ABSTRACT
A reached the ears of mortal men when Shams al-Din Muhammad Dashti of Isfahan found shelter in Samarqand from the hands of the marauding Turks. It was in the village of Kharjird (Jam) that he finally settled, and there took to himself in marriage the daughter of one of the descendants of Imam Muhammad ibn Hasan Shaibani. Of this union a child was bom named Ahmad who also elected to reside in the same town, where he became occupied in the administration of justice. Some while later he went to Harat to clear up certain affairs, and on his return found in his arms a five-year-old child. This child was called ‘Abd al-Rahman; afterwards he was known throughout the lands as Jam!. It was thirty-one years since the shining star of Hafiz had set, and now the hand of destiny placed another candle in the lamp-stand of Persian literature.’
