- Muhammad Iqbal
Sir Muhammad Iqbāl, he is highly regarded for his Persian works. Iqbal was a strong proponent of the political and spiritual revival of Islamic civilisation across the world, but specifically in India; a series of famous lectures he delivered to this effect were published as "The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam". One of the most prominent leaders of the All India Muslim League, …
- Ehsan Yarshater
Ehsan Yarshater (born April 3, 1920, Hamadan, Iran) is the Director of The Center for Iranian Studies and Hagop Kevorkian Professor Emeritus of Iranian Studies at Columbia University. He is famous for editing the monumental Encyclopedia Iranica along with 40 other editors and 300 authors from various academic institutions throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. He is also famous for editing the third volume of the Cambridge History of Iran, …
- Nasir Khusraw
Abu Mo’in Hamid al-Din Nasir ibn Khusraw al-Qubadiani or Nasir Khusraw Qubadyani [also spelled "Khusrow"] (1004 - 1088 CE) was a Persian poet, philosopher, Isma'ili scholar and a traveler. He was born in Qubadyan, a village near Balkh in Afghanistan and died in Yamagan, a village in Badakhshan province of Afghanistan. He is considered as one of the great poets and writers in Persian literature, the "Safarnama", an account of his travels, …
- Rudaki
Abdullah Jafar Ibn Mohammad Rudaki (Tajik Абӯабдуллоҳ Ҷафар Ибн Муҳаммад Рӯдакӣ, Persian ابوعبدالله جعفربن محمدبن حکیمبن عبدالرحمنبن آدم رودکی), also written as Rudagi or Rudhagi, (859-"c".941) was a Persian ("Tājīk") poet, and the first great literary genius of modern Persian language, …
- Abbas Kiarostami
Abbas Kiarostami is an internationally acclaimed Iranian film director, screenwriter, and film producer. An active filmmaker since 1970, Kiarostami has been involved in over forty films, including shorts and documentaries. Kiarostami attained critical acclaim for directing the "Koker trilogy", "A Taste of Cherry", and "The Wind Will Carry Us". Kiarostami has worked extensively as a screenwriter, film editor, …
- Omar Khayyám
Ghiyās al-Dīn Abu al-Fath Omār ibn Ibrāhīm Khayyām Nishābūrī or Omar Khayyam (b. May 18, 1048 Nishapur, (Persia) - d. December 4, 1131), was a Persian poet, mathematician, philosopher and astronomer who lived in Persia. His name is also given as Omar al-Khayyami. He is best known for his poetry, and outside Iran, for the quatrains ("rubaiyaa"s) in "Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam", …
- Hamid Dabashi
Hamid Dabashi presents a comprehensive, passionate, and insightful personal account on the evolution of Iranian art cinema in Close Up - Iranian Cinema: Past, Present and Future.
- Homa Katouzian
Homa Katouzian is an economist, historian, political scientist and literary critic, with a special interest in Iranian studies. Katouzian’s formal academic training was in economics and the social sciences but he concurrently continued his studies of Persian history and literature at a professional academic level. He began studying the life and works of the greatest modern Persian writer, Sadeq Hedayat, as well as that of Iran’s Prime Minister in the early 1950s, …
- Iraj Afshar
Iraj Afshar (born 1925 in Tehran) is a notable Iranian literary figure, scholar of Persian literature, bibliographer, historian, cultural theorist and world-class Iranologist. He is a consulting editor of Encyclopedia Iranica at Columbia University and full professor emeritus of Tehran University. Iraj Afshar recorded the monuments of Yazd in his three volumes "Yadegar haye Yazd". He is known as "the doyen of Iranian Persian language bibliographers".
- Fereydoon Moshiri
Fereydoon Moshiri (b. August 1926 in Tehran, Iran - d. October 24 2000 in Tehran) was one of the most prominent contemporary Persian poets who versified in both modern and classic styles of the Persian poem. He is best known as conciliator of classical Persian poetry at one side with the New Poetry initiated by Nima Yooshij at the other side. One of the major contributions of Moshiri's poetry, …
- Mirza Fatali Akhundov
Mirza Fatali Mammad Taghi oglu Akhundov, earlier – Akhundzadeh, was an Azerbaijani prose writer, dramatist, philosopher, founder of the modern realist school and literary criticism. Akhundov singlehandedly opened a new stage of development of Azerbaijani literature and is also considered one of the founders of modern Iranian literature. He was also one of the forerunners of modern Iranian nationalism.
- Nezami
Nezāmī, whose full name was "Nizām ad-Dīn Abū Muhammad Ilyās ibn-Yusūf ibn-Zakī ibn-Mu'ayyid", is considered the greatest romantic epic poet in Persian literature, who brought a colloquial and realistic style to the Persian epic. His heritage is widely appreciated and shared by Azerbaijan, Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Nezami is also pronounced as Nizami in some Western literature, Russian, Azerbaijani and some Persian dialects.
- Khalilullah Khalili
<u>Kh</u>alilullāh <u>Kh</u>alīlī was Afghanistan's foremost 20th Century poet as well as a noted historian, university professor, diplomat and royal confidant. He was the last of the great classical Persian poets and among the first to introduce modern Persian poetry and Nimai style to Afghanistan. He had also expertise in "Khorasani" style and was a follower of Farrukhi Sistani.
- Imadaddin Nasimi
Imadeddin Nasimi (?–1417?) was a 14th-century Sufi poet ("Nasimi" was his pen name, or takhallus). He has written poetry in Turkish and Persian and is considered as one of the greatest poets of the Azerbaijani and Divan traditions. Some consider him as the father of the classic Turkish literature.
- Parwin Pazwak
Parwin Pazwak(Born 1967 Kabul) is a Tajik-Afghanistani artist and a modern Persian poet and writer. Parwin was born to the Pazwak literary and political family (father Ne'matulla Pazwak and mother Afifah Pazwak). She went to the French-taught Malalay school and completed studying medicine in the Avicenna Medical Institute. Following the Soviet Union invasion of Afghanistan, she spent two years in Pakistan as a transit refugee before moving to Canada as an asylum seeker.
- Mohammad Moin
Born in Rasht, Iran on July 12, 1914 (according to his own notes) also reported as April 29, 1918 by some other sources and died in Tehran, Iran on July 4, 1971, Mohammad Moin was one of the prominent scholars of Persian literature and Iranology. Mohammad Moin received his BA in literature and philosophy in 1934. He then moved to Belgium and graduated in applied psychology, anthropology and cognitive sciences under Elmer Knowles.
- Mahmoud Hessaby
Mahmoud Hessaby (February 23, 1903 - September 3, 1992) was a prominent Iranian scientist, researcher and distinguished professor of the University of Tehran. Hessaby was born in Tehran; at the age of seven he moved to Beirut where he began attending school. At the age of seven he memorised the "Qur'an" by heart and later he started to read the masterpieces of Persian literature.
- Timur
Tīmūr bin Tara<u>gh</u>ay Barlas, known in the West as Tamburlaine, was a 14th century warlord of Turco-Mongol descent, conqueror of much of Western and central Asia, and founder of the Timurid Empire and Timurid dynasty (1370–1405) in Central Asia, which survived in some form until 1857. Perhaps, he is more commonly known by his pejorative Persian name Timur-e Lang which translates to Timur the Lame, …
- Badiozzaman Forouzanfar
Badiozzaman Forouzanfar (c.1903 - 1970) was an outstanding master of Persian literature, Iranian linguistics and Iranian culture. He is believed to be one of Iran's top Rumi scholars of 20th century. He was a distinguished professor of literature at Tehran University. Forouzanfar did life long research on Molana Jalaleddin Balkhi (Rumi) and his works. Critical edition of Diwan e Shams (in 10 volumes) by Forouzanfar is the best edition of the book available to date.
- Bahram Chobin
Bahram Chobin was a famous Eran spahbod (military commander) during Khosrau II's rule in Sassanid Iran. Descended from the Mihran family, his first great victory came in Herat in 589, which is reported in a number of sources. He successfully defeated a large Göktürk army in great Turkish War. Reportedly, the Turkish forces outnumbered his troops five to one. Relying on the discipline and superior training of his Persian Cataphract cavalry, …
- Jalal Ad-Din Muhammad Rumi
Mawlānā Jalāl-ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhi (Rūmī) (Turkish: "Mevlânâ Celâleddin Mehmed Rumi",), also known as Mawlānā Jalāl-ad-Dīn Muhammad Bal<u>kh</u>ī, but known to the English-speaking world simply as Rumi, (September 30, 1207–December 17, 1273), was a 13th century Persian ("Tājīk") Muslim poet, jurist, and theologian.
- Anvari
Anvari (1126–1189), full name Awhad ad-Din 'Ali ibn Mohammad Khavarani or Awhad ad-Din 'Ali ibn Mahmud was one of the greatest Persian poets. He was born in Abivard of Turkistan (now in Turkmenistan) and died in Balkh (then Khorasan now in Afghanistan), and studied science and literature at the collegiate institute in Tun (now Firdaus, Iran), becoming a famous astronomer as well as a poet.
- Jami
Nur ad-Din Abd ar-Rahman Jami (August 18, 1414-November 19, 1492) was one of the greatest Persian poets in the 15th century and one of the last great Sufi poets. His fame rests even more on his mystical authority than on his talents as a poet and writer.
- Ali-Shir Nava'I
- Jalal Homaei
Jalal Homaei, also known as Ostad jalalaldin Homaei, is known for his contributions to Persian literature, Iranian linguistics, and Iranian culture. Homaei worked as a literature professor at Tehran University. Homaei, in collaboration with Badiozzaman Forouzanfar did life long research on Rumi and his works. He finished his formal studies in Isfahan. He studied Arabic literature, Rumi studies, sufism and Astrology under supervision of Ayatollah Rahim Arbab.
- Parviz Natel-Khanlari
Parviz Natel-Khanlari (1914 - 1991 Tehran, Iran) was an outstanding Iranologist, linguist, author, researcher and university professor. Parviz Natel Khanlari graduated from Tehran University with a doctorate degree in Persian literature. He also studied linguistics at Paris University. Natel Khanlari is distinguished for the simplicity of his style. He did not follow the traditionalists nor did he advocate the new.
- Nasreddin
Nasreddin was a satirical sufi figure who lived during the Middle Ages (around 13th century), somewhere in Greater Khorasan. Many nations of the Near and Middle East claim the Nasreddin as their own (Afghans, Arabs, Persians, Turks and Uzbeks). His name is spelled differently in various cultures and is often preceded or followed by titles "Hodja", "Mullah", or "Effendi" (see section "Name variants"). Nasreddin was a populist philosopher and wise man, …
- Sachiko Murata
Sachiko Murata is a professor of religion and Asian studies at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. She received her B.A. from Chiba University in Chiba, Japan, and later attended Iran's Tehran University where she was the first woman ever to study fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) at that school. She received her Ph.D. in Persian literature, but shortly before completing her Ph.D. in Islamic Jurisprudence, …
- Ashk Dahlén
Ashk Peter Dahlén is a researcher in Iranian Studies and translator of Persian literature into Swedish. He received his doctoral degree from Uppsala University in 2002 and his thesis "Islamic Law, Epistemology and Modernity" has been published by Routledge. He is the author of several articles on Sufism and Persian literature and has translated classical Sufi authors such as Rumi, Hafez and Fakhruddin 'Iraqi into Swedish.
- Zabihollah Safa
Zabihollah Safa (May 7, 1911 in Shahmirzad, Persia (Iran) - April 29, 1999 in Lübeck, Germany) was a scholar and professor Emeritus of Iranian Studies at the University of Tehran. His main contribution to the field of Iranian studies is seen in his seminal and comprehensive works on the history of Persian literature. He was also a regular contributor to the Encyclopaedia Iranica.
- Eric Hermelin
Eric Axel Hermelin, b. Svanshals, June 22, 1860; d. Lund, November 8, 1944, Swedish author and prolific translator of Persian works of literature. He was born into an aristocratic family in Svanshals, south Sweden, and had a traditional education, at the end of which he spent a couple of years at the Philosophical Faculty of the University of Uppsala, which he left without taking a degree.
- Asrar Al-Tawhid
Asrar al-Tawhid fi Maghamat al-Sheikh Abusa'id which translates as ("The Mysteries of Unification") is a famous work of 12th century Persian literature about the Sufi mystic Abusaeid Abolkheir. Thought to be written by "Muhammad ibn Monavvar", one of his grandsons, 130 years after his death, it is also considered a landmark work of Sufi literature as well as one of the most outstanding Persian prose works of the 12th century.
- Mehrdad Bahar
Mehrdad Bahar was a prominent Iranist, linguist, mythologist and Persian historian. Mehrdad Bahar, the son of Persian poet Mohammad Taghi Bahar, held a PhD degree in Persian literature and Ancient Iranian languages from Tehran University. He received an MA degree in "Ancient and Medieval Persian history" from the University of London where he studied with Professor Mary Boyce at the School of Oriental and African Studies.
- Mir Jalaleddin Kazzazi
Mir Jalaleddin Kazzazi is an outstanding master of Persian literature and a renowned Iranist. Kazzazi is known for his works on Shahnama. M.J. Kazzazi is a professor of literature at Tehran University and University of Allameh Tabatabaei. Kazzazi was selected as one of the Iran's memorable figures, (چهره ی ماندگار), for his contribution to Persian culture and literature.
- Al-Zamakhshari
al-Zamakhshari (1074-1143 or 1075-1144) was a medieval Iranian Hanafi scholar with Mu'tazilite theological influences.
- Maryam Keshavarz
Maryam Keshavarz (born in New York, USA) is an internationally acclaimed Iranian filmmaker. Maryam Keshavarz studied Persian literature at the University of Shiraz before turning to filmmaking. She has a B.A. in literature and women's studies from Northwestern University and a master's in Near Eastern studies from the University of Michigan.
- Heydar Yaghma
Heydar Yaghma was an Iranian poet, born in 1926 in a village in Nishapur and died in March 1986 in Nishapur and buried beside the archeologic site of Shadiyakh in Nishapur. Yaghma was a simple worker and was not literate. He began telling poems while in his thirties and learned how to read and write. He has published several books.
- Ali Hujwiri
Abul Hassan Ali Ibn Usman al-Jullabi al-Hajweri al-Ghaznawi or Abul Hassan Ali Hajweri, also known as Data Ganj Bakhsh or Data Sahib, was a Persian Sufi and scholar during the 11th century. He significantly contributed to the spreading of Islam in South Asia. He was born in Ghazna (in present day Afghanistan) in the beginning of Ghaznavids period and died in Lahore (in present day Punjab, Pakistan) in 1077 CE.
- Mehdi Jami
Mehdi Jami is a notable Persian journalist, photographer, filmmaker and writer. Jami holds a master's degree in Persian language and literature from Ferdowsi University (1992). He is also a self taught photographer and filmmaker. His research interests include Iranistics and Persian culture in Central Asia (Tajikistan and Uzbekistan). He also has studies on philosophy and theology. Mehdi Jami is a member of Artists Without Frontiers, and since August 2006, …
- Edward Byles Cowell
Professor Edward Byles Cowell (January 231826 - February 9 1903) was a noted translator of Persian poetry and the first professor of Sanskrit at Cambridge University. Cowell was born in Ipswich, and became interested in Oriental languages at the age of fifteen, when he found a copy of Sir William Jones's works (including his "Persian Grammar") in the public library. Self-taught, he began translating and publishing Hafez within the year.