Early Life of Mevlana Rumi
Rumi Shrine Konya
Rumi was born on September 30, 1207 at Balkh, in the Iranian region of Khorasan, part of the current territory of Afghanistan.
Rumi’s father was Bahauddin Walad, son of Husayn Khatibi. He was a respected notable of the city of Balkh ho has obtained the title “Sultan of the Scholars” in his lifetime. The mother of Rumi was Mumina Khatun, daughter of Ruknal-Din, Amir of Balkh.
When the Mongols started invading Central Asia and after political instability and wars, Sultan al-Ulama Bahauddin Walad decided to leave Balkh in 1212 or 1213 with his family and his close friends.
Sultan al-Ulama’s first stop was in the city of Nishapur. This is where he encountered the famous mystic poet Attar of Nishapur. Despite his young age, Rumi managed to impress Attar and won his appreciation. Rumi had great regard for Attar and mentioned him as pure soul in his writings later.
From Nishapur, the migrating caravan set out for Baghdad and then followed the road from Kufa to Mecca. After performing the pilgrimage, the migrating caravan went to Damascus. Afterwards, the group passed through Malatya, Erzincan, Sivas, Kayseri, Niğde and Larende (nowcalledKaraman). They finally settled in Karaman, in the madrasa (an institute of highere ducation) built for them by the sultan of Larende, Amir Musa.
