Persian literature is the jewel in the crown of Persian culture. It has profoundly influenced the literatures of Ottoman Turkey, Muslim India and Turkic Central Asia and been a source of inspiration for Goethe, Emerson, Matthew Arnold and Jorge Luis Borges among others. Yet Persian literature has never received the attention it truly deserves. A History of Persian Literature answers this need and offers a new, comprehensive and detailed history of its subject. This 18-volume, authoritative survey reflects the stature and significance of Persian literature as the single most important accomplishment of the Iranian experience. It includes extensive, revealing examples with contributions by prominent scholars who bring a fresh critical approach to bear on this important topic. The second volume in this ground-breaking series presents the reader with an extensive study of Persian Poetry from the time of Iran’s early encounter with Islam up to the end of the Timurids and the arrival of the Safavids.

The authors explore the development of poetic genres, from the panegyric qaside, to short lyrical poems (ghazal), and the quatrains (roba’i), tracing the stylistic evolution of Persian poetry between 800-1500 and offering an essential examination of the vital role these poetic forms play within the rich landscape of Persian Literature.