Nizami, Profane Love and the Melancholy Tradition: Uncovering Amor Heroes in the Indian Princess’ Tale in Seven Beauties

Abstract

Abstract Nizami Ganjavi’s fourth epic poem, Seven Beauties offers a cohesive picture of many variations or ‘colors’ of love and occupies a prominent position in his prolific oeuvre. Although much has been written on mystical love in Nizami’s works, the status of profane love remains somewhat neglected. A concept introduced through the Latin translation of an Arabic medical treatise on love during the medieval period, studies on profane love gave rise to a specific form of melancholy, referred as amor heroes or love-melancholy in various medico-literary texts. As a polymath, it can be speculated that Nizami’s interests in medicine probably extended to this type of amorous sickness. Upon close reading of the famous tale “King of Black”, clear parallels can be discerned between the literary depiction of the love-lorn king and the medical symptoms of love-melancholy. Therefore, the main aim of this study is to elucidate this connection by drawing on the Galenic and Arabic medical texts on love and melancholy, which eventually influenced Nizami and found its reverberations in the tale of the Indian Princess in Seven Beauties.