Saib Tabrizi

He stayed for a time in Kabul and in Kashmir, returning home after several years abroad. After his return, the emperor of Persia, Shah Abbas II, bestowed upon him the title King of Poets. Saib's reputation is based primarily on some 300,000 couplets, including his epic poem Qandahār-nāma (“The Campaign Against Qandahār”). (The city of Qandahār or Kandahar in today's Afghanistan was in Saib Tabrizi's lifetime a long-standing bone of contention between the Mughal rulers of India and the Safavid rulers of Persia - both of whom were at different times the poet's patrons - until definitely given over to Persian rule as a result of the Mughal–Safavid war of 1649–53.) Saib Tabrizi's “Indian style” verses reveal an elegant wit, a gift for the aphorism and the proverb, and a keen appreciation of philosophical and intellectual exercise. Saib was especially well known for his Persian panegyric poetry during the reigns of Persian Emperors Safi, Abbas II and Suleiman.

• Name — Saib Tabrizi • Birth Name — Mirza Mohammad Ali • Born — c. 1592 • Birthplace — Tabriz, Safavid Iran • Occupation — Poet • Died — 1676 • Place of death — Isfahan, Safavid Iran • Resting Place — Saeb Mausoleum, Isfahan • Movement — Indian style

Saib Tabrizi was either of Persian or Azerbaijani ancestry, with Azerbaijani as his native tongue. Saib's birth date is uncertain; he was most likely born at the end of the 16th-century, as he mentions his age being eighty in one of his poems. The Iranologist Paul E. Losensky puts his birth date in c. 1592. Saib was born with the name Mirza Mohammad Ali in the city of Tabriz in Safavid Iran. The city was a provincial capital of the Azerbaijan province and had served as the capital of the country until 1555. Saib's father was the wealthy and prominent merchant Mirza Abd-al-Rahim, while his paternal uncle was Shams-al-Din of Tabriz was skilled in calligraphy, for which he received the nickname Shirin Qalam ("Sweet Pen"). As a result of attacks by the Ottoman Empire, many families, including that of Saibs, were evacuated from Tabriz by Shah Abbas I, who moved them to the Abbasabad neighbourhood in Isfahan. It was in this location that Saib spent his childhood. He received his education at home and started engaging in poetry exercises when he was a little child. Although some recent sources have disputed this, he was reportedly trained in poetry by both Masih Kashani and Shifa'i Isfahani. In his youth, he made pilgrimages to Mecca, the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, and the Shia shrines in Najaf and Karbala.

Saib believed that the best opportunities to advance his literary career were at the Mughal courts in India, as were the beliefs of many other ambitious Iranian poets of the time. In 1624/25, he immigrated to the Mughal realm, where he became acquainted with the young governor of Kabul, Mirza Ahsan-Allah Zafar Khan. The latter also wrote poetry, and became the main patron of Saib, who became his teacher in poetry. Saib accompanied Zafar Khan and his father on military campaigns in the Deccan Plateau, before returning to Isfahan in 1632.

Saib spent the remainder of his life in Isfahan, leaving the city only to visit other Iranian cities. His seven years spent living in India contributed to his reputation as the greatest poet of his time. He maintained a relationship with the Safavid courts and dedicated poems Abbas II and Shah Soleyman III. Abbas II appointed Saib to the post of poet laureate. Saib seems to have withdrawn from the public eye in his final years, only receiving a small number of students and literary supporters from all around the Persian-speaking world. He died in 1676 and was buried in a garden retreat in Isfahan.

In his poetry, Saib portrayed the Safavid shahs of his era as leaders of the Safavid order, supporters of Twelver Shia Islam, descendants of Ali and the Islamic prophet Muhammad, protectors of Iran against the Ottomans and Uzbeks, the Shadows of Allah, and maintainers of security and justice. He developed a method which was called Indian method. Tabrizi is also credited with establishing the "Indian style" (sabk-i Hind) of Azerbaijani əruz poetry (poetry using quantifying prosody).

Saib Tabrizi is recorded as a citizen of Safavid Iran. Recorded with the occupation poet. Established in Bibliothèque nationale de France under 16567742n. Established in Library of Congress under no2009105830.