Alisher Navoi and Dante: A Dialogue of Epic Traditions — The National Poet of Uzbekistan and a Giant of World Literature in Cross-Civilizational Dialogue

This study presents the first systematic comparison of Alisher Navoi (1441–1501), the national poet of Uzbekistan and the founder of Turkic literary tradition, and Dante Alighieri (1265–1321), the supreme poet of medieval Europe and a giant of world literature. Despite belonging to vastly different civilizational contexts—one rooted in Sufi Islam and the Timurid Renaissance, the other in medieval Christianity and the Italian Renaissance—the two poets exhibit striking parallels in their roles as founders of national literary traditions, creators of epic masterpieces, and architects of spiritual journeys. The study examines five dimensions of comparison: the epic tradition (Navoi‘s Khamsa and Dante’s Divine Comedy), the spiritual journey (Sufi philosophy and Christian theology), the poet‘s relationship with power (court patronage and exile), and the construction of national language (Chagatai Turkic and Tuscan dialect). Through close reading of key texts and comparative analysis, the study demonstrates that the parallels between Navoi and Dante are not the result of influence—there is no evidence that either poet read the other—but of resonance across civilizations. Both poets responded to similar challenges—the need to elevate their native tongues, to synthesize inherited traditions, to give voice to their people’s spiritual aspirations—with remarkably similar poetic strategies. The study contributes to the methodology of comparative literature by demonstrating the value of cross-civilizational typological comparison, which does not rely on influence. It contributes to the theory of world literature by extending the scope of comparative inquiry to include Turkic and Central Asian traditions. And it contributes to the practical goal of fostering cross-civilizational dialogue by showing that poets from vastly different worlds share a common vocation: to create language, to forge culture, to sing the journey of the human soul.