Nuzhat al-Majālis and ‛Alāʾ al-Dīn Farīburz Shīrwānshāh

The collection of quatrains Nuzhat al-Majālis, compiled by Jamāl Khalīl Shīrwānī in the first half of the seventh century AH in the region of Shīrwān, contains approximately four hundred early Persian quatrains. According to what is recorded in the final qaṣīda of the manuscript, this precious anthology of quatrains was prepared for a special gathering of ‛Alāʾ al-Dīn Shīrwānshāh. Most researchers have identified this Shīrwānshāh as Alāʾ al-Dīn Farīburz, son of Garshāsp; however, some have introduced him as Alāʾ al-Dīn Farāmarz, son of Gushtāsp. In this article, the identity of the dedicatee is clarified based on coins discovered from the period of Shīrwān rule in the first half of the seventh century AH. According to these documents, the ruler of Shīrwān from 622 to 652 AH was named Alāʾ al-Dīn Abū al-Muẓaffar Farīburz b. Garshāsp b. Farrukhzād. On coins struck in his name, the names of three Abbasid caliphs—al-Nāṣir li-Dīn Allāh (575–622 AH), al-Mustanṣir bi-llāh (623–640 AH), and al-Musta‛ṣim bi-llāh (640–656 AH)—are inscribed. These records show that “Farāmarz” and “Gushtāsp” are corruptions of “Farīburz” and “Garshāsp,” and that no such individuals actually existed in the Shīrwānshāh lineage. It is most likely that Nuzhat al-Majālis was presented to Alāʾ al-Dīn Farīburz sometime after 632 AH.