Amir Shahi Sabzavari

Amirshahi-yi Sabzavari, Amir Aq Malik (d. 1453), son of Jamal al-Din Firuzkuhi, a calligrapher, painter, musician, and a poet with the nom de plume Shahi, a leading composer of ghazals of that period. His Shi’ite forebears were leaders in the revolutionary Sarbidar movement, being himself a nephew of Khwaja 'Ali Mu'ayyad Sarbidari, whence his title of amir and the nom de plume Shahi. He traveled to Herat to study literature and sciences, where he was made a counselor in the service of Prince Baysunqur Mirza. After a time he became upset by the prince and departed Herat for Sabzavar, where he took up farming. He went to Astarabad to spend the last years of his life painting Gulafshan, the pavilion which Babur Mirza built there, where he died. His body was taken o Sabzavar to be buried in the Sufi khanaqah of his ancestors. He was an artist, as well as being a master of poetry, calligraphy, painting and music, being a virtuoso on the lute. He was noted for his good nature and companionability. His poetry is graced by elegance and subtlety of theme, with fine choice of phraseology and versification. He was master of a variety of scripts, his name being featured amongst the fine calligraphers of Baysunqur's library, though no example of his calligraphy has yet to be foundi. He was also noted for his illustration and illumination of manuscripts. His Divan, including his ghazal, qit'as, and quatrains, published in several editions in Iran and India, exceeds 1000 verses, though it is said that his poetry, including his qasidas and ghazals, actually runs to as many as 12,000 verses.

Atashkada-yi Azar (1, 400-404); Asar-afarinan (1, 299); Tarikh-i adabiyyat dar Iran (4, 310-314).