Farrukhi Sistani

Who was Farrukhi Sistani?

Abul Hasan Ali ibn Julugh Farrukhi Sistani was a 10th- and 11th-century royal poet of Ghaznavids.

As an ethnic Persian, he was one of the brightest masters of the panegyric school of poetry in the court of Mahmud of Ghazni. He started his career by writing a qasideh called 'With a Caravan of Fine Robes' and presented it to Asa'ad Chaghani, the vizier of Saffarid king of Sistan. This poem was so beautiful and masterful that Farrokhi was admitted to the court. Here is the opening line:

با کاروان حُلّه برفتم ز سیستان

با حلّهء تنیده ز دل، بافته ز جان

I left Sistan with a caravan of fine robes.

Robes spun from the heart, woven from the soul.

The next day when the king went to his ranch where he used to party and brand his new young horses. The vizier described to Farrukhi the setting of branding of horses. Farrokhi went home and based on the descriptions and without seeing the actual scene, wrote a new poem called 'Branding Place'. The next morning he went back to the vizier and recited the poem. Vizier was so impressed that immediately took Farrokhi to the king. When this poem was recited to the king, he was so impressed that he gave 40 young horses to Farrokhi as gift. The opening line is: