The extant divān of the eleventh-century poet Manučehri Dāmġāni is usually examined
in scholarship in the context of literary and stylistic features, the poet’s unique
descriptions of nature and innovative adaptation of Arabic themes. This supposedly
Ghaznavid-era corpus of poems is, however only available to us in mostly nineteenthcentury
manuscripts, that is eight hundred years after the poet’s lifetime. This is characteristic
of many of Manučehri’s contemporaries’ manuscript tradition. There is, however, a
group of virtually unresearched early Safavid-era manuscripts from the early
seventeenth century. Starting from the most complete Safavid-era copy referred to
as
Tehran Dānešgāh 4669, dated 1601/1010, this article tracks down the formation of the
early manuscript tradition to Taqi al-Din Kāšāni, the Safavid-era litterateur and
his anthology, Kholāsat al-ašʿār va zobdat al-afkār. The goal of this article is to
provide a basic
overview of historical context, cultural setting and relevant sources concerning the
copying and collecting of Ghaznavid-era poetic divāns after five centuries of apparent
obscurity.
