Haft Peykar
Haft Peykar (Persian: هفت پیکر Haft Peykar) also known as Bahramnameh (بهرامنامه, The Book of Bahram, referring to the Sasanian emperor Bahram V) is a romantic epic by Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi written in 1197. This poem forms one part of his Khamsa.
| Haft Peykar | |
|---|---|
| by Nizami Ganjavi | |
| Original title | Haft Peykar |
| Language | Persian |
| Part of a series on |
| Nizami Ganjavi |
|---|
| The Khamsa or Panj Ganj |
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| Related topics |
| Monuments |
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Nizami Mausoleum • Nizami Museum of Azerbaijani Literature • Nizami Gəncəvi (Baku Metro) • in Ganja • in Baku • in Beijing • in Chișinău • in Rome • in Saint Petersburg • in Tashkent |
The original title in Persian Haft Peykar can be translated literally as "Seven Portraits", with the figurative meaning "Seven Beauties". Both translations are meaningful and the poet doubtless exploited intentionally the ambiguity of the words. The poem was dedicated to the Ahmadili ruler of Maragheh, Ala-al-Din Korpe Arslan bin Aq-Sonqor. The poem is a masterpiece of erotic literature, but it is also a profoundly moralistic work. It is also believed to be an imitation of an earlier Timurid book.
Around the time Haft Peykar was written, there were various ways in which Persian lyric poetry was presented and written. The style we see in Haft Peykar is one of epic literature where characters change moods and complex feelings in heroic tales. Here Nizami's hero is searching for a sort of spiritual satisfaction.