Qul Ghali
13th-century Volga Bulgarian poet
Qul Ghali (Volga Türki: قل علی; Tatar: Кол Гали, Qol Ğali; Bashkir: Ҡол Ғәли, romanized: Qul Ğəliy; Chuvash: Кул Али, romanized: Kul Ali; c. 1183 – 1236) was a famous Muslim Volga Bulgarian poet. His most famous poem is Qissa-i Yusuf (قصه یوسف; Tale of Yusuf), written in the Volga Turki language, which is mutually intelligible with the modern Tatar, Bashkir and Chuvash languages.
Biography
According to historian Ravil Bukharaev, Ghali was likely born into a cleric family in Volga Bulgaria. He studied in the Khwarezmean madrassah. Ghali also resided or studied in various areas around Volga Bulgaria and possibly traveled to Iran, Syria and other parts of the Middle East. He wrote his immortal poem in 1233. It is theorized that Ghali spent his last years at Bilyar. He was probably killed in 1236 during the Mongol invasion of Volga Bulgaria.
Works
Qissa-i Yusuf (قصه یوسف, also transliterated Qïssa-yï Yusuf), also known as the Yosïfnamä, was inspired by Qur'anic stories of Joseph. The poem is devoted to the struggle against evil and for human happiness.
“Qul Ghali” enters the record as 13th-century Volga Bulgarian poet. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Ghali, 13th-century and Volga can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 27, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1253537. VIAF identifies the subject as 74659623. The Library of Congress control number is n88061230. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1183, 1236 and 1233.
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This entry incorporates text from “Qul Ghali” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.