Rudaki
رودکی
Poet of the Samanid court at Bukhara, honoured in Persian tradition as the father of Persian poetry.
- Known for
- The first great poet of New Persian
- Forms
- Qasida, Qit'a, Rubai
- Places
- Tajikistanتاجیکستان
- Samarkand and Bukharaماوراءالنهر
- Collection
- The Greats
Abu Abdollah Ja'far Rudaki was born in Panjrud, a village in the hills east of Samarkand, in today's Tajikistan, and became the leading poet at the court of the Samanid ruler Nasr II in Bukhara. Persian tradition calls him the father of Persian poetry, because he is the first major poet of New Persian whose work survives in any quantity.
Later writers credited him with an enormous output, including a verse version of the fables of Kalila and Dimna, but only about a thousand couplets survive, most of them quoted in later books. Tradition also says he was blind; whether from birth or later in life is debated. He is said to have lost favour at court in old age and to have died in his native village, where a mausoleum now stands.
Booksکتاب‌ها
The principal works of Rudaki.
The Poems of Rudaki
دیوان رودکیWhat survives of Rudaki's poetry: about a thousand couplets, including a few whole poems, such as the Muliyan poem and the qasida on old age, and many single lines quoted by later dictionaries and anthologies. Modern editions gather these scattered pieces into a Divan.
Read 3 poemsKalila and Dimna (verse, lost)
کلیله و دمنهA verse rendering of the animal fables of Kalila and Dimna, Indian in origin, which Rudaki is said to have made for the Samanid court from an earlier Persian prose version. Only scattered couplets survive, quoted in later works.
Poems by Rudakiشعرها
In the original Persian, beside an English translation.
مرا بسود و فرو ریخت هر چه دندان بود
نبود دندان، لابل چراغ تابان بود
Worn away and fallen out is every tooth I had;
they were not mere teeth, but shining lamps.
My Teeth Have Worn Away
بوی جوی مولیان آید همی
یاد یار مهربان آید همی
The scent of the Muliyan stream comes to me,
the memory of a loving friend comes to me.
The Scent of the Muliyan Stream
زمانه، پندی آزادوار داد مرا
زمانه، چون نگری، سربه سر همه پندست
Time gave me a piece of advice fit for the free;
Time, if you look closely, is advice from end to end.
Time Gave Me Advice
Rudaki in Iranian history
Iranian historyThe Arab conquest and the Persian revivalفتح اعراب و احیای زبان فارسی
Islam reached Iran with the Arab armies of the 7th century. Persian survived, took on a new script and, under dynasties such as the Samanids, returned as one of the great literary languages of the world.