The book named “The Wanderer of the Yamgan Valley” has been written by Mohammadreza Tavakkoli-Saberi.

Born in 1004 in Qubadiyan, Merv, Khorasan (Iran), Naser-e Khusraw came of a family of government officials who belonged to the Shia branch of Islam.

In 1045 he went on a pilgrimage to Mecca and continued his journey to Palestine and then to Egypt, which was ruled at that time by the Fatimid dynasty.

The Fatimids headed the Ismaili sect, an offshoot of Shiism, and they sent missionaries to propagate their beliefs throughout the Islamic world. 

Naser-e Khusraw became such a missionary, though it is not certain whether he became an Ismaili before his trip to the Fatimid capital or after. He returned to his homeland in what is now Afghanistan, but his vigorous advocacy of the Ismaili ideology within Sunni territory forced him to flee to Badakhshan, where he spent the rest of his days, lamenting in his poetry that he was unable to be an active missionary.

His poetry is of a didactic and devotional character and consists mainly of long odes that are considered to be of high literary quality. His philosophical poetry includes the Rawshanainameh (“Book of Light”). 

His most-celebrated prose work is the Safarnameh (“Book of Travel”), a diary describing his seven-year journey through Syria and Palestine. It is a valuable record of the scenes and events that he witnessed. 

He also wrote more than a dozen treatises expounding the doctrines of the Ismailis, among them the Jami al-Hikmatayn (“Union of the Two Wisdoms”), in which he attempted to harmonize Ismaili theology and Greek philosophy.

Naser-e Khusraw’s literary style is straightforward and vigorous. In his verse, he displays great technical virtuosity, while his prose is remarkable for the richness of its philosophical vocabulary.

He died c. 1072/77 in Yumgan, Badakhshan, Central Asia, which is now in present-day Afghanistan.

Tavakkoli-Saberi has also written “The Lapsable Journey”, which is a diary describing his journey to Syria and Palestine similar to the one Naser-e Khusraw did.

“A Travel for Visit” is another of Tavakkoli-Saberi’s books that is his account of his travel to Badakhshan to visit Naser-e Khusraw’s tomb.

He has also written correction to one of the oldest copies of the Safarnameh.