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Faríd-Uddín Attar (c. 1145–c. 1220)
Attar, Faríd-Uddín (ät-tär’). A celebrated Persian poet; born near Nishapur about 1145; died about 1220. Son of a spicer, he followed his father’s trade (whence his surname of Attâr), but afterward became a dervish and one of the greatest mystics of Persia. Of his extant political works the most famous are: ‘The Book of Council,’ a series of didactic poems on ethics; ‘The Parliament of Birds’ (1184–87). His principal work in prose is ‘Biographies of the Saints.’