Naishapur/Nishapur

Naishapur is referenced by the narrator in the eighth quatrain. In most contemporary transliteration of place it is spelled as Nishapur, but Fitzgerald used the more common spelling of his day, which included an additional vowel. This is place of birth of Omar Khayyam and an important city in the eastern Khorasan region of Persia. It was one of the first major cities to be subdued by the nomadic Seljuk tribes who came steaming in from Central Asia to conquer Persia in the eleventh century. It was chosen as the imperial capital of the Seljuk dynasty by Tughril Beg in 1037 and it remained an important administrative and economic center throughout the century, even after the Seljuk sultanate moved capitals. Omar Khayyam’s present-day mausoleum is located in the city, which is now part of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Babylon

Babylon is reference by the narrator in...