Azerbaijani literature

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The term Azerbaijani literature ( Azerbaijani Azərbaycan ədəbiyyatı ) includes all literary works created by the Azerbaijani people in different periods in different languages ​​( Azerbaijani , Persian , Arabic , Turkish , Russian , etc.) .

Azerbaijani literature reflects the specifics of the ages that shaped the diverse history of the Azerbaijani people over the centuries. It shows the thinking and longing of the people, their struggle and their spiritual growth. Literature, especially Enlightenment literature, played an important role in the creation of the national identity of the Azerbaijani people.

middle Ages

Nezami

Written evidence of Azerbaijani literature from the earliest period has not survived. But it has been proven that as early as the fifth century AD in ancient Caucasian Albania ( Albania ), the north-eastern part of Azerbaijan , there was an alphabet that was used to write literary works. The epic " Kitab-i Dede Korkud ", which was written in the Azerbaijani language in the 7th century, is one of the cultural and historical sources of the Azerbaijani people. The struggle of the Oghuz , the ancestors of the Azerbaijanis, for freedom and independence is described in this epic in 12 sagas . The original of these legends is now kept in the museums in the Vatican and in Dresden .

From the 10th to the 11th century. AD. Created the poet Chätib Täbrisi (1030-1108), Gätran Täbrisi (1010-1080) and the philosopher Bähmänjar (died 1066) a number of works.

In the 12th century, during the Muslim Renaissance, poets such as Äbül-Ula Gändschäwi and Fäläki Schirwani (1108–1146) created their works, Chaqani (1120–1199) protested in his works against subjugation and religious fanaticism. The leitmotif of his poems and his most famous philosophical work «Ruins of the City of Madain» is the protest against arbitrariness. The poet Mahsati Ganjavi , whose poetry is characterized by a free-spirited attitude, continues the motifs of Omar Chayyām .

A high point of Azerbaijani poetry is the work of Nezāmi Gəncəvi (1140–1209), one of the greats of world literature , in the 12th century . The pen of Nizami, who was born in the city of Gəncə and lived there all his life, comes from, in addition to the lyric poems, “Chamse” ( Xəmsə ) - the five poems “Treasure of secrets”, “Khosrow and Shirin”, “ Lejli and Medschnun ”,“ Seven Beautiful ”and“ Iskender-Namä ”. The philosophical, aesthetic and ethical views of Nizami were expressed in these poetry cycles. This poet and humanist was a representative of the most progressive ideas of his epoch, he spoke out against injustice. The literary figures created by him (Schirin, Färhad, Lejli, Medschnun) entered world literature. The German classic Goethe also valued his work and talent very highly.

The oral epic tradition of the Turks in the form of their heroic poems was lost early in Azerbaijan and was replaced by oriental love stories and ballads. In the 14th century the religious and political movement of Hurufism spread . The Hurufists, considered heretics, were of the opinion that the letters of the Arabic alphabet have a sacred character and contain the solution of world secrets. Hurufism was a kind of protest against the then prevailing religious-radical dogmas. The Hurufit, poet and thinker Nasīmī (born in 1369 in Şamaxı ) was the first great Azerbaijani poet to write philosophical poems ( ghazele ) in an old Anatolian dialect, which can be called Azerbaijani . The cornerstone of his work was the concept of "Än äl Hägg" (I am the truth), which explained that man can reach the divine level through inner enrichment. He was executed by persecutors in Aleppo (Syria) in 1417 .

Modern times

Fuzūlī

The political, economic and cultural boom in Azerbaijan began in the 16th century. The statesman Shah Ismail I (1486–1524), the founder of the Safavid Empire , created works in the Azerbaijani language ("Diwan", "Dähnamä", "Nässihatnamä") under the pseudonym Chätai (Chatāʾī). He used motifs from folk poetry, which gave his poetry a characteristic simplicity. During this period, the other most famous representative of Azerbaijani literature, Muhammad Fuzūlī (1480–1556) appeared. His lyrical poems and ghazels in Azerbaijani, Arabic and Persian, permeated with deep philosophical thoughts, served as models for lyrical poetry. In his romantic poem “Lejli und Medschnun” he sang about pure, sublime love. The final formation of the Azerbaijani literary language is connected with the name Füzuli.

In the 17th century the heroic-romantic epics (Dastane) "Aschyg Gärib", "Shah Ismail" and "Koroghlu" were edited and written. The content of the latter has historical backgrounds. The singer and folk hero Koroghlu was a defender of the oppressed and an enemy of despotism. Classical poetry was democratized under the influence of folk poetry in the 17th century. The poets Sahib Təbrizi (1601–1676) and Qövsi Təbrizi continued the traditions of Füzuli and were strongly influenced by folk poetry. Two great poets determined the most important trends in 18th century poetry: In the poetry of Vidadi (1709–1809) there are more social motifs, while the poetry of Molla Pənah Vaqif (1717–1797) is about optimism with a view to the future of the People is permeated. Vaqif's work represents an essential stage in the development of Azerbaijani poetry to realism. He showed that on the basis of classical forms new forms similar to folk poetry can be developed using the spoken language. At the end of the 18th century, Azerbaijani became the court language of the Qajars in southern Azerbaijan, which also encouraged the Azerbaijanis living in the Persian Empire, such as Kullīyāt-i Nashāṣ Iahfahānī, to intensify their literary activity - among Shiite poets it was mostly "bloodthirsty passion plays". The prose, however, remained poorly developed. The north, which had belonged to Russia since 1828, opened up to Russian and other European influences.

Educational literature

Mirzə Fətəli Axundov

In the first half of the 19th century, in the Russian part of Azerbaijan, an Azerbaijani educational literature in a language understandable to the people developed. The first enlighteners and representatives of Muslim self- assurance were the scientist and poet Abbasqulu ağa Bakıxanov (1796–1847), a son of the last Khan of Baku, as well as the poets Mirzə Şəfi Vazeh (1794? –1856) and İsmayıl bəy Qutqaşınlı (1806–1896 ). They brought the new genres (novella, everyday poem) as well as the figure of the "little man" into literature. The poems of Vazeh, who also stood out as a politician and critic of the clergy, were also popular in the German-speaking world . They were translated into German by Friedrich von Bodenstedt and published in Germany as "Lieder des Mirza-Schaffy". Many of these songs were set to music, so u. a. by Franz Liszt , Karol Szymanowski and Edward MacDowell .

One of the most important representatives of satirical poetry in the 19th century was Qasım bəy Zakir (1784-1857), who denounced the corruption of the tsarist officials and the cruelty of the landowners. These themes were further developed in the poems of Seyid Əzim Şirvani (1835–1888).

Mirzə Fətəli Axundov (1812–1878), a realistic writer, philosopher and founder of Azerbaijani drama (who was often called the "oriental molière " abroad), was among the enlighteners who could no longer imagine a non-European world as a model for the future , a significant position. In his comedies, the prejudices and backwardness of the rulers and the clergy are criticized. The playwright created the characters of the honest people from the people, the Azerbaijani women and the progressive representatives of his epoch who insisted on social improvements. Axundov wrote in the Turkic peasant dialect, which contrasted with the written Iranian language.

In 1873, the playwright Nəcəf bəy Vəzirov (1854–1926) founded the first dramatic theater in Baku. In his plays "The Sorrows of Fächräddin" and "From the Rain to Baptism", Vəzirov developed the enlightenment ideas of MF Axundov, who was also able to perform his plays there. In the 1880s, the first Azerbaijani media used a simplified language freed from psersian foreign words. Azerbaijan became the area of ​​Russia that had the largest share of newspapers and magazines in non-Russian languages, but they could not reach the rural population. After being banned by the censorship in 1878, they had to temporarily move to Tbilisi . It was not until the liberalization of press law after 1905 that Turkish-language publications could be published on a larger scale.

Nəriman Nərimanov (1870–1925) wrote plays and a first short novel about the unhappy love between a Muslim and a Christian in the 1890s. The dramas “Destroyed Nest” and “Boy Without Fate” by Əbdürrəhim bəy Haqverdiyev (1870–1933) and “Die Toten” by Cəlil Məmmədquluzadə (1866–1932) showed the stability of the surviving orders. The realistic narratives of these writers played a huge role in the development of Azerbaijani prose. The body that vigorously fought for the victory of democratic ideas was the magazine Molla Nəsrəddin , published by Cəlil Məmmədquluzadə in the early 20th century. The satirical poet Mirzə Ələkbər Sabir worked on this magazine. Colorful language, profound humor and caustic ridicule characterize Sabir's works. The romantic trend in Azerbaijani literature of the early 20th century was reflected in the work of the poet and playwright Hüseyn Cavid (1882–1941) and the works of Abbas Səhhət (1874–1918) and Məhəmməd Hadi (1879–1920). They poetized the dream of a better social order based on reasonable laws. Also opera libretti arose after the turn of the century; the operas were performed by comedy troupes all over Central Asia.

As a result of the Russification policy of the 1880s, however, numerous Muslims renounced education in Russian educational institutions, and the conservatism of the Shiite clergy, under Persian influence, also hindered the further development of an independent Azerbaijani culture and literature. After the revolution of 1905, Azerbaijani nationalism, under the influence of the Persian philosopher Jamal ad-Din al-Afghani, took a pan-Islamic anti - European direction. Many of the one ethnonationalistisch- pan-Turkish approach responsible intellectuals to the newspaper Füyuzat emigrated later to Turkey or fell as the poet and playwright Ahmad Javad (1892-1937), the author of today's national anthem, the Stalinist purges fell victim.

Soviet period

Cə for Cabbarlı

In the early Soviet era there were many poets with great poetic talent, for example the poets and dramatists Cəfər Cabbarlı (1899–1934) and Səməd Vurğun (1906–1956). However, many high-quality literary works have been hopelessly suppressed for political reasons since about 1926. Some poets died in exile, such as the romantic Huseyn Javid (1882–1941) or were executed, such as Ahmad Javad and Mikayıl Müşfiq (1908–1939). The author of the novel Ali and Nino (presumably Essad Bey ), known under the pseudonym Kurban Said , lived in exile in Germany and then in Italy from the 1920s.

After the end of the Stalin era, Azerbaijani writers had an opportunity to move away from the scheme of socialist realism in the 1960s. During these years there was a renewal of the form of the narrative and also of the drama; social criticism was again exercised. Traditional customs and ways of thinking were now drawn with sympathy or distance, but no longer dismissed as obstacles to social development. Sabir Əhmədov (playwright and screenwriter, * 1937), İsmayıl Şıxlı (prose writer, editor and publicist, 1919–1995), Xəlil Rza Ulutürk (poet, 1932–1994), Məmməd Araziyas (writer and translator, * 1933), Prosaist and playwright, 1914–1996), Bəxtiyar Vahabzadə (poet and playwright, 1925–2009), Vaqif Səmədoğlu (poet and playwright, 1939–2015), Anar , Rüstəm İbrahimbəyov and others created works that broke away from the usual framework who embodied general human, ethical and aesthetic values. Nevertheless, authors repeatedly got into trouble, for example In the 1960s, for example, the previously highly honored poet, novelist and cultural functionary Rasul Rza (1910–1981) because of his philosophically subtle criticism of the regime. The unresolved problems of the coexistence of religions were presented by Eltschin (writer and playwright, * 1943) in his novel Mahmud and Marjam (1984; German 1988). His work The White Camel (1989) also became famous in Germany .

present

After the collapse of the Soviet Union , a new era began in Azerbaijani literature. The newly acquired freedom allowed the expansion of new literary directions such as free verse or realistic short stories. Film production also experienced an upswing. Well-known poets and writers of the post-Soviet period include a. Çingiz Abdullayev , known for his short stories , the philologist Kamal Abdulla (Abdullayev Kamal Mehdi oğlu, * 1950), whose novels were first published in Russian, French, Polish and Brazilian-Portuguese translations, and also the writer and playwright Afaq Məsud (* 1957 ), the poet and screenwriter Ramiz Rövşən (* 1946), the prose writer and playwright Elçin Hüseynbəyli (* 1961) and the poet Vaqif Bayatlı Odər (* 1948).

A scandal broke out in 2012 when Akram Aylisli, previously honored with the title “Writer of the Nation”, published his novel “Stone Dreams” about the anti-Armenian pogroms in Baku in 1989/90 in a Russian magazine. As a result, his books were burned by extremists, the mass media covered him with a smear campaign, he received threats of murder and mutilation and his pension was withdrawn.

See also

literature

  • Franz Babinger: Nesīmī . In: CE Bosworth et al. (Ed.): The Encyclopaedia of Islam . 2nd Edition. Brill, Leiden [u. a.] 1995, ISBN 90-04-09834-8 , pp. VIII: 8a .
  • Gerhard Doerfer: AZERBAIJAN viii. Azeri Turkish . In: Ehsan Yarshater (ed.): Encyclopædia Iranica . 1988 ( online [accessed August 18, 2011]).
  • H. Javadi and K. Burill: AZERBAIJAN x. Azeri Literature . In: Ehsan Yarshater (ed.): Encyclopædia Iranica . 1988 ( online [accessed August 18, 2011]).
  • Karl H. Menges: The Turkish-speaking literatures outside of Turkey. In: Walter Jens (Ed.): Kindlers new Literature Lexicon , Munich 1988, Vol. 20, pp. 619–622.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Menges 1988, p. 620.
  2. ↑ Menges 1988, p. 620 f.
  3. ↑ Jörg Baberowski: The enemy is everywhere. Stalinism in the Caucasus. Munich 2003, p. 51 ff.
  4. ↑ Dradio Culture , February 17, 2013