The 66 Greatest Works of West Asian Literature
This selection of literature from West Asia, also sometimes called the Middle East, is based on the continuing research carried out for The Greatest Literature of All Time list and is additionally informed by the views of local readers, writers, critics and scholars.
It encompasses the greatest works of West Asian authors in all forms, genres, cultures and periods.
Included in this grouping are the countries of Armenia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, as well as their historical predecessors. Note, Egypt is not included here as its literature is found on the African list.
This list focuses on major creative works—such as novels, novellas, plays and collections—although some short or nonfiction writing of literary significance may also be included.
Latest update: October 8, 2024
c.2100–2000 BCE
Descent of Inanna into the Underworld
Anonymous, Sumer
Epic poem, also known as Descent of Ishtar into the Underworld or Angalta
c.2100–1200 BCE
Gilgamesh
Epic poem, also known as
The Epic of Gilgamesh or
He Who Saw the Deep
It's maybe not the oldest story in the world, as The Epic of Gilgamesh is sometimes called. There had been other stories floating around the ancient world before the various versions of Gilgamesh, and who knows.... Critique • Quotes • Translations • Buy
c.2030 BCE
"A Love Song of Shu-Suen"
Anonymous, Sumer
Poem, also known as "Bridegroom" or "Spend the Night in Our House Till Dawn"
c.1800 BCE
Enuma Elish
Anonymous, Babylon
Poem, originally Enūma Eliš
c.1200–100
The Hebrew Bible (The Old Testament)
by various authors, Israel
Prose and poetry anthology includes books "Genesis", "Exodus", "Leviticus", "Numbers", "Deuteronomy", "Job", "Psalms", "Song of Songs", and others.
What wrecks the Bible as literature is too much God. On the surface this may sound like an odd comment, prompting the response, "Well, what did you expect? It's a religious text and isn't religion all about gods?" But.... Critique • Quotes • Text • Buy
c.1000 BCE
Dialogue of Pessimism
Anonymous, Assyria
Dialogue
c.48–110 CE
The New Testament
anthology, Middle East and Greece
Prose and poetry collection
It's often called "the greatest story ever told". But is the New Testament—or more precisely the gospel story within the New Testament—even one of our best stories? Of course, when they make that "greatest" claim.... Critique • Quotes • Text • Buy
c.160
A True Story
by Lucian, Syria
Novel
c.650
Qu'ran
by various authors, Arabia
Prose and poetry collection, also known as Koran
c.799
Epistle on the Singing Girls
by Al-Jahiz, Iraq
Story collection
c.800
The Khamriyyat
by Abu Nuwas, Iraq
Poem
Book of Misers
by Al-Jahiz, Iraq
Story collection
c.800–1200
The Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor
Anonymous, Persia
Story collection
c.800–1400
One Thousand and One Nights
Anonymous, Persia
Story collection, also known as Arabian Nights, includes "Tale of the Fisherman and the Jinni", "The Tale of the Three Apples", "The Barber's Tale of Himself", and others.
977–1010
The Book of Kings
by Abolgasem Ferdowski, Persia
Epic poem, originally Shahnameh
c.1050
Layla and Majnum
by Nizami Ganjavi, Persia
Epic poem
c.1100
Assemblies of Hariri
by al-Hariri of Basra, Iraq
Story collection
Rubaiyat
by Omar Khayyám, Persia
Poetry collection
1177
The Conference of the Birds
by Farid od-Din Attar, Persia
Poem, originally Manṭiq-uṭ-Ṭayr
1257
The Orchard
by Saadi Shirazi, Persia
Poetry collection, originally Bustan
1258
The Garden
by Saadi Shirazi, Persia
Poetry and story collection, also known as The Rose Garden, originally Gulistān or Golestan
1258–1273
Masnavi
by Rumi, Persia
Poem, also known as Mathnawi
c.1335
Tales of a Parrot
by Ziya'al-Din Nakhshabi, Persia
Story collection, also known as The Tootinameh
c.1350
The Divān of Hafez
by Hafez, Persia
Poetry collection
1891
The Fleeing Mamluk
by Jurji Zaydan, Lebanon
Novel
1892
The Captive of the Mahdi Pretender
by Jurji Zaydan, Lebanon
Novel
1899
Virgin of Quraish
by Jurji Zaydan, Lebanon
Novel
1901
Shirot Bialik
by Hayim Nahman Bialik, Israel
Poetry collection
1931
A Bridal Canopy
by Shmuel Yosef Agnon, Israel
Novel
1933
In the Heart of the Seas
by Shmuel Yosef Agnon, Israel
Novel
1937
The Blind Owl
by Sadegh Hedayat, Iran
Novel, originally Boof-e Koor
1943
Madonna in a Fur Coat
by Sabahattin Ali, Turkey
Novel
1955
Memed, My Hawk
by Yaşar Kemal, Turkey
Novel
1961
The Time Regulation Institute
by Ahmet Hamdi Tanpinar, Turkey
Novel
1945
Only Yesterday
by Shmuel Yosef Agnon, Israel
Novel
1955
Memed, My Hawk
by Yaşar Kemal, Turkey
Novel
1968
Selected Poetry
by Yehuda Amichai, Israel
Poetry collection
1968–1994
The Palace of Shattered Vessels
by David Shahar, Israel
Novel series
1970
Twenty-One Stories
by Shmuel Yosef Agnon, Israel
Story collection
1977
The Lover
by A.B. Yehoshua, Israel
Novel
1978
Past Continuous
by Yaakov Shabti, Israel
Novel
A Dress of Fire
by Dahlia Ravikovitch, Israel
Poetry collection
1982
A Perfect Peace
by Amos Oz, Israel
Novel
1983
At the Stone of Losses
by T. Carmi, Israel
Poetry collection
1984
Cities of Salt
by Abdul Rahman Munif, Saudi Arabia
Novel
1986
See Under: Love
by David Grossman, Israel
Novel
Black Box
by Amos Oz, Israel
Novel
Arabesques
by Anton Shammas, Palestine
Novel
The Poems of Nâzim Hikmet
by Nâzim Hikmet, Turkey
Poetry collection
1989
Mr. Mani
by A.B. Yehoshua, Israel
Novel
1991
The Book of Intimate Grammar
by David Grossman, Israel
Novel
Twilight and Other Stories
by Shulamith Hareven, Israel
Story collection
1997
I Have Lived a Thousand Years
by Livia Bitton-Jackson, Israel
Memoir
A Journey to the End of the Millennium
by A.B. Yehoshua, Israel
Novel
1998
My Name Is Red
by Orhan Pamuk, Turkey
Novel, originally Benim Adim Kirmizi
2000–2003
Persepolis
by Marjane Satrapi, Iran
Graphic novel series includes Persepolis and Persepolis 2.
2002
A Tale of Love and Darkness
by Amos Oz, Israel
Memoir
Snow
by Orhan Pamuk, Turkey
Novel
2003
Reading Lolita in Tehran
by Azar Nafisi, Iran
Memoir
2009
Limassol
by Yishai Sarid, Israel
Novel
The Forty Rules of Love
by Elif Shafak, Turkey
Novel
2012
The Colonel
by Mahmoud Dowlatabadi, Iran
Novel
2014
A Horse Walks Into a Bar
by David Grossman, Israel
Novel
2015
Pain
by Zeruya Shalev, Israel
Novel
2018
No Friend But the Mountains
by Behrouz Boochani, Iran
Memoir
Celestial Bodies
by Jokha Alharthi, Oman
Novel
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