Nizām al-Din Ali Shīr Navā'i (1441-1501)

Nizām al-Din Ali Shīr (Heravi) (Persian: مير على شير نوائى - Mir Ali Shīr Nawā'i), known by his pen-name Navā'i (Persian: the weeper), * February 9th 1441 in Herat; † January 3rd 1501, was a Central Asian politician, mystic, painter, and poet of Uyghur heritage who lived in Herat during the 15th century. Image File history File links Anavoi. ... Persian is a language spoken in Iran, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Southern Russia, neighboring countries, and elsewhere. ... Persian is a language spoken in Iran, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Southern Russia, neighboring countries, and elsewhere. ... February 9 is the 40th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... This page is about the year 1441. ... Herāt (Persian هرات) is a city in western Afghanistan, in the valley of the Hari Rud river in the province also known as Herat, and was traditionally known for wine. ... January 3 is the 3rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1501 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Uyghurs (also called Uighurs, Uygurs, or Uigurs) (Chinese:维吾尔 or 維吾爾 ; in pinyin: wéiwúěr) are a Turkic ethnic group of people living in northwestern China (mainly in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, where they are the dominant ethnic group together with Han people), Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. ... Herāt (Persian هرات) is a city in western Afghanistan, in the valley of the Hari Rud river in the province also known as Herat, and was traditionally known for wine. ... (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ...

Origins

Mir Ali Shir Nava'i was born in Herat, in what is now northwestern Afghanistan, in the year 1441. He belonged to the Chagatai "amir" (Persian: مير - ˈMir) class of the Timurid elite, and his father, Giyāth ud-Din Kichkina (the Little), served as a high-ranking officer in the palace of Shāhrukh Mirzā, ruler of Khorasan. His mother was a princes' governess in the palace. Mir is a Persian word, derived from the Arabic emir (adopted in many languages under Islamic influence), and it means leader of a group or tribe. ... Herāt (Persian هرات) is a city in western Afghanistan, in the valley of the Hari Rud river in the province also known as Herat, and was traditionally known for wine. ... Emir (also sometimes rendered as Amir or Ameer, Arabic commander) is a title of nobility historically used in Islamic nations of the Middle East and North Africa. ... Shah Rukh Mirza (also known as Shahrukh or Shah Rokh) (August 30, 1377 - March 12, 1447), was the ruler of the eastern portion of the empire established by Timur (Tamerlane), governing most of Persia and Transoxiana between 1405 and 1447. ... Greater Khorasan is an area of land from the past which included parts that are presently in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. ...

Mir Ali Shir's father died while he was at a young age, and the ruler of Khorasan at that time, Abul Qasim Babur, adopted guardianship of young Nava'i^[1]. He was educated in Mashhad, Herat and Samarkand. Mashhad from space, January 2003 Goharshad mosque, built in 1418. ... Herāt (Persian هرات) is a city in western Afghanistan, in the valley of the Hari Rud river in the province also known as Herat, and was traditionally known for wine. ... , Colour photograph of Ulugh Beg Madrasa taken in Samarkand ca. ...

-Minuture of Nava'i

He was a school mate of Husayn Bayqarah who later became Sultan of Khorasan. During Nava'i's lifetime, Herat was the capital of the Timurid Empire and became one of the leading cultural and intellectual centers in the Islamic world. It was there that Nava'i met his teacher and murshid Jami. Image File history File links Alisher_Navoiy_Mahmud_Muzahhid_miniatyurasi. ... Image File history File links Alisher_Navoiy_Mahmud_Muzahhid_miniatyurasi. ... Husayn Bayqarah (1438 - May 4, 1506), was a Timurid ruler of Herat from 1469 to his death, with a brief interruption in 1470. ... Timurids Map The Timurids were a Turkic-Mongol dynasty of Iran established by the Mongol Timur (Tamerlane). ... Islam (Arabic: ; ( ▶ (help· info)), the submission to God) is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions and the worlds second-largest religion. ... A Murshid is the teacher and guide to his disciples (Mureedh). ... Youth seeking his fathers advice Miniature illustration to the Haft Awrang of Jami, in the story A Father Advises his Son About Love See Sufi outlook on male love Freer and Sackler Galleries, The Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. Persian youth playing chess with two suitors Illustration to the Haft...

Achievements

Mir Ali Shir Nava'i was a public administrator and adviser to Sultan Husain Baiqara. He was also a builder who is reported to have founded, restored, or endowed some 370 mosques, schools, libraries, hospitals, caravanserais and other educational, pious, and charitable institutions in Khorasan alone. In Herat alone, he was responsible for 40 caravanserais, 17 mosques, 10 konaks, 9 bathhouses, 9 bridges, and 20 pools, all using his own money ^[2] A mosque is a place of worship for followers of the Islamic faith. ... school, see School (disambiguation). ... Khorasan (also spelled Khurasan and Khorassan; Xorasan or Xurasan in Kurdish; خراسان in Persian) is an area, located in eastern and northeastern Iran. ... Konak is a district of İzmir Province of Turkey. ...

A building by Navoi

Among the most famous constructions for which he was responsible were the mausoleum of the 13th-century mystical poet, Farid al-Din 'Attar, in Nishapur (northeastern Iran), and Khalasiya madrasa (school) in Herat. In fact, he was one of the instrumental contributors of Herat becoming, in Rene Grousset's words, "the Florence of what has justly been called the Timurid Renaissance." Moreover, he was a contributor to civilization, a promoter and patron of scholarship, arts and letters, a musician, composer, calligrapher, painter and sculptor, and most importantly such a celebrated writer that Bernard Lewis, the distinguished English historian of Islam, called him "the Chaucer of the Turks". Image File history File linksMetadata Navoi1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Navoi1. ... Location of Neyshapur Tomb of Omar Khayyám, Neishabur Tomb of Kamal-ol-Molk, Neishabur. ... Madrassa in the Gambia The word madrassa in the Arabic language (and other languages of the Islamic nations such as Persian, Turkish, Indonesian etc. ... René Grousset was a French historian specializing in Asiatic and Oriental history. ... The word civilization (or civilisation) has a variety of meanings related to human society. ... A musician is a person who plays or composes music. ... A composer is a person who writes music. ... Calligraphy (from Greek καλλι calli beauty + γραφος graphos writing) is the art of decorative writing. ... Painting by Rembrandt self-portrait Detail from Las Meninas by Diego Velazquez, in which the painter portrayed himself at work For the computer graphics program, see Corel Painter. ... Sculptor redirects here. ... The term writer can apply to anyone who creates a written work, but the word more usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, or those who have written in many different forms. ... The English are an ethnic group associated with England and the English language. ... Islam(Arabic: ; ) is a monotheistic religion based on the Quran. ... Chaucer: Illustration from Cassells History of England, circa 1902. ...

Nava'i literary achievements

He was universally known by the pen name, Nava’i, and was among the key writers who revolutionized Turkish. Mir Ali Shir produced 30 works over a time period of 30 years, and during this period the Chagatai language (also known as Torki) was elevated and accepted as a prestigious, recognized, and well-respected literary language. Nava'i also wrote in Persian (under the pen-name Fāni), and to a much lesser degree in Arabic and Hindi. The Chagatai language is an extinct Turkic language which was once widely spoken in Central Asia. ...

A page of Nava'i from the library of Suleyman the Magnificent

Nava'i's best-known poems are found in his four Divans, or poetry collections, which consist of roughly 50,000 verses all together. Each part of the work corresponds to different periods of a person's life: Image File history File links Download high resolution version (531x720, 127 KB) Summary Suleyman the Magnificents library Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (531x720, 127 KB) Summary Suleyman the Magnificents library Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Diwan, also transliterated as Deewan or Divan, is a term for a collection of poems of a single author; it may be a selected works, or the whole body of work of an Urdu, Persian or Ottoman Turkish poet. ...

• Ghara’ib al-Sighar ("Wonders of Childhood")

• Naivadir al-Shabab ("Witticisms of Youth")

• Bada'i' al-Wasat ("Marvels of Middle Age")

• Fawi'id al-Kibar ("Advantages of Old Age")

His material had a far-reaching impact, as he also wrote technical works that would be helpful to other Chagatai language poets, such as Mizan al-Awzan ("The Measure of Meters"), a detailed treatise on poetical meters, and the monumental Majalis al-Nafais ("Assemblies of Distinguished Men"), a collection of over 450 biographical sketches of mostly contemporary poets, and a gold mine of information for modern historians of Timurid culture. Timurid can refer to several entities, related to Timur: Timurid Dynasty Timurid Empire Timurid Emirates This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Other important works include:

• The "Hamsa" which is composed of five big epic poems "Hayratu-l-abror" (Excitement with good people), "Farhod va Shirin", "Layli va Majnun", "Sab'ai sayyor" ("Seven tourists (planets)"), "Saddi Iskandariy" (Epic poem about Alexander the Great)

• "Lisonu-t-tayr" - In which the thoughts, philosophical views and Sufi ideas of Nava'i are expressed. In addition to this "Nasoyimu-l-muhabbat" and "Besh hayrat" give a more in depth knowledge regarding his views on religion and Sufism.

A page of Nava'i from the library of Suleyman the Magnificent

However, perhaps his most passionate work was his last one - Muhakamat al-Lughatayn ("Judgment between the Two Languages"), completed in December, 1499. He defended the superiority of the Chagatai language from various points of view in comparison to Persian. It was the writer’s last definitive statement on the subject dearest to his heart, and the Muhakamat is a perfect example of an author's final work acting also as his last will and testament which was to emphasize the importance of his native language. Sufism (Persian: صوفی‌گری Sufi gari, Arabic: تصوف, taá¹£awwuf) is a mystic tradition of Islam. ... Image File history File links Nava'isuleyman33. ... Image File history File links Nava'isuleyman33. ... Persian is a language spoken in Iran, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Southern Russia, neighboring countries, and elsewhere. ...

Repeatedly, Nava'i emphasizes the richness, precision and malleability of Chagatai vocabulary as opposed to Persian. Below are a few examples:

• We are informed that the Turks have a word for the beauty mark on a woman's face, but there is no comparable word in Persian.

• Many Chagatai words have three or four or more meanings; Persian, according to Nava'i, lacks such flexible words.

• To illustrate the capacity of the Chagatai language to make more precise distinctions, he lists nine Chagatai words used to identify separate species of duck. Persian, he claims, has but one word that covers all of these.

Arguments of this nature fill page after page of the Muhakamat. Below is an extract from this major work:

It is unfortunately true that the greater superiority, profundity and breadth of Turkish as compared to Persian as a medium for poetry has not yet been realized by everyone... In the early days of my youth I began to perceive a few jewels from the inkwell of my mouth. These jewels had not yet become a string of verse, but jewels from the sea of consciousness which were worthy of being placed on a string of verse began to reach shore, thanks to the nature of the diver.

Then I reached the age of comprehension and God (whose praises I recite and who be extolled!) instilled in me sensitivity and attentiveness and a desire for the unique. I realized the necessity of giving thought to Turkish words. The world which came into view was more sublime than 18,000 worlds, and its adorned sky, which I came to know, was higher than nine skies. There I found a treasury of superiority and excellence in which the pearls were more lustrous than the stars. I entered the rose garden. Its roses were more splendid than the stars of heaven, its hallowed ground was untouched by hand or foot, and its myriad wonders were safe from the touch of other hands.

Influence of Nava'i

Nava’i was to have a great influence in areas as distant as India in the East and the Ottoman Empire in the West. Imperial motto (Ottoman Turkish) دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power (1683) Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital Söğüt (1299-1326), Bursa (1326-1365), Edirne (1365-1453), Ä°stanbul (1453-1922) Imperial anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Sovereigns Padishah of the Osmanl...

• Babur (1483-1530) founder of the Mughal dynasty of India wrote one of the first autobiographies among Islamic rulers, the epic “Baburnama”. He was influenced heavily by Nava’i and even includes his respect for the writer in his famous book.

• In addition to this the Ottomans were highly conscious of their Central Asian heritage, Suleyman the Magnificent was very impressed by Nava’i and had the Divan-I Neva’I, Khamsa and Muhakamat added to his personal library. ^[3]

• The famous and well-renowned Azari and Persian poet Fuzuli was heavily influenced by the style of Nava’i.

• Further influence can be found in Kazan of Russia, Tabriz of Iran, Turkistan/Central Asia, modern day Turkey and all other area’s which Turkic speakers inhabit.

He has become one of the most beloved poets in the Turkic-speaking world. With the rise of the great Ottoman and Azeri poets, the place of Turkish as a classical language of Islam and a major world literature was solidified. Zahiruddin Babur, or Zahir-ud-din Mohammad Babur (February 14, 1483 – December 26, 1530) (Persian: ظﮩیرالدین محمد بابر, also spelled ) was the Muslim Emperor who founded the Mughal dynasty of India. ... The Mughal Empire (alternative spelling Mogul, which is the origin of the word Mogul) of India was founded by Babur in 1526, when he defeated Ibrahim Lodi, the last of the Delhi Sultans at the First Battle of Panipat. ... Baburnama or Babar Nameh (Persian: بابر نامہ) (literally: Book of Babur or Letters of Babur) are the memoirs of Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babur, commonly known as Babur (1483-1530), the founder of the Mughal Empire and the great-great-great-grandson of Tamerlane. ... Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I (November 6, 1494 – September 5/6, 1566); in Turkish Süleyman , (nicknamed the Magnificent in Europe and the Lawgiver in the Islamic World, in Turkish Kanuni) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1520 to 1566 and successor to Selim I. He was born at... Azeri can refer to: Azerbaijanis - a Turkic-speaking people of Azerbaijan Azerbaijani language - a Turkic language Azari - an alternative name for the ethnic language in Azerbaijan, most commonly referred as Tati, also spoken in many places in north-western Iran today. ... Fuzûlî (1494?–1556), a Divan poet of Azeri origin Mehmed bin Süleyman Fuzuli, most commonly referred to as Fuzuli, was born around 1494 in Iran (Safavid era), although his actual date of birth is unknown. ... Kazan (Tatar Qazan, Казан; Russian Казань) is the capital city of Tatarstan and one of Russias largest cities. ... Tabriz City Hall, built in 1895, by Arfaol molk, with the aid of German engineers. ... This is the disambiguation page for the terms Turk, Turkey, Turkic, and Turkish. ...

-Nava'i monument in Moscow Image File history File links Navai. ...

-Nava'i monument in Taskent Ozbekistan Image File history File links Navoiozbek. ...

-Theatre dedicated to Nava'i in Taskent, Ozbekistan. Image File history File linksMetadata 800px-NavoiTheater. ...

-Navoi city founded in 1958 in dedication of Nava'i Image File history File links Navoiru2. ...

A selection of Nava'i extracts

Know, all humankind: The greatest curse is enmity; the greatest blessing - amity.

Mind, ye peoples of the Earth, Enmity is an evil state.

Live in friendship, one and all - Man can have no kinder fate.^{[citation needed]}

He, who knows knowledge but applies not,

is like those who plow the land and, seeds plant not."^{[citation needed]}

What an ignorant rich man says,

is as clear as what the golden fly eats.^{[citation needed]}

Since the best of men must pass

through Death’s portal,

Happy is he who makes his name immortal.^[4]

Below is a Rubai which is a poem consisting of four lines:

I said, holding by your chin your cheeks I kiss,

Licking your eyes with eyelids your brows I kiss,

Smelling your eyes your rosy cheeks your lips I kiss,

If you say: No, No, No, your foot I kiss.^{[citation needed]}

Original:

Dedim: chineni tutib, saqog'ingni o'pay,

Ko'z qoshingga surtubon qabog'ingni o'pay,

Guldek yuzing islabon dudak'ingni o'pay

Yoq, Yoq, Yoq, desang agar ayoqingni o'pay^{[citation needed]}

Below is a Ghazel:

My Dark Eyed One...

Come my dark eyed one come and show your kindnes,

Weave a nest for yourself, in the depth of my pupils.

Turn the garden of my heart into a flowerbed, for the blossom that is your face,

And the rest your slender form so like the sapling in the garden that is my heart.

Splash the hooves your brave steed in me heart's blood.

And weave a leash for your dog from the tendons of my sad soul.

O Heaven, if at the foot of the mountain of separtation my dust is discovered,

Knead it into the dough and sculpt from it a powerfull stone mason.

If you wish to encapture hearts in love by a meeting with you,

Curl your long hair into ringlets.

There is little the gardener can do to stop the advance of the fall,

Should he even spike the roof of his garden with pine needles.

O my friend, should I suddenly die at the sight of perspiration on your face,

Bathe me in rose water and lay me to rest in a shroud made of rose petals.

Navoi, if you can put your heart all into a bouquet of joy,

Pick a sheaf of wheat and touching a flame to it let this candle be the revelation of the nosegay^{[citation needed]}

Original:

Qaro ko'zim

Qaro ko'zum, kelu mardumlug' emdi fan qilg'il,

Ko'zum qarosida mardum kibi vatan qilg'il.

Yuzung guliga ko'ngul ravzasin yasa gulshan,

Qading niholig'a jon gulshanin chaman qilg'il.

Takovaringg'a bag'ir qonidin hino bog'la,

Itingg'a g'amzada jon rishtasin rasan qilg'il.

Firoq tog'ida topilsa tufrog'im, ey charx,

Xamir etib yana ul tog'da ko'hkan qilg'il.

Yuzung visolig'a yetsun desang ko'ngullarni,

Sochingni boshdin-ayog' chin ila shikan qilg'il.

Xazon sipohiga, ey bog'bon, emas mone'

Bu bog' tomida gar ignadin tikan qilg'il.

Yuzida terni ko'rub o'lsam, ey rafiq, meni

Gulob ila yuvu gul bargidin kafan qilg'il.

Navoiy, anjumani shavq jon aro tuzsang,

Aning boshog'lig' o'qin sham'i anjuman qilg'il.^{[citation needed]}

An example of a quotation is below:

"Hey Navoi do not worry of yellow, red and green, your gazels have grown into red, yellow, green".^{[citation needed]}

In ancient times the Turkish nation described the four parts of the world with four colors: the North - in black color; the South in red color; the West- in yellow (white) color. The East consisting of never ending fields and deserts was always described with green color.

Using the different colors of his gazel that is to say, using markings of the world's parts as South, West, East Nava'i is explaining that he would like to challenge for "solidarity and unity of all nations".^{[citation needed]}

Notes

Referances

• Barry Hoberman - Islamic and Central Asian history at Harvard and Indiana universities

External links

• About Alisher Navoi
• Alisher Navoi:Chaucer of the Turks
• Selection of poems translated into English