Farrukhi Sistani
Encyclopedia
Abul Hasan Ali ibn Julugh Farrukhi Sistani (died 1037) was a 10th- and 11th-century royal poet of Ghaznavids.

As an ethnic Persian, he was one of the brightest masters of the panegyric
Panegyric
A panegyric is a formal public speech, or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing, a generally highly studied and discriminating eulogy, not expected to be critical. It is derived from the Greek πανηγυρικός meaning "a speech fit for a general assembly"...

 school of poetry in the court of Mahmud of Ghazni
Mahmud of Ghazni
Mahmud of Ghazni , actually ', was the most prominent ruler of the Ghaznavid dynasty who ruled from 997 until his death in 1030 in the eastern Iranian lands. Mahmud turned the former provincial city of Ghazni into the wealthy capital of an extensive empire which covered most of today's Iran,...

. He started his career by writing a qasideh called 'With a Caravan of Fine Robes' (in Persian: با کاروان حله) and presented it to Asa'ad Chaghani, the vizier of Saffarid king of Sistan
Sistan
Sīstān is a border region in eastern Iran , southwestern Afghanistan and northern tip of Southwestern Pakistan .-Etymology:...

. This poem was so beautiful and masterful that Farrokhi was admitted to the court. Here is the opening line:

با کاروان حُلّه برفتم ز سیستان

با حلّهء تنیده ز دل، بافته ز جان

I left Sistan with a caravan of fine robes.

Robes spun from the heart, woven from the soul.

The next day when the king went to his ranch where he used to party and brand his new young horses. The vizier described to Farrukhi the setting of branding of horses. Farrokhi went home and based on the descriptions and without seeing the actual scene, wrote a new poem called 'Branding Place' (in Persian: داغگاه). The next morning he went back to the vizier and recited the poem. Vizier was so impressed that immediately took Farrokhi to the king. When this poem was recited to the king, he was so impressed that he gave 40 young horses to Farrokhi as gift.
The opening line is:

چون پرند نیلگون بر روی پوشد مرغزار

پرنیان هفت رنگ اندر سرآرد کوهسار

Farrokhi was also a master in music and could play barbat
Barbat (lute)
The barbat or barbud is a lute of ancient Persian origin. The Arabic Oud is derived from an ancient Persian barbat. Today's barbat, however, is essentially the same thing as today's oud: the instrument is often called the barbat when played in a Persian tradition, while called the oud when played...

 and had a nice voice and could sing too. He later moved to the court of Ghaznavids, first Mahmud and then his son, Masud.

Farrokhi's divan of 9000 verses survived. He died in 1037 CE.

Sample poetry

فسانه گشت و کهن شد حدیث سکندر

The story of Alexander the Great has aged and become legend

سخن نو آر که نو را حلاوتی است دگر

Bring forth new stories since the new has a different sweetness.

See also

  • List of Persian poets and authors
  • Persian literature
    Persian literature
    Persian literature spans two-and-a-half millennia, though much of the pre-Islamic material has been lost. Its sources have been within historical Persia including present-day Iran as well as regions of Central Asia where the Persian language has historically been the national language...

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