← Explore on the interactive map

Unsuri Balkhi

Type Figure Region Afghanistan Time c. 961–1039 Also known as Abu'l-Qasim Hasan ibn Ahmad Unsuri、Onsori、عنصری بلخی、Poet Laureate of Ghazna

Unsuri Balkhi was one of the most important Ghaznavid court poets of the 10th–11th centuries, born around 961 in Balkh, serving the courts of Sultans…

Timeline

  1. c. 961–998Balkh · BalkhBorn in Balkh, he entered the Ghazna poetic scene through the introduction of Amir Nasr ibn Sabuktigin, winning renown for his qaṣida talent.
  2. 1021–1030Ghazna · GhaznaAs a favored intimate and chief court poet of Mahmud, he reviewed colleagues' poems and accompanied campaigns, setting the model for Ghazna's poetic style with rhetorically refined qaṣidas.
  3. 1031–1039Ghazna · GhaznaAfter Mahmud's death he continued to serve his son Mas'ud, receiving a rich reward in 1031 for an Eid al-Fitr panegyric, until his death in Ghazna around 1039.

Sources