Anvari

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Anvari (c.1126–c.1189) was one of the greatest Persian poets.

Anvari (full name Awhad ad-Din 'Ali ibn Vahid ad-Din Muhammad Khavarani, also given as Awhad ad-Din Muhammad ibn Muhammad and Awhad ad-Din 'Ali ibn Mahmud), was born in Khorasan (now in Turkmenistan), and studied science and literature at the collegiate institute in Tun (now Firdaus, Iran), becoming a famous astronomer as well as a poet.

Anvari's poems were collected in a Deewan, and contains panegyrics, eulogies, satire, and others. His elegy "Tears of Khorasan", translated into English in 1789, is considered to be one of the most beautiful poems in Persian literature. The Cambridge History of Iran calls Anvari "one of the greatest figures in Persian literature". Despite their beauty, his poems often required much help with interpretation, as they were often complex and difficult to understand.

Anvari's panegyric in honour of the Seljuk sultan Ahmed Sanjar (1117–1157), ruler of Khorasan, won him royal favour, and allowed him to go on to enjoy the patronage of two of Sanjar's successors. However, when his prophesy of disasters in October 1185 failed, he fell out of favour with the kingship, and was forced into a life of scholarly service, eventually taking his own life in 1189.

[edit] References

The Cambridge History of Iran, Cambridge University Press ISBN 0-521-06936-X
Jan Rypka, History of Iranian Literature. Reidel Publishing Company. ASIN B-000-6BXVT-K