Nezami Ganjavi
In 1141, he was born in Ganja, one of the ancient cultural centers of Azerbaijan and the capital of the Atabey state, which is part of the present Republic of Azerbaijan. It is the representative figure of the Eastern Renaissance.
His first wife, Afaq, bore him an only son named Muhammad Afaq. When Nezamí wrote “Khosrow and Shirin”, Afagh died. After her death, he remarried. His second wife died while writing “Leyli and Majnún.” He married for the third time and his wife died while writing the book “Eqbalnameh”. In one verse, Nezamí bitterly declared: “It seems that with every Masnaví I write, I make a sacrifice.”
Known as a poet, scholar, and philosopher, Nezamí is also known for using poetry to observe the actions of human beings in society. His epic romantic poems are filled with passionate emotions and philosophical comments about humanity.
Nezami’s influence on literature lasted long after his death. He was one of the main promoters of the use of the vernacular in poetry, introduced new concepts of style and founded a new literary school. His literary influence spread to Iran, Turkey, Central Asia, and India, where poets imitated Nezami’s Khamseh in both form and subject matter. Later poets like Jami, Amir Khosrow, Alish er Navoi and Fuzuli received a strong influence and were inspired by him.
His masterpieces have been translated into English, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Japanese and others, and numerous studies have been carried out on his life and his creative output.
Nezami Ganjavi died in 1209 in his hometown of Ganja. Nezamí’s creativity developed Western European literature. The works of the poet have been translated into many languages of the world and he played an important role in the development of oriental art, especially the art of miniature. The extraordinary manuscripts of his works are preserved like precious pearls in the collections of famous libraries and museums in many cities, such as Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Baku and Tashkent.
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