Month: September 2011

It is the name of an Arabic stanzic poem , which then passed into Hebrew , Persian and Turkish. The name is derived from the Arabic ” Simt ” – meaning a thread or string. The oldest musammat are ascribed to Abu Nawas ( d.815 AD ). Some specimens can be found in Eastern Hebrew poets but it is the Andalusian Hebrew poets who use this stanzic poem called ” Meruba ” in Hebrew. This genre...

Ahmed b. Umar b. Ali He took the takhallus of Nizm and the Honorific title of Nadim al Din ( or Nizam al Din). He was usually called Arudi ( the prosodist ) to distinguish him from other Nizamis. According to EG Browne Nizami is one of the most interesting and remarkable Persian poets of prose ” one of those who throw most light on the intimate life of Persian and central asian Courts in the...

Abu Ali al Fadl b. Djafar b. Al Fadl b.Yunus al anbari al Nakhani al Kitab. Poet and letter writer letter writer of the 9th century AD. Al Basir was born in Kufa ( modern day Iraq ) into a family of Persian origin . On account of his blindness he was nicknamed al Basir and al Darir.  When Samara was built in 836 AD , he went to the new capital and inspite of his strong shia leanings he...

Turkish and Persian poet. He was born in Baghdad and because of his diseased condition ( barash ) , he was called Aladja ( blotchy ) Basiri. He grew up in the scholarly mileu of Harat , and frequented the circles of Sultan Husayn Baykhara , Djami , and Nawai. Basiri is mentioned amongst the poets Selim 1 , in the supplement written Hakim Muhammad Shah , Kazwini to his Persian translation of the...

Abu Abdullah Jafar Ibn Muhammad ibn Adam Ruddaki Samarkandi- Leading Persian poet during the first part of 10th century. Born in Rodhak , Samarkand, Rudaki was the author of the earliest substantial surviving fragments of Persian verse. It is stated by Awfi that Rudaki was born blind. He flourished under the patronage of Samanid ruler of Bukhara , Nasr 11 b. Ahmed ( 914-943 AD ). His Diwan of...

Muhammad Ishak Shawkat Bukhari- Persian poet of 17th century AD. He was the son of a money changer and took up the same profession for a time and then left for Khurasan, after which he arrived in Herat and entered the service of the Governor Safi Kuli Khan Shamlu. However, after a time he left for Ishfahan and lived the rest of his life inpoverty. There are assertions that Shawkat had for a time...

Masudi Sa-adi Salman- Eminent Persian poet of 5th century of Islam ( 11th century AD ). Salman enjoyed fame at the Ghaznawid Court but did spend 18 years in imprisonment during which time he wrote his famous laments. He was born in Lahore ( present day Pakistan ) into a wealthy family and his family had hailed from Hamadan ( Iran ) where his Father had been a Court Official. It was in 1076 that...

Mirza Muhammad Ali- Persian poet of the 17th century ( AD ). His date of birth is considered to be 1601 AD.  His Father, Mirza Abdul Rahman was a leading merchant of Tabriz. When Shah Abbass 1st ( 1587 to 1629 ) made Isfahan his capital, he caused many merchants to settle there, in the quarter named Abbassid. At the same time Saibs father moved to Ishfahan, where Saib is supposed to have been...

Mehmet Emin Yardakul ( 1869-1944 ). Turkish patriot and pioneer of modern Turkish poetry. His parents posessed a rich store of oral folk literature, which they transmitted to Emin. He attained several Civil service posts and in 1907 he became a member of the secret revolutionary Committee of Union and Progress. He was sent to work in Eastern Anatolia in the Customs department, which was a form...

Turkish poet of 14th century AD. His personal name was taken to be Ahmed, on the evidence of a single entry in a manuscript of his poem , Mantik al tayr. Recently , on the strength of several points in the same work, he has been identified with a certain Sheykh Suleyman, whose turbe was in Kirshehir. It can be easily supposed that this town from which as a poet he took his name Gulsheri, was...