A Memorable Night Suitable for Telling Long Anecdotes

The present article is a Persian translation of a part of the book Murūj al-Ẓahab by Abul Ḥasan Mas'ūdī (345 or 346 AH), in which the gathering of thirteen literates and scholars in the assembly of Yaḥyā bin Khalid Barmakī, the vizier  of Hārūn, the Abbasid caliph, and their conversation about love is reported.  Before translating the text, in the introduction, each of the people whose names are mentioned in the text have been introduced and an attempt has been made to briefly outline the historical background of the talks in assembly and examine its historical validity.