Unsuri

Timeline

1. c. 968–1008Balkh · BalkhUnsuri was born in Balkh, a major cultural center of Khorasan, received Persian literary training under alternating Samanid–Ghaznavid influence, and rose to prominence with qaṣidas and narrative poems.
2. 1008–1030Ghazna · GhaznaIntroduced into Mahmud's court by Amir Nasr, he was titled the first Persian 'King of Poets'; other poets' works required his review before presentation. He accompanied campaigns, recording military deeds and ceremonies in ornate qaṣidas.
3. 1030–1039Ghazna · GhaznaAfter Mahmud's death he continued serving under his son Mas'ud I, receiving a reward of a thousand dinars in 1031 for an Eid al-Fitr panegyric. His collected poems originally numbered thirty thousand couplets, of which only about twenty-five hundred survive, along with fragments of the epic Vamiq u 'Adhra.