Badriddin Khiloli

Born in Astrabad, year of birth unknown; died 1529 in Herat. Tadzhik poet.

Khiloli, who was closely associated with Alisher Navoi’s entourage, wrote a satire on the Uzbek khan Ubaidulla Sheibanid. Herat was later conquered by the khan, and Khiloli was executed.

Khiloli won renown as a master of the ghazal. A humanistic concept of the harmony within man is found in his ghazals and his two epic mathnawi, The Shah and the Dervish and Qualities of Those in Love. In contradiction to tradition, a major theme of Khiloli’s lyrical version of the epic Leyla and Mejnun is Leyla’s defense of her right to express her emotions. The artistic perfection and simplicity of Khiloli’s poetry have ensured it a long life.