Alisher Navoiy

Alisher Navoiy was born on 9 February 1441 in the city of Herat and died there on 3 January 1501. From childhood he loved poetry and music, was a schoolmate of Husayn Boyqaro, and loved reading Attor’s book “Mantiq ut-tayr”. He wrote in two languages, using the pen name “Navoiy” for his Uzbek poems and “Foniy” for his Persian ones; “Navoiy” comes from “navo”, melody. In his youth he lived in Mashhad, Herat and Samarkand; when Husayn Boyqaro took the throne he returned to Herat and became keeper of the seal and then a vizier. His most famous work is the “Xamsa”, five dostons written in answer to Nizami Ganjavi’s “Panj ganj”; he also created collections of poems (devons) and dozens of prose works. 9 February is widely celebrated in Uzbekistan as his birthday.