Ahli Al-khorāsāni and Kāshān’s Black-eyed Mistresses

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Abstract

Ahli Al-khorāsāni was an articulate and passionate poet who wrote sonnet in the ninth and tenth centuries after Hegira. Applying various literary techniques and artistic methods, he unveiled his lovely sensation and affection, and also his dreams toward alluring, angelic, and black-haired mistresses. There are two sonnets, written by Khorāsāni, in which he pointed out to Kāshān’s appealing and blackeyed mistresses. In addition to admiring those magnificent creatures, he depicted them as more brilliant and stunning than sweethearts form China and Tabriz. Considering a verse written by Masa’ud Saa’d Salmān, some of the investigators and etymologists argue that Kāshān refers to an splendid city located in Transoxiana. They obviously discuss that “Loa’bate Kāshāni” in Persian poems represents the aforementioned city. This study is an attempt to reject this argument through using literary and historical texts and evidences. It is proposed that when writing about Kāshān, Ahli and many other poets and writers intend to refer to the well-known city in modern Isfahan entitled as Kāshān, which has always been remarkable in science and literature.

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