Daqīqī

▪ Persian poet

in full  Abū Manṣūr Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad Daqīqī  

died c. 976–981, Ṭūs, Iran

      poet, one of the most important figures in early Persian poetry.

      Very little is known about Daqīqī's life. A panegyrist, he wrote poems praising various Sāmānid and other princes and much lyrical poetry. He is remembered chiefly for an uncompleted verse chronicle dealing with pre-Islamic Persian history and legend and with the rise of Zoroastrianism. His chronicle paved the way for Ferdowsī, who included some of Daqīqī's verses in his Shāh-nāmeh (“Book of Kings”). Although Daqīqī cannot be wholly credited with originating the metre and style that became dominant in Persian epic literature, he most certainly contributed a great deal to its creation. He was murdered by his Turkish slave.

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