Biography of ROUDAKI

ABOU ABDOLAH JAFAR BEN MOHAMMAD ROUDAKI, poet of third and fourth century (LUNAR HEJRI calendar), was born in a village by name PANJKANT (in today`s TAJIKISTAN).
ROUDAKI, is the master of poets in the beginning of the fourth century in Iran. Historians are calling him as the first Persian poet and also, the father of Persian poem. Before him, nobody had DIVAN (poetry book).
Some are saying, he was blind at birth. And some other are saying, he became blind later. At the end of his life, he came back to his hometown and in 329 (LUNAR HEJRI) or 941 (AD), died.
In 1940, one thousand years, after his death, SADRODIN EINI, founder of TAJIK PERSIAN LITRATURE, decided to find ROUDAKI`s tomb according to witnesses in SAMARGHAND history book. After trying a lot, SADRODIN EINI found the tomb as per old notes in an old cemetery in BANJROUD area. In 1965, a group of archeologists leaded by GRASIMOVE a sculptor, opened the tomb. after some researches on ROUDAKI`s body on the basis of his own poems, archeologists have drawn his picture. survey`s results showed that, nobody removed his eyes, but some body kept his head on fire or coal, so his eyes were burnt and poet became blind. And also multiple fractures in spine and ribs, indicates that he was tortured before his death.
In old easies, it was mentioned that, ROUDAKI was harper. Stories are explaining about his good skill in poems and music. His magic skill have influenced ABOUNASR SAMANI, to go from HERAT to BOKHARA, without shoes, after hearing the famous poem by name: smell of MOLIAN raceway.
About number of poems, different numbers are available. Some say ROUDAKI had more than one hundred bits or one hundred books.
Except his poems in sonnet, ode and parts, he made the book of KELILE & DEMNE in to verse, but unfortunately some parts only remained. Out of the precious poems of the father of Persian poetry, only 550 bits from the old sources remained.