Faridudin Atar, mystical poet from the 12th century, it is believed, along with Dzelaludin Rumi (whom they say he met as boy and became his great role model), the greatest Sufi poet of Persian cultural circle. He was born at the beginning of the 12th century in the vicinity of Nishapur, the city of northeast of Iran. His real name is Abu Hamid Muhamad bin Ibrahim, but he is known is called Atar, which in Persian means herbalist, seller of medicinal herbs, pharmacist. Because of his exceptional gift for spiritual poetry, he was given an honorary name Faridudin, which means "pearl of faith". Atar is at the same time a teacher of the provocative and radical theology and poet of love. He was known as the most learned man of his generation era and left behind about two hundred thousand verses and some prose.