Inscription Reading with the Music of Poetry

Abstract

The correct reading of inscriptions, especially Persian poetic inscriptions, constitutes the first essential step in epigraphic research and the study of Iranian art history. Any analysis or interpretation that is not based on the precise and accurate recording of the text is scientifically invalid and considered as “ijtihād in the face of the text” (personal reasoning against the original text). One of the main challenges in this field is the deterioration of inscriptions, the erosion of materials, and also misreadings and corruptions resulting from the passage of time. The central question of this research is whether familiarity with the music of Persian poetry—including meter, rhyme, and phonetic patterns—can serve as a tool for the recovery and correct rereading of these texts. This study, using a descriptive–analytical approach and relying on field documentation, library resources, and comparative analysis of selected poetic inscriptions in the cities of Tehran, Kashan, Shushtar, Nahavand, and Yazd, has been conducted to address this issue. The findings demonstrate that the music of poetry is not merely an aesthetic feature but also a scientific instrument for identifying and reconstructing the text. Knowledge of poetic meter plays a decisive role in reconstructing the prosodic structure of verses and in identifying missing or corrupted words. Likewise, an understanding of rhyme and phonological systems enables the researcher to determine the correct placement of hemistiches, resolve semantic and lexical ambiguities, and ultimately achieve a refined and reliable transcription. Based on the results of this research, it can be concluded that mastery of the music of poetry is not only indispensable for literary studies but also for interdisciplinary research in the fields of history, art, and architecture. In this way, literary sciences, when intertwined with historical and architectural knowledge, can contribute to the scholarly rereading of Iran’s written and inscribed heritage and open new horizons in the realm of arts associated with architecture.