17th century, historical figure, Persia, Persian, primary source, quotes, stories
The Persian Safavid king ShaÌ„h Ê¿AbbaÌ„s I (r. 1588-1629) seems to have had several jesters, including, unusually, a woman. Another jester was Kal Ê¿EnaÌ„yat (‘ Ê¿EnaÌ„yat the Bald’, d. 1608), baldness being a time-honoured attribute often associated with fools...
17th century, historical figure, Persia, Persian, primary source, quotes, stories
Gianni Izzo’s excellent article on jesters of the Persian Safavid and Zand courts shines a light on additional Persian jesters (that is, perhaps ‘new’ to a Western audience). Rich new seams of anecdotes, primary sources, mini-biographies and great...
14th century, historical figure, Persia, Persian, primary source, quotes
A famous fourteenth century Persian poet, `Obeyd-e Zakani, known for his satire, wittily dittily sums up how you can influence people – forget learning and wisdom, just stick to fooling and fiddling.  Keep clear of learning sir, if so you may,Lest you should...
14th century, historical figure, Persia, Persian, primary source, quotes, stories
The 14th century Persian poet ‘Obeyd Zakani complained of the favouritism the king showed his jester. In his Biographies of the Poets (Tazkirat al-Shu`ara) (1487) Dawlatshah describes `Obeyd’s annoyance:It has been related that he had composed a treatise...
11th century, folk fool, historical figure, Persia, Persian, primary source, quotes, stories
Talhak, jester to Sultan Mahmud of Ghazna (r. 998-1030), enjoyed a close and easy relationship with him. See also the lexicon entry for ‘dalhak’, apparently deriving from Talhak’s name, and another example of his cuckold jokes. Like jesters in...
13th century, Persia, Persian, primary source, quotes
Jesters are regularly confronted with the unpredictability of great or absolute power; they can be rewarded for an insult or a harsh truth, or executed for the same. Many are quite accomplished in walking a tightrope of favour without falling into a pit of...
11th century, folk fool, historical figure, Persia, Persian, primary source, quotes, stories
One of the most famous jesters is Talhak, whose name may be derived from, or have spawned, the Persian word for jester (dalqak). Â He is one of those great folk fools to whom any number of jokes can be pegged.Talhak served Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni (r. 998-1030), and...
