Assar Tabrizi (died in 1377 or 1382) was a

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

poet from

Tabriz Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...

, who served as one of the

panegyrists A panegyric ( or ) is a formal public speech or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing. The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens. Etymology The word originated as a compound of - 'a ...

of the

Jalayirid The Jalayirid Sultanate () was a dynasty of Mongol Jalayir origin, which ruled over modern-day Iraq and western Iran after the breakup of the Ilkhanate in the 1330s.Bayne Fisher, William. ''The Cambridge History of Iran'', p. 3: "From then until ...

ruler

Shaykh Uways Jalayir Shaykh Uways Jalayir () was the Jalayirid ruler of Iraq (1356–1374) and Azerbaijan (1360–1374). He was the son of Hasan Buzurg and the Chobanid princess Dilshad Khatun. Rise to throne Shortly after Shaykh Uways Jalayir succeeded his father, ...

(). He is principally known for his poem ''Mihr u Mushtari'', which was completed in 1376.

Biography

Assar was born in

under the

Ilkhanate The Ilkhanate or Il-khanate was a Mongol khanate founded in the southwestern territories of the Mongol Empire. It was ruled by the Il-Khans or Ilkhanids (), and known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (). The Ilkhanid realm was officially known ...

. He studied astronomy with Abd al-Samad Tabrizi, and

Sufism Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

with Shaykh Majd al-Din Sisi. Following the death of

Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan (June 2, 1305 – December 1, 1335; ), also spelled Abusaid Bahador Khan, Abu Sa'id Behauder (Modern , ''Abu sayid Baghatur Khan'', in modern Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet, Mongolian), was the ninth ruler (c. 1316 – 1335) ...

() in 1335, the Ilkhanate fell. The northwestern region of

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

was soon captured by the

Jalayirids The Jalayirid Sultanate () was a dynasty of Mongol Jalayir origin, which ruled over modern-day Iraq and western Iran after the breakup of the Ilkhanate in the 1330s.Bayne Fisher, William. ''The Cambridge History of Iran'', p. 3: "From then until ...

, who were based in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

. Assar became one of the

of the

ruler

(), dedicating some ''

qasida The qaṣīda (also spelled ''qaṣīdah''; plural ''qaṣā’id'') is an ancient Arabic word and form of poetry, often translated as ode. The qasida originated in pre-Islamic Arabic poetry and passed into non-Arabic cultures after the Arab Mus ...

s'' (

ode An ode (from ) is a type of lyric poetry, with its origins in Ancient Greece. Odes are elaborately structured poems praising or glorifying an event or individual, describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally. A classic ode is structu ...

s) to him. In his poem ''Mihr u Mushtari'', Assar says that he disliked writing panegyrics, rarely reciting the ones he had written. The poem, entitled ''Ishq-nama'', but commonly known as ''Mihr u Mushtari'', was composed in 1376, and is the most famous work of Assar. It was translated into

Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

twice, once by Ibn Umm Walad (died 1502), and then later by Pir Muhammad Azmi and his son Halati (died 1629), who dedicated it to the Ottoman sultan

Selim II Selim II (; ; 28 May 1524 – 15 December 1574), also known as Selim the Blond () or Selim the Drunkard (), was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1566 until his death in 1574. He was a son of Suleiman the Magnificent and his wife Hurrem Sul ...

(). Besides poetry, Assar has also written a few treatises on rhetoric, as well as a short manual of Persian rhymes, named ''al-Wāfī fī teʿdād al-qawāfī''. The death date of Assar is uncertain. He either died in 1377 or 1382.

References

Sources

* * {{Authority control 14th-century births 14th-century deaths 14th-century Persian-language poets 14th-century Iranian writers Poets from Tabriz Burials in Maqbaratoshoara Jalayirid-period poets Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown