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From Ancient India to Medieval Shiraz: The Journey of the Ascetic Cat

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2022

Saghi Gazerani
Saghi Gazerani*
Affiliation:
Ohio State University with research interest in literary narrative and historiography in early Islamic Iran
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Abstract

The figure of the ascetic cat, one known for his pretense to piety, appears throughout the medieval Persian literature. This study examines the movement of this literary motif along the Silk Road where Buddhism and Manichaeism facilitated its transmission into the nascent Islamic civilization. The study traces the possible paths of their journey by examining both the literary transmission of two anecdotes of the ascetic cat from India to Shiraz, as well as by considering the historical context for such transmission.

Type
Articles
Information
Iranian Studies , Volume 51 , Issue 3 , May 2018 , pp. 341 - 360
Copyright
Copyright © 2018 Association For Iranian Studies, Inc

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