A Winsome Elegy in Arsacid Pahlavi Language

The works of Manichean religion have been obtained from Turfan and are written in Manichaean style. The language which is used in the Manichaean’s writings is called Middle Turfaninan Persian or Middle Manichaean Persian. The works of Manichaean in Middle Persian and Arsacid Pahlavi are in the form of fragments and can be divided into four categories from their content point of view: 1) works which talk about the creation of the world, 2) correspondences, 3) poems which are said to praise god and the great people of Mani religion, 4) prayers and advices. Manichaean poems are different from Persian ones on the surface, but they have some deep similarities in common. The differences are in terms of rhyme and rhythm. These poems do not have a prosodic rhythm. Furthermore, rhythm as is known in common sense is not seen in these poems at all. Rather, these poems have a syllabic rhythm in which the number of syllables in each hemistich is valid not their length, pattern or their order. Intonation is an important factor to distinguish a type of a poem.Manichaean poets said their poems in the form of short sentences and did not pay attention to the equality of syllables or the equality of stress in each hemistich. In their poem the number of syllables in each hemistich is never the same. Manichaean poems are classified into three groups based on their forms:1-Long songs made off up different sections called member.2-Long songs concerning worship (panegyric).3-Short songs.