Histories Behind Verses. Shāhnāma-nivīsī in the Early Modern Persianate World

• Applicant: Dr. Sarah Kiyanrad
• Subject Area: Islamic Studies, Arabian Studies, Semitic Studies
• Term: from 2020 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 453679219

The research project Histories Behind Verses. Shāhnāma-nivīsī in the Early Modern Persianate World aims at contributing to a better understanding of Persian historical epics, focusing on the way they mediate history through verses.Historical epics, also known as shāhnāmas (narrative poems typically revolving around the deeds of a contemporary shah or ruler) are a core element of the Persian literary tradition and documented since the 11th century. Ever since, they have continued to be produced until the 20th century in different places all over the Persianate world, albeit in varying degrees. The project lays a special focus on the 17th and 18th centuries.Whereas a number of Persian epics have already aroused the interest of researchers, historical epics as of yet remain largely unexplored. This project takes seriously historical epics as both historiographical and literary sources offering invaluable information about the historical, socio-cultural, literary, and political context they were produced in. It aims at taking a close look at the tradition of Persian historical epic writing and at identifying generic markers that characterize the genre. At the same time, the value of historical epics (both as perceived by their writers and recipients and as historical sources) and their function will be (re)assessed and it will be shown that no study of Persian history and literature should henceforth ignore historical epics. The project will furthermore contribute a case study of the Persian-speaking world’s shared literary-cultural heritage to the study of Safavid-Ottoman-Mughal connections.

• DFG Programme: WBP Position