Few Oriental poets have achieved the International popularity of
Omar Khayyam (1048-1131). He was born during
the Saljuq Turkish rule over Persia in a city called Nishapur.
Nishapur was the capital of Khurasan, the north-eastern province of Persia,
and, in Khayyam's time, of Eastern Islam. The name "Khayyam" means "tent-maker".
It belongs to Omar's father,Ibrahim , so that Omar seems to have sprung
from the urban middle class of Nishapur society.
The earliest references of khayyam do not give any indication that
he was a poet, but establish him as a philosopher, and works by him still
extant prove him to have been a great mathematician.
Here is some of his famous Ruba'iyat
as translated by Peter Avery & john Heath-stubbs.
A complete list of his Ruba'iyat will be provided in the future plus an
Arabic translation so come back and check later on.
