1821.] Kennedy^ s Essaij on 



our present elucidation to say, that 

 Abu'i Jatfiir Muliamed beu Jurair el 

 Tabaai is the father of Fersiau history ; 

 he flourished A.D. iJOO : he wrote iu 

 Arabic, but his work was trauslated 

 into Persian by Abu'l Fazl Ahmed, al- 

 most im;nediately after it wa;; com- 

 posed; this work is celebrated for its 

 anti({uity. Many other histories have 

 been written, the most celebnited of 

 whieli is of the lath century; it is 

 called Roy Uoozet Essafa of l^luhamed 

 ben Henian ; it commences witii the 

 creation of tlie world, and consists of 

 .seven j>arts ; the fjrst contains the His- 

 tory of the Creation, the Projihets and 

 the Kings of Persia ; the remaining six 

 parts contain the History of Muhamed, 

 his successors, the twelve Emans, and 

 t!ie Khalifs, the dynasties contemporary 

 with the Abbassicles, Jengis Khan and 

 his successors, Jeiiuur and his succes- 

 sors, and Sultan Hosein, who died in 

 A.D, 1515. This work is in seven large 

 volumes. 



The Persians have extracts aiid 

 translations of almost all tiie Greciaji 

 authors, Aristotle, Euclid, Ptolemy, 

 Hippocrates, Galen, &c. translated from 

 Arabic versions, made from the Syrian 

 in the Sth, 9th, and 10th centuries of 

 the (Christian u;ra. 



Tile Persians divide poetry into three 

 kinds, the (iiiazel, Kassideh, and the 

 Masnawi; the Gh;izel is a species of 

 composition consisting of from two to 

 five couplets, tlie two verses of the first 

 couplet rhyme together, the others do 

 not: the topics of this mode of writing 

 are, descriptions of the charms, tlie 

 cruelty or kindness of the beloved ob- 

 ject, the vanity of the world : in t!ie 

 best Ghazels. the riiymes terminate in 

 each letter of the alphabet ; when this 

 poetry is happilyfiuished, it is honoured 

 with the name of Diwan. Tne best 

 writer of tljis kind of versification, is 

 acknowledged to be Hafez, who died 



A.I), v.vyi. 



Tlie Kassideh is subject (o the same 

 rules of versification ; its princijia! and 

 almost universal topic is j)anegyric em- 

 bhuoniMl by hyperbole and far-fetched 

 melaplior. 



Tlie Masnawi is a poem consisting 

 of rhymed couplets of nine, ten, or 

 eleven syllables ; tlie subjects it em- 

 braces are warlike, amatory, laoral, 

 rcdigious, or mystic. The first poet 

 who (^imposed a Miisnaw was ylbuH 

 Kusaem Mnnsur, who becam(! so cele- 

 hrated under the nami; of Firdansi. 

 This celebrated poet also couiposedlive 



Persian Lilercdure. 



ill 



poems, which obtained such celebrity 



that they are <listino;uishe'l by the name 



Khamxa/i, or the Five. He fionrislied 



about the yenr 1000. One of the five 



poems wliicb he composed is called 



Sikandar Namah (Alexander the 



Great). Tile contents of this poem, 



after flie usual prayers and invocation 



to God, the praises 'of the Prophet and 



the Prince to whom it is dedicated, and 



a preface, all in verse, are as follow : 



The birih of Sihamiur, .ton of Filekus, 

 C Alexander, son of Philip.) 



His education by Lakiimajis the father of 

 Aristotle. 



His accession to the throne ofSIakedunich, 

 (Macedonia.J 



His marching with an army to the assist- 

 ance oftheEfiyptiati-, at the'r request. 



His battle with the Abyssinians, and vic- 

 tory orer them. 



His return from Abyssinia, and building 

 Ishandria C Alexandria. J 



His consult ill!) omens respecting the pay- 

 mevt of tribute to Dara fbarius.J 



The refusal of the tribute, and commence- 

 ment of the war with Dara. 



Sikandar assembles his army. 



His battle ivith Dara. 



Dura's assassination by two of his oncers, 

 and Sikandar's victory. 



The swearing of allegiance by the Persians 

 to Sihandar. 



Destruction of the Fire temples in Persia. 



Sihandar's marriage with Roshanah, 

 daughter of Dara. 



Sikandar's coronation at Istahhar. 



The sending of Aristotle and Roshanah, 

 to Greece. 



Sihandar's pilgrimage to Mecca, and 

 conquest of Arabia. 



Invasion of Bardaa fpart of the present 

 Armenia, and then governed by a 

 Queen named NushdbdhJ. 



Sikandar going disguised an Ambassador 

 to Nashubdh. 



NushubdlCs coming to the pavilion of Si- 

 kandar. 



Description of a banquet. 



Sihandar's going to BabuH Abuub, and 

 there burying his treasures. 



Sikandar takes a fort belonging to banditti 

 through the prayers of a hermit. 



Sikandar visits the Mausoleum of Kui- 

 Khosru. 



Sihandar marches to Rei and Khorasan. 



Sikandar''s conquests in Hindoostan. 



Invasion of China by way of Thibet ; let- 

 ters and embassies between Sikandar 

 and the Emperor of China ; peace 

 concluded ; Sikandar' s stay for some 

 time in China. 



Sihandar receives accounts of Bardaa 

 having been invaded and laid waste 

 by the Ait Moscow, .Uuscowites flius 

 sinns.) 



Sihandar's 



