Amir Mu‘izzi Samarqandi

Amir Mu'izzi, Abu 'Abdullah Muhammad b. 'Abd al-Malik Burhani Amir Mu'izzi Nayshaburi (d. between 1124 and 1126), a distinguished poet from Khurasan. He honors his poet father by frequent mention in his poetry of his indebtedness to the legacy of ‘Abd al-Malik Burhani, as heir to the latter’s proficiency and mastery as a poet. His nom de plume of Mu’izzi makes reference to his devotion to the Seljuk sultan Mu'izz al-Din Malik Shah b. Alp Arslan, who bestowed on him the title of amir, it may be inferred that he became, like his father, the poet laureate (amir al-sho’ara) of the Seljuk court. His birth date is not known, though it is surmised by Iqbal Ashtiyani to be about 1048. His hometown is mentioned as Nisa', Khurasan, and Samarqand by Dawlatshah Samarqandi and Azar Bigdili respectively, though according to ‘Awfi and Hidayat, he was born in Nishapur. The poet's focus on the latter city in his poetry substantiates the last claim. He served Malik Shah to the end of his reign, but following the latter's decease with the turmoil arising among his successors, Mu'izzi went off to reside in Herat, Nayshabur and Isfahan for a while, engaging in panegyrics to various rulers, Seljuk and otherwise, such as Sultan Barkiyaruq, Muhammad, Arslan Arghu, Amir Abu al-Shuja' Habashi, and Mu'in al-Din Mukhtass al-Malik Ahmad, until Sanjar b. Malikshah came to power, Mu'izzi attached himself to the latter’s court, where he served till the end of his life. In the Chahar Maqala, his contemporary poet and prose-writer Nizami-yi 'Aruzi-yi Samarqandi provides a detailed account of the manner in which Mu'izzi found his way to the Seljuk court. Quoting ‘Awfi: "Three poets were warmly received and feted by three states in an unparalleled way: Rudaki under the Samanids, 'Unsuri in the reigns of Mahmud and his successors, and Mu'izzi at the court of Sultan Malikshah." He calls Mu'izzi ‘the lord of the realm of expression’, ‘the rallier of the commanders of the word’, and ‘the cavalier of the arena of eloquence’. Mu'izzi is adept at compressing multiple meanings in concise phrases, free of embellishment. The attention of critics has been drawn to his powerful ability to produce simplicity of expression, uncomplicated and unambiguous. Although most biographers have attributed his death to being  shot, though there is diversity of opinion on the date and manner of the shooting. According to ‘Awfi, Sultan Sanjar accidently fired an arrow from his bow, hitting Mu'izzi, who fell dead on the spot. The same may be inferred from Sana'i's elegy on Mu'izzi. The implication is that he must have died between 1097 and 1117, whereas Hidayat and Azar Bigdili have mentioned the years 1146 and 1147 respectively. Although Mu'izzi's lyrical poetry and ghazals may lack the freshness of Farrukhi, he has in any case managed to achieve an elegance in composing his ghazals, which has set a standard for later developments in the genre. Some of his qasidas have broiught innovations over the work of his predecessors. In his originality and interest he was particularly inventive in this genre of presenting themes and motifs. His poetry is not restricted to panegyrics and ghazals, but also includes maxims, counsel and theological and philosophical subjects. In his diction he excels other late eleventh and early twelfth-century poets in his influential craft of phraseology of the idiom common to them in this era. He in turn picked up on the subject matter of 'Unsuri's qasidas and was influenced by Manuchehri's style of expresion. Such impression is above all reflected in his musammats and his judicious use of Arabic words and expressions. Besides his eloquence of expression and rhetorical mastery, he is unparalleled in his propriety of language, no abusive word being attested in his Divan, which comprises qasidas, ghazals, tarkib-bands, tarji'-bands, qit'as and quatrains, running to 18,500 couplets. His Divan was first published by 'Abbas Iqbal Ashtiyani in 1939 and later by Nasir Hiri in 1983.

Asar-afarinan (1, 301); Tarikh-i adabiyat-i Iran (2, 142-156); Sukhan u sukhanvaran (230-236).