Court poet of the Samanids in Bukhara, honoured as the father of classical Persian poetry. Only a small part of his work survives, yet his verse set the pattern for the poets who followed.
Key achievements
Shaped the ghazal, qasida and ruba'i as forms of classical Persian verse at the Samanid court
Put the fables of Kalila and Dimna into verse
Honoured in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Iran as the first great poet of the Persian language
