Zu'l Fiqar Shirvani[a] (died c. 1291) was aPersian poet of theIlkhanid-era.[1] Hisdivan consists of 9,000 verses. Mohammad Dabirsiaqi /Encyclopædia Iranica notes that "he was generally recognized as a master of versification".[1]
Zu'l-Fiqar born to a certain Sadr al-Din Ali. He was patronized by Atabeg Yusofshah I of the Fazluya branch of the Atabegs of Lorestan. Zu'l-Fiqar dedicated severalpanegyric odes to Yusofshah, and also wrote similar poems for Ilkhanid rulerGaykhatu, the Qara-Khitaiamir Jalal al-Din Soyurgatmesh (who ruled inKerman), andPadishah Khatun (who succeeded Soyurgatmesh in Kerman).[1]
Zu'l-Fiqar Shirvani's tomb is located inMaqbaratoshoara, inTabriz, northwesternIran.[1]
According to Mohammad Dabirsiaqi /Encyclopædia Iranica, Zu'l-Fiqar Shirvani's poems have a "charming, lyrical quality". Among his "more important works", one finds theMafatih ol-kalam va madayeh ol-keram, dedicated to Khvajeh Mohammad Mastari (avizier of the Ilkhanid period).[1] In this lengthy panegyric work, Zu'l-Fiqar uses "two opening verses (matla) encompassing every possible combination ofmeter (da'era) andelision (zehafat), written inacrostic form (tawsih)". Dabirsiaqi states that the work is also noted for the fact that in every few lines within the same section (the two opening verses), certain words can be strung together to form newdistichs (abyat) with different meters.[1]