Rabi'a Balkhi

Rabi'a bint Ka'b al-Quzdari (Persian : ), popularly known as Rabi'a Balkhi ( ) and Zayn al-'Arab ( ), is a semi-legendary figure of Afghan literature and was possibly the first woman poet in the history of New Persian poetry. References to her can be found in the poetry of Rudaki and 'Attar. Her biography has been primarily recorded by Zahir ud-Din 'Awfi and renarrated by Nur ad-Din Djami. The exact dates of her birth and death are unknown, but it is reported that she was a native of Balkh in Khorasan (now in Afghanistan ). Some evidences indicate that she lived during the same period as Rudaki, the court poet to the Samanid Emir Nar II (914-943).