Developing from the oral tradition, literature gradually evolved into a written art. During the early medieval period literature was written in Dari and Pashtu, Turkic and Arabic. One of the most important works of this period was the Dari epic poem Shah Nameh (The Book of Kings), completed in 1010 by Persian poet Firdawsi and comprising 60,000 rhyming couplets.

Jalalaluddin Rumi Balkhi (1207-1273, also known as Rumi) is considered one of the greatest Sufi poets writing in Persian and is also known as the founder of the ‘whirling dervishes’. His writings have been translated into English.

Seventeenth-century Afghan warrior-poet Khushal Khan Khatak (1613-1694) wrote in Pashtu. Regarded today as the national poet of modern Afghanistan, he wrote a large body of verse during a time of civil strife. His themes are not conventional but speak of small everyday joys and sorrows, as well as national hopes and religious devotion. His theme of the noble tribesman later became popular with other writers. Khushal Khan Khatak’s grandson Afdal Khan authored an important history of the Pashtun.

By the late 19th century Pashtu sung poetry had been formalised at the royal court into the classical genre known as ghazal, in recognition of the fact that music can be a powerful way to deliver great poetry.