Gadāʾī
Gadāʼī (), or Gadā (, []), was a 15th-century poet of Central Asia who wrote in the Chaghatay Turkic language. He is recognised by the better-known Ali-Shir Nava'i as a predecessor, whom he had met. Life Little is known about Gadāʼī's life. Based on information about him provided by Navaʼi in the third section of Majalis un-Nafāʼis (compiled in 1497 or 1498), which describes poets who were still alive and whom Navaʼi knew, it is possible to deduce that Gadāʼī was born around 1403 or 1404. However, based on other evidence, Ergash Rustamov concluded in the 1960s that Gadāʼī must have been born no later than 1360 and later served at the court of Abul-Qasim Babur Mirza at over 90 years of age. Name The poet is referred to as Gadāʼī by Navāʼi, and in the one manuscript of his divans, as Gadā. This name, meaning "beggar", is understood to be a pen name. It is not known what his given name may have been. Works Gadāʼī wrote a divan, or collection of poems, in what would now be considered the pre-classical Chaghatay literary language. At the time, this language was known as "Türkī", meaning "Turkish" or "Turkic". Rustamov highlights