Kishvari

Nematullah Kishvari^[a] (Azerbaijani: Nemətulla Kişvəri, نعمت‌الله کشوری) was a 15th- and 16th-century poet. He is considered one of the leading poets of Azerbaijani literature during that time and his poems played a significant role in the development of the Azerbaijani literary language.

Born in Salmas in modern-day Iran, little is known about Kishvari's life. He spent a part of it in the palace of Aq Qoyunlu ruler Yaqub Beg in Tabriz, where he was in the company of other prominent poets. However, he left the palace when he was repeatedly asked to write eulogies for Yaqub Beg and moved to Samarkand to live with Timurid poet Ali-Shir Nava'i, whom he referred to as his master in his poems. After Yaqub Beg's death in 1490, he returned to Tabriz but faced financial difficulties. In his last years, he dedicated eulogies to Ismail I of the Safavid dynasty of Iran and died in Tabriz a few years after his return.

Kishvari's only surviving work is a dīvān (a collection of poems) written mostly in Azerbaijani, with some Persian poems included. His poetry is primarily about love and was heavily influenced by Ali-Shir Nava'i and the 14th- and 15th-century Azerbaijani poet Nasimi.

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