Azerbaijan carrying out extensive researches on Nizami Ganjavi
By Nigar Orujova
Having worked hard on the works of famous poet Nizami Ganjavi, literary scholars in Azerbaijan have reached to this conclusion that unlike what is widely believed, he was not an Iranian but an Azerbaijani poet.
Deputy Director of the Literature Institute of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS), Teymur Kerimli said: "Throughout history, famous poets were forces to write poems in the dominant language of their homeland. Therefore, it is absolutely wrong to call Nizami an Iranian simply because they wrote in Persian."
Kerimli also noted the poet himself and some medieval sources about him have explicitly confirm that he was born in 1141 in Ganja - one of Azerbaijan's ancient cultural centers and the capital of Atabeys' state - and lived and worked on the territory of Azerbaijan.
"Nizami's language contains many Turkic words. In the poem "Leyli and Majnun", Nizami said that his mother was a Kurd and in the poem "Khosrov and Shirin" he named himself with a purely Turkic word "ikdish" i.e. a person who has a mixed parentage," Kerimli said.
It was also noted that Nizami's creativity included a strong "Azerbaijanianship" ideology and reflected the love to his country and people.
This requires an extensive research on his poems and history. Now, Azerbaijan is planning to work hard on Nizami's works. To this end, several scientific trips by Azerbaijani researchers would be made to scholarly centers in Russia, Europe and the U.S.
Earlier, the Nizami Ganjavi International Center reported that its members are working hard on Nizami Ganjavi's poems, including Khamsa and their works would be published in different languages along with the world's most renowned researchers of the heritage of the great Azerbaijani poet.
The publishing is aimed to promote Nizami Ganjavi and values underlying his works all over the world. The examination of archives has already started in India, the U.S., the Arab Republic of Egypt, the UK and France.
Nizami Ganjavi, the 12th century greatest representative of the Eastern Renaissance, displayed the quintessence of world literature and philosophy in his immortal works via the aesthetic power of his art.
The description of a man's inner world, his feelings, and thoughts along with the dynamic development of the main hero's characters underlies the basic aim and content of the Nizami literary school.
Nizami's poems played a great role in the enrichment of the love theme, which is widespread in Oriental literature, with social, universal ideals and humane content.