Sa’id Hasan Ghaznavi
Biography
Sayyid Hasan Ghaznawi, Ashraf al-Din Abu Muhammad, Abu ‘Ali, Abu Ya’la Hasan ibn Muhammad, Ahmad Husayni (d. 1161), a poet with the nom de plume and title of Hasan and Ashraf respectively. He made poetical compositions under the Ghaznavid Mas’ud ibn Ibrahim (1099-1114) and was later a distinguished poet at the courts of Kamal al-Dawla Shirzad (1114-1115), Sultan al-Dawla Arsalan (1115-1117). He went to Baghdad under Caliph al-Muqtani li-Amr Allah (1136-1166) and was patronized by the Seljuk Sultan Ghiyath al-Din Mas’ud. Then, he travelled to Hamadan, ‘Iraq, and Khurasan, eulogizing the Seljuk Sanjar ibn Malikshah (1117-1157), Malikshah ibn Mahmud (1152-1153), and other Seljuk notables in ‘Iraq and Khurasan. He was a distinguished scholar and preacher whose sermons were attended by 700,000 people, 4,000 of whom were his devoted followers. Having heard of his multitudinous followers, Bahram Shad sent two unsheathed swords for him asking him to use the same sheath for them, connoting that as two swords may not be sheathed in the same sheath, two kings may not share their sovereignty. Thus, He departed Ghaznin for the Holy Shrines in Iraq. Then, he went to Baghdad and returned towards Ghaznin, but he died in the village of Azadwar, where he was buried. The date of his death has been differently recorded by biographers from 1141 to 1170. His divan includes ghasida, ghazal, tarji band, qit’a, and quatrains. Following the models of his distinguished contemporary, he composed poetry in the genres of eulogy, elegy, counsel, and ghazals. Although he followed the models of the majority of his early or contemporary masters, e.g. Mas’ud Sa’d, Mu’izzi, and Sana’i, but had his particular vigorous style that influenced the poets flourishing in the second half of the 12th century. His diction is refined and vigorous, particularly inclined towards employment of figures of speech, inclusion of radif in his ghazal and qasida, and innovative themes and metaphors. His poetical style is mainly fluent and devoid of florid adornments seen in later poets.
(Asar-afarinan (3, 271); Tarikh-i Adabiyyat dar Iran (2, 586-589); Da’irat al-Ma’arif-i Farsi (1, 850
