The Persian Presence in the Islamic World (Levi Della Vida Symposia, Series Number 13)

In this volume, distinguished scholars reassess the Persian contribution to the Islamic world. The major essay by Ehsan Yarshater casts fresh light on that role, challenging the view that Islamic culture declined after the ninth century. In fact, he maintains, the adoption of Persian as the medium of literary expression meant that by the sixteenth century, Persian literary and intellectual paradigms had been cultivated in the greater part of the Islamic world. The ensuing essays are devoted to specific aspects of that contribution. The Thirteenth Volume Based On The Giorgio Levi Della Vida Conference Series At Ucla Assesses The Role Played By The Iranian Peoples In The Development And Consolidation Of Islamic Civilization. In His Key Chapter, Ehsan Yarshater Casts Fresh Light On That Role, Challenging The View That, After Reaching A Climax In Baghdad In The Ninth Century, Islamic Culture Entered A Period Of Stagnation And Decline. In Fact, He Maintains, A New And Remarkably Creative Phase Began In Khurasan And Transoxania, Symbolized By The Adoption Of Persian As The Medium Of Literary Expression. Persian Literary And Intellectual Paradigms And A Mystical World-view Spread From Anatolia To India. By The Mid-sixteenth Century, They Were Being Supported And Cultivated In The Three Empires That Encompassed The Greater Part Of The Islamic World: The Ottoman, The Safavid, And The Mughal. Professor Yarshater Also Challenges Some Traditional Assumptions And Recent Claims About The Islamization Of Persia Or Persianization Of Islam. In The Chapters Which Follow, Six Distinguished Scholars Consider The Historical, Cultural, And Religious Aspects Of The Persian Presence In Islamic Civilization. The Persian Presence In The Islamic World / Ehsan Yarshater -- Persian Scientists In The Islamic World: Astronomy From Maragha To Samarqand / George Saliba -- The West-eastern Divan: The Influence Of Persian Poetry In East And West / Annemarie Schimmel -- Ideas Of Time In Persian Mysticism / Gerhard Bw̲ering -- Persian Miniatures: Illustrations Or Paintings / Oleg Grabar -- The Persian Contribution To Islamic Historiography In The Pre-mongol Period / C. Edmund Bosworth -- The Influence Of Persian Language And Literature Among The Turks / Gerhard Doerfer. Edited By Richard G. Hovannisian And Georges Sabagh. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Contents Preface Presentation of Award Introduction Yarshater The Persian Presence in the Islamic World Saliba Persian Scientists in the Islamic World Schimmel The West-Eastern Divan Boewering Ideas of Time in Persian Mysticism Grabar Persian Miniatures: Illustrations or Paintings Bosworth The Persian Contribution to Islamic Historiography Doerfer The Influence of Persian Language and Literature among the Turks INDEX Khurasan STOP