Хұсрау мен Ширин: қасіретті махаббат дастаны

Persian tragic romance by the Nizami Ganjavi

Khosrow and Shirin (خسرو و شیرین) is the title of a famous tragic romance by the Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi (1141–1209), who also wrote Layla and Majnun. It tells a highly elaborated fictional version of the story of the love of the Sasanian king Khosrow II for the Christian Shirin, who becomes queen of Persia. The essential narrative is a love story of Persian origin which was already well known from the great epico historical poem the Shahnameh and other Persian writers and popular tales, and other works have the same title. Variants of the story were also told under the title, "Shirin and Farhad" (شیرین و فرهاد).

Nizami's version begins with an account of Khosrow's birth and his education. This is followed by an account of Khosrow's feast in a farmer's house; for which Khosrow is severely chastised by his father. Khosrow asks forgiveness and repents his offence. Hormizd IV, who is now pleased with his son, forgives him. That very night, Khosrow sees his grandfather Anushirvan in a dream and Anushirvan gives him glad tidings of a wife named Shirin, a steed named Shabdiz, a musician named Barbad, and a great kingdom, that is Iran. Shapur, Khosrow's close friend and a painter, tells Khosrow of the Armenian queen Mahin Banu and her niece Shirin. Hearing Shapur's descriptions of Shirin's flawless features, the young prince falls in love with Shirin, the Armenian princess. Shapur travels to Armenia to look for Shirin. Shapur finds Shirin and shows the image of Khosrow to Shirin. Shirin falls in love with Khosrow and escapes from Armenia to Khosrow's capital Mada'in; but meanwhile, Khosrow also flees from his father's anger and sets out for Armenia in search of Shirin. On the way, he finds Shirin unclothed bathing and washing her flowing hair; Shirin also sees him; but since Khosrow was traveling in peasant clothes, they do not recognize one another. Khosrow arrives in Armenia and is welcomed by Shamira and he finds out that Shirin is in Mada'in. Again, Shapur is sent to bring Shirin. When Shirin reaches Armenia, Khosrow – because of his father's death has to return to Mada'in. The two lovers keep travelling to opposite places until Khosrow is overthrown by a general named Bahrām Chobin and flees to Armenia. In Armenia, Khosrow finally meets Shirin and is welcomed by her. Shirin, however, does not agree to marry Khosrow; unless Khosrow first claims his country back from Bahrām Chobin. Thus, Khosrow leaves Shirin in Armenia and goes to Constantinople. The Caesar agrees to assist him against Bahrām Chobin on condition that he marry his daughter Mariam. Khosrow is also forced to promise not to marry any one else as long as Mariam is alive. Khosrow succeeds in defeating his enemy and reclaims his throne. Mariam, out of jealousy, keeps Khosrow away from Shirin. Meanwhile, a sculptor named Farhad falls in love with Shirin and becomes Khosrow's love rival. Khosrow cannot abide Farhad, so he sends him as an exile to Behistun mountain with the impossible task of carving stairs out of the cliff rocks. Farhad begins his task hoping that Khosrow will allow him to marry Shirin. Yet, Khosrow sends a messenger to Farhad and gives him false news of Shirin's death. Hearing this false news, Farhad throws himself from the mountaintop and dies. Khosrow writes a letter to Shirin, expressing his regret for Farhad's death. Soon after this incident, Mariam also dies. According to Ferdowsi's version, it was Shirin who secretly poisoned Mariam. Shirin replies to Khosrow's letter with another satirical letter of condolences. Khosrow, before proposing marriage to Shirin, tries to get intimate with another woman named Shekar in Isfahan, which further delays the lovers' union. Finally, Khosrow goes to Shirin's castle to see her. Shirin, seeing that Khosrow is drunk, does not let him into the castle. She particularly reproaches Khosrow for his intimacy with Shekar. Khosrow, sad and rejected, returns to his palace. Shirin eventually consents to marry Khosrow after several romantic and heroic episodes. Yet, Shiroyeh, Khosrow's son from his wife Mariam, is also in love with Shirin. Shiroyeh finally murders his father and sends a messenger to Shirin conveying that after one week, she would have to marry him. Shirin, in order to avoid marrying Shiroyeh, kills herself. Khosrow and Shirin were buried together in the same grave.

There are many references to the legend throughout the poetry of other Persian poets including Farrokhi, Qatran, Mas'ud e Sa'd e Salman, Othman Mokhtari, Naser Khusraw, Anwari and Sanai. Nizam al Mulk mentioned that the legend was a popular story in his era.

According to the Encyclopædia Iranica: "The influence of the legend of Farhad is not limited to literature, but permeates the whole of Persian culture, including folklore and the fine arts. Farhad's helve supposedly grew into a tree with medicinal qualities, and there are popular laments for Farhad, especially among the Kurds (Mokri)." Orhan Pamuk's novel My Name Is Red (1998) has a plot line between two characters, Shekure and Black, which echoes the Khosrow and Shirin story, which is also retold in the book. The novel uses the Turkish spelling of Khosrow's name, Hüsrev.

The tale has been retold by countless Sufi poets and writers in areas which were previously part of the Persian Empire or had Persian influences, such as the northern parts of the neighbouring Indian subcontinent. In Europe, the story was told by Hungarian novelist Mór Jókai. However, the story is usually told under the name of "Shirin Farhad". The story has also become a standard tale in traditional Punjabi Qisse and Bengali Kissa. The story has been filmed numerous times including: 1926, 1929, 1931, 1934, 1945, 1948, 1956 starring Madhubala and Pradeep Kumar, 1970, 1975 and 1978. The tale was used as the inspiration for a 2008 Iranian film, Shirin, made by Abbas Kiarostami. In this formally unusual film, the story is told via the reactions of an audience of Iranian women as they sit watching the film in a cinema. The viewer has to divine the story by only ever seeing these emoting faces and listening to the film's soundtrack. The story was also referenced in the Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers song "Shirin & Fahrad". The tale was also an inspiration for the 2012 Bollywood romantic comedy film, Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi. These other illustrations are influenced by European styles of art and the variations in text to picture interpretations are reflections of previous artistic deviations from Nizami's story.

The story was especially popular at the Ottoman court during the reign of Bayezid II. There were five illustrated copies produced by the artist Şeyhi titled Hüsrev ve Şirin, one of which was produced in 1498 CE. Nizami's illustrations for Khosrow and Shirin were likely the inspiration for these copies as Şeyhi's plot was closely related to Nizami's. copied the entire text as well as painted the illustrations by themselves.

Dihlavi's Khamsa was produced in Iran in the year 1599 CE. Staying faithful to Nizami's text, her horse is black and she is unaccompanied. In this depiction, Khusraw has a hand up to his mouth to showcase his awe of Shīrīn's beauty. In this version, Murshid al Shirazi decided to place Shīrīn in a river. A second illustration, titled Khusrau Catches Sight of Shirin Bathing, by Shaikh Zada is from 1524 CE (figure 4). Made in present day Afghanistan, its materials include watercolor, ink, and gold on paper. Shīrīn is alone aside from her horse while Khusrau has his hand raised to his mouth. Her clothes are left hanging on a tree branch. Art historian, Abolala Soudavar, believes that Khusrau is actually a portrait of Hosayn Khān, the patron of the manuscript for which this illustration was produced. In this illustration, Shīrīn is shown bathing in a stream rather than a river. A third depiction, titled Shirin Before Her Bath, comes from an artist named Kamal from 1580 CE. It centralizes Shīrīn by not including Khosrow at all (figure 5). This stylistic choice reflected the common practice in the late 16th and 17th century to show Shīrīn alone. Its materials are similar to Murshid al Shirazi's illustration and include watercolor, ink, and gold on paper. Although the lack of perspective in the illustration is a sign of Persian miniature art style, the muted colors, use of chiaroscuro, and materials (oil on canvas) all show the influence of European artistry. In this illustration, the painter decided to portray Shīrīn bathing in a pond.

Another scene that is commonly illustrated is that of Shirin visiting Farhad in the mountains. As mentioned above, the scenes from Nizami and Dihlavi's stories were widely illustrated. One such illustration is located in the Princeton University Special Collections. This illustration is part of a manuscript by Dihlavi from 1524. In this version the color palette is dull and almost monochrome aside from a few colorful patches. Shirin rides visits Farhad on a black horse and wears a white headdress. The milker (Farhad was creating a channel of milk to Shirin's palace) wears a turban. Shirin is depicted with lush hair and a round face. She seems to be staring right at Farhad. However, there are differences in color and dress. The use of color in this illustration is bountiful and not at all monochromatic. The scene depicts the moment before Khusrau delivers the false new of Shirin's death to Farhad. Shirin is astride a black horse and hands Farhad a jug of milk.