Background
He was born in Kerman, Iran on 24 December 1290.
He was born in Kerman, Iran on 24 December 1290.
His nickname Khwaju is a diminutive of the Persian word Khwaja which he uses as his poetic penname. This title points to descent from a family of high social status. He died around 1349 in Shiraz, Iran, and his tomb in Shiraz is a popular tourist attraction today.
When he was young, he visited Egypt, Syria, Jerusalem and Iraq.
He also performed the Hajj in Mecca. One purpose of his travel is said to have been education and meeting with scholars of other lands.
He composed one his best known work Homāy o Homāyun in Baghdad. Returning to Iranian lands in 1335, he strove to find a position as a court poet by dedicating poems to the rulers of his time, such as the Il-Khanid rulers Abu Saʿid Bahādor Khan and Arpa Khan, the Mozaffarid Mubariz al-Din Muhammad, and Abu Esshaq of the Inju dynasty.