Iqbal, through his work in Farsi, is also known in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and to some extent in Turkmenistan. Farsi is written in Russian script in the ex-Soviet republics. The current Farsi was evolved in this region and northern Iran in 9th and 10th century during Persian Intermezzo (in between Arab and Turk era). Rudaki (a Tajik) and Firdousi (northern Iran) were the pioneers. Iqbal is also big in Turkey. Just after the 1st World War, a significant Farsi influence was officially stripped off from the Turkish language. (BTW, same happened with the Hindustani/ Hindi after 1947. An unnatural process.)
