Jangnama


In the literatures of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, a jangnama is an epic or heroic poem. The word is of Persian origin. In Kashmiri, jangnama refers to epic poetry generally; but jangnama also identifies a specific genre of poetry that deals with Islamic conquests. The genre also exists in many Muslim-influenced Indo-Aryan languages. A variety of different jangnamas were written in the years before 1850; they include:
as well as the anonymous Jang Chitral, Jang Chin, Jang Tiraj, and Jang Zaitun. Jangnamahs were also written in more recent times; one example is Jangnamah Europe by a Sikh soldier, Nand Singh, who fought in the First World War.