Zayn al-Abidin Shirvani ( fa, زینالعابدین شیروانی; 1779—1837), also known by his pen-name of Tamkin, was a
Persian scholar, mystic, and traveler from
Shirvan
Shirvan (from fa, شروان, translit=Shirvān; az, Şirvan; Tat: ''Şirvan''), also spelled as Sharvān, Shirwan, Shervan, Sherwan and Šervān, is a historical Iranian region in the eastern Caucasus, known by this name in both pre-Islam ...
.
Biography
A native of the Shirvan region, Shirvani belonged to a
Shia Muslim
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most ...
family. The region was then ruled by the
Shirvan Khanate
Shirvan Khanate ( fa, خانات شیروان, Khānāt-e Shirvan) was a Caucasian khanate under Iranian suzerainty, which controlled the Shirvan region from 1761 to 1820.
Background
Under the Safavid dynasty of Iran, Shirvan was a leading silk ...
, a dependency of
Zand Iran. At the age of five, Shirvani went to the city of
Karbala
Karbala or Kerbala ( ar, كَرْبَلَاء, Karbalāʾ , , also ;) is a city in central Iraq, located about southwest of Baghdad, and a few miles east of Lake Milh, also known as Razzaza Lake. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Governor ...
along with his father Mulla Iskandar, where he studied for twelve years. It was there that Shirvani met the
Ni'matullahi masters Ma'sum Ali Shah Dakani and Nur-Ali Shah Isfahani. When Shirvani returned to Iran in 1814, he attempted to find a home in several places, ultimately settling in city of
Shiraz
Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the population of the city was 1,565,572 p ...
. He later died in 1837 during a pilgrimage to the city of
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow v ...
.
Amongst the disciples of Shirvani was
Reza-Qoli Khan Hedayat (died 1871), a literary historian, administrator, and poet.
Shirvani is notable for writing about the concept of Iran. Writing in 1813, he says that "from time immemorial" the lands of Iran reached from the
Euphrates
The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...
to the Jayhun (
Amu Darya
The Amu Darya, tk, Amyderýa/ uz, Amudaryo// tg, Амударё, Amudaryo ps, , tr, Ceyhun / Amu Derya grc, Ὦξος, Ôxos (also called the Amu, Amo River and historically known by its Latin name or Greek ) is a major river in Central Asi ...
), and from
Darband to the coast of
Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...
. Although Shirvani was not a
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...
, he showed his attachment to the ''ahl-i Furs'' (people of Persia), claiming that they were "a magnificent clan" who in "terms of intellect and aptitude are free of want from the people of the inhabited quarter of the world."
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Shirvani, Zeynalabdin
1779 births
1837 deaths
18th-century Iranian philosophers
19th-century Iranian philosophers
19th-century Persian-language writers
Iranian geographers
People of Qajar Iran