Hatef Esfahani

Hatef Esfahani was an 18th-century poet based in Isfahan during the collapse of the Safavid dynasty of Iran and the chaos that followed. He was one of the earliest and leading members of the literary movement Bazgasht-e adabi, which advocated for a return to the fundamentals of classical Persian poetry in protest against the excessively "unnatural" nature of the Indian style that dominated poetry in Iran and Persian-speaking India.

Hatef was born during the first half of the 18th-century in Isfahan, where he lived most of his life. His family had relocated there from Ordubad during the Safavid era. He was educated in traditional sciences by Naser Talib (died 1777) and literary arts by Mir Sayyed Ali Moshtaq (died 1757/58). In Isfahan, Mir Sayyed Ali Moshtaq established a literary group (later known as Anjuman-i Adabī-yi Moshtāq, "Moshtaq’s literary society") with other prominent academics, including Hatef, Sabahi Bigdeli, Tabib Esfahani, Asheq Esfahani, and Azar Bigdeli, the author of the biographical anthology Atashkadeh-ye Azar ("Azar's fire temple"). The two well-known Persian poets from Shiraz, Saadi Shirazi and Hafez, served as models for the group, as they desired to create poetry in the Iraqi style.

In addition to Isfahan, Hatef also briefly resided in Kashan and spent his final years in Qom, where he died in 1783 or 1784. He was survived by his son Sahab Esfahani and daughter Rushha, both of whom also wrote poetry.