Library of Great Persian Literature

Persian Literature spans two-and-a-half millennia and its sources have been within historical Persia including present-day Iran as well as regions of Central Asia where the Persian language has historically been the national language. For instance Rumi, one of Persia’s best-loved poets, born in Balkh (in what is now Afghanistan), wrote in Persian, and lived in Konya then the capital of the Seljuks. The Ghaznavids conquered large territories in Central and South Asia and adopted Persian as their court language. There is thus Persian literature from Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and other parts of Central Asia. Described as one of the great literatures of mankind, Persian literature has its roots in surviving works of Middle Persian and Old Persian, the latter of which date back as far as 522 BCE. The bulk of the surviving Persian literature, however, comes from the times following the Islamic conquest of Persia circa 650 CE. The New Persian literature arose and flourished in Khorasan and Transoxiana because of political reasons – the early Iranian dynasties such as Tahirids and Samanids were based in Khorasan.

So strong is the Persian aptitude for versifying everyday expressions that one can encounter poetry in almost every classical work, whether from Persian literature, science, or metaphysics. In short, the ability to write in verse form was a pre-requisite for any scholar. For example, almost half of Avicenna’s medical writings are in verse. This work, including some of the representative writings of the Persians, is a showcase of the literary genius of the Persian language, Its culture and its heritage.

The Titles included in this Series are –
1. The Bàgh O Bahàr
Or, The Garden and the Spring Being the Adventures of King Azad Bakht and the Four Darweshes
2. Bakhtyàr Nàma. A Persian Romance.
3. The Behâristân. (Abode of Spring) By Jâmi
4. Chahár Maqála. (“Four Discourses”) Of Nizámi-I-’Arudi of Samarqand, Revised Translation
5. Classical Persian Literature
6. The Garden of Fragrance Being a Complete Translation of the Bostán of Sádi
7. Gulzar; Or, The Rose-Bower. A Tale of Persia.
8. Odes, from the Divan of Hafiz Freely rendered from Literal
9. Omar. The Tentmaker A Romance of Old Persin
10. Persian Tales Written down for the first time in the Original Kermani and Bakhtiari
12. The Shah Nameh of Firdausi. Translated and Abridged in Prose and Verse
13. The Story of Rustem And Other Persian Hero Tales from Firdausi
14-16. Karah Kaplan. Or, The Koordish Chief. A Tale of Persia and Koordistan.
17A. Selim. The Nasakchi
A Persian Tale, in Verse
17B. Lailí and Majnún
A Poem from the Original Persian of Nizami
18A. The Diwan of Zeb-Un-Nissa
The First Fifty Ghazals
18B. The King and Cobbler
A Romance of Ancient Persia
19. The Rose Garden of Persia
20A. Salámán and Absál. An Allegory.
Translated from the Persian of Jámi.
20B. Mariam
A Romance of Persia
21. Tales of the Persian Genii