 Hafiz-i Abru was born in Khorasan and studied in Hamadān.He entered Timur's court in the 1380s; after the death of Timur, Hafiz-i Abru continued in the service of Timur's son, Shah Rukh, in Herat.He interacted with other scholars congregating around Timur's and Shah Rukh's courts, and became recognized as a good chess player.