This post was written by Umrat Khan, while she was a Graduate Student Assistant at NYU Special Collections. She graduated from NYU’s Experimental Humanities and Social Engagement Program in 2024. 

Collection materials in foreign languages tend to be overlooked due to language barriers, limited access, and the challenge of finding specialized translators who can work with various scripts and languages. To remedy this Charlotte Priddle, the Director of NYU Special Collections, directed me toward a Persian letter housed in the Sir William Jones Papers MSS.301 in hopes of creating more visibility and access to these materials.  I, along with my Persian instructor, Hijaz Naqvi, took on the task of translating this letter into English. This letter is addressed to Sir William Jones (Younus), a British lawyer in India who was a pioneer of comparative linguistic studies and had a background in Greek, Latin, Persian, Arabic, and Sanskrit. The author of the letter is unknown, however at the bottom of the letter it is made clear that it was written on 30th September 1786 at the house of a Mr. Amin Sahab, who also features in the contents of the letter. 

The letter is divided into three segments on one page and is written in sangi-chaap, a spiral format of writing, usually to conserve paper and maximize the space on the page for writing. (1) Reading the letter involves a kinetic viewing requiring the reader to turn the page at least three times; Figure 1 gives an idea of the order in which the letter needs to be read. 

Figure 1. Directions for reading the letter. Letter addressed to Sir William Jones, September 1786; Sir William Jones Manuscripts; MSS 301; Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University Libraries.

The script used is Shekasteh Nasta’liq (broken script), which was the norm for correspondences during the early modern period in Iran, particularly before the introduction of printing presses. This script is also the reason why the letter can be tricky to read due to the ‘broken’ nature of the script. The script is used for, each word being written with a single pen stroke without lifting the pen off the page creating intricate, diagonally tilted, and dense letter shapes. (2)

An important linguistic observation was that words that still exist in the Persian language today were spelled differently i.e. the letter kāf (ک) has been used instead of gāf (گ), and the letter barī ye (ے) has been used instead of alif (ا) and chotī ye (ی), which can make translating challenging. 

Apart from the material and linguistic qualities, this letter also reveals the writing practices of 18th-century Iran. The letter begins with high praise for Sir William Jones, who is compared to Aristotle’s intellect and referred to as the most virtuous of people. The author writes his prayers and blessings for the well-being of Sir Williams hoping that he stays well and his fortunes grow. The author also talks about the delight he felt about receiving Sir William’s letter calling it a ‘sun-like document.’  He sends his blessing to his wife, Miss Lady Jones, whom he refers to as ‘Mary of the times.’ He briefly then writes about a chapter (sirafraz namcha), written in Pahlavi script, that Mr. Amin Sahab sent to him, however, he remembers very little of it and so will write back to Sir Williams when his ‘senses are working better.’ About three-quarters of the letter was spent in the praise of Sir William and his wife, while the crux of his letter entails about one-quarter of the content. This emphasizes how letter-writing practices of 18th-century Iran required flattery, praises, prayers and blessings for the addressee. These were gestures of reverence, and a means of establishing meaningful relationships and continued correspondences, a stark contrast to email-writing practices of the 21st century. 

In the last segment of the letter, the author describes an ‘ancient tradition amongst the Persian people’ which pertains to etiquette and appropriate time frames for responding to a letter. He writes; 

“I wanted to write a letter earlier but there is an ancient tradition amongst Persian people that when an individual leaves for a destination, his family will not write to him until they receive a letter from him first.  As your letter has reached now I am encouraged to write back and express in your presence with hopeful request that you will honor this humble well-wisher with two blessed words of mercy (for me).” (3)

This anecdote along with the example cited earlier, provides insight into the social practices and etiquettes of letter-writing. 

Through the process of translation, Hijaz Naqvi and I aim to breathe new life into this archival document, offering profound insights into the use of scripts and the social and cultural sentiments of letter-writing in early modern Iran.

Notes:

1.  For more information, read Brinkley Messick’s The Calligraphic State: Textual Domain and History in Muslim Society, (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993). In Chapter 12, he writes extensively on spiral scripts and provides historical context to these textual practices, mostly reserved for official correspondences, office bookkeeping, contracts, sale documents, official seals etc.
2. For more information, look at Elisabeth Kvernen’s MFA Thesis ‘Calligraphy Qalam’ which can be accessed using this URL: https://www.calligraphyqalam.com/styles/shikaste/
3. Translated by Hijaz Naqvi, 2024.