From 1135/1136 to 1225 part of the territories of Azerbaijan (now Iranian Azerbaijan) and Arran was ruled by the Ildegizids as the Great Atabeks of the Seljuk Sultans of Persian Iraq. This dynasty was founded by Shamseddin Ildegiz, a Kipchak (Cuman) by origin, a freed ghulam (slave soldier) of the Seljuk Sultan of Persian Iraq (Western Iran). The Ildegizids were atabeks of Azerbaijan (that is, regents of the heirs to the throne of the Seljuk sultans), as the Seljuk empire collapsed, from 1181 they became local rulers and remained so until 1225, when their territory, previously captured by the Georgians, was conquered by Jalal ad-Din. Shams ad-Din Ildegiz probably achieved control over part of Azerbaijan only in 1153 after the death of Kass Beg Arslan, the last favorite of Sultan Masud ibn Muhammad (1133-1152).

Shirvan, neighboring Azerbaijan and Arran, was the state of the Shirvanshahs, ruled by the Kesranid dynasty. Although the dynasty was of Arab origin, by the 11th century the Kesranids were Persianized and claimed to be descendants of the ancient Persian Sasanian kings.

In the last quarter of the 12th century, when Nizami began to work on the poems that were included in the book “Khamse” (“Five”), the supreme power of the Seljuks was in decline, and political unrest and social unrest were growing. However, Persian culture flourished precisely when political power was dispersed rather than centralized and Persian remained the primary language. This also applied to Ganja, the Caucasian city - a remote Persian outpost where Nizami lived, a city that at that time had a predominantly Iranian population, as evidenced by Nizami's contemporary Armenian historian Kirakos Gandzaketsi (circa 1200-1271) (Kirakos of Gandzak, Gandzak - Armenian name for Ganja), who, like Nizami Ganjavi (Nizami from Ganja), was a resident of Ganja. It should be noted that in the Middle Ages, the Armenians called all Iranian speakers “Parsik” - Persians, which is reflected in the translation of the same passage into English. During Nizami’s lifetime, Ganja was one of the centers of Iranian culture, as evidenced by the collection of only one anthology of Persian poetry of the 13th century. Nuzhat ol-Majalis poems by 24 Persian poets who lived and worked in Ganja in the 11th-12th centuries. Among the Iranian-speaking population of Ganja in the 11th-12th centuries. It should also be noted that the Kurds, whose significant presence in the city and its environs was facilitated by the rule of representatives of the Sheddadid dynasty, which is of Kurdish origin. It is precisely the privileged position of the Kurds in Ganja that some researchers explain the move of Nizami’s father from Qom and the settlement of Nizami’s parents in Ganja, since Nizami’s mother was Kurdish.

The Persian historian Hamdallah Qazvini, who lived about a hundred years after Nizami, described the "treasure-filled" Ganja in Arran as one of the richest and most prosperous cities in Iran.

Azerbaijan, Arran and Shirvan then became the new center of Persian culture after Khorasan. In the “Khorasan” style of Persian poetry, experts highlight the Western - “Azerbaijani” school, which is otherwise called “Tabriz” or “Shirvan” or “Transcaucasian”, as prone to complicated metaphors and philosophy, to the use of images taken from the Christian tradition. Nizami is considered one of the most prominent representatives of this Western school of Persian poetry.

Biography

Little is known about Nizami’s life; the only source of information about him is his works, which also do not contain enough reliable information about his personal life, as a result of which his name is surrounded by many legends, which were further adorned by his subsequent biographers.

Name and pseudonym

The poet's personal name is Ilyas, his father's name was Yusuf, his grandfather's name was Zaki; after the birth of his son Muhammad, the latter's name also became part of the poet's full name, which thus began to sound: Abu Muhammad Ilias ibn Yusuf ibn Zaki Mu'ayad, and as a literary pseudonym ("nisba") he chose the name "Nizami", which some medieval authors " tadhira” is explained by the fact that the craft of embroidery was the work of his family, which Nizami abandoned in order to write poetic works, on which he worked with the patience of an embroiderer. His official name is Nizam ad-Din Abu Muhammad Ilyas ibn Yusuf ibn Zaki ibn Muayad. Jan Rypka gives another form of his official name, Hakim Jamal al-din Abu Muhammad Ilyas ibn Yusuf ibn Zaki ibn Muayad Nizami.

Date and place of birth

Nizami's exact date of birth is unknown. It is only known that Nizami was born between 1140-1146 (535-540). Nizami's biographers and some modern researchers differ by six years regarding the exact date of his birth (535-40/1141-6). According to established tradition, the year of birth of Nizami is considered to be 1141, which is officially recognized by UNESCO. This year is indicated by Nizami himself in the poem “Khosrow and Shirin”, where in the chapter “In justification of the composition of this book” it is said:

From these lines it follows that the poet was born “under the sign” of Leo. In the same chapter, he indicates that he was forty years old when he began working on the poem, and he began it in 575 AH. It turns out that Nizami was born in 535 AH (that is, in 1141). That year, the sun was in the constellation Leo from August 17 to 22, which means that Nizami Ganjavi was born between August 17 and 22, 1141.

The poet's birthplace has long been controversial. Haji Lutf Ali Bey in the biographical work “Ateshkid” (XVIII century) calls Qom in central Iran, referring to Nizami’s verses from “Iskander-name”:

Nizami was born in the city, and his entire life was spent in an urban environment, moreover, in an atmosphere of dominance of Persian culture, since his native Ganja at that time still had an Iranian population, and although little is known about his life, it is believed that all his life he spent without leaving Transcaucasia. Scarce information about his life can only be found in his works.

Parents and relatives

Nizami's father, Yusuf ibn Zaki, who migrated to Ganja from Qom (Central Iran), may have been an official, and his mother, Ra'isa, was of Iranian origin, according to Nizami himself, was a Kurdish woman, probably the daughter of a Kurdish tribal leader, and, according to some assumptions, it was connected with the Kurdish Sheddadid dynasty, which ruled Ganja before the Atabeks.

The poet's parents died early. After the death of his father, Ilyas was raised by his mother, and after the death of the latter, by his mother’s brother, Khoja Umar.

Dowlatshah of Samarkandi (1438-1491) in his treatise “Tazkirat osh-shoara” (“Note on poets”) (finished in 1487) mentions Nizami’s brother named Kivami Mutarrizi, who was also a poet.

Education

Nizami was brilliantly educated by the standards of his time. Poets were then expected to be well versed in many disciplines. However, even with such requirements for poets, Nizami stood out for his scholarship: his poems testify not only to his excellent knowledge of Arabic and Persian literature, oral and written traditions, but also mathematics, astronomy, astrology, alchemy, medicine, botany, theology, interpretations of the Koran , Islamic law, Christianity, Judaism, Iranian myths and legends, history, ethics, philosophy, esotericism, music and fine arts.

Although Nizami is often called "Hakim" (sage), he was not a philosopher like Al-Farabi, Avicenna and Suhrawardi, or an expositor of Sufist theory like Ibn Arabi or Abd Al-Razzaq Kashani. However, he is considered a philosopher and Gnostic who was well versed in various areas of Islamic philosophical thought, which he integrated and generalized in a manner reminiscent of the traditions of later sages such as Qutb al-Din Shirazi and Baba Afzal Kashani, who were specialists in various fields of knowledge , attempted to unite various traditions in philosophy, gnosis and theology.

Life

Little information has been preserved about Nizami’s life, but it is known for sure that he was not a court poet, as he feared that in such a role he would lose his honesty, and wanted, above all, freedom of creativity. At the same time, following tradition, Nizami dedicated his works to rulers from various dynasties. Thus, Nizami dedicated the poem “Leili and Majnun” to the Shirvanshahs, and the poem “Seven Beauties” to the rival of the Ildegizids - one of the atabeks of Maraga (Ahmadiliz) Ala al-Din.

Nizami, as stated, lived in Ganja. He was married three times. His first and beloved wife, the Cuman slave Afak (to whom he dedicated many poems), “majestic in appearance, beautiful, intelligent,” was presented to him by the ruler of Derbent, Dara Muzaffarr ad-Din, around 1170. Nizami, having freed Afak, married her. Around 1174 they had a son, who was named Muhammad. In 1178 or 1179, when Nizami was finishing the poem “Khosrow and Shirin,” his wife Afak died. Nizami's two other wives also died prematurely, although the death of each of the wives coincided with Nizami's completion of a new epic poem, in connection with which the poet said:

Nizami lived in an era of political instability and intense intellectual activity, which is reflected in his poems and poems. Nothing is known about his relationships with his patrons, just as the exact dates when his individual works were written are not known, since much is the fruit of the imagination of his biographers who lived after him. During his lifetime, Nizami received honors and was respected. There is a legend that the atabek vainly invited Nizami to the court, but was refused, but considering the poet a holy man, he presented Nizami with five thousand dinars, and later gave him the possession of 14 villages.

Information about the date of his death is as contradictory as the date of his birth. Medieval biographers indicate different data, differing by about thirty-seven years (575-613/1180-1217) in determining the year of Nizami’s death. Now we only know for sure that Nizami died in the 13th century. The dating of Nizami's death to 605 AH (1208/1209) is based on an Arabic inscription from Ganja published by Bertels. Another opinion is based on the text of the poem “Iskander-name”. Someone close to Nizami, perhaps his son, described the death of the poet and included these lines in the second book about Iskander, in the chapter dedicated to the death of ancient philosophers - Plato, Socrates, Aristotle. This description gives the author's age according to the Muslim calendar, which corresponds to the date of death in 598 AH (1201/1202):

Creation

The culture of Persia during the Nizami era is famous for its deep-rooted tradition, splendor and luxury. In pre-Islamic times it developed extremely rich and unmistakable means of expression in music, architecture and literature, although Iran, its center, was constantly subject to raids by invading armies and immigrants, this tradition was able to absorb, transform and completely overcome the penetration of a foreign element . Alexander the Great was only one of many conquerors who were captivated by the Persian way of life. Nizami was a typical product of Iranian culture. He created a bridge between Islamic and pre-Islamic Iran, and between Iran and the entire ancient world. Although Nizami Ganjavi lived in the Caucasus - on the periphery of Persia, in his work he demonstrated a centripetal tendency that is manifested in all Persian literature, both in terms of the unity of its language and content, and in the sense of civil unity, and in the poem “Seven Beauties” wrote that Iran is the “heart of the world” (in Russian translation “soul of the world”):

Literary influence

Nizami was greatly influenced by the work of the 11th century Persian poet Gurgani. Having borrowed most of his subjects from another great Persian poet Ferdowsi, Nizami took the basis for his art of writing poetry, imagery of speech and compositional technique from Gurgani. This is noticeable in the poem “Khosrow and Shirin”, and especially in the scene of the lovers’ argument, which imitates the main scene from Gurgani’s poem “Vis and Ramin”. In addition, Nizami's poem was written in the same meter (khazaj) in which Gurgani's poem was written. Gurgani's influence on Nizami can also explain the latter's passion for astrology.

Nizami wrote his first monumental work under the influence of the Persian poet Sanai’s poem “The Garden of Truths” (“Hadiqat al-Haqiqat”).

Style and worldview

Nizami wrote poetic works, but they are dramatic. The plot of his romantic poems is carefully constructed to enhance the psychological complexity of the narrative. His characters live under the pressure of action and must make urgent decisions in order to know themselves and others. He paints psychological portraits of his characters, revealing the richness and complexity of the human soul as they encounter strong and enduring love.

With equal skill and depth, Nizami portrayed both ordinary people and royalty. With special warmth, Nizami depicted artisans and craftsmen. Nizami painted images of painters, sculptors, architects and musicians, who often became key figures in his poems. Nizami was a master of the romantic epic genre. In his sensually erotic poems, Nizami explains what makes human beings behave the way they do, revealing their folly and greatness, their struggles, passions and tragedies. For Nizami, truth was the essence of poetry. Based on this approach, Nizami brought down his anger on the court poets who sold their talent for earthly rewards. In his work, Nizami sought universal justice and tried to protect the poor and humble people, as well as explore the intemperance and arbitrariness of the powerful. Nizami warned people about the transitory nature of life. Reflecting on the fate of people and being a humanist, Nizami in the poem “Iskander-name” made an attempt to depict a perfect society - a utopia.

Nizami was a mystical poet, but in Nizami’s work it is impossible to separate the mystical from the erotic, the spiritual from the secular. His mysticism, with its characteristic symbolism, is based on the essence of the Sufi concept. At the same time, it is known that Nizami was not officially accepted into any Sufi order. It is more likely that Nizami represented an ascetic mysticism similar to that of Ghazali and Attar, to which the poet's penchant for independent judgment and action added more distinguishable characteristics.

Nizami knew Islamic cosmology well, and he translated this knowledge into his poetry. According to Islamic cosmology, the Earth was located at the center surrounded by seven planets: the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, considered representatives of God, which through their movements influence living beings and events on Earth. Thus, describing the birth of Bahram and the construction of his horoscope by sages and astrologers in the poem “Seven Beauties,” Nizami, who was well versed in astrology, predicted the character traits and fate of Bahram:

Nizami was firmly convinced that the unity of the world can be perceived through arithmetic, geometry and music. He also knew numerology and believed that numbers were the key to an interconnected universe, since through numbers, multitude becomes unity and dissonance becomes harmony. In the poem “Leili and Majnun” he gives the numerological meaning of his name - Nizami, calling the number 1001:

The language of Nizami's poems and poems is unusual. Nizami wrote in Persian, taking it to new heights through the use of allegories, parables and polysemous words. He introduced new and transparent, expanded metaphors and images, and created neologisms. Nizami uses various stylistic figures (hyperbole, anaphora), repetitions (mukarrar), allusion, complex words and images, which he combines with various elements of the narrative to increase the power of their impact. Nizami's style is also distinctive in that he avoids using conventional words to describe the actions, emotions and behavior of his characters. Another feature of Nizami is the creation of aphorisms. Thus, in the poem “Leili and Majnun” Nizami created a style that some authors called the “style of epigrams”, and many of the aphorisms created by Nizami became proverbs. Nizami uses colloquial speech in his poetry. His language is rich in idioms and stylistically simple, especially in dialogues and monologues. Nizami himself called his style “Gharib”, which translates as “rare, new”. He called himself a “wizard of words” and a “mirror of the invisible.”

Works

Only a small part of Nizami’s lyrical poetry has survived to this day, mainly qasidas (odes) and ghazals (lyric poems). The surviving lyrical “Divan” of Nizami amounts to 6 qasidas, 116 ghazals, 2 kits and 30 rubais. However, according to Nizami's medieval biographers, this is only a small part of his lyrics. A small number of his rubai (quatrains) are preserved in the anthology of Persian poetry Nuzhat ol-Majalis, compiled by the 13th-century Persian poet. Jamal al-Din Khalil Shirvani, but first described only in 1932.

Nizami's main works are five poems, united by the common title "Panj Ganj", which is translated from Persian as "Five Jewels", better known as "Five" (from "khamsa" - the Persian pronunciation of the Arabic word "khamisa" - "five").

All five poems are written in masnawi (couple) poetic form, and the total number of couplets is 30,000. The poem “Treasury of Secrets” consists of 2260 masnawis written in the sari meter (– ? ? – / – ? ? – / – ? – ). The poem "Khosrow and Shirin" consists of approximately 6,500 masnavi written in the meter "khazaj" (? - - -). The poem "Leili and Majnun" consists of 4600 masnavi in ​​the meter "khazaj". "Seven Beauties" has about 5130 masnavi in ​​the meter "kafif" (-?--/?-?-/??-). "Iskander-name", consisting of two parts, contains a total of about 10,500 masnavi in ​​the "motagareb" meter (? ? ? / ? ? ? / ? ? ? / ? ?), which is used to write Ferdowsi's poem "Shah-name" .

The first of the poems, “Treasury of Secrets,” was written under the influence of the monumental poem “The Garden of Truth” by Sanai (died 1131). The poems “Khosrov and Shirin”, “Seven Beauties” and “Iskander-name” are based on medieval knightly stories. The heroes of Nizami’s poems Khosrow and Shirin, Bahram-i Gur and Alexander the Great, who appear in separate episodes in the poem “Shahname” by Ferdowsi, are placed in the center of the plot in Nizami’s poems and become the main characters of his three poems. The poem “Leili and Majnun” was written based on Arabic legends. In all five poems, Nizami significantly reworked the material from the sources used.

It should be noted that Nizami’s poems contain unique data that have survived to this day precisely thanks to his descriptions. For example, one of the fascinations of the Khamsa is its detailed descriptions of the musicians, which has made Nizami's poems the main source of modern knowledge about 12th-century Persian music and musical instruments. Despite Nizami's interest in ordinary people, the poet did not reject the institution of the monarchical form of government and believed that it was an integral, spiritual and sacred part of the Persian way of life.

The poem “Treasury of Secrets” reveals esoteric, philosophical and theological themes and was written in line with the Sufi tradition, and therefore served as a model for all poets who subsequently wrote in this genre. The poem is divided into twenty parable speeches, each of which is a separate treatise devoted to religious and ethical topics. Each chapter ends with an apostrophe (address) to the poet himself, containing his literary pseudonym. The contents of the verses are indicated in the title of each chapter and are written in typical homiletical style. Stories that discuss spiritual and practical issues, preach the justice of kings, the exclusion of hypocrisy, and warn about the vanity of this world and the need to prepare for life after death. Nizami preaches an ideal way of life, attracting the attention of his reader to people of the highest social status among God's creations, and also writes that a person should think about his spiritual destiny. In several chapters Nizami addresses the duties of kings, but in general he addresses all humanity rather than his royal patron. Written in a highly rhetorical style, the poem "Treasury of Secrets" is not a romantic epic poem, its purpose is to transcend the limitations of courtly secular literature. With this work, Nizami continued the direction that Sanai opened in Persian poetry and which was continued by many Persian poets, the leading among whom is Attar.

The poem “Khosrow and Shirin” is Nizami’s first masterpiece. When writing it, Nizami was influenced by Gurgani’s poem “Vis and Ramin”. The poem “Khosrow and Shirin” became a turning point not only for Nizami, but for all Persian poetry. Moreover, it is considered the first poem in Persian literature to achieve complete structural and artistic unity. It is also a Sufi work, allegorizing the soul's yearning for God; but the feelings are depicted so vividly that an unprepared reader does not even notice the allegory, perceiving the poem as a romantic love story. The plot of the poem is based on a true story, and the characters are historical figures. Nizami claimed that his source was a manuscript kept in Barda. The life story of Khosrow II Parviz (590-628) was described in historical documents and told in detail in Ferdowsi's epic-historical poem "Shahnameh". However, Nizami mentions only briefly the events associated with the ascension of Khosrow II Parviz to the throne and the years of his reign. In his poem, Nizami talks about the tragic love of Khosrow, the Sasanian prince, then the Shah of Iran, and the beautiful Armenian princess Shirin, niece (brother’s daughter) Shemira (name Mehin Banu) - the powerful ruler of Christian Arran (Albania) right up to Armenia, where they spent the summer . Behind this plot lies the story of a soul mired in sins that do not allow it, no matter how much it wants, to unite with God.

The poem “Leili and Majnun” develops the plot of an ancient Arabic legend about the unhappy love of the young man Kais, nicknamed “Majnun” (“Madman”), for the beautiful Leili. This romantic poem belongs to the genre of "udry" (otherwise "audri"). The plot of the poems in this genre is simple and revolves around unrequited love. The heroes of Udri are half-fictional and half-historical characters, and their actions are similar to the actions of characters in other romantic poems of this genre. Nizami persified the Arab-Bedouin legend, presenting the heroes as Persian aristocrats. He also transferred the development of the plot to an urban environment and added several Persian motifs, also decorating the narrative with descriptions of nature. The plot of the poem is based on the legend of the tragic love of the poet Qais and his cousin Leila, but there is also a general meaning of the poem - boundless love, finding a way out only in high poetry and leading to the spiritual merging of lovers. The poem has been published in various countries in different versions of the text. However, the Iranian scholar Hasan Vahid Dastjerdi published a critical edition of the poem in 1934, compiling its text from 66 chapters and 3657 stanzas, omitting 1007 couplets, identifying them as later interpolations, although he admitted that some of them could have been added by Nizami himself .

The title of the poem “Haft Peykar” can be literally translated as “seven portraits”, it can also be translated as “seven princesses”. The poem is also known as “Haft gundbad” - “seven domes”, which reflects the metaphorical meaning of the name. The plot of each of the seven short stories is a love experience, and, in accordance with the transition from black to white, rough sensuality is replaced by spiritually enlightened love.

The plot of the poem is based on the events of Persian history and the legend of Bahram Gur (Bahram V), the Sasanian Shah, whose father, Yazdegerd I, remained childless for twenty years and had a son only after he turned to Ahura Mazda with pleas to give him a child. After the long-awaited birth of Bahram, on the advice of the sages, he is sent to be raised by the Arab king Noman. By order of Noman, a beautiful new palace was built - Karnak. One day, in one of the rooms of the palace, Bahram finds portraits of seven princesses from seven different countries, with whom he falls in love. After the death of his father, Bahram returns to Persia and ascends the throne. Having become king, Bahram undertakes a search for seven princesses and, having found them, marries them.

The second thematic line of the poem is the transformation of Bahram Gur from a frivolous prince into a fair and intelligent ruler fighting tyranny and violence. While Bahram, who ascended the throne, was busy with his wives, one of his ministers seized power in the country. Suddenly, Bahram discovers that the affairs of his kingdom are in disarray, the treasury is empty, and neighboring rulers are planning to attack him. Having investigated the actions of the minister, Bahram comes to the conclusion that he is guilty of the troubles that befell the kingdom. He sentences the villainous minister to death and restores justice and order to his country. After this, Bahram orders the seven palaces of his wives to be turned into seven Zoroastrian temples for the worship of God, and Bahram himself goes hunting and disappears into a deep cave. While trying to find a wild donkey (g?r), Bahram finds his grave (g?r).

Nizami considered the poem “Iskander-name” to be the result of his work; in comparison with other poems of “Khamsa”, it is distinguished by some philosophical complexity. The poem is Nizami’s creative reworking of various stories and legends about Iskander - Alexander the Great, whose image Nizami placed in the center of the poem. From the very beginning, Alexander the Great appears as an ideal sovereign, fighting only in the name of defending justice. The poem consists of two formally independent parts, written in rhyming couplets and according to the meter “motakareb” (Aruz), which is used to write the poem “Shahname”: “Sharaf-name” (“Book of Glory”) and “Iqbal-name” or otherwise “Kerab-name” name" ("Book of Fate"). "Sharaf-name" describes (based on Eastern legends) the life and exploits of Iskander. “Iqbal-name” is compositionally divided into two large sections, which can be entitled “Iskander the Sage” and “Iskander the Prophet”.

For a long time, doubts were raised about the time of creation of the poem and the order of its arrangement within the collection “Khamsa”. However, at the beginning of Sharaf-name, Nizami said that by the time those lines were written, he had already created “three pearls” before starting a “new ornament,” which confirmed the time of creation. In addition, Nizami mourns the death of Shirvanshah Aksatan, to whom Nizami dedicated the poem “Leili and Majnun,” and addresses his instructions to his successor. By the time the poem was completed, the power of the Shirvanshah dynasty in Ganja had weakened, so Nizami dedicated the poem to the malek Akhara Nosrat-al-Din Biskin bin Mohammad, whom Nizami mentions in the introduction to the Sharaf-nama.

The main episodes of the legend of Alexander, which are known in the Muslim tradition, are collected in the “Sharaf-nama”. In Iqbal-nama, Alexander, the undisputed ruler of the world, is no longer shown as a warrior, but as a sage and prophet. An equally significant part consists of parables that are not directly related to the story of Alexander. In conclusion, Nizami talks about the end of Alexander's life and the circumstances of the death of each of the seven sages. In this part, an interpolation about the death of Nizami himself has been added. While Sharaf-nama belongs to the tradition of Persian epic poetry, in Iqbal-nama Nizami demonstrated his talents as a didactic poet, joke-teller and miniaturist.

Nizami in the Middle Ages

Dowlatshah of Samarkandi called Nizami the most sophisticated writer of the era in which he lived. And Hafiz Shirazi dedicated lines to him in which he writes that “all the treasures of past days cannot compare with the sweetness of Nizami’s songs.”

Nizami's works had a tremendous influence on the further development of Eastern and world literature until the 20th century. There are dozens of nazires (poetic “answers”) and imitations of Nizami’s poems, created starting from the 13th century and belonging to, among others, Alisher Navoi, the Indo-Persian poet Amir Khosrow Dehlavi, and others. Many poets in subsequent centuries imitated Nizami’s work, even if they could not compare with him and, of course, could not surpass him - the Persians, the Turks, the Indians, to name only the most important. The Persian scholar Hekmet listed at least forty Persian and thirty Turkish versions of the poem "Leyli and Majnun".

Nizami's work had a great influence on the further development of Persian literature. Not only each of his poems, but all five of Khamsa's poems as a whole became a model that was imitated and competed with by Persian poets in subsequent centuries.

Turkic-speaking readers became familiar with the plots of Nizami’s works back in the Middle Ages through imitations of his poems and the original poetic responses of Turkic-speaking poets.

Nizami's poems provided the Persian art of miniatures with an abundance of creative material, together with Ferdowsi's poem "Shahnameh", becoming the most illustrated among the works of Persian literature.

Translations and editions of Nizami's works

The first translations of Nizami's works into Western European languages ​​began to be carried out starting in the 19th century. In the 1920s and 30s, Russian translators and researchers translated individual fragments from the poems “Seven Beauties,” “Leili and Majnun,” and “Khosrow and Shirin.” The translation of all Nizami's works from Persian into Azerbaijani was carried out in Azerbaijan.

The first attempt at a critical edition of Nizami's poems was made by Hasan Vahid Dastjerdi, publishing the poems in Tehran in 1934-1939. One of the best editions of Nizami’s works is the publication of the poem “Seven Beauties”, which was carried out by Helmut Ritter and Jan Rypka in 1934 (Prague, printed Istanbul, 1934) based on fifteen manuscripts with the texts of the poem and a lithograph published in Bombay in 1265 . It is one of the few editions of a classical Persian text that employs a rigorous text-critical methodology.

The Meaning of Creativity

J. V. Goethe created his “West-Eastern Divan” under the influence of Persian poetry. In “Comments and Essays on the West-Eastern Divan” (“Noten und Abhandlungen zum West-?stlichen Divan”), Goethe paid tribute to Nizami among such Persian poets as Ferdowsi, Anvari, Rumi, Saadi and Jami, but his greatest influence was on Goethe was influenced by the poetry of Hafez and his “Divan” when creating the “West-Eastern Divan”. In the collection “West-Eastern Divan” itself, Goethe turns to Nizami and mentions the heroes of his poems:

In the “History of the Russian State” by N.M. Karamzin, Nizami is called a “Persian poet of the 12th century” and is mentioned in connection with the story about the Russian campaign in the poem “Iskander-name”. Orientalist historian V.V. Grigoriev calls Nizami “one of the most glorious epic poets of Persia” in his work “On the Ancient Campaigns of the Russians to the East.” In his opinion, Nizami “was the most learned and glorious man of his time.” G. Spassky-Avtonomov, sent to Tehran to study the Persian language, testifies that “among poets, Persian critics glorify Nizami above all others.” G. Spassky-Avtonomov writes that Nizami “was a sufa - that is, a mystic.” He explains his special interest in Nizami’s work by the fact that in Persia the poets Saadi, Ferdowsi and Anvari are called prophets, and Nizami is called a god among poets.

According to the authors of The Encyclopedia Americana, although at the beginning of the 20th century. Nizami's name and work were not widely known in the West; in Persia he is considered one of the classics of Persian literature, among whom he is perhaps second after Ferdowsi. At the beginning of the twentieth century. Nizami in Persia was revered as one of the seven great Persian poets.

In Iran, Nizami's work is still very popular. Iranians have had a tradition of reciting poetic works since ancient times, which can be regularly heard on the radio, observed on television, in literary societies, even in teahouses and in everyday speech. There is a special poetry recitation competition called “Musha-arekh”. Nizami's creativity, his living word serves as the source and symbol of this ancient tradition.

The plot of the poem "Seven Beauties" ("Haft Peykar") by Nizami served as the basis for the writing of Giacomo Puccini's opera "Turandot", the first performance of which took place on April 25, 1926 in Milan (Italy), which illustrates Nizami's long-term fame, penetrating beyond Persian literature .

Azerbaijani composers have repeatedly turned to the work and image of Nizami, such as Niyazi (chamber opera “Khosrov and Shirin”, 1942), Fikret Amirov (symphony “Nizami”, 1947), Afrasiyab Badalbeyli (opera “Nizami”, 1948). Soviet composer Kara Karaev twice turned to the plot of “Seven Beauties”: first he wrote the symphonic suite of the same name (1949), and then, in 1952, the ballet “Seven Beauties”, which brought the composer world fame. The feature film of the Azerbaijani studio “Leyli and Majnun” was shot (1961) based on the works of the same name by Nizami and Fuzuli. Five films by Azerbaijani filmmakers were dedicated to Nizami, including the feature film “Nizami” (1982) with Muslim Magomayev in the title role.

The problem of Nizami's cultural identity

Nizami's cultural identity has been a subject of controversy since the 40s of the 20th century, when a number of Soviet researchers stated that Nizami had an Azerbaijani identity.

Victor Shnirelman notes that until the 40s of the 20th century, Nizami’s cultural identity was not discussed; he was recognized as a Persian poet; however, after 1940, on the territory of the USSR, Nizami began to be officially considered an Azerbaijani poet.

In an article in the TSB in 1939, edited by Krymsky, Nizami is called an Azerbaijani poet and thinker. The famous Soviet orientalist Bertels held a similar opinion about Nizami’s nationality. After 1940, all Soviet researchers and encyclopedias recognize Nizami as an Azerbaijani poet. After the collapse of the USSR, a number of post-Soviet sources continue to consider Nizami an Azerbaijani poet, but a number of Russian scientists again speak of Nizami’s Persian identity.

Azerbaijani Nizami researchers believe that the poet’s poems contain examples of Azerbaijani self-awareness. Azerbaijani author Ramazan Kafarli believes that Nizami wrote not in Turkic, but in Persian, since “in the East one could sooner become famous and spread one’s views in various countries through the Persian and Arabic languages.”

In turn, Iranian researchers give similar examples of Persian identity in Nizami’s poems and note that in his poems “Turk” or “Hindu” are not nationalities, but poetic symbols.

Outside the USSR, in most academic works (including Turkish authors) and authoritative encyclopedias: Britannica, Larousse, Iranica, Brockhaus, etc. Nizami is recognized as a Persian poet.

A number of American scientists believe that Nizami is an example of the synthesis of Turkic and Persian cultures and an example of Azerbaijan’s contribution to such a synthesis.

Some Soviet and foreign scientists believe that the “Azerbaijanization” of Nizami in the USSR in the 40s of the 20th century was a politically motivated state action.

In 1981 and 1991, the USSR issued commemorative postage stamps with a symbolic image of Nizami and an inscription stating that Nizami is “an Azerbaijani poet and thinker.”

In 1993, the Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan issued a 500 manat banknote with a symbolic portrait of Nizami Ganjavi.

World recognition. Memory

UNESCO, recognizing the year of birth of Nizami as 1141, declared 1991 the year of Nizami in honor of the 850th anniversary of the poet. In honor of the 850th anniversary of Nizami's birth in 1991, international congresses dedicated to Nizami were held in Washington, Los Angeles, London and Tabriz.

In 1947, the poet’s mausoleum was erected in Ganja (on the site of an ancient one, which had been destroyed by that time).

There are numerous monuments to Nizami in Baku, Ganja and other cities of Azerbaijan; streets and districts are named after him.

• Nizami Ganjavi - metro station (Baku).
• Nizami Street is one of the central streets in Baku.
• Lyceum of Technical and Natural Sciences named after Nizami Ganjavi (Sumgayit).
• Institute of Literature named after. Nizami ANAS.
• Museum of Azerbaijani Literature named after Nizami Ganjavi.
• Park named after Nizami (Baku).
• Nizami villages in Goranboy and Sabirabad regions of Azerbaijan.
• Nizami district in Baku.

A crater on Mercury was named after Nizami. The Tashkent Pedagogical Institute named after him was named after him. Nizami in Uzbekistan and the village of Nizami in Armenia.

Nizami Ganjavi - metro station (Baku)

Nizami street in Baku

Nizami Ganjavi on a 2011 Azerbaijan postage stamp dedicated to the 870th anniversary of the poet

A classic of Persian poetry, one of the greatest poets of the medieval East, the greatest romantic poet in Persian epic literature, who introduced colloquial speech and a realistic style into Persian epic poetry. Using themes from traditional oral folk art and written historical chronicles, Nizami united pre-Islamic and Islamic Iran with his poems. Nizami's heroic-romantic poetry continued to influence the entire Persian-speaking world over the following centuries and inspired young poets, writers and playwrights who tried to imitate him for many subsequent generations, not only in Persia itself, but throughout the region, including the cultures of such modern countries as like Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, India. His work influenced such great poets as Hafez, Jalaluddin Rumi and Saadi.

His five masnavi (long poems) (Khamsa) explore and explore a variety of themes from various fields of knowledge and have achieved enormous fame, as evidenced by the large number of surviving copies of his works. The heroes of his poems - Khosrow and Shirin, Leili and Majnun, Iskander-name - still remain well-known both throughout the Islamic world and in other countries. 1991 was declared by UNESCO as the Year of Nizami in honor of the 850th anniversary of the poet.

Little is known about Nizami’s life; the only source of information about him is his works, which also do not contain enough reliable information about his personal life, as a result of which his name is surrounded by many legends, which were further adorned by his subsequent biographers.

Nizami's exact date of birth is unknown. It is only known that Nizami was born between 1140-1146 (535-540). Most medieval biographers of Nizami (Aufi Sadid-ad-din in the 13th century, Doulatshah Samarkandi in the 15th century and others) indicate Ganja, where he lived and died, as the city of Nizami’s birth. Academician E.E. Bertels noted that in the best and oldest manuscript of Nizami known to him, Qom is also not mentioned.

Nizami was brilliantly educated by the standards of his time. Poets were then expected to be well versed in many disciplines. However, even with such requirements for poets, Nizami stood out for his scholarship: his poems testify not only to his excellent knowledge of Arabic and Persian literature, oral and written traditions, but also mathematics, astronomy, astrology, alchemy, medicine, botany, theology, interpretations of the Koran , Islamic law, Christianity, Judaism, Iranian myths and legends, history, ethics, philosophy, esotericism, music and fine arts.

Nizami was married three times. His first and beloved wife, the Cuman slave Afak (to whom he dedicated many poems), “majestic in appearance, beautiful, intelligent,” was presented to him by the ruler of Derbent, Dara Muzaffarr ad-Din, around 1170. Nizami, having freed Afak, married her. Around 1174 they had a son, who was named Muhammad. In 1178 or 1179, when Nizami was finishing the poem “Khosrow and Shirin,” his wife Afak died. Nizami's two other wives also died prematurely, although the death of each of the wives coincided with Nizami's completion of a new epic poem, in connection with which the poet said:

God, why must I sacrifice my wife for every poem!

Nizami lived in an era of political instability and intense intellectual activity, which is reflected in his poems and poems. Nothing is known about his relationships with his patrons, just as the exact dates when his individual works were written are not known, since much is the fruit of the imagination of his biographers who lived after him. During his lifetime, Nizami received honors and was respected. There is a legend that the atabek vainly invited Nizami to the court, but was refused, but considering the poet a holy man, he presented Nizami with five thousand dinars, and later gave him the possession of 14 villages.

Information about the date of his death is as contradictory as the date of his birth. Medieval biographers indicate different data, differing by about thirty-seven years (575-613/1180-1217) in determining the year of Nizami’s death.

Nizami Ganjavi is the past of Azerbaijani literature, without which there would be no present. Throughout his career, Nizami Ganjavi wrote lyrical poems. The poet, who put forward progressive social and philosophical thoughts in his later poems, expressed them for the first time in these poems.
The poet's personal name is Ilyas, his father's name was Yusuf, grandfather Zaki; after the birth of my son Muhammad the latter's name was also included in the poet's full name Abu Muhammad Ilias ibn Yusuf ibn Zaki Mu'ayad

Born in 1141 in Pyanj into a family of theological scholars and, judging by the content of his works, received a comprehensive philosophical and philological education, knew, in addition to his native Azerbaijani (Turkic), the language of science and religion (Arabic) and the language of poetry (Persian), studied mathematics, algebra, geometry, astronomy, medicine, logic, history.

He lived constantly in his native Ganja. Being closely connected with Azerbaijan, he transferred the action of individual episodes of his poems to its territory. He was never a court poet, content with the small allowances that feudal rulers assigned him for the poems dedicated to them.
Once the ruler of Derbent gave him a Turkish slave Afak (Appag) as a fee, Nizami She was then just over thirty, and she became his wife, the muse of his work, the mother of his only son Muhammad. Opponent of polygamy (polygamy) Nizami wrote: One wife is enough for you, for / A husband with many wives is lonely. (Interlinear translation by G. Aliyev and N. Omanov). The pinnacle of creativity was the FIVE poems he wrote = Khyamsa - five in Arabic

The first poem, “Treasury of Secrets” (1177), is composed of twenty short poetic chapters, or “speeches,” written, like other poems, in the Masnavi style, “rhyming lines in pairs.”

A love story with many of its triangle varieties formed the basis of his second poem, “Khosrow and Shirin” (1181), which tends to be a novel in verse with a self-developing plot.

The third poem - "Leili and Majnun" (1188) - is based on a popular eastern legend about love. Intertribal strife and religious prejudices do not allow the young people who have fallen in love to reunite, and the poet Keyes, obsessed with passion, falls into madness (“Majnun” means “mad”).

The fourth poem, "Seven Beauties" (1197), was commissioned Nizami Seljuk Sultan Suleiman, to whom the author devotes a special chapter - it is both praise and instruction through comparison with the wise Solomon-Suleiman.

The idea of ​​a harmonious state occupies Nizami and in his last poem (completed in 1203) - the epic tale “Iskander-name” (Book about Iskander)

Abu Muhammad Ilyas ibn Yusuf Nizami Ganjavi

APHORISMS

The lover is blind. But passion is a visible trace

Leads him where sighted people cannot go.

A word spoken from the heart penetrates directly into the heart.

Love comes to live forever

It is better to live a miserable, beggarly life in your homeland than to reign in a foreign land.

Know, your true friend, if shame happens to you,
It will cover it, and not hide itself!

Indulge your loyal friends, don’t persecute them for their mistakes. How will the vessel you broke into shards give you something to drink?

To drag out your days without a friend is the worst of all troubles.
The soul that has no friend is worthy of pity.

It happens that love will pass on its own,
Without affecting either the heart or the mind.

Those who argue with life are given it.

It was a wonderful speech, I remember hearing it, -
Someone wise said: “Death is red in public.”
Death will kill one, and the whole city will cry.
He will tear the gate on himself in despair.
And the whole city will die somewhere in the distance, -
And no one will cry in deep anguish.

It happens that love will pass on its own, without affecting either the heart or the mind.

To drag out your days without a friend is the worst of all troubles. The soul that has no friend is worthy of pity.

Some friend is inevitable everywhere. But the best is when he is an assistant at work.

If sometimes the sting of grief strikes the chest, These days, my son, don’t forget the armor of patience.

Peace for the sake of joy and happiness - not for the sake of oppression and need.

Indulge your loyal friends, do not persecute them for their actions. How will the vessel you broke into shards give you something to drink?

To find treasures of happiness, resort to the omnipotence of words.

Will you feed the nightingale with a hunting falcon?

Be like scales, be precise and measured in your actions. Having weighed your heart, you will be confident in the right heart....

Nowadays, everything has been turned upside down. The thief became a rich "sage", and the sage became a simple beggar.

Wealth, power, wife and children,
You are needed in this world.
For that - both poor and rich,
He will leave alone, without an escort.

Sometimes love will go away on its own
Without affecting either the heart or the mind;
This is not love, but youthful fun.
Love has no right to disappear without a trace:
She comes to live forever
Until man perishes into the ground.

Nizami Ganjavi Abu Muhammad Ilyas ibn Yusuf (born around 1141 in Ganja (modern Azerbaijan) - died around 1209 there) - Persian (Iranian) poet, the largest romantic poet and mystic, who introduced colloquial speech and realistic style and created a new standard of literary work.

Using themes from traditional oral folk art and written historical chronicles, Nizami "united pre-Islamic and Islamic Iran" with his poems.

The word coming from the heart penetrates the heart.

Nizami Ganjavi

Recognized by many as one of the leading poets of medieval Persia, Nizami produced poetry that spans mysticism, romance and epic. Nizami's heroic-romantic poetry continued to influence the entire Persian-speaking world over the following centuries and inspired young poets, writers and playwrights who tried to imitate him for many subsequent generations, not only in Persia itself, but throughout the region, including the cultures of such modern countries as like Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, India.

Nizami's work influenced such great poets as Hafiz, Jalaluddin Rumi and Saadi. His five masnavi (long poems - "Khamsa") explore and explore a variety of topics from various fields of knowledge and have gained enormous fame, as evidenced by the large number of surviving lists of his works. The heroes of his poems - Khosrow and Shirin, Leili and Majnun, Iskander - still remain well-known both throughout the Islamic world and in other countries.

Little is known about Nizami’s life; the only source of information about him is his works, which also do not contain enough reliable information about his personal life, as a result of which his name is surrounded by many legends, which were further adorned by his subsequent biographers.

The poet’s personal name is Ilyas, his father’s name was Yusuf, his grandfather’s name was Zaki; after the birth of his son Muhammad, the latter's name also became part of the poet's full name, which thus began to sound: Abu Muhammad Ilias ibn Yusuf ibn Zaki Mu'ayad, and as a literary pseudonym ("nisba") he chose the name "Nizami", which some medieval authors " tadhira” is explained by the fact that the craft of embroidery was the work of his family, which Nizami abandoned in order to write poetic works, on which he worked with the patience of an embroiderer. His official name is Nizam ad-Din Abu Muhammad Ilyas ibn Yusuf ibn Zaki ibn Muayad.

Nizami's exact date of birth is unknown. It is only known that Nizami was born between 1140-1146 (535-540). Nizami's biographers and some modern researchers differ by six years regarding the exact date of his birth (535-40/1141-6). According to established tradition, the year of birth of Nizami is considered to be 1141, which is officially recognized by UNESCO. This year is indicated by Nizami himself in the poem “Khosrow and Shirin”, where in the chapter “In justification of the composition of this book” it is said:
Do you know my horoscope? There is a lion in it, but I am the son of dust,
And if I am a lion, I am only a lion made of wool,
And should I go against the enemy, destroying him?
I am a lion who could only go after himself!
(translated by K. Lipskerova)

From these lines it follows that the poet was born “under the sign” of Leo. In the same chapter, he indicates that he was forty years old when he began working on the poem, and he began it in 575 AH. It turns out that Nizami was born in 535 AH (that is, in 1141). That year, the sun was in the constellation Leo from August 17 to 22, which means that Nizami Ganjavi was born between August 17 and 22, 1141.

Persian. نظامی گنجوی‎, Kurdish. Nîzamî Gencewî, نیزامی گه‌نجه‌وی

classic of Persian poetry, one of the greatest poets of the medieval East, the greatest romantic poet in Persian epic literature

about 1141 - about 1209

Nizami Ganjavi

short biography

Nizami Ganjavi(full name - Nizami Abu Muhammad Ilyas ibn Yusuf) - famous Persian poet, thinker, who worked under the literary pseudonym Nizami. What his life path was, little is known, since only from his works can one glean any information about him. A huge number of legends are associated with his name - the fruits of the efforts of later biographers. It is not known exactly when the poet was born, but it is traditionally accepted that the year of his birth was 1141, the period between August 17 and 22. There is no complete certainty regarding Nizami’s place of birth. There is a version that this is the city of Qom (central Iran), but already in the Middle Ages, most of the poet’s biographers named the city of Ganja as his birthplace. Today it is generally accepted that Nizami’s father was born in Qom, and he himself is a native of Ganja.

His family was not rich. Some biographers believe that embroidery was the family craft, but Nizami abandoned the continuation of traditions for the sake of literary creativity. At the same time, there is evidence that the poet’s father, Yusuf ibn Zaki, could have been an official, and his mother was supposedly the daughter of a Kurdish leader. After the death of his parents, who died early, Nizami was raised by his mother’s brother.

Nizami was an excellently educated man. Poets of that time were required to have a good understanding of many scientific disciplines, but even against their background, Nizami stood out favorably. The texts of his poems convincingly indicate that he had knowledge not only of Persian and Arabic literature, but also of medicine, theology, Christianity, Islamic law, Judaism, Iranian mythology, philosophy, esotericism, music, fine arts, astronomy, etc. He began writing poetry in his youth.

Nizami’s biography is entirely connected with his native Ganja. He did not consider it possible for himself to become a court poet, not wanting to part with freedom of creativity, but at the same time, according to tradition, he dedicated his works to the feudal rulers, receiving small allowances for this. Nizami was a very respected person and received many honors. For example, according to legend, he received more than a dozen villages and 5,000 dinars from the atabek, although he refused to be at his court.

Nizami was married three times. His first, beloved wife was a slave of Turkic origin, who was given to him around 1170 by the ruler of Derbent. Nizami freed the slave and married her, dedicated many inspired lines to her; they had a son. Soon his beloved Afak died; premature death also overtook the poet's two other wives.

Five poems written by Nizami - “Treasury of Secrets”, “Leyla and Majnun”, “Seven Beauties”, “Iskander-name”, “Khosrov and Shirin” were included in the treasury of Azerbaijani poetry. His creative heritage also includes a sofa; 116 gazelles, 30 rubai, and several qasidas and kits have survived to this day. Nizami's literary heritage, mainly his poems, left a huge imprint on the further development of literature in the Middle East and Central Asia during the Middle Ages.

Data also differ regarding the death of the great poet; researchers give figures with a range of 37 years. All that is known for sure is that he died in the 13th century. in his native Ganja.

Biography from Wikipedia

Abu Muhammad Ilyas ibn Yusuf, known under the pseudonym Nizami Ganjavi(Persian نظامی گنجوی‎, Kurdish Nîzamî Gencewî, نیزامی گه‌نجه‌وی; about 1141, Ganja, State of Ildegizids (in modern times - a city in modern Azerbaijan) - about 1209 , ibid.) - classic of Persian poetry, one of the greatest poets medieval East, the largest romantic poet in Persian epic literature, who introduced colloquial speech and realistic style into Persian epic poetry.

Using themes from traditional oral folk art and written historical chronicles, Nizami united pre-Islamic and Islamic Iran with his poems. Nizami's heroic-romantic poetry continued to influence the entire Persian-speaking world over the following centuries and inspired young poets, writers and playwrights who tried to imitate him for many subsequent generations, not only in Persia itself, but throughout the region, including the cultures of such modern countries as like Azerbaijan, Armenia, Afghanistan, Georgia, India, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan. His work influenced such great poets as Hafiz Shirazi, Jalaluddin Rumi and Saadi. His five masnavi (long poems) (Khamsa) explore and explore a variety of themes from various fields of knowledge and have achieved enormous fame, as evidenced by the large number of surviving copies of his works. The heroes of his poems - Khosrow and Shirin, Leili and Majnun, Iskander - still remain well-known both throughout the Islamic world and in other countries.

1991 was declared by UNESCO as the Year of Nizami in honor of the 850th anniversary of the poet.

Historical and cultural background

From 1135/1136 to 1225, parts of the historical regions of Azerbaijan (now mostly Iranian Azerbaijan) and Arran were ruled by the Ildegizid dynasty as the Great Atabeks of the Seljuk Sultans of Persian Iraq. This dynasty was founded by Shamseddin Ildegiz, a Kipchak (Cuman) by origin, a freed ghulam (slave soldier) of the Seljuk Sultan of Persian Iraq (Western Iran). The Ildegizids were atabeks of Azerbaijan (that is, regents of the heirs to the throne of the Seljuk sultans), as the Seljuk empire collapsed, from 1181 they became local rulers and remained so until 1225, when their territory, previously captured by the Georgians, was conquered by Jalal ad-Din. Shams ad-Din Ildegiz probably achieved control over part of Azerbaijan only in 1153 after the death of Kass Beg Arslan, the last favorite of Sultan Masud ibn Muhammad (1133-1152).

In Shirvan, neighboring Azerbaijan and Arran, the State of the Shirvanshahs was located, which was ruled by the Kesranid dynasty. Although the dynasty was of Arab origin, by the 11th century the Kesranids were Persianized and claimed to be descendants of the ancient Persian Sasanian kings.

By the time of Nizami’s birth, a century had already passed since the invasion of Iran and Transcaucasia by the Seljuk Turks. According to the French historian Rene Grousset, the Seljuk sultans, being Turkomans themselves, having become the Sultans of Persia, did not Turkize Persia, but on the contrary, they “voluntarily became Persians and, like the ancient great Sasanian kings, defended the Iranian population” from the raids of nomads and saved Iranian culture from the Turkomans threats.

In the last quarter of the 12th century, when Nizami began to work on the poems that were included in the book “Khamse” (“Five”), the supreme power of the Seljuks was in decline, and political unrest and social unrest were growing. However, Persian culture flourished precisely when political power was dispersed rather than centralized and Persian remained the primary language. This also applied to Ganja, the Caucasian city - a remote Persian outpost where Nizami lived, a city that at that time had a predominantly Iranian population, as evidenced by Nizami’s contemporary, the Armenian historian Kirakos Gandzaketsi (c. 1200-1271), who also like Nizami Ganjavi ( Nizami from Ganja) was a resident of Ganja. It should be noted that in the Middle Ages, the Armenians called all Iranian speakers “Parsik” - Persians, which is reflected in the translation of the same passage into English. During Nizami’s lifetime, Ganja was one of the centers of Iranian culture, as evidenced by the collection of only one anthology of Persian poetry of the 13th century. Nuzhat ol-Majalis poems by 24 Persian poets who lived and worked in Ganja in the 11th-12th centuries. Among the Iranian-speaking population of Ganja in the 11th-12th centuries. It should also be noted that the Kurds, whose significant presence in the city and its environs was facilitated by the rule of representatives of the Sheddadid dynasty, which is of Kurdish origin. It is precisely the privileged position of the Kurds in Ganja that some researchers explain the move of Nizami’s father from Qom and the settlement of Nizami’s parents in Ganja, since Nizami’s mother was Kurdish.

The Persian historian Hamdallah Qazvini, who lived about a hundred years after Nizami, described the "treasure-filled" Ganja in Arran as one of the richest and most prosperous cities in Iran.

Azerbaijan, Arran and Shirvan then became the new center of Persian culture after Khorasan. In the “Khorasan” style of Persian poetry, experts highlight the Western - “Azerbaijani” school, which is otherwise called “Tabriz” or “Shirvan” or “Transcaucasian”, as prone to complicated metaphors and philosophy, to the use of images taken from the Christian tradition. Nizami is considered one of the most prominent representatives of this Western school of Persian poetry.

Little is known about Nizami’s life; the only source of information about him is his works, which also do not contain enough reliable information about his personal life, as a result of which his name is surrounded by many legends, which were further adorned by his subsequent biographers.

Name and pseudonym

The poet's personal name is Ilyas, his father's name was Yusuf, grandfather Zaki; after the birth of my son Muhammad the latter’s name also became part of the poet’s full name, which thus began to sound: Abu Muhammad Ilyas ibn Yusuf ibn Zaki Muayyad, and as a literary pseudonym (“lakab”) he chose the name “ Nizami", which some authors of the medieval "tazkirat" (tadhirat, tadkirat), that is, “biographies,” are explained by the fact that the craft of embroidery was the work of his family, which Nizami abandoned in order to write poetic works, on which he worked with the patience of an embroiderer. His official name is Nizam ad-Din Abu Muhammad Ilyas ibn Yusuf ibn Zaki ibn Muayyad. Jan Rypka gives another form of his official name, Hakim Jamal ad-Din Abu Muhammad Ilyas ibn Yusuf ibn Zaki ibn Muayyad Nizami.

By religion, Nizami was a Sunni.

Date and place of birth

Nizami's exact date of birth is unknown. It is only known that Nizami was born between 1140-1146 (535-540). Nizami's biographers and some modern researchers differ by six years regarding the exact date of his birth (535-40/1141-6). According to established tradition, the year of birth of Nizami is considered to be 1141, which is officially recognized by UNESCO. This year is indicated by Nizami himself in the poem “Khosrow and Shirin”, where in the chapter “In justification of the composition of this book” it is said:

Do you know my horoscope? There is a lion in it, but I am the son of dust,
And if I am a lion, I am only a lion made of wool,
And should I go against the enemy, destroying him?
I am a lion who could only go after himself!
(translated by K. Lipskerova)

From these lines it follows that the poet was born “under the sign” of Leo. In the same chapter, he indicates that he was forty years old when he began working on the poem, and he began it in 575 AH. It turns out that Nizami was born in 535 AH (that is, in 1141). That year, the sun was in the constellation Leo from August 17 to 22, which means that Nizami Ganjavi was born between August 17 and 22, 1141.

The poet's birthplace has long been controversial. Haji Lutf Ali Bey in the biographical work “Ateshkid” (XVIII century) calls Qom in central Iran, referring to Nizami’s verses from “Iskander-name”:

Although I am lost in the sea of ​​Ganja, like a pearl,
But I am from Kuhistan
Tafris has a village and its own glory
Nizami began to search from there.

Most medieval biographers of Nizami (Aufi Sadid-ad-din in the 13th century, Doulatshah Samarkandi in the 15th century and others) indicate Ganja, where he lived and died, as the city of Nizami’s birth. Academician E.E. Bertels noted that in the best and oldest manuscript of Nizami known to him, Qom is also not mentioned. Currently, there is an established opinion, accepted by academic authors, that Nizami’s father came from Qom, but Nizami himself was born in Ganja, and the mention in some of his works that Nizami was born in Qom is a distortion of the text. During Nizami’s life, Ganja was part of the Seljuk Empire, which lasted from 1077 to 1307. It should be noted that Tafrish, mentioned in the above passage from Iskander-name, was a major center of the Zoroastrian religion and is located 222 km from Tehran, Central Iran.

Nizami was born in the city, and his entire life was spent in an urban environment, moreover, in an atmosphere of dominance of Persian culture, since his native Ganja at that time still had an Iranian population, and although little is known about his life, it is believed that all his life he spent without leaving Transcaucasia. Scarce information about his life can only be found in his works.

Parents and relatives

Nizami's father, Yusuf ibn Zaki, who migrated to Ganja from Qom (Central Iran), may have been an official. The mother, Ra'isa, was of Iranian origin, according to Nizami himself, was a Kurdish woman, probably the daughter of the leader of a Kurdish tribe, and, according to some assumptions, was associated with the Kurdish Sheddadid dynasty, which ruled Ganja before the Atabeks.

The poet's parents died early. After the death of his father, Ilyas was raised by his mother, and after the death of the latter, by his mother’s brother, Khoja Umar.

Dowlatshah of Samarkandi (1438-1491) in his treatise “Tazkirat osh-shoara” (“Note about poets”)(finished in 1487) mentions Nizami's brother named Kiwami Mutarrizi, who was also a poet.

Education

Nizami was brilliantly educated by the standards of his time. Poets were then expected to be well versed in many disciplines. However, even with such requirements for poets, Nizami stood out for his scholarship: his poems testify not only to his excellent knowledge of Arabic and Persian literature, oral and written traditions, but also mathematics, astronomy, astrology, alchemy, medicine, botany, theology, interpretations of the Koran , Islamic law, Christianity, Judaism, Iranian myths and legends, history, ethics, philosophy, esotericism, music and fine arts.

Although Nizami is often called "Hakim" (sage), he was not a philosopher like Al-Farabi, Avicenna and Suhrawardi, or an expositor of Sufist theory like Ibn Arabi or Abdurrazzaq al-Kashani. However, he is considered a philosopher and Gnostic who was well versed in various areas of Islamic philosophical thought, which he integrated and generalized in a manner reminiscent of the traditions of later sages such as Qutbuddin al-Shirazi and Baba Afzal Kashani, who, being specialists in various fields of knowledge, attempted to unite various traditions in philosophy, gnosis and theology.

Life

Little information has been preserved about Nizami’s life, but it is known for sure that he was not a court poet, as he feared that in such a role he would lose his honesty, and wanted, above all, freedom of creativity. At the same time, following tradition, Nizami dedicated his works to rulers from various dynasties. Thus, Nizami dedicated the poem “Leili and Majnun” to the Shirvanshahs, and the poem “Seven Beauties” to the rival of the Ildegizids - one of the atabeks of Maraga (Ahmadiliz) Ala al-Din.

Nizami, as stated, lived in Ganja. He was married three times. His first and beloved wife, the Cuman slave Afak (to whom he dedicated many poems), “majestic in appearance, beautiful, intelligent,” was presented to him by the ruler of Derbent, Dara Muzaffarr ad-Din, around 1170. Nizami, having freed Afak, married her. Around 1174 they had a son, who was named Muhammad. In 1178 or 1179, when Nizami was finishing the poem “Khosrow and Shirin,” his wife Afak died. Nizami's two other wives also died prematurely, although the death of each wife coincided with Nizami's completion of a new epic poem, in connection with which the poet said:

God, why must I sacrifice my wife for every poem!

Nizami lived in an era of political instability and intense intellectual activity, which is reflected in his poems and poems. Nothing is known about his relationships with his patrons, just as the exact dates when his individual works were written are not known, since much is the fruit of the imagination of his biographers who lived after him. During his lifetime, Nizami received honors and was respected. There is a legend that the atabek vainly invited Nizami to the court, but was refused, but considering the poet a holy man, he presented Nizami with five thousand dinars, and later gave him the possession of 14 villages.

Information about the date of his death is as contradictory as the date of his birth. Medieval biographers indicate different data, differing by about thirty-seven years (575-613/1180-1217) in determining the year of Nizami’s death. Now we only know for sure that Nizami died in the 13th century. The dating of Nizami's death to 605 AH (1208/1209) is based on an Arabic inscription from Ganja published by Bertels. Another opinion is based on the text of the poem “Iskander-name”. Someone close to Nizami, perhaps his son, described the death of the poet and included these lines in the second book about Iskander, in the chapter dedicated to the death of ancient philosophers - Plato, Socrates, Aristotle. This description gives the author's age according to the Muslim calendar, which corresponds to the date of death in 598 AH (1201/1202):

He was sixty years old and three years old,
And six months more - and he went into the darkness,
Having said everything about the men who illuminated with their
After teaching everyone, he left after them.
(translated by K. Lipskerova)

Creation

The culture of Persia during the Nizami era is famous for its deep-rooted tradition, splendor and luxury. In pre-Islamic times it developed extremely rich and unmistakable means of expression in music, architecture and literature, although Iran, its center, was constantly subject to raids by invading armies and immigrants, this tradition was able to absorb, transform and completely overcome the penetration of a foreign element . Alexander the Great was only one of many conquerors who were captivated by the Persian way of life. Nizami was a typical product of Iranian culture. He created a bridge between Islamic and pre-Islamic Iran, and between Iran and the entire ancient world. Although Nizami Ganjavi lived in the Caucasus - on the periphery of Persia, in his work he demonstrated a centripetal tendency that is manifested in all Persian literature, both in terms of the unity of its language and content, and in the sense of civil unity, and in the poem “Seven Beauties” wrote that Iran is the “heart of the world” (in Russian translation “soul of the world”):

The whole universe is just a body, and Iran is a soul.
I speak about this boldly, breathing the truth.
Spirit of the earth - Iran. And now - listen to every rumor:
May the body of the world be beautiful - the spirit is higher than the body.
(translation by V. Derzhavin)
Original text(Persian.)
همه عالم تن است و ایران دل
نیست گوینده زین قیاس خجل
چونکه ایران دل زمین باشد
دل ز تن به بود یقین باشد

Literary influence

According to Professor Chelkovsky, “Nizami’s favorite pastime was reading the monumental epic of Ferdowsi Shahnameh (The Book of Kings).” Although Nizami's work was influenced by other Persian poets such as Qatran Tabrizi, Sanai, Fakhraddin Gurgani and the historian At-Tabari, the work of Ferdowsi for Nizami was the source of inspiration and material for the creation of the poem "Iskander-name". Nizami constantly refers to the Shahnameh in his works, especially in the prologue of Iskander-nameh. It can be assumed that he always admired the work of Ferdowsi and, having set himself a goal in life - to write a heroic epic equal to Ferdowsi’s poem “Shahnameh”, used the poem “Shahnameh” as a source for creating three epic poems - “Seven Beauties”, “Khosrow and Shirin" and "Iskander-name". Nizami called Ferdowsi “hakim” - “sage”, “daanaa” - “knowledgeable” and a great master of oratory, “who adorned the words like a newlywed.” He advised the son of Shirvanshah to read the Shahnameh and remember the significant sayings of the sage. However, according to E.E. Bertels, “Nizami considers his poems higher than the creations of Ferdowsi,” “He is going to transform the “palace” into “silk,” and turn “silver” into “gold.”

Nizami was greatly influenced by the work of the 11th century Persian poet Fakhraddin Gurgani. Having borrowed most of his subjects from another great Persian poet Ferdowsi, Nizami took the basis for his art of writing poetry, imagery of speech and compositional technique from Gurgani. This is noticeable in the poem “Khosrow and Shirin”, and especially in the scene of the lovers’ argument, which imitates the main scene from Gurgani’s poem “Vis and Ramin”. In addition, Nizami's poem was written in the same meter (khazaj) in which Gurgani's poem was written. Gurgani's influence on Nizami can also explain the latter's passion for astrology.

Nizami wrote his first monumental work under the influence of the Persian poet Sanai’s poem “The Garden of Truths” (“Hadiqat al-Haqiqat”).

Style and worldview

Nizami wrote poetic works, but they are dramatic. The plot of his romantic poems is carefully constructed to enhance the psychological complexity of the narrative. His characters live under the pressure of action and must make urgent decisions in order to know themselves and others. He paints psychological portraits of his characters, revealing the richness and complexity of the human soul as they encounter strong and enduring love.

Monument to Nizami Ganjavi in ​​Baku. Sculptor F. G. Abdurakhmanov, 1949

With equal skill and depth, Nizami portrayed both ordinary people and royalty. With special warmth, Nizami depicted artisans and craftsmen. Nizami painted images of painters, sculptors, architects and musicians, who often became key figures in his poems. Nizami was a master of the romantic epic genre. In his sensually erotic poems, Nizami explains what makes human beings behave the way they do, revealing their folly and greatness, their struggles, passions and tragedies. For Nizami, truth was the essence of poetry. Based on this approach, Nizami brought down his anger on the court poets who sold their talent for earthly rewards. In his work, Nizami sought universal justice and tried to protect the poor and humble people, as well as explore the intemperance and arbitrariness of the powerful. Nizami warned people about the transitory nature of life. Reflecting on the fate of people and being a humanist, Nizami in the poem “Iskander-name” made an attempt to depict a perfect society - a utopia.

Nizami was a mystical poet, but in Nizami’s work it is impossible to separate the mystical from the erotic, the spiritual from the secular. His mysticism, with its characteristic symbolism, is based on the essence of the Sufi concept. At the same time, it is known that Nizami was not officially accepted into any Sufi order. It is more likely that Nizami represented an ascetic mysticism similar to that of Al-Ghazali and Attar, to which the poet's penchant for independent judgment and action added more distinct features. Nizami's poetry reflected Sufi traditions, symbols and images. Thus, in the poem “Treasury of Secrets” Nizami, whose creative heritage is a generally recognized repository of Iranian myths and legends, illustrated how the image of a rose ( Goal or hum) was perceived in the ideas of the people of medieval Persia. In Islamic tradition, the rose is associated with the Prophet Muhammad, which is expressed in many ways in religious texts and artistic creation. For the spread of this tradition in Iran, there were prerequisites in pre-Islamic culture and religion, in which a certain flower was associated with each deity. Flower culture in Iran has always been closely linked with the cultivation of the Persian garden. Medieval Persian garden in the form of a four-part architectural garden ( chagarbug) was a direct derivative of the ancient Persian "Garden of Eden" ( paradaise) Achaemenid kings, which formed part of the imperial palace system. Even the spread of Islam in Iran did not have a negative impact on the culture of the Persian garden. Roses, which have been grown in Iran since ancient times, were an essential part of the medieval Persian garden. In medieval Perso-Islamic culture, and in poetry in particular, which is the most subtle expression of the Persian creative genius, the image of the rose was used as a means of conveying various ideas. The rose was considered a regal flower and a symbol of beauty. The symbolism of the rose in Persian culture dates back to the pre-Islamic era, when the rose flower was associated with the Zoroastrian deity Daena, one of the female Yazat. The rose became a particularly powerful symbol in the mystical tradition from the 12th century onwards, permeating Persian religious thought and literary culture. Like many Persian mystical poets (Rumi, Attar, Saadi), Nizami used the image of a rose as a symbolic description of divinity. In the figurative structure of Persian poetry, the nightingale’s love for the rose symbolized the desire of the mystic’s soul for the divine. Thus, Rumi argued that the scent of a rose is an allusion to the mystery of the divine reality that lies at the root of all things, and urged mystics to renounce their carnal essence in order to become like the scent of a rose and guide others to the divine Rose Garden. Rumi explains the scent of rose as symbolizing "the breath of reason and sanity." Following this tradition, Nizami revealed the mystical symbolism of the rose in the competition between two court doctors in the poem “Treasury of Secrets.” Although Nizami's parable points to the power of psychological suggestion, the mystical nature of the rose's scent serves as a metaphor both in Nizami's poem and in classical texts of medieval Persian poetry.

Nizami knew Islamic cosmology well, and he translated this knowledge into his poetry. According to Islamic cosmology, the Earth was located at the center surrounded by seven planets: the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, considered representatives of God, which through their movements influence living beings and events on Earth. Thus, describing the birth of Bahram and the construction of his horoscope by sages and astrologers in the poem “Seven Beauties,” Nizami, who was well versed in astrology, predicted the character traits and fate of Bahram:

The head of the month rose that night to the Pleiades,
The apogee of the star Bahram was in the constellation Leo.
Utarid flashed in the morning in the sign of Gemini,
And Keivan drove away the enemies from Aquarius.
(lane Vl. Derzhavina)

Nizami was firmly convinced that the unity of the world can be perceived through arithmetic, geometry and music. He also knew numerology and believed that numbers were the key to an interconnected universe, since through numbers, multitude becomes unity and dissonance becomes harmony. In the poem “Leili and Majnun” he gives the abjadiy (numerological meaning) of his name - Nizami (Persian نظامی‎ = 50+900+1+40+10), calling the number 1001:

The nickname “Nizami” was given to me,
There are a thousand names in it and one more.
The designation of these good letters
More reliable than granite fortress walls.
(Translation by T. Streshneva)

The language of Nizami's poems and poems is unusual. Nizami wrote in Persian, taking it to new heights through the use of allegories, parables and polysemous words. He introduced new and transparent, expanded metaphors and images, and created neologisms. Nizami uses various stylistic figures (hyperbole, anaphora), repetitions ( mukarrar), allusion, complex words and images that are combined with various narrative elements to increase their impact. Nizami's style is also distinctive in that he avoids using conventional words to describe the actions, emotions and behavior of his characters. Another feature of Nizami is the creation of aphorisms. Thus, in the poem “Leili and Majnun” Nizami created a style that some authors called the “style of epigrams”, and many of the aphorisms created by Nizami became proverbs. Nizami uses colloquial speech in his poetry. His language is rich in idioms and stylistically simple, especially in dialogues and monologues. Nizami himself called his style “ gharib”, which translates as “rare, new”. He called himself a “wizard of words” and a “mirror of the invisible.”

According to E.E. Bertels, Nizami was a Sunni Muslim by religion, and also had an aversion to extreme Shiites, Qarmatians and Ismailis. In support of the latter, he quotes the following lines from Nizami:

The banner of Ishaq has been raised by him; if he has an opponent, it is an Ismaili.

Works

Only a small part of Nizami’s lyrical poetry has survived to this day, mainly qasidas (odes) and ghazals (lyric poems). The surviving lyrical “Divan” of Nizami amounts to 6 qasidas, 116 ghazals, 2 kits and 30 rubais. However, according to Nizami's medieval biographers, this is only a small part of his lyrics. A small number of his rubai (quatrains) are preserved in the anthology of Persian poetry Nuzhat ol-Majalis, compiled by the 13th-century Persian poet. Jamal al-Din Khalil Shirvani, but first described only in 1932.

Khamse ("Five")

Miniature from the Khamsa manuscript, dated 1494, depicting the ascent of Muhammad on Buraq from Mecca to heaven (Mi'raj), as well as the many-winged Archangel Gabriel (right)

Nizami's main works are five poems, united by the common title "Panj Ganj", which is translated from Persian as "Five Jewels", better known as "Five" (from "khamsa" - the Persian pronunciation of the Arabic word "khamisa" - "five").

• The poem “Mahsan al-Asrar” (Persian: مخزن الاسرار‎) - “Treasury of Secrets”, written in 1163 (although some researchers date it back to 1176), is dedicated to the ruler of Erzincan, Fakhr ad-din Bahram Shah (1155-1218). ).
• The poem “Khosrow and Shirin” (Persian خسرو و شیرین ‎) was written during 16 lunar years between 1175/1176 and 1191 and dedicated to the Seljuk Sultan Toghrul III (1175-1194), atabek Muhammad ibn Eldigiz Jahan Pahlavan ( 1175- 1186) and his brother Kyzyl-Arslan (1186-1191).
• The poem “Leili and Majnun” (Persian لیلی و مجنون‎), written in 1188, is dedicated to Shirvanshah Akhsitan I (1160-1196).
• The poem “Seven Beauties” (“Haft Peykar”, Pers. هفت پیکر‎) was written in 1197 and dedicated to the ruler of Maragha Aladdin Kurp-Arslan.
• The poem “Iskander-name” (Persian: اسکندرنامه‎), the title of which is translated as “Book of Alexander”, was written between 1194 and 1202. and is dedicated to the malek Akhara Nosrat-al-Din Biskin bin Mohammad from the Pishkinid dynasty (1155-1231) of Georgian origin, who were vassals of the Shaddadids of Arran.

All five poems are written in masnawi (couple) poetic form, and the total number of couplets is 30,000. The poem "Treasury of Secrets" consists of 2260 masnawis written in the meter "sari" (- ᴗ ᴗ - / - ᴗ ᴗ - / - ᴗ - ). The poem "Khosrow and Shirin" consists of approximately 6,500 masnavi written in the meter "khazaj" (ᴗ - - -). The poem "Leili and Majnun" consists of 4600 masnavi in ​​the meter "khazaj". "Seven Beauties" has about 5130 masnavi in ​​the meter "kafif" (-ᴗ--/ᴗ-ᴗ-/ᴗᴗ-). “Iskander-name”, consisting of two parts, contains a total of about 10,500 masnavi in ​​the “motagareb” meter (◡ − − / ◡ − − / ◡ − − / ◡ −), which is used to write Ferdowsi’s poem “Shah-name” .

The first of the poems, “Treasury of Secrets,” was written under the influence of the monumental poem “The Garden of Truth” by Sanai (died 1131). The poems “Khosrov and Shirin”, “Seven Beauties” and “Iskander-name” are based on medieval knightly stories. The heroes of Nizami’s poems Khosrow and Shirin, Bahram-i Gur and Alexander the Great, who appear in separate episodes in the poem “Shahname” by Ferdowsi, are placed in the center of the plot in Nizami’s poems and become the main characters of his three poems. The poem “Leili and Majnun” was written based on Arabic legends. In all five poems, Nizami significantly reworked the material from the sources used.

It should be noted that Nizami’s poems contain unique data that have survived to this day precisely thanks to his descriptions. For example, one of the fascinations of the Khamsa is its detailed descriptions of the musicians, which has made Nizami's poems the main source of modern knowledge about 12th-century Persian music and musical instruments. Despite Nizami's interest in ordinary people, the poet did not reject the institution of the monarchical form of government and believed that it was an integral, spiritual and sacred part of the Persian way of life.

"Treasury of Secrets"

The poem “Treasury of Secrets” reveals esoteric, philosophical and theological themes and was written in line with the Sufi tradition, and therefore served as a model for all poets who subsequently wrote in this genre. The poem is divided into twenty parable speeches, each of which is a separate treatise devoted to religious and ethical topics. Each chapter ends with an apostrophe (address) to the poet himself, containing his literary pseudonym. The contents of the verses are indicated in the title of each chapter and are written in typical homiletical style. Stories that discuss spiritual and practical issues, preach the justice of kings, the exclusion of hypocrisy, and warn about the vanity of this world and the need to prepare for life after death. Nizami preaches an ideal way of life, attracting the attention of his reader to people of the highest social status among God's creations, and also writes that a person should think about his spiritual destiny. In several chapters Nizami addresses the duties of kings, but in general he addresses all humanity rather than his royal patron. Written in a highly rhetorical style, the poem "Treasury of Secrets" is not a romantic epic poem, its purpose is to transcend the limitations of courtly secular literature. With this work, Nizami continued the direction that Sanai opened in Persian poetry and which was continued by many Persian poets, the leading among whom is Attar.

"Khosrow and Shirin"

The poem “Khosrow and Shirin” is Nizami’s first masterpiece. When writing it, Nizami was influenced by Fakhraddin Gurgani’s poem “Vis and Ramin”. The poem “Khosrow and Shirin” became a turning point not only for Nizami, but for all Persian poetry. Moreover, it is considered the first poem in Persian literature to achieve complete structural and artistic unity. It is also a Sufi work, allegorizing the soul's yearning for God; but the feelings are depicted so vividly that an unprepared reader does not even notice the allegory, perceiving the poem as a romantic love story. The plot of the poem is based on a true story, and the characters are historical figures. Nizami claimed that his source was a manuscript kept in Barda. The life story of Khosrow II Parviz (590-628) was described in historical documents and told in detail in Ferdowsi's epic-historical poem "Shahnameh". However, Nizami mentions only briefly the events associated with the ascension of Khosrow II Parviz to the throne and the years of his reign. In his poem, Nizami talks about the tragic love of Khosrow, the Sasanian prince, then the Shah of Iran, and the beautiful Armenian princess Shirin, the niece (daughter of her brother) Shemira (name Mekhin Banu) - the powerful ruler of Christian Arran right up to Armenia, where they spent the summer. Behind this plot lies the story of a soul mired in sins that do not allow it, no matter how much it wants, to unite with God.

"Leili and Majnun"

The poem “Leili and Majnun” develops the plot of an ancient Arabic legend about the unhappy love of the young man Kais, nicknamed “Majnun” (“Madman”), for the beautiful Leili. The poem was written by order of Shirvanshah Akhsitan I. The poem has 4600 stanzas. This poem is considered the most famous Persian account of the tale of Layla and Majnun. This romantic poem belongs to the genre of "udry" (otherwise "audri"). The plot of the poems in this genre is simple and revolves around unrequited love. The heroes of Udri are half-fictional and half-historical characters, and their actions are similar to the actions of characters in other romantic poems of this genre. Nizami persified the Arab-Bedouin legend, presenting the heroes as Persian aristocrats. He also moved the development of the plot to an urban environment and added several Persian motifs, also decorating the narrative with descriptions of nature. The plot of the poem is based on the legend of the tragic love of the poet Qais and his cousin Leila, but there is also a general meaning of the poem - boundless love, finding a way out only in high poetry and leading to the spiritual merging of lovers. The poem has been published in various countries in different versions of the text. However, the Iranian scholar Hasan Vahid Dastjerdi published a critical edition of the poem in 1934, compiling its text from 66 chapters and 3657 stanzas, omitting 1007 couplets, identifying them as later interpolations, although he admitted that some of them could have been added by Nizami himself .

"Seven Beauties"

The title of the poem “Haft Peykar” can be literally translated as “seven portraits”, it can also be translated as “seven princesses”. The poem is also known as “Haft gundbad” - “seven domes”, which reflects the metaphorical meaning of the name. The plot of each of the seven short stories is a love experience, and, in accordance with the transition from black to white, rough sensuality is replaced by spiritually enlightened love.

The plot of the poem is based on the events of Persian history and the legend of Bahram Gur (Bahram V), the Sasanian Shah, whose father, Yazdegerd I, remained childless for twenty years and had a son only after he turned to Ahura Mazda with pleas to give him a child. After the long-awaited birth of Bahram, on the advice of the sages, he is sent to be raised by the Arab king Noman. By order of Noman, a beautiful new palace was built - Karnak. One day, in one of the rooms of the palace, Bahram finds portraits of seven princesses from seven different countries, with whom he falls in love. After the death of his father, Bahram returns to Persia and ascends the throne. Having become king, Bahram undertakes a search for seven princesses and, having found them, marries them.

The second thematic line of the poem is the transformation of Bahram Gur from a frivolous prince into a fair and intelligent ruler fighting tyranny and violence. While Bahram, who ascended the throne, was busy with his wives, one of his ministers seized power in the country. Suddenly, Bahram discovers that the affairs of his kingdom are in disarray, the treasury is empty, and neighboring rulers are planning to attack him. Having investigated the actions of the minister, Bahram comes to the conclusion that he is guilty of the troubles that befell the kingdom. He sentences the villainous minister to death and restores justice and order to his country. After this, Bahram orders the seven palaces of his wives to be turned into seven Zoroastrian temples for the worship of God, and Bahram himself goes hunting and disappears into a deep cave. While trying to find a wild donkey (gūr), Bahram finds his grave (gūr).

"Iskander-name"

Nizami considered the poem “Iskander-name” to be the result of his work; in comparison with other poems of “Khamsa”, it is distinguished by some philosophical complexity. The poem is Nizami’s creative reworking of various stories and legends about Iskander - Alexander the Great, whose image Nizami placed in the center of the poem. From the very beginning, Alexander the Great appears as an ideal sovereign, fighting only in the name of defending justice. The poem consists of two formally independent parts, written in rhyming couplets and according to the meter “motakareb” (Aruz), which is used to write the poem “Shahname”: “Sharaf-name” (“Book of Glory”) and “Iqbal-name” or otherwise “Kerab-name” name" ("Book of Fate"). "Sharaf-name" describes (based on Eastern legends) the life and exploits of Iskander. “Iqbal-name” is compositionally divided into two large sections, which can be entitled “Iskander the Sage” and “Iskander the Prophet”.

For a long time, doubts were raised about the time of creation of the poem and the order of its arrangement within the collection “Khamse”. However, at the beginning of Sharaf-name, Nizami said that by the time those lines were written, he had already created “three pearls” before starting a “new ornament,” which confirmed the time of creation. In addition, Nizami mourns the death of Shirvanshah Aksatan, to whom Nizami dedicated the poem “Leili and Majnun,” and addresses his instructions to his successor. By the time the poem was completed, the power of the Shirvanshah dynasty in Ganja had weakened, so Nizami dedicated the poem to the malek Akhara Nosrat-al-Din Biskin bin Mohammad, whom Nizami mentions in the introduction to the Sharaf-nama.

The main episodes of the legend of Alexander, which are known in the Muslim tradition, are collected in the “Sharaf-nama”. In Iqbal-nama, Alexander, the undisputed ruler of the world, is no longer shown as a warrior, but as a sage and prophet. An equally significant part consists of parables that are not directly related to the story of Alexander. In conclusion, Nizami talks about the end of Alexander's life and the circumstances of the death of each of the seven sages. In this part, an interpolation about the death of Nizami himself has been added. While Sharaf-nama belongs to the tradition of Persian epic poetry, in Iqbal-nama Nizami demonstrated his talents as a didactic poet, joke-teller and miniaturist.

Nizami in the Middle Ages

Dowlatshah of Samarkandi called Nizami the most sophisticated writer of the era in which he lived. And Hafiz Shirazi dedicated lines to him in which he writes that “all the treasures of past days cannot compare with the sweetness of Nizami’s songs.”

Nizami's works had a tremendous influence on the further development of Eastern and world literature until the 20th century. There are dozens of nazires (poetic “answers”) and imitations of Nizami’s poems, created starting from the 13th century and belonging to, among others, Alisher Navoi, the Indo-Persian poet Amir Khosrow Dehlavi and others. Many poets in subsequent centuries imitated Nizami’s work, even if they could not compare with him and, of course, could not surpass him - the Persians, the Turks, the Indians, to name only the most important. The Persian scholar Hekmet listed at least forty Persian and thirty Turkish versions of the poem "Leili and Majnun".

Nizami's work had a great influence on the further development of Persian literature. Not only each of his poems, but all five of Khamsa's poems as a whole became a model that was imitated and competed with by Persian poets in subsequent centuries.

Nizami's poems provided the Persian art of miniatures with an abundance of creative material, together with Ferdowsi's poem "Shahnameh", becoming the most illustrated among the works of Persian literature.

Turkic-speaking readers became familiar with the plots of Nizami’s works back in the Middle Ages through imitations of his poems and the original poetic responses of Turkic-speaking poets. The work of Nizami Ganjavi also influenced the work of classics of Azerbaijani literature.

Translations and editions of Nizami's works

The first translations of Nizami's works into Western European languages ​​began to be carried out starting in the 19th century. In the 1920s and 30s, Russian translators and researchers translated individual fragments from the poems “Seven Beauties,” “Leili and Majnun,” and “Khosrow and Shirin.” The translation of all Nizami's works from Persian into Azerbaijani was carried out in Azerbaijan.

The first attempt at a critical edition of Nizami's poems was made by Hasan Vahid Dastjerdi, publishing the poems in Tehran in 1934-1939. One of the best editions of Nizami’s works is the publication of the poem “Seven Beauties”, which was carried out by Helmut Ritter and Jan Rypka in 1934 (Prague, printed Istanbul, 1934) based on fifteen manuscripts with the texts of the poem and a lithograph published in Bombay in 1265 . It is one of the few editions of a classical Persian text that employs a rigorous text-critical methodology.

The Meaning of Creativity

J. V. Goethe created his “West-Eastern Divan” under the influence of Persian poetry. In "Comments and Essays on the West-Eastern Divan" ("Noten und Abhandlungen zum West-östlichen Divan"), Goethe paid tribute to Nizami among such Persian poets as Ferdowsi, Anvari, Rumi, Saadi and Jami, but Goethe was the greatest influence the poetry of Hafiz and his “Divan” influenced the creation of the “West-Eastern Divan”. In the collection “West-Eastern Divan” itself, Goethe turns to Nizami and mentions the heroes of his poems:

The torment of love without the joys of love, -
This is Shirin and Ferkhad.
They came into the world for each other, -
This is Majnun and Leili.

Per. from German V. Levik

In the “History of the Russian State” by N.M. Karamzin, Nizami is called a “Persian poet of the 12th century” and is mentioned in connection with the story about the Russian campaign in the poem “Iskander-name”. Orientalist historian V.V. Grigoriev calls Nizami “one of the most glorious epic poets of Persia” in his work “On the Ancient Campaigns of the Russians to the East.” In his opinion, Nizami “was the most learned and glorious man of his time.” G. Spassky-Avtonomov, sent to Tehran to study the Persian language, testifies that “among poets, Persian critics glorify Nizami above all others.” G. Spassky-Avtonomov writes that Nizami “was a sufa - that is, a mystic.” He explains his special interest in Nizami’s work by the fact that in Persia the poets Saadi, Ferdowsi and Anvari are called prophets, and Nizami is called a god among poets.

According to the authors of The Encyclopedia Americana, although at the beginning of the 20th century. Nizami's name and work were not widely known in the West; in Persia he is considered one of the classics of Persian literature, among whom he is perhaps second after Ferdowsi. At the beginning of the 20th century. Nizami in Persia was revered as one of the seven great Persian poets.

In Iran, Nizami's work is still very popular. Iranians have had a tradition of reciting poetic works since ancient times, which can be regularly heard on the radio, observed on television, in literary societies, even in teahouses and in everyday speech. There is a special poetry recitation competition called “Musha-arekh”. Nizami's creativity, his living word serves as the source and symbol of this ancient tradition.

The plot of the poem "Seven Beauties" ("Haft Peykar") by Nizami served as the basis for the writing of Giacomo Puccini's opera "Turandot", the first performance of which took place on April 25, 1926 in Milan (Italy), which illustrates Nizami's long-term fame, penetrating beyond Persian literature .

Azerbaijani composers have repeatedly turned to the creativity and image of Nizami, such as Uzeyir Hajibeyov (vocal miniatures based on Nizami’s words “Sensiz” (“Without you”) and “Sevgili Janan” (“Beloved”)), Niyazi (chamber opera “Khosrov” and Shirin”, 1942), Fikret Amirov (symphony “Nizami”, 1947), Afrasiyab Badalbeyli (opera “Nizami”, 1948). Soviet composer Kara Karaev twice turned to the plot of “Seven Beauties”: first he wrote the symphonic suite of the same name (1949), and then, in 1952, the ballet “Seven Beauties”, which brought the composer world fame. The feature film of the Azerbaijani studio “Leyli and Majnun” was shot (1961) based on the works of the same name by Nizami and Fuzuli. Five films by Azerbaijani filmmakers were dedicated to Nizami, including the feature film “Nizami” (1982) with Muslim Magomayev in the title role. In 1940, Mehdi Huseyn wrote the play “Nizami”, first staged on August 16, 1942 on the stage of the Azerbaijan Drama Theater in Baku on the occasion of the 800th anniversary of Nizami Ganjavi. The production director of the performance was Adil Iskenderov, the composer was Seyid Rustamov, and the dance director was Leyla Badirbeyli. The role of Nizami was played by Rza Afghanli. In 1943, the play was shown in various productions by theaters in Ganja (at that time Kirovabad), Nakhichevan and Sheki.

The problem of Nizami's cultural identity

Original postage stamp to the 850th anniversary of the birth of Nizami. USSR, 1991, denomination 4 kopecks.

Nizami's cultural identity has been the subject of controversy since the 40s of the 20th century, when an ideologically and politically motivated revision of the poet's national and cultural identity took place in the USSR, timed to coincide with the celebration of the 800th anniversary of his birth.

Victor Shnirelman notes that until the 40s of the 20th century, Nizami’s cultural identity was not discussed; he was recognized as a Persian poet; however, after 1940, on the territory of the USSR, Nizami began to be officially considered an Azerbaijani poet.

As a result of a political campaign, in the late 1940s, a number of Soviet researchers declared Nizami's Azerbaijani identity. In a 1939 TSB article edited by Krymsky, Nizami is called an Azerbaijani poet and thinker. The famous Soviet orientalist Bertels held a similar opinion about Nizami’s nationality. The “final verdict” on the issue of Nizami in the USSR was made by Joseph Stalin, declaring the poet’s undoubted belonging to the Azerbaijanis. After 1940, all Soviet researchers and encyclopedias recognize Nizami as an Azerbaijani poet. After the collapse of the USSR, a number of post-Soviet sources continue to consider Nizami an Azerbaijani poet, but a number of Russian scientists again speak of Nizami’s Persian identity.

Azerbaijani Nizami researchers believe that the poet’s poems contain examples of Turkic self-awareness. Azerbaijani author Ramazan Kafarli believes that Nizami wrote not in Turkic, but in Persian, since “ in the East one could sooner become famous and spread one’s views in various countries through the Persian and Arabic languages».

In turn, Iranian researchers give similar examples of Persian identity in Nizami’s poems and note that in his poems “Turk” or “Hindu” are not nationalities, but poetic symbols.

Currently, outside the former USSR, in most academic works (including Turkish authors) and authoritative encyclopedias Britannica, Larousse, Iranika, Brockhaus, etc., Nizami is recognized as a Persian poet.

A number of American experts on modern history believe that Nizami is an example of the synthesis of Turkic and Persian cultures and an example of Azerbaijan’s contribution to such a synthesis; this point of view is criticized as following Soviet ideological views.

A number of Russian and foreign researchers argue that the “Azerbaijanization” of Nizami in the USSR in the 40s of the 20th century was a politically motivated state action.

In 1981 and 1991, the USSR issued commemorative postage stamps with a symbolic image of Nizami and an inscription stating that Nizami is “an Azerbaijani poet and thinker.”

Persian literature specialist Rebecca Gould notes that most books on Persian literature published in Azerbaijan reduce the importance of Persian poets born in the Caucasus, including Nizami Ganjavi, to a project of increasing ethnic prestige. The “nationalization” of classical Persian poets in a number of republics of the USSR, which fit into the general policy of national construction in Soviet times, in post-Soviet states has become the subject of pseudoscience, paying attention exclusively to the ethnic roots of medieval figures, and political speculation.

World recognition. Memory

UNESCO, recognizing the year of birth of Nizami as 1141, declared 1991 the year of Nizami in honor of the 850th anniversary of the poet. In honor of the 850th anniversary of Nizami's birth in 1991, international congresses dedicated to Nizami were held in Washington, Los Angeles, London and Tabriz.

In 1940, Gazanfar Khalykov painted a portrait of Nizami Ganjavi, which is kept in the Museum of Azerbaijani Literature, named after the poet.

In 1940, the Azerbaijani writer Mehdi Huseyn wrote the play “Nizami”, where he recreated the image of the great poet of the East.

In 1947, the poet’s mausoleum was erected in Ganja (on the site of an ancient one, which had been destroyed by that time).

In 1948, the Azerbaijani writer Mammad Said Ordubadi wrote the historical novel “The Sword and the Pen,” dedicated to Nizami Ganjavi.

In 1993, the Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan issued a 500 manat banknote with a symbolic portrait of Nizami Ganjavi.

In Ganja (1946), Baku (1949, both sculptor - Fuad Abdurakhmanov) and other cities of Azerbaijan there are numerous monuments to Nizami, streets and districts are named after him.

• Nizami Ganjavi - metro station (Baku).
• Nizami Street is one of the central streets in Baku.
• Lyceum of Technical and Natural Sciences named after Nizami Ganjavi (Sumgayit).
• Institute of Literature named after. Nizami ANAS.
• Museum of Azerbaijani Literature named after Nizami Ganjavi.
• Park named after Nizami (Baku).
• Nizami villages in Goranboy and Sabirabad regions of Azerbaijan.
• Nizami district in Baku.
• Nizami is a village in the Ararat region of the Republic of Armenia.

Monuments to Nizami were erected in Russia, in the cities of Derbent, Cheboksary, St. Petersburg and Moscow (near the Azerbaijani Embassy), in Tashkent in front of the Nizami TSPU and a bust in Chisinau.

On April 20, 2012, in Rome, in the Villa Borghese park, the opening of the Nizami monument took place, at which the First Lady of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva and the head of the international department of the Rome City Hall, Serena Forni, solemnly removed the white veil from the monument.

At the beginning of December 2012, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Azerbaijan, a monument to Nizami Ganjavi was erected in one of the central parks of Beijing - Chaoyang. Sculptor - Yuan Sikun.

A crater on Mercury was named after Nizami. The Tashkent Pedagogical Institute named after him was named after him. Nizami in Uzbekistan, Institute of Azerbaijani Culture in Berlin, Nizami village in Armenia.

The name was given to the Tashkent State Pedagogical Institute.

On September 30, 2012, the Nizami Ganjavi International Center was created in Ganja. One of the co-chairs is the director of the Alexandria Library, former first vice-president of the World Bank, Ismail Serageldin. The center carries out research into the poet’s heritage, the values ​​that he instilled with his creativity, and informs the public about Nizami’s activities and creativity.

On March 13, 2014, the State Hermitage hosted an evening in memory of the scientific conference dedicated to the 800th anniversary of Nizami, held by the Hermitage in besieged Leningrad in October 1941

On May 16, 2014, at a plenary session, the Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan introduced amendments to the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On the establishment of orders and medals of the Azerbaijan Republic”, providing for the establishment of the “Gold Medal named after Nizami Ganjavi”.

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