The Cultural Impact of the Persian Language in and around Bidlis

Bibliographic Data

ID9978854
AuthorsVural Genç (0000-0002-9733-9945, Istanbul University, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume57
Issue1
Pages27-45
Publication date2023-11-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueIranian Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0021-0862 • E-ISSN: 1475-4819
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/irn.2023.61
OpenAlexW4388297985
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited14

It may seem perplexing, in the beginning, to see Iranian poet Khayyām's rubaie s and other Persian poems on the gravestones of Bidlis from the late nineteenth century. However, when scrutinizing Bidlis's political and cultural history, it is clear that Persian language and culture has deep, longstanding roots in this city and been integrated into high Iranian-Islamic culture in both respects. Based mainly on primary archival sources and inscriptions, I touch on the adventures and preponderance of Persian—the lingua franca of the rulers of Bidlis, a Kurdish principality located on the Ottoman-Iranian frontier—and its intellectuals after the city was integrated into the Ottoman world, and thus the decaying ascendancy of Persian. Mohammad Amin Riyāhī's book, Nofūz-e zabān o adabīyāt-e Fārsī dar qalamrov-e Osmānī , is a well-known study in this respect, but mostly focuses on the adventures of Persian in and around court circles. Another comprehensive book on the subject, The Persianate World: The Frontiers of a Eurasian Lingua Franca , illustrates the frontiers of Persian's usage in the vast geography stretching from China, Central Asia, and India to the Ottoman world. By focusing on a limited area like Bidlis, the region's most prestigious principality, this article attempts to elucidate the impact of Persian in the Ottoman-Iranian frontiers, unearthing its influence as a language of both diplomacy and literature as well as a lingua franca of Bidlis intellectuals in the lands ruled by Kurdish rulers

Adventure · Ancient history · Archaeology · Art · Art history · China · Diplomacy · Frontier · Humanities · Islam · Kali · Lingua franca · Linguistics · Literature · Middle East · Persian · Poetry · Political science · Politics · Classics · History · Islamic Studies and History · Law · Philosophy · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East · Turkey's Politics and Society

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access