Qol Ghali facts for kids

Qol Ghali (also known as Qul Ali) was a famous poet who lived a long time ago, from about 1183 to 1236. He was a Muslim poet from a place called Volga Bulgaria.

His most famous work is a long poem called Qíssa-i Yosıf. This means Tale of Yusuf. He wrote it in an old language called Old Tatar. This language is quite different from the Tatar, Bashkir, and Chuvash languages spoken today.

Qol Ghali studied at a special school called a madrassah in a place called Khwarezm. He finished his amazing poem in the year 1233. Sadly, he probably died in 1236 during a big battle when the Mongols invaded Volga Bulgaria.

Qol Ghali's Important Poems

Qol Ghali's poems are still very important today. People from the Tatars, the Bashkirs, and the Chuvash groups still celebrate his work.

The Story of Qíssa-i Yosıf

His most famous poem, Qíssa-i Yosıf, was inspired by stories from the Quran. These are holy stories about a person named Joseph.

The poem is all about fighting against bad things. It also talks about how people can find happiness. This poem was very important for the culture of the Muslim Volga Bulgars. Later, it became very important for Bashkir and Tatar cultures too.

Many copies of the poem were made by hand. More than 200 of these old copies have been found. They were found among the Bashkirs and Tatars.

The poem was first prepared to be printed by another poet named Utız İmäni. It was printed for the first time in 1839 by Räxmätulla Ämirxanov. Since then, it has been printed again more than 80 times!

The Qol Ghali Award

There is a special award named after Qol Ghali. It is called the Qol Ghali International Award. This award is given to people who are excellent at writing and poetry. The award was first created in 1992.