Encyclopedia of Islam

Persian language and literature

  

551  J

---

and member of the c

hishti

  s

UFi

  o

rder

. He was 

a composer of ghazals and was inspired by the 

stories of the Shahnamah and Nizami’s Khamsa. In 

addition, he wrote historical poems in honor of 

his royal patrons and collected the sayings of the 

Chishti saint n

izam

 

al

-d

in

 a

Wliya

 (1238–1325). 

The large number of Persian historical, mystical, 

and secular works produced in India contributed 

significantly to the shaping of the modern Urdu 

literary tradition. One of the major figures who 

marked the linkage of these two South Asian lit-

erary traditions was Mirza g

halib

 (1797–1867), 

who wrote poetry and prose in both languages.

Critics have observed that Persian literature 

declined in quality after Jami. Whether or not this 

is the case, Western influence and the develop-

ment of print culture in the 19th and early 20th 

centuries revolutionized it. New generations of 

writers have emerged who have shown great cre-

ativity and promoted the exploration of radical 

new ideas and visions. One of the most promi-

nent of these literary figures was Nima Yushij 

(1897–1960), who combined his knowledge of 

the classical Persian poetic heritage and his famil-

iarity with Russian and French poetics. His ideas 

met with resistance from traditionalists, but he 

also inspired others to engage in individualistic 

styles of literary expression. This, together with 

increased literacy, opened the door for female 

writers, the foremost of whom was Furugh Far-

rukhzad (1935–67). Two of the leading writers 

of fiction of Nima’s generation were Muhammad 

Ali Jamalzadah (1892–1997) and Sadiq Hidayat 

(1903–51), each of whom specialized in crafting 

the modern Persian short story. Many Iranian 

writers, dramatists, and filmmakers were caught 

up with the Islamic Revolution of 1978–79, but 

when the government of the shah turned into a 

theocracy under the rule of mullahs, a number of 

liberal, independently minded artists went into 

exile in Europe and the United States. This created 

a tradition of Iranian diaspora literature, much 

of which is now written in English and French 

rather than Persian. Other authors have emerged 

in Iran since the 1970s, some writing in support 

of the government’s Islamization policies, others 

choosing to work on secular themes around the 

margins of government censorship, under the 

threat of possible imprisonment.

See also 

alphabet

;  a

rabic

 

langUage

 

and

 

lit

-

eratUre

; 

cinema

;  i

ranian

  r

evolUtion

 

oF

 1978–

1979;  s

aFavid

 

dynasty

;  t

Urkish

 

langUage

 

and

literatUre

.