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Shiraz in the Age of Hafez: The Glory of a Medieval Persian City
In the fourteenth-century Persian city of Shiraz, poets composed, scholars studied, mystics sought hidden truths, ascetics prayed and fasted, drunkards brawled, and princes and their courtiers played deadly games of power. This was the world of Shams al-Din Mohammad Hafez Shirazi, a classical poet who remains broadly popular today in his native Shiraz and in modern Iran as a whole, and among all lovers of great verse traditions.
As John Limbert notes, Hafez's poetry is inseparable from the Iranian spirit - a reflection of Iranians' intellectual and emotional responses to events. But if Hafez's endurance derives from the considerable charm of his work, it also arises from his sure grounding in the life of his day, from a setting so deftly explored by his verse that his depictions of it retain a timeless relevance.
To fully comprehend and enjoy Hafez, and thus to understand a root force in modern Iranian consciousness, we must know something of the city in which he lived and wrote. In this book, Limbert provides not only a rich context for Hafez's poetry but also a comprehensive perspective on a fascinating place in a dynamic time. His portrait of this elegant, witty poet and his marvelous city will be as valuable to medievalists, students of the Middle East, and specialists in urban studies as it will be to connoisseurs of world literature.
As John Limbert notes, Hafez's poetry is inseparable from the Iranian spirit - a reflection of Iranians' intellectual and emotional responses to events. But if Hafez's endurance derives from the considerable charm of his work, it also arises from his sure grounding in the life of his day, from a setting so deftly explored by his verse that his depictions of it retain a timeless relevance.
To fully comprehend and enjoy Hafez, and thus to understand a root force in modern Iranian consciousness, we must know something of the city in which he lived and wrote. In this book, Limbert provides not only a rich context for Hafez's poetry but also a comprehensive perspective on a fascinating place in a dynamic time. His portrait of this elegant, witty poet and his marvelous city will be as valuable to medievalists, students of the Middle East, and specialists in urban studies as it will be to connoisseurs of world literature.
192 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 15, 2021
Bagaimana sebuah kota yang sering dilanda serangan dan perebutan kuasa pada era yang sama Monghol meranapkan sebuah empayar dan membumihanguskan kota-kota, penyair yang diungguli Hafez dapat mewariskan karya yang mencetuskan kagum dan cinta dari Barat hingga Timur pada masa kini?
Buku ini tentu tidak menjawab soalan sukar itu tetapi kita dapat membaca bagaimana sosiobudaya dan sosiopolitik Shiraz pada abad ke-13 dan ke-14 itu yang turut menjadi era pra-Safavid yang menjadi permulaan kepada Iran yang kita kenali sebagai negara berpegang kepada Syiah Imam Dua Belas.
Membuka dengan sejarah Shiraz hingga penjajahan Mongol, kita diperlihatkan dinasti bertukar dan pemerintah berubah dengan kuasa baru dari Timur Jauh itu menjadi penentu. Politik terlalu seru pada kota seperti Shiraz, serangan boleh berlaku selang setahun, seorang bapa boleh mencurigai puteranya, adik-beradik berebut kuasa, pemaisuri mencatur pemerintahan yang lazimnya semua pemain politik berakhir dengan pertumpahan darah.
Namun, Shiraz bukan hanya politik. Buku ini juga tentang manusianya, keluarga besar yang berpengaruh dalam dunia pentadbiran dan kehakiman, keilmuan serta kesufian hingga mewariskan khazanah berbentuk karya akidah dan tasawuf.
Buku ini tidak menyusur kehidupan Hafez tetapi ia melihat dari atas 200 tahun yang seorang penyair agung, Hafez hidup padanya.
Buku ini tentu tidak menjawab soalan sukar itu tetapi kita dapat membaca bagaimana sosiobudaya dan sosiopolitik Shiraz pada abad ke-13 dan ke-14 itu yang turut menjadi era pra-Safavid yang menjadi permulaan kepada Iran yang kita kenali sebagai negara berpegang kepada Syiah Imam Dua Belas.
Membuka dengan sejarah Shiraz hingga penjajahan Mongol, kita diperlihatkan dinasti bertukar dan pemerintah berubah dengan kuasa baru dari Timur Jauh itu menjadi penentu. Politik terlalu seru pada kota seperti Shiraz, serangan boleh berlaku selang setahun, seorang bapa boleh mencurigai puteranya, adik-beradik berebut kuasa, pemaisuri mencatur pemerintahan yang lazimnya semua pemain politik berakhir dengan pertumpahan darah.
Namun, Shiraz bukan hanya politik. Buku ini juga tentang manusianya, keluarga besar yang berpengaruh dalam dunia pentadbiran dan kehakiman, keilmuan serta kesufian hingga mewariskan khazanah berbentuk karya akidah dan tasawuf.
Buku ini tidak menyusur kehidupan Hafez tetapi ia melihat dari atas 200 tahun yang seorang penyair agung, Hafez hidup padanya.
January 17, 2021
This is a competent work of love, exploring the city that surrounded Persia's possibly greatest poet, Hafez, during the 1300s. The book is comparable to a rather dry but insightful tour of Dante's Florence, full of the scholars, mob leaders, artists and warlord rulers who were backdrop to the poet's work. We see, for example, Shah Shoja Mozaffari, who conquered Shiraz in 1353 and subjected it's vibrant people to harsh control, closing the bars, opium houses and brothels -- at which Hafez wrote:
They have closed the tavern doors.
O God don't let them open the doors to the house of deceit and hypocrisy.
If they have closed them for the sake of the selfish ascetic,
be strong, for they will open them for the sake of God
Where many works focus on Hafez himself, here we have a focus on his dramatic surroundings. The citations of poetry are sparing, but more powerful for Limbert's context. Like China's Li Po but more saintly, this hard-drinking, huge hearted Hafez gives voice to Iran's real soul, in verses which still rankle the country's rulers:
Everyone, whether drunk or sober, seeks the beloved.
Every place, whether it be mosque or synagogue, is the house of love.
They have closed the tavern doors.
O God don't let them open the doors to the house of deceit and hypocrisy.
If they have closed them for the sake of the selfish ascetic,
be strong, for they will open them for the sake of God
Where many works focus on Hafez himself, here we have a focus on his dramatic surroundings. The citations of poetry are sparing, but more powerful for Limbert's context. Like China's Li Po but more saintly, this hard-drinking, huge hearted Hafez gives voice to Iran's real soul, in verses which still rankle the country's rulers:
Everyone, whether drunk or sober, seeks the beloved.
Every place, whether it be mosque or synagogue, is the house of love.
May 13, 2018
This small volume works better as a reference guide than as work telling a story. It has details on all aspects of life in early 14th Century Shiraz, including handy references to which buildings were still standing in the 1970s. It would be a great volume to take on holiday to Shiraz if you are a Hafez fan, but can be hard going read from cover to cover for interest.
February 12, 2022
It’s amazing how John brought to life what it was like in 14th century Shiraz. It got me thinking of how certain aspects of our lives are the same regardless of how far in the future we are to the 14th century. I can’t wait to visit Shiraz (with this book for guidance).
February 18, 2023
A fascinating topic but the author mostly tends to make it rather dull. Again and again he lists people and places and seldom gives any idea of the glory. The facts are present but any sense of the time and the poets is lacking.
October 14, 2017
A quick, accessible read on the history of a city. The author also came to Persian table a couple of years ago!
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March 19, 2007this is a very nice book
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews