In the course of their long history on Iranian soil the Jews of Iran have produced a large body of literature which has been little studied and published. This volume deals with one of the most prominent Jewish poets of Iran, known as 'EmrÄnÄ« (1454-1536 C.E.).
The book consists of three parts. The first part studies 'EmrÄnÄ«'s time, life and work and analyzes in depth the poet's last major work entitled Ganj-nÄme (The Book of Treasure). Ganj-nÄme, which is closely modeled after compositions of classical Persian literature, is 'EmrÄnÄ«'s versified commentary of the ethical tractate of the Mishnah commonly known as Pirqey Abot (âThe Chapters of the Fathersâ).
The second part of the book offers the English translation, annotation and source study of Ganj-nÄme. The third and last part of the book provides a critical edition of Ganj-nÄme.
David Yeroushalmi, Ph.D. (1986) in Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures, Columbia University, New York, is Senior Lecturer at Tel-Aviv University. He has published articles in the field of Judeo-Persian Literature and Culture and participated in various scholarly projects in the fields of Iranian and Judaic studies.
All those interested in medieval Jewish and Islamic literatures, Persian classical literature, medieval rabbinic thought, medieval Jewish and Islamic folk literature, Judeo-Persian and Judeo-Islamic thought and philosophy.