Mohammad-Hossein Shahriar

Seyyed Mohammad-Hossein Behjat Tabrizi (; 2 January 1906 – 18 September 1988), known by his pen name Shahriar, was an Iranian poet who composed works in both Azerbaijani and Persian. His most important work, Heydar Babaya Salam, is considered to be the pinnacle of Azerbaijani literature which gained great popularity in the Turkic world and was translated to more than 30 languages.

Contrary to many other figures of his time, Shahriar barely involved himself with political problems and ideologies. He was, however, known for his avid nationalism; in his work, numerous metaphors commending Persepolis, Zoroaster and Ferdowsi are made. Many of his writings were also motived by his religious beliefs, and he composed very popular poems in praise of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the first Imam of Shia Islam.

Biography Mohammad Hossein Shahriar was one of the first Azerbaijanis of Iran to write a significant collection of poetry in the Azerbaijani language. Born in 1906 in Tabriz, he received his elementary education, including the Divan of Hafez, under his father's supervision. Shahriar's first formal education was at the Motahhari (former Mansoor High School) Secondary School in Tabriz. He subsequently studied at the Dar-ol-Fonoun (former higher education school) in Tehran. Although he studied medicine in college, he dropped out just before getting his diploma and went to Khorasan, where he found a job as a notary public and bank clerk. His poems were mainly influenced by Hafez, a famous Persian poet, and Khasta Qasim, an old Azerbaijani poet.

His most famous work in Azerbaijani is Heydar Babaya Salam, published in 1954, which won immense popularity and has been translated into more than 30 languages and numerous plays all over the world. The poem was broadcast via Radio to both the Soviet Union and Turkey, with Shahriar reciting it in both Istanbul Turkish and Azerbaijani in two separate recordings that were disseminated.

Shahriar's verse takes diverse forms, including lyrics, quatrains, couplets, odes, and elegies. One of his love poems, Hala Chera, was set to music by Ruhollah Khaleqi. The composition for orchestra and solo voice became one of his most well-known works. One of the major reasons for the success of Shahriar's work is the sincerity of his words. Since he uses colloquial language in the context of poetry, his poems are understandable and effective for a broad segment of the public.

Shahriar was a talented calligrapher who wrote his own copy of the Qur'an, played the setar very well, and had a keen interest in music. He was a very close friend of the Persian musician and highly respected teacher, Abdolhossein Saba.

Death

His day of death is named the "national day of poem" in Iran. A television series about his life, directed by Kamal Tabrizi, aired on IRIB channel 2.

He died on 18 September 1988 in one of the Tehran's hospitals and his body was transferred to Tabriz and was buried in Maqbarato'sh-Sho'ara (Mausoleum of Poets).