Mirza Fatali Akhundov

He died on 9 March 1878, at the age of 65, in Tbilisi.

Mirza's dedication to the Azerbaijani language led to the adoption of a new script, prompting a giant leap forward in literacy levels and national awareness of Azerbaijani culture.

Mirza Fatali Akhundov was born on July 12, 1812 in Nukha, now Shakhi, in Azerbaijan. Mirza's father Mirza Mammadtaghi was an ethnic Iranian from Tabriz Province in Azerbaijan and his mother Nana Khanim was a native of Nukha.

When Mirza was six years old, his parents divorced and he moved with his mother to Qaradagh Province, Azerbaijan to live in the household of his uncle, Akhund Haji Alasgar, one of the best-known Muslim clerics of the region.

Akhund was a highly educated man and taught his nephew Mirza how to speak and read Arabic and Persian and introduced him to great books in the region's literature.

In 1832, Mirza's Uncle Akhund accompanied Mirza to Ganja to enroll his nephew at the madrassa attached to Shah Abbas Mosque. He wanted Mirza to study logic and Islamic theology.

While at the school, Mirza learnt calligraphy from the renowned Azerbaijani poet Mirza Shafi Vazeh. Shafi Vazeh discouraged Mirza to pursue religious studies and encouraged him to study the modern sciences. Mirza gave up his religious and clerical education and started studying Russian in order to learn about Russian and European culture..

When uncle Akhund learned that Mirza had dropped out of school, he surprised the family by supporting his nephew's decision. After uncle Akhund used his powerful connections to land his nephew a job, Mirza moved to Tbilisi, Georgia, in 1834, to work for the government as a translator.

In 1836, Akhundov became a teacher of the Azerbaijani language, a post he would hold for the next 13 years.

In 1837, Mirza published his first major poem in the Persian language, 'The Oriental Poem', about the death of the celebrated Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. Akhundov translated 'The Oriental Poem' into Russian and it was soon being read by the leading lights of the Russian intellectual world.

Mirza came to global attention when 'The Oriental Poem', his evocative reaction to the death of Alexander Pushkin, was translated into Russian, in 1837.

His bitingly satirical play ‘The Tale of Monsieur Jordan the Botanist and the Celebrated Sorcerer, Dervish Mastali Shah’ still plays to packed houses in Azerbaijan.

With over 50 books on philosophy, religious and literary criticism, as well as his dramatic plays, the works of Mirza Akhundov form the backbone of Azerbaijani literature today.