Shahin Shirazi

A page from an illustrated version of Shirazi's Ardashir-namah

Shāhin-i Shirāzi (Persian: شاهین شیرازی, born in Shiraz in the Ilkhanate, Iran) was a Persian Jewish poet in the 14th century.

Biography

The details surrounding his biography are not clear. It is known that he worked during the reign of Ilkhan Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan (1316-1335), and that he was also a contemporary of the Persian poet Hafez (d. 1390), who was also from Shiraz. It is unclear whether '"Shahin" is the poet's first name or his pen name. It is possible that he was from Kashan and that he was buried in Shiraz.[1]

Works

His works include epic cycles (poetic epics) from the Torah and from later parts of the Hebrew Bible.[2] The Musā-nāmah was composed in 1327,[3] and includes narratives from the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. The work contains close to 10,000 couplets.^[citation needed] His versification of the Book of Genesis, the Bereshit-nāmah, was composed around 1358;[4] it contains close to 8700 couplets. ^[citation needed]

His epic poem on the tale of Esther, Ardashir-nāmah, includes multiple stories in addition to the well-known biblical narrative.[5] For example, Shāhin also expounds on the adventures of Shiru, the son of Ardashir (Ahaseurus) and Queen Vashti.[1]

Editions and translations

• "אוצר החכמה". tablet.otzar.org.
• "אוצר החכמה". tablet.otzar.org.[6]
• Ardashir-nāmah (The book of Ardashir)[7]
• Ezra-nāmah (The Book of Ezra)[7]
• David Gilinsky, "An original critical edition with English translation of Chapter 26 of Ardashir Nameh", BA Finals Dissertation, Cambridge University, April 1992, available from Cambridge University Library and on SCRIBD.
• Vera Basch Moreen (tr. and ed.), In Queen Esther's Garden: An Anthology of Judeo-Persian Literature (Yale Judaica): Yale 2000, ISBN 0300079052. Includes excerpts from Shāhin's epics in English translation

Musical Adaptations

In 2022, Iranian-Canadian composer, Iman Habibi, composed Shāhīn-nāmeh as a winner of the 2022 Azrieli Music Prize. Shāhīn-nāmeh is a 25-minute piece for orchestra and soloist on the story of Queen Esther from Ardashir-Nameh, and uses poetry from Shahin Shirazi's Ardashir-nameh. This piece was premiered by Orchestre Métropolitain and Sepideh Raissadat in Montreal.

Bereshit-nāmah

• Shāhīn, Sefer sharḥ-i Shāhīn-i Torah, ed. by Simon Khakam (Jerusalem 5662/1902) (in Hebrew script).
• Muntakhab-i ashʿār-i fārsī az āthār-i yahūdiyyān-i Īrān, ed. by Amnon Netzer (Tehran 1352 AH/1973 CE), pp. 58-106 (transliterated into Arabic script).

See also

• List of Persian-language poets and authors
• Persian literature
• Persian Jews
• Judeo-Persian
• 7dorim.com (Persian)

Further reading

• Amnon Netzer: "Literature of the Jews of Iran, A short survey." Padyavand Vol 1. Los Angeles 1996, pp 5–17.
• E.G. Browne. Literary History of Persia. (Four volumes, 2,256 pages, and twenty-five years in the writing). 1998. ISBN 0-7007-0406-X
• Jan Rypka, History of Iranian Literature. Reidel Publishing Company.
•  Gottheil, Richard; Bacher, Wilhelm (1901–1906). "Judæo-Persian Literature". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.

References

1. Vera Basch Moreen (2012). Vera Basch Moreen (ed.). Queen Esther's Garden. Gorgias Press, LLC. ISBN 978-1-4632-0161-6. OCLC 774486158.
2. Nahum M. Waldman (1989). The Recent Study of Hebrew: A Survey of the Literature with Selected Bibliography. Eisenbrauns. p. 168. ISBN 978-0-87820-908-8. OCLC 1024050467.
3. Epstein, Marc Michael (2015-04-04). Skies of Parchment, Seas of Ink: Jewish Illuminated Manuscripts. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-16524-0.
4. J. T. P. de Bruijn and Barbara Flemming, 'Yūsuf and Zulayk̲h̲ā', in Encyclopaedia of Islam, ed. P. Bearman and others, 2nd edn, 12 vols (Leiden: Brill, 1960–2005); DOI:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_1370.
5. Moreen, Vera B. (1996). "The "Iranization" of Biblical Heroes in Judeo-Persian Epics: Shahin's Ardashīr-nāmah and 'Ezrā-nāmah". Iranian Studies. 29 (3/4): 321–338. doi:10.1080/00210869608701853. ISSN 0021-0862. JSTOR 4311000.
6. Limbert, John W. (2011-10-01). Shiraz in the Age of Hafez: The Glory of a Medieval Persian City. University of Washington Press. ISBN 978-0-295-80288-6.
7. Hary, Benjamin; Hayes, John; Astren, Fred (2021-08-04). Judaism and Islam: Boundaries, Communication and Interaction: Essays in Honor of William M. Brinner. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-45315-9.