NĀṢIR-I KHUSRAW is best known as a Persian poet, philosopher, and traveler, as well as for his efforts in spreading the Ismāʿīlī form of Islam in Central Asia. Born in 1004 in Qubadiyan in present-day Tajikistan, he is buried in the Yumgan Valley of Afghan Badakhshan, where he spent the most creative period of his life in exile.

Educated in the major sciences of the day, Khusraw served as an official in the Ghaznawid Court. In his autobiography he describes a life of indulgence and social rounds. In 1045 he dramatically resigned from his post and set out on a pilgrimage to Mecca. He describes his travels along the Silk Road, the performance of his pilgrimage, and his journey to Cairo, the capital of the Fāṭimid Ismāʿīlī empire, after leaving Mecca. He writes admiringly of the...