Nizami Ganjavi, also spelled Nezāmi, (Persian: نظامی گنجوی) is considered the greatest romantic epic poet in Persian literature, who brought a colloquial and realistic style to the Persian epic. His heritage is widely appreciated and shared by Azerbaijan, Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan.
***google “Nizami Ganjavi (1141-1209). Iskandar-Nama [book VI only], Qajar Iran, early 19th century”
Long before Nizami, the legend circulated in anecdotal forms in Iranian akhbar. The early anecdotes and oral reports about Majnun are documented in Kitab al-Aghani and Ibn Qutaybah's Al-Shi'r wa-l-Shu'ara'. The anecdotes are mostly very short, only loosely connected, and show little or no plot development. Nizami collected both secular and mystical sources about Majnun and portrayed a vivid picture of the famous lovers.[13] Subsequently, many other Persian poets imitated him and wrote their own versions of the romance.