Pearls of Persia

I.B.Tauris in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies<br/><br/>Nasir-i Khusraw is a major literary figure in medieval Persian culture. He was a Muslim philosopher poet travel writer and Ismaili da'i who lived a thousand years ago in the lands known today as Afghanistan Iran and Tajikistan. Although known in the West mainly for his Safarnama or travelogue which describes his seven-year journey from Khurasan in the eastern Islamic lands to Cairo the city of the Fatimid imam-caliphs his poetry and ideas are less familiar. Yet over the centuries Persian-speaking lands have consistently ranked him as one of the finest poets of all time. But today even among those who know Nasir-i Khusraw's poetry few understand the philosophical and Ismaili concepts the poet expounds. And while mystical and epic genres of Persian poetry are memorized and studied the genre of philosophical poetry in Persian remains basically unexplored. This collection of studies seeks to redress the balance. Originally presented at a conference at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) University of London in 2005 to commemorate the millenary of Nasir-i Khusraw's birth the papers published here examine his poetry both for philosophical meaning and poetic method. They address a variety of topics ranging from metaphysics cosmology and ontology to prophecy as well as rhythm and structure and analysis of individual poems and authorship.