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Ali-Shir Nava'i

Type Figure Region Central Asia Time 1441–1501 Also known as Nava'i、Nizam al-Din Ali-Shir

A giant of 15th-century Chagatai literature and a leading minister at the Timurid court, born in Herat, who long served Sultan Husayn Bayqara.

Timeline

  1. 1441–1465Herat · HeratFrom a prominent Herat family, educated in Persian and Arabic, close to Husayn Bayqara from childhood, and began composing poetry in Chagatai at an early age.
  2. 1469–1470Herat · HeratAfter Husayn Bayqara seized Herat, Nava'i joined his retinue, took part in policy planning, and gradually became one of the sultan's most trusted advisers.
  3. 1471–1480Herat · HeratAs chief minister he oversaw administration, built schools, hospitals and libraries, composed major Chagatai works such as the Four Divans, and advocated replacing Persian with his mother tongue as the court literary language.
  4. 1481–1501Herat · HeratHe continued in politics and completed linguistic works such as the Maqalis al-'Uqala' and many lyric poems; his literary legacy deeply influenced later Uzbek and Uyghur written literary traditions.

Sources