About Malaye Jaziri Malaye Jaziri (or Melayê Cizîrî), (1570-1640) was a Kurdish writer, poet and mystic. One of the most influential principalities in the history of Kurdistan was Botan with the capital Jazira (Cizre), in present day Şırnak province in south-eastern Turkey. Because of its superior position Botan came to be an important centre of Kurdish culture. Here the first school of classical Kurdish poetry in the Kurmanji dialect was established. Malaye Jaziri was the leading representative of this school and, one can add, a fine representative of classical oriental poetry as a whole. His ties to this tradition are expressed through the strong sufi elements and through the concept of love in his poetry. In his universe there are no clear borderlines between human and divine love. Thus the reader is often lead to ask whether it was the love of God or the beautiful Selma (said to have been the daughter or the sister of the prince of Jazira which brought fire to the poet's heart). Apart from these traditional oriental elements, Jaziri's poetry is also deeply rooted in romantic patriotism, and the poems he wrote in tribute to the princes of Kurdistan differ from the poetry written at the courts of the mighty kings in the region. Kurdistan's name appears frequently and is always connected with great pride. Jaziri's main literary work is the collection of his poems called, "Dîwanî Melay Cizîrî".