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The manuscript of Ubayd Zakoni’s Kulliyat and Hafez Sherozi’s Gazalliyt (XIV century)

Inscribed 2003

What is it

A unique manuscript featuring the works of two famous Tajik-Persian poets.

Why was it inscribed

This rare and unique manuscript is a notable example of classic Tajik-Persian literature and oriental culture in general.

Where is it

Institute of the Written Heritage of the Academy of Sciences, Tajikistan

Ubayd Zakoni was a Persian poet and satirist of the 14th century. His work is noted for its satire and obscene verses, many of which contain homosexual allusions that have often been censored. Originally from the city of Qazvin, he studied in Shiraz, where he became one of the most accomplished men of letters of his time and a court poet for Shah Abu Ishaq. Also present in Shiraz was the young Hafez Sherozi.

Calligraphy of a poem by Hafez

Hafez Sherozi was a Persian lyric poet whose collected works are often found in the homes of Persian speakers in Iran and Afghanistan. His poems are frequently learnt by heart and used as proverbs and sayings. Hafez was acclaimed throughout the Islamic world during his lifetime, with other Persian poets imitating his work, and offered patronage from Baghdad to India. Today, he is the most popular poet in Iran and most libraries in India, Pakistan and Iran contain his works. Much later, the work of Hafez would leave a mark on such Western writers as Thoreau, Goethe and Ralph Waldo Emerson – the latter referring to him as ‘a poet’s poet’.

This unique joint manuscript consists of two parts: the complete works (‘Kulliyat’) of Ubayd Zakoni and Hafez’s work Gazalliyt. This is the most ancient version of this manuscript and the only one of its kind. It was re-written in 1405 only thirty-five years after the death of Ubayd Zakoni and nine years after the death of Hafez Sherozi. The manuscript has a unique design with Hafez’s poems inscribed around Ubayd Zakoni’s text.

The Tajiks are one of the ancient native populations of Central Asia and Afghanistan who, over thousands of years, created a rich literary and spiritual culture. Notable writers and scientists from this civilisation include Avicenna, Ferdowsi, Rumi and Omar Khayyam. This rare manuscript is a notable example of classic Tajik-Persian literature and oriental culture in general.

The region these poets lived and worked in has historically been a place of social meeting and intellectual interaction between East and West. The national cultural and spiritual heritage of Tajik-Persian literature has had a wide influence on world history and literature. From the 18th century, Western writers began to discover many Tajik-Persian masterpieces and they featured in several famous works, including Goethe’s West–Eastern Divan, Hugo’s Eastern Motives, Montesquieu’s Persian Letters, Heine’s Poet Firdausi and Esenin’s Persian Motives among others.

Illustration of a country meal, from a Hafez manuscript on the subject of love.