We call him Rumi. He probably wasn’t called that in his life, probably by honorific names or pen name, maybe Jalal by intimates, Mowlana was what Shams called him. Quick outline of his life(1207-1273): He was born in what is present day Afghanistan in Balkh or maybe Sangtuda Tajikistan, which is a 6 day walk or 350 km distance. It was part of greater Iran at the time in the 13th century. At age 5 the family moved to Samarkand . Like his contemporary Francis of Assisi (1181-1226), they founded the Mevlevi Order after his death. When the mongols invaded, the family moved to Nishapur, Baghdad, to Hejaz and a pilgrimage to Mecca. Then Damascus, Malatya, Erzincan, Sivas, Kayseri and Nigde. They finally settled in Karaman for seven years. Rumi married Gowhar Khatun in Karaman and had 2 sons when he was 18. His wife died and he remarried and he a son and a daughter. He moved to Konya in Turkey in 1228 where he lived until 1273, with a 4 year soujourn in ...