WRITERS from Turkmenistan

Top 4

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Turkmen Writers of all time. This list of famous Turkmen Writers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Al-Zamakhshari (1075 - 1144)

With an HPI of 65.94, Al-Zamakhshari is the most famous Turkmen Writer.  His biography has been translated into 31 different languages on wikipedia.

Abu al-Qasim Mahmud ibn Umar al-Zamakhshari (Arabic: الزمخشري; 1074 –1143) was a medieval Muslim scholar of Iranian descent. He travelled to Mecca and settled there for five years and has been known since then as 'Jar Allah' (God's Neighbor). He was a Mu'tazilite theologian, linguist, poet and interpreter of the Quran. He is best known for his book Al-Kashshaf, which interprets and linguistically analyzes Quranic expressions and the use of figurative speech for conveying meaning. This work is a primary source for all major linguists.

2. Abu al-Ghazi Bahadur (1603 - 1664)

With an HPI of 64.31, Abu al-Ghazi Bahadur is the 2nd most famous Turkmen Writer.  His biography has been translated into 32 different languages.

Abu al-Ghazi Bahadur (Chagatai and Persian: ابوالغازی بهادرخان, Abulgazi, Ebulgazi, Abu-l-Ghazi, August 24, 1603 – 1663) was the Khan of Khiva from 1643 to 1663. He was a member of the Uzbek Shaybanid dynasty. He spent ten years in Persia before becoming khan, and was very well educated, writing two historical works in the Khiva dialect of the Chagatai language. He was a descendant of Genghis Khan through Arab Shah.

3. Anvari (1126 - 1190)

With an HPI of 53.07, Anvari is the 3rd most famous Turkmen Writer.  His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Anvari (1126–1189), full name Awhad ad-Din 'Ali ibn Mohammad Khavarani or Awhad ad-Din 'Ali ibn Mahmud (Persian: اوحدالدین علی ابن محمد انوری) was a Persian poet. Anvarī was born in Abivard (now in Turkmenistan) and died in Balkh, Khorāsān (now in Afghanistan). He studied science and literature at the collegiate institute in Toon (now Ferdows, Iran), becoming a famous astronomer as well as a poet. Anvari's poems were collected in a Divan, and contains panegyrics, eulogies, satire, and others. His elegy "Tears of Khorasan", translated into English in 1789, is considered to be one of the most beautiful poems in Persian literature. The Cambridge History of Iran calls Anvari "one of the greatest figures in Persian literature". Despite their beauty, his poems often required much help with interpretation, as they were often complex and difficult to understand. Anvari's panegyric in honour of the Seljuk sultan Sultan Sanjar (1117–1157), ruler of Khorasan, won him royal favour, and allowed him to go on to enjoy the patronage of two of Sanjar's successors. However, when his prophecy of disasters in October 1185 failed, he fell out of favour with the kingship, and was forced into a life of scholarly service, eventually taking his own life in 1189.

4. Berdi Kerbabayev (1894 - 1974)

With an HPI of 51.12, Berdi Kerbabayev is the 4th most famous Turkmen Writer.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Berdi Muradovich Kerbabayev (Turkmen: Berdi Myradowiç Kerbabaýew; Russian: Берды Мурадович Кербабаев, romanized: Berdy Muradovich Kerbabayev; 3 March 1894 – 3 March 1974) was a Soviet and Turkmen writer, the national writer of the Turkmen SSR, an academician of the Academy of Sciences of the Turkmen SSR and a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1948 until his death. He is one of the most prominent contributors to Turkmen literature.