Hasan Ghaznavi

Hasan Ghaznavi, Sayyid Ashraf al-Din Abu Muhammad Hasan (d. 1160/1162), son of Muhammad Husayni Ghaznavi. A poet hailing from the village of Azadwar, Juwayn. His patronymic title is recorded differently in biographical and historical sources as Abu Muhammad and Abu ‘Ali, as the name of his father is recorded differently as Muhammad, Ahma, and Nasir. He was attached to the Ghaznavid Bahram Shah’s (1118-1152) court from his early reign, where was respected and patronized by the king and viziers. Nonetheless, most of the biographies report that he was captivated with his people in the invasion of Bahram Shah in the realm of Sayf al-Din Suri, a Shansabanid ruler, but our poet was released after reciting a quatrain before shah. He eulogized Bahram Shah in his qasidas on the occasion of his battles in his late reign against Sayf al-Din Suri. Sayyid Hasan was twice accused by the envious and fell into the king’s disfavor – once he was accused of supporting Muhammad Bahalim at the time of Bahram Shah’s engagement against Bahalim; consequently, he fled to Nayshabur and gained the king’s favor after sending poems to Ghazna, acquitting himself of the charges. Once again, the king attacked Sayf al-Din Suri and he was accused of friendship with the latter. This time, his poetry proved ineffectual and he failed to gain the king’s permission to return to Ghazna. Most of biographical works report that his highly popular sermons led to his flight from Ghazna, but such reports are seemingly groundless. He departed Nayshabur to go to pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina and he possibly visited Jerusalem. Then, he traveled to Baghdad and, after a while, to Hamadan. Although he was suppotrted by Sultan Ghiyath al-Din Mas’ud, the fourth Sultan of the Seljuks of Iraq (1133-1152), but he set his heart on returning to Ghazna. After Mas’ud’s death, he went to Khurasan, was granted an audience with Sultan Sanjar (before the invasion of the Ghuzz tribes in 1153), and eulogized Sanjar and Sulayman, Mahmud’s son and Sanjar’s nephew, in his qasidas. Sayyid Ashraf traveled to Khwarazm after the turbulent times in Khurasan, the Ghuzz invasion, Sanjar’s captivity, and Sulayman Shah’s flight. In Khwarazm, he eulogized the Khwarazmshahi Atsiz. After staying a short while in Hamadan, he returned to Khurasan. He also composed eulogies for Sultan Muhammad Khan, son of Muhammad Khan, Sultan Sanjar’s nephew, who ruled in parts of Khurasan. Sayyid Hasan was well-versed in philosophy and most of the arts of poetry. He possessed mastery of Persian and Arabic. He followed the styles of poets like Amir Mu’izzi, Hakim Sana’i, Rashid Watwat, Mas’ud Sa’d, and ‘Imad Ghaznavi. From among the poets who followed his poetic style, mention may be made of Jamal al-Din ‘Abd al-Razzaq Isfahani, Kamal al-Din Isfahani, Mujir Baylaqani, Falaki Shirwani, and Fakhr al-Din ‘Iraqi. His ghazals are lyrical and his eulogizing qasidas are mainly intertwined with didactic themes. His diction is simple and free from florid elements. His Divan, running to about 5,000 couplets, was edited by Sayyid Muhammad Taqi Mudarris Razavi (Tehran 1949). Although it is the most comprehensive published edition, but it lacks some of his poetical compositions. His qasida titled Iftikhariyya is well-known and many a poet have composed qasidas in responses to it. Hasan Nakha’i wrote a commentary on 400 couplets by Sayyid Hasan.

Tarikh-i Adabiyyat dar Iran (2/ 586-598); Tarikh-i Guzida (727-728); Danishnama-yi Adab-i Farsi, Adab-i Farsi dar Afghanistan (3/ 333-335).