Sadeq Hedayat (1903–1951) is an Iranian author known for his short stories and his novel Būf-i Kūr (The Blind Owl). An intellectual from an influential family, Hedayat traveled abroad at a young... Show moreSadeq Hedayat (1903–1951) is an Iranian author known for his short stories and his novel Būf-i Kūr (The Blind Owl). An intellectual from an influential family, Hedayat traveled abroad at a young age and became a vegetarian in his youth. He wrote the essay Insān-u ḥayvān (Human and animal) in 1924, when he was only 21 years old. His later essay Favāʾid-i giyāhkhārī (The benefits of vegetarianism, 1927) is understood to be the more mature version of the ideas on animal rights presented in the essay of 1924. This article explores the contents, socio-historical context and the background of Insān-u ḥayvān and Favāʾid-i giyāhkhārī, focusing in particular on the way in which Hedayat represents vegetarianism and the rhetoric he employs to advocate animal welfare in relation to his perception of the human world. Show less
The story of Joseph, in the Islamic tradition known as Yusuf, is widely known both from the Bible and the Qur’an. It found great popularity in the Turko-Persian world between 1000 and 1500, when it... Show moreThe story of Joseph, in the Islamic tradition known as Yusuf, is widely known both from the Bible and the Qur’an. It found great popularity in the Turko-Persian world between 1000 and 1500, when it started to appear in a growing variety of genres. This culminated in the 15th century, when the poet ʿAbd al-Rahman Jami composed his famous version of the narrative in the Timurid capital Herat. Earlier in the 15th century, the story became connected to one of the great names of Persian poetry: Abu’l-Qasim Firdausi, the poet who composed the Shahnama or Book of Kings, around the year 1000. The glorious pre-Islamic past as presented in the Shahnama was embraced in many ways by the Turkic and Mongol rulers who reigned over much of the Islamic world since the year 1000, and so was the moving and pious narrative of Joseph. How and why were the two brought together? This article explores the story of Joseph and its role in the cultural production of the Turko-Persian world, and discusses the connections between the story of Joseph, Firdausi, and the court culture of the Timurids. Show less
At the end of the 15th century, the Timurid ruler Sultan Husayn Bayqara had a splendid court in the city of Herat, in present-day Afghanistan. He commissioned the manufacturing of an illustrated... Show moreAt the end of the 15th century, the Timurid ruler Sultan Husayn Bayqara had a splendid court in the city of Herat, in present-day Afghanistan. He commissioned the manufacturing of an illustrated manuscript of the Bustan or “Orchard”, a book of counsel written by the Persian poet Sa’di two centuries before. For this manuscript, the master painter Kamal al-Din Bihzad made a painting to illustrate the anecdote of the seduction of Yusuf, in which he depicted Zulaykha chasing Yusuf from room to room in a labyrinth-like palace. Show less
