Nizami Mausoleum • Nizami Museum of Azerbaijani Literature • Nizami Gəncəvi (Baku Metro) • in Ganja • in Baku • in Beijing • in Chișinău • in Rome • in Saint Petersburg •
145-869: Nizami Mausoleum • Nizami Museum of Azerbaijani Literature • Nizami Gəncəvi (Baku Metro) • in Ganja • in Baku • in Beijing • in Chișinău • in Rome • in Saint Petersburg • Nizami Ganjavi ( Persian : نظامی گنجوی , romanized : Niẓāmī Ganjavī , lit. 'Niẓāmī of Ganja '; c. 1141 – 1209), Nizami Ganje'i , Nizami , or Nezāmi , whose formal name
290-514: A deductive science without inferring them from some more basic premises?" He explained that the ideal situation is when one grasps that a "relation holds between the terms, which would allow for absolute, universal certainty". Avicenna then added two further methods for arriving at the first principles : the ancient Aristotelian method of induction ( istiqra ), and the method of examination and experimentation ( tajriba ). Avicenna criticized Aristotelian induction, arguing that "it does not lead to
435-593: A "Latin Avicennism" as flourishing for some time paralleling the more influential Latin Averroism , but it was suppressed by the Parisian decrees of 1210 and 1215 . Avicenna's psychology and theory of knowledge influenced the theologian William of Auvergne and Albertus Magnus , while his metaphysics influenced the thought of Thomas Aquinas . Early Islamic philosophy and Islamic metaphysics , imbued as it
580-406: A complex structure with several genres exploited simultaneously; and contains many verbal exchanges and letters, all imbued with lyrical intensity. Khosrow endures long journeys, physical and spiritual, before returning to Shirin, his true love. They are eventually married, but finally Khosrow is killed by his son and Shirin commits suicide over the body of her murdered husband. Pure and selfless love
725-431: A different metre and organized the whole work in a different fashion. Khaqani Sherwani daring imagery, was to have a momentous influence on Nezami Ganjavi and through the latter on Persian poetry in general. Nezami lived in an age of both political instability and intense intellectual activity, which his poems reflect; but little is known about his life, his relations with his patrons, or the precise dates of his works, as
870-525: A distance. Layla's husband dies eventually, which removes the legal obstacles to a licit union. However Majnun is so focused on the ideal picture of Layla in his mind, that he fled into the desert again. Layla dies out of grief and is buried in her bridal dress. Hearing this news, Majun rushes to her grave, where he instantly dies. They are buried side by side and their grave becomes a site of pilgrimage. Someone dreams that in Paradise they are united and live as
1015-545: A king and queen. Nezami composed his romance at the request of the Shirvanshah Akhsatan. Initially, he doubted that this simple story about the agony and pain of an Arab boy wandering in rough mountains and burning deserts would be a suitable subject for royal court poetry and his cultured audience. It was his son who persuaded him to undertake the project, saying: "wherever tales of love are read, this will add spice to them". Nezami used many Arabic anecdotes in
1160-485: A larger gift. According to Iraj Bashiri she became Nizami's "most beloved" wife. His only son Mohammad was from this wife. She died after " Khosrow and Shirin " was completed. Mohammad was seven at the time. Nezami mentions his son again in Layli and Majnun adding that now this son is 14 years old and "apple of my eyes". In "Haft Peykar" (Seven Beauties), he also mentions and advises his son about taking more responsibility as
1305-710: A master of the art of praise. Amir Khusro writes: "The ruler of the kingdom of words, famed hero, Scholar and poet, his goblet [glass] toasts. In it – pure wine, it's drunkingly sweet, Yet in goblet [glass] beside us – only muddy setting." According to the book Persian Inscriptions on Indian Monuments in the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Ashoka Hall, the most important hall of the Indian Presidential Palace, Persian poems were written and decorated with paintings from Iran or Persia such as
1450-590: A native of the city of Balkh in Bactria . An official of the Samanid bureaucracy, he had served as the governor of a village of the royal estate of Harmaytan near Bukhara during the reign of Nuh II ( r. 976–997 ). Avicenna also had a younger brother. A few years later, the family settled in Bukhara, a center of learning, which attracted many scholars. It was there that Avicenna was educated, which early on
1595-408: A nobody, and no one opened the door for a Nobody When more or less half of the night had passed A shrewd, perfect man (rind) raised his head from a booth and showed his face I asked him: “to open the door”, he told me: “go away, do not talk nonsense! At this hour, nobody opens door for anybody This is not a mosque where its doors are open any moment Where you can come late and move quickly to
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#17327974973451740-497: A number of times. In general, his method is to omit those episodes that the earlier poet had treated, or to touch on them only very briefly, and to concentrate on new material. The poet starts by giving an account of the birth of Bahram Gur and his upbringing in the court of the Arab King No'man and his fabled palace Khwarnaq. Bahram whose upbringing is entrusted to No'man becomes a formidable huntsman. While wandering through
1885-722: A philosophical and scientific encyclopedia, and The Canon of Medicine , a medical encyclopedia which became a standard medical text at many medieval European universities and remained in use as late as 1650. Besides philosophy and medicine, Avicenna's corpus includes writings on astronomy , alchemy , geography and geology , psychology , Islamic theology , logic , mathematics , physics , and works of poetry . Avicenna wrote most of his philosophical and scientific works in Arabic , but also wrote several key works in Persian , while his poetic works were written in both languages. Of
2030-471: A public debate, as was customary for newly arrived scholars in western Iran at that time. The purpose of the debate was to examine one's reputation against a prominent resident. The person whom Avicenna debated against was Abu'l-Qasim al-Kirmani, a member of the school of philosophers of Baghdad . The debate became heated, resulting in ibn Sina accusing Abu'l-Qasim of lack of basic knowledge in logic , while Abu'l-Qasim accused ibn Sina of impoliteness. After
2175-653: A significant Persian poet and hail him as the greatest exponent of romantic epic poetry in Persian literature . Amongst the many notable poets who have taken the Five Treasures of Nezami as their model may be mentioned Amir Khusro , Jalal Farahani, Khwaju Kermani , Mohammad Katebi Tarr-Shirini, Abdul Rahman Jami , Hatefi Jami, Vahshi Bafqi , Maktabi Shirazi, Ali-Shir Nava'i , Abdul Qader-e Bedel Dehlavi , Fuzûlî , Hashemi Kermani, Fayzi, Jamali and Ahmad Khani . Not only poets, but also historians such as Rawandi were influenced by Nezami's poetry and used his poems as
2320-484: A situation that prevents all sensory data input. The thought experiment told its readers to imagine themselves created all at once while suspended in the air, isolated from all sensations , which includes no sensory contact with even their own bodies. He argued that, in this scenario, one would still have self-consciousness . Because it is conceivable that a person, suspended in air while cut off from sense experience , would still be capable of determining his own existence,
2465-737: A source for rendering history. Besides these, scores of poets have started their composition with the first line of the Makhzan al-Asrar . According to Rudolf Gelpke, "Many later poets have imitated Nizami's work, even if they could not equal and certainly not surpass it; Persians, Turks, Indians, to name only the most important ones. The Persian scholar Hekmat has listed not less than forty Persian and thirteen Turkish versions of Layli and Majnun ." According to Vahid Dastgerdi, "If one would search all existing libraries, one would probably find more than 1000 versions of Layla and Majnun ." Jami in his Nafahatol Ons remarks that: "Although most of Nezami's work on
2610-416: A suspended dog from a tree. The owner of the dog, who was shepherd, tells the story of how his faithful watchdog had betrayed his flock to a she-wolf in return for sexual favors. He starts investigating the corrupt minister and from the multitude of complaints, he selects seven who tell him the injustice they have suffered. The minister is subsequently put to death and Bahram Gur restores justice and orders
2755-485: A system to interpret later political events and scientific advances; those (such as al-Razi ) who considered Avicenna's theological works in isolation from his wider philosophical concerns; and those (such as al-Ghazali ) who selectively used parts of his philosophy to support their own attempts to gain greater spiritual insights through a variety of mystical means. It was the theological interpretation championed by those such as al-Razi which eventually came to predominate in
2900-467: A unique mixture of ethnic cultures. Khaqani 's mother was a Nestorian Christian , Mojir Baylqani's mother was an Armenian , and Nezami's mother was a Kurd . Their works reflect the cultural and linguistic diversity of the region. By the end of the 10th century, Persian literature became widespread from the eastern Mediterranean to the banks of the Indus. The earliest extant example of Persian poetry from
3045-719: Is a waste of time." Ganjavi's poems were very popular in the Indian subcontinent. Persian language and literature have had a great impact on the entire Indian subcontinent. Nizami Ganjavi has been imitated by many poets due to his unique style of speech and language of poetry. Poets who have imitated Ganjavi's woto include: Amir Khusro Delhi, Khwaju Kermani , Jami , Hatefi , Ghasemi , Vahshi Bafqi , 'Orfi Shirazi , Maktabi , Faizi , Ashraf Maraghi, Azar Bigdeli , Badriddin Hilali , Rumi Kermani, Maulana Navidi Shirazi and Salman Savaji . Amir Khusro Dehlavi praises Ganjavi in his poems as
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#17327974973453190-556: Is called Nizami raion . The life of Nizami Ganjavi is shown in the Azerbaijani movie "Nizami" (1982), in which the leading role, role of Nizami Ganjavi, was played by Muslim Magomayev . The Nizami Mausoleum , built in honor of Nizami, stands just outside the city of Ganja in Azerbaijan. It is a tall cylindrical building, surrounded by gardens. To one side, there is a metal statue commemorating Nizami's epic poems. The mausoleum
3335-608: Is commonly known as the Islamic Golden Age , in which the translations of Byzantine , Greco-Roman , Persian , and Indian texts were studied extensively. Greco-Roman ( Middle Platonic , Neoplatonic , and Aristotelian ) texts translated by the Kindi school were commented, redacted and developed substantially by Islamic intellectuals, who also built upon Persian and Indian mathematical systems, astronomy , algebra , trigonometry and medicine . The Samanid Empire in
3480-623: Is contradictory. If no differentia distinguishes them from each other, then, in no sense are these 'Existents' not the same. Avicenna adds that the 'Necessary-Existent-due-to-Itself' has no genus ( jins ), nor a definition ( hadd ), nor a counterpart ( nadd ), nor an opposite ( did ), and is detached ( bari ) from matter ( madda ), quality ( kayf ), quantity ( kam ), place ( ayn ), situation ( wad ) and time ( waqt ). Avicenna's theology on metaphysical issues ( ilāhiyyāt ) has been criticized by some Islamic scholars , among them al-Ghazali , ibn Taymiyya , and ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya . While discussing
3625-502: Is devoted to the discourses he has with seven Greek sages. The poet then tells of Alexander's end and adds an account of the circumstances of the death of each of the seven sages. Nezami's image of Alexander is that of an Iranian knight. An English translation of the Sharaf-Nama by Henry Wilberforce-Clarke was published in 1881 under the title Sikandar Nama e Bara and is available online. A pre-Islamic story of Persian origin, it
3770-465: Is different from that which is not inferred. Therefore the self, the existence of which has been asserted, is a unique characteristic, in as much that it is not as such the same as the body or the limbs, which have not been ascertained. Thus that which is ascertained (i.e. the self), does have a way of being sure of the existence of the soul as something other than the body, even something non-bodily; this he knows, this he should understand intuitively, if it
3915-461: Is left of his work. Following al-Farabi 's lead, Avicenna initiated a full-fledged inquiry into the question of being, in which he distinguished between essence (Arabic: ماهية , romanized: māhiya ) and existence (Arabic: وجود , romanized: wujūd ). He argued that the fact of existence cannot be inferred from or accounted for by the essence of existing things, and that form and matter by themselves cannot interact and originate
4060-425: Is potential beingness that could eventually be actualized by an external cause other than itself. The metaphysical structures of necessity and contingency are different. Necessary being due to itself ( wajib al-wujud bi-dhatihi ) is true in itself, while the contingent being is 'false in itself' and 'true due to something else other than itself'. The necessary is the source of its own being without borrowed existence. It
4205-564: Is recognized as King and rescues the Persians from a famine. Once the country is stable, the King searches for the seven princesses and wins them as his brides. His architect is ordered to construct seven domes for each of his new brides. The architect tells him that each of the seven climes is ruled by one of the seven planets (classical planetary system of Zoroastrian-Islamic world) and advises him to assure good fortune by adorning each dome with
4350-629: Is regarded as a philosopher and gnostic who mastered various fields of Islamic thoughts which he synthesized in a way that brings to mind the traditions of later Hakims such as Qutb al-Din Shirazi . Often referred to by the honorific Hakim ("the Sage"), Nizami is both a learned poet and master of a lyrical and sensuous style. About Nizami's prodigious learning there is no doubt. Poets were expected to be well versed in many subjects; but Nizami seems to have been exceptionally so. His poems show that not only he
4495-434: Is represented here embodied in the figure of Farhad, secretly in love with Shirin, who falls victim to the king's ire and jealousy. The influence of Vis o Ramin is visible as the poem imitates a major scene (that of the lovers arguing in the snow) from Vis o Rāmin, as well as being in the same meter ( hazaj ) as Gorgāni's poem. Nezami's concern with astrology also has a precedent in an elaborate astrological description of
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4640-401: Is that he is ignorant of it and needs to be beaten with a stick [to realize it]. However, Avicenna posited the brain as the place where reason interacts with sensation. Sensation prepares the soul to receive rational concepts from the universal Agent Intellect. The first knowledge of the flying person would be "I am," affirming his or her essence. That essence could not be the body, obviously, as
4785-477: Is unequalled". Nizami Mausoleum The Nizami Mausoleum ( Azerbaijani : Nizami məqbərəsi ), built in honor of the 12th-century Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi , stands just outside the city of Ganja , Azerbaijan . The mausoleum was originally built in 1947 in place of an old collapsed mausoleum, and rebuilt in its present form in 1991. The tomb of Nizami has been a place of devoted pilgrimage for many centuries. According to historian Vasily Bartold ,
4930-424: Is what always exists. The Necessary exists 'due-to-Its-Self', and has no quiddity/essence other than existence. Furthermore, It is 'One' ( wahid ahad ) since there cannot be more than one 'Necessary-Existent-due-to-Itself' without differentia (fasl) to distinguish them from each other. Yet, to require differentia entails that they exist 'due-to-themselves' as well as 'due to what is other than themselves'; and this
5075-414: Is with kalam, distinguishes between essence and existence more clearly than Aristotelianism. Whereas existence is the domain of the contingent and the accidental, essence endures within a being beyond the accidental. The philosophy of Avicenna, particularly that part relating to metaphysics, owes much to al-Farabi. The search for a definitive Islamic philosophy separate from Occasionalism can be seen in what
5220-541: The Danishnama . Avicenna's commentaries on Aristotle often criticized the philosopher, encouraging a lively debate in the spirit of ijtihad . Avicenna's Neoplatonic scheme of emanations became fundamental in kalam in the 12th century. The Book of Healing became available in Europe in a partial Latin translation some fifty years after its composition under the title Sufficientia , and some authors have identified
5365-486: The Afaq in that verse to simply mean "horizon" rather than a proper name. Strangely enough, Nezami's two other wives, too, died prematurely – the death of each coinciding with the completion of an epic, prompting the poet to say, "God, why is it that for every mathnavi I must sacrifice a wife!". Nizami was not a philosopher in the sense of Avicenna or an expositor of theoretical Sufism in the sense of Ibn 'Arabi. However, he
5510-613: The Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater in Baku and later was recorded as a film. A minor planet , called 3770 Nizami , was discovered by Soviet astronomer Lyudmila Chernykh in 1974 and named after him. Further, the Museum of Azerbaijan literature in Baku is named after Nizami. Nezami was depicted on the obverse of the Azerbaijani 500 manat banknote of 1993–2006. In 2008, coinciding with
5655-563: The Dhu'l-Qarnayn as well as from Alexander romance of Pseudo-Callisthenes . It consists of two books, Sharaf-Nama and Iqbal-nameh. The poem narrates the three stages in Alexander's life: first as the conqueror of the world; then as a seeker after knowledge, gaining enough wisdom to acknowledge his own ignorance; and finally as a prophet, traveling once again across the world, from west to east, and south to north to proclaim his monotheistic creed to
5800-512: The Hadith also thrived, and Islamic philosophy, fiqh "jurisprudence", and kalam "speculative theology" were all further developed by ibn Sina and his opponents at this time. Avicenna was born in c. 980 in the village of Afshana in Transoxiana to a Persian family. The village was near the Samanid capital of Bukhara , which was his mother's hometown. His father Abd Allah was
5945-869: The Khurasani cities of Nasa , Abivard , Tus , Samangan and Jajarm . He was planning to visit the ruler of the city of Gorgan, the Ziyarid Qabus ( r. 977–981, 997–1012 ), a cultivated patron of writing, whose court attracted many distinguished poets and scholars. However, when Avicenna eventually arrived, he discovered that the ruler had been dead since the winter of 1013. Avicenna then left Gorgan for Dihistan , but returned after becoming ill. There he met Abu 'Ubayd al-Juzjani (died 1070) who became his pupil and companion. Avicenna stayed briefly in Gorgan, reportedly serving Qabus's son and successor Manuchihr ( r. 1012–1031 ) and resided in
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6090-462: The Musha'areh , the poetry recitation contest. Nizami's work serves as a vehicle and a symbol of this tradition, for it unites universality with deep-rooted artistic endeavor, a sense of justice and passion for the arts and sciences with spirituallity and genuine piety. For richness and fineness of metaphor, accuracy, and profundity of psychological observation, and sheer virtuosity of storytelling, Nizami
6235-589: The madrasahs . Avicenna memorized the Quran by the age of ten, and as an adult, wrote five treatises commenting on surahs of the Quran. One of these texts included the Proof of Prophecies , in which he comments on several Quranic verses and holds the Quran in high esteem. Avicenna argued that the Islamic prophets should be considered higher than philosophers. Avicenna is generally understood to have been aligned with
6380-423: The philosophy of science and described an early scientific method of inquiry . He discussed Aristotle's Posterior Analytics and significantly diverged from it on several points. Avicenna discussed the issue of a proper methodology for scientific inquiry and the question of "How does one acquire the first principles of a science?" He asked how a scientist would arrive at "the initial axioms or hypotheses of
6525-455: The 'Ahd with Bahmanyar) show that Avicenna debated philosophical points with the greatest scholars of the time. Nizami Aruzi described how before ibn Sina left Khwarazm, he had met al-Biruni (a scientist and astronomer), Abu Nasr Mansur (a renowned mathematician), Abu Sahl 'Isa ibn Yahya al-Masihi (a respected philosopher) and ibn al-Khammar (a great physician). The study of the Quran and
6670-503: The 12th century, the Seljuk Empire's control of the region weakened and their provincial governors, virtually autonomous local princes, further encouraged Persian culture, art and poetry in their courts. Persian culture characteristically flourished in this era, when political power was diffused and Persian remained the primary language, Persian civil servants and merchants were in great demand and rival dynasties continued to vie for
6815-484: The 1840s the tomb of Nizami had collapsed, and former vezir of Karabakh khanate Mirza Adigozal bey was rebuilding it. In 1873 Shah of Persia Naser al-Din Qajar , on the way home from his first tour in Europe, passed by the tomb of Nizami. He mentioned in his diary the tomb of Shaykh Nizami by the side of the road at about half a league or more from Ganja, and described it as "a very wretched brick building". By
6960-619: The 450 works he is believed to have written, around 240 have survived, including 150 on philosophy and 40 on medicine. Avicenna is a Latin corruption of the Arabic patronym Ibn Sīnā ( ابن سينا ), meaning "Son of Sina". However, Avicenna was not the son but the great-great-grandson of a man named Sina. His formal Arabic name was Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥusayn bin ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Ḥasan bin ʿAlī bin Sīnā al-Balkhi al-Bukhari ( أبو علي الحسين بن عبد الله بن الحسن بن علي بن سينا البلخي البخاري ). Avicenna created an extensive corpus of works during what
7105-533: The 800th anniversary of his death, the National Bank of Azerbaijan minted a 100 manat gold commemorative coin dedicated to his memory. The Nizami Museum of Literature is located in Baku , Republic of Azerbaijan . One of the Baku Metro stations is also named after Nizami Ganjavi. There is Institute of Literature named after Nizami and Cinema named after Nizami in Baku. One of the districts of Baku
7250-549: The Fateh Ali Shah, Shah Qajar and poems of Hafez , Khayyam and Nezami Ganjavi are painted on the ceiling and parts of the hall. A large oil painting illustration of Nezami Ganjavi and a large painting of a Persian lady on both sides of the Ashoka Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan . The Khamsa was a popular subject for lavish manuscripts with painted miniatures at the Persian and Mughal courts in later centuries. Examples include
7395-521: The Hanafi school of Sunni thought. Avicenna studied Hanafi law, many of his notable teachers were Hanafi jurists, and he served under the Hanafi court of Ali ibn Mamun. Avicenna said at an early age that he remained "unconvinced" by Ismaili missionary attempts to convert him. Medieval historian Ẓahīr al-dīn al-Bayhaqī (d. 1169) believed Avicenna to be a follower of the Brethren of Purity . While he
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#17327974973457540-820: The Khamsa of Nizami (British Library, Or. 12208), created for the Mughal (Gurkanid) Emperor Akbar in the 1590s. In the early 1940s and to mark the 800th anniversary of Nizami Ganjavi, Azerbaijani composer Uzeyir Hajibeyov planned to write seven songs based on Nizami's poem about the Seven Beauties . However Hajibeyov wrote only two songs: Sensiz (Without You, 1941) and Sevgili Janan (Beloved, 1943). Another Azerbaijani composer Gara Garayev , composed Seven Beauties (ballet) in 1947–48 based on Nizami's eponymous poem that won an international acclaim. He also composed Leyli and Majnun (ballet) that premiered on 25 May 1969 at
7685-556: The Peripatetic school. al-Biruni began by asking eighteen questions, ten of which were criticisms of Aristotle's On the Heavens . Ibn Sina was a devout Muslim and sought to reconcile rational philosophy with Islamic theology. He aimed to prove the existence of God and His creation of the world scientifically and through reason and logic . His views on Islamic theology and philosophy were enormously influential, forming part of
7830-646: The Persian epic tradition, such as the portrayal of characters, the relationship between characters, description of time and setting, etc. Further, he adapted the different stories about Majnun to fit a well-crafted Persian romantic epic. The Story of Layla and Majnun by Nizami , was edited and translated into English by Swiss scholar of Islamic culture Rudolf Gelpke and published in 1966. A comprehensive analysis in English containing partial translations of Nezami's romance Layla and Majnun examining key themes such as chastity, constancy and suffering through an analysis of
7975-687: The Truthful " ( wajib al-wujud ). Avicenna argued that there must be a Proof of the Truthful, an entity that cannot not exist and through a series of arguments, he identified it with God in Islam . Present-day historian of philosophy Peter Adamson called this argument one of the most influential medieval arguments for God's existence, and Avicenna's biggest contribution to the history of philosophy. Correspondence between ibn Sina with his student Ahmad ibn ʿAli al-Maʿsumi and al-Biruni has survived in which they debated Aristotelian natural philosophy and
8120-606: The West as Avicenna ( / ˌ æ v ɪ ˈ s ɛ n ə , ˌ ɑː v ɪ -/ ), was a preeminent philosopher and physician of the Muslim world , flourishing during the Islamic Golden Age , serving in the courts of various Iranian rulers. He is often described as the father of early modern medicine. His philosophy was of the Peripatetic school derived from Aristotelianism . His most famous works are The Book of Healing ,
8265-512: The advisor, if not vizier of Ala al-Dawla, accompanying him in many of his military expeditions and travels. Avicenna dedicated two Persian works to him, a philosophical treatise named Danish-nama-yi Ala'i ("Book of Science for Ala"), and a medical treatise about the pulse. During the brief occupation of Isfahan by the Ghaznavids in January 1030, Avicenna and Ala al-Dawla relocated to
8410-445: The air in any way that compels him to feel it, and with his limbs separated so that they do not come in contact with or touch each other. Then contemplate the following: can he be assured of the existence of himself? He does not have any doubt in that his self exists, without thereby asserting that he has any exterior limbs, nor any internal organs, neither heart nor brain, nor any one of the exterior things at all; but rather he can affirm
8555-454: The anthology Nozhat al-Majales (which was compiled around 1250) by Jamal Khalil Shirvani along with 23 other poets from Ganja . A famous ghazal of Nezami talks about altruism as the path for reaching the ultimate spiritual goal: I went to the Tavern last night, but I was not admitted I was bellowing yet nobody was listening to me Either none of the wine-sellers were awake Or I was
8700-641: The area is that of Qatran Tabrizi (1009–1072) who served in the courts of the Shaddadid and Rawadid dynasties. Qatran Tabrizi, is credited with what some scholars in the last century have termed as the founder of the "Azerbaijan" or "Trans-Cacausian" school or "Tabriz School" or "Shirvan School" or "Arranian Style" of Persian poetry. This school produced a distinctive style of poetry in Persian, which contrasted with "Khurasani" ("Eastern") style in its rhetorical sophistication, its innovative use of metaphor, its use of technical terminology and Christian imagery,
8845-571: The bases for most of his plots from Ferdowsi , but the basis for his rhetoric comes from Gorgani. This is especially noticeable in Khosrow and Shirin , which is of the same meter and imitates some scenes from Vis and Ramin . Nezami's concern with astrology also has a precedent in an elaborate astrological description of the night sky in Vis and Ramin . Nezami had a paramount influence on the romantic tradition, and Gorgani can be said to have initiated much of
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#17327974973458990-746: The body's afterlife. There are occasional brief hints and allusions in his longer works, however, that Avicenna considered philosophy as the only sensible way to distinguish real prophecy from illusion. He did not state this more clearly because of the political implications of such a theory if prophecy could be questioned, and also because most of the time he was writing shorter works which concentrated on explaining his theories on philosophy and theology clearly, without digressing to consider epistemological matters which could only be properly considered by other philosophers. Later interpretations of Avicenna's philosophy split into three different schools; those (such as al-Tusi ) who continued to apply his philosophy as
9135-475: The color that is associated with each clime and planet. Bahram is skeptical but follows the advice of the architect. The princesses take up residence in the splendid pavilions. On each visit, the king visits the princesses on successive days of the week; on Saturday the Indian princess, who is governed by Saturn and so on. The princesses names are Furak (Nurak), the daughter of the Rajah of India, as beautiful as
9280-518: The core of the curriculum at Islamic religious schools until the 19th century. Avicenna wrote several short treatises dealing with Islamic theology. These included treatises on the prophets and messengers in Islam , whom he viewed as "inspired philosophers", and also on various scientific and philosophical interpretations of the Quran, such as how Quranic cosmology corresponds to his philosophical system. In general, these treatises linked his philosophical writings to Islamic religious ideas; for example,
9425-441: The courts and is generally believed to have lived a secluded life. Since he was not a court poet, he does not appear in the annals of the dynasties, which list the names of events of the ruling families. According to literary scholar Chelkowski, "it seems that Nezami's favorite pastime was reading Firdawsi's monumental epic Shahnameh (The book of Kings). Nezami mentioned Ferdowsi as the Sage (Hakim) and Knower/Wise (daanaa) and
9570-533: The creation of a new standard of literary achievement. Being a product of the Iranian culture of the time, he not only created a bridge between pre-Islamic and Islamic Iran, but also between Iran and the whole ancient world. The recent discovery and publication of the anthology titled Nozhat al-Majales contains Persian language quatrains from Nizami and 115 other poets from the northwestern Iran (Arrān, Šarvān, Azerbaijan; including 24 poets from Ganja alone) during
9715-514: The debate, Avicenna sent a letter to the Baghdad Peripatetics, asking if Abu'l-Qasim's claim that he shared the same opinion as them was true. Abu'l-Qasim later retaliated by writing a letter to an unknown person in which he made accusations so serious that ibn Sina wrote to Abu Sa'd, the deputy of Majd al-Dawla, to investigate the matter. The accusation made towards Avicenna may have been the same as he had received earlier, in which he
9860-411: The desert among the beasts. However the image of Layla was so ingrained in him that he cannot eat or sleep. His only activity becomes composing poetry of longing for Layla. Meanwhile, Layla is married against her will, but she guards her virginity by resisting the advances of her husband. In a secret meeting with Majnun, they meet, but have no physical contact. Rather, they recite poetry to each other from
10005-597: The distinctive rhetoric and poetic atmosphere of this tradition, with the absence of the Sufi influences, which are seen in Nezami's epic poetry. The first monumental work of Nezami, the Makhzan al-Asrar is influenced by Sanai 's Hadikat al-Hakika . Nezami acknowledges this, but considers his work to be superior. The main similarities between Sanai's poem and Nezami's are in its ethico-philosophical genre, although Nezami uses
10150-526: The earth, such as might occur during a violent earthquake, or they are the effect of water, which, cutting itself a new route, has denuded the valleys, the strata being of different kinds, some soft, some hard ... It would require a long period of time for all such changes to be accomplished, during which the mountains themselves might be somewhat diminished in size. In the Al-Burhan ( On Demonstration ) section of The Book of Healing , Avicenna discussed
10295-552: The eastern part of Persia, Greater Khorasan , and Central Asia , as well as the Buyid dynasty in the western part of Persia and Iraq , provided a thriving atmosphere for scholarly and cultural development. Under the Samanids, Bukhara rivaled Baghdad for cultural capital of the Muslim world . There, Avicenna had access to the great libraries of Balkh , Khwarazm , Gorgan , Rey , Isfahan and Hamadan . Various texts (such as
10440-487: The end again in one way or another torn apart and separated from each other." With regards to the recitation of his poetry, Peter Chelkowski states: "The memorization and recitation of their literary heritage has alway beens vital to Iranians, whose attitude towards the power of the written and spoken word is reverential. Even today the national passion for poetry is constantly expressed over radio and television, in teahouses, in literary societies, in daily conversation, and in
10585-523: The example of polydactyly to explain his perception that causal reasons exist for all medical events. This view of medical phenomena anticipated developments in the Enlightenment by seven centuries. Avicenna wrote on Earth sciences such as geology in The Book of Healing . While discussing the formation of mountains , he explained: Either they are the effects of upheavals of the crust of
10730-399: The existence of himself, without thereby asserting there that this self has any extension in space. Even if it were possible for him in that state to imagine a hand or any other limb, he would not imagine it as being a part of his self, nor as a condition for the existence of that self; for as you know that which is asserted is different from that which is not asserted and that which is inferred
10875-471: The fabled palace, he discovers a locked room which contains a depiction of seven princesses; hence the name Haft Peykar (seven beauties). Each of these princesses is from the seven different climes (traditional Zoroastrian -Islamic division of the Earth) and he falls in love with them. His father Yazdegerd I passes away and Bahram returns to Persia to claim his throne from pretenders. After some episodes he
11020-483: The father was growing more frail. Some modern writers in the late 20th century have claimed that this wife was called Afaq . Vahid Dastgerdi seems to be the first writer to propose this name for Nezami's first wife, but Said Nafisi (at the same time) and a recent source have challenged this interpretation of the corresponding verse in Nizami's work and the assumption that Afaq was the real name of his wife and have taken
11165-444: The first row This is the Tavern of Magians and rinds dwell here There are Beauties, candle, wine, sugar, reed flute and songs Whatever wonders that exists, is present here (in this tavern there are) Muslims, Armenians, Zoroastrian, Nestorians, and Jews If you are seeking company of all that is found here You must become a dust upon the feet of everyone in order to reach your (spiritual perfection) goal” O Nezami! if you knock
11310-420: The flying person has no sensation. Thus, the knowledge that "I am" is the core of a human being: the soul exists and is self-aware. Avicenna thus concluded that the idea of the self is not logically dependent on any physical thing , and that the soul should not be seen in relative terms , but as a primary given, a substance . The body is unnecessary; in relation to it, the soul is its perfection. In itself,
11455-469: The full spread of Persian language and the culture in the region, which is evidenced by the common use of spoken idioms in poems and the professions of many of the poets. The influence of the northwestern Pahlavi language, for example, which had been the spoken dialect of the region, is clearly observed in the poems contained in this anthology. However, at the same time, the Caucasus region was entertaining
11600-476: The good pearl from the string; from him who is of evil nature flee. An evil nature acts consistently: have you not heard that Nature does not err ? The evil-natured man keeps faith with none; the erring nature does not fail to err. The scorpion since it is by nature bad—to let it live's a fault, to kill it, good. Seek knowledge, for through knowledge you effect that doors to you be opened and not closed. He who shames not at learning can draw forth pearls from
11745-580: The great master of discourse, "who has decorated words like new bride." Nezami advises the son of the Shirvanshah to read the Shah-nama and to remember the meaningful sayings of the wise. Nezami used the Shahnameh as a source in his three epics of Haft Peykar , Khosrow and Shirin and Eskandar-Nameh . The story of Vis and Ramin also had an immense influence on Nezami. Although Nezami takes
11890-808: The house of a patron. In c. 1014 , Avicenna went to the city of Ray , where he entered into the service of the Buyid amir Majd al-Dawla ( r. 997–1029 ) and his mother Sayyida Shirin , the de facto ruler of the realm. There he served as the physician at the court, treating Majd al-Dawla, who was suffering from melancholia . Avicenna reportedly later served as the "business manager" of Sayyida Shirin in Qazvin and Hamadan , though details regarding this tenure are unclear. During this period, Avicenna finished writing The Canon of Medicine and started writing his The Book of Healing . In 1015, during Avicenna's stay in Hamadan , he participated in
12035-412: The human mind and imparts order and intelligibility to nature. Following is an English translation of the argument: One of us (i.e. a human being) should be imagined as having been created in a single stroke; created perfect and complete but with his vision obscured so that he cannot perceive external entities; created falling through air or a void, in such a manner that he is not struck by the firmness of
12180-447: The introduction, the poet provides an account of his solitary vigils, called Khalwat. There is no indication that these were Sufi vigils, but they are used as a literary fantasy on the spiritually-inclined poet he wanted to be. In highly rhetorical style, the aim he pursues is to transcend the limitation of secular literature of the courts. With this work, Nezami joins the destination of Persian poetry, which had started with Sanai and
12325-451: The land of the Rus. The Sharafnama concludes with Alexander's unsuccessful search for the water of immortal life. The Iqbal-nameh is a description of Alexander's personal growth into the ideal ruler on a model ultimately derived, through Islamic intermediaries, from Plato 's Republic . He has debates with Greek and Indian philosophers (c.f. with Garshaspnama ) and a major portion of the text
12470-593: The late 1980s. The mausoleum was rebuilt in its present form after Azerbaijan regained its independence following the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. As part of its large-scale attempts to eradicate any traces of Persian cultural influence, Azerbaijan has removed the Persian-written tiles from the mausoleum. It is a tall cylindrical building, surrounded by gardens. To one side, there are metal statues commemorating Nizami's epic poems . The mausoleum
12615-618: The main characters was published by Ali Asghar Seyed-Gohrab . The Iskandarnameh of Nizami contains 10,500 distichs. There are differences of opinion on whether this or the Haft Paykar was Nezami's last epic. The names of its dedicatees are uncertain, but the ruler of Ahar, Nosart al-Din Bishkin b. Mohammad has been mentioned. The story is based on Islamic myths developed about Alexander the Great, which derive from Qur'anic references to
12760-629: The many legends built up around the poet color the accounts of his later biographers. He dedicated his poems to various rulers of the region as was custom of that time for great poets, but avoided court life. Nezami was a master of the Masnavi style (double-rhymed verses). Nizami's main poetical work, for which he is best known, is a set of five long narrative poems known as the Khamsa ( خمسه , 'Quintet or Quinary') or Panj Ganj ( پنج گنج , 'Five Treasures'): The first of these poems, Makhzan-ol-Asrâr ,
12905-565: The material from his sources in a substantial way. The Khamsa was a popular subject for lavish manuscripts illustrated with painted miniatures at the Persian and Mughal courts in later centuries. Examples include the Khamsa of Nizami (British Library, Or. 12208) , created for the Mughal Emperor Akbar in the 1590s. The ethico-philosophical poems of about 2,250 Persian distichs was dedicated to Fakhr al-Din Bahramshah,
13050-475: The mausoleum was first mentioned in historical chronicles in 1606. The Safavid court chronicler Iskander Beg Munshi reported that toward the end of February 1606, Shah Abbas I reached Ganja and camped near the tomb of Sheikh Nizami, where on 24 March he celebrated the holiday of Novruz . During the Russo-Persian War in 1826 a decisive battle between Russian and Persian forces took place near
13195-427: The modalities of being; namely impossibility, contingency and necessity. Avicenna argued that the impossible being is that which cannot exist, while the contingent in itself ( mumkin bi-dhatihi ) has the potentiality to be or not to be without entailing a contradiction. When actualized, the contingent becomes a 'necessary existent due to what is other than itself' ( wajib al-wujud bi-ghayrihi ). Thus, contingency-in-itself
13340-442: The mood of her respective color. These seven beautifully constructed, highly sensuous stories occupy about half of the whole poem. While the king is busy with the seven brides, his evil minister seizes power in the realm. Bahram Gur discovers that the affairs of Persia are in disarray, the treasury is empty and the neighboring rulers are posed to invade. He clears his mind first by going hunting. After returning from hunt, he sees
13485-719: The moon; Yaghma Naz, the daughter of the Khaqan of the Turks; Naz Pari, the daughter of the king of Khwarazm ; Nasrin Nush, the daughter of the king of the Slavs; Azarbin (Azareyon), the daughter of the king of Morocco; Humay, the daughter of the Roman Caesar; and Diroste (wholesome), a beautiful Iranian princess from the House of Kay Ka'us. Each princess relates to the king a story matching
13630-427: The most important poetical creations of the whole of oriental Indo-European literature". The Haft Peykar is considered the poet's masterpiece. Overall, Nezami illustrates the harmony of the universe, the affinity of the sacred and the profane, and the concordance of ancient and Islamic Iran. The story was translated to English in 1924 by Charles Edward Wilson. A newer English rendering based on more complete manuscripts
13775-399: The movement of the universe or the progressive actualization of existing things. Existence must, therefore, be due to an agent-cause that necessitates, imparts, gives, or adds existence to an essence. To do so, the cause must be an existing thing and coexist with its effect. Avicenna's consideration of the essence-attributes question may be elucidated in terms of his ontological analysis of
13920-450: The need to prepare for the after-life. The general message of the discourse is that Nezami preaches the ideal way of life drawing attention to his reader of the supreme rank man among God's creatures and approaching of the end life and the necessity of man becoming aware of his spiritual destination. In a few chapters he address the duties of a king, but as a whole he addresses himself to mankind in general rather than to his royal patrons. In
14065-467: The night sky in Vis o Rāmin. In turn, Nezami's great work had a tremendous influence on later authors and many imitations of this work were made. With complete artistic and structural unity, the epic of Khosrow o Shirin turned to be a turning point not only for Nizami but for all of Persian literature. A story of Arabic origin which was later adapted and embellished by the Persians. The poem of 4,600 distichs
14210-461: The only source being his own work, which does not provide much information on his personal life. Nizami was orphaned early and was raised by his maternal uncle Khwaja Umar who took responsibility for him and afforded him an excellent education. His mother, named Ra'isa , was of Kurdish origin. His father, whose name was Yusuf is mentioned once by Nizami in his poetry. In the same verse, Nizami mentions his grandfather's name as Zakki . In part of
14355-523: The presence of Persian archaism while borrowing from Arabic vocabulary, as well as new concepts. Other sources including the Encyclopaedia of Islam and traditional Iranian literary sources have used the term "'Iraqi" style for the Persian poetry of Nezami. The Seljuqs took control of Ganja from the Shaddadids in 1075 and spread Persian literary westwards to their courts. In the middle of
14500-471: The remains of an ancient mausoleum deep under the ground, dating to the 13th century. The remains of an overground structure were a 19th-century restoration. In 1947 a new mausoleum was constructed from limestone . Later the Soviet government constructed an aluminium production plant in the vicinity of the mausoleum. The hazardous emissions from the plant seriously damaged the building, and it collapsed by
14645-702: The ring on this door day and night You won't find except smoke from this burning fire Nizami, whose works are all written in Persian, has a very high reputation in Iran , Afghanistan and Tajikistan , where Persian is the official language. His poetry is especially well known in Iran, and is also very popular in Azerbaijan , where his birthplace and mausoleum are located. He is known in other countries, especially in India and Pakistan . The influence of Neẓāmi's work on
14790-555: The ruler of Erzinjan. The story deals with such esoteric subjects as philosophy and theology. The story contains twenty discourses, each of them portraying an exemplary story on religious and ethical topics. Each chapter concludes with apostrophe to the poet himself containing his pen name. The content of the poems are indicated in the heading to each chapter and are written in a typical Homiletics style. The stories which discuss spiritual and practical concerns enjoin kingly justice, riddance of hypocrisy, warning of vanity of this world and
14935-417: The same era. Unlike other parts of Persia, where the poets mostly belonged to higher echelons of society such as scholars, bureaucrats, and secretaries, a good number of poets in the northwestern areas rose from among the common people with working-class backgrounds, and they frequently used colloquial expressions in their poetry. Accordingly, the book demonstrates the social conditions at the time, reflecting
15080-433: The same verse, some have taken the word Mu'ayyad as a title for Zakki while others have interpreted it as the name of his great-grandfather. Some sources have stated that his father might be possibly from Qom . Nizami is variously mentioned as a Persian and/or Iranian. Nizami was married three times. His first wife was an enslaved Kipchak who was sent to him by Fakhr al-Din Bahramshah, the ruler of Darband , as part of
15225-452: The service of Abu al-Hasan Ali. Under the Ma'munids, Gurganj became a centre of learning, attracting many prominent figures, such as ibn Sina and his former teacher Abu Sahl al-Masihi, the mathematician Abu Nasr Mansur, the physician ibn al-Khammar, and the philologist al-Tha'alibi . Avicenna later moved due to "necessity" once more (in 1012), this time to the west. There he travelled through
15370-611: The service of Persian poets. This was especially true in Ganjeh, the Caucasian outpost town where Nizami lived. Nezami was patronized by different rulers and dedicated his epics to various rival dynasties, including the Seljuqs , Eldiguzids (who maintained control of Ganja during most of the later 12th century), Shirvanshahs , the ruler of Ahar and Ahmadilis . Although he enjoyed the patronage of various rulers and princes, he avoided
15515-475: The seven pleasure-domes to be converted to fire temples for the pleasure of God. Bahram then goes hunting for the last time but mysteriously disappears. As a pun on words, while trying to hunt the wild ass ( gūr ) he instead finds his tomb ( gūr ). Ritter, in his introduction to the critical edition describes it as: "the best and most beautiful epic in New Persian poetry and at the same time [. . .] one of
15660-514: The soul is an immaterial substance. Avicenna authored a five-volume medical encyclopedia, The Canon of Medicine ( Arabic : القانون في الطب , romanized : al-Qānūn fī l-ṭibb ). It was used as the standard medical textbook in the Islamic world and Europe up to the 18th century. The Canon still plays an important role in Unani medicine . Avicenna considered whether events like rare diseases or disorders have natural causes. He used
15805-602: The southwestern Iranian region of Khuzistan , where they stayed until the death of the Ghaznavid ruler Mahmud ( r. 998–1030 ), which occurred two months later. It was seemingly when Avicenna returned to Isfahan that he started writing his Pointers and Reminders . In 1037, while Avicenna was accompanying Ala al-Dawla to a battle near Isfahan, he contracted a severe colic, which he had been suffering from throughout his life. He died shortly afterwards in Hamadan, where he
15950-753: The stories in Nezami's poems alongside those of Ferdowsi's Shahnama have been the most frequently illustrated literary works. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, Nezami is "admired in Persian-speaking lands for his originality and clarity of style, though his love of language for its own sake and of philosophical and scientific learning makes his work difficult for the average reader." Nezami composed his verses in Persian language and Western encyclopedias such as Encyclopedia of Islam , Encyclopædia Iranica , Encyclopædia Britannica and orientalists of many countries consider Nezami as
16095-408: The story, but also adds a strong Persian flavor to the legend. An important aspect of Layla and Majun is the poet's highly humanitarian approach. During the war by Nawfal in favor of Majnun, the latter is unhappy wishing the termination of the war. Majun gives away his horse and amours to save a gazelle and a stag. Nezami gave a Persian character to the poem by adding several techniques borrowed from
16240-476: The subsequent development of Persian literature has been enormous and the Khamseh became a pattern that was emulated in later Persian poetry (and also in other Islamic literatures ). The legacy of Nezami is widely felt in the Islamic world and his poetry has influenced the development of Persian, Arabic, Turkish, Kurdish and Urdu poetry amongst many other languages. In the history of Persian miniature painting,
16385-409: The surface appear to be romance, in reality they are a mask for the essential truths and for the explanation of divine knowledge." Jami in his Baharestan mentions that "Nezami's excellence is more manifest than the sun and has no need of description. Hashemi of Kerman remarks: The empire of poetry obtained its law and order from Nezami's beautiful verses and To present words before Nezami's silent speech
16530-451: The thought experiment points to the conclusions that the soul is a perfection, independent of the body, and an immaterial substance. The conceivability of this "Floating Man" indicates that the soul is perceived intellectually, which entails the soul's separateness from the body. Avicenna referred to the living human intelligence , particularly the active intellect , which he believed to be the hypostasis by which God communicates truth to
16675-456: The time Avicenna was eighteen, he was well-educated in Greek sciences . Although ibn Sina only mentions al-Natili as his teacher in his autobiography , he most likely had other teachers as well, such as the physicians Qumri and Abu Sahl 'Isa ibn Yahya al-Masihi. At the age of seventeen, Avicenna was made a physician of Nuh II. By the time Avicenna was at least 21 years old, his father died. He
16820-494: The tomb of Nizami. The Russian forces under the command of General Ivan Paskevich defeated the Persian army and forced it to retreat. Russian envoy to Persia Aleksandr Griboyedov mentioned in his diary a conversation with writer and historian Abbasgulu Bakikhanov , a member of the Russian diplomatic mission at the time, in which the latter told him that Elisabethpol battle was near the Nizami tomb. According to Bakikhanov, by
16965-426: The turn of the 20th century, the mausoleum became almost completely ruined. In 1925 the grave of the poet was excavated and his remains exhumed for reburial at the center of Ganja. However, the leadership of Soviet Azerbaijan ordered the reburial of the poet at the same location and the erection of a temporary monument. In 1940, in connection with construction of a new mausoleum, an archaeological investigation revealed
17110-408: The two men just mentioned. [...] The sum of what we regard as the authentic philosophy of Aristotle, as transmitted by al-Farabi and Avicenna, can be reduced to three parts: a part which must be branded as unbelief; a part which must be stigmatized as innovation; and a part which need not be repudiated at all. Avicenna made an argument for the existence of God which would be known as the " Proof of
17255-591: The views of the theists among the Greek philosophers, namely Socrates , Plato and Aristotle in Al-Munqidh min ad-Dalal "Deliverance from Error", al-Ghazali noted: [the Greek philosophers] must be taxed with unbelief, as must their partisans among the Muslim philosophers, such as Avicenna and al-Farabi and their likes. None, however, of the Muslim philosophers engaged so much in transmitting Aristotle's lore as did
17400-530: The water, rubies from the rock. Whilst he to whom no knowledge is assigned—that person (you will find) ashamed to learn. How many, keen of mind, in effort slack, sell pottery from lack of pearls (to sell)! How many a dullard, through his being taught, becomes the chief judge of the Seven Climes! Only a small corpus of his Persian lyric poetry, mainly qaṣīdahs ("odes") and ghazals ("lyrics") have survived. Ten of his quatrains have also been recorded in
17545-420: The world at large. The Sharaf-nama discusses the birth of Alexander, his succession to the throne of Rum (Greece), his wars against Africans who invaded Egypt, his conquest of Persia and his marriage to the daughter of Darius. The episode also discusses Alexander's pilgrimage to Mecca , his stay in the Caucasus and his visit to Queen Nushaba of Barda' and her court of Amazons. Alexander conquers India, China and
17690-552: The year in which the Samanid Empire fell after the Kara-Khanid Khanate captured Bukhara and imprisoned the Samanid emir Abd al-Malik II . Due to his high position and strong connection with the Samanids, ibn Sina may have found himself in an unfavorable position after the fall of his suzerain. It was through the minister of Gurganj, Abu'l-Husayn as-Sahi, a patron of Greek sciences, that Avicenna entered into
17835-529: Was Jamal ad-Dīn Abū Muḥammad Ilyās ibn-Yūsuf ibn-Zakkī , was a 12th-century Muslim poet. Nizami is considered the greatest romantic epic poet in Persian literature , who brought a colloquial and realistic style to the Persian epic. His heritage is widely appreciated in Afghanistan , Republic of Azerbaijan , Iran , the Kurdistan region and Tajikistan . Born of a Persian family, his personal name
17980-544: Was Ilyas and his chosen pen-name was Nezami (also spelled as Nizami and Neẓāmi). He was born of an urban background in Ganja ( Seljuq empire, now Republic of Azerbaijan ) and is believed to have spent his whole life in South Caucasus . According to De Blois, Ganja was a city which at that time had predominantly an Iranian population. The Armenian historian Kirakos Gandzaketsi (c. 1200 – 1271) mentions that: "This city
18125-664: Was accomplished by Julie Scott Meysami in 1995. The following lines present an excerpt (Original Persian): گوهر نیک را ز عقد مریز وآنکه بد گوهرست ازو بگریز بدگهر با کسی وفا نکند اصل بد در خطا خطا نکند اصل بد با تو چون شود معطی آن نخواندی که اصل لایخطی کژدم از راه آنکه بدگهرست ماندنش عیب و کشتنش هنرست هنرآموز کز هنرمندی در گشائی کنی نه در بندی هرکه ز آموختن ندارد ننگ در برآرد ز آب و لعل از سنگ وانکه دانش نباشدش روزی ننگ دارد ز دانشآموزی ای بسا تیز طبع کاهل کوش که شد از کاهلی سفال فروش وای بسا کور دل که از تعلیم گشت قاضیالقضات هفت اقلیم Take not apart
18270-414: Was accused by the people of Hamadan of copying the stylistic structures of the Quran in his Sermons on Divine Unity . The seriousness of this charge, in the words of the historian Peter Adamson, "cannot be underestimated in the larger Muslim culture." Not long afterwards, Avicenna shifted his allegiance to the rising Buyid amir Shams al-Dawla , the younger brother of Majd al-Dawla, which Adamson suggests
18415-466: Was asked to stay as vizier by Shams al-Dawla's son and successor Sama' al-Dawla ( r. 1021–1023 ), but he instead went into hiding with his patron, Abu Ghalib al-Attar, to wait for better opportunities to emerge. It was during this period that Avicenna was secretly in contact with Ala al-Dawla Muhammad ( r. 1008–1041 ), the Kakuyid ruler of Isfahan and uncle of Sayyida Shirin. It
18560-529: Was buried. Avicenna wrote extensively on early Islamic philosophy , especially the subjects logic , ethics and metaphysics , including treatises named Logic and Metaphysics . Most of his works were written in Arabic, then the language of science in the Muslim world, and some in Early New Persian. Of linguistic significance even to this day are a few books that he wrote in Persian, particularly
18705-580: Was commissioned and dedicated to the Seljuk Sultan Toghril II, the Atabek Muhammad ibn Eldiguz Jahan Pahlavan and his brother Qizil Arslan . It contains about 6,500 distichs in length, the story depicts the love of Sasanian Khosrow II Parviz towards his Armenian princess Shirin . Khusrow and Shirin recounts the story of King Khosrow's courtship of Princess Shirin, and the vanquishing of his love-rival, Farhad. The story has
18850-431: Was constructed from solid granite blocks, delivered from Ukraine . Farman Imamguliyev was the architect; the statues were created by sculptor Gorkhmaz Sujaddinov . 40°41′02″N 46°25′58″E / 40.68389°N 46.43278°E / 40.68389; 46.43278 Avicenna Ibn Sina ( Persian : ابن سینا , romanized : Ibn Sīnā ; c. 980 – 22 June 1037), commonly known in
18995-436: Was continued by others, in the first place by Attar . Not a romantic epic, "The Treasury of Mysteries" was translated into English by Gholam H. Darab in 1945. After this early work, Nezami turned towards narrative poetry. A story of pre-Islamic Persian origin which is found in the great epico-historical poems of Shahnameh and is based on a true story that was further romanticized by Persian poets. The story chosen by Nizami,
19140-583: Was declared as "Year of Nizami Ganjavi" in the country. German poet and writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote: "A gentle, highly gifted spirit, who, when Ferdowsi had completed the collected heroic traditions, chose for the material of his poems the sweetest encounters of the deepest love. Majnun and Layli , Khosrow and Shirin , lovers he presented; meant for one another by premonition, destiny, nature, habit, inclination, passion staunchly devoted to each other; but divided by mad ideas, stubbornness, chance, necessity, and force, then miraculously reunited, yet in
19285-608: Was dedicated to the ruler of Maragha, 'Ala' Al-Din korp Arslan. It is the story of Bahram V , the Sassanid king, who is born to Yazdegerd after twenty years of childlessness and supplication to Ahura Mazda for a child. The Haft Peykar is a romanticized biography of the Sasanian Persian empire ruler Bahram Gur . His adventurous life had already been treated by Ferdowsi in the Shahnama , to which fact Nezami alludes
19430-842: Was dedicated, in 1192, to Abu al-Muzaffar Shirvanshah, who claimed descent from the Sasanian King, whose exploits are reflected in Nezami's "Seven Beauties" (Haft Paykar). The poem is based on the popular Arab legend of ill-starred lovers: the poet Qays falls in love with his cousin Layla, but is prevented from marrying her by Layla's father. Layla's father forbids contact with Qays, so that Qays becomes obsessed and starts singing of his love for Layla in public. The obsession becomes so severe that he sees and evaluates everything in terms of Layla; hence his sobriquet "the possessed" (Majnun). Realizing that he cannot obtain union, even when other people intercede for him, he leaves society and roams naked in
19575-486: Was densely populated with Iranians and a small number of Christians". Because Nizami was not a court poet, he does not appear in the annals of the dynasties. Tazkerehs , which are the compilations of literary memoirs that include maxims of the great poets along with biographical information and commentary of styles refer to him briefly. Much of this material in these Tazkerehs are based on legends, anecdotes, and hearsays. Consequently, few facts are known about Nezami's life,
19720-492: Was due to Abu'l-Qasim also working under Sayyida Shirin. Avicenna had been called upon by Shams al-Dawla to treat him, but after the latter's campaign in the same year against his former ally, the Annazid ruler Abu Shawk ( r. 1010–1046 ), he forced Avicenna to become his vizier . Although Avicenna would sometimes clash with Shams al-Dawla's troops, he remained vizier until the latter died of colic in 1021. Avicenna
19865-475: Was during his stay at Attar's home that Avicenna completed The Book of Healing , writing 50 pages a day. The Buyid court in Hamadan, particularly the Kurdish vizier Taj al-Mulk, suspected Avicenna of correspondence with Ala al-Dawla, and as a result, had the house of Attar ransacked and ibn Sina imprisoned in the fortress of Fardajan, outside Hamadan. Juzjani blames one of ibn Sina's informers for his capture. He
20010-584: Was fully acquainted with Arabic and Persian literatures and with oral and written popular and local traditions, but was also familiar with such diverse fields as mathematics , astronomy , astrology , alchemy , medicine , botany , Koranic exegesis, Islamic theory and law , Iranian myths and legends, history, ethics , philosophy and esoteric thought , music, and the visual arts . His strong character, social sensibility, and knowledge of oral and written historical records, as well as his rich Persian cultural heritage unite pre-Islamic and Islamic Iran into
20155-450: Was imprisoned for four months until Ala al-Dawla captured Hamadan, ending Sama al-Dawla's reign. Avicenna was subsequently released, and went to Isfahan, where he was well received by Ala al-Dawla. In the words of Juzjani, the Kakuyid ruler gave Avicenna "the respect and esteem which someone like him deserved." Adamson also says that Avicenna's service under Ala al-Dawla "proved to be the most stable period of his life." Avicenna served as
20300-399: Was imprisoned in the castle of Fardajan near Hamadhan, Avicenna wrote his famous " floating man "—literally falling man—a thought experiment to demonstrate human self-awareness and the substantiality and immateriality of the soul. Avicenna believed his "Floating Man" thought experiment demonstrated that the soul is a substance, and claimed humans cannot doubt their own consciousness, even in
20445-550: Was influenced by Sanai 's (d. 1131) monumental Garden of Truth . The four other poems are medieval romances. Khosrow and Shirin, Bahram-e Gur, and Alexander the Great , who all have episodes devoted to them in Ferdowsi 's Shahnameh , appear again here at the center of three of four of Nezami's narrative poems. The adventure of the paired lovers, Layla and Majnun, is the subject of the second of his four romances , and derived from Arabic sources. In all these cases, Nezami reworked
20590-663: Was originally built in 1947 in place of an old collapsed mausoleum and rebuilt in its present form when the Azerbaijani Republic regained its independence after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Monuments to Nezami are found in many cities of Republic of Azerbaijan and Iran, as well as in Moscow , St. Petersburg and Udmurtiya (Russia), Kyiv (Ukraine), Beijing (China), Tashkent (Uzbekistan), Marneuli (Georgia), Chişinău (Moldova), Rome (Italy). 2021
20735-627: Was schooled in fiqh by the Hanafi jurist Ismail al-Zahid. Sometime later, his father invited the physician and philosopher al-Natili to their house to educate ibn Sina. Together, they studied the Isagoge of Porphyry (died 305) and possibly the Categories of Aristotle (died 322 BCE) as well. After Avicenna had read the Almagest of Ptolemy (died 170) and Euclid's Elements , al-Natili told him to continue his research independently. By
20880-461: Was seemingly administered by his father. Although both Avicenna's father and brother had converted to Isma'ilism , he himself did not follow the faith. He was instead a Hanafi Sunni , the same school followed by the Samanids. Avicenna was first schooled in the Quran and literature, and by the age of 10, he had memorized the entire Quran . He was later sent by his father to an Indian greengrocer, who taught him arithmetic . Afterwards, he
21025-608: Was subsequently given an administrative post, possibly succeeding his father as the governor of Harmaytan. Avicenna later moved to Gurganj , the capital of Khwarazm, which he reports that he did due to "necessity". The date he went to the place is uncertain, as he reports that he served the Khwarazmshah , the ruler of Khwarazm, the Ma'munid ruler Abu al-Hasan Ali . The latter ruled from 997 to 1009, which indicates that Avicenna moved sometime during that period. He may have moved in 999,
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