Love: Persian Style
Photo: Majnun dead upon Layla's grave
Love. That thing that makes your knees weak and palms sweat (hopefully there is no vomit on your sweater already lol). When we think of ancient Persia we may just think of warriors, kings, and stories that are so tremendous they change our lives. But we must not forget that in Ancient Persia, and indeed in other cultures, Love or عشق, is almost more powerful than war (So much so that it may lead to war). Love in ancient Persia was beautiful, anxiety-inducing, sad, funny, and everything in between. I am going to tell you 2 great Ancient Persian Love stories that will prove it.
Story 1: Majnun and Layla
The story goes that there were two young lovers, Layla Al-Aamiriya and Qays Ibn al-Mullawah. The young man, Qays, wrote poetry for Layla and was considered to be of a “simple mind” which made people call him “Majnun” or crazy. But Qays was determined to be with Layla (some may say he was crazy…in love) so he approached her father and asked for her hand in marriage. Her father had heard about his mental state and refused the request. He then arranged a marriage for his daughter to a rich man in the village. Upon hearing this news, Qays fled from his home and went to the desert. There he lived alone and some say they saw him writing poetry for Layla still and reciting them vocal into the desert abyss. Layla was moved to Arabia by her husband but was still unhappy that she had lost Qays. One day she fell sick and shortly after died. Once Qays found out about this he searched for her grave, carved lines of a poem he had written, and died there heartbroken.
Story 2: Khosrow and Shirin
This story takes place in Armenia where a young prince named Khosrow was a successful young man, destined to succeed his father and rise to the throne. One day he had a dream about his grandfather who gave him many gifts and promises, including a horse named Shabdiz and a beautiful wife named Shirin. Soon after a friend of Khosrow tells him about an Armenian queen named MahinBanu, and her beautiful niece…Shirin. The young prince falls in love with the idea of Shirin, as she is in his dreams. So the friend of Khosrow goes to Armenia to find Shirin. He finds her and describes the prince to her. She falls madly in love with his description and decides to escape Armenia to Persia to find the prince. As Shirin is doing this, Khosrow and his father have a falling out, so he flees to Armenia. Now because they are both fleeing to opposite places, Khosrow then sends his friend to fetch Shirin from Persia. But during this time, Khosrow receives news that his father has died so he goes back to Persia (while Shirin is coming back to Armenia) and claims the throne for himself. They keep missing each other. As Khosrow is king he gets overthrown by a general in his army and has to flee to Armenia where he finally sees Shirin but she refuses to marry him until he takes back his throne. He travels then to Constantinople to ask a king to help him take back his kingdom. The king agrees but there is a catch. Khosrow must marry the king’s daughter if they succeed. They succeeded and Khosrow married the daughter of the king but still loved Shirin. However, Shirin began to fall in love with a young sculptor and that made Khosrow very jealous. So he sent the sculptor on an impossible mission in the mountains, sent fake news that Shirin had died, and this sent the sculptor into a depression that made him leap from the mountain to his death. Shirin then had the wife of Khosrow poisoned. With nothing standing between them, they could finally be together…or so they thought. The son of Khosrow and the king’s daughter fell in love with Shirin also and killed his father and forced Shirin to marry him. She commits suicide instead. They end up finally being together in death by being buried together.
There are several love stories in ancient Persian culture, some similar to these but some starkly different. But through them, they tell of the same nuances and complicatedness of Love. Love is complicated. Love is kind. Love is strong. Love is scary. Love is crazy (sometimes) Love is beautiful. These stories show us that some things remain consistent through time, how we love is beautiful and full of awkward feelings that can drive one mad, or bring one peace. Whether it's love for a partner, a family member, or a friend, all of it can be in a word…Complicated.
—عبد المسیح