Evidences of the Use of Persian in Monumental Epigraphy from Ghazni

Résumé En

Presented in this paper are some preliminary analyses concerning Ghaznavid epigraphic production in Persian. Although the great majority of Islamic inscriptions from Ghazni are in Arabic, some occurrences attest the use of Persian from the early 12th century onwards. This documentation is highly-valued due to the early-dating and the variety in text typologies and writing styles. Some evidences highlight the spread of Persian inscriptions within the architectural decoration of Ghaznavid buildings, the most extraordinary example being the poem carved in the Palace courtyard. In civilian epigraphy Persian appears mostly in poetic texts, while official and religious inscriptions are always in Arabic.Instead in funerary epigraphy Arabic and Persian often co-exist on the same monument and even get combined in single inscriptions. However, few occurrences exist of poetical epitaphs entirely in Persian. The insertion of Persian invocations on tombs also emerges in post-Ghaznavid production, reflecting the local Iranian linguistic identity.