Iranian Influence on Moslem Literature, Part I | Page 8

which were preserved in his time on the rocks in the vicinity of Shapur and the most famous type of which are the bass-reliefs representing the triumphs of the Sasanian Shapur I, over the emperor Valentine].
These facts generally important for the history of the preservation of the epic, historic and artistic traditions of Iran, are particularly important for the investigation of the sources of the Arabic translations of the Sasanian chronicles and of the epopee of Firdausi. As we know, the translators of these chronicles were Persian "fire-worshippers" or Musalmans who had adopted Islam only externally and had remained true to the ancient Persian religion. Among them the foremost is called Mobed belonging to the city of Sabur in the province of Fars. He is important as a worker in the Iranian historical tradition and about him we shall have occasion to speak later on. This Mobed probably made Arabic translations of Sasanian chronicles from materials in the archives in the castle of Shiz. Further, the information adduced by us above regarding the castle refers to times a little previous to the age of Firdausi and undoubtedly among the materials in these archives were the sources of the Shah Nameh which were available to Firdausi through intermediate versions. Finally, we see that these Sasanian histories were illustrated, a fact which is confirmed by the statement of other Arab writers as we shall see later on. Generally the district of Arrajan enjoyed its ancient glory with reference to its cultural connections. Yakut[1] has preserved for us the information that at Raishahar in the district of Arrajan there lived in the Sasanian times men, versed in a peculiar species of syllabary who wrote medical, astronomical and logical works.
[Footnote 1: "Muajjam ul Buldan", ed. Wustenfeld, II, p. 887. This passage has been translated by Barbier de Maynard in his "Geographical, Historical and Literary Dictionary of Persia", in French, pp. 270-271. See also Fihrist II, p, 105.]
What we have studied above establishes the existence of Persian literary tradition in its national form for several centuries after the Arab invasion. Now we have to survey wherein lie the characteristic features of this tradition and what were its main contents. And we pass on to their consideration.
CHAPTER II
The Parsi Clergy and the Musalman Iranophile party of the Shuubiya 26
The part played by them in the conservation of the Persian literary tradition 30
The different varieties of this tradition; scientific, epico-historic, legendary and ethico-didactic 32
PARSI CLERGY PRESERVE TRADITION
We have demonstrated above that in the time subsequent to the Arab conquest Iranian tradition found a congenial asylum in the bosom of the Parsi priesthood. There it was maintained and developed orally as well as in a written form. The most competent among the Persian historians who employed the Arabic language in those times turned to the Parsi clergy for information. Of this we have first-hand proof in their own works and in the quotations from other works preserved in later authors. For example, they frequently remark "the Mobedan-mobed related to me", "the mobed so and so told me" and so on. In their quest for ancient Persian books, too, Arab authors searched for them among the Parsi priesthood and it was only there that they found them. Thus it was the merit of the Parsi community that it conserved Iranian traditions daring unfavourable times and handed them on to Moslem Persia under more auspicious conditions.
Involuntarily we are led to a comparison, to their advantage, with the activity of the Iranophile party of the same times in the Moslem community, the party of the Shuubiya,[1] In their capacity as promoters of learning and exponents of literature they concentrated their activity in the cultured centre of the Khalifate at Baghdad and other cities, and being familiar with Persia played an important part in the development of Moslem culture of the Middle Ages. But in the preservation of the Iranian tradition they turned to much restricted and greatly exclusive Parsi circles. In the second half of the tenth century and in the eleventh century the currents which were preparing the Persian renascence party were lost and their significance forgotten. But for the purpose of illuminating historical questions a careful examination of these currents deserves our undivided attention. It was owing to them that literary materials were preserved which were sometimes direct translations from books belonging to the Sasanian period. The course by which these materials found their way into Arabic literature can be definitely traced. They came from Parsi centres through older circles of Moslem civilisation which were sympathetic towards Persia. Generally speaking they were trustworthy transmitters. As a matter of fact the Shuubiya turned only to the Parsi circles for materials and in the explanation of the material they did not distinguish them from their other sources. Their sources betray themselves