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Art. XV.—The Story of Yūsuf Shah Sarrāj (the Saddler), and of how the inhabitants of Kazwīn1 outwitted the heavenly bodies. A Satire
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 March 2011
Extract
Mīrzā Fath 'Ali, Akhwand-Zādeh, an officer of Tartar origin in the Russian Service at Tiflis, wrote a series of comedies in the Azeri-Tūrkī dialect, and this satirical tale, about the year 1858. These compositions were translated into Persian by Mīrzā Ja'afar of Karājah Dāgh, and these translations were lithographed and published at Tehran in 1874. The volume contains six Plays—
The Wazīr of the Khān of Lankurān, in four acts.
The Thief-taking Bear, in three acts.
The Miser, in three acts.
The Court-Pleaders, in three acts.
Mūllā Ibrāhīm Khalīl, the Alchemist, in four acts.
And the Story of Yūsuf Shah, which comes between the fourth and fifth Plays, and is written partly in narrative, partly in drama form.
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- Copyright © The Royal Asiatic Society 1895
References
page 538 note 1 Nowrōz — Vernal equinox. Persian national fête of the new year, of Zoroastrian origin.
page 538 note 2 Mīrzā—From Amīr Zādeh. Prefixed to names it is a simple title of respect equivalent to Mr.; after a name it signifies a royal prince; alone “secretary.”
page 538 note 3 Munejjim Bāshī—Chief astroleger rather than astronomer is meant here.
page 539 note 1 Ferrāsh—Lit. “spreader,” post-classical intensive noun from the Arabic root farasha. One who spreads carpets, beds, mattresses, etc., and keeps them in order. In Persian establishments the ferrāshes are messengers, ushers, and domestic police to inflict punishments.
page 539 note 2 Mustowfī—Minister of Finance or Chief Paymaster and Auditor of Accounts.
page 539 note 3 Akhwand—Dominie.
page 539 note 4 Mūllā Bāshī—Ar. Mowlā. The Mūllās are the religious teachers and priests. It is a title often prefixed to names of learned men.
page 540 note 1 Pīshkash—Present.
page 541 note 1 Tabrīz—Persians perhaps fancifully derive the name from tab- and rīz, febrifugal.
page 543 note 1 Müjtehid—Doctor of Divinity and Law. Formerly a degree conferred by the colleges. Judge of a religious court.
page 546 note 1 Mowlāna Jemāl-ed-dīn—A Shī'an divine. Celebrated for learning and piety. Mowlā-na, our lord or our master; syn. with Seyyid.
page 547 note 1 Literati—'Ulemā, the learned in religious law.
page 548 note 1 Kedkhodā—In rural districts, the village headman. In cities, a municipal magistrate. The primary sense is house-lord.
page 548 note 2 Kerbelāī—One who has visited the holy shrine of Husain, the son of 'Ali, at Kerbelā.
page 553 note 1 Mīr Akhwar—Superintendent of the royal stables.
page 554 note 1 Bang—An intoxicating decoction from powdered hemp leaves. Also called hashīsh, whence “hashīshīn,” an epithet applied to the followers of the old man of the mountain, which some consider the origin of our word assassin.
page 555 note 1 Pūch.
page 556 note 1 Pīsh-khidmet—Body-servant, valet de chambre, and table-servant.
page 556 note 2 Anderūn—Inner apartments, penetralia and seraglio.
page 559 note 1 Kaliyān—The Persian water-pipe.
page 559 notes 2 i.e. four hours after sunset.
page 560 note 1 Jāsus —Spies.
page 562 note 1 Shāhi—One-twentieth of a kerān.
page 563 note 1 Yelāk—The cool summer mountain resorts of the nomad tribes. The winter quarters are termed kishlāk.
page 563 note 2 Dīnār—A nominal value equal to one-thousandth part of a kerān.
page 563 note 3 Mayor—Beglerbegi, a Turki term primarily meaning chief of chiefs.
page 563 note 4 The Dutch as well as English and French had established factories at this time at Gombroon, at the entrance of the Persian Gulf. In the year 1622, when the English aided the Persians to drive the Portuguese from the adjacent island of Ormuz, the Shah ordered Gombroon to be named in future Bunder 'Abbās, the name it has since borne.
page 564 note 1 Mushakkah-hā-i-Ādam—The term is not found in dictionaries, but is derived from the Ar. shakk “to split,” “rive,” “rip open,” or “sunder.” Shakkah means a side of butcher's meat.
page 564 note 2 Būrd-bār.
page 566 note 1 Dāroghah—Town or Police Magistrate and Head of the City Police.