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Advanced Persian through Central Asian texts

Instructor: Peyman Eshaghi

 

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This course is a linguistic and historical journey through Transoxiana (Ma Wara' al-Nahr). It focuses on the "Persianate" world of Central Asia, where the language served as the primary vehicle for administration, poetry, and philosophy for a millennium.

The curriculum transitions from the Classical Samanid style to the Chaghatai-influenced Persian of the Timurids, ending with the modern Tajik and Uzbek-Persian synthesis.

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Course: Advanced Persian through Central Asian Texts

Week 1: The Samanid Renaissance

Text: Tarikh-e Bal'ami (10th Century) – The Persian translation of Tabari’s History.

  • Context: Written in Bukhara, this is one of the earliest major works of New Persian prose.

  • Linguistic Focus: Pure Persian vocabulary (Parsi-ye Pigah), minimal Arabic influence, and the use of archaic suffixes.

  • Theme: The revival of Persian identity in the heart of Central Asia.

 

Week 2: The Philosophy of the East

Text: Danashnameh-ye 'Ala'i (The Book of Knowledge) by Avicenna (Ibn Sina).

  • Context: Written by the Bukhara-born polymath for the Kakuyid ruler.

  • Linguistic Focus: The birth of Persian scientific and philosophical terminology. How Avicenna coined Persian words for Greek concepts.

  • Theme: Central Asia as the intellectual engine of the Islamic Golden Age.

 

Week 3: Mirror for Princes from the Steppe

Text: Siyasatnama (The Book of Government) by Nizam al-Mulk.

  • Context: Though he served the Seljuks, Nizam al-Mulk’s prose is the peak of the administrative Persian used in Merv and Balkh.

  • Linguistic Focus: Administrative jargon, moral anecdotes, and the "Clear Style" (Nasr-e Mursal).

  • Theme: Statecraft and the management of nomadic and sedentary populations.

 

Week 4: The Sufi Path in Khwarazm

Text: Fihi Ma Fihi (Excerpts) by Rumi (Balkhi).

  • Context: While Rumi moved to Anatolia, his linguistic roots are firmly in the Balkh/Central Asian tradition.

  • Linguistic Focus: Spiritual metaphors, Khorasani dialectical nuances, and the use of paradox.

  • Theme: The mystical landscape of the Central Asian mind.

 

Week 5: Timurid Historiography

Text: Zafarnama by Sharaf al-Din Ali Yazdi (15th Century).

  • Context: A biography of Timur (Tamerlane) written in the refined atmosphere of Samarkand.

  • Linguistic Focus: High-flown, ornate prose (Nasr-e Monshi-ane), complex metaphors, and the integration of Turco-Mongol titles.

  • Theme: The glorification of the "World Conqueror" and the aesthetics of power.

 

Week 6: The Scholar of Herat

Text: Baharestan by Abdurrahman Jami (15th Century).

  • Context: Jami was the "Seal of the Poets" and the intellectual giant of the Timurid court in Herat.

  • Linguistic Focus: Mastery of the Sadi-esque prose style; balance between rhymed prose (Saj') and storytelling.

  • Theme: Humanism and ethics in the Timurid twilight.

 

Week 7: The Mughal Connection

Text: Baburnama (Persian Translation).

  • Context: Originally in Chaghatai Turkic, the Persian translation by Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khana shows how Central Asian identity moved into India.

  • Linguistic Focus: Descriptive vocabulary for nature, flora, and fauna; the influence of the "Sabk-e Hindi" (Indian Style) beginnings.

  • Theme: Memory, longing for the gardens of Kabul and Samarkand.

 

Week 8: The Khanate of Bukhara

Text: Tazkira-yi Muqim-khani by Muhammad Yusuf Munshi (17th/18th Century).

  • Context: A history of the Uzbek dynasties in Bukhara.

  • Linguistic Focus: The divergence of Transoxian Persian from Safavid (Iranian) Persian; local idioms and administrative titles.

  • Theme: The isolation and preservation of Persian culture in the Khanates.

 

Week 9: The Enlightenment (Jadidism)

Text: Nawadir al-Waqayi (Excerpts) by Ahmad Donish (19th Century).

  • Context: Donish was a Bukharan intellectual who traveled to Russia and called for reform.

  • Linguistic Focus: Early modern political critique and the influence of Russian contact on Central Asian Persian.

  • Theme: The struggle between traditionalism and the "modern" world in the Bukhara Emirate.

 

Week 10: The Birth of Tajikistan

Text: Yaddasht-ha (Memoirs) by Sadriddin Ayni.

  • Context: Ayni is the national poet of Tajikistan; his memoirs document the transition from the Emirate to the Soviet Union.

  • Linguistic Focus: The shift from the classical literary language to "Tajik" (Zabon-i Tojiki); Soviet-era neologisms.

  • Theme: Class struggle and the survival of the Persian language under socialism.

 

Week 11: The Modern Uzbek-Persian Synthesis

Text: Selected Essays by Abdurauf Fitrat.

  • Context: A leading Jadid intellectual who wrote fluently in both Persian and Turkic.

  • Linguistic Focus: The bilingualism of the Samarkand and Bukhara elites; political and social reformist vocabulary.

  • Theme: Dual identity and the "Bilingual" (Zul-Lisanayn) heritage of Central Asia.

 

Week 12: Contemporary Voices from Kabul and Dushanbe

Text: Selected Short Stories by Gawhar Shard or Layi Sher-Ali.

  • Context: Modern literature reflecting the shared Persianate space of Afghanistan and Tajikistan.

  • Linguistic Focus: Differences in phonology and vocabulary between Tehran, Kabul, and Dushanbe; the use of Cyrillic vs. Perso-Arabic scripts.

  • Theme: The "Greater Khorasan" identity in the 21st century.

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Course Details:

Schedule: Fridays, 31 March – 16 June 2026

 

Time: 10:30 - 11:30 AM (US Pacific), 12:00–13:00 (US Eastern), 06:00–07:00 PM (Central European)


Format: 12 online sessions

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Tuition: $300 (payable in 3 installments)

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Notes:

Class days and times may be adjusted in accordance with the request of enrollees.

 

​​Registered participants will receive full access to recorded session videos and all course materials.​

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Registration link: https://forms.gle/qb8HgweQcqGEuPRD9​​​

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