KHAMSEH

also spelled Khamsa, in Persian and Turkish literature, a set of five long epic poems composed in rhyming couplet, or masnavi, form. Khamseh takes its name from the five great epic poems written by Nezami (q.v.; d. 1209) and entitled Khamseh (The Quintuplet). The first of these five poems, all of which were composed in the masnavi form, is the didactic work Makhzan ol-asrar (The Treasury of Mysteries); the next three are traditional love stories; and the fifth, the Eskandar-nameh, records the adventures of Alexander the Great. Inspired by Nezami's influential model, several other notable poets, including Amir Khosrow of Delhi (12531325) and 'Ali Shir Nava'i (14411501), wrote khamsehs in Persian and in Turkish.