Shirin
Shirin | |
---|---|
Khosrow Parviz's first sight of Shirin, bathing in a pool, in a manuscript of Nizami Ganjavi's poem. This is a famous moment in Persian literature. | |
Died | 628 |
Spouse | Khosrow II |
Issue | Mardanshah Shahriyar |
Religion | Church of the East, then Syriac Orthodox Church |
Shirin (
In 591, Khosrow returned to Persia to take control of the empire and Shirin was made queen. She used her new influence to support the
Long after her death Shirin became an important heroine of Persian literature, as a model of a faithful lover and wife. She appears in the Shahnameh and the romance Khosrow and Shirin by Nizami Ganjavi (1141−1209), and is referred to in very many other works. Her elaborated story in literature bears little or no resemblance to the fairly few known historical facts of her life, although her Christianity and difficulties after the assassination of her husband remain part of the story, as well as Khosrow's exile before he regained his throne. After their first accidental meeting, when Khosrow was initially unaware of her identity, their courtship takes a number of twists and turns, with the pair often apart, that occupy most of the story. After Khosrow's son kills him, the son demands that Shirin marry him, which she avoids by committing suicide.[1]
Origin
The background of Shirin is uncertain. According to the 7th-century
The tradition identifying Shirin as Armenian appears to be of later origin.[3]
Marriage
This section contains too many or overly lengthy quotations. (December 2016) |
The earliest source mentioning Shirin is the Ecclesiastical history of
"Thus I resolved to request of thy goodness, O Saint, that she might conceive: and I made the request with a vow, that, if Sira should conceive, I would send the cross she wears to thy venerable sanctuary. On this account both I and Sira purposed to retain this cross in memory of thy name, O Saint, and in place of it to send five thousand staters, as its value, which does not really exceed four thousand four hundred staters. From the time that I conceived this request and these intentions, until I reached Rhosochosron, not more than ten days elapsed, when thou, O Saint, not on account of my worthiness but thy kindness, appearedst to me in a vision of the night and didst thrice tell me that Sira should conceive, while, in the same vision, thrice I replied, It is well."[7]
"From that day forward Sira has not experienced the custom of women, because thou art the granter of requests; though I, had I not believed thy words, and that thou art holy and the granter of requests, should have doubted that she would not thenceforward experience the custom of women. From this circumstance I was convinced of the power of the vision and the truth of thy words, and accordingly forthwith sent the same cross and its value to thy venerable sanctuary, with directions that out of that sum should be made a disc, and a cup for the purposes of the divine mysteries, as also a cross to be fixed upon the holy table, and a censer, all of gold: also a Hunnish veil adorned with gold. Let the surplus of the sum belong to thy sanctuary, in order that by virtue of thy fortune, O saint, thou mayest come to the aid of me and Sira in all matters, and especially with respect to this petition; and that what has been already procured for us by thy intercession, may be consummated according to the compassion of thy goodness, and the desire of me and Sira; so that both of us, and all persons in the world, may trust in thy power and continue to believe in thee."[7]
The Khuzistan Chronicle, written by an Assyrian Christian from Khuzestan [Iran] probably in 680 is described as the Syriac counterpart of the Armenian work of Sebeos. We read about the relationship between the Catholicos Isho Yahb II and the persian king Khosrau II. Parvez (590-628) : "Isho Yahb was treated respectfully throughout his life, by the king himself and his two christian wives Shirin the Aramean and Mary the Roman". (Theodor. Nöldeke: Die von Guidi herausgegebene syrische Chronik, Wien 1893, p. 10)
The Chronicle of Séert (Siirt) is an anonymously authored historiographical text written by the Church of the East in Persia and the Middle East, possibly as early as the 9th century AD. The text deals with ecclesiastical, social, and political issues of the Christian church giving a history of its leaders and notable members. LVIII. - History of Khosrau Parvez, son of Hormizd "Khosrau, by gratitude for
Khosrow created several cities named after his lover Shirin, including the modern city Qasr-e Shirin, which means palace of Shirin.
See also
- Behistun Palace
- Khosrow and Shirin
- Dalal Khario, author who published a memoir under the pseudonym "Shirin"
- Nizami Ganjavi
- Qasr-e Shirin
- Sasanian music
References
- ^ Baum's later chapters cover her literary depiction fully
- ^ a b Baum 2004, p. 25.
- ^ a b Orsatti 2006.
- ^ Baum 2004, pp. 25–26.
- ^ Baum 2004, p. 26.
- ^ Baum (2004), p. 30-32
- ^ a b c Evagrius Scholasticus, "Ecclesiastical History". Book 6, Chapter XXI (21). 1846 translation by E. Walford.
- ^ Excerpts from Theophylact's History. Chapters 13.7 and 14. 1 Translation by Michael Whitby
- ^ "Sebeos' History ", Chapters 4. Translation by Robert Bedrosian (1985)
- al-Ya'qubi, this was the castle whose ruins are found today in the city Qasr-e Shirin.
Sources
- ISBN 978-1-59333-282-2.
- Brosius, Maria (2000). "Women i. In Pre-Islamic Persia". Encyclopædia Iranica, online edition. New York.
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Orsatti, Paola (2006). "Ḵosrow o Širin". Encyclopædia Iranica, online edition. New York.
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Payne, Richard E. (2015). A State of Mixture: Christians, Zoroastrians, and Iranian Political Culture in Late Antiquity. Univ of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-29245-1.