Malaye Jaziri

Ahmad Nîşanî, better known as Melayê Cizîrî, was a Kurdish poet, theologian, and Sufi mystic. He was born in Cizre (Bohtan, in present-day Turkey) and died in Diyarbakır (Ottoman Empire).

Biography Born in Cizre of Bohtan around year 1570, Cizîrî was a Sufi who spoke Kurdish, Arabic and Persian. He only expressed himself literarily in Kurdish. He began his studies in his hometown before traveling to Baghdad, Syria, Egypt and Persia to study philosophy, astrology and divination. During this period, he became familiar with Hafez who would become an influence in his poetry.

His love for Kurdistan was also explicitly expressed in his literature. Cizîrî would also become the father of a Kurdish literary school and was admired by later poets like Ahmad Khani and Cigerxwîn. As he was one of the earliest users of Kurmanji in literary work, he also served as model for other poets including Ahmad Khani who wrote Mem and Zin in the same dialect. He would also lay the foundations for the Kurdish qasida which emerged in the subsequent centuries.

Among Kurdish nationalists, Cizîrî is a symbol of national pride.