Abd-Allah Hatefi, commonly known as Hatefi (also spelled Hatifi; ; 1454 – 1521) was a Persians poet and nephew of the distinguished poet Jami (died 1492).
Life
Hatefi was born in 1454 in
Khar Gerd, a village that formed a district of the town
Torbat-e Jam, which was in turn a dependency of the
Greater Khorasan city of
Herat. Hatefi's mother was a sister of the distinguished poet
Jami (died 1492). Unlike his
Sunni Islam uncle, Hatefi was a Twelver Shi'a. Jami spent most of his whole life in his hometown, where he served as the custodian of the mausoleum of the Timurid-era poet
Qasim-i Anvar. Hatefi became part of the literary elite after prevailing in a test set up by Jami. In the late 15th century, Hatefi travelled alongside fellow poet Amir Homayun Esfaraini to Iranian Azerbaijan and Lower Mesopotamia. Between 1485 and 1490, Hatefi stayed at the court of the
Aq Qoyunlu ruler Ya'qub Beg () in
Tabriz in northwestern Iran.
Because he was a Shi'a, Hatefi was respected by the Safavid Iran Ismail I (), who had conquered Khorasan in 1510. Hatefi later acted as a mediator for the Sunni population of Jam, who were seen negatively by the emperor. Ismail, who sought to associate himself with Persian literature, requested Hatefi to write a historical epic similar to that of his previous Timurnama (also known as the Zafurnama), a biography of the Turco-Mongol ruler Timur ().
Hatefi died in 1521 in Khar Gerd and was buried in his former garden.
Works
Hatefi composed poetry in several genres, but he is known above all for his
Khamsa "Pentalogue". Modelled after previous pentologues of Persian literature, including those of
Nizami Ganjavi, his
Khamsa became famous even outside of
Iran. Lami'i Chelebi produced an
Ottoman Turkish translation of his work, and the several editions of his
Khamsa from the
Ottoman Empire and in
India are proof of his widespread fame. Hatefi's literary fame rests on his realistic and straightforward style. He displayed remarkable originality in handling his stories with his style often emulated by later poets. Four of his works in his
Khamsa have been published thus far.
The five works which are comprised by his Khamsa are:
-
Layli o Majnun
-
Shirin o Khosrow
-
Haft manzar
-
Timurnama (also known as Zafarnama)
-
Fotuhat-e shahi
See also
-
List of Persian poets and authors
-
Persian literature
Sources
