Description
Book SynopsisIn ʿAlāʾ al-Dawla al-Simnānī between Spiritual Authority and Political Power: A Persian Lord and Intellectual in the Heart of the Ilkhanate, Giovanni Maria Martini investigates the personality of a major figure in the socio-political and cultural landscape of Mongol Iran. In pursuing this objective, the author follows parallel paths: Chapter 1 provides the most updated reconstruction of Simnānī’s (d. 736/1336) biography, which, thanks to its unique features, emerges as a cross-section of Iranian society and as a microhistory of the complex relationships between a Sufi master, Persian elites and Mongol rulers during the Ilkhanid period; Chapter 2 contains a study on the phenomenon of Arabic-Persian diglossia in Simnānī’s written work, arguing for its socio-religious function; in Chapters 3 to 6 the critical editions of two important, interrelated treatises by Simnānī are presented; finally, Chapter 7 offers the first full-length annotated translation of a long work by Simnānī ever to appear in a Western language.
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments A Note on Transliteration Introduction Simnānī and the Kubrawiyya The Criticism of Ibn ʿArabī The Current State of Research Organization and Objectives of this Book 1 Simnānī’s Biography: A Window into Iranian Society under the Ilkhanids Background Youth Metanoia The Return to Simnān The Meeting with Šaraf al-Dīn al-Ḥanawayh The Departure to Baghdad and Imprisonment at the Court of Arġūn Back to Simnān. The Trips to Iraq and the Ḥiǧāz Ṣūfīābād Ḫudādād: Simnānī’s Own Dār al-Hiǧra in the Heart of the Ilkhanate Mastery, Advanced Years and Death 2 The Relationship between al-Wārid al-šārid al-ṭārid šubhat al-mārid and the Zayn al-muʿtaqad li-zayn al-muʿtaqid Introductory Remarks Background Section One: Descriptive Analysis of the Differences between al-Wārid and the Zayn Section Two: The Dynamics of Translation: Audiences, Authorship and Divine Inspiration in the Composition of al-Wārid and the Zayn Section Three: Observations on the Structure of Some of Simnānī’s Most Relevant Works Section Four: Observations on the Persian Translation of the ʿUrwa li-ahl al-ḫalwa wa al-ǧalwa 3 The Method Used in the Preparation of the Critical Edition of al-Wārid al-šārid al-ṭārid šubhat al-mārid Foreword Description of the Manuscripts Analysis of the Evidence Useful for the Reconstruction of the Stemma Codicum and Related Hypotheses Stemma Codicum 4 Established Text of al-Wārid al-šārid al-ṭārid šubhat al-mārid 5 The Method Used in the Preparation of the Critical Edition of the Zayn al-muʿtaqad li-zayn al-muʿtaqid Foreword A Note on Transcription Description of the Manuscripts Analysis of the Evidence Useful for the Reconstruction of the Stemma Codicum and Related Hypotheses Stemma Codicum 6 Established Text of the Zayn al-muʿtaqad li-zayn al-muʿtaqid 7 The Inspiration Refuting the Rebel’s Sophistry (Translation of al-Wārid al-šārid al-ṭārid šubhat al-mārid) A Note on the Translation The Inspiration Refuting The Rebel’s Sophistry Appendix:Supplement to the Catalogue of Simnānī’s Written Works Bibliography Index
