Gawhar Khatun
(fl. 13th century; d. c. 1242–1243?, wife of Rumi)
BIRTH
UNKNOWN
PLACE
Unknown
DEATH
Around 1242–1243 (?)
PLACE
Konya, Turkey
FAMILY
HOMES
RELIGIOUS VIEWS
RELIGION NOT DOCUMENTED
DENOMINATION NOT DOCUMENTED
MEMBERSHIPS
AWARDS
Gawhar Khatun was the first wife of the Persian poet and mystic Jalal al-Din Rumi. In 1226 Gawhar bore Rumi's eldest son, Sultan Walad, who later led the Mevlevi order and wrote a verse account of his father's life. A second son, Ala al-Din Muhammad, followed soon after. She died young, before Rumi married his second wife, Kerra Khatun, and is believed to have died in Konya. She was the mother of his sons Sultan Walad and Ala al-Din Muhammad.
EARLY LIFE
Gawhar Khatun was the daughter of Sharaf al-Din Lala of Samarkand, a follower of Rumi's father, the preacher Baha al-Din Walad. Her family traveled west with Baha al-Din's household when it left Central Asia, and the group eventually settled in Anatolia. The dates of her birth and early years are not recorded. Around 1225, in the town of Larende, now Karaman in Turkey, she married the young Jalal al-Din, who was then about eighteen.
In 1226 Gawhar bore Rumi's eldest son, Sultan Walad, who later led the Mevlevi order and wrote a verse account of his father's life. A second son, Ala al-Din Muhammad, followed soon after.
The family moved to Konya, the Seljuk capital, in 1228, where Baha al-Din taught until his death in 1231 and Rumi succeeded him.
Gawhar died young, before Rumi married his second wife, Kerra Khatun, and is believed to have died in Konya.
CAREER
DEATH
Gawhar Khatun was the first wife of the Persian poet and mystic Jalal al-Din Rumi. In 1226 Gawhar bore Rumi's eldest son, Sultan Walad, who later led the Mevlevi order and wrote a verse account of his father's life. A second son, Ala al-Din Muhammad, followed soon after. The family moved to Konya, the Seljuk capital, in 1228, where Baha al-Din taught until his death in 1231 and Rumi succeeded him. Gawhar died young, before Rumi married his second wife, Kerra Khatun, and is believed to have died in Konya. The available biographical account does not describe a continuous final medical course. It gives no dependable sequence of treatment and last symptoms from which to reconstruct a more detailed bedside narrative.
POPULAR BIOGRAPHIES
Gawhar Khatun, Rumi’s first wife. These are related biographies and studies of Rumi; the surviving personal evidence for Gawhar is limited. Editorial selections prioritize biographical coverage; five standalone biographies were not established. Family and collective biographies, primary writings, references and related studies are labelled individually. Multi-volume works and series are counted as one selection.
1. Rumi: Past and Present, East and West — Franklin D. Lewis. [Related biography of her husband] Find on Amazon
2. Rumi's Secret: The Life of the Sufi Poet of Love — Brad Gooch. [Related biography of her husband] Find on Amazon
3. Rumi: A Spiritual Biography — Leslie Wines. [Related biography of her husband] Find on Amazon
4. The Triumphal Sun: A Study of the Works of Jalaloddin Rumi — Annemarie Schimmel. [Related literary and biographical study] Find on Amazon
5. The Sufi Path of Love: The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi — William C. Chittick. [Related intellectual study of her husband] Find on Amazon
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