Women in the Gurkani Court of India and their Role in the Development of Persian Language and Literature (932-1135 AH)

Along with the kings, women in the Gurkani court of India were supported and encouraged by Persian-speaking poets and speakers to be of effect on the status and the stability of the Persian language and literature in India. They provided the ways and means of expanding the language among the Indian courtiers. Under the courtiers’ support, most of those women created great works in Persian and established schools and libraries to compile and translate prominent works of the Persian language. This provided the ground for the consolidation and learning of this language. Also, many such women have left behind prose and poetic works in Persian, which is due to their being fond of the Persian Language and Literature. What predisposed the situation for this enterprise was the literary education popular in the Gurkani Dynasty and the poetic and literary environment in which they grew. The present research aims to examine the role of Gurkani women in the expansion of the Persian language and literature. For this purpose, the main question is ‘How did the women in the Gurkani court influence the spread of the Persian language and literature in India?’ The significance of this research is that, so far, no independent study has been carried out on the role and performance of Gurkani women in the development and expansion of the Persian language and literature. The study addresses the subject via a descriptive-analytic method.