1. Khwajeh Nizam al-Din Ubayd Allah al-Zakani, better known as Ubayd Zakani, was a Persian poet of the Mongol era, regarded as one of the best satirists in Persian literature.
13 Facts About Ubayd Zakani
1. 2.
The Zakani family was made up of two branches; one being notable for its field in religion, while the other, to which Ubayd belonged, consisted of landowners and bureaucrats.
3.
Ubayd Zakani himself was born in Qazvin, most likely before 1319.
4.
Ubayd Zakani dedicated some of his poems to Abu Ishaq Inju's minister Rukn al-din Amid al-Mulk.
5.
Ubayd Zakani was part of Abu Ishaq Inju's circle of poets, which included an elder Khwaju Kermani and a young Hafez.
6.
Ubayd Zakani was consequently forced to leave Shiraz, most likely leaving for the domains of the Jalayirid ruler Shaykh Uways Jalayir, to whom he dedicated qasidas.
7.
Ubayd Zakani wrote an elegy for the deceased Abu Ishaq Inju, who had been his most important patron.
8.
Ubayd Zakani later returned to Shiraz during the reign of Mubariz al-Din Muhammad's son and successor Shah Shoja Mozaffari, to whom he dedicated several panegyrics.
9.
Ubayd Zakani had little love for his hometown Qazvin, preferring Shiraz instead.
10.
Ubayd Zakani died sometime between 1369 and 1371, possibly in Shiraz.
11.
Ubayd Zakani's satire is generally divided into three topics: religion, politics, and ethics.
12.
Ubayd Zakani is regarded as one of the best satirists in Persian literature.
13.
Ubayd Zakani's work has been compared to that of the 18th-century French Enlightenment writer Voltaire.