AḴTAR, AḤMAD BEG GORJĪ, a poet of the era of Fatḥ-ʿAlī Shah Qāǰār (1212-50/1797-1834). Hedāyat (Maǰmaʿ al-foṣaḥāʾ I, pp. 154-55, 319) writes that Aḵtar was originally a Georgian slave under the Safavids and that Solaymān Khan Qāǰār cut off his tongue for his impudence; calling him a “capable poet,” he cites thirteen of his verses. Aḵtar’s work consisted of qaṣīdas, ḡazals, and scurrilous satires, but no collection of his poetry seems to have been made. In 1234/1819, on the instructions of Fatḥ-ʿAlī Shah, he began the composition of a work entitled Taḏkera-ye anǰoman-ārā, which remained incomplete on his death. His brother, Moḥammad-Bāqer Beg “Našāṭī” continued the work, but he too died before completing it. In the end, Moḥammad Fāżel Khan Garrūsī “Rāwī” (d. 1253/1837) took up the task and completed the work under the title Anǰoman-e Ḵāqān (q.v.).
Bibliography:
Bahman Mīrzā, Taḏkera-yeMoḥammadšāhī (1247/1831).
Ḥāǰǰ ʿAlī-Akbar Nawwāb Šīrāzī “Besmel,” Taḏkera-ye delgošā (1237-40/1822-25).
Goḷčīn-e Maʿānī, Taḏkerahā I, pp. 60-67.
Rieu, Pers. Man. Supp., pp. 120, 124.
(Dj. Khaleghi-Motlagh)
Originally Published: December 15, 1984
Last Updated: July 29, 2011
This article is available in print.
Vol. I, Fasc. 7, pp. 730-731
Dj. Khaleghi-Motlagh, “AḴTAR, AḤMAD BEG GORJĪ,” Encyclopædia Iranica, I/7, pp. 730-731; an updated version is available online at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/aktar-ahmad-beg-gorji-a-poet-of-the-era-of-fath-ali-shah-qaar-1212-50-1797-1834 (accessed on 13 May 2014).