Mevlâna (1207-1273)
Mevlâna was born in the city of Belh, in the region of Horasan, now part of Afghanistan on 30th September 1207.
Mevlana’s father, Bahaeddin Veled, was regarded as one of the wisest men in Belh and was the son of Huseyin Hatibi, who wore the title “Sultan of the Philosophers” during his lifetime.  His mother, Mumine Hatun, was the daughter of Rükneddin, governor of Belh.
Sultânü'l-Ulemâ Bahaeddin Veled fled Belh due to certain political reasons and the oncoming threat of the Moğol invasion. Sultânü'l-Ulemâ left Belh together with his family and close friends in either 1212 or 1213.
Sultânü'l-Ulemâ's first stop was Nişâbur. In Nişâbur he met the famous Mystic Attar. Mevlâna, despite his young years, caught the eye of the Mystic Attar and won his respect.
Sultânü'l-Ulemâ then left Nişâbur and reached Baghdad, from where he moved on along the Kûfe road to Kâbe. After fulfilling his pilgramige, he stopped over in Damascus. After Damascus, he passed through Malatya, Erzincan, Sivas, Kayseri and then reached Lârende (Karaman) along the Nigde road. At Karaman he settled into the theological school built by the Head of Security in the city, Emir Musa.
 Sultânü'l-Ulemâ and his family came to Karaman in 1222 and stayed there for 7 years. Mevlâna married Gevher Hatun, daughter of Şerefeddin Lala in 1225 in Karaman. From this marriage they had two sons, Sultan Veled and Alâeddin Çelebi. Years later Gevher Hatun died and Mevlana made his second marriage to Kerra Hatun, who was a widower with one son. From this marriage also, they had two sons, Muzaffereddin and Emir Alim Çelebi and a daughter called Melike Hatun.
During these years, a large portion of Anatolia was under the control of the Seljuk State. Konya was the state capital. Konya was filled with works of art, philosophers and artists.  In short, the Seljuk empire was living its grandest period and the State Ruler of the time was Alâeddin Keykubad. Alâeddin Keykubad invited Sultânü'l-Ulemâ Bahaeddin Veled from Karaman to Konya and asked him to settle in Konya.
Bahaeddin Veled accepted the sultan’s invitation and came to Konya together with his family and close friends on 3rd May 1228. Sultan Alâeddin received him with a majestic ceremony and gave him the Altunapa (Thread Bearer -Iplikci) Theological School as his residency.
Sultânü'l-Ulemâ died in Konya on 12th January 1231 in Konya. His grave was made in the Rose Garden of the Seljuk Palace. He was later transferred to the Mevlana Court, presently open as a museum.
After Sultânü'l-Ulemâ died, all his students and followers grouped around Mevlâna. They saw Mevlâna as his father’s sole heir. Mevlâna had since become a really big philosopher and religious philosopher and was sermons at the Iplikci Theological School. The school was full to the brim with people coming to hear him speak.
Mevlâna met Şems-i Tebrizî in 15 November 1244. Mevlâna say “God’s Light” at the “Definite maturity presence” at Şems. But their cooperation did not last very long. Şems suddenly died. After Şems’ death Mevlâna entered a period of solitude for a very long time. In the following years Selâhaddin Zerkubi and Hüsameddin Çelebi tried to fill the emptiness left by Şems-i Tebrizî.
Mevlana, who summarise his life with the words “I was Raw, I got Cooked, I got Burnt, passed away on 17 December 1273, Sunday. According to his final wishes, Mevlâna's funeral prayer proceedings were to be carried out by Sadrettin Konevi. However, Sadreddin Konevi could not take the thought of losing Mevlâna, whom he loved dearly, and passed out at the funeral. Upon this, Mevlâna's funeral prayer was carried out by Kadı Siraceddin.
Mevlâna’s date of death is also considered as his date of re-birth. After he died, he was to be joined with the one he loved most, God. That is why upon his death, Mevlâna was repeating the words that meant birth day or wedding night "Şeb-i Arûs" and left a note in his will for his friends that stated don’t cry Oh no, Oh no after me.

"Don’t look for our grave in the earth after we die! Our grave is in the hearts of the wise.”
Hz. Mevlâna