Fakhruddin As'ad Gurgani
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Fakhruddin As'ad Gurgani, also spelled as Fakhraddin Asaad Gorgani (), was an 11th-century
poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...
. He versified the tale of Vis and Rāmin, a story from the Arsacid (Parthian) period. The Iranian scholar Abdolhossein Zarrinkoub, however, disagrees with this view, and concludes that the story has its origins in the 5th-century
Sasanian The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranians"), was an Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, the length of the Sasanian dynasty's reign ...
era. Besides Vis and Rāmin, he composed other forms of poetry. For example, some of his quatrains are recorded in the '' Nozhat al-Majales''.


Biography

Fakhruddin As'ad Gorgani was born in Jorjan or Gorgan (Persian: گرگان, also Romanized as Gorgān), the central city of
Hyrcania Hyrcania (; ''Hyrkanía'', Old Persian: 𐎺𐎼𐎣𐎠𐎴 ''Varkâna'',Lendering (1996) Middle Persian: 𐭢𐭥𐭫𐭢𐭠𐭭 ''Gurgān'', Akkadian: ''Urqananu'') is a historical region composed of the land south-east of the Caspian Sea ...
in northern Iran, to a
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
family. Gorgani accompanied the
Seljuk Seljuk (, ''Selcuk'') or Saljuq (, ''Saljūq'') may refer to: * Seljuk Empire (1051–1153), a medieval empire in the Middle East and central Asia * Seljuk dynasty (c. 950–1307), the ruling dynasty of the Seljuk Empire and subsequent polities * S ...
ruler Tughril I during his campaigns in
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
. When Tughril seized
Isfahan Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District (Isfahan County), Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city ...
from the
Kakuyids The Kakuyids (also called Kakwayhids, Kakuwayhids or Kakuyah) () were a Shia Muslim dynasty of Daylamite origin that held power in western Persia, Jibal and Kurdistan (c. 1008–c. 1051). They later became ''atabegs'' (governors) of Yazd, Isfa ...
in 1051, he appointed Amid Abu'l-Fath Muzaffar as its governor. Gorgani thereafter settled in Isfahan, where he established good relations with its governor, who took him under his protection. One day, when Gorgani and Abu'l-Fath Muzaffar were talking, Abu'l-Fath Muzaffar asked the following question: “What do you say about the tale of Vis and Rāmin?” Gorgani then told him that the story was only written in
Middle Persian Middle Persian, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg ( Inscriptional Pahlavi script: , Manichaean script: , Avestan script: ) in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasania ...
. Abu'l-Fath Muzaffar then asked Gorgani to versify the story, which he did; during the
Mehregan Mehregan () or Jashn-e Mehr ( ''Mithra Festival'') is a Zoroastrianism, Zoroastrian and Iranian peoples, Iranian festival celebrated to honor the yazata Mithra (), which is responsible for friendship, affection and love. Name "Mehregan" is ...
festival, Gorgani presented the poem to him, in which he praises Tughril, the ''
vizier A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...
'' Abu Nasr Kunduri, and Abu'l-Fath Muzaffar. Gorgani died .


Influence

The tale of Vis and Ramin had a noticeable influence on
Persian literature Persian literature comprises oral compositions and written texts in the Persian language and is one of the world's oldest literatures. It spans over two-and-a-half millennia. Its sources have been within Greater Iran including present-day ...
. Significantly, Nezami Ganjavi, himself a major poet of Persian romantic traditions, took the bases of much of his rhetoric from Gorgani.Dick Davis (January 6, 2005), "Vis o Rāmin", in: ''
Encyclopaedia Iranica An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles or entries that are arranged alphabetically by artic ...
Online Edition''. Accessed on April 4, 201

/ref> The romance also has had its influence beyond Persian culture. The story became very popular in Georgia (country), Georgia through a 12th-century free translation in prose known as '' Visramiani'', which had a long-lasting effect on Georgian literature. Being the oldest known manuscript of the work and better preserved than the original, it is of great importance for the history of the Persian text and helps restore several corrupted lines in the Persian manuscripts.Gvakharia, Aleksandre "Georgia IV: Literary contacts with Persia"], in: ''
Encyclopaedia Iranica An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles or entries that are arranged alphabetically by artic ...
Online Edition''. Accessed on April 4, 2010 a

/ref> Some scholars have suggested that ''Vis and Ramin'' may have influenced the
Tristan and Iseult Tristan and Iseult, also known as Tristan and Isolde and other names, is a medieval chivalric romance told in numerous variations since the 12th century. Of disputed source, usually assumed to be primarily Celtic nations, Celtic, the tale is a ...
legend, and the two plots have distinct resemblances. Nevertheless, views have differed about the connection between these two stories.George Morrison, Julian Baldick et al. (1981), ''History of Persian Literature: From the Beginning of the Islamic Period to the Present Day'', p. 35. Brill, .


References


Sources

* Gorgani, ''Le roman de Vis et Ramin'', traduit par Henri Massé, Société d'Edition Les Belles Lettres, Paris 1959 * Jan Rypka, ''History of Iranian Literature''. Reidel Publishing Company. * Vīs and Rāmīn, by Fakhr al-Dīn Gurgānī, translated from Persian by George Morrison,
UNESCO Collection of Representative Works The UNESCO Collection of Representative Works (or UNESCO Catalogue of Representative Works) was a UNESCO translation project that was active for about 57 years, from 1948 to about 2005. The project's purpose was to translate masterpieces of world ...
: Persian heritage series, no. 14, xix, 357 p. (Columbia University Press, New York, 1972). . * Pierre Gallais, ''Genèse du roman occidental. Essais sur Tristan et Iseut et son modèle persan'', Sirac, Paris 1974 * Gorgani, Fakhraddin. Vis and Ramin Trans. Dick Davis. Washington DC: Mage, February 2008

Now available as a Penguin Classics, Penguin Classic * Nahid Norozi, ''Esordi del romanzo persiano. Dal Vis e Ramin di Gorgani (XI sec.) al ciclo di Tristano'', preface by F. Benozzo, Mimesis Edizioni, Roma 2021 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fakhruddin As'ad Gurgani People from Gorgan 11th-century Persian-language poets Year of birth unknown 1058 deaths 11th-century Iranian people