One of Alisher Navoi’s most celebrated literary achievements is his Khamsa ("The Quintet"), a collection of five epic poems that demonstrated the Chagatai language’s literary potential. Inspired by the Persian tradition of Khamsa (notably by Nizami Ganjavi), Navoi adapted and transformed the genre, adding deeper philosophical and moral dimensions.
The five works in Khamsa are:
Hayrat ul-Abror (The Wonder of the Righteous) – A didactic poem that explores morality, wisdom, and ethics, highlighting the contrast between virtue and vice.
Farhad wa Shirin – A tragic love story of the sculptor Farhad and the princess Shirin, emphasizing love, devotion, and destiny.
Layli wa Majnun – The famous love story of two star-crossed lovers, symbolizing divine love and the soul’s longing for the eternal.
Sab’ai Sayyar (Seven Travelers) – A collection of moral stories, where travelers share their life experiences and reflect on human nature, fate, and wisdom.
Saddi Iskandari (The Wall of Alexander) – A literary reinterpretation of Alexander the Great’s story, portraying him as an ideal ruler who values knowledge, justice, and wisdom.
Navoi’s Khamsa was a revolutionary work because it elevated Turkic poetry to the same level as Persian literature. Through these epic poems, he established Chagatai as a powerful literary language and laid the foundation for future Turkic writers.