Persia and the Politics of Muslim Identity from Medieval to Early Modern Romance
This article delineates a continuity between the medieval representation of anti- Christian Persia in Crusade narratives and romances and the anti-Christian identity of Persia in early modern English romances from the 1580s. It links three major ways of perceiving Persia in England in the sixteenth...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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International Islamic University, Islamabad
2021-03-01
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| Series: | Journal of Contemporary Poetics |
| Online Access: | http://irigs.iiu.edu.pk:64447/ojs/index.php/jcp/article/view/1547 |
| _version_ | 1797788169693822976 |
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| author | Hafiz Abid Masood |
| author_facet | Hafiz Abid Masood |
| author_sort | Hafiz Abid Masood |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article delineates a continuity between the medieval representation of anti- Christian Persia in Crusade narratives and romances and the anti-Christian identity of Persia in early modern English romances from the 1580s. It links three major ways of perceiving Persia in England in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries when the predominant identity of Persia was anti-Ottoman and thus pro-Christian. This was due to the rise of the Safavid dynasty under Shah Ismail in 1501 and the subsequent wars between the Turks and Persians throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The second and equally important identity of Persia was classical. This had its origin in the Greek and Roman histories translated by the Renaissance humanists into English and other vernaculars. Cyrus, Darius and other Achaemenid Persian kings were well known in Renaissance England. The third set of ideas about Persia in early modern England conflated Safavid Persians and Ottoman Turks as a force united against Christendom. These three identities, in most cases, operated alone, but in some cases, two of these trajectories overlapped with each other. This article discusses the third trajectory of Persia that developed in the latter half of the sixteenth century in proto-crusading romance texts displaying strong medieval underpinnings. These proto-crusading romances include Munday’s Zelauto, Johnson’s Seven Champions of Christendom and Tasso’s Gerusalem Liberata. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T01:31:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-315c8f7f07e04e07a410567bb76c76e0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2521-5728 2788-7359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T01:31:47Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | International Islamic University, Islamabad |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Contemporary Poetics |
| spelling | doaj.art-315c8f7f07e04e07a410567bb76c76e02023-07-04T06:55:32ZengInternational Islamic University, IslamabadJournal of Contemporary Poetics2521-57282788-73592021-03-012210.54487/jcp.v2i2.15471547Persia and the Politics of Muslim Identity from Medieval to Early Modern RomanceHafiz Abid Masood0Department of English, International Islamic University IslamabadThis article delineates a continuity between the medieval representation of anti- Christian Persia in Crusade narratives and romances and the anti-Christian identity of Persia in early modern English romances from the 1580s. It links three major ways of perceiving Persia in England in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries when the predominant identity of Persia was anti-Ottoman and thus pro-Christian. This was due to the rise of the Safavid dynasty under Shah Ismail in 1501 and the subsequent wars between the Turks and Persians throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The second and equally important identity of Persia was classical. This had its origin in the Greek and Roman histories translated by the Renaissance humanists into English and other vernaculars. Cyrus, Darius and other Achaemenid Persian kings were well known in Renaissance England. The third set of ideas about Persia in early modern England conflated Safavid Persians and Ottoman Turks as a force united against Christendom. These three identities, in most cases, operated alone, but in some cases, two of these trajectories overlapped with each other. This article discusses the third trajectory of Persia that developed in the latter half of the sixteenth century in proto-crusading romance texts displaying strong medieval underpinnings. These proto-crusading romances include Munday’s Zelauto, Johnson’s Seven Champions of Christendom and Tasso’s Gerusalem Liberata.http://irigs.iiu.edu.pk:64447/ojs/index.php/jcp/article/view/1547 |
| spellingShingle | Hafiz Abid Masood Persia and the Politics of Muslim Identity from Medieval to Early Modern Romance Journal of Contemporary Poetics |
| title | Persia and the Politics of Muslim Identity from Medieval to Early Modern Romance |
| title_full | Persia and the Politics of Muslim Identity from Medieval to Early Modern Romance |
| title_fullStr | Persia and the Politics of Muslim Identity from Medieval to Early Modern Romance |
| title_full_unstemmed | Persia and the Politics of Muslim Identity from Medieval to Early Modern Romance |
| title_short | Persia and the Politics of Muslim Identity from Medieval to Early Modern Romance |
| title_sort | persia and the politics of muslim identity from medieval to early modern romance |
| url | http://irigs.iiu.edu.pk:64447/ojs/index.php/jcp/article/view/1547 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hafizabidmasood persiaandthepoliticsofmuslimidentityfrommedievaltoearlymodernromance |