Cup of Jamshid

2025-08-19T08:26:40Z

2003:EB:A737:1E87:A8BB:290F:8DE3:E8B8: corrected

{{short description|Grail of divination in Persian mythology}}
{{refimprove|date=January 2017}}
[[File:Hâfiz regardant la coupe de Djamshîd.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|[[Hafez]] looking at the Cup of Jamshid, [[Bibliothèque nationale de France]], Turkish manuscript of 1477, author unknown, from [[Shiraz]], [[Iran]].]]
The '''Cup of Jamshid''' ({{langx|fa|جام جم}}, ''jām-e Jam'') is a cup of [[divination]], which in [[Persian mythology]] was long possessed by the rulers of ancient [[Greater Iran]]. Its name is associated with [[Jamshid]] (''Jam'' in short), a mythological figure of Greater Iranian culture and tradition. The cup has also been called ''Jam-e Jahan nama'', ''Jam-e Jahan Ara'', ''Jam-e Giti nama'', and [[Kai Khosrow#Cup of Kai Khosrow|Jam-e Kei-khosrow]]. The latter refers to '''Kaei Husravah''' in the [[Avesta]], and [[Sushrava]] in the [[Vedas]].

The cup has been the subject of many Persian poems and stories. Many authors ascribed the success of the [[Persian Empire]] to the possession of this artifact. It appears extensively in [[Persian literature]].

The cup ("Jām") was said to be filled with an [[elixir of life|elixir of immortality]] and was used in [[scrying]]. As mentioned by [[Ali-Akbar Dehkhoda]], it was believed that all seven heavens of the universe could be observed by looking into it (از هفت فلک در او مشاهده و معاینه کردی). It was believed to have been discovered in [[Persepolis]] in ancient times. The whole world was said to be reflected in it, and divinations within the cup were said to reveal deep truths. Sometimes, especially in popular depictions such as [[The Heroic Legend of Arslan]], the cup has been visualized as a [[crystal ball]]. Helen Zimmern's English translation of the [[Shahnameh]] uses the term "crystal globe".<ref>[http://www.iranchamber.com/literature/shahnameh/13bijan_manijeh.php Shahnameh (The Epic of Kings): Bijan and Manijeh]</ref>

The seven-ringed Cup of [[Jamshid]] is spoken of in the classic poem [[Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam|Rubaiyat]] by the 11th century Persian [[Omar Khayyam]]. See the 5th verse in the 5th translation by [[Edward FitzGerald (poet)|Edward Fitzgerald]]:<blockquote>Iram indeed is gone with all its Rose, And Jamshyd's Sev'n-ring'd Cup where no one knows; But still the Vine her ancient Ruby yields, And still a Garden by the Water blows.</blockquote>

It also finds mention in the Sawāneḥ, authored by Persian Sufi mystic [[Ahmad Ghazali]]<ref>Nasrollah Pourjavady, "ḠAZĀLĪ,MAJD-AL-DĪN Abu’l-Fotūḥ AḤMAD b. Moḥammad b. Moḥammad b. Aḥmad" in Encyclopedia Iranica. [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/gazalimajd-al-din-abul-fotuhahmad-]</ref>:<blockquote>As long as the world-displaying goblet is in my hand, the wheel of [[heaven]] on high lowers itself before me / As long as the [[Kaaba|Kaʿba]] of [[Fana (Sufism)|non-being]] is the [[Qibla|qebla]] of my being, the most sober man in the world is intoxicated by me.</blockquote>In 20th century literature, the cup was mentioned in by the poet, philosopher, and one of the founder fathers of [[Pakistan]], [[Muhammad Iqbal|Allama Muhammad Iqbal]] in his poem ''Tasvīr-i Dard'' "The Portrait of Anguish":<blockquote>Urdu(romanized): "''Agar Dekha Bhi Uss Ne Sare Aalam Ko To Kya Dekha? Nazar Ayi Na Kuch Apni Haqiqat Jaam Se Jam Ko''".

English(translated): Even if he viewed the whole world, what did he see? Jam could not see his own reality in the wine cup<ref>{{Cite web|title=Allama Iqbal Poetry کلام علامہ محمد اقبال: (Bang-e-Dra-034) Tasveer-e-Dard (تصویر درد) The Portrait Of Anguish|url=http://iqbalurdu.blogspot.com/2011/03/bang-e-dra-034-tasveer-e-dard.html|access-date=2021-04-27|website=Allama Iqbal Poetry کلام علامہ محمد اقبال}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Muhammad|first=Iqbal|title=Bang E Dara (The Marching Bell)|year=1924|pages=74}}</ref></blockquote>

==See also==
{{Div col|colwidth=16em}}* [[Cornucopia]] (mythical vessels with magical powers)
* [[Chalice of Doña Urraca]]
* [[Drinking horn]]
* [[Holy Chalice]]
* [[Holy Grail]]
* [[List of mythological objects|Mythological objects (list)]]
* [[Nanteos Cup]]
* [[Relic]]
* [[Sampo]]
{{Div col end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Shahnameh}}

[[Category:Persian mythology]]
[[Category:Mythological objects]]

{{Iran-hist-stub}}

Vero - Wikipedia - User contributions [en]

Cup of Jamshid