A Literary History of Persia

Part I. On the Origins and General History of the People, Languages, and Literatures of Persia: 1. Introduction; 2. The discovery and interpretation of the inscriptions and documents of Ancient Persia, with other philological matter; 3. The pre-Muhammadan literature of the Persians, with some account of their legendary history, as set forth in the book of the Kings; Part II. On the History of Persia from the Rise of the Sasanian to the Fall of the Umayyad Dynasty (AD 226–750): 4. The Sasanian period (AD 226–652); 5. The Arab invasion; 6. The Umayyad period (AD 661–749); Part III. On the Early Abbasid Period, or Golden Age of Islam: 7. General characteristics of the golden age of Islam from the accession of As-Saffah to the death of Al-Wathiq; 8. The developments of religion and philosophy in the golden age of Islam; 9. The great Persian heresiarchs of this period; Part IV. On the First Period of the Decline of the Caliphate, from the Accession of Al-Mutawakkil to the Accession of sultan Mahmud of Ghazna (AD 850–1000): 10. The General Phenomena of the first period of the decline of the caliphate (AD 847–1000), from the accession of Al-Mutawakkil to the accession of Mahmud of Ghazna; 11. The state of Muslim literature and science at the beginning of the Ghaznawi period; 12. Religious movements of this period I; 13. Religious movements of this period II; 14. The literature of Persia during this period; Bibliography; Index.