Kholasat al-Ashar va Zobdat al-Afkar (Ray and Astarabad Section)

• Persian Title: خلاصه الاشعار و زبده الافکار (بخش ری و استراباد و نواحی آن بلاد)
• Transliterated Title: Khulāṣat al-Ashʿār wa Zubdat al-Afkār (Qism al-Rayy wa Astarābād)
• English Title: The Quintessence of Poems and the Choice of Ideas: Poets of Rayy and Astarābād
• Author: Mīr Taqī al-Dīn Kāshānī
  (known as Mīr Tadhkira, pen name Dhikrī; d. 1016 A.H.)
• Editors: Mortażā Mūsavī; Reżvān Massāḥ
• Language: Persian
• ISBN: 978-600-203-210-2
• Publication Year: 2020
• Pages: 336
• Format: PDF
• Category: Persian Language and Literature
• Miras Maktoob Collection Code: 353

【Summary】

Mīr Taqī al-Dīn Kāshānī, one of the prominent poets and writers of the Safavid era, devoted more than four decades (ca. 975–1016 A.H.) to compiling his monumental biographical anthology Khulāṣat al-Ashʿār wa Zubdat al-Afkār. The work records the lives and selected poems of nearly 870 poets, ranging from early figures to Kāshānī’s contemporaries.

The concluding section (khātima) of this anthology is organized into twelve principles, each devoted to a specific city or region and focusing on poets contemporary with the author. Altogether, this section preserves biographical and poetic data for more than 410 poets, making it a source of exceptional historical and literary value.

The present volume constitutes the eleventh principle of the khātima and is arranged in two chapters: the first devoted to 15 poets from Rayy, and the second to 16 poets from Astarābād and its surrounding regions. It offers indispensable material for the study of regional literary culture in late Safavid Iran.