Dictionary.net

The last of Persia's classic poets; born in Jam, Khorasan, August (?) 1414; died at Herat (?), in May (?) 1492 or 1493. His best-known poetical works are: "The Abode of Spring" (Beharistan); "The Chain of Gold"; and "The Loves of Joseph and Zuleika and of Mejnun and Leila". He is known in Europe as the Persian Petrarch, while his countrymen call him "the fiery star to which the gold stars bend", a metaphor illustrative of the glories with which he invested the passion of love.