Page:From Constantinople to the home of Omar Khayyam.djvu/481

 while local tradition holds that he was buried within the walls, a view that appears to be borne out by the oldest and most authentic Persian sources quoted above. Thus Nizami of Samarkand (1116), who wrote less than a century after the poet's death, and Ibn Isfandiar (1216), who lived somewhat later, both expressly say that Firdausi's grave was 'inside' the city, as noted in the passage translated above. Additional weight is lent to this evidence by the statement of Daulatshah that 'his grave is in the city of Tus in the vicinity of (or 'beside' — bi-janb') the Abbasid Mausoleum, and today a great tomb is established for him, and there is a shelter for the visitor in that tomb.' ^ In view of the facts concerned, there seems little doubt that the interment was made within the town after the body had been actually ' borne forth from the Gate of Rizan ' (as stated in the quotation above from the Persian of Nizami of Samarkand) 2 to the Muhammadan Cemetery, which was probably located outside the town, and where the objection was raised to Firdausi's being buried in consecrated ground. The obstacle was overcome by selecting ' a piece of property inside the gate,' a garden belonging to himself, and which bore his name afterwards, as the Persian says. I urge this plea the

city for burial in the Moslem cemetery, likely in view of the material here

though it was denied interment in presented.

consecrated ground, as noted below. ^ Daulatshah, Tadhkirat, ed. by

Among those who, by implication or Browne, p. 54, and cf. Browne, Lit.

directly, assume that the grave was Hist. Persia, 2. 138, n. 4 ; also VuUers,

outside are : Ouseley, Biographical Fragm. Belig. Zoroaster, p. 12, Bonn,

Notices of Persian Poets, p. 89, Lon- 1831, who translates, ' sein Grab ist in

don, 1846 ; Mohl, Livre des rois, 1. li- der Stadt Tus nahe dem Orte Mesar

lii ; Warner, Shdhndma, 1.45, London, Abbasa.'

1905 ; Nbldeke, Grundr. iran. Philol. » See above, p. 284. The story of

2. 157 ('ausserhalb der Stadt') ; and Firdausi's corpse being carried out of

the same is implied by Browne, J"^J.>S. one gate as Mahmud's camels arrived

1899,p. 84,andii«. ^isi.Persm, 2. 138, by the other is repeated also in sub-

♦ outside the gate,' although the re stance by Jami in the Baharistan

ceived Persian text has ' inside {dariin) (Seventh Garden) ; see Jami, Bahari-

the gate,' as was pointed out above, stan, tr. for the Kama Shastra So-

Tinless we are to regard that as a mis- ciety, p. 141, Benares, 1887. reading for blrUn, which seems un-

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