Azerbaijani literature. Azerbaijan The emergence of literature in the Azerbaijani language

BAKU, April 28 - News-Azerbaijan, Ali Mamedov. AMI News-Azerbaijan offers the top 11 greatest Azerbaijanis of the 20th century:

1. Heydar Aliyev- Soviet and Azerbaijani state, party and political figure. President of Azerbaijan from 1993 to 2003. Twice Hero Socialist Labor. Founder of modern Azerbaijani statehood.

2. Mammad Emin Rasulzade- An outstanding writer, political and public figure. Founder of the Azerbaijan Republic.

3. Haji Zeynalabdin Tagiyev- Azerbaijani millionaire and philanthropist, active state councilor. In some works of historians and biographers, he is mainly referred to as the "great benefactor". He has made donations to charities almost all over the world.

4. Rashid Behbudov- Soviet Azerbaijani pop and Opera singer(lyric tenor), actor. Born in Tiflis (now Tbilisi, Georgia) in the family of a famous folk singer-khanende from Shusha. People's Artist of the USSR. Hero of Socialist Labor.

5. Lotfi Zadeh- Azerbaijani mathematician and logician, founder of the theory of fuzzy sets and fuzzy logic, professor at the University of California (Berkeley). Born on February 4, 1921 in the village of Novkhany, Azerbaijan.

6. Muslim Magomaev- Soviet, Azerbaijani and Russian opera and crooner(baritone), composer. People's Artist of the USSR and Azerbaijan. Born in Baku. Grandson of Abdul-Muslim Magomayev, an Azerbaijani composer who is one of the founders of the Azerbaijani music classical music, whose name is the Azerbaijan State Philharmonic.

7. Mustafa Topchibashev- Soviet surgeon, academician of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences, vice-president of the Academy of Sciences of the Azerbaijan SSR. Author of more than 160 scientific works, which are still used by world surgery. He was awarded four Orders of Lenin during his lifetime.

8. Azi Aslanov- Soviet military leader, guard major general, twice Hero of the Soviet Union. Streets, schools, and higher educational institutions are named in his honor in the CIS countries.

9. Kerim Kerimov- founders of the Soviet space program, who made a significant contribution to space exploration. For many years he was central figure in Soviet cosmonautics. But despite his important role, his identity was kept secret from the public for most of his career. Hero of Socialist Labor, laureate of the Stalin, Lenin and State Prizes of the USSR.

10. Bulbul- folk and opera singer (tenor), one of the founders of the Azerbaijani national musical theater, People's Artist of the USSR.

11. Kara Karaev- composer and teacher, People's Artist of the USSR, laureate of Stalin Prizes, holder of the Order of Lenin, October revolution, Red Banner of Labor. One of the largest figures of Azerbaijani culture of the post-war period.

The Azerbaijani language belongs to the Oghuz subgroup of Turkic languages. This language appeared in the region in the 11th-12th centuries with the arrival of Turkic-speaking tribes from Central Asia and gradually developed to its current form. According to TSB ("Big Soviet encyclopedia"), the literary Azerbaijani language began to take shape in the 11th century. However, some researchers note that the literary language began to take shape around the 13th century, and the written literature of Azerbaijan arose in the 14th-15th centuries.

The written epic monument of the Oguz tribes, which later became part of the Azerbaijani people, is the heroic epic Dede Korkud, which originated in Central Asia, but was finally formed on the territory of Azerbaijan. The generally accepted text of the epic, which began in the 9th century, was compiled only in the 15th century.

In the 12th century, Azerbaijani literature, which developed under strong influence literatures of the Near and Middle East, as well as world literature, the formation of the poetic school as a whole was completed, and the names of such luminaries as Khagani, Shirvani, Nizami Ganjavi sparkled in the poetic field.

In the 12th century, in the atmosphere of court creativity, at the time of patronage of the rulers of the states of the Shirvanshahs and Atabeks, the poets Abul-ul Ganjavi (1096-1159), Mehseti Ganjavi (1089-1183), Khagani Shirvani (1126-1199), Feleki Shirvani ( 1126-1160), Mujaraddin Beylagani (?-1190), Izzaddin Shirvani (?-?), whose works have not lost their artistic and aesthetic significance today.

The famous 12th century poetess Mehseti Ganjavi, whose life was full of legends and rumors, became famous as one of the skilled craftswomen in composing rubai, and in this genre on an equal footing with Omar Khayyam.

Nizami Ganjavi his immortal " Five" - five poems: " Treasury of Secrets«, « Khosrow and Shirin«, « Layla and Majnun«, « Seven beauties«, « Iskendername“—introduced a new poetic voice, a new spirit into world literature. One of the reasons that ensured the immortality of Nizami’s work is that he knew how to pose social problems and indicate ways to solve them.

The Greatness of Creativity Nizami, spirituality of ideals in subsequent centuries gave a strong impetus to Azerbaijani literature, and certain a brilliant poet humanistic and democratic principles contributed to the spread of humanistic motifs in the literature not only of Azerbaijan, but also of the Near and Middle East, as well as a number of Western countries.

LiteratureXIV- XVIIIcenturies

Literature in the Turkic-Azerbaijani language (the name Azerbaijani language was not yet used) was formed in the 14th-15th centuries. The first poet from whom poems came down in the Turkic language was Hasanoglu Izzeddin, who lived in Khorasan at the turn of the 13th-14th centuries. Two gazelles came from him, one in Turkic and one in Persian. Hasanoglu Izzeddin is considered the founder of Azerbaijani Turkic literature.

An outstanding role in the development of Azerbaijani poetry was played by Imadeddin Nasimi, who accepted martyrdom in the Syrian city of Aleppo.

Among the authors who lived in the same period on the territory of Azerbaijan, one should also note the founder of the Safavid dynasty, Shah Ismail I, who wrote under the poetic pseudonym Khatai, the author of the poem “Dakhname” (“Ten Letters”). At his court lived the so-called “king of poets” Habibi.

At the same time, an outstanding Azerbaijani poet lived and worked in Iraq Fizuli, who wrote equally gracefully in Azerbaijani, Persian and Arabic.

IN XVII-XVIII centuries in Iranian Azerbaijan they write Saib Tabrizi, Gowsi Tabrizi, Muhammad Amani, Tarzi Afshar and Taseer Tabrizi. From the poet Mesikha came the poem “Varga and Gulsha”, which is one of the best romantic poems in medieval poetry created in the Azerbaijani language.

In the 18th century, poets of the Shirvan school wrote - Shakir, Nishat, Mahjur and Agha Masih. During this period, the influence of oral folk literature and ashug poetry on literature intensified. Written poetry is enriched with motifs folk art, and the poetic language is noticeably cleared of canonical norms and clichés.

The founder of realism in Azerbaijani literature was a poet and vizier at the court of the Karabakh Khan Molla Panah Vagif. The main theme of his poetry was love and the spiritual beauty of man. Vagif's work had a noticeable influence on the folk poetic form - goshma, which began to be widely used in written poetry. Another poet Molla Veli Vidadi, who was a close friend of Vagif, sang in his works honesty, courage, the power of wisdom and reason, and criticized internecine wars and feudal cruelties. His pessimistic moods were reflected in such poems as “Cranes”, “Messages to the poet Vagif”, “You will cry”.

Creation Vagifa and Vidadi became the pinnacle of poetry of the 18th century in Azerbaijani literature. In Azerbaijani poems, Sayat-Nova uses artistic techniques and finds of Ashug poetry. Most of his songs are written in Azerbaijani. According to general data, Sayat-Nova wrote about 120 poems in Azerbaijani.

In the 18th century, the process of formation of an independent Azerbaijani language was completed.

In the 19th century, Molla Panah Vagif, Mir Mohsun Navvab, Mashadi Eyub Baki, Khurshud Banu Natavan, Sary Ashig, Gurbani, Lele, Ashig Safi Valeh, Ashug Samed - Valeh's teacher, Ashig Muhammad (Valeh's father), Abbas Tufarganly, Miskin Abdal also created , Ashyg Peri, Gasymbek Zakir and others.

LiteratureXIXcentury

In the 19th century, the territory of Azerbaijan became part of the Russian Empire, which separated the local population from the Persian tradition and introduced it to the Russian-European one.

During this period, Gasim-bek Zakir, Seyid Abulgasim Nebati, Seyid Azim Shirvani, Khurshidbanu Natavan, Abbasgulu Aga Bakikhanov, Mirza Shafi Vazekh, Ismail-bek Gutkashynly, Jalil Mammadkulizade created. The author of a number of prose works was Sultan Majid Ganizadeh. He owns the journalistic story “The Pride of Teachers”, the story “The Necklace of Brides”, the stories “Divan of Allah”, “Eurban Bayram” and others.

In the middle of the century there is new genre in Azerbaijani literature - dramaturgy, the founder of which was Mirza Fatali Akhundov. In the period from 1850 to 1857, he created six comedies and one story, in which the life of Azerbaijan was realistically reflected first half of the 19th century century. Akhundov also became the founder of literary criticism.

Another playwright Najaf-bey Vezirov in 1896 he created the first Azerbaijani tragedy, “The Grief of Fakhreddin.” In Iranian Azerbaijan, the poet Seyid Abdulghasem Nabati and the poetess Kheiran Khanum, who wrote in both Azerbaijani and Persian, work.

At the end of the 19th century they began their literary activity Jalil Mammadkulizadeh and Nariman Narimanov. Narimanov organized the first public library-reading room in Azerbaijan, created a number works of art, including the first historical tragedy in the history of Azerbaijani literature “Nadir Shah”.

During this period, Jalil Mammadkulizadeh created the plays “The Dead” (1909), “The Book of My Mother” (1918), the stories “Mailbox” (1903), “The Mouth of Zeynal” (1906), “The Constitution in Iran” (1906), “Kurbanali-bek” (1907), which became a classic of Azerbaijani critical realism.

At the beginning of the century they began their creativity Muhammad Hadi, who became the founder of progressive romanticism in Azerbaijani literature, as well as Huseyn Javid and Abbas Sihhat. A major cultural event was the publication of Abbas Sihhat’s book “The Western Sun” (1912), which consisted of two parts, in which he included the works of more than twenty Russian poets translated by him. In their works, Sihhat and Abdullah Shaig brought to the fore the problems of enlightenment, education, upbringing and morality.

Poet Mirza Alakbar Sabir laid the foundations of a poetic school in the East - the Sabirov literary school. Prominent representatives of this school were such poets as Mirza Ali Modjuz, Nazmi, Aligulu Gamkyusar, B. Abbaszade.

At the turn of the 1910s-1920s. authors created in Azerbaijan Jafar Jabbarli, Ahmed Javad, Ummigulsum, who sang the state independence of Azerbaijan, gained in 1918. Creativity also dates back to this time. Sakiny Akhundzade, who became the first female playwright in Azerbaijani literature. Great value for Azerbaijani literature were the dramatic works of Nariman Narimanov. Narimanov’s main works: “Bahadur and Sona”, “Feast”, “Nadir Shah” and “Shamdan Bey”. The author of a number of dramatic works was also a prominent teacher Rashid-bek Efendiyev.

Literature of Soviet Azerbaijan

The establishment of Soviet power in Azerbaijan was marked by the execution in the Ganja prison of one of the largest Azerbaijani educators - the director of the Kazakh Teachers' Seminary, the author of the brochure “Literature of the Azerbaijani Tatars” (Tiflis, 1903) Firidun-bek Kocharlinsky. Subsequently, the founder of progressive romanticism in Azerbaijani literature and playwright Huseyn Javid, poet Mikail Mushfig, prose writer and literary critic Seyid Huseyn, poet and author of the Azerbaijani anthem Ahmed Javad, writer and scientist Yusif Vezir Chemenzeminli and many other representatives of the Azerbaijani intelligentsia fell victims of repression.

Huseyn Javid- one of the significant representatives of Azerbaijani romanticism. The brightest works of Huseyn Javid are the poetic tragedies “Mother”, “Sheikh Sanan” and “Demon”, the plays “Prophet” (1922), “Lame Timur” (1925), “Prince” (1929), “Seyavush” (1933), "Khayyam" (1935), etc.

The laconic and restrained style of another poet - Samed Vurgun influenced the formation of the modern style and language of Azerbaijani poetry, contributed to its cleansing from archaisms. He created the heroic-romantic drama in verse “Vagif” (1937), the historical drama in verse “Khanlar” (1939), the love-heroic drama in verse “Farhad and Shirin” (1941), as well as many other works. During the same period, poets Osman Sarivelli, Rasul Rza, historical novelist Mamed Said Ordubadi, playwrights Suleiman Sani Akhundov, Mirza Ibragimova, Samed Vurgun, Sabit Rahman, Enver Mammadkhanli, Ilyas Efendiyev, Shikhali Gurbanov worked. The poets Balash Azeroglu, Medina Gulgun, Sohrab Tahir and Okuma Billuri, who emigrated from Iranian Azerbaijan to Northern Azerbaijan, also enriched Azerbaijani literature with their creativity.

In June 1927, the Azerbaijan Association of Proletarian Writers was created, which was liquidated in 1932. In the same year, the Azerbaijan Writers' Union was founded. In the post-Stalin era, poets Ali Kerim, Khalil Rza, Jabir Novruz, Mamed Araz, Fikret Goja, Fikret Sadig, Alekper Salahzadeh, Isa Ismailzadeh, Sabir Rustamkhanli, Famil Mehdi, Tofig Bayram, Arif Abdullazadeh, Huseyn Kurdoglu, Ilyas Tapdig, Musa worked in Azerbaijan. Yagub, Chingiz Alioglu, Nusrat Kesemenli, Zalimkhan Yagub, Ramiz Rovshan and others.

Creation Mirza Ibragimov left a bright mark on Azerbaijani Soviet literature. In his dramatic works, Ibragimov showed himself to be a master of acute life conflicts, bright, realistic characters, and lively dialogue. Written based on best traditions national dramaturgy, his plays had great importance for the development of Azerbaijani Soviet literature. His brightest works are the dramas “Hayat”, which tells about the socialist transformation of the village, and “Madrid”, which tells about the heroic struggle of the Spanish people against fascism, as well as the play “Mahabbet” (post. 1942) - about the work of the people in the rear during the Great Patriotic War war, the epic novel “Per-vane”, dedicated to the life and revolutionary activities of Nariman Narimanov and others. In the cycle of “Southern Stories”, in the novel “The Day Will Come” he reflected the national liberation movement in Iran.

Other literary genres also began to actively develop. Founder detective genre in Azerbaijani literature became Jamshid Amirov. At the turn of the end of the 20th century, the poet Bakhtiyar Vahabzade became famous, having written more than 70 collections of poetry and 20 poems. One of his poems, “Gulistan,” was dedicated to the Azerbaijani people, divided between Russia and Iran, and their desire for unification.

Independent Azerbaijan

Of the writers of modern Azerbaijan, the most famous are the film playwrights Rustam Ibragimbekov and author of detective novels Chingiz Abdullayev. Poetry is represented by famous poets Nariman Hasanzade, Khalil Rza, Sabir Novruz, Vagif Samedogly, Nusrat Kesemenli, Ramiz Rovshan, Hamlet Isakhanly, Zalimkhan Yagub and others. The Karabakh war left its mark on modern Azerbaijani literature: writers such as Gunel Anargyzi turned to the themes of the fate of refugees, longing for lost Shusha and the cruelty of war.

Among modern writers Azerbaijan has gained particular popularity former journalistElchin Safarli. The author writes in Russian, talking about Eastern culture, life and traditions in a language understandable to Russians. Safarli gained fame as the “second Orhan Pamuk” immediately after the release of his first book, “Sweet Salt of the Bosphorus.”

In 2004, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, issued a decree on the republication of the best examples of Azerbaijani literature in mass circulation in Latin script and the creation of the Azerbaijan National Encyclopedia. The large-scale activities carried out in this regard are at the same time a serious guarantee of the development and achievement of new successes in Azerbaijani literature and the science of literary criticism.

BAKU, April 28 - News-Azerbaijan, Ali Mamedov. AMI News-Azerbaijan offers the top 11 greatest Azerbaijanis of the 20th century:

1. Heydar Aliyev- Soviet and Azerbaijani state, party and political figure. President of Azerbaijan from 1993 to 2003. Twice Hero of Socialist Labor. Founder of modern Azerbaijani statehood.

2. Mammad Emin Rasulzade- An outstanding writer, political and public figure. Founder of the Azerbaijan Republic.

4. Rashid Behbudov- Soviet Azerbaijani pop and opera singer (lyric tenor), actor. Born in Tiflis (now Tbilisi, Georgia) in the family of a famous folk singer-khanende from Shusha. People's Artist of the USSR. Hero of Socialist Labor.

6. Muslim Magomaev- Soviet, Azerbaijani and Russian opera and pop singer (baritone), composer. People's Artist of the USSR and Azerbaijan. Born in Baku. Grandson of Abdul-Muslim Magomayev, an Azerbaijani composer who is one of the founders of Azerbaijani classical music, whose name is given to the Azerbaijan State Philharmonic.

7. Mustafa Topchibashev- Soviet surgeon, academician of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences, vice-president of the Academy of Sciences of the Azerbaijan SSR. Author of more than 160 scientific papers, which are still used by world surgery. He was awarded four Orders of Lenin during his lifetime.

8. Azi Aslanov- Soviet military leader, guard major general, twice Hero of the Soviet Union. Streets, schools, and higher educational institutions are named in his honor in the CIS countries.

9. Kerim Kerimov- founders of the Soviet space program, who made a significant contribution to space exploration. For many years he was a central figure in Soviet cosmonautics. But despite his important role, his identity was kept secret from the public for most of his career. Hero of Socialist Labor, laureate of the Stalin, Lenin and State Prizes of the USSR.

10. Bulbul- folk and opera singer (tenor), one of the founders of the Azerbaijani national musical theater, People's Artist of the USSR.

11. Kara Karaev- composer and teacher, People's Artist of the USSR, laureate of the Stalin Prize, holder of the Order of Lenin, the October Revolution, and the Red Banner of Labor. One of the largest figures of Azerbaijani culture of the post-war period.

Literature of Azerbaijan... This topic cannot be exhausted in dozens of volumes, since the concept itself implies something vast, large-scale, which has its development over the centuries.

The oral folk and poetic creativity of Azerbaijanis is rich and varied. Its roots go back to the distant past. Turkic peoples. The high perfection of these works testifies to centuries of previous development, rich, even more ancient traditions.

However, despite the rich folklore tradition, written literature among the Turks arose later than among the Arabs and Iranians. For a long time, Azerbaijani poets created their works in Persian and Arabic. Persian-language literature in Azerbaijan, naturally, was literature only for those who knew and understood the Persian language, that is, for the highest circle of feudal rulers, the nobility and a limited circle of townspeople (merchants, artisans, clergy, officials). For the majority of the population of Azerbaijan, this literature remained inaccessible. Azerbaijan was no exception in this regard. A similar situation existed in Asia Minor.

In the 11th - 12th centuries, all the peoples of the Muslim world (except the Arabs) on a vast territory from India to Transcaucasia actually used only the Persian language in their literary activities, creating literature in a single genre forms, a unified system of metrics and poetics. However, the linguistic and formal unity of Persian literature was opposed by the originality ideological content and the style of many of her

regional literary schools and movements.

One of the most striking powerful movements of this kind was the Persian-language poetry of Azerbaijan.

XI - XI centuries. In Azerbaijan, as well as throughout the vast territory where medieval Persian poetry was spread, literary life was initially concentrated primarily in the courts of feudal rulers.

The main direction of court poetry was chanting in the most subtle, refined, artistic form something that pleased, inspired, and entertained the bishop. And only by paying full tribute to the deceitful and idle talkers

praises, the prophetic poet could say a different, cherished word, clothed, however, in the veil of respectful instructions, an intricate fable, a parable, a whimsical fairy tale.

The formation in the middle of the 11th century of the powerful Seljuk empire, which included Azerbaijan, led to the rapid flourishing of trade, crafts and all urban life. In rich, populous cities, courageous and enlightened lovers of rights multiplied, burning with hatred of the arbitrariness and tyranny of the feudal lords,

to obscurantism and ignorance, filled with a humanistic dream of the triumph of reason and justice.

Their bright ideals first received literary expression precisely in the Persian-language literature of Azerbaijan in the 12th century, in the works of many wonderful poets, but most fully and vividly in the works of the great Nizami from the city of Ganja.The founder of Persian-language literature, or at least the first outstanding master in Azerbaijan there was Abu Mansur Gatran Tabrizi. A significant part of Gatran's literary heritage consists of qasidas (odes of praise), gita and quatrains. The seeds of Persian-language poetry sown by Gatran on Azerbaijani soil bore rich fruit. His immediate successor was a native of Ganja, Nizameddin Abul-Ula. He for a long time was the head of the court poets of the ruler of Shirvan. One of his students was the brilliant Khagani. Abul-Ula also had a significant influence on Nizami’s work.

Persian-language poetry in Azerbaijan reached its greatest flourishing in the middle and second half of

XII century. At this time, in addition to Khagani and Nizami, other outstanding poets performed in the cities of Azerbaijan -

Mohammed Feleki Mujireddin Beylagani and poetess Mehseti Ganjavi.

The greatest master of panegyric poetry not only of Azerbaijan, but also of all medieval Persian-language literature was Afzeleddin Badil Ibrahim Khagani Shirvani. Literary heritage

The poet's poem consists of the poem "Tukhwat-ul-Iragain", from the extensive "Divan", which contains odes, ghazals, quatrains, gits, and strophic poems.

Khagani masterfully, masterfully mastered the poetic word and fully met the demands of his time, according to which formal perversity was the most important sign of artistic perfection. Following this path, Khagani became one of the creators of a highly complex rhetorical style in the panegyric genre, also expanding the traditional themes of this genre by introducing religious, philosophical and didactic themes.

Among the Persian-language poets of this period, Mehseti Ganjavi holds an honorable place. She boldly broke with the tradition of seclusion and, openly surrendering to the attraction of her heart, sang the joy of free feeling.

The pinnacle of the humanistic trend not only in Azerbaijani, but also in all medieval Persian-language literature is the work of Ilyas Nizami. Belonging to the class of middle townspeople, he was never a court poet; literature was not the source of his existence. However, according to necessary requirements time, Nizami had to devote all his poems to one or another ruler of Azerbaijan and surrounding lands. But after the obligatory praise to the king comes praise to the REASON, the WORD.

At the beginning of the 13th century, the Mongol hordes of Genghis Khan conquered Northern China and Eastern Turkestan

and Khorezm, moved west. Over Azerbaijan, like over other countries of the Middle East, the danger of enemy invasion looms. Azerbaijan at that time was divided into small feudal possessions, the largest among them were Shirvan with the cities of Ganja and Shemakha and the Eldeghizid state with its capital Tabriz.

Feudally fragmented Azerbaijan was not able to organize a proper rebuff to the enemy. Despite the heroic resistance of many peoples and fortresses, they could not resist the power of the enemy.

The conquerors turned cities into ruins, killed residents, burned villages to the ground, and ravaged lands. Many flourishing areas of Azerbaijan were empty for decades after the Mongol invasion. The country's economy and culture declined. Mongol yoke did not pass without a trace for the history of Azerbaijan, and in particular for the future fate of its literature.

The fall of the feudal dynasties, which pursued an Iranophile policy in the field of cultural life, leads to the gradual decline of Persian-language Azerbaijani literature. Having lost its patrons and having no connoisseurs among the people who did not know the Persian language, this literature gradually faded away after the Mongol invasion.

Since the second half of the 13th century, when relative calm came to the country, the development of science, literature and art, interrupted by the Mongol conquest, continues. In 1258, an observatory was built in Maraga, where the most prominent Azerbaijani astronomer Nasreddin Tusi carried out his observations. A library was opened in Tabriz. But the most significant event of this period should be considered the emergence of Turkic-language Azerbaijani written literature, which gradually replaced Persian-language literature, although it must be said that until the twentieth century, some Azerbaijani poets also wrote in Persian.

The crisis the country experienced as a result of the Mongol invasion and which led to the decline of Persian-language literature in Azerbaijan gave impetus to the development of literature in its native language. The true founder of written poetry in the Azerbaijani language is Imadeddin Nasimi. Nasimi was one of the ardent supporters of the doctrine called Hurufism. Supporters of Hurufism were brutally persecuted

Nasimi was captured and brutally executed. The poet wrote in Persian, Arabic and Azerbaijani. It is the latter circumstance that is the undeniable historical merit of the poet - he was the first to raise the Azerbaijani literary language to the level of traditional literary languages of the Middle East. On by example Nasimi proved that the highest poetry can be created in the Azerbaijani language.

IN early XVI century, favorable conditions are developing in the country for the creation of a unified

Azerbaijani state. In the political unification of the country special role played by the family of major feudal lords Safevi. The young representative of this family, Ismaillater an outstanding statesman and great

the poet, becoming the head of several tribes, for a short time united the scattered fiefdoms into

single state. Being a highly educated man, Shah Ismail perfectly understood the importance of science and art in the life of the state and contributed to their development at his court.

As a young man, Ismail wrote poetry in Azerbaijani under the pseudonym Khatai. He wrote many ghazals, goshma, rubai, in which he traditionally pays tribute to the eternal themes of lyrical poetry - beauty and love, fidelity and courage.

Further development and flourishing of the genre of large epic works associated with the name of the outstanding medieval poet Fuzuli. Fuzuli was one of the enlightened people of his time. The poet wrote perfectly in three languages - Azerbaijani, Persian and Arabic. However, his main works, including the poet's masterpiece - the poem "Leyli and Majnun" - were written in the Azerbaijani language. One of the greatest lyricists in world literature, Fuzuli was consummate master gazelles. He wrote for the people, and the peoplerepaid him with sincere love and gratitude.

In the 17th century, the Safavid state fell into decay, Azerbaijan was repeatedly subjected to

invasion of the Turks and Persians and loses its political independence. The country is divided again

into small khanates, which are constantly at odds with each other. Cultural life Written literature in the country is at a standstill and is experiencing a crisis.

However, the people heroically fight against foreign invaders, and this fight determined

development of oral folk art. the dastan “Koroglu”, “Asli” dates back to precisely this time and Kerem",

"Ashig Gharib". Poets-singers - ashugs of Gurbani, Sary Ashig, Ashig Valeh - become widely famous.

At the beginning of the 18th century, a new literary direction. Its representatives, continuing the humanistic tradition of Fuzuli, borrowed its realistic principles from folk poetry,

simplicity and wisdom of the language. Among the poets of this movement, the name of Molla Panah Vagif shines especially brightly,

who is considered the founder of new Azerbaijani poetry.

Vagif lived a long and difficult life Coming from a simple peasant family, he, thanks to his extraordinary hard work, became one of the most outstanding people of his time and his country. He devoted the first half of his life to raising and teaching peasant children at school. Soon

his fame as a scientist and poet goes beyond his native places and reaches the court of the Karabakh khan. The Khan invites him to his court and appoints him chief vizier. So, by the will of fate and by order of the khan, Vagif became a statesman, but in people's memory he remained an outstanding and inspired folk poet-lyricist.

Vagif devoted all his talent to creating love lyrics in the goshma genre. Along with the new genre, new content came to literature. Vagif sings of earthly love and simple joys life, his heroines are beautiful, completely earthly women, endowed with intelligence, nobility, kindness, but not without coquetry and sweet cunning.

Civil motives were also reflected in Vagif’s poetry. With pain in his soul he writes about

the sorrows of poor people, about the injustice that reigns in the world. But fundamentally, the poet’s lyrics are optimistic and life-affirming, full of bright and joyful motives. His poems are melodic and written in simple, accessible language. The nationality and vitality of Vagif's poetry made him one of the first representatives of the realistic trend in Azerbaijani literature.

Vagif’s friend and contemporary, Molla Veli Vidadi, also made a great contribution to the formation and development of the new realistic movement. The work of Vagif and Vidadi determined the further development of Azerbaijani poetry. The poets who replaced them are increasingly striving to free themselves from the Arab-Persian influence alien to them; their works sound increasingly stronger folk motives, classical genres are increasingly giving way to folk ones, and a process of democratization of literature is taking place.

A worthy successor to the literary tradition of Vagif and Vidadi is the outstanding poet of the XXI

century Kasum bey Zakir. He appeared in Azerbaijani poetry as the founder of a new satirical direction.

His work is unusually diverse in genres. Love songs - goshma captivate with their subtle lyricism and sincere sincerity; he wrote many fairy tales and fables for children, but the most remarkable thing in his work is

topical and sharp satire, which brought him fame as an outstanding poet. Being an independent person, he could afford to openly and boldly condemn the vices of people of his class.

IN early XIX century, Azerbaijan was annexed to Russia. This event was of exceptional importance for the fate of the Azerbaijani people. One of the outstanding representatives of Azerbaijani literature of this period is Mirza Shafi Vazeh. An unusually gifted and subtle poet, Vazekh was forced to be content with the modest position of teacher and clerk in a rich house all his life. Already in adulthood, a fully developed poet, he came to Tiflis. The years of his stay in this city were the most remarkable period in the poet’s work. Here he meets with prominent Azerbaijani writers and educators A.A. Bakikhanov,

M.F.Akhundov.

The poet, whose literary heritage (with the exception of a few dozen lines) has reached us only in translations (the originals have been lost), by the will of fate became known in Europe earlier than in his homeland. But even this glory was taken away from him. Few people, for example, know that the words of A. Rubinstein’s wonderful romance

“The Persian Song”, which F. Chaliapin glorified with his wonderful performance, belongs not to “Bodenstendt”, but to Mirza Shafi Vazekh. An exceptional role in the rise of socio-political thought in

Azerbaijan, as well as in the development realistic literature in the second half of the 19th century played the largest

educator and thinker Mirza Fatali Akhundov.

The early works of M.F. Akhundov date back to the 30s of the twentieth century. He began his literary

activity as a poet, and poetry takes important place in his work. The first work to appear translated into Russian is the poem by M.F. Akhundov. "To the death of Pushkin." The poem is written in a traditional oriental style, using many colorful images.

One of the largest representatives of the second half of the 19th century is the poet-educator Seyid Azim Shirvani. Shirvani's first poetic experiments were made under the influence of classical Persian and Azerbaijani poetry. He wrote traditional ghazals, qasidas, rubai, but also introduced new content into these genres.

For centuries, literature has always occupied special place in the system of intellectual and cultural values Azerbaijan. The most powerful layer of a very rich literary tradition is folklore. Azerbaijani folklore, one can safely say, has immortalized the system of ethnocultural values of the people. Folk lullabies are the first contact with literature for every Azerbaijani, instilling a love for literature and the beauty of their native language. When an Azerbaijani leaves this mortal coil, he is accompanied by a funeral song. The folklore of the Azerbaijani people is so rich because every person is a potential creator folklore work. The world-famous Avesta, which was completed in the 6th century BC, and the Median legends, immortalized in the works of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, originate from this rich folklore tradition. Another source of Azerbaijani folklore are ancient Turkic myths and legends. Dede Gorgud's book, glorifying heroism, also arose from the same source. We are witnesses of rapid development and qualitative changes in Azerbaijani literature. At the beginning of the 5th century, the Albanian alphabet, consisting of 52 letters, was created on the territory of Azerbaijan. Albanian Catholicos Viro was one of the most educated people of its time. He translated Persian myths into his native language Albanian. In the 7th century, Albanian literature reached the peak of its development. The most famous poet of that period was Davdak, the author of a funeral song dedicated to the death of the great Azerbaijani commander Javan-shir, a unique work that has survived to this day. Among the examples of the rich literary heritage created in the 7th century are several stories and plots from the “History of Albania” , written by the famous Albanian historian Moses Kalankatuklu. This work of his is one of the few that has survived to this day. It talks about the developed Azerbaijani culture of the 4th-7th centuries; in addition, the “Chronology of Albania” by Mkhitar Gosh, a famous chronicler of those times, is dedicated to the history and culture of this period.
Most of the literary works created in the middle of the 7th century, after the adoption of Islam by the Azerbaijani population, were written in Arabic. Azerbaijani poets VII-VIII centuries Musa Sheavet, Ismail bin Yasser and Abdul Abbas wrote in Arabic. Beginning in the 10th century, Farsi became the dominant poetic language in the Middle East. After the separation of the territory of Azerbaijan from the Arab Caliphate, the number of literary examples written in Arabic began to decrease, and Farsi became the dominant language of literary works. On the one hand, this was due to the literary environment in the palaces of the elite and the orders of the rulers of Azerbaijan, who preferred Arabic and Persian languages, and on the other hand, the reason for this was the interest of famous Azerbaijani authors in maintaining ties with eastern countries, where Arabic and Farsi were the official languages.
Since the 11th century, written literature was mainly created in palaces, which is why it was later called “palace literature” or “diwan literature (collection of poems).” A feature of this period was the use of Farsi by the majority famous authors that period. The most outstanding representative of Azerbaijani literature of the 11th century was Gatran Tabrizi (1012-1088). He is the author of the collection of poems “Divan” and the explanatory dictionary “At-Tafasir”, both written in Farsi. Poets and scientists of the 12th century - Abu Nasr Mansur Tabrizi, Khatib Tabrizi, Iskafi Zanjani, Hettat Nizami Tabrizi - wrote in Arabic.
The 12th century was important period for Azerbaijani literature. Among the poets who lived at that time, the name of Abul-ulla Ganjavi, who was awarded the title of Melikush-Shuara (chief of poets), should be mentioned. In addition, Feleki Shirvani, Izeddin Shirvani, Mujured-din Beylagani and Givami Ganjavi deserve mention. Although their way of thinking was permeated with the Azerbaijani spirit, they created their creations in Farsi. However, since the 13th century, more and more poems began to appear in the Azerbaijani language. The earliest monument in the Azerbaijani language that has survived to this day is a poem written by Hasanoglu, and even now it is a unique example of Azerbaijani poetry.

The genius Fuzuli was nurtured by the legacy of Nizami. Before him, Azerbaijani literature could already be proud of the creative heritage of Hasanoglu (13th century), Gazi Burhaneddin (1344-1398), Nasimi (1369-1417) and Khatai (1487-1524) and gained fame in the Near and Middle East. Fizuli, just like Nizami, belongs not only to its people and region. Fizuli - the honey and tears of Azerbaijani literature - belongs to the whole world with its sadness and the further development of the humanistic traditions of Nizami. “I am not weak, look, I do not bow to anyone” - with these words he proclaimed the freedom and dignity of the individual. The first vivid manifestation of world grief is associated with the name of Fizuli and is later found in the works of Byron and Heine, the geniuses of romanticism.
The poetic genre of folklore also developed during the Fuzuli period, and later the poems of Gurbani (XVI century), Ashug Abbas (XVII century), Khasta Gasim (1684-1760) and four-line bayat (a special genre of poetry), poems of Sarah Ashug (XVII century) appeared. In the 19th century, Dede Ali, Ashug Peri and Ashug Alesker, developing the genre, occupied a literary niche and created examples of art that are popular and considered important until today. As for the medieval heroic epics “Koroglu” and “Shah Ismail” and the love epics “Ashug Ga-ryab”, “Asli and Kerem” and “Abbas and Gulgaz”, they were written under the influence of the Book of Dede Gorgud and became masterpieces of Azerbaijani folklore Molla Panah Vagif, a famous poet and statesman, is considered an outstanding personality late Middle Ages and the beginning of modern times. In the field of literature, he also became famous for his realistic, worldly and lyrical works, so different from the mystical charm of Fuzuli. During this period, the literary activities of the poets Molla Veli Vidadi (1707-1808), Mirza Shafi Vazeh (1794-1852) and Gasim Bey Zakir (1784-1857) played an important role in the literary life of Azerbaijan.

Mirza Fatali Akhundov (1812-1878) moved Azerbaijani literature into the context of Western literature, thus bringing Azerbaijani culture closer to European culture. During modern history Azerbaijani literature developed in this direction. However, its development was based on long-standing traditions. Patriotic poets and writers, such as Jalil Mammadguli-zadeh, Mirza Alekbar Sabir and Nadzhaf Bey Vezirov, contributed in every possible way to the spread of the ideas of national independence and cultural and educational activities. The work of Mirza Fatali continued great playwright Huseyn Javid (1882-1941). The plays of Jafar Jabarli (1899-1934) and then Ilyas Efendiyev (1914-1997) became the decoration of many scenes. Poetry of Abdullah Shaig (1881-1951), Ahmed Javad (1892-1937), Aliag Vahid (1895-1965), Samad Vurgun (1906-56), Muhamedhusein Shahriyar (1906-89), Suleiman Rustam (1906-89), Mikail Mush-viga (1908-38), Rasul Rza (1910-81), stories by Nariman Narimanov (1870-1925), Mamed Sayda Ordu-badi (1872-1950), Yusif Vazira Chemenzeminli (1887-1943), Suleyman Rahimov (1900) -83), Mir of Jalal Pashayev (1908-78), Mirza Ibragimov (1911-93), Gylman Ilkin (b.1914), Imran Gasimov (1917-81), Ismail Shikhly (1919-95), Aziza Jafarzade (1921- 2003), Huseyn Abbaszadeh (1921-2008) and others played an important role in expanding the horizons of worldview for several generations of readers.
For more than ten years, the literature of independent Azerbaijan continues to actively integrate into world literature. Intellectuals from the sixties generation play an important role in this process. Along with them, other writers and poets enrich our literary and cultural horizons. But our literary tradition has been carried through the centuries by the rich Azerbaijani language. Among the famous contemporary figures of Azerbaijani literature are the poets Mirvarid Dilbazi (1912-2001), Balash Azeroglu (b.1921), Nabi Khazri (1924-2007), Huseyn Arif (1924-92), Sohrab Ta-hir (b.1926), Gabil (1926-2007), Nariman Hasanzade (b. 1931), Khalil Rza Uluturk (1933-94), Mammad Araz (1933-2004), Ilyas Tapdig (b. 1934), Vahid Aziz (b. 1945); writers Isa Huseynov (b. 1928), Chingiz Huseynov (b. 1929), Maksud Ibragimbekov (b. 1938), Anar (b. 1938), Vagif Samedoglu (b. 1939), Elchin (b. 1943), Chingiz Abdullayev ( b. 1959) and others.

(1126-1199)Khagani, one of the outstanding literary figures of the revival of Azerbaijani literature in the 12th century, was born in Shama-khi. He was the first author of the poem in the history of Azerbaijani literature and made the Geside genre popular in the East. As in the works of other representatives of the Azerbaijani revival, the main themes of his works were man, the world around him, the struggle between good and evil, and deep humanism. His literary legacy includes the Divan, 17,000 couplets of lyric poetry and the poem Tohfat-ul-Iraqain (The Gift of the Two Iraqs), as well as letters to his contemporaries written in prose./ (1369-1417)

Nasimi, one of the brightest representatives of classical Azerbaijani poetry, was born in Shama-khi. He wrote the first social and philosophical poem in the Azerbaijani language. In his philosophical poems, the poet sang the greatness of the human mind, its beauty and joy. According to Nasimi, the most valuable pearl of this world, its essence, is humanity. He was the first to compare man with God. He said that nature, earth and sky draw their beauty from man. In 1417, Yashbey, the ruler of Aleppo, ordered the poet to be flayed alive. During his execution, Nasimi is said to have quoted his poem "Agrimaz" ("Without Pain"). Other famous poems by Nasimi are “Sygmazam” and “Where are you, my beloved? You lit my soul."

(1717-1797)

A talented diplomat and statesman, author of classic works of Azerbaijani literature. He was born in the village of Salakhli in what is now the Gazakh region of Azerbaijan. In 1757 he moved to Karabakh and opened a school there. Later, in 1769, Ibrahim Khalil Khan (1759-1806), the ruler of Karabakh, invited him to his palace, first to a court position and then to the position of chief vizier. His most famous poems are “The Holiday Has Come,” “Cranes,” “Look,” and “I Praise Two Beauties.”

(1832-1897)

Natavan, a well-known personality on the Azerbaijani literary horizon of the 19th century, was born in Shusha, in the family of Mehtikul Khan, heir to the rulers of Karabakh. She was educated at home and showed an interest in poetry and music from early childhood, spoke several oriental languages. In 1872 she founded the Meeting of Friends, a literary circle famous poets, who wrote in classic style. In 1858, she met with Alexandre Dumas’s father in Baku and gave him several souvenirs. Dumas, in turn, left her an elegant chess set as a souvenir. In 1850 she began to write in the traditional oriental genre. The main motives of her poetry are a series of poems about the beauty of nature and a poem dedicated to her son who died early. Her most famous works are “Violet”, “Carnation”, “I’m Crying”, “Gone”.

(1882-1941)

Huseyn Javid, an outstanding Azerbaijani poet and playwright, was born in Nakhchivan. One of the founders of progressive Azerbaijani romanticism of the 20th century. Author of lyrical poems, lyric-epic and epic poems, dramatic works in verse, the first in Azerbaijani literature. Javid is the most famous playwright. His philosophical and historical tragedies had a huge impact on the national theater, shaping its new face. The set of new approaches became known as the Javid Theatre. Historical dramas such as "The Prophet" (1921), "The Lame Tey-mur" (1925), "Siyavush" (1933) and "Khayyam" (1935), as well as the tragedy "Iblis" (1918), brought him wide fame. Being a democrat in spirit, he was unable to adapt to “Soviet demands”; he was arrested in 1937 and exiled to Siberia, where he died in 1941. At the initiative of Head of State Heydar Aliyev, Javid's remains were reburied in his hometown in 1982, and in 1996 a monument was erected at the burial site.

(1906-1956)

Samad Vurgun, a famous Azerbaijani poet, was born in Gazakh. For his outstanding contribution to poetry, he was awarded the title of People's Poet of Azerbaijan. His early works— charmingly lyrical. Pessimism, unhappy love and native nature were the main motives early stage his creativity. He is the author of the famous poems “Forward”, “In a Foreign Land” and “Azerbaijan”. Vurgun is also the author of poetic plays, the most significant of which is “Vagif”, dedicated to the outstanding Azerbaijani poet Molla Panah Vagif. Later Vurgun wrote his famous poems and poems “Mugan”, “Aygun”, “Old Friends”. Patriotism, internationalism and human values have always been the leading themes in his works.

One of famous figures modern Azerbaijani literature. According to popularity ratings, he is one of the three most read authors in the CIS countries. He has written 600 books published in 23 countries in 16 languages. Total circulation books by Chingiz Abdullayev - more than 20 million copies. His books are called “the national export of Azerbaijan.” The novels “Blue Angels”, “The Law of Scoundrels”, “Better to Be a Saint”, “Herod’s Shadow”, “Three Colors of Blood” are included in the golden fund of world detective literature.

Nizami Ganjavi (1141-1209)Nizami Ganjavi, the immortal genius of Azerbaijani poetry, known throughout the world as a great master of the pen. The gems of art he created have stood the test of time. His literary masterpieces, read all over the world, enrich our spiritual life and encourage us to do good. The world-famous “Five” (Khamse) consists of five poems on various topics. “Treasury of Secrets” (1174-1175), “Khosrow and Shirin” (1181), “Leili and Majnun” (1188), “Seven Beauties” (1197) and “Iskender-name” (1200) brought glory to Nizami, but we it is known that the basis of all its creative activity there was a collection of his poems. The diwan consisted of 20,000 couplets; unfortunately, only a small part of it has survived to this day. Nizami Ganjavi was a great poet and brilliant thinker. From his works it is clear that he had extensive knowledge of astronomy, medicine, philosophy and pedagogy. It was Nizami who first put forward and defended the idea of a “utopian society”, long before Italian philosopher Tommaso Campanella, wrote about the sun, moon and stars, stating that the moon has no light of its own, calling it a “lightless point”. He also highly appreciated the contribution of the works of Euclid (3rd century BC) and Ptolemy (2nd century BC) to the development of geometry./ Muhammad Fuzuli (1496-1556)
An outstanding Azerbaijani classical poet, born in the city of Karbala in Iraq. He came from the Bayat tribe, which came to Iraq from Azerbaijan. Fuzuli wrote in three languages: Arabic, Persian and Azerbaijani. He is the most outstanding prose writer
Azerbaijani literature. The main themes of his works are love and humanism. “Leyli and Majnun” is the pinnacle of his literary creativity - the pearl of Azerbaijani poetry. Fuzuli also wrote allegorical works. His poem “Beng ve Bade” (“Opium and Wine”) is dedicated to the most important political processes of that time and gives a classification of rulers, shahs and sultans. In addition, his works include Shikayatname (Book of Complaints), Rinduzahid (in Persian) and Enus-ul-Kalb. Fuzuli is one of the creators of the literary Azerbaijani language. He enriched the literary language with poems in his native language in the style of Nasimi. He created literary school, which had a great influence on Azerbaijani and oriental poetry.

Mirza Alakbar Sabir (1862-1911)
Mirza Sabir, a famous satirist poet, was born in Shamakhi. His name is one of the most significant in Azerbaijani literature that shaped public opinion. The main ideas of the realist poet's poems are humanism and freedom. Defending the principles of realism, Sabir considered it his duty to write that “bad is bad, wrong is wrong, and what is right is right.” Literary and aesthetic ideas the poet are reflected in his poems. Sabir's poetry, the skill of its execution and its literary form occupy an important place in the poetry of Azerbaijan, as well as the Near and Middle East. He also wrote parodies, for example, “Pretending to be oppressed, not really noisy,” “Oh, how wonderful I lived with friends then.”

Muhammad Assad bey (1905-1942)
Muhammad Asad bey (Leo Nussembaum, Kurban Said) is one of the prominent representatives of Azerbaijani emigrant literature of the 20th century. Born in Baku in 1920, after the fall of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic he emigrated to Turkey, from there to Germany, died in Italy, near the city of Naples. He is the author of the world-famous work “Ali and Nino”. Muhammad Asad bey, who gained worldwide fame, wrote all his works in German. The most famous of them are “Oil and Blood in the East” (1929), “12 Secrets of the Caucasus” (1930), “Stalin” (1930), “Caucasus. Mountains, peoples and history" (1931), "Muhammad" (1932), "DSI. Conspiracy against the world" (1932), "White Russia" (1932), "Russia at the crossroads" (1933),
“Liquid Gold” (1933), “Manuela” (1934), “Milos and Oil” (1934), “Lenin” (1935), “Rza Shah the Leader, Padishah and Reformer” (1935), “Nicholas P. Greatness and the decline of the last king" (1935), "Allah is Great. The Decline and Rise of the Islamic World from Abdul Hamid to Ibn Saud" (1935), "Ali and Nino" (1937), "Mussolini" (1937), "Altunsach" (1938).

Muhammad-Huseyn Shahriyar (1906-1988)
The name of Shahriyar is widely known in Azerbaijani and Iranian poetry of the 20th century. He began writing lyric poetry in the 1920s. The first book of these poems was published in 1931. The poem “Greetings to Heydarbaba” (“Heydarbabaya salam”) is his largest work in the Azerbaijani language. In his works, which he created in both Azerbaijani and Farsi, Shahriyar masterfully combined both poetic traditions. The main motives of his poetry were justice, freedom, moral purity and optimism. In his literary creativity Shahriyar glorifies the beauty of Azerbaijani nature, folk customs and traditions, as well as boundless love to the Motherland.

Bakhtiyar Vahabzade (b. 1925)
Bakhtiyar Vahabzade, national poet and outstanding representative of Azerbaijani literature of the 21st century, was born in Nukha (Sheki). He played an important role in the formation of modern Azerbaijani poetry. Love, patriotism and human values are the central motives of his lyrics. The poems “Mugham” and “Polistan” express the dreams of the Azerbaijani people for national independence, “Shabi-Hijran” tells the story of the life of Fizuli, and “Martyrs” is dedicated to those who died in January 1990. In addition, Vahabzadeh is the author of many poems and plays.