Dastan (Persian: داستان, romanized: dâstân, lit. 'story, tale')[1][2] is an ornate form of oral history, an epic, from Central Asia, Iran, Turkey and Azerbaijan.
A dastan is generally centered on one individual who protects his tribe or his people from an outside invader or enemy, although only occasionally can this figure be traced back to a historical person.[3] This main character sets an example of how one should act, and the dastan becomes a teaching tool — for example the Sufi master and Turkic poet Ahmed Yesevi said "Let the scholars hear my wisdom, treating my words like a dastan".[4] Alongside the wisdom, each dastan is rich with cultural history of interest to scholars.
During the Russian conquest of Central Asia, many new dastans were created to protest the Russian occupation. It is possible that they came into contact and influenced each other. According to Turkish historian Hasan Bülent Paksoy, the Bolsheviks tried to destroy these symbols of culture by only publishing them in insufficiently large quantities and in a distorted form "in order to weaken the heroic impact".[5]
A notable dastan is Korkut Ata of the Oghuz Turks — which may have been created as early as the beginning of the 13th century.[6]
^Steingass, Francis Joseph (1892). A Comprehensive Persian-English Dictionary, Including the Arabic Words and Phrases to Be Met with in Persian Literature. London: Routledge & K. Paul. Archived from the original on July 7, 2012.[page needed]
^Russell, Ralph (1992). The Pursuit of Urdu Literature: A Select History. London and New Jersey: Zed Books. p. 85. ISBN 1-85649-029-7.
^Krishnan, Nandini (4 May 2012). "Dastaan-e-Dastangoi". Fountain Ink. Archived from the original on 2012-11-14. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
^Paksoy, H. B. (1989). Alpamysh: Central Asian Identity Under Russian Rule. AACAR. ISBN 978-0-9621379-9-0.
^Paksoy, H.B. (1999). "Dastan Genre in Central Asia". Essays on Central Asia. Lawrence: Carrie. p. 82. OCLC 45603165.
^Meeker, Michael E. (August 1992). "The Dede Korkut Ethic". International Journal of Middle East Studies. 24 (3): 395–417. doi:10.1017/S0020743800021954. The Book of Dede Korkut is an early record of oral Turkic folktales in Anatolia, and as such, one of the mythic charters of Turkish nationalist ideology. The oldest versions of the Book of Dede Korkut consist of two manuscripts copied in the 16th century. The twelve stories that are recorded in these manuscripts are believed to be derived from a cycle of stories and songs circulating among Turkic peoples living in northeastern Anatolia and northwestern Azerbaijan. According to Lewis (1974), an older substratum of these oral traditions dates to conflicts between the ancient Oghuz and their Turkish rivals in Central Asia (the Pecheneks and the Kipchaks), but this substratum has been clothed in references to the 14th-century campaigns of the Akkoyunlu Confederation of Turkic tribes against the Georgians, the Abkhaz, and the Greeks in Trebizond. Such stories and songs would have emerged no earlier than the beginning of the 13th century, and the written versions that have reached us would have been composed no later than the beginning of the 15th century. By this time, the Turkic peoples in question had been in touch with Islamic civilization for several centuries, had come to call themselves "Turcoman" rather than "Oghuz," had close associations with sedentary and urbanized societies, and were participating in Islamized regimes that included nomads, farmers, and townsmen. Some had abandoned their nomadic way of life altogether.
Dastan (Persian: داستان, romanized: dâstân, lit. 'story, tale') is an ornate form of oral history, an epic, from Central Asia, Iran, Turkey and Azerbaijan...
حمزهنامه Hamzenâme, lit. 'Epic of Hamza') or Dastan-e-Amir Hamza (Persian/Urdu: داستان امیر حمزه, Dâstân-e Amir Hamze, lit. 'Adventures of Amir Hamza')...
Dastan Ensemble is an Iranian classical music ensemble. Founded in 1991 by Hamid Motabassem, Dastan has performed concerts throughout the world. Hossein...
Shahryar Dastan (born March 18, 1976, in Tehran) is an Iranian footballer. Dastan played extensively in the Iranian football league system, for Saipa,...
Hezardastan (Persian: هزاردستان, romanized: Hezār Dastān) also known as Hezar Dastan, was an Iranian epic historical drama television series from 1987...
the deeds of the hero Garshasp and his descendants, Narimān, Sām, Zāl or Dastān, and above all of the latter's son Rostam. It is difficult to relate the...
Dastan Islamovich Sarygulov (Kyrgyz: Дастан Дастан Ислам уулу Сарыгулов, romanized: Dastan Islam uulu Sarygulov, born 1947) is a Kyrgyz businessman and...
Dastan Kasmamytov or Danik (born 1991 or 1992), is a Kyrgyz LGBTIQ rights activist. Kasmamytov is a member of the steering committees of the Global Forum...
is a 13th century Urdu oral storytelling art form. The Persian style of dastan evolved in 16th century. One of the earliest references in print to dastangoi...
Dastan Jumabekov (Kyrgyz: Дастан Жумабеков; born 2 November 1976) is a Kyrgyz politician who has served as Speaker of the Supreme Council of Kyrgyzstan...
Ajeeb Dastaan Hai Ye (transl. It's a strange tale) is an Indian television soap opera produced by Ekta Kapoor under her banner Balaji Telefilms. The series...
Lata Mangeshkar’s biography titled, In Search of Lata Mangeshkar, Ajeeb Dastan Hai Yeh (1995). He is set to be the voice of the god Shiva in the multiplayer...
This is a list of dāstāns and qissas (prose fiction) written in Urdu during the 18th and 19th centuries. The skeleton of the list is a reproduction of...
was released by Walt Disney Pictures. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal as Prince Dastan, it would go on to receive mixed reception, but still gross $336 million...
Archived from the original on 5 January 2006. Retrieved 23 February 2006. "Dastan-i Mirac". British Library. Olson, James (1994). An Ethnohistorical Dictionary...
is traditionally a singer-poet and bard who accompanies his song—be it a dastan (traditional epic story, also known as hikaye) or a shorter original composition—with...
The film's music is by Shankar Jaikishan, and features a hit song, "Ajeeb Dastan Hai Yeh". At the 1961 Filmfare Awards it created an upset by beating the...
Eijaz Khan-Pavitra Punia". The Times of India. 9 February 2021. "Ishq Ki Dastan Naagmani on location: Mohini decides to take Naagmani from Naagin | TV -...
Area during the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 2010, he portrayed Prince Dastan in the fantasy adventure Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time; the film received...
Kotwani, Hiren. "Murli Sharma does a guest appearance in the film 'Gaur Hari Dastan' without any remuneration!". The Times of India. "Murli Sharma". Cine Talkers...
from the reign of Shah Alam II, who described it as the language of his dastans (prose romances) and replaced Persian as the informal language of the Muslim...