Vahshi Bafqi
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Vahshi Bafghi ( fa, وحشی بافقی, Vahshi Bāfghi) 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
Safavid Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...
era, considered to be one of the greatest of his generation.


Biography

Vahshi was born in 1532 in
Bafq Bafq ( fa, بافق, also Romanized as Bāfq) is a city in and the capital of Bafq County, Yazd Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bo ...
, an agrarian town near the provincial capital of
Yazd Yazd ( fa, یزد ), formerly also known as Yezd, is the capital of Yazd Province, Iran. The city is located southeast of Isfahan. At the 2016 census, the population was 1,138,533. Since 2017, the historical city of Yazd is recognized as a Wor ...
in central
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 ...
. In his hometown, Vahshi was taught poetry from his older brother Moradi and the prominent local writer Sharaf al-Din Ali. He pursued his studies in Yazd, and then eventually moved to
Kashan Kashan ( fa, ; Qashan; Cassan; also romanized as Kāshān) is a city in the northern part of Isfahan province, Iran. At the 2017 census, its population was 396,987 in 90,828 families. Some etymologists argue that the city name comes from ...
, a leading hub of literature during the early Safavid era. There he worked as a school-teacher, and through his poems soon gained the interest of the regional governor. Vahshi appears to have been received well by various local poets, who were annoyed of the accolades bestowed on Mohtasham Kashani (died 1588). He soon became involved in the poetic flyting matches that were an important aspect of the literary scene of this period, trading insults with competitors like Fahmi of Kashan and Ghazanfar of Koranjar. It is most likely during this period that Vahshi 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'' ( panegyrics) to
Shah Tahmasp I Tahmasp I ( fa, طهماسب, translit=Ṭahmāsb or ; 22 February 1514 – 14 May 1576) was the second shah of Safavid Iran from 1524 to 1576. He was the eldest son of Ismail I and his principal consort, Tajlu Khanum. Ascending the throne after ...
(). During his stay in Kashan, Vahshi visited some other cities in Iran, such as Arak and
Jarun Jarun (local pronunciation: ) is a neighborhood in the southwestern part of Zagreb, Croatia. It was named after Lake Jarun, formed by the Sava River, now located on the southern edge of the neighborhood. Lake The lake is the location of the Jar ...
, before finally settling in Yazd. Unlike other contemporary Persian poets, Vahshi did not have a strong desire to travel, and thus spent the rest of his life in Yazd and the neighbouring palace-town of Taft. Albeit he occasionally laments his lack of wealth, he appears to have held a distinguished position as the prominent poet at the court of the hereditary rulers of the region, Ghiyat al-Din Mir Miran and his son Khalil-Allah, who were in-laws of the Safavid royal family and traced their descent back to the
Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
shaykh Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliteration of Arabic, transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonl ...
Shah Nimatullah Wali (died 1431). Vahshi also wrote two brief chronograms on the coronation of
Ismail II Ismail II (; Born Ismail Mirza; 31 May 1537 – 24 November 1577) was the third Shah of Safavid Iran from 1576 to 1577. He was the second son of Tahmasp I with his principal consort, Sultanum Begum. By the orders of Tahmasp, Ismail spent twent ...
() and commendation poems to the governors of
Kerman Kerman ( fa, كرمان, Kermân ; also romanization of Persian, romanized as Kermun and Karmana), known in ancient times as the satrapy of Carmania, is the capital city of Kerman Province, Iran. At the 2011 census, its population was 821,394, in ...
, especially Bekhtash Beg Afshar. Nothing suggests that Vahshi ever got married, and he seems to have been reserved by nature. Awhadi of Balyan, who served as Vahshi's
literary executor The literary estate of a deceased author consists mainly of the copyright and other intellectual property rights of published works, including film, translation rights, original manuscripts of published work, unpublished or partially completed wo ...
, reported that Vahshi died at the age of 52 at Yazd in 1583 due to a heavy drinking binge. He was buried in the city, which has frequently been damaged due to political unrest.


Works

Vahshi's, Shirin and Farhad, a Persian folklore and romantic story of
Sassanid The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...
Iran is written in the meter of the Persian poet Nizami's romantic epic Shirin and Farhad. Although the work was left unfinished at the time of Vahshi's death, with the introduction and barely 500 verses of the story completed, it has been recognized as one of the poets most famous masterpieces. Approximately a hundred manuscripts of this famous Persian epic from Vahshi has been catalogued around the world. Two poets from
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 ...
, Wesal and Saber, took on the task of completing Vahshi's poem in the 19th century. Awhadi, the literary executor of Vahshi gathered some 9,000 verses of Vahshi's poetry after his death. They include various Persian forms including
Ghazal 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 ...
,
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 ...
and panegyrics to patrons as well praises of the saints of the time.


References


Sources

* * * E. G. Browne. ''Literary History of Persia''. (Four volumes, 2,256 pages, and twenty-five years in the writing). 1998. *
Jan Rypka Jan Rypka, PhDr., Dr.Sc. (28 May 1886 in Kroměříž – 29 December 1968 in Prague) was a prominent Czech orientalist, translator, professor of Iranology and Turkology at Charles University, Prague. Jan Rypka was a participant in Ferdowsi ...
, ''History of Iranian Literature''. Reidel Publishing Company. ASIN B-000-6BXVT-K {{DEFAULTSORT:Bafqi, Vahshi 16th-century Persian-language poets 1500s deaths Year of birth uncertain 1532 births 16th-century writers of Safavid Iran 16th-century Iranian writers