(30 September 1207 – 17 December 1273), known to the English-speaking world simply as Rumi, Jalāl ad-Dīn Muḥammad Balkhī was a 13th-century Persian muslim poet, jurist, theologian, and Sufi mystic. Rūmī is a descriptive name meaning the Roman since he lived most of his life in an area once ruled by the Eastern Roman Empire. He was likely born in the village of Wakhsh, a small town located in what is now Tajikistan and eventually settling in the Anatolian city of Konya in present-day Turkey.

Rumi's works are written in the New Persian language and are widely read in their original language across the Persian-speaking world. His poetry has influenced Persian literature as well as Urdu, Punjabi and other Pakistani languages written in Perso/Arabic script e.g. Pashto and Sindhi.

Names and aliases:

Jalāl ad-Dīn Muḥammad Balkhī (Persian: جلال‌الدین محمد بلخى)
Jalāl ad-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī (Persian: جلال‌الدین محمد رومی)
Mowlānā (Persian: مولانا)