Khayyam; legend from Neyshabur to moon

Ghiyath al-Din Abu al-Fath Omar ibn Ibrahim Khayyam Neyshaburi, born in the year of 427 of lunar calendar in the village of Kadkan (now an area of Torbat Heydarieh), and died in 510 in the city of Neyshabur. 

Philosopher, mathematician, astronomer and author of the Iranian Rubaiyat poems during the Seljuk period, while the Khayyam's scientific base is superior to his literary position and has been dubbed 'Hojjat-ul-Haq', but his reputation is more for writing Rubaiyat, which has a worldwide reputation. 

One of his most prominent works was the Khayyam's Jalali calendar as another huge contribution by the scholar - a 33-year near precise solar calendar that was in use in erstwhile Persia for a long time, and still forms the basis for other calendars in use in the region.

The calculations attributed to Khayyam in this area are still valid and are far more accurate than the western calendars. He called this solar calendar, as King's name, Jalali calendar, known until the Saa'di era under the same name, where Saa'di also wrote, 'May 1st of the month of Jalali ...'. 

Khayyam was also a pioneer in mathematics, astronomy, literary, religious and historical sciences. His role in solving cubic equations and his studies of the fifth principle of Euclid has recorded his name as a leading mathematician in the history of science. 

** Khayyam’s Rubaiyat 

From English-speaking to French, German, Russian, Spanish, Turks and other countries of the world, the most translated poems are of him; only in Arabic there are more than 80 translations of Khayyam's poetry.

In addition to tranlation of Khayyam to most languages, Edward Fitzgerald has returned the Rubaiyat to English, which has become more famous in the West. 

The presence of Khayyam, more than eight centuries after his death in the West, has grown ever more so today, as he can be called as one of the greatest poets of all periods in the history of world literature. 

As Britain's prominent British poet and novelist Robert Graves says, 'Persian poetry is the most powerful poem in the world,' a poem whose main prominent figures in the world are Rumi, Khayyam, Hafez and Sa’adi. Khayyam also had a dramatic effect on cinema art, painting and music.

** Global names after Khayyam 

FOR commending Khayyam's services and commemorating his name all over the world, from literature and many branches of art to asteroids in the solar system and holes in the moon are after his name.

The name of Khayyam is the name of many cultural and tourism centers to the name of food and beverages. Khayyam's restaurant is also seen in many European countries. In France and Egypt, drinks are produced in the name of Khayyam. 

Aside from the continents of Europe and America and Asia, the continent of Africa, which seems to be less associated with Persian speakers, the name of Khayyam is also famous; in Tunisia there is a hotel called Khayyam, and in the Horn of Africa in Ethiopia and the city of Addis Ababa there is also a restaurant called Khayyam. In the central library of this country and the Ethiopian university, the Khayyam’s Rubaiyat is also seen in Amharic.

** Movies, plays after Khayyam

The influence of Khayyam on Western art was not limited to literature and music. Even Hollywood knows Khayyam. The use of Khayyam’s poems in Hollywood is long overdue. In the western film 'Duel in the Sun', with the play Gregory Peck, a product of 1946, one of the Khayyam’s Rubaiyat is quoted. 

'Omar Khayyam or Life, Love and Adventures of Omar Khayyam and Love of Omar Khayyam' is the name of an American film directed by William Dieterle in 1956 and released in 1957.

This movie is about the life of Omar Khayyam, but since the details of Khayyam's life were not well-known at that time, the movie is thought to be an imaginary adventure for his life, and among these adventures his genuine scientific literary achievements, such as the inventing of a new calander is also included. 

“Unfaithful” is a 2002 film directed by Adrian Lane and in a scene from the first actor of film takes Khayyam’s Rubaiyat from the library's shelf. 'The Keeper: The Legend of Omar Khayyam' is a film directed by Keyvan Mashayekh, made in 2005. The subject of this film is about the life of Omar Khayyam and parts of the film in Samarkand and Bukhara. The film was made up of Iranian, American, German, Italian, Serbian, Indian and 120 artists and people from Uzbekistan.

On the western edge of the moon, the mouth of a 70-kilometer diameter is named after Omar Khayyam, a mathematician, astronomer and Persian poet, and can hardly be seen from time to time. 

Khayyam is also a well-known figure in the field of astronomy, but undoubtedly his most important task is to set up an Iranian calendar and to do this, the circuit of the planet around the sun can count up to 16 decimals. Hence, in the year 1980, the asteroid 3095 in the solar system was named after Khayyam for humanity.

In 1892, the Omar Khayyam Foundation was founded in London by a group of scholars, writers and journalists. The association held three commemoration ceremonies for Khayyam by 1893. It originally was the center of English literary, thinkers and intellectuals gathering. But later this foundation was formed in the United States. The establishment of this foundation has led a large number of individuals influenced by the great poet to become famous as Umarian. 

Among these are the names of T.S. Eliot who was strongly influenced by Khayyam. Mark Twain, Henry Langfellow, Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Raymond Carver and many more. 

May 18, is the commemoration anniversary of a poet whose name from Neyshabur, went for centuries to the moon.