From Khorasan to Iraq: Understanding the Major Stylistic Shifts in Persian Poetry

For over a millennium, Persian poets have refined their craft through successive schools of style (sabk). Two foundational epochs—the Khorasani style of the 10th–12th centuries and the Iraqi style of the 13th–15th centuries—mark a decisive evolution in language, imagery, and worldview. By tracing their differences, we gain insight into how social change, religious currents, and cross-cultural exchange reshaped Persian verse.

1. The Khorasani Style: Courtly Clarity and Heroic Grandeur

Historical Context

Centered in the eastern provinces of the Samanid and Ghaznavid realms—Khorasan, Transoxiana, and Ghazna—this period saw the rise of the first great Persian courtly poets, notably Rudaki, Farrūkhī Sīrjānī, Unsūrī, and As̲h̲ǰadī.

Key Characteristics

• Elevated Diction: A relatively straightforward lexicon drawn from early New Persian; rare Arabic loanwords.

• Concrete Imagery: Emphasis on vivid descriptions of the natural world—mountains, rivers, falcons—and courtly pageantry (thrones, banners, courtiers).

• Heroic Themes: Panegyrics (qasīdas) celebrating the ruler’s martial virtues, generosity, and justice.

• Formal Structure: Strict adherence to the classical qasīda pattern—nasīb (introductory love or nature scene), rahīl (journey), madīḥ (praise), and duaʾ (prayer).

Example (Rudaki, translated):
“Like the cedars of Panjshir stood his banners,
Their emerald shade casting fear into distant eyes.”

2. The Transition: From East to West

Two major forces catalyzed stylistic change:

1. The Mongol Conquests (13th c.) displaced poets westward, fostering new cultural centers in Tabriz, Shiraz, and Baghdad.

2. The Rise of Sufism introduced mystical vocabulary and allegory into mainstream verse, softening the rigid courtly ethos.

As poets migrated and Sufi orders spread, …