Polish-Iranian Relations: A Three Act Play in Latin, Persian, and Polish

The first act of our play is staged in Poland and has been recorded in a Medieval chronicle in Latin called Annals or Chronicles of the Illustrious Kingdom of Poland by the Polish author Jan Długosz. In his interesting account he tells us of envoys who came to Poland from Persia on behalf of the Aq Qoyunlu ruler Uzun Hasan, in charge of negotiating an agreement for concerted action against the Ottomans. The account showcases a very peculiar case of anachronistic Orientalism of the Polish author regarding the Middle East as well as the Polish king’s attitude towards a strange proposal of the foreign ruler. This is the first ever testimony of diplomatic ties between the two kingdoms. The next act is set in 19th century Warsaw during a short stay of the Iranian Emperor Naser ad-Din Shah Qajar on his way from Iran via Russia to Western Europe and England. The visit was widely covered by most of popular newspapers in Warsaw and had been reflected in Shah’s travel book and in a diary of the then Mayor of Warsaw, Sokrat Starynkevich. Maybe, the most attractive to the Polish audience would prove the travel journal of the Persian Shah. His detailed day by day account includes not only a good deal of information but also personal impressions and attitude towards a foreign environment and people. We have here a rare opportunity to see Warsaw through eyes of a man of power from the distant civilization. With the third act we enter the realm of poetry. A Polish poet Stanisław Baliński who spent several years in Persia on diplomatic mission, on his return home in 1928 published a collection of poems under the title Wieczór na Wschodzie (“The Evening in the East”). This was a poetic record of Baliński’s stay in the Middle East, mostly in Iran. It was a specific account of impressions and feelings experienced in the country which has inspired the poet’s uncommonly beautiful verses by its rare exotic spiritual climate.