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Nizami Mausoleum
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Five treasures

The Khamsa

Nizami's chief legacy is the Khamsa, or 'Quintet': five long poems, each of which became a classic of world literature.

Khamsa means 'five' — five poems also known as the 'Five Treasures'.

The Khamsa

Layla and Majnun

The best-known poem of the Khamsa is 'Layla and Majnun', a tragic love story that became a model for all Eastern poetry. Its plot inspired poets, painters and composers for centuries.

The image of Majnun, driven mad by love, became a symbol of selfless feeling.

Layla and Majnun (miniature)

The five poems

What the Khamsa consists of

Nizami's five treasures.

The Treasury of Mysteries
A poem on morality and wisdom (c. 1163).
Khosrow and Shirin
A romantic poem of love (1177–1180).
Layla and Majnun
A tragedy of love (1192).
The Seven Beauties
'Haft Peykar' — a poem of Shah Bahram (1197).
The Book of Alexander
'Eskandar-Nameh' (c. 1194–1202).

The Khamsa

Love, wisdom, power

In the five poems Nizami joined the themes of love and duty, wisdom and power, journeys and the knowledge of the world. 'Khosrow and Shirin' celebrates love, 'The Book of Alexander' the search for a just ruler.

Together they form a whole poetic world to which readers have returned for eight centuries.

Khosrow and Shirin (miniature)

Titles and datings of the poems may differ across traditions and translations.