A Key to the Treasure of the Hakim

This volume consists of thirteen essays by eminent scholars, each focusing on different aspects of the Khamsa, a collection of five long poems written by the Persian poet Nizami of Ganja (1141–1209). The cycle’s heroes, Khosrow and Shirin, Leili and Majnun, and Iskandar, have become household names all over the Islamic world. Considering the work from such perspectives as art history, comparative literature, science, philosophy, and mysticism, the contributors revive and challenge traditional views on the poet and his work. Appropriate for both specialists and anyone interested in the movement of ideas through the medieval world, Nizami is a major contribution to the study of one of the most important figures in classical Persian literature.