The first great voice
Rudaki is regarded as the first great poet to write in the new Persian language, and many of the forms later poets used, such as the quatrain and the ghazal, are linked with his name. He served at the court of the Samanids, in Bukhara, and was also a musician.
A legend
Old stories say he was blind, and that he later fell from favour. Scholars are not sure how much of this is true. What is clear is that he stands at the start of the long line that leads to Ferdowsi, Rumi and Hafez.
