Publisher's Synopsis
What is special about this manuscript? The poet Khaqani-Shirvani - usually known as Khaqani - is considered one of the great early classical authors of Persian literature, despite his controversial idiosyncratic and complex style. The poem, until now known as Tuhfat al-eraqeyn, is a famous epic work that represents the author's recollections of his pilgrimage to Mecca and return home. The poet was presumably born in 1126, as his date of death is considered to be 1198/99. The oldest copy of this work that was known until now was a manuscript from about two hundred years after the poet's lifetime. The Viennese manuscript under discussion carries the date 1196, hence it is nearly two hundred years older! It seems to have been written during Khaqani's lifetime, and it is even possible that the author wrote it himself! Thus an extraordinary treasure of Persian literary history lies in Vienna. At Iraj Afshar's suggestion, the manuscript has now been published in a facsimile edition in a collaboration between the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the respected Teheran publisher "Miras-e Maktoob".
