Ahmad Shawqi

Ahmed Shawqi أحمد شوقي
Portrait of Ahmed Shawqi.
Born	(1868-10-16)October 16, 1868 Cairo, Khedivate of Egypt
Died	October 14, 1932(1932-10-14) (aged 63) Cairo, Kingdom of Egypt
Occupation	Playwright, poet

Ahmed Shawqi (1868–1932) (Arabic: أحمد شوقي‎‎, Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [ˈʔæħmæd ˈʃæwʔi]), also written as Ahmed Chawki, nicknamed Amīr al-Shu‘arā’ (The Prince of Poets, Arabic: أمير الشعراء‎‎), was one of the greatest Arabic poets laureate, an Egyptian poet and dramatist who pioneered the modern Egyptian literary movement, most notably introducing the genre of poetic epics to the Arabic literary tradition.

Raised in a privileged setting with Kurdish, Circassian, Greek roots from his father side and Egyptian roots from his mother side his family was prominent and well-connected with the court of the Khedive of Egypt. Upon graduating from high school, he attended law school, obtaining a degree in translation. Shawqi was then offered a job in the court of the Khedive Abbas II,who was the khedive of Egypt, which he immediately accepted.

After a year working in the court of the Khedive, Shawqi was sent to continue his studies in Law at the Universities of Montpellier and Paris for three years. While in France, he was heavily influenced by the works of French playwrights, most notably Molière and Racine. He returned to Egypt in 1894, and remained a prominent member of Arab literary culture until the British forced him into exile in southern Spain, Andalusia, in 1914. Shawqi remained there until 1920, when he returned to Egypt. In 1927 he was crowned by his peers Amir al-Sho’araa’ (literally, "the Prince of Poets") in recognition of his considerable contributions to the literary field.