II. Between A.D. 1600 and 1700 (A.H. 1008-1111).

Four of the seven poets discussed at length by Shiblí in the third volume of his Shi'ru'l-'Ajam fall within the period indicated above. These are Naẓírí (d. 1021/1612-13), Ṭálib-i-Ámulí (d. 1036/1626-7), Abú Ṭálib Kalím (d. 1061/ 1651), and Ṣá'ib (d. 1088/1677-8). * Riḍá-qulí Khán in the enumeration of eminent contemporaries of the Ṣafawí kings with which he concludes the supplementary eighth volume written by him in continuation of Mírkhwánd's Rawḍatu'ṣ-Ṣafá mentions not one of these, but, in the period now under consideration, names only Ẓuhúrí (d. 1024/1615) and Shifá'í (d. 1037/1627). Another poet ignored by both these writers but highly esteemed in Turkey, where, according to Gibb, * “he continued for more than half a century to be the guiding star for the majority of Ottoman poets,” being “deservedly famous for his marvellous ingenuity and fertility in the invention of fresh and picturesque images and similes,” is Shawkat (or Shevket, according to the Turkish pronunciation) of Bukhárá (d. 1107/1695-6). To these seven we may add, besides four or five * who, though they wrote occasional verse, were primarily philosophers, and will be discussed in connection with that class, the following six, who were, perhaps, a trifle more distinguished than their innumerable competitors: Saḥábí of Astarábád (d. 1010/1601-2), Zulálí of Khwánsár (d. about 1024/1615), Jalál Asír (d. 1049/1639-40), Qudsí of Mashhad (d. 1056/ 1646-7), Salím of Ṭihrán (d. 1057/1647-8), and Amání of Mázandarán (d. 1061/1651). Although I think that Rieu * goes too far when he describes Ṣá'ib as “by common consent the creator of a new style of poetry, and the greatest of modern Persian poets,” he is without doubt the greatest of those who flourished in the seventeenth century of our era, and, I think, the only one deserving a detailed notice in this volume, notwithstanding Riḍá-qulí Khán's remark that “he had a strange style in the poetic art which is not now admired.”*

Here follows a list of these seventeen poets, arranged chronologically according to the dates of their deaths, with brief references to the authorities who may be consulted for further particulars concerning them. These are, besides Rieu's incomparable Persian Catalogue, Shiblí's Shi'ru'l-'Ajam, vol. iii (Sh.), the Átash-kada (A. K.), the Haft Iqlím (H. I., available in manuscript only), the Raw-ḍatu'l-Jannát (R. J.), the Rawḍatu'ṣ-Ṣafá (R. Ṣ.), the Maj-ma'u'l-Fuṣaḥá (M. F.), and the Riyáḍu'l-'Árifín (R. 'Á.).

(1) Saḥábí of Astarábád (d. 1010/1601-2). Rieu, p. 672; A. K., pp. 141-2, and H. I., s.v. Astarábád in both; M. F.,

Saḥábí of Astarábád (d. 1010/1601-2). ii, p. 21; R. 'Á., pp. 85-6. He spent forty years of his life in tending the holy shrine of Najaf, and composed, besides ghazals, many quatrains, of which 6000 are said to be extant.

(2) Naẓírí of Níshápúr (d. 1021/1612-3). Rieu, pp. 817-8; Sh. iii, pp. 134-64; A. K., pp. 131-3; H. I., s.v. Níshá- Naẓírí of Níshápúr (d. 1021/1612). púr (a long notice); M. F., ii, pp. 48-9; R. 'Á., pp. 236-7. The last thirty years of his life were spent in India, chiefly at Aḥmadábád in Gujerát, where he died. He was one of the many poets who benefited by the bounty of 'Abdu'r-Raḥím Khán-khánán, who provided him with money to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca in 1002/1593-4, in response to a qaṣída beginning:

“Through genius I cannot contain myself, like the Magian wine in
the jar; the very garments are rent on my body when my ideas
ferment.
Through thy beneficence I experienced all the pleasure of this world:
what wonder if through thee [also] I should obtain provision for
the other world?”

In matters of religion he was something of a fanatic, and wrote verses attacking “the heretic” Abu'l-Faḍl. He also wrote verses in praise of tobacco, some of which are quoted by Shiblí (p. 134).

(3) Zulálí of Khwánsár (d. 1024/1615). Rieu, pp. 677-8; H. I., s.v. Khwánsár (a long notice). He was the pane- Zulálí of Khwánsár (d. circ. 1024/1615). gyrist of Mír Dámád, and composed seven mathnawís, of which that on Maḥmúd and Ayáz (begun in 1001/1592-3, and concluded in 1024/ 1615), shortly before his death, is the most popular. Two others mentioned by Rieu are “the Wine-Tavern” (May-khána ), and “the Mote and the Sun” (Dharra u Khurshíd).

(4) Ẓuhúrí of Turshíz (d. 1024/1615, murdered in an affray in the Deccan together with his fellow-poet and Ẓuhúrí of Turshíz (d. 1024/1615). father-in-law Malik of Qum). Rieu, pp. 678-9; A. K., pp. 68-70; R. Ṣ., at end of vol. viii. He is, as Rieu observes, little known in Persia, though much admired in India, especially as a writer of extremely florid prose. The author of the A. K. says that in his opinion this poet's Sáqí-náma (“Book of the Cupbearer”) has no great beauty, in spite of the fame which it enjoys.

(5) Bahá'u'd-Dín 'Ámilí, commonly called Shaykh-i-Bahá'í (d. 1030/1620-1), was primarily a theologian, and to Shaykh Bahá'u'd-Dín 'Ámilí (d. 1030/1620-1). some extent a philosopher and mathematician, but he wrote at least two short mathnawí poems, entitled respectively Nán u Ḥalwá (“Bread and Sweetmeats”) and Shír u Shakkar (“Milk and Sugar”). Extracts from both are given in the M. F. (vol. ii, pp. 8-10), besides a few ghazals and quatrains, and also in the R. 'Á., pp. 45-9. Apart from his mathematical and astronomical treatises, his best-known prose work is the Kashkúl (or “Beggar's Bowl”), which has been printed at Buláq and lithographed in Persia. This work, though written in Arabic, contains many Persian poetical citations, which, however, are omitted in the Egyptian edition. The famous mujtahid Mullá Muḥammad Taqí-i-Majlisí (d. 1070/1659-1660) was one of the most eminent of his disciples.

(6) Ṭálib-i-Ámulí (d. 1036/1626-7). Rieu, p. 679; Sh. iii, pp. 165-188; A. K., pp. 155-6, where it is said that “he Ṭálib of Ámul (d. 1036/1626-7). had a peculiar style in verse which is not sought after by eloquent poets.” In India, whither he emigrated in early life, he was so highly appreciated that Jahángír made him his poet-laureate (Maliku'sh-Shu'ará ) in 1028/1619. He was far from modest, for he boasts that before he reached his twentieth year he had mastered seven sciences: * <text in Arabic script omitted>

Ṭálib's boasted accomplishments. “My foot is on the second step of the zenith of the de-
cades, and behold the number of my accomplish-
ments exceeds the thousands!
In mathematics, logic, astronomy and philosophy I enjoy a pro-
ficiency which is conspicuous amongst mankind.
When all these are traversed the savoury knowledge of the Truth,
which is the Master of the Sciences, is added to the sum total.
In the concatenated description of my writing this is enough, that
every dot from my pen is the heart's core of men of letters.
I put on the attribute of poetry, for I know that thou knowest that
this step is to me the eighth of these ‘seven severe ones.’”

In the following quatrain, also cited by Shiblí (p. 168), he alludes to his proposed journey to India and bids himself “leave his black (i.e. bad) luck in Persia, because no one would take a Hindú as a present to India”:

He had an elder sister to whom he was deeply attached Ṭálib's affection for his sister. and after a long separation she came from Persia to Ágra to see him. He thereupon sought leave of absence from the Emperor Jahángír in the following verses: * <text in Arabic script omitted>