Qol Ghali

Qol Ghali (Tatar Cyrillic: Кол Гали, Latin: Qol Ğäli, Bashkir: Ҡол Fәли, Chuvash: Кул Али, Russian: Кул Гали, Kul Gali; circa 1183-1236) was a famous Muslim Volga Bulgar poet, the founder of medieval Tatar literature. His most famous poem is Qíssai Yosıf (Tale of Yusuf), written in the Turki literary language, which is not mutually intelligible with the modern Tatar, Bashkir and Chuvash languages.

It is believed that he was born in what is today Eastern Tatarstan. He studied in the Khwarezmean madrassah. He wrote his immortal poem in 1233. He was probably killed in 1236 during the Mongol invasion of Volga Bulgaria.