Jami's 'Salaman va Absal' as an esoteric mirror for princes in its Aq Qoyunlu context.

摘要

This dissertation seeks to demonstrate that Jami's Salaman va Absal, an allegorical Persian romance dismissed by modern scholarship as a bizarre tale about an incestuous relationship between a youth and his wet-nurse, is actually a sophisticated book of advice for a medieval Islamic ruler. The work, which was dedicated to Ya`qub Beg, leader of the Turkmen Aq Qoyunlu empire in western Iran in the ninth/fifteenth century, contains at least three interrelated levels of meaning.;Finally, Salaman va Absal may be interpreted in its historical context. For the first time in modern scholarship, this dissertation demonstrates that the work conveys details about the Aq Qoyunlu court and its ruler, Ya`qub, arguing that the figure of Salaman symbolizes Ya`qub and that the tale about Salaman's renunciation of Absal alludes to the renunciation of worldly pleasures, alcohol in particular, by Ya`qub. The commonly held view that Jami presented Salaman va Absal as a coronation gift to Ya`qub in 885/1480 is rejected in favor of a later date of composition of ca. 893/1488 when it was dedicated to the Aq Qoyunlu ruler in commemoration of his public repentance from alcohol.;First, Salaman va Absal functions as a book of advice on kingship. In order to substantiate this claim, the dissertation highlights key portions of Salaman va Absal that echo the political advice contained in such classic Perso-Islamic mirrors for princes as Qabus-nama, Siyar al-muluk, Nasih&dotbelow;at al muluk, Akhlaq-i Nas&dotbelow;iri, and Akhlaq-i Jalali. Second, Salaman va Absal serves as a manual for adepts of Sufi mysticism. According to the symbolism of the tale, the main figure, Salaman, represents the rational soul, and his beloved wet-nurse, Absal, stands for carnal pleasure. The tale thus describes how an aspirant repents (tauba) from his sins and annihilates his ego-self (nafs). Given that the Aq Qoyunlu ruler Ya`qub had an abiding interest in Sufi mysticism, which is reflected in the fact that his letters to Jumi allude to Naqshbandi spiritual techniques, he would have recognized the mystical significance of Salaman va Absal. Moreover, as this study argues, he was a disciple of Jami, who functioned as his spiritual master.