Khwajeh Nizam al-Din Ubayd Allah al-Zakani ( fa, خواجه نظام الدین عبید الله الزاکانی, Ḵwājeh Niẓām al-Dīn ʿUbayd Allāh al-Zākānī; d. 1370), better known as Ubayd Zakani () 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 of the
Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...
era, regarded as one of the best satirists in
Persian literature
Persian literature ( fa, ادبیات فارسی, Adabiyâte fârsi, ) comprises oral compositions and written texts in the Persian language and is one of the world's oldest literatures. It spans over two-and-a-half millennia. Its sources h ...
. His most famous work is ''Mush-o Gorbeh'' ("Mouse and Cat"), a political satire, which attacks religious hypocrisy. Although a highly popular figure, Ubayd's work has received little attention until recently, due to provoking and bawdy texts in the majority of his works. He has been compared to the French
Enlightenment writer
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...
(d. 1778).
Background
Ubayd was from the Zakani family, which was descended from the Banu Khafaja, an
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
tribe that had immigrated to
Qazvin
Qazvin (; fa, قزوین, , also Romanized as ''Qazvīn'', ''Qazwin'', ''Kazvin'', ''Kasvin'', ''Caspin'', ''Casbin'', ''Casbeen'', or ''Ghazvin'') is the largest city and capital of the Province of Qazvin in Iran. Qazvin was a capital of the ...
in northern
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
at the start of the Islamic era. The Zakani family was made up of two branches; one being notable for its field in religion, whilst the other consisted of landowners and bureaucrats, to which Ubayd belonged. Ubayd himself was born in Qazvin, most likely before 1319. Iran was then under
Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...
(
Ilkhanate
The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate ( fa, ایل خانان, ''Ilxānān''), known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (, ''Qulug-un Ulus''), was a khanate established from the southwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. The Ilkhanid realm, ...
) rule, widely considered to be the golden age of
Persian poetry
Persian literature ( fa, ادبیات فارسی, Adabiyâte fârsi, ) comprises oral compositions and written texts in the Persian language and is one of the world's oldest literatures. It spans over two-and-a-half millennia. Its sources h ...
.
Life
The contemporary Persian writer
Hamdallah Mustawfi
Hamdallah Mustawfi Qazvini ( fa, حمدالله مستوفى قزوینی, Ḥamdallāh Mustawfī Qazvīnī; 1281 – after 1339/40) was a Persian official, historian, geographer and poet. He lived during the last era of the Mongol Ilkhanate, and ...
, who was a fellow Qazvini, describes Ubayd in his ''
Tarikh-i guzida
The ''Tarikh-i guzida'' (also spelled ''Tarikh-e Gozideh'' ( fa, تاریخ گزیده, "Excerpt history"), is a compendium of Islamic history from the creation of the world until 1329, written by Hamdallah Mustawfi and finished in 1330.''E.J. Bri ...
'' (1329) as a gifted poet and a well-educated writer. This comment was made in the same year as the composition of ''Nawādir al-amṯāl'', one of Ubayd's first works. The book, written in
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
, was a compilation of proverbs of prophets and sages. After the fall of the Ilkhanate in 1335, Ubayd fled to
Shiraz
Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As o ...
in
Fars, then under
Injuid
The House of Inju (Injuids, Injus, or Inju'ids) was an Iranian dynasty of Persian origin that came to rule over the cities of Shiraz and Isfahan during the 14th century. Its members became de facto independent rulers following the breakup of the ...
control. There he joined the court of the Injuid ruler
Abu Ishaq Inju
Abu Ishaq Inju ( fa, ابو اسحاق اینجو) was the last Injuid ruler from 1343 to 1357. During his reign the city of Shiraz flourished, consisting of prominent figures such as Hafez, Khwaju Kermani and Ubayd Zakani. In 1357, the Muzaffari ...
(), to whom he wrote a considerable segment of his
panegyrics
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 grc, ...
, and also his acclaimed ''Ushshaq-nama'' (1350), a ''
masnavi
The ''Masnavi'', or ''Masnavi-ye-Ma'navi'' ( fa, مثنوی معنوی), also written ''Mathnawi'', or ''Mathnavi'', is an extensive poem written in Persian by Jalal al-Din Muhammad Balkhi, also known as Rumi. The ''Masnavi'' is one of the most ...
'' mixed with ''
ghazals
The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a p ...
''. Ubayd also dedicated some of his poems to Abu Ishaq Inju's minister Rukn al-din Amid al-Mulk.
Ubayd was part of Abu Ishaq Inju's circle of poets, which included an elder
Khwaju Kermani
Khwaju Kermani ( fa, خواجوی کرمانی; December 1290 – 1349) was a famous Persian poet and Sufi mystic from Iran.
Life
He was born in Kerman, Iran on 24 December 1290. His nickname Khwaju is a diminutive of the Persian word ''Khwaja ...
and a young
Hafez
Khwāje Shams-od-Dīn Moḥammad Ḥāfeẓ-e Shīrāzī ( fa, خواجه شمسالدین محمّد حافظ شیرازی), known by his pen name Hafez (, ''Ḥāfeẓ'', 'the memorizer; the (safe) keeper'; 1325–1390) and as "Hafiz", ...
. However, in 1357, the
Muzaffarid ruler
Mubariz al-Din Muhammad
Mubariz al-Din Muhammad (1301-1363) ( fa, مبارز الدین محمد), was the founder of the Muzaffarid dynasty, ruling from 1314 to 1358. He was a Persian of Yemeni origins, which settled in Khurasan during the Islamic conquest. He was the ...
() captured Shiraz, and had Abu Ishaq Inju executed. Ubayd was a result forced to leave Shiraz, most likely leaving for the domains of the
Jalayirid
The Jalayirid Sultanate was a culturally Persianate, Mongol Jalayir dynasty which ruled over Iraq and western Persia after the breakup of the Mongol khanate of Persia in the 1330s.Bayne Fisher, William. ''The Cambridge History of Iran'', p.3: ...
ruler
Shaykh Uways Jalayir
Shaykh Uways Jalayir ( fa, شیخ اوویز جلایر) 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.
Biography
Shortly after Shaykh Uways Ja ...
(), to whom he has dedicated ''
qasida
The qaṣīda (also spelled ''qaṣīdah''; is originally an Arabic word , plural ''qaṣā’id'', ; that was passed to some other languages such as fa, قصیده or , ''chakameh'', and tr, kaside) is an ancient Arabic word and form of writin ...
s'' to. Ubayd also wrote an
elegy
An elegy is a poem of serious reflection, and in English literature usually a lament for the dead. However, according to ''The Oxford Handbook of the Elegy'', "for all of its pervasiveness ... the 'elegy' remains remarkably ill defined: sometime ...
for the deceased Abu Ishaq Inju, who had been his most important patron. He later returned to Shiraz during the reign of Mubariz al-Din Muhammad's son and successor
Shah Shoja Mozaffari
Shah Shoja ( fa, شاه شجاع, Shāh Shojā, lit. "the brave shah"), was the ruler of the Mozaffarids from 1358 to 1384. He was the son and successor of Mubariz al-Din Muhammad. During the lengthy reign of Shah Shoja, his kingdom reached its zen ...
(), to whom he dedicated several panegyrics. Ubayd had little love for his hometown Qazvin, preferring Shiraz instead. He died sometime between 1369–1371, possibly in Shiraz.
Literary work
Most of Ubayd's work is 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 ...
, although some of it is in Arabic as well, demonstrating his high education. His satire is generally divided into three topics; religion, politics, and ethics. In regards to religion, he criticizes the clergy for their hypocrisy, such as meddling in other people's lives and especially hijacking the right to reprehend freethinkers. Ubayd's most famous work is ''Mush-o Gorbeh'' ("Mouse and Cat"), a political satire, which attacks religious hypocrisy. The work was considered risky, due to being made during a time where one could face death for criticizing religion.
Legacy
Ubayd is regarded as one of the best satirists in
Persian literature
Persian literature ( fa, ادبیات فارسی, Adabiyâte fârsi, ) comprises oral compositions and written texts in the Persian language and is one of the world's oldest literatures. It spans over two-and-a-half millennia. Its sources h ...
. He has been compared to the French
Enlightenment writer
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...
(d. 1778). According to the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
orientalist Edward Granville Browne
Edward Granville Browne FBA (7 February 1862 – 5 January 1926) was a British Iranologist. He published numerous articles and books, mainly in the areas of history and literature.
Life
Browne was born in Stouts Hill, Uley, Gloucestershire, En ...
, Ubayd was "perhaps the most remarkable parodist and satirical writer produced by Persia." Ubayd is along with
Iraj Mirza
Prince Iraj Mirza ( fa, ایرج میرزا, literally ''Prince Iraj''; October 1874 – 14 March 1926) (titled Jalāl-ol-Mamālek, fa, جلالالممالک), son of prince Gholam-Hossein Mirza, was a famous Iranian poet. He was a modern p ...
(d. 1926) considered the most illustrious Iranian satirists.
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Zakani, Ubayd
14th-century Persian-language poets
14th-century writers
Censorship in the arts
Obscenity controversies in literature
Iranian satirists
People from Qazvin
1371 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
14th-century Iranian people
Social critics
Jalayirid-period poets
Ilkhanate-period poets
Injuid-period poets
Iranian people of Arab descent