Khwaju Kermani (Persian:خواجوی کرمانی; December 1290 – 1349) was a famousPersian poet andSufi mystic fromIran.[1]
He was born inKerman,Iran on 24 December 1290. His nickname Khwaju is a diminutive of thePersian wordKhwaja which he uses as his poetic penname.[1] This title points to descent from a family of high social status.[1] The nisba (name title) Morshedi display his association with the Persian Sufi masterShaykh Abu Eshaq Kazeruni, the founder of the Morshediyya order.[1] Khwaju died around 1349 inShiraz, Iran, andhis tomb inShiraz is a popular tourist attraction today. In his youth he visitedEgypt,Syria,Jerusalem andIraq. He also performed theHajj toMecca. One purpose of his travels is said to have been education and meeting with scholars of other lands. He composed one of his best known works,Homāy o Homāyun, inBaghdad. Returning to Iranian lands in 1335, he strove to find a position as a court poet by dedicating poems to the rulers of his time, such as theIlkhanate rulersAbu Sa'id Bahadur Khan andArpa Ke'un, theMozaffaridMubariz al-Din Muhammad, andAbu Ishaq Inju of theInju dynasty.[1]
