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The celebrated Iranian poet and author, “Malek osh-Sho’ara” Mirza Mohammad Taqi Bahar
Compiled By: Syed Ali Shahbaz
On April 21, 1951 AD, the celebrated Iranian poet and author, Mirza Mohammad Taqi Bahar, who held the title “Malek osh-Sho’ara” or Poet Laureate, passed away at the age of 64. He was born in the holy city of Mashhad and displayed his sublime talent in writing poems as of a young age.
To enhance his knowledge of Persian and Arabic, he attended the classes of Adib Nishapouri, a classical poet and scholar. It is said Bahar knew by heart a very good portion of the Holy Qur'an at a very early age.
According to Bahar himself, at seven he read the “Shahnamah” and fully grasped the meaning of Ferdowsi's epic poems. He composed his first poem at age 8, at which time he also chose the penname “Bahar” (Spring). At 14, he was fluent in Arabic, and later mastered French. At 18, at the onset of the Constitutional Revolution of Iran, he resigned his court position of Poet Laureate and joined the constitutional movement for limiting the powers of the monarchy.
He clandestinely published the newspaper “Khorasan”, in collaboration with Hossein Ardebili, and the journals “Nou-Bahar” (New Spring), and “Tazeh-Bahar” (Fresh Spring), both in collaboration with his cousin Sheikh Ahmad. He wrote articles in these newspapers exhorting the readers to strive to bring about a parliamentary system of government.
After victory of the Constitutionalists, he was elected as Member of Parliament for successive terms. When Reza Khan Pahlavi seized power with British help, he was imprisoned and exiled. Following release in 1934, he served as Professor of Persian Literature at the newly founded Tehran University, where he dedicated most of his time to writing and editing books on Persian Literature and History.
In 1945, he served for a short period as Minister of Culture and Education. Notable amongst the works written and edited by Bahar are: “Tarikh-e Sistan” (History of Sistan), “Tarikh-e Mokhtasar-e Ahzab-e Siyasi” (A Concise History of Political Parties), “Jawame' ol-Hekayaat” (Anthology of Stories), and two volumes of verse, consisting of his own poems.
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