story might have an Israelite origin.
  • "Tohfat ol-ahrār (تحفة الاحرار, "Gift of the Free")
  • "Layli-o Majnun" (لیلی و مجنون, "Layla and Majnun")
  • "Kherad-nâme-ye Eskandari" (خردنامهٔ اسکندری, "Alexander's Book of Wisdom") account of events leading up to Alexander's death.[1][2]

The term Haft Awrang itself is a reference to the seven stars that form the Big Dipper (the Plough or دب اکبر).

Religion, philosophy, and ethics of Sufi origin lie at the root of all seven masnavis.

  1. ^ Hanaway, William (1990). "Alexander and the Question of Iranian Identity". In Yāršātir, Iḥsān (ed.). Iranica varia: papers in honor of Professor Ehsan Yarshater. Acta Iranica Série 3, Textes et mémoires. Leiden: Brill. pp. 93–103. ISBN 978-90-6831-226-3.
  2. ^ Bürgel, Johann Cristoph; Bürgel, Christoph Johann (1996). "Ǧāmī's Epic Poem on Alexander the Great. an Introduction". Oriente Moderno. 15 (76) (2): 415–438. ISSN 0030-5472.

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