The Wisdom of Omar Khayyam

While better known in his time for his mathematical and astronomical works, eleventh-century Persian philosopher and poet Omar Khayyam is best known today for his romantic poetry collected in the Rubaiyat. This selection presents 365 of the approximately 1,000 quatrains, translated from the original Persian. Khayyam’s poetry draws readers in with its lush imagery and timeless observations on the human experience and the metaphysical mysteries of our world. As wise and intriguing as they are beautifully crafted, Khayyam’s verse has inspired much Western art and literature.

Omar Khayyam (1048–1131) was a Persian philosopher, mathematician, astronomer, and poet, who studied under two well-known scholars in modern-day Afghanistan as a child. His breakthroughs in Algebra, geometry, mechanics, and music continue to influence our world today, as do his philosophical and poetic works.