Farrukhi Sistani


Abul Hasan Ali ibn Julugh Farrukhi Sistani was a 10th- and 11th-century Persian royal poet of the 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 qasida called "With a Caravan of Robes" and presented it to As'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:
The next day 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 description 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. The vizier was so impressed that he immediately took Farrokhi to the king. When this poem was recited to the king, he gave 40 young horses to Farrokhi as a gift. The opening line is:
Farrokhi was also a master of music and could play the barbat and sing. He later moved to the court of the Ghaznavids, first Mahmud and then his son, Mas'ud.
Farrokhi's dīvān of 9000 verses has survived. He died in 1037 or 1038 CE.

A sample of his poetry