Nizami Ganjavi is one of the foremost figures in Persian poetry, living in Azerbaijan in the second half of the twelfth century. One of the oldest Western poets in Persian literature, he is acclaimed for his five masnavis which are assembled to form the Khamsa (Quintet). His reputation is that of a difficult and refined poet, who introduced into his verse vocabulary, expressions and allusions to the then-known sciences. This study considers all his verses containing allusions to trees and their fruit. The scientific contents of these allusions are then checked with the help of Arabic and...

This splendid work consists of thirteen essays by eminent scholars, each focusing on different aspects of the Khamsa, which is a collection of five long poems written by the Persian poet Nizami of Ganja (1141-1209). Its heroes, Khosrow and Shirin, Leili and Majnun, Iskandar, have become household names all over the Islamic world. This volume reflects topics such as mysticism, art history, comparative literature, science, and philosophy. It constitutes a significant development in the field of Nizami-studies, and more general, of Persian literature. It shows how classical Greek knowledge...