The poet and anthologist Azar Baygdili (d. 1781) must have written the above lines with a sense of relief. Isfahan in 1770 was no longer the seat of splendour it had once been under the Safavids (r. 1501–1722), but neither was it the constant target of raids and attacks by various parties in search of political or material fortunes, at least for the time being. The reign of Karim Khan Zand (r. 1751–79) brought relative stability to Iran, as did his mayoral appointee for Isfahan, Mirza ʿAbd al-Wahhab (d. 1770–1).

Azar was born into a family of officials who dutifully served the Safavids. His birth in Isfahan in 1722 nearly coincided with the city's fall. His first decade of life was spent travelling with his father, who went in search of employment opportunities amid the shifting political tides of the day. This sojourn would later be replicated by Azar himself as he moved in search of his own employment at the hands of various factions and aspirant rulers. His early life reflected the socially chaotic and politically fluid times. No wonder he rejoiced at the stability of Isfahan in 1770. The dust of destruction and uncertainty had settled. Isfahan under the rule of Mirza ʿAbd al-Wahhab, whose ‘command’ Azar praised as the ‘soul’ of Isfahan, could be recast anew. Azar's tribute continues throughout the ode (qa‚īda) in which the above lines appear, portraying the presence and rule of Mirza ʿAbd al-Wahhab as the source of Isfahan's re-emergence as an ‘abode of happiness and security’ and ‘envy of the garden of paradise’.

Azar's enthusiasm for the mayor's leadership and the city's revival is not the first association made with the poet. First and foremost, Azar is the author of one of the most famous biographical anthologies (tadhkira) of Persian literary history. His Firetemple (Atishkada) served as the template for many later anthologists in Iran and elsewhere, and has been equally valued by modern authors who codify classes of poets and trends in poetry. Yet little attention has been paid to the circumstances under which this text was written.