Alisher Navo'i

Poet and minister in Herat in the late Timurid period who wrote a large body of classic works in Chagatai Turkic; revered by the Uzbeks as the father of their national literature.

Life

Youth of Herat

Alisher Navo'i was born in Herat in 1441 to a family of officials closely tied to the Timurid court, and as a boy he studied alongside Husayn Bayqara, the future ruler. When the Timurid dynasty fell into civil war, he studied in Samarkand and elsewhere. After Husayn Bayqara took the throne in Herat in 1469, Navo'i entered his court, serving as keeper of the seal and in other posts, and was one of the most influential figures at court.

Chagatai literature

Navo'i wrote in Chagatai Turkic, to which he devoted his life, and also wrote poetry in Persian. His Khamsa, modeled on the form of the Persian poet Nizami, includes long narrative poems such as Farhad and Shirin and Layli and Majnun; his treatise The Judgment of Two Languages argues that Turkic is just as fit as Persian for expressing subtle ideas. Through his efforts Chagatai Turkic became a literary language on a par with Persian.

Cultural patron

Navo'i was also a great patron of Herat's culture, funding the construction of mosques, madrasas, hospitals and caravanserais, and supporting a generation of writers and artists such as the poet Jami and the painter Behzad. In his later years he resigned most of his offices to devote himself to writing, and he died in Herat in 1501. Today many cities, theaters and streets in Uzbekistan are named after him, and he is regarded as the founder of Uzbek literature.

Legacy

Ali-Shir Nava'i raised Chagatai Turkic into a literary language on a par with Persian, with a profound influence on the later literatures of the Turkic peoples of Central Asia. Uzbekistan honors him as the founder of its national literature, and the Uyghurs and other peoples also regard him as a shared literary forebear. Holding high office, he patronized scholarship and the arts for many years, making Herat the cultural center of the late Timurid dynasty. His works were deeply influenced by classical Persian poetry and Sufi thought.

Major works & achievements

• The Khamsa (including Farhad and Shirin, among others)
• The Judgment of Two Languages
• Funded the building of madrasas, hospitals and caravanserais
• Supported men of letters and artists such as Jami and Behzad

Did you know? His pen name "Navo'i" means "the melodious one"; when writing poetry in Persian he signed himself "Fani."

Key dates

• 1441Born in Herat
• 1469Husayn Bayqara takes the throne; Navo'i enters his court
• 1472Took up high office at court
• 1483Began completing the Khamsa one poem after another c. this time
• 1499Wrote "The Judgment of Two Languages"
• 1501Died in Herat