On the occasion of Nezami Ganjavi’s commemoration week, two oldest and most exquisite manuscripts of the 12th-century poet’s works were unveiled in the library of the holy shrine of Imam Reza (PBUH), the eighth Shia Imam, with the presence of the head of commemoration headquarters and officials and artists, IBNA reported.
Nezami is mostly known for ‘Khamseh’, ‘Panj Ganj’, or ‘Five Treasures’, the two copies of which are kept in Iran and were inscribed on UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register List in 2011.
“Khamseh” is a pentalogy of poems written in Masnavi verse form (rhymed couplets) and totals 30,000 couplets. These five poems include the didactic work Makhzan-ol-Asrar (The Treasury of Mysteries); the three traditional love stories of ‘Khosro and Shirin’, ‘Leili and Majnun’, and ‘Haft Peykar’; and the ‘Eskandar-nameh’, which records the adventures of Alexander the Great.
The unveiling ceremony was held at the Central Library of Astan Quds Razavi on Sunday, attended by senior officials from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance and top organizers of the Nezami Week event.
The Iranian Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance plans to commemorate Nezami in a weeklong program beginning on March 12, which is celebrated in the country as Nezami Ganjavi Day.
Addressing the unveiling ceremony, the acting deputy minister for artistic affairs Mahmoud Shalouei described Nezami as a manifestation of the country’s brilliant cultural civilization, adding that “the renowned poet has tried in all his works to bring spiritual thoughts to the society”.
Referring to the exquisite manuscripts available in Razavi Library on various scientific, religious and literary topics, Shalouei said, with the participation of various cultural institutions and using the huge resources available in this collection, a cultural and artistic movement can be launched to introduce the dignitaries of Persian language and literature.
Source: Iran Daily