The Nizami of Azerbaijan and the World
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Great people THE NIZAMI OF AZERBAIJAN AND THE WORLD Rafael HUSEYNOV Doctor of Philology, Professor, Corresponding Member of the ANAS ON SATURDAY, 30 SEPTEMBER 1139, A VERY SERIOUS EVENT HAPPENED IN THE HISTORY OF THE EARTH. IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST DEVASTAT ING EARTHQUAKES IN WORLD HIS TORY AND TURNED THE EARTH UP SIDE DOWN. MEDIEVAL HISTORIANS RECORDED THAT THIS EARTHQUAKE, WHICH HAPPENED IN THE CITY OF GANJA, HAD NO ANALOGUES FOR THE DEVASTATION IT CAUSED. he earthquake totally destroyed Ganja. But in its stead, it created Ta natural wonder like Goygol. The earthquake killed tens of thou- sands of people. But to compen- sate for all those losses, nature gave Azerbaijan and the world an unusual child in 1141. A genius poet and phi- losopher, who became known as Nizami Ganjavi later, whose pieces woke people’s spirit and thoughts for centuries and whose works became a school, was born. Nizami Ganjavi has long ceased to be only Azerbaijan’s child. His lit- “Nizami in his native Ganja” by Eyyub Mammadov 38 www.irs-az.com erary heritage is part of the treasury born in the city of Qom in Iran. is still originally from Ganja of humanity’s most valuable assets, while he himself rose to such a level Cho dorr garcheh dar bahr-e Ganjeh Some sources (for example, that he became a child of all peoples qomam Daulatshah Samarqandi, 15th centu- and humanity. In his lifetime, Niza- Vali az gahestane shahre Qomam ry) say that Nizami had a poet broth- mi Ganjavi believed that his works er named Givami Mutarrizi. would live for a long time and wrote Translation: Givami Mutarrizi’s extant literary the following: Even if I stay in the Ganja sea as a works prove that he was proficient masterpiece in the qasideyi-masnui genre and in Ze sad sal pas agar porsi koja u, I am from the mountainous part of general, was a poet who possessed Ze har beytash seda ayad ke ja u. the city of Qom poetic techniques. However, science However, most of the world’s ex- has not yet drawn a definite conclu- If you wonder after 100 years where perts on Nizami, headed by the fa- sion that Mutarrizi was a brother of he is, mous Russian orientalist, Yevgeniy Nizami. Its every couplet will respond: “He is Bertels, maintain that this couplet is It is no accident that we men- here.” tioned this controversial couplet about Nizami’s birthplace. Like there Not 100, but 800 years have have been people throughout his- passed, and Nizami’s living has sur- tory who wanted to take over Azer- passed his own prediction, and this baijan’s wealth and lands, there have path leads to eternity. A genius Ger- been, and still are, peoples and coun- man poet gave an assessment of tries that wish to appropriate Azer- high modesty by pointing to seven baijan’s genius children. great poets selected and elevated by At the time of Nizami, there were the Persian-speaking classical tradi- two dominant languages in science tion – Firdausi, Anvari, Nizami, Sa’di, and literature in the Middle and Near Rumi, Hafiz and Jami: “If the East pre- East. All scientific works were writ- ferred only seven of all poets, there ten in Arabic, while poets of various are many people who are much bet- nationalities from Central Asia to the ter than me among those remaining.” Caucasus and from Iran to India tra- ditionally wrote their poetic pieces in Nizami Ganjavi’s name was Ilyas. one language – Persian. But some sources say that his name Knowledge, rich information and was Ahmad (for example, a source fictitious and that Nizami was born in high awareness of various spheres of entitled Khulasat al-Afkar says that Ganja and lived all his conscious life science show that Nizami had an ex- his name was Ahmad ibn Yusif ibn in that city (1, 94). cellent education. His earliest poems Muayyad). Nizami repeatedly mentions known to science also show that he Nizami is the poet’s penname. His Ganja from his first poem to his last possessed high poetic techniques. nickname was Nizam ad-Din. In the poem. And one of these couplets This proves that from the very begin- medieval Muslim East, a kunya – the is the best answer to those who try ning, Nizami engaged in poetry not son’s name – was used next to fa- to separate Nizami from Ganja and as an amateur, but as a professional mous people’s names. artificially link him to other places. who had learnt the theoretical foun- In his various lines, the poet ap- It looks as though the poet sensed dations of this art. The canons of the peals to his son Muhammad and this a few centuries before and states time first and foremost required deep gives him advice. that he is from Ganja despite efforts knowledge of Persian and Arabic in All sources say that Nizami was to link him to other places: order to learn such universal knowl- born in Ganja. According to this cou- Nehane mara kashekara borand edge. plet, which was added by a scribe to Ze Ganjast gar ta Bokhara barand Nizami wrote his works which a copy of Iqbalnameh and has noth- are currently known to science – Di- ing to do with the reality, there are They disclose my innermost words van and Khamsa – in Persian. Even people who claim that Nizami was (But) even if they take it to Bukhara, it though the poet’s Persian was fluent www.irs-az.com 39 Great people and perfect, in any case, according to children of Nizami – his poems – are person, understood very well that the prominent Iranian scientist Sa’id still fresh, living and known to every- poetry does not start or end with Firdausi, this Persian was different one like eight centuries ago. This is him. But why did he try to discourage from that of a Persian person, for ex- the great power of the word. Nizami his son in whom he clearly saw signs ample, Firdausi. has a couplet in which he gives his of a poet? Nafisi proves that Nizami’s po- son advice: Because he was highly profession- ems are reminiscent of the Turkic al, and if his son were to become a language. Apart from that, Nizami Garche sar-e sarvarit binam poet, he wanted to see him at least as recorded that sometimes he consult- Vain-e sokhanvarit binam a poet at Nizami’s level. But he prob- ed a Persian dictionary to clarify the Dar sher mapich o dar fan-e u ably also sensed that being Nizami is meaning of individual Persian words: Chon akzab-e ust ahsan-e u a miracle and not everyone’s destiny. Zin fan matalab bolandnami That’s why he encouraged his son, Do bashad manjanaq az ruye farhane Kan khatrn shodast bar Nezami who was not to be higher than him Yeki abrisham andazad o yeki sane Nazm ar che be martabat bolandast in poetry, to engage in a science for An elm talab ke soudmandast which there was a need. According to the dictionary, there are two types of manjanaq (catapult) - After all, Nizami himself also of- One fires silk and the other – stone. fered another formula: Sources give different dates of Palangariyi bejayat hadd Nizami’s death – 1180 (Daulatshah, Behtar ze kolahduzii bad Haji Khalifa, Hammer-Purgstall, Franz von Erdmann), 1199, 1200, (Atashka- Good pack-saddle making is dah, Tarikh-e Jahan-ard, Gore Ouse- Better than being a bad hat-maker ley), 1202-1203 (Wilhelm Bacher, Edward Brown, Charles Rieu) and What made Nizami famous and others. eternal is his Khamsa, which consist- Today the famous monument to ed of five masnavis – poems: Nizami in Baku says that he died in 1203. However, the date, which has Makhzan ul-Asrar – Treasury of already been unanimously adopted, Secrets written in 1178, Khosrow and is 12 March 1209 (this was written on Shirin written in 1180, Layla and Maj- Nizami’s grave in 1947 – 4 Ramazan nun completed in 1189, Haft Peykar – 605 Hijrah). Seven Beauties – created in 1197 and Since Nizami was not just a poet, Iskandarnameh, which was complet- but also a mature scientist and was ed in 1201 and consisted of two parts ahead of scientists of his time, he was – Iqbalnameh and Sharafnameh. called a “hakim” – a wise person. In fact, Nizami combined his five Although there were quite a few works under this common title. Had genius persons at the time, only I see that someone wants to guide Nizami lived longer, he would have two people, apart from Nizami, had you written several more poems and his this title: Abu Ali ibn Sina and Omar I see poetic habits in you series of poems would consist of 7, 8 Khayyam. But don’t hang on to poetry and po- or 9 pieces. However, his life was as As we noted, sometimes Nizami etic art long as the time during which these affectionately mentioned his son Because its most beautiful thing is five poems were written, and after Muhammad, who was born in 1174, the most deceitful Nizami’s death, theorists who sensed in his poems. Today no-one knows Do not seek glory in this art (poetry) an organic link between these five how Muhammad’s family extended Because this art ends with Nizami poems and saw that the poet’s con- and whether Nizami had grandchil- Even if poetry has a higher position cept, which began from the Trea- dren, great-grandchildren and great- You’d better take up a useful science sury of Secrets, ended with Iskan- great-grandchildren.