Rudaki (also spelledRodaki;Persian:رودکی;c. 858 – 940/41) was apoet, singer, and musician who is regarded as the first major poet to write inNew Persian. Acourt poet under theSamanids, he reportedly composed more than 180,000 verses, yet only a small portion of his work has survived, most notably parts of his versification of theKalila wa-Dimna, a collection of Indian fables.
Born in the village of Banoj (located in the present-dayRudak area), the most important part of Rudaki's career was spent at the court of the Samanids. While biographical information connects him to the Samanidamir (ruler)Nasr II (r. 914–943), he may have already joined the court under the latter's predecessor,Ahmad Samani (r. 907–914).
Rudaki's success was largely due to the support of his primary patron, thevizierAbu'l-Fadl al-Bal'ami (died 940), who played an important role in the blooming ofNew Persian literature in the 10th-century. Following the downfall of Bal'ami in 937, Rudaki's career deteriorated, eventually being dismissed from the court. He thereafter lived his last years in poverty, dying blind and alone in his hometown.
InIran, Rudaki is acknowledged as the "founder of New Persian poetry" and inTajikistan as the "father ofTajik literature".
His full name was Abu Abd Allah Ja'far ibn Muhammad ibn Hakim ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Adam al-Rudhaki al-Sha'ir al-Samarqandi (Persian:ابوعبدالله جعفر بن محمد بن حکیم بن عبدالرحمن بن آدم الرودکی الشاعر سمرقندی). The proper transliteration of his name isRōdhakī, whileal-Rūdhakī is anarabicised form.[1] Other transliterations includeRudagi,Rawdhagi andRudhagi.[2]
Besides being a poet, Rudaki was also a singer and musician.[9] Since the era ofSasanian Iran (224–651), poems were commonly carried out as songs used in music.[10] Under the Sasanians, the official, religious and literary language wasMiddle Persian.[11] Following theMuslim conquest of Iran, the language entered a new phase, known asNew Persian.[12] However, it is not descended from the literary form of Middle Persian (known aspārsīk, commonly called Pahlavi), which was spoken by the people ofFars and used inZoroastrian religious writings. Instead, it is descended from the dialect spoken by the court of the Sasanian capitalCtesiphon and the northeastern Iranian region ofKhurasan.[12][13] During this period, New Persian was known asdarī orparsī-i darī.[11]
Rudaki's tomb at Panjrud nearPanjakent, Tajikistan
By the age of eight, Rudaki had reportedly memorized theQur'an and was skilled in poetry. He was instructed on how to play thechang by a prominent musician named Abu'l-Abak Bakhtiar.[2] In his early years, Rudaki became a popular figure due to his fine voice, skill with poetry and playing the chang.[14] Surviving biographical information connects Rudaki with the Samanidamir (ruler)Nasr II (r. 914–943) or with his vizierAbu'l-Fadl al-Bal'ami (died 940).[1] However, according to literary scholar Sassan Tabatabai, Rudaki had apparently already joined the Samanid court under Nasr II's father and predecessorAhmad Samani (r. 907–914). Tabatabai states that this is proven in a poem by Rudaki, where he tries to comfort Ahmad Samani after the death of his fatherIsmail Samani in 907.[15]
Rudaki's career at the Samanid court is regarded as the most important part of his life. The role of a court poet was more than just entertaining others, and was an essential aspect of the Persian court. According to the first Sasanian kingArdashir I (r. 224–242), a poet was "part of government and the means of strengthening rulership." Besides applauding the suzerain and his domain, a poet was also expected to give advice and moral guidance, which meant that Rudaki was most likely experienced in that field as well.[15] Rudaki's success was largely due to the support of his primary patron, Bal'ami. The latter played an important role in the blooming of Persian literature in the 10th century.[16] Bal'ami regarded Rudaki as the best amongst Persian and Arab poets.[17]
Rudaki was a close friend to his studentShahid Balkhi, a leading poet and scholar of the Samanid realm. Following Shahid Balkhi's death in 936, Rudaki wrote anelegy for him.[14] Rudaki's career started to decline following the downfall of Bal'ami in 937.[9] He soon fell out of favour with theamir and was dismissed from the court.[17] Rudaki thereafter lived his last years in poverty, dying blind and alone in his hometown in 940 or 941.[17][18]
Rudaki's poetry in a Persian manuscript created inQajar Iran, dated January/February 1866
According toAsadi Tusi, thedivan (collection of short poems) of Rudaki consisted of more than 180,000 verses, but most of it has been lost. What little remains of Rudaki's writings, mostly single verses, can be found in Persian dictionaries, particularly theLughat-i Furs of Asadi Tusi. A few complete poems have also survived, most notably aqasida (eulogy orode) consisting of almost 100 verses quoted in the anonymousTarikh-i Sistan.[1] Theqasida was dedicated toAbu Ja'far Ahmad ibn Muhammad, who ruled the region ofSistan as a Samanid governor from 923 to 963.[1][18] In it, Rudaki calls Abu Ja'far an aristocrat of Sasanian ancestry and "pride of Iran", thus indicating a sense of continuity in Iranian identity from the Sasanian to the Samanid period.[20] For this poem, Abu Ja'far rewarded Rudaki with 10,000dinars.[21]
Rudaki's best known work is his versification of theKalila wa-Dimna,[1] a collection of Indian fables.[17] Nasr II had ordered Bal'ami to translate the book from Arabic to Persian, and then appointed "interpreters" to read it out loud, so that Rudaki, who was blind, could versify it.[1][18] Only a few of the verses made by Rudaki have survived.[17] Some of them have been identified in theLughat-i Furs.[18] Rudaki's surviving poetry is generally easy for literate native Persian readers to understand despite variations in terminology, word forms, and phrase and sentence patterns.[22]
Although Rudaki displayed pro-Isma'ili sympathies in his writings, his poetry is fully secular in nature.[23] Islam was firmly established by the 10th century; however, Persians still remembered their deep-rooted Zoroastrian history.[24] Rudaki was more prone to evoke ancient Iranian and Zoroastrian notions instead of Muslim ones.[23] Some of Rudaki's poems were written in the pre-Islamicandarz style, i.e., ethical teachings, friendly criticism and advice for correct behavior in both private and public.[24] An example of Rudaki's Zoroastrian roots can be seen in an excerpt where he is talking about his patron:[2]
It's a puzzle, describing his grace and will: He is theAvesta in wisdom, theZand in essence...
Rudaki is considered to have been the first major poet to write in New Persian. Although he was predated by other poets who wrote in New Persian, such asAbu Hafs Sughdi (died 902), most of their work has not survived. In Iran, Rudaki is acknowledged as the "founder of New Persian poetry" and in Tajikistan as the "father of Tajik literature",[a] both claims which according to the IranologistRichard Foltz are not contradictory.[10] Rudaki's life is depicted in the 1957 film ofA Poet's Fate, written bySatim Ulugzade (died 1997). The following year, the latter wrote a play focused on Rudaki, entitledRudaki, which was the first Tajik biographical drama.[26]
The 1100th anniversary of Rudaki's birth was commemorated by Iran and theTajik Soviet Socialist Republic in 1958, who together held a conference which was joined by several eminent Iranian and Tajik academics. It was during this period that Rudaki's burial place in Panjrud was discovered. The Sovietarchaeologist andanthropologistMikhail Mikhaylovich Gerasimov (died 1970) dug out and analyzed Rudaki's remains, which he used torecreate the latter's face on a sculpture. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Rudaki started to become a stronger representation of Tajik identity and also reinforced their ties to the rest of the Persian-speaking world.[2]
According toNile Green, Rudaki "heralded a new era for Persian letters."[27] The Iranologist Francois de Blois states that Rudaki "was the most celebrated Persian poet prior to Ferdowsi."[8] Following his death, Rudaki continued to remain a highly popular figure for around two centuries, until theMongol period, where he became unpopular amongst the highly skilled poets of that time. However, he had not been forgotten, as demonstrated by the attribution of his name to the Pseudo-Diwan-i Rudaki, called "one of the notorious literary frauds" by de Blois. Scholars such as Hasan ibn Luft Allah al-Razi in the 17th century andReza-Qoli Khan Hedayat in the 19th century easily recognized that the Pseudo-Diwan-i Rudaki was mostly composed of poems byQatran Tabrizi (died after 1088), while the rest were already-known poems of Rudaki that had been mentioned intadhkiras (biographical dictionaries).[28]
During the 19th century, Rudaki experienced a resurgence in popularity along with other ancient Khurasani poets.[28]
Stamp celebrating the 1100 anniversary of Rudaki's birthday, issued byPahlavi Iran in 1942
Stamp celebrating the 1100 anniversary of Rudaki's birthday, issued by theSoviet Union in 1958
^Tajik is a form of New Persian spoken in Central Asia. It is the official language of Tajikistan, where it is written in an alteredCyrillic script.[25]
^Epinette, Michèle,"RUDAKI",Encyclopaedia Iranica Online, Brill, retrieved31 May 2025,RUDAKI, ABU ʿABD-ALLĀH JAʿFAR b. Moḥammad Samarqandi (b. Banoj, a village in the Rudak area between Samarqand and Bukhara, ca. 243/858; d. Banoj, 329/941), the most celebrated Persian poet of the Samanid period.
^Henning, Walter Bruno (1962).A LOCUST'S LEG. PERCY LUND, HUMPHRIES & CO.LTD. p. 99.
Green, Nile (2019). "Introduction: The Frontiers of the Persianate World (ca. 800–1900)". InGreen, Nile (ed.).The Persianate World: The Frontiers of a Eurasian Lingua Franca. University of California Press. pp. 1–72.ISBN978-0520972100.
Contemporary Persian and Classical Persian are the same language, but writers since 1900 are classified as contemporary. At one time, Persian was a common cultural language of much of the non-Arabic Islamic world. Today it is the official language ofIran,Tajikistan and one of the two official languages ofAfghanistan.
aka:Tantrakhyayika —Panchakhyana —Kalila wa Dimna —Calila e Dimna -The Lights of Canopus —The Fables of Bidpai/Pilpay —The Moral Philosophy of Doni —Tantri Kamandaka —Nandaka-prakarana
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