Nizami Ganjavi

c. 1141 – c. 1209

Nizami Ganjavi was a 12th-century Persian poet, considered the greatest master of the romantic epic in Persian literature. His five long narrative poems, collectively known as the Khamsa (Quintet), including 'Layla and Majnun' and 'Khosrow and Shirin', set the standard for the genre and were imitated for centuries across the Persianate world.

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Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Nizami Ganjavi.

Life events

Born in Ganja
c. 1141

Nizami was born in Ganja (in present-day Azerbaijan), then a city of the Seljuk Empire, where he lived his entire life.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Birth ✓
Orphaned early and raised by his uncle
c. 1150

Nizami lost both parents relatively early and is said to have been raised by his maternal uncle Khwaja Umar, who ensured his education.

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Acquired broad learning in the sciences and literature
c. 1155

His poetry displays a deep command of Persian and Arabic literature, astronomy, mathematics, medicine, Islamic law, and philosophy, indicating an extensive education in Ganja.

Education ?
Married Afaq, a Kipchak slave sent to him by the ruler of Derbent
c. 1170

The ruler of Derbent sent Nizami a Kipchak slave girl, traditionally called Afaq, whom he married and deeply loved; she bore his only son, Muhammad.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Completed the Makhzan al-Asrar (Treasury of Mysteries)
c. 1177

Nizami's first major work, a didactic and mystical poem dedicated to Fakhr al-Din Bahramshah of Erzincan, launched his poetic reputation.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Completed the romance 'Khosrow and Shirin'
c. 1180

His first romantic epic, telling of the Sasanian king Khosrow II and the Armenian princess Shirin, was composed around the time of his beloved wife Afaq's death.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Completed 'Layla and Majnun'
1192

Commissioned by the Shirvanshah Akhsatan I, Nizami composed the definitive Persian version of the Arab love story of Layla and Majnun.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Completed the Haft Peykar (Seven Beauties)
1197

Widely viewed as his masterpiece, this romance of the Sasanian king Bahram V and seven princesses was dedicated to the ruler of Maragheh.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Completed the Iskandarnameh (Book of Alexander)
c. 1202

The final poem of his Khamsa, a two-part epic on Alexander the Great as conqueror and philosopher-prophet, crowned his life's work.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Died in Ganja
c. 1209

Nizami died in his native Ganja around 1209; a mausoleum later built over his tomb stands outside the modern city.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Death ✓