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{{Short description|Persian Poet}} |
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'''Mehseti Ganjavi '''({{lang-fa|'''مهستی گنجوی'''}};{{lang-az|مهستی گنجوی Məhsəti Gəncəvi}}), |
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{{about|Persian poet|the contemporary singer|Mahasti}} |
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[[Image:Soltan Sanjar surprises his beloved entertaining Mahsati in his tent.jpg|thumb|"[[Ahmad Sanjar|Sultan Sanjar]] surprises his beloved entertaining Mahsati in his tent". Folio from the ''Majalis al-ushshaq'', dated October/November 1552]] |
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'''Mahsati''' ({{langx|fa|مهستی|Mahsati}}) was a medieval [[Persians|Persian]]{{sfn|de Bruijn|1991|p=85}} female poet who was reportedly one of the first poets to compose ''[[rubaʿi|ruba'iyat]]'' ([[quatrain]]s) in her native language. |
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== Name == |
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(1089<ref name="MG">{{ru icon}}{{cite web|url=http://ganca.aznet.org/ganca/mahsatir.html|title= Мехсети Гянджеви|publisher = Ganca.aznet.org|author= |accessdate=2008-02-17}}</ref> [[Ganja]]—after 1159<ref name="MG"/>, was a 12th century [[Persian language|Persian]] [[poetess]]. |
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Various interpretations of her name have been suggested based on the consonants ''mhsty'', such as Mahisti, Mahsiti or Mihisti. The most accurate interpretation is likely Mahsati,{{sfn|de Bruijn|1991|p=85}} seemingly a combination of ''māh'' (moon) and the early [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indian]] loanword ''satī'' (virtuous lady).{{sfn|de Blois|2004|p=340 (see note 3)}} |
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Mehseti (مهستی) is a compound of two words "Maah" (Moon) and "Sati" (Lady)<ref>Dehkhoda dictionary, "Mahsati"</ref> and the name appears in the works of [[Saadi]], [[Nizami]] and [[Sanai]]<ref> |
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== Biography == |
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From Dehkhoda Dictionary: |
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The historicity of Mahsati is problematic to determine.{{sfn|de Bruijn|1991|p=85}} The modern historian Francois de Blois considers her to be a semi-legendary figure, adding that "we have no information whatsoever about the historical person who (apparently) lurks behind the legend."{{sfn|de Blois|2004|p=340}} She seemingly lived between the early 11th and the middle of the 12th century.{{sfn|de Bruijn|1991|p=85}} She may have been born in [[Ganja, Azerbaijan|Ganja]], but later authors also consider to have been from [[Nishapur]], [[Badakhshan]] or [[Khujand]].{{sfn|Sharma|2021}} She was reportedly one of the first composers of ''[[rubaʿi|ruba'iyat]]'' ([[quatrain]]s) in Persian.{{sfn|de Blois|2004|p=340}} |
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مهستی |
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Mahsati was quickly presented as the heroine of romantic tales, the earliest one being the ''[[Ilāhī-Nāma|Ilahi-nama]]'' of the Sufi poet [[Attar of Nishapur]] (died 1221).{{sfn|de Bruijn|1991|p=85}} The tale narrates that Mahsati was a singer at the court of the [[Seljuk Empire|Seljuk]] ruler [[Ahmad Sanjar]] ({{reign|1118|1157}}).{{sfn|de Blois|2004|p=340}} An akin story is reported in the late 13th century by Abd Allah Jawhari in his commentary of ''qasida-yi hawliyya'', a poem about alchemy. Nevertheless, it was not taken from Attar's ''Ilahi-nama''.{{sfn|de Bruijn|1991|p=85}} According to later authors such as [[Hamdallah Mustawfi]] (died after 1339/40), Mahsati served at the court of the Ghaznavid ruler [[Mahmud of Ghazni]] ({{reign|998|1030}}).{{sfn|de Blois|2004|p=340}} The [[Iranian studies|Iranologist]] [[Jan Rypka]], however, considered it unlikely that she was already alive during the reign of Mahmud. He adds that Mahmud is evidently confused with [[Mahmud II (Seljuk sultan)|Mahmud II]], a governor of Sanjar.{{sfn|Rypka|1968|p=199}} |
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مهستی . [ م َ س ِ / م َ هَِ ] (اِ مرکب ) مخفف ماه ستی (ستی مخفف عربی سَیِّدَتی ). ماه خانم . ماه بانو. || از نامهای ایرانی : |
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داشت زالی به روستای تکاو |
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مهستی نام دختری و سه گاو. |
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The 15th-century biographical dictionary ''Tazkirat al-shu'ara'' of [[Dawlatshah Samarqandi]] (died 1495/1507) corroborates Mahsati's link with Sanjar.{{sfn|Sharma|2021}} She and [[Jahan Malek Khatun]] are the only female poets mentioned in the book, both being briefly described.{{sfn|Sharma|2009|p=151}} There Mahsati is listed amongst Sanjar's [[panegyric]] poets, in addition to other figures such as Adib Sabir, Rashid Vatvat, ‘Abd al-Vasih Jabali, and Anvari.{{sfn|Sharma|2021}} Dawlatshah narrates that Mahsati gained the attention and favour of Sanjar by performing a speech which she had improvised. This took place during one evening, when Sanjar left his audience hall to mount his horse, but found the covered by unexpected snow. The speech was the following;{{sfn|Browne|2013|p=344. See also note 2, where it is mentioned that Dawlatshah is quoted}} |
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سنائی . |
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{{quote|<poem>For thee hath Heaven saddled Fortune's steed, O King, and chosen thee from all who lead; Now o'er the Earth it spreads a silver sheet, To guard from mud thy gold-shod charger's feet</poem>}} |
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ستی و مهستی را بر غزلها |
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شبی صد گنج بخشی در مثلها. |
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The term ''dabīr''/''dabīra'' (professional scribe) is often associated with her name, but it is uncertain if she ever held this function. Most sources present her as a singer and a musician, as well as a poet of a court.{{sfn|de Bruijn|1991|p=85}} |
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نظامی . |
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== Work, legacy and assessment == |
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دختر اندر شکم پسر نشود |
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[[Image:The opening of the anonymous romance of the female poet and musician Mahsati and Amir Ahmad the preacher's son. Copy dated 1462.jpg|thumb|The opening of the anonymous romance of Mahsati and Amir Ahmad the preacher's son. Copy dated 1462]] |
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مهستی را که دل پسر خواهد. |
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The vast majority of poems ascribed to her are ''[[rubaʿi|ruba'iyat]]'' ([[quatrain]]s), whose themes are generally about complaint of a lovers absence, a lovers lack of attention, or a lovers cruelty. Many of these poems are part of the ''shahrashub'' (erotic{{sfn|Sharma|2021}}) genre, where the beloved is a young craftsman. Mahsati has become well-known for her bawdy verses.{{sfn|de Bruijn|1991|p=85}} A copy of the ''Lughat-i Furs'' of [[Asadi Tusi]] (died 1073) stored in the [[Vatican Library]] attributes one verse to Mahsati, but other copies consider [[Rudaki]] (died 940/41) to have been its author.{{sfn|de Blois|2004|p=340}} The Iranologist [[Edward Granville Browne]] considered her to some extent have lesbian inclinations.{{sfn|Browne|2013|p=344}} |
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Mahsati notably appears in the ''[[Tadhkirah (disambiguation)|tazkera]]'' (collection of biographies) ''Riaz al-sho'ara'', composed by Valeh Daghestani (died 1756) in {{circa|1747}} in [[Delhi]]. By this period, Mahsati was acknowledged as the first and most prominent female poet of the Persian language.{{sfn|Sharma|2009|p=155}} Valeh was seemingly contemplative of her poems, and saw her not just as a woman, but as an important poet.{{sfn|Sharma|2009|pp=155–156}} He recounts the tale of Mahsati, who "was a prostitute and the beloved of Sultan Sanjar." The latter admired her physical attractiveness, but was even more enthusiastic about her poetic ability, as demonstrated in the following excerpt from Valeh;{{sfn|Sharma|2009|p=156}} |
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سعدی . |
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</ref> |
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{{quote|One of her quatrains is equal to a thousand ''[[Diwan (poetry)|divan]]s''. Her quatrain had become my [[mantra]] for six months, to the extent that I even recited it in my sleep and any person who was sleeping near me would hear it and be woken up. Truly this quatrain is one of those poems the like of which a poet such as [[Khaqani]] could perhaps compose once in a lifetime, and the sincerity of these words will be clear to any poet worth his salt: |
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As an eminent poetess, she was composer of [[quatrain]]s ([[ruba'i]]s).Originated from [[Ganja]], she was said to have associated with both [[Omar Khayyám]] and [[Nizami]]. She is also said to have been a companion of [[Sultan Sanjar]]. Her alleged free way of living and peddled verses have stamped her as a Persian [[Madame Sans-Gêne]]. Her purported love affairs are recounted in the works of ''Jauhari of [[Bukhara]]''. |
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<poem>I considered your pact with me to be very weak and thought fit to break it. All the cruelties you inflicted on me, you did them, after all—[I wish] I had known early.</poem>}} |
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No details about her life are documented except that she was born in [[Ganja]] and was highly esteemed at the court of sultan Sanjar of the Seljuk dynasty. She is said to have attracted the notice and gained the favor of Sanjar by the following verse, which she extemporized one evening when the King, on going out from his audience-hall to mount his horse, found that a sudden fall of snow had covered the ground. |
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== References == |
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:For thee hath Heaven saddled Fortune’s steed, |
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{{reflist|2}} |
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:O, King, and chosen thee from all who lead, |
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:Now o’er the Earth it spreads a silver sheet |
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:To guard from mud thy gold-shod charger’s feet* |
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== Sources == |
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It is also known that Mahsati was persecuted for her courageous poetry condemning religious obscurantism, fanaticism, and dogmas. Her only works that have come down to us are philosophical and love quatrains (rubaiyat), glorifying the joy of living and the fullness of love. |
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* {{cite book | title = Persian Literature - A Bio-Bibliographical Survey: Poetry of the Pre-Mongol Period (Volume V) | year = 2004 | publisher = Routledge | last = de Blois | first = Francois | authorlink = | isbn = 978-0947593476 }} |
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* {{cite book | title = A Literary History of Persia: 4 Volume Set | year = 2013 | publisher = Routledge | last = Browne | first = Edward Granville | authorlink = Edward Granville Browne | isbn = 978-0700704064 }} |
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* {{EI2|last=de Bruijn|first=J.T.P.|volume=6|title=Mahsatī|pages=85–86|url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/mahsati-SIM_4809}} |
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* {{cite book |last1=Dabashi |first1=Hamid |authorlink = Hamid Dabashi |title=The World of Persian Literary Humanism |year=2012 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-06759-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HQFNfOPAS04C}} |
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* {{cite book | title = History of Iranian Literature | year = 1968 | publisher = Springer Netherlands | last = Rypka | first = Jan | authorlink = Jan Rypka | isbn = 978-9401034814 }} |
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* {{cite journal|last=Sharma|first=Sunil|year=2009|title=From ʿĀʾesha to Nur Jahān: The Shaping of a Classical Persian Poetic Canon of Women|publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]]|journal=Journal of Persianate Studies|issue=2|pages=148–164|url=https://www.academia.edu/47630528 }} |
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* {{cite web|url=https://blogs.bl.uk/asian-and-african/2021/03/the-courtesan-and-the-preacher-the-romance-of-mahsati.html|title=The Courtesan and the Preacher: The Romance of Mahsati, an Early Female Persian Poet|last=Sharma|first=Sunil|date=2021|website=The British Library |access-date=1 March 2021}} |
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== Further reading == |
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About 200 works of Mahsati remained. A monument to her was placed in Ganja in 1980. |
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* {{cite journal |last1=Gould |first1=Rebecca |title=Mahsatī of Ganja's Wandering Quatrains: Translator's Introduction |journal=Literary Imagination |date=2011 |volume=13 |issue=2 |pages=225–227 |doi=10.1093/litimag/imr013}} |
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* {{cite book |last1=Lornejad |first1=Siavash |last2=Doostzadeh |first2=Ali |editor1-last=Arakelova |editor1-first=Victoria |editor2-last=Asatrian |editor2-first=Garnik |title=On the modern politicization of the Persian poet Nezami Ganjavi |date=2012 |publisher=Caucasian Centre for Iranian Studies|url=https://persianpoetry.arizona.edu/sites/persianpoetry.sites.arizona.edu/files/POLITICIZATION%20OF%20NEZAMI_0.pdf}} |
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==Example of original work in Persian== |
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{{quotation| |
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'''ما را به دم تير نگه نتوان داشت''' <br> |
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'''درحجره ی دلگيرنگه نتوان داشت''' <br> |
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'''آنراکه سرزلف چو زنجيــــربود''' <br> |
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'''درخانه به زنجير نگه نتوان داشـت'''<br> |
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<br>}} |
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English translation : |
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{{quotation|We can't be halted by tip of the arrow<br>In a melancholic cell<br>The one whose hair is like a chain <nowiki>[</nowiki>for the lover<nowiki>]</nowiki><br />Can't be chained indoor}} |
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==Notes== |
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{{reflist}} |
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==References== |
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* Jan Rypka, ''History of Iranian Literature''. Reidel Publishing Company. 1968 {{OCLC|460598}}. ISBN 90-277-0143-1 |
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* Edward Brown, A literary History of Persia in Four Volumes. Cambridge university Press 1969, vol. 2, p. 344) |
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==External links== |
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*[http://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/G/GanjaviMahsa/index.htm#PoemList Poems by Mahsati Ganjavi] |
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*[http://www.mahmoodkavir.com/persian/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=169&Itemid=60 Poems and biography of Mahasti Ganjavi ('''in Persian''')] |
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==See also== |
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*[[List of Persian poets and authors]] |
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*[[Persian literature]] |
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{{portal|Poetry}} |
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{{Persian literature}} |
{{Persian literature}} |
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{{Authority control}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahsati}} |
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[[Category:People from Ganja]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Year of death unknown]] |
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[[Category:12th-century Persian-language poets]] |
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[[Category:12th-century women writers]] |
[[Category:12th-century women writers]] |
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[[Category:Iranian women writers]] |
[[Category:Iranian women writers]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Persian-language women poets]] |
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[[Category:Women poets]] |
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[[Category:Medieval poets]] |
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[[Category:Romantic poets]] |
[[Category:Romantic poets]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:12th-century deaths]] |
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[[Category:12th-century Iranian people]] |
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[[Category:Poets from the Seljuk Empire]] |
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{{Iran-poet-stub}} |
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[[az:Məhsəti Gəncəvi]] |
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[[de:Mahsati]] |
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[[es:Mahsati Ganjavi]] |
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[[fa:مهستی گنجوی]] |
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[[ka:მაჰსეთი განჯევი]] |
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[[ru:Мехсети Гянджеви]] |
Latest revision as of 18:22, 2 December 2024
Mahsati (Persian: مهستی, romanized: Mahsati) was a medieval Persian[1] female poet who was reportedly one of the first poets to compose ruba'iyat (quatrains) in her native language.
Name
[edit]Various interpretations of her name have been suggested based on the consonants mhsty, such as Mahisti, Mahsiti or Mihisti. The most accurate interpretation is likely Mahsati,[1] seemingly a combination of māh (moon) and the early Indian loanword satī (virtuous lady).[2]
Biography
[edit]The historicity of Mahsati is problematic to determine.[1] The modern historian Francois de Blois considers her to be a semi-legendary figure, adding that "we have no information whatsoever about the historical person who (apparently) lurks behind the legend."[3] She seemingly lived between the early 11th and the middle of the 12th century.[1] She may have been born in Ganja, but later authors also consider to have been from Nishapur, Badakhshan or Khujand.[4] She was reportedly one of the first composers of ruba'iyat (quatrains) in Persian.[3]
Mahsati was quickly presented as the heroine of romantic tales, the earliest one being the Ilahi-nama of the Sufi poet Attar of Nishapur (died 1221).[1] The tale narrates that Mahsati was a singer at the court of the Seljuk ruler Ahmad Sanjar (r. 1118–1157).[3] An akin story is reported in the late 13th century by Abd Allah Jawhari in his commentary of qasida-yi hawliyya, a poem about alchemy. Nevertheless, it was not taken from Attar's Ilahi-nama.[1] According to later authors such as Hamdallah Mustawfi (died after 1339/40), Mahsati served at the court of the Ghaznavid ruler Mahmud of Ghazni (r. 998–1030).[3] The Iranologist Jan Rypka, however, considered it unlikely that she was already alive during the reign of Mahmud. He adds that Mahmud is evidently confused with Mahmud II, a governor of Sanjar.[5]
The 15th-century biographical dictionary Tazkirat al-shu'ara of Dawlatshah Samarqandi (died 1495/1507) corroborates Mahsati's link with Sanjar.[4] She and Jahan Malek Khatun are the only female poets mentioned in the book, both being briefly described.[6] There Mahsati is listed amongst Sanjar's panegyric poets, in addition to other figures such as Adib Sabir, Rashid Vatvat, ‘Abd al-Vasih Jabali, and Anvari.[4] Dawlatshah narrates that Mahsati gained the attention and favour of Sanjar by performing a speech which she had improvised. This took place during one evening, when Sanjar left his audience hall to mount his horse, but found the covered by unexpected snow. The speech was the following;[7]
For thee hath Heaven saddled Fortune's steed, O King, and chosen thee from all who lead; Now o'er the Earth it spreads a silver sheet, To guard from mud thy gold-shod charger's feet
The term dabīr/dabīra (professional scribe) is often associated with her name, but it is uncertain if she ever held this function. Most sources present her as a singer and a musician, as well as a poet of a court.[1]
Work, legacy and assessment
[edit]The vast majority of poems ascribed to her are ruba'iyat (quatrains), whose themes are generally about complaint of a lovers absence, a lovers lack of attention, or a lovers cruelty. Many of these poems are part of the shahrashub (erotic[4]) genre, where the beloved is a young craftsman. Mahsati has become well-known for her bawdy verses.[1] A copy of the Lughat-i Furs of Asadi Tusi (died 1073) stored in the Vatican Library attributes one verse to Mahsati, but other copies consider Rudaki (died 940/41) to have been its author.[3] The Iranologist Edward Granville Browne considered her to some extent have lesbian inclinations.[8]
Mahsati notably appears in the tazkera (collection of biographies) Riaz al-sho'ara, composed by Valeh Daghestani (died 1756) in c. 1747 in Delhi. By this period, Mahsati was acknowledged as the first and most prominent female poet of the Persian language.[9] Valeh was seemingly contemplative of her poems, and saw her not just as a woman, but as an important poet.[10] He recounts the tale of Mahsati, who "was a prostitute and the beloved of Sultan Sanjar." The latter admired her physical attractiveness, but was even more enthusiastic about her poetic ability, as demonstrated in the following excerpt from Valeh;[11]
One of her quatrains is equal to a thousand divans. Her quatrain had become my mantra for six months, to the extent that I even recited it in my sleep and any person who was sleeping near me would hear it and be woken up. Truly this quatrain is one of those poems the like of which a poet such as Khaqani could perhaps compose once in a lifetime, and the sincerity of these words will be clear to any poet worth his salt:
I considered your pact with me to be very weak and thought fit to break it. All the cruelties you inflicted on me, you did them, after all—[I wish] I had known early.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h de Bruijn 1991, p. 85.
- ^ de Blois 2004, p. 340 (see note 3).
- ^ a b c d e de Blois 2004, p. 340.
- ^ a b c d Sharma 2021.
- ^ Rypka 1968, p. 199.
- ^ Sharma 2009, p. 151.
- ^ Browne 2013, p. 344. See also note 2, where it is mentioned that Dawlatshah is quoted.
- ^ Browne 2013, p. 344.
- ^ Sharma 2009, p. 155.
- ^ Sharma 2009, pp. 155–156.
- ^ Sharma 2009, p. 156.
Sources
[edit]- de Blois, Francois (2004). Persian Literature - A Bio-Bibliographical Survey: Poetry of the Pre-Mongol Period (Volume V). Routledge. ISBN 978-0947593476.
- Browne, Edward Granville (2013). A Literary History of Persia: 4 Volume Set. Routledge. ISBN 978-0700704064.
- de Bruijn, J.T.P. (1991). "Mahsatī". In Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E. & Pellat, Ch. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume VI: Mahk–Mid. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 85–86. ISBN 978-90-04-08112-3.
- Dabashi, Hamid (2012). The World of Persian Literary Humanism. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-06759-2.
- Rypka, Jan (1968). History of Iranian Literature. Springer Netherlands. ISBN 978-9401034814.
- Sharma, Sunil (2009). "From ʿĀʾesha to Nur Jahān: The Shaping of a Classical Persian Poetic Canon of Women". Journal of Persianate Studies (2). Brill: 148–164.
- Sharma, Sunil (2021). "The Courtesan and the Preacher: The Romance of Mahsati, an Early Female Persian Poet". The British Library. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
Further reading
[edit]- Gould, Rebecca (2011). "Mahsatī of Ganja's Wandering Quatrains: Translator's Introduction". Literary Imagination. 13 (2): 225–227. doi:10.1093/litimag/imr013.
- Lornejad, Siavash; Doostzadeh, Ali (2012). Arakelova, Victoria; Asatrian, Garnik (eds.). On the modern politicization of the Persian poet Nezami Ganjavi (PDF). Caucasian Centre for Iranian Studies.