Shah-Mohammad ibn Mobarak Qazvini ( ota, Şah Mehmed ibn Mübarek-i Kazvinî), best simply known as Shah-Mohammad Qazvini (died 1557), was a 16th-century palace physician and man of letters in the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
. He wrote in
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 ...
and flourished during the reigns of
Selim I
Selim I ( ota, سليم الأول; tr, I. Selim; 10 October 1470 – 22 September 1520), known as Selim the Grim or Selim the Resolute ( tr, links=no, Yavuz Sultan Selim), was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. Despite last ...
and
Suleiman the Magnificent.
Biography
Qazvini, 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 ...
émigré, emigrated to the Ottoman Empire on the recommendation of his old schoolmate Müʾeyyedzade after a stop in
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 sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
where he studied. Through Müʾeyyedzade's advice, Ottoman Sultan
Bayezid II
Bayezid II ( ota, بايزيد ثانى, Bāyezīd-i s̱ānī, 3 December 1447 – 26 May 1512, Turkish: ''II. Bayezid'') was the eldest son and successor of Mehmed II, ruling as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512. During his reign, ...
offered Qazvini a salary of 120 silver
aspers
Aspers is a census-designated place in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 486. At the 2000 census it was listed as the Bendersville Station-Aspers CDP.
Geography
Aspers is located at (39.97 ...
per day for his skills and talents as a doctor (''hakim'', spelled as ''hekim'' in Turkish) and man of letters. Finding himself at the Ottoman court, Qazvini's reputation as a refined and cultivated belle-lettrist continued to spread and strengthen. During the reign of Bayezid's son and successor
Selim I
Selim I ( ota, سليم الأول; tr, I. Selim; 10 October 1470 – 22 September 1520), known as Selim the Grim or Selim the Resolute ( tr, links=no, Yavuz Sultan Selim), was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. Despite last ...
, Qazvini was repeatedly present at the foremost social and learned gatherings of the
royal court and of wider Ottoman society. During his stay in Ottoman lands, he became known as a man with a refined cultural taste. According to the estimations of
Aşık Çelebi, a contemporaneous author and poet, he was foremost amongst Sultan Selim's intimate friends in addition to being the chief physician. Qazvini introduced more Persian literary figures to the Ottoman court, including Ada'i, who, in his verse history of Selim's reign, recognizes the Persians Qazvini and Shams al-Din Bada'i for being able to secure an introduction to the office of chief military judge of the sultanate.
Overall, Qazvini put effort into augmenting the reputation of Persian émigrées in the Ottoman Empire through his
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 ...
translation and continuation of the '' Majalis-i nafaʾis'' ("Assemblies of Precious Things"), originally written by the late
Timurid Timurid refers to those descended from Timur (Tamerlane), a 14th-century conqueror:
* Timurid dynasty, a dynasty of Turco-Mongol lineage descended from Timur who established empires in Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent
** Timurid Empire of C ...
-period statesmen and writer
Ali-Shir Nava'i
'Ali-Shir Nava'i (9 February 1441 – 3 January 1501), also known as Nizām-al-Din ʿAli-Shir Herawī ( Chagatai: نظام الدین علی شیر نوایی, fa, نظامالدین علیشیر نوایی) was a Timurid poet, writer ...
. Qazvini's addition to Nava'i's work is geared towards the preservation of adept Persian-language poets of the Ottoman Empire and Iran who were contemporaneous to Selim's tenure. However, his contribution is clearly aimed at an Ottoman readership, since a considerable amount of the entries describe poets who immgirated or passed through the Ottoman realm, many of whom are not attested in other works.
Qazvini died in 1557.
References
{{reflist
1557 deaths
16th-century Iranian writers
Iranian emigrants to the Ottoman Empire
16th-century writers from the Ottoman Empire
16th-century Iranian physicians
Court physicians
16th-century Persian-language writers
16th-century physicians from the Ottoman Empire
Iranian translators