Introducing the Bayan-al-Mahmoud manuscript

Biography is one of the common branches of the Persian literature and history, which aims at providing and compiling a collection including one of the significant aspects of the Iranian culture and wisdom. One of the sparkling and brilliant periods of biography is Qajar era. In this era compiling the life account of the poets was considered as a criterion for assessing the rhetorics and talent. Byana-al-Mahmoud is the title of a biography belonging to Qajar era. It was compiled with the effort of Mahmoud Mirzayeh Qajar, the fourteenth son of Fath-Ali-Shah, and author of Tazkaratol-Shoarayeh-Safinatol-Mahmoud. The manuscript of this book is kept in 'manuscripts section' of the central library of Tabriz University. Taking account of the historical and literary significance of this work, the present paper attempts to provide an introduction to the history of biography and the main features of this manuscript, and to emphasize the revival, revision and publication of one of the Iranian literary heritages.