Znanstveni i stručni rad prof. dr. Bećira Džake

With his research, scientific papers and translations from Persian language and literature, professor Becir Dzaka contributed greatly to the study of Iran in BiH.His scientific output can be divided into three groups: monographs, scientific research papers and translations. At first, his main interest were problems of literary heritage, particularly traditional epic literature, both in Iran and BiH, as reflected in his book entitled Our Popular Epics and Firdausi’s Shahname. Namely, professor Dzaka compared Yugoslav epic traditions, presented in anthologies by Vuk and others, and traditional Iranian epics, as presented in Firdausi’s Shahname. His History of Persian Literature, undoubtedly the crowning jewel of decades of his teaching and scientific research work, is of special value not only for students of Iranian culture, but also for general literary audience. The value of this book is in the fact that it sheds light on one of the oldest and the richest literary traditions in the world, which influenced for centuries, or received influences from, other great literatures, primarily classical Arabic literature, as well as Turkish divan tradition. In this book, the author presented Persian literature from ancient times until the Mongol-Timurid era, i.e. until the end of the 15th century. The book covers literature of ancient Iran, pre-classical and classical Persian literature. As for professor Dzaka’s scientific research, he was focused first and foremost on the literary tradition of our peoples in the Persian language. He was also interested in issues related to Iranian civilisation, the role of that civilisation in the shared history of the world, and its reflection on the culture of our peoples, as well as the philosophy of early Iran and its significance for the development of Oriental-Islamic philosophy. Speaking of his translations, the prime example is certainly the translation of Bahtiyarname, the classical work of Persian literature, by Mohammad Daqāyeqī Marwazī, a late 12th century scholar and poet. The professor’s translation of Three Muslim Wise Men by Sayyed Husain Nasr is of particular scientific relevance. This is a trilogy about three key thinkers in Islamic history, Ibn Sina (Avicenna), Suhraverdi and Ibn ‘Arebi.