Falaki Shirvani
Falaki Shirvani | |
---|---|
Born | 1107 Shamakhi, Shirvan |
Died | c. 1155 (aged 47–48) Shirvan |
Occupation |
|
Genre | Habsiyat |
Muhammad Falaki (
Like other poets of his time, Falaki was imprisoned due to the
Biography
Of Persian descent,[1] Falaki Shirvani was born in 1107 in the city of Shamakhi in Shirvan,[2] a region now located in present-day Azerbaijan.[3] The city served as the capital of the rulers of Shirvan, the Shirvanshahs.[4] In his work, Falaki calls himself "Muhammad Falaki", but some tadhkirahs (collection of biographies) refer to him by other names, such as Abu'l-Nizam Jalalu'd-Din, Afsahu'd-Din, Najmu'd-Din, or Mu'ayyidu'd-Din Uthman.[5] "Falaki" was his pen name with his real name being Muhammad. Due to the former meaning "astronomer" and the poet Khaqani mentioning that Falaki was "aware of the mysteries of the nine spheres" it could be surmised that Falaki was a professional astronomer. However, this could have also been a word-play by Khaqani.[1] Falaki was a student of Khaqani, despite being older.[6]
According to a story reported by later biographers such as Dawlatshah Samarqandi, both Falaki and Khaqani were students of the poet Abu'l-Ala Ganjavi. Khaqani married Abu'l-Ala Ganjavi's daughter while Falaki was given 20,000 dirhams, which he was let down by. Abu'l-Ala Ganjavi told Falaki that with that money he could buy fifty Turkish handmaidens more beautiful than Khaqani's new wife.[7] Iranologist Anna Livia Beelaert does not consider this story to be real, arguing that no parts of it is mentioned in Khaqani's writings, which mentions both Falaki and Abu'l-Ala Ganjavi.[8] Falaki had a wife who died shortly after giving birth to their daughter. His remaining relatives (with the exception of his daughter) also died.[9] Like Khaqani and Abu'l-Ala Ganjavi, Falaki served as a court poet of the Shirvanshah Manuchihr III (r. 1120 – after 1160).[10]
Like other poets of his time (Khaqani,
The death of Manuchihr III is not mentioned in Falaki's writings, which indicates that Falaki died before him.[10] Based on this, the suggestion by authors such as Taqi Kashi that Falaki died in 1181/82 has been dismissed by historian Francois de Blois.[1] Hadi Hasan surmised that Falaki died in c. 1155 in Shirvan.[12][10] According to Taqi Kashi, Falaki was buried in Shamakhi.[11] Khaqani dedicated an eulogy to him.[1]
Works
Falaki is known to have authored a Persian divan (collection of poems), of which 1,512 verses have survived.[10] In 1929, Hadi Hasan published his collection of Falaki's poems which he had gathered from an anthology in Munich and poetry referenced in other works. In 1958, he published a updated version based on newly-found poems in a manuscript from Madras and a revised version of his previous collection.[1] The only ruler that appears in Falaki's work is Manuchihr III,[13] whom Falaki describes in several scenarios, such as his victory against the Alans and "Khazars" (Kipchaks), how he seized parts of Arran, how he had the cities of Kardinan and Sa'dun constructed, and how he restored the Bakilani dam.[10]
Falaki is the first known Shirvani composer of the habsiyat (prison poetry) genre, and also played an role in its early development. There are three important words in the genre: gham (sorrow), mihnat (affliction) and ranj (suffering). These words began to set themselves apart from one another at the early stage of the development of genre. Gham communicates a gloomy resignation. Mihnat conveys enduring injustice that is connected to a universal state. Poets in Shirvan started to use the word mihnat to convey the same physical tiredness as its equivalent ranj. This lexicon was first assembled by Falaki:[14]
I drown in such affliction [mihnat], that I don’t care [gham] for this endless suffering [ranj].
The prison poetry genre was created by a Persian poet under the Ghaznavids, Masud Sa'd Salman,[15] whom Falaki claimed to be below him in terms of style. Falaki displayed anxiety of influence, trying to make the accomplishments of Masud Sa'd Salman seem less important, whilst also using the latter's trademark genre.[16] Historian Rebecca Gould considers Falaki's impact in prison poetry to pale in comparison to Masud Sa'd Salman's, but maintains that he still played an important role in the genre, contributing to its geographical and cross-generational transmission.[6]
Falaki considered himself to be on the same level as
References
- ^ a b c d e f de Blois 2004, p. 277.
- ^ a b c Rypka 1968, p. 575.
- ^ Bosworth 2011b.
- ^ Bosworth 2011a.
- ^ Hasan 1929, p. 52.
- ^ a b Gould 2022, p. 92.
- ^ Hasan 1929, p. 55.
- ^ Beelaert 2010, pp. 522–523.
- ^ Hasan 1929, pp. 55–56.
- ^ a b c d e Hasan 1965, p. 764.
- ^ a b Hasan 1929, p. 59.
- ^ Hasan 1929, pp. 59–60.
- ^ de Blois 1999, p. 169.
- ^ Gould 2022, p. 78.
- ^ Gould 2022, p. 59.
- ^ Gould 2022, p. 90.
- ^ Rypka 1968, p. 576.
- ^ Gould 2022, p. 99.
Sources
- Beelaert, Anna Livia (2010). "Ḵāqāni Šervāni i. Life". In ISBN 978-1-934283-28-8.
- de Blois, Francois (1999). "Falakī Šarvānī". In ISBN 978-0-933273-27-6.
- de Blois, Francois (2004). Persian Literature - A Bio-Bibliographical Survey: Poetry of the Pre-Mongol Period (Volume V). Routledge. ISBN 978-0947593476.
- Bosworth, C. E. (2011a). "Šervānšāhs". Encyclopaedia Iranica.
- Bosworth, C. E. (2011b). "Šervān". Encyclopaedia Iranica.
- ISBN 978-1474484015.
- Hasan, Hadi (1929). Falaki-i-Shirwani: His Times, Life, and Works. University of London.
- Hasan, Hadi (1965). "Falakī S̲h̲irwānī". In OCLC 495469475.
- ISBN 0-521-06936-X.
Further reading
- Lornejad, Siavash; Doostzadeh, Ali (2012). Arakelova, Victoria; Asatrian, Garnik (eds.). On the modern politicization of the Persian poet Nezami Ganjavi (PDF). Caucasian Centre for Iranian Studies. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 September 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
- Minorsky, Vladimir (1958). A History of Sharvān and Darband in the 10th-11th Centuries. W. Heffer & Sons, Ltd.