International reading guide

The life of Rumi

From the region of Balkh to Konya, 1207–1273.

A visual reading

Seljuk Konya: the setting of a life

Seljuk Konya: the setting of a life
Dosseman
CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source · License
Images were resized and converted to WebP; not cropped.

Read Rumi’s life alongside his family, teachers and the city’s intellectual environment. This modern photograph of Alaeddin Mosque illustrates that setting; it does not document a particular event in his life. Historical dates and later devotional narratives require different kinds of evidence.

This page is the international reading edition. You can also read the detailed Turkish original. Turkish original

SourcesTDV — Mevlânâ ↗Konya Valiliği — Biyografi ↗

This page is the international reading edition. You can also read the detailed Turkish original. Turkish original

Education and travel

Rumi’s father, Bahauddin Walad, was a scholar and Sufi. The family’s migration brought them to Anatolia. In Konya, Rumi taught and pursued religious learning; Sayyid Burhanuddin’s guidance played an important part in his spiritual development.

Shams and the later years

His encounter with Shams of Tabriz in 1244 was a turning point. Later, Husamuddin Chalabi played a major role in recording the Masnavi. Rumi died in Konya on 17 December 1273. Accounts of his life should be read with a distinction between spiritual legends and independently verified historical evidence.

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International reading guide

Sources and further reading

Sources