Welcome to this week's episode of the series "Iranian Notables, Sources of Global Honor". Today, we become more familiar with the famed and acclaimed Iranian poet, who lived in the second half of the 5th Century AH, Masoud Salman.

It was said that Masoud Sa'ad Salman was one of the prominent poets who lived throughout the rule of Ghaznavid and Saljuqid dynasties. He was originally from the city of Hamedan. However, given his father's administrative posts and services, he was born in the city of Lahore between 425 AH to 438 AH. Masoud Salman's father and ancestors were among the virtuous and knowledgeable figures of their eras. Masoud learned the principles of combat, horse riding, and marksmanship in addition to sciences and arts upon attending the classes of well-known lecturers of his time. His familiarity with literature, had him interested in poetry, such that he turned into a highly skilled poet, composing long odes. He entered the Ghaznavid royal court as of a young age. Upon the instruction of Sultan Ibrahim, he accompanied Sultan Ibrahim's son, Seif Ed-Din Mahmoud to India. Masoud Salman maintained an elevated status before Seif Ed-Din Mahmoud. However, this phase in time came into an abrupt end due to the ill remarks of those who envied Masoud, before the Ghaznavid King. Upon the order of the Ghaznavid King, Sultan Ibrahim; his son, Prince Seif Ed-Din, in the company of his servants and associates, including Masoud Salman, were imprisoned. Masoud Sa'ad Salman spent twenty years behind bars. The poems he composed during this period of time, reflect the hardships he endured and the sorrow he felt in the absence of his wife and children. Upon his release, Masoud Salman no longer sought important administrative posts. Nonetheless, he remained in the royal court and was engaged in cultural affairs for the rest of his life. He was instated as the bookkeeper of the large library of Ghaznavid King, Sultan Masoud. Masoud Sa'ad Salman most probably passed away in the city of Ghaznain in 515 AH.  

Masoud Sa'ad Salman is among the leading Iranian poets. He is especially known for his admirable poetic style, and his effective and unique poetic language. His strength in expression of meanings, with the usage of appropriate words is an irrefutable fact. His poetic expressions and descriptions are one of a kind, while he rarely included foreign words and terms in his poems.

According to one of the leading literary figures; the pre-eminent Iranian poet, Masoud Salman, had composed three collection of poems in Farsi, Arabic, and Hindi languages. However, only his collection of poems in Farsi, in addition to a number of his Arabic poems have remained to this day. His collection of poems includes odes, quatrains, and other types of Farsi poetry. In the meantime, he mainly shot to fame because of the poems which he composed throughout his 20-year captivity.

Given that Masoud Salman spent a large portion of his life behind bars, the poems he composed throughout his captivity constitute a large part of his collection of poems. These poems elaborate on his difficulties in captivity, leaving a huge emotional impact on the readers.

In the meantime, numerous researchers argue that despite of the hardships this renowned Iranian poet experienced throughout his captivity, he never gave in, while humiliating his prison wardens in his poems.

In his poems, Masoud Salman has described the circumstances of prisons of his time, which has enabled contemporary sociologists and historians to shed light on the general conditions of judicial systems and the status quo of prisoners and inmates within 5^th and 6^th Centuries AH.

Given that Masoud Sa'ad Salman spent twenty years in jail throughout the Ghaznavid era, he is also known as an activist, whose poems have been mainly affected by the prisons' grim atmosphere, and his recurring complaints about the appalling living conditions of virtuous and scientific figures of his era.

What has turned Masoud Salman into a distinguished Iranian poet in the history of Farsi poetry is the years he spent behind bars in the Ghaznavid era, throughout which he composed many long odes, reflecting upon the difficulties of his time, and the sorrowful situation of his contemporary cultural figures.

MR/ME