FAMILY
Alaoddin Mohammad. One of Rumi’s two sons by his first wife, named after Rumi’s brother.
Bahaoddin Valad, or Baha Valad. Rumi’s father.
Fateme Khatun, or Fateme. Daughter of Salahoddin; wife of Sultan Valad.
Gowhar Khatun, or Gowhar. First wife of Rumi.
Great Kerra, the. Mother of Rumi’s first wife; a Samarkand disciple of Rumi’s father.
Kerra Khatun, or Kerra. Second wife of Rumi.
Kimiya. In harem of Rumi; wife of Shams of Tabriz.
Kimiya Khatun, or Kimiya. Stepdaughter of Rumi; daughter of Kerra Khatun.
Maleke Khatun. Rumi’s daughter, with Kerra Khatun.
Momene Khatun, or Momene. Rumi’s mother, one of Bahaoddin Valad’s wives.
Mozaffaroddin Amir Alem Chelebi. Rumi’s third son, with Kerra Khatun.
Shamsoddin Yahya. Stepson of Rumi, son of Kerra Khatun.
Sultan Valad, or Bahaoddin Mohammad. One of Rumi’s two sons by his first wife.
Ulu Amir Aref Chelebi, or Jalaloddin Faridun. Rumi’s grandson, son of Sultan Valad and Fateme.
FRIENDS
Badroddin Gowhartash. Fortress commander, built madrase in Konya for Rumi’s family.
Borhanoddin Mohaqqeq, or Borhan. Born in Termez, Rumi’s tutor, godfather, and guide.
Gorji Khatun, “the Georgian lady,” or Tamar. Noblewoman, devotee of Rumi.
Hosamoddin Chelebi, or Hosam. Rumi’s final beloved companion; wrote down Masnavi.
Ibnal-Adim. Poet, historian, and diplomat, as well as Rumi’s prime teacher in Aleppo.
Sadroddin Qonavi. Godson of Ibn Arabi; in Konya, taught a path of mystical knowledge.
Salahoddin Zarkub, or Salah. Goldsmith; Rumi’s beloved companion after Shams.
Serajoddin Ormovi. Religious judge in Konya during Rumi’s mature years.
Shamsoddin, Shams of Tabriz, or Shams. Rumi’s beloved companion, and the “face of the sun.”
POETS AND WRITERS
Attar. An herbal apothecary, in Nishapur; wrote The Conference of the Birds.
Jami. Fifteenth-century Naqshabandi Sufi poet of Khorasan.
Khayyam, Omar. Twelfth-century mathematician from Nishapur, famous for his robaiyyat.
al-Mutanabbi. Major eleventh-century Arabic poet, a lifelong favorite of Rumi.
Nezami. Court poet in Azerbaijan; wrote classic romance in couplets, Layli and Majnun.
Rudaki. Tenth-century innovative poet in Bukhara said to have invented the robai form.
Sanai. From Ghazna, Central Afghanistan; adapted courtly forms for spiritual subjects.
Yaqut. Muslim geographer and travel writer; a contemporary of Rumi.
POLITICAL FIGURES
Alaoddin Kayqobad I. Seljuk Sultan (r. 1219–37); invited Rumi’s family to Konya.
Alaoddin Kayqobad II. Seljuk Sultan (r. 1246–57). Youngest son of Kaykhosrow II, his mother was the Georgian princess Gorji Khatun; died on mission to the Mongol court.
Aminoddin Mikail. A treasury official and viceroy, his wife was a disciple of Rumi.
Ezzoddin Kaykaus II. Seljuk Sultan (r. 1246, or 1248–60). Eldest of three sons of Kaykhosrow II, his mother was the daughter of a Greek priest.
Ghengis Khan (c. 1162–1227). Founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire.
Ghiasoddin Kaykhosrow II, Seljuk Sultan (r. 1237–46) married to Gorji Khatun.
Ghiasoddin Kaykhosrow III (r. 1264–82), Seljuk Sultan set up, when no more than seven years old, by the Parvane.
Hulagu Khan (c. 1218–1265). Grandson of Ghenghis Khan; conquered much of western Asia and led the siege and attack on Damascus.
Khwarazmshah, Alaoddin Mohammad, b. Takesh (r. 1200–1220). Ruler of Khwarazm, in Central Asia, during Rumi’s childhood; besieged Samarkand.
Moinoddin Solayman Parvane (“The Butterfly”). Statesman, and de facto ruler of Seljuk Anatolia during the period of the Mongol protectorate; married to Gorji Khatun.
Nezam al-Molk. Eleventh-century Seljuk vizier; founded Nezamiyye University in Baghdad; patron of Omar Khayyam, and author of a handbook on statecraft.
Roknoddin, Qelij Arslan IV (r. 1246–64), Seljuk Sultan. Second son of Kaykhosrow II, his mother was a Greek slave and concubine. Apparently murdered at a banquet.
RELIGIOUS FIGURES
Bayazid Bestami. Ninth-century Sufi; promoted a “drunken” School of Sufism.
Fakhroddin Razi of Herat. Muslim analytic philosopher and preacher disliked by Rumi’s father.
al-Ghazali, Abu Hamed Mohammad. Eleventh-century luminary of Nezamiyye College, Baghdad; rejected logical philosophy in his The Revival of the Religious Sciences.
al-Ghazali, Ahmad. Radical Sufi poet and mystic; brother of Mohammad al-Ghazali.
al-Hallaj, Mansur. Tenth-century ecstatic or “drunken” Sufi, executed in Baghdad.
Ibn Arabi. Spanish-born Arab mystic; wrote Meccan Revelations, a synthesis of mystical thought in Rumi’s era; taught in Damascus and Aleppo.
Jonayd. Tenth-century Sufi; promoted the “sober” School of Baghdad.