Ubayd Zakani
Ubayd Zakani | |
|---|---|
A compilation of works by Ubayd Zakani and Fakhr al-Din Bushaq-e a'tima (died 1420). From a manuscript of Safavid Iran, dated April/May 1540. | |
| Born | before 1319 Qazvin, Ilkhanate |
| Died | 1369–1371 possibly Shiraz, Muzaffarid kingdom |
| Occupation | Poet, satirist |
| Notable works | Mush-o Gorbeh |
Khwajeh Nizam al-Din Ubayd Allah al-Zakani (Persian: خواجه نظام الدین عبید الله الزاکانی, romanized: Ḵwājeh Niẓām al-Dīn ʿUbayd Allāh al-Zākānī; d. 1370), better known as Ubayd Zakani (Persian: عبید زاکانی, romanized: ʿUbayd-I Zākānī), was a Persian poet of the Mongol era, regarded as one of the best satirists in Persian literature. His most famous work is Mush-o Gorbeh ("Mouse and Cat"), a political satire which attacks religious hypocrisy. Although a highly popular figure in his own time, Ubayd's work received little attention from modern scholars until recently, due to provocative and bawdy texts in the majority of his works. His style of satire has been compared to the French Enlightenment writer Voltaire (d. 1778).