Poetry of the modern-day region called Afghanistan has ancient roots, which is mostly written in

Dari Dari (, , ), also known as Dari Persian (, ), is the variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. Dari is the term officially recognised and promoted since 1964 by the Afghan government for the Persian language,Lazard, G.Darī � ...

and

Pashto Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (). Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...

. Afghan poetry relates to the

culture of Afghanistan The culture of Afghanistan has persisted for over three millennia, tracing record to at least the time of the Achaemenid Empire in 500 BCE, and encompasses the cultural diversity of the nation. Afghanistan's culture is historically strongly c ...

and is an element of Afghan literature.

History

The region called

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

nowadays was noted for its poetic language even before the

Islamic conquest of Afghanistan The Muslim conquests of Afghanistan began during the Muslim conquest of Persia as the Arab Muslims migrated eastwards to Greater Khorasan, Khorasan, Sistan and Transoxiana. Fifteen years after the Battle of Nahāvand in 642 AD, they controlled ...

in the 7th through 11th centuries. The

Pata Khazana Pata Khazāna ( ps, پټه خزانه, translation=The Hidden Treasure) is the title of a manuscript written in the Pashto language. According to its discoverer, the script contains an anthology of Pashto poetry, which precedes the earliest known w ...

, if authentic, contains

Pashto poetry Pashto literature ( ps, ) refers to literature and poetry in Pashto language. The history of Pashto literature spreads over five thousands years having its roots in the oral tradition of tapa. However, the first recorded period begins in 7th cen ...

written as far back as the 8th Century. Some of the famous poets who were born or lived in the region of present-day Afghanistan include

Rumi Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī ( fa, جلال‌الدین محمد رومی), also known as Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Balkhī (), Mevlânâ/Mawlānā ( fa, مولانا, lit= our master) and Mevlevî/Mawlawī ( fa, مولوی, lit= my ma ...

Ferdowsi Abul-Qâsem Ferdowsi Tusi ( fa, ; 940 – 1019/1025 CE), also Firdawsi or Ferdowsi (), was a Persians, Persian poet and the author of ''Shahnameh'' ("Book of Kings"), which is one of the world's longest epic poetry, epic poems created by a sin ...

Khushal Khan Khattak Khošāl Khān Khaṭak (1613 – 25 February 1689; Pashto: خوشال خان خټک), also known as Khushal Baba ( ps, خوشال بابا), was a Pashtun poet, chief, and warrior. Khushal Khan served the Mughal Empire protecting them fr ...

Rahman Baba Abdur Rahmān Momand ( ps, عبدالرحمان بابا; 1632–1706) or Rahmān Bābā ( ps, رحمان بابا), was a renowned Pashtun Sufi Dervish and poet from Momand Agency in Peshawar during the Mughal era. He, along with his contemp ...

Ahmad Shah Durrani Ahmad Shāh Durrānī ( ps, احمد شاه دراني; prs, احمد شاه درانی), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is regarded as the founder of the modern Afghanistan. In July 1747, Ahm ...

Timur Shah Durrani Timur Shah Durrani (; prs, ;), also known as Timur Shah Abdali or Taimur Shah Abdali (December 1746 – May 20, 1793) was the second ruler of the Afghan Durrani Empire, from November 1772 until his death in 1793. An ethnic Pashtun, he was the se ...

Shuja Shah Durrani Shuja ( ar, شجاع‎, ur, شجاع‎, bn, সুজা) is a surname and male given name. Notable people with this name include: * Shuja al-Khwarazmi, was the mother of Abbasid caliph Al-Mutawakkil (r. 847–861) * Ahmad Shuja Pasha (born ...

Ghulam Muhammad Tarzi ''Sardar'' Ghulam Muhammad Khan Tarzi (born Kandahar, April 30, 1830 – 1900/1901) son of ''Sardar'' Rahim Dil Khan (and grandson of ''Sardar'' Payinda Khan Mohammadizi or ''Sardar'' Payinda Muhammad Khan) was a ruler of Kandahar. He was a P ...

, Ghulam Habib Nawabi,

Massoud Nawabi Massoud Nawabi (1954–2010; Persian: مسعود نوابی-; alternative spellings: Masood Nawabi) also known as Ustad Nawabi, was an Afghan poet, writer, Director as well as a cultural personality, founder of Educational Committee for Afghan Re ...

, Homaira Nakhat Dastgirzada and many others. The nation also has a number of female poets, such as

Rabia Balkhi Rabia Balkhi, also known as Rabia al-Quzdari (or Khuzdari) was a 10th-century writer who composed poetry in Persian and Arabic. She is the first known female poet to write in Persian. A non- mystic poet, her imagery was later transformed into t ...

, 17th century

Nazo Tokhi Nāzo Tokhī (نازو توخۍ), commonly known as Nāzo Anā ( ps, نازو انا, "Nazo the grandmother"), was an Afghan poetess and a writer in the Pashto language. Mother of the famous early-18th century Afghan king Mirwais Hotak, she grew ...

, and others. Due to political unrest and wars in the country, many women poets have remained hidden. Today, there are very few established young Afghan women poets like

Afghan American Afghan Americans ( prs, آمریکایی‌های افغان‌تبار ''Amrikāyi-hāye Afghān tabar'', ps, د امريکا افغانان ''Da Amrīka Afghanan'') are Americans of Afghan descent or Americans who originated from Afghanistan. ...

''Sajia Alaha Ahrar'', a student at the

University of Mary Washington The University of Mary Washington (UMW) is a public liberal arts university in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Founded in 1908 as the Fredericksburg Teachers College, the institution was named Mary Washington College in 1938 after Mary Ball Washingt ...

in the United States, wrote a poem in 2010 entitled "Desire for World's Peace".

Styles

References

External links

Afghanland - Poetry
Afghan literature Persian literature Education in Afghanistan

Afghan poetry {{Afghanistan-stub

History

Styles

See also

References

External links