ZAYNIDDIN VOSIFI: HIS LIFE, LITERARY ACTIVITY, AND THE STRUCTURE OF «BADOYE’ UL-VAQOYE’»

Abstract

Zayniddin Vosifi was a prominent literary figure and intellectual of the late  fifteenth and first half of the sixteenth century. His full name was Zayniddin Mahmud  ibn Abduljamil. He was born in Herat into a family of munshis (scribes and literary  secretaries). He received his early education in Herat and studied at the Shahrukh  Madrasa, where he acquired extensive knowledge of Arabic, literature, fiqh, and other  fields of learning. From an early age, Vosifi became involved in the literary circles of  Herat. At the age of sixteen, he met Alisher Navoi, whose literary school had a  significant influence on the formation of his creative activities. Owing to the political  instability in Khorasan and the persecution under Shah Ismail, Vosifi eventually moved  to Movarounnahr.